Indiana Books

I purchased this book to accompanying the book my high school classes are currently reading, "Warriors Don't Cry." As a high school teacher, I realize that students are likely to more fully engage with a novel when they feel they can truly relate to the story and when they are able to imagine all that is happening. "A Life is More Than a Moment" makes this possible! As we read the novel, I share pictures from this text with my students. They love this book. Often they ask to read this book even on their own, excitedly reporting their newfound knowledge with their classmates. I would definitely recommend this book for someone who is intersted in seeing the real thing.

This book is a thoughtful summary of the events of the 1957 Central High Crisis, especially for those who don't have the time or inclination to delve into the details but want to know all about the history behind the crisis and the events at that time. What makes the book even more interesting is that the authors take you inside Central High School forty years later so that the reader can see the life and times of a academically successful and fully integrated CHS today. Of course, one of the greatest contributions are the photographs by the late Will Counts -- awarding winning photography that carries you back in time. I highly recommend the book for students over age 12 and anyone who desires an accurate account of this shameful yet historic civil rights event.

This book although not very entertaining, is perfect for someone writing an essay on segregation or more particulary Central High. This book was my main topic of research for my essay. A good Read.

Little Rock was the first time since reconstruction that federal troops had been mobilized top protect Blacks seeking to exercise the rights they allegedly won in the aftermath of the Civil War. The terror, hatred, and brutality of the times is searingly captured by the iconic photo which gives the book its title--of a young white student screaming, her face contorted, at an equally young black girl. Equally appalling is the other major picture which forms the center of this work--a series showing the mob attacking a black reporter, and beating him with no one willing to intervene.

While the book would be worthwhile for the pictures alone, it is all the more compelling by bringing the story up to date. Centered around the fortieth anniversary of desegregation of Little Rock High School, the author tracks down both the black student and the white student spewing hatred. There are pictures of them together, having gone through a process of healing and reconciliation.

The ultimate question--why such hatred--is not answered, nor could it be, given the format and limitations of what is, af4er all, basically a book of narrated pictures. But the question is certainly raised and explored.

This is a great book and should be on the shelf of anyone who loves photography or wants to understand why the Civil rights movement was so important to the history of this country (although I would strongly urge that no one take the advice f the other reviewer, and use this as the primary source for information on this struggle).

My only criticism is that the upbeat tone of this volume needs to be questioned. As James Meridith has said--If a black man can be kicked ten times in open view, and has no redress, is it really "improvement" if he is only kicked nine times, but still has no redress? Is Little Rock really free of prejudice and discrimination? Is America?

This is another title that reminds me why truly excellent books are named by the Chief of Staff Air Force to his annual reading list.

Anyone interested in 20th century American defense and the emergence of the military/industrial complex should include this in their reading.

History buffs will love this book. Roll and McFarland have done an exception job in explaining a very interesting and important part of our history--the lead-up to WWII, the election of Truman, and the preparation for the Korean War--through Louis Johnson, assistant secretary of war and secretary of defense. The style of the book reminds me a lot of No Ordinary Time, an exception book by Doris Kearns Goodwin. A great read.

It was fascinating to read about a fellow West Virginian's trials and tribulations in Washington. The book improved my understanding of the politics surrounding the US entry into World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. Moreover, the story of Louis Johnson serves as a great cautionary tale of how naked ambition can derail otherwise promising careers in government and politics.

This history can be fairly grouped with McCullough's "Truman" and Acheson's "Present at the Creation" for any study of postwar (WWII) national and international politics. I found it a quick and easy read, informative and well written.

The story itself seems incredibly simple. Yet what makes it so amazing is the vivid pen with which it's drawn. Maggie is an incredible individual---a spunky kid in the 20s, and a tough old broad in the 80s. Watching her prepare her friends for the difficulties of modern life, as well as share the miracles of it with them, is incredibly touching. The lengths she goes to in order to help her father realize his dreams are heart-warming. She's a magnificent heroine for such a novel.

Life in the various eras and locales is bright and true, riveting. The tiniest details of life take on all the importance to the reader that they have to those who are right there, living them. Watching the characters go through culture shock as they travel through time is entrancing and all too real. This is a book that makes time travel feel entirely solid and real, but almost as an afterthought, because the fact of its happening isn't nearly as important its effects on people and life. And in the process, the concepts of age and experience are explored in some fascinating ways.

I feel as though there's so much more I want to say, but it's one of those books that defies description. It isn't an action-packed thrill-ride. It's about people, not events. It's an incredibly beautiful tale that makes you feel as though you've traveled through time yourself.

When I finished "Maggie Again" I had a smile on my face. I LOVED IT!!!! I was sorry for it to end--I miss Cobblers Eddy already. This story is one of the most joyful stories I have ever read. I must admit, as a fan of novels, I was a little sceptical, this being John Husband's first novel, and I wasn't expecting to rave about the book. But John's ears should have been burning all week. I told so many people about this wonderful book I was reading and said to them that the end better be as good as the whole story -- and, lo and behold, it was! When Maggie was trying to convince her dad about the circumstances of her life, I thought of the one thing Maggie could say to convince him and any other skeptics. And there it was in the end, her ace in the hole. I will miss Maggie, Tom, Gordie, and Alfie. And I would love to see Maggie's dad's face in 1929 when her "predictions" turn out to be true. He would feel that he really dodged a bullet, wouldn't he -- as well as never doubting Maggie again! Even thinking about this story makes me smile. I wish there were more books like this--one that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, a book that grabs your imagination.

I began reading Maggie Again with high expectations; they were met and exceeded. The story is intriguing, very well told, and kept my attention. The chapters are short, logically divided, and made it easy to read just a little more till the next stopping point (though I did have trouble putting it down and actually stopping). The setting is so well described that I felt as if I were there. And the characters are consistent and likeable - though I was surprised at how they would act or react to some situations, upon reflection I saw that it was what they would have done and I had simply come to know them even better. I strongly recommend Maggie Again to anyone who enjoys a great story, well-told, with developed characters in a vivid setting.

This is delightful little story about three teen-age farm boys from Indiana who hop a freight train to visit their friend Maggie, who has moved to New York City. On their trip to the Big Apple inside an empty boxcar, Tom, Gordie and Alfie find themselves caught in a time warp that changes their lives. It's a tale of adventure, romance, and friendship; one of those rare books that the whole family will read and enjoy. Skillfully written by an experienced author who has a keen understanding of interpersonal relationships and first-hand experience of life both on the farm and in the big city. I liked the book so much that after reading, I ordered copies for my teen-age grandchildren

An important, interdisciplinary anthology; engaging, thoughtfully presented, scholarly-yet accessible to the intelligent reader; and with a much-needed historical and inter-religious perspective. Essential reading, especially as a counter to so much fanciful material currently on the market in this area.

The Rev. Dr. Katherine Kurs

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this volume is the platform for further inquiry which it establishes. Deirdre Good's insistence that we translate Mariam, not Mary, in Jn 20 opens the interesting question of the embeddedness of John in the (at least) trilingual milieu of the first century. Carol Myers' and Mary Rose D'Angelo's essays elicit further probing of the gendered contours of prophecy in the first century. And Diane Apostolos-Cappadona's contribution opens the question of the degree to which Byzantine art concerning Mariam influenced Western depictions to some degree. The other essays will ask the reader to rethink the relation of flesh and spirit, since so much of the significance of Mariam resides in her mediation of the experience of the risen crucified One. The collection includes extensive bibliography and index useful to a wide range of scholars, and is rigorously edited for intelligibility among a general readership. It is perhaps best read in tandem with Bart Ehrmans's LOST CHRISTIANITIES.

Compiled and deftly edited by Deirdre Good (Professor of New Testament, General Theological Seminary, New York City), Mariam, The Magdalen, And The Mother is a compilation of erudite essays by knowledgeable Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars on the biblical figure of Mary Magdalene as present aspects of her composite identity drawn from Jewish, Gnostic, early Christian, and Manichean traditions. This impressively diverse collection of viewpoints also covers Islamic and patristic traditions about Jesus' mother Mary. Taken as a whole, Mariam, The Magdalen, And The Mother presents a fascinating, scholarly, yet completely accessible exploration of the Miriamic roots of Mary Magdalen's composite identity and prophetic vision that played an important and controversial role during the first five centuries of the Christian movement. Also available in a hardcover edition (02533-45332, $50.00) Mariam, The Magdalen, And The Mother is a strongly recommended addition to personal and academic Christian Studies and Religious Studies library reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Plenty if the name is Mary. For those looking for female figures in scripture, Mary Magdalen has long been an important if mysterious figure. Interest in Mary, the mother of Jesus remains high as well. In Mariam, the Magdalen and the Mother, edited and introduced by Deirdre Good, Professor of New Testament at the General Theological Seminary, Christian, Jewish and Muslim scholars explore the Miriamic tradition from many angles. Prof. Good sets the stage by arguing that Mariam is a better translation of the name we normally render as Miriam or Mary. Seeing Mariam in the text rather than Mary opens up the interconnections among the various Marys not only in Christian scripture but in writings from all the religious traditions of the early Common Era and highlights the coherence in both the name and the roles of these figures. Following on this notion, other contributors to the volume explore Mary Magdalen's various roles as disciple and prophet, examine the role of Mary in Gnostic texts, and trace the evolution of the portrayal of Mary Magdalen in Christian art. The interdisciplinary and interfaith approach of this volume moves the discussion of Mary Magdalen and the Miriamic tradition in ways that a more narrow focus could not, and opens the door for further investigation of Mariam in all her instantiations. It is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the role of women in scripture and in the world in which Christianity developed.

What a delightful rendering of General George B. McLellan from Ethan Rafuse. I don't know if this treatment will restore Little Mac from the severe wounds history has inflicted on him but it does help us understand why he behaved the way he did. Politicians always slather thick layers of patriotic ardor over the stark brutality of modern war in order to get the hostilities underway; the attendant death & destruction is never full anticipated & always pitifully underestimated. The radical Republicans wanted to unleash the dogs of war right at the Secesh throat not realising the South had hounds of their own. McLellan with his gentile family background & his Whig- Democratic political leanings & his West Point education got in the way. He was mauled nearly to death.

This is an account of the life & generalship of McLellan from his triumphant processional into Washington & anointing up until his dismissal from command after Antietam (& the Emancipation Proclamation) in November, 1862. Rafuse focuses on the moderate political opposition to the radicals who ran Congress after the Whig party had been splintered into oblivion & the Southern Democrats had left the Republicans in a lopsided majority after Lincoln's election. This moderation is McLellan's raison d'etre.

McLellan thought reasonable, unemotional (not radical) professionals should run the war. A decisive set-piece battle & then some mopping up would bring the South back to the Union with their traditions & way of life, including their peculiar institution, intact. Treat the Southerners in a conciliatory sort of way & they would reject the fire-eating slaveholders who brought on the war & return to the fold. How wrong he was. Six hundred thousand dead later & the Union was victorious & slavery was abolished. Victorious Grant became President & McLellan who had presidential aspirations of his own paled into obscurity, the anachronism he was. Little consolation that his scientific way of war with its fortifications & artillery abundance might have strangled the Confederacy in its cradle far quicker than Scott's Anaconda plan eventually did. His hamstrung Peninsula Campaign failed & the radicals took control. Conciliation was dead.

Rafuse's account is a fine one indeed. The prose is a bit turgid to start but get McLellan on the Peninsula & the tale starts to flow. Maps are the windows into military history. The ones included are great. I never understood what McLellan's Urbanna plan was all about until I saw one of the maps & read again of Joseph E. Johnston's pull back from Manassas. All of the maps are pertinent, well done & , behold, contain all the place names mentioned in the text, a rare treat indeed.

Abraham Lincoln comes across as the bewildered military neophyte he was at this stage of the war. McLellan has more spine with little emphasis on the sniveling he did about his estimation of the great multitude of the horde opposing him. He does get credit for his great organizational skills, training ability, & charisma. The Army of the Potomac was the instrument he created but never learned how to wield. Clausewitz was correct: the object of war is not to nick your opponent but to whack him so hard he won't get up again.

George Brinton McClellan's legacy since the Civil War has been largely criticized by historians and the general public. Hundreds of books generated notions that the Union high command prior to U.S. Grant's arrival was full of generals who could not win battles or take the initiative in destroying Robert E. Lee's army. McClellan served as the primary victim of these rants because he held the longest tenure as commander of the Army of Potomac. Even though McClellan had earned the respect of his men, he certainly did not get that same respect from Washington or from future historians. Thankfully, that has changed.

Rafuse's book showcases a lot of the author's abilities as a historian and as a writer. Though military book in nature, Rafuse's insight into McClellan's political influence largely explains the behavior attributed on the battlefield. Perhaps no Civil War biographer has detailed his subject's political connections as Rafuse has shown. In the Civil War field, Rafuse is considered as one of the up and coming military historians of this generation. This only makes sense as Rafuse's advisor was the distinguished historian Herman Hattaway, whose book "How the North Was Won" is still considered a standard in this profession. Certainly, Rafuse has a bright career as a scholar, teacher, and writer.

Finally, this biography explains the political influence that troubled the Union generals throughout the War. Recently, scholars have argued that Lincoln and his cabinet caused much of the disappointment in the war's first two years because of their inability to let the generals lead on their own. Certainly, it can be questioned that if McClellan was given the same freedoms as Robert E. Lee in the South, the "young Napoleon" may have ended this war a lot sooner.

Sailing around the world, U.S. Grant sighed that George McClellan was one of the chief enigmas of the war. A century and a half later, most Civil War buffs would agree. McClellan's biographers either considered him a hero or, in the case of say Stephen Sears, a delusioned man who flirted with mental illness. Taking a page from the likes of Daniel Walker Howe, Ethan Rafuse argues that the key to understanding Little Mac is viewing him as an old line Whig of the Clay and Webster tradition who believed in self control, gentility, education and discipline. Rafuse goes into McClellan's prewar career and education and other influences (most importantly, Rafuse stresses how McClellan's jewel of a wife shaped his religious sentiments) and how they shaped his Civil War tenure. Readers may still view McClellan as a failed commander once they read Rafuse but at least they understand where he was coming from. As opposed to being plagued by psychological problems as Sears would have us believe, Rafuse shows that McClellan was man of his times who failed, in many ways, to grow with them. While Rafuse fails to provide a traditional narrative of military history, he provides an excellent political history of McClellan in 1861 and 1862. One wishes that Rafuse had taken his account to the 1864 election and McClellan's rather underappreciated political career after the war. Still, no other book truly offers such an interesting and insightful portrait of McClellan. If you want to understand the Union effort in the Civil War, you have to understand George McClellan's roller coaster ride in the high command. No other book does that as well as Rafuse's splendid "McClellan's War."

Finding a general in American history with as bad a reputation as George B. McClellan is not an easy task. Few Civil War books have anything good to say about him, fewer still defend his actions in the field. His victory at Antietam is often listed as a draw or even a Confederate victory. This "victory" is because McClellan should have destroyed the Army of Northern Virginia and their survival is a "victory" for them. His problems with military intelligence and the chronic over estimation of numbers is a "character defect" that he used to keep from fighting the army he created and loved to much to use. When pressed, even his harshest critics, will admit that McClellan created the Army of the Potomac and that it was the premier Union army during the war. Finally, they will acknowledge that McClellan always obeyed orders from Washington, even when he disagreed with them and felt they hurt his army.
This book covers McClellan's background and actions up to being removed from command for the last time in 1861. While not taking a position, each incident is completely covered and footnoted. This allows the reader to both check the author and to draw well founded conclusions from the text. For this reason, "McClellan's War" should become an important milestone in the evolving debate about his service. The amount of information packed into this book is staggering. While the book is so well written that, it reads like a good novel. The combination produces a very enjoyable and dynamic learning experience.
Everything is here. All the questions about relations with Congress, Lincoln and Scott, are examined and both sides presented. Coverage of the question about reinforcements during the Peninsula Campaign is complete with attention to the critical sequence of events. McClellan's feelings about and support of Pope are fair and well documented as are his difficulties with Stanton. The Antietam Campaign is a major item in the book and very well covered. What McClellan did and did not do, how it influenced R.E. Lee's plans, and the subsequent events is very well done. The condition of McClellan's army, the problems he faced and the effect they have on the battle of Antietam is a revelation.
The author takes the time to explain the theory of Conciliation and the political exchanges between its' supporters and the Abolitionist. The lucid discussion of the development of both these ideas and the background of the people that supported them is an important contribution to ACW this book makes. After reading this, I gained a much better understanding of the early war and how the policies developed as the war progressed.
Over all stands Lincoln, literally towering over McClellan. The book details the pressure Lincoln is under and the changes in his attitude towards, the South, McClellan and the war in the first 18 months of the war. In addition, we come to understand how the two men, wanting the same victory, were unable to bridge the widening gulf between them. McClellan, with his background and beliefs, was unable to understand or respond to Lincoln's problems. Lincoln, forced to respond to pressure and discarding the policy of Conciliation, could not give McClellan the time and resources he needed. The strength of the book is we understand both sides and have sympathy for both men.
In the emerging debate on McClellan, Ethan S. refuse has written his name along side Joseph L. Harsh as authors of "must read" books on the subject.

Very unusual volume: stark cover; Table of Contents consisting of "Paint," "Sound," "Space" and "End" with chapters named A-Z; no Preface--though quite extensive Bibliography. Symmetrical structure--about 135 pp. each on music and art, with the central "Sound" flanked by shorter sections on painting and sculpture, flanked in turn by an engagingly lucid intro and suggestive conclusion: the resonant last words of the book are "no one, by definition, knows."

"Paint" is organized by artist while "Sound" is mainly chronological, since Strickland argues for musical lineage from Young to Riley to Reich to Glass, while his heterodox view of Minimalist painters, most Abstract Expressionists in any other book, presents Newman, Reinhardt et al. as working independently and at philosophical odds with one another. Strickland's sympathy is clearly with Reinhardt's anti-manifestos and against Newman's high-flown theorizing, though he praises his art.

In fact the author seems to have an ingrained suspicion of theorizing in general. An excellent cultural historian, he is not a philosopher, unless maybe a Sceptic confronting the conventional wisdom of art critics. As a music prof, he gets A+ for chutzpah with his "Emperor's New Clothes" approach to mainstream art critics and the commerce of the art world, which he describes on p. 2 as a "futures market." By the time he gets to the sculpture, Strickland's scepticism extends to the artists themselves. That section leads to a conclusion verging on a retraction in its ambivalent review of the Minimalist enterprise.

His views and often droll style are refreshing. His formal dissections of the painting are more detailed than those of the music--establishing his bona fides?--and I'd like some more of the structural analysis he devotes to the transitional Glass Quartet, and more repros of the art and scores--but downloads are generally easy to find, so no big deal. I'd even like some more philosophy, e.g., a discussion of the work in terms of Jamesonian postmodern depthlessness. Since Strickland dismisses the very term postmodernism as "vulgarity" by p. 3 (along with Glass' commercials on "the boob-tube," ersatz-Minimalist advertising and "well-heeled culturophages") you get the feeling that's not on his agenda any more than campaigning for Mr. Congeniality. There are fine books by other music profs dealing mainly with their subject (Potter musicologically, Fink sociologically), but this remains far and away the most comprehensive survey of the artistic/musical movement as a whole, and you can't ask for everything...from A to Z?.

Mr.Stricklands' essays are very insightful with regard to the rise of minimalist music. I was intrigued enough about Terry Riley after reading about him that I went to his website and purchased "In C". I am a fan of Reich, Glass, Young, and Adams, but had somehow let Mr. Riley slip through the cracks. The 25th Anniversary reissue of "In C" is well worth the effort. It was very refreshing to read about these people, and Mr.Strickland shed some new light on a sometimes confusing era. The same cannot be said for his handling of the minimalist painters. His essays were often repetitive, and he seemed to be struggling to find metaphor behind every zip and brush-stroke. I am not a fan of minimalist sculpture, and so recuse myself from entering into a discussion about the third, and last, section of his book.

Strickland has situated Minimal Music within a vigorous and complex context here finding useful parallels with the minimalist canons and credos in the visual arts, and the bridges found there I think are many times tenuous and self-congradulatory for it is not a proven affinity, as Badiou might have found in the consistent modality within artistic movements.Within the visual arts that considers itself "minimal" began their gestures toward the search for a "purity",a "spirit" an "unadulterated" concept in the form of reducible shapes and geometries many years prior as with Barnett Newman(working simultaneously within the mileau of the maximal gestures of Jackson Pollock)and Ellsworth Kelly.So there has been a longer shall we say "gestation" period for it in the gaze,not the "ear".Although LaMonte Youngs long-sustained lines from his "Brass Octet" dates from the early Sixties, as other Fluxus expressions of the "minimal" event but that is more Dada in effect. The visual arts scene however was an early enthusiastic supporter to this repetitive music,more so than academia or the established concert venues,until it became popular.
So the "minimal" in music slowly made pathways into establishment venues,opera,and performance art,and it was well-suited with the post-modern canons of the apolitical passivity(only Fredric Rzewski bridged this gap to the political subject) and today it is commonplace,the fashionable circuits mixed with the strains of expression of the popular avant-garde, obsessed with the market and popular culture, the buzz and being loved.
Interestingly the structure of this book is divided for this emphasis into Paint, Sound, Space, and Strickland keeps this dialogue intact. So we find such geometrical creations by Donald Judd,identical size boxes descending downward along a wall,or simply cubes of varying shapes or the aluminum,plexi-glass,cubes,boxes situated as for eternity in Marfa Texas, a minimalist shrine in an old Army Base he purchased has no real equivalent in music. Likewise the powerful impersonal spirituality of the florescent lighting schemes of Dan Flavin or the shaped steel plates, and torqued ellipses of Richard Serra or floor covering, and fifty yards long wood planks and floor steel tiles of Carl Andre, not to mention the committed painters as Ellsworth Kelly, Frank Stella, or Bridget Riley. All are here as Sol Le Witt.And again the equivalents in music areless than adequete,it isn't possible to speak of the two fields as sharing a focus.I beleive there are useful equivalents but it is on a case by case basis. I consider the first piece of musical minimalism,around Picasso's time and Stravinsky to be Erik Satie's "Vexations, a 9 Hour work of the same thorny quasi-chromatic phrase for piano solo, repeated incessantly at the same tempo or Cage's "Etudes Australes" a piece of minimalism for its static-ness,even orchestral pieces of Xenakis have a "stasis" dimension to it,that certainly has a more orthodox affinity for the term than the what became therather surface simplicity,the market concoctions of Glass,,Reich and Adams. These diverse kinds of works(that Strickland doesn't mention) are really never viewed from this perspective.
Strickland however keeps his narrative close to this visual world.But as close as one got to vigorously conceived works when all this began in the Seventies was Philip Glass who went by way of opera and that was a good vigorous start to place the minimalist musical canons within establishment venues,with a great structural pallette in place now to test its scope and longevity/ With text, theatre, peformance art and concept all now were burdened within the minimalist context.As important as these in-roads were Glass hadn't the theoretical ambition to nurture its implications further ,so he found facile route the most exciting and lucretive form for minimalism,now with electronification and augmented decible levels,trying to find affinity with the magnetic force of the rock genre/venue to some degree. He then simply fell prey to opera's complaisant seductions relying on tried and tested forms within opera's clostered structural genres, as duets, trios,intrumental interludes as in "Aknahten", and latter works the one with the simplistic use of the text of Doris Lessing.His works then after the operatic periods simply saw greater exhibitions of minimalist homogenizations of concept,surface flashes, reduced down to its lowest accessible form,without obviously jumping into another genre,as style=lized rock.
Where is the affinity for innovation and musical experimentalism? so prevalent in Glass's early ensemble Farfisa Organ works. So minimalism in ascendancy was quickly left to the market to consume it, Hollywood,wealth and power were safe havens for its musical language.And film scores abounded as the "Exorcist" in parts. Again Strickland adheres to the visual arts in order to buffer a safe zone within it, and to see where the two meet. They never really do,for music is more a collective experience,"let's groove together" whereas minimalist visual art is never hardly that it is an intense personal experience of contemplation. For these parallels,finding painterly concepts of tone, and gradations of colour distributions are largely useful if you examine the "origins" the original repertoire of minimal music, as lesser known composers as the late Terry Jennings and Tom Johnson. But as time wore on past the Seventies and Eighties minimalism found fewer and fewer similar conceptual and expressive features with the hardcore visual arts and theoretical paradigms of reference. Musical minimalism became homogenized, where even rockers found service in its (now-obvious)percolating rhythmic pulses,as Blondie,Devo,and the Techno studio layering cadres,there is even an "elevator music" minimalist jazz.The "minimal" canon in music became simply a reproducible language crossing borders as an oil-slick approaches distant shores. Strickland here thinks these "migrations" was one of minimalism staying powers, a longevity factor which proves its profound content, when in fact it was part of its dilution and demise into greater forms of homogenizations, and now fodder for least common denominators of expression subjected to it.
La Monte Young however,is given good space here, a post-Cage artist long a recluse creator,who found pleasure in listening to telephone generators, and motors, the inherent drones embodied in what we simply refer to as a "noise" also found an affinity for Just Intonation and the music of the East(as Reich,Riley,Glass) and mounted hours/days long performance of electronic drones, with Marian Zazeela,at blasted decible levels. He however was never a market icon, (no commercial potential as Frank Zappa would say)but in fact came closest toward finding equivalents to the visual arts conceptual world as Strickland searches for here.He did this in the Nine Hour "Well-Tuned Piano".
The concept of the long durational length is something that minimal music should have found from its start, not at the end of its demise. Of course the late Morton Feldman has been a rescuing agent here with his 6 Hour "Second String Quartet", the various piano solos "For Bunita Marcus", and "Triadic Memories", and the hours log "For Philip Guston, and "For Christian Wolff", for Flute and Piano are surely masterworks within musical minimalism. Length by itself is not the component that makes minimal music find itself with its visual arts brethren, no in Feldma's latter works you have also the incessant repetition of music materials, sometimes with self-defeating breaks, as in Feldman, where predictable almost Stravinskian moments come to the surface.

I think minimalism ended long ago,it does however still nourishes a pleasure in pure form and space, the "miniature" work is also a form neglected here.We speak now of a "post-minimalism" largely represented by the orchestral works and operas of John Adams. It is still a language that produces a music but why search for an experience already experienced.

In Strickland's previous book, American Composers, he demonstrated a broad knowledge of various musics (he had written extensively, for example, on Glenn Gould and John Coltrane)in lively conversations with leading composers. His book on Minimalism is primarily first-rate cultural history, with more technical and formal analysis, curiously, in the sections of art than in the central section on music. His style is fluid and often witty, occasionally turgid only in some of the more technical passages, perhaps inevitably.

One thing missing in the book is reproductions of the art and music (there is one at the head of each section), possibly because Strickland seems to be trying to create a Minimalist work of art himself here--from the bare buff cover (in the hardback; the revised paperback edition includes the ISBN code, laudatory reviews and a synopsis on the back cover) to the naming of chapters by letters and sections by a single word ("Paint, Sound," "Space" and "End"). There is nothing minimal about the documentation, however, for the book relies on an abundance of primary sources.

The section on painting is probably the most controversial. Strickland has lengthy chapters on Barnett Newman, Ellsworth Kelly, Ad Reinhardt et al. in redefining Minimalism as a movement developing WITHIN Abstract Expressionism. Many of the 60s painters normally identified as FOUNDING the movement he treats as academizing the movement. His viewpoint is equally debatable and thought-provoking, defended on empirical rather than conceptual grounds.

The section on Minimalist music is the liveliest as Strickland traces in remarkable detail its development from LaMonte Young through Terry Riley to Steve Reich to Philip Glass. His attribution of a chain of influence seems just, though the last composer has discounted it in favor of acknowledging Indian music as the central influence on his early work. Strickland discusses the influence of that music and Indonesian music, earlier classical music (from Leoninus and Bach to Debussy to Webern) and jazz (Coltrane is referred to again and again by the composers and the author).

The best sections may be the first and last, and those are the ones to read for those uninterested in studying the subject in depth. Strickland's interdisciplinary delineation of Minimalist characteristics in "A" is masterly; his discussion of the philosophical implications of the movement in "W" is thoughtful and occasionally poetic.

This is an excellent book. Hendy's scholarship is remarkable. There are very few books on mythology that are this deep and this clear. I am familiar with Jung's entire corpus, most of Eliade, Neumann, Nietzsche and almost all of personality psychology (see Peterson, Jordan B., Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief) but I learned a lot from this book. It is also a remarkable book because its author does not have an ax to grind and this is very rare among critics of mythologically-oriented thinking. In its depth and breadth it reminds me of Henri Ellenberger's Discovery of the Unconscious.

The Modern Construction of Myth is one of the most readable, well-organized, and helpful books on the subject I have found. I use it all the time in my research to get background on myth critics and understand the ways their theories play off one another. It is very CLEAR and comprehensive, given it's broad subject matter. Anyone who is working on myth criticism or the ways myth has been understood and used in the modern age will find this book invaluable.

_The Modern Construction of Myth_ is an astonishingly complete investigation of the ways that myth has been interpreted and used over time. It's a large book, but written in a lucid, easily comprehensible style: it presents such an intelligent and complete look at Myth's uses that I recommend it to anyone interested in folklore and mythology --the book is heads above anything else out there.

Okay, so I haven't actually read this book. But my Uncle wrote it, and he is a really really smart guy with a great sense of humor. He has great insight into all the stories and myths over the ages, and I wholeheartedly recommend this book. I suggested that he call this book "Myth Myths" but common sense prevailed!

The recent winner of an international piano competition is featured on several Youtube videos. The user comments are overwhelmingly spectacular... "better than Horowitz", "perfect", "a dream", "extraordinary", etc, etc. In a way, we can understand these favorable comments, as the laureate has a magnificent technique, and does, for the most part, observe the composer's indications. Given that, it is not easy to ruin a great composition. But is that enough? One measure of the greatness of a musical composition is the opportunities it affords players, its breadth of interpretive possibilities, the invitation to explore.

The pianist in question lacks one quality that used to be, and should still be demanded of a great artist. In a word... "penetration". There is no sense that this pianist's performances reflect the fruits of a searching musical intellect. They are musical, but homogenously so. Yes, he is still young, but as they say, "show me the child and I'll show you the man". Josef Hofmann's early recordings are often criticized for their "coldness", but even in those early recordings we can hear the same qualities that led admirers of his mature recordings to call his style "patrician".

Many pianists of the past, who may be heard in early recordings, show this penetration in the unique personality of their conceptions. These conceptions are made possible by the close connection the artists have enjoyed with the leading exponents of 19th century tradition, and the musical sensibilities and subtle technical resources, involving dynamic range and variety of touch, that have been passed along to them. This is not a question of overused rubato, or a generally outmoded style that has seen its day. It is a question of approach. No pianist typifies this approach more than Moriz Rosenthal, one of the great Liszt pupils, previously having studied with Rafael Joseffy and the Chopin pupil Karol Mikuli (Joseffy and Mikuli are familiar to all pianists as editors of Chopin's works).

Most young pianists are simply not exposed to artists like Rosenthal. We cannot be expected to know the juicy goodness of a great tomato when we have never been to a farmer's market, but have only been shown the supermarket! Mark Mitchell and Allan Evans' "Moriz Rosenthal in Word and Music" will go a long way towards correcting this. It should be required reading for all who love music (pianist, instrumentalist, vocalist or serious listener) and want an intimate and multi-faceted view, foibles and all, of one great artist who could plumb the musical depths.

My enthusiasm for this book is based on one crucial aspect... its reliance on primary sources, and the breadth of the man these sources reveal. The editors include Rosenthal's unpublished autobiographical fragment, various other short writings by Rosenthal, many published for the first time here, and a generous helping of perceptive concert reviews. One negative review resulted in an amusing (and revealing) back and forth between the protesting Rosenthal and a critic for the London Times, who had the last word, in spades. These reviews show that Rosenthal was not for everybody (who is??), but all praised his omega level of virtuosity and pianistic range... and not least, his abundance of interpretive input.

The book offers unparalleled personal reminiscences of such musical greats as Joseffy, Mikuli, Liszt, Busoni, Tausig, Korngold (pere et fils), Mahler, and exceptional memories of meetings with a prickly, if not mean-spirited, Johannes Brahms. Rosenthal even writes of his audience, at age 13, with the highly regarded Chopin pupil Princess Marcelina Czartoryska (then 58 years old. Chopin would have been only 65!), and his disappointment when she left off playing Chopin's e minor Concerto for him just when the knotty passagework was about to begin, with the comment (in Polish), "et cetera"... Rosenthal at his catty best!

But the riches of this book go far beyond Rosenthal's personal memories of his contemporaries. Rosenthal's own deep views of piano music and its interpretation are fascinating and rewarding. We also meet up with numerous examples of the most biting, sarcastic tongue of any musician ever, mainly directed against his colleagues! My personal favorite: While attending an obviously less than riveting concert, Rosenthal could not help but notice the loud snoring of a nearby audience member. He turned to him and said, "For pity's sake, don't snore so loudly or you'll wake up the whole audience!"

The subject matter in the book is far too wide-ranging to summarize here, but it all makes for absorbing reading... and not just for specialists. This book is a page turner, moving through a series of colorful articles by Rosenthal, as well as by writers who, like Rosenthal, wrote with style, to be read with enjoyment. Rosenthal pupil Charles Rosen provided a valuable and informative preface, while the editors wrote the engaging introduction. To top it all off, Mr. Evans has supplied a CD of Rosenthal performances, processed with the same care and attention to clarity he lavishes on his wonderful historical offerings on the Arbiter label. These recordings by Rosenthal underpin and potentiate everything written in the book, and indeed speak a thousand words... what playing! We may not all agree with everything we hear in Rosenthal's performances, but we will definitely all pay attention. Many will have their ears opened, and learn what it means to be truly great.

Apart from the delightful shorter Chopin, Schubert, and Liszt works, and his famously suave and fleet-fingered rendition of his own "Blue Danube" transcription, a standout performance on the CD is one which has been much maligned. This is Rosenthal's recording of Chopin's b minor Sonata, made when the pianist was 77 years old. Critics have made much of the aging pianist's ebbing technical mastery. Such criticism misses the point, and is symptomatic of the superficial perception of art, generally, in our time. In fact, the advanced age of the pianist contributes to the heroic dimensions of the performance... an epic display of the Spirit at once disregarding and conquering the Flesh. Furthermore, this is Moriz Rosenthal performing one of the finest pieces of music in the piano repertoire. It is therefore, prima facie, a precious document of inestimable musical value. And Rosenthal certainly has more control at 77 than Francis Plante at 89 (and Plante's recordings are a delight!).

The Largo is searching and lyrical, reflecting a lifetime of growing intimacy with this music. Rosenthal was never content to play simply "musically". He gives us his vision of the musical landscape set before him, diverse and ever-changing. Rosenthal exhibits a characteristic common to the best "Golden Age" pianists - he never releases his intellectual grip on the musical flow, never hands off his command to a sort of generally musical "cruise control", as engaged by many lesser pianists such as the aforementioned competition winner. Rosenthal penetrates, and comes up with more.

In the Finale - one of Chopin's most torrential and physically demanding movements - we can only listen in astonishment as the old warrior carries us along from start to finish in one grand, unrelenting sweep, putting today's young competition-gypsies to shame. We are aware that Rosenthal is past his physical prime, but, wonderfully, no accommodations are made, no tempi slackened, no clarity sacrificed to advanced age. If ever a performance demonstrated that the irreplaceable essence of a musical performance is Spirit, this is it!

A Rosenthal discography is included in the book, along with photos and concert programs, as well as a list of his performance repertoire.

Mark Mitchell and Allan Evans have, in short, put together a compendium of original sources that give a rare portrait of one of the greatest performers in history. A must have for all music lovers who want to dig deeper.... and wider.

As co-editor of the book, I am surprised to read a review by Otten in which he wonders who the author might have been. As it is a collection of autobiographical writing, the author is Moriz Rosenthal. Oppen cites an early biography of the pianist: none exists. Alas, this is the down side of the internet: angry amateurs trumpet mis-information and clumsily err in doing so. Mitchell and myself annotated Rosenthal's splendid texts and selected supplementary material.

Previously well-reviewed by Rick, the following excerpts should whet one's appetite for a work I could not put down, history alive, sprinkled with anecdotes of the famous and legendary, Rosenthal's thoughts on life,art,pianism,humanity, insights into an age gone but retrievable if its lessons are learned, hearts are so inclined:

Mikuli,Chopin's student,teaches Rosenthal the master's legatissimo playing in which the sound glows and grows even after the key is released,to which Rosenthal soon adds the heroic utterances of Rubinstein, the spiritualism/vision of Liszt.


Joseffy presents Rosenthal's first Vienna recital:

Chopin F-Minor Concerto (Joseffy 2nd piano)
Beethoven 32 Variations in C Minor
Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue in F Minor
Chopin Op.10,#5
Chopin Waltz E MInor,Op.Post.
Liszt Au bord d'une source
Liszt La Campanella

Rosenthal remembers:

"Tausig died in July of 1871 of typhoid.His female friends sat by his deathbed in Leipzig.Liszt or Wagner might have transfigured his earthly farewell,but neither of the great masters appeared.Tausig's death shattered a pillar of the pianistic world at that time.The greatest technician of his age had departed,but not wihtout inspiring Brahms in his Paganini Variations.These remained: Liszt,the most universal,spiritual,and still the innovative piano poet;Rubinstein,the most tempermentally glowing,melodically richest,the piano hero mightiest with tone; finally Bulow,the quick-witted,but often technically deficient,and more amusing than spiritual piano analyst;and, from the younger generation,Joseffy,of fairy-like elegance,and Grunfeld,who set himself apart as a virtuoso through his rhythm and his magnificant right-hand octaves." All of whom Rosenthal knew well and heard often.And you can hear Rosenthal.

Hanslick on reviewing a Rosenthal Vienna recital in 1884:"Through many years of acquaintance with modern piano virtuosity I have almost forgotten what it is to be astonished,but I found young Rosenthal's achievements indeed astonishing.His technique scorns the most incredible difficulties,his strength and endurance the most inordinate demands."

A 1900 review of his Don Juan Fanatsie in England: " He hurled forth a Dionysian declaration of war...with that technical power in which he is surpassed by no living performer.After many recalls he was constrained to play once more;and by way of the sharpest possible contrast,he gave Chopin's Berceuse,bringing out all the delicate moonshibe filigree of the right-hand part with infinite subtlety."

Rosenthal: "Whoever breathes in the heady,fiery air of Mozart's or Liszt's enthusiasm will see Don Juan as being as inseperable from his unbridled affirmation of life and audacious glorification of death as,say,Napolean is from his battle roar." No wonder these Golden Agers were,sound,different.

James Huneker,1911: "He is both musical and intellectual.He is a doctor of philosophy,a bachelor of arts.He has read everything,is a linguist,has traveled the globe over,and in conversation his unerring memory and brilliant wit set him as a man apart.To top all these gifts,he plays his instrument magnificantly,overwhelmingly.He is the Napoloean,the conqueror among virtuosi." The Golden Age lesson: to be a pianist apart,first be a man apart.

Rosenthal: "No,the grand manner did not "come in" at one special date, and "go out"at another.The grand manner is, very simply--a grand manner.A manner of playing which forms itself upon grand concepts,makes such concepts personal by grand enthusiasms...a matter of personal convictions,personal inspirations,personal thought... (Any age could produce musicians in the grand manner if only) the representatives of that age will take the trouble to cultivate those habits of thought...The more typical representatives of this modern day seem less concerned with a free outpouring of generous enthusiaisms,than with the practical means of achieving some goal.It is not considered "smart" to give unfettered expressions to one's deepest emotions.The modern school of interpretation has left stark,cragged heroism behind..It strikes, at best,into a sweet,well-regulated field-vale-and -woodland order of feelings..."

Rosenthal: "...There is little heroism in this post-war life;people have grown cynical and dulled.They call heroism a gesture and wonder what is the good of it....the tank mechnism that has crept into today's playing.It has come unconsciously,of course,but,nonetheless, there it is."

Time (Jan.4.1943):"Concert artists, like dogs,always grow to resemble their patrons.Most of today's examples (Gieseking,Casadesus,Serkin,Heifetz) resemble bank presidents or New Deal intellectuals.Most of yesterday's ( Paderewski, dePachmann) resembled haughty princes of noble blood. One lordly,athletic survivor of the time when artists wore royal purple is the orange-whiskered Rosenthal."

Rosenthal: "There is no such thing as a new school of piano playing.The mere fact that one has not studied with Liszt, that one has not heard the Chopin school,and that one has never been priviledged to hear Rubinstein is a colossal drawback and can never constitute in its helpless negativity any claim to distinction or greatness.Having missed the great triumvirate,the pianists of the younger generation are bound to learn from those of us who had the great privilege to study directly or indirectly with these musical and pianistic giants.If they choose to turn away from us they will not harm us, but themselves."

Edward Stevenson,1927: " ...the one man alive who seems to find nothing so hard to play that he cannot make us think it trivial of his effort...But there is no trckery in Rosenthal.Within the hour or so of his pianism,we believe the impossible because of what we ourselves have seen and heard..Rosenthal is today,as ever he was, a superior intellect in his art;often a delightful poet,even a simple pianist.He is a great music-interpreter as well as great executant...in technique, he can occaisionally (at 65) be even closely approached;but he is still unequalled,supreme ,unique,as a sort of changeless phenomenon of virtuosity..."

Rosenthal on Schumann's Carnaval: "It seems amazing that this most popular piece, played by thousands of amatuers and performed publically by hundreds of pianists,should remain for almost all of them a riddle,a literary enigma.The names of Eusebius,Florestan,Chiarina,Estrella,are for them empty sounds.But Schumann is never to conquer by fleet fingers or loose wrist alone.For him your worship and love and the flights of your soul! (If you have them.) In his highest moments Schumann is as deep,as solitary,as ecstatic,as exalted and exalting as Beethoven in his last works..."

Stories of going with Leschetizky, Liszt,Bosendorfer,Bulow to hear Rubinstein play. Long walks with Busoni. Playing Op.111 for,coffees with, Mahler. Meals,drink,some bawdiness with Brahms. Per Joseph Hoffman, Rubinstein said he never knew what technique was until he heard Rosenthal. Brahms permission to play not all, but a selection of, the Paganini Variations in recital (Books I and II have enormous finales so should not play both, per Rosenthal).

The Times,London,1936, after seven recitals in 3 weeks surveying piano music: " To this wide field of the last century's music Mr.Rosenthal's life as been devoted and he has made it his own.The 20th century has developed other types owning different ideals.He can afford to leave them to other interpreters."

You cannot afford to be without this book, and its accompanying cd with his incomparable Schubert, and Blue Danube parphrase, or without the Pearl cd, Rosenthal-Vol.II,also produced by Mr.Evans.

Rosenthal: " Liszt was not a man like others.One always felt that his suggestions came from mystical thought. He saw further than we did, and when he spoke,his thoughts were so well-considered that he gave the impression of seeing with the eye of a creator..."

Rosenthal: " It is not enough to be a true servant of the arts;its masters are what we long for and need."

Amen. But in an age of forced, numbing,egalitarianism, where electronic communication is preferred over conversation and contemplation, where one's success is measured in competiton against others rather than in heroic,lonely pursuit of personal vision, is master an endangered species, rare as the man apart,rare as a creator?

Allow me to start by saying that this is not a "biography" per se. Although the basis of book consists of the previously unpublished memoirs of Moriz Rosenthal (1862-1946), they are quite brief (only 22 pages here) and rather sketchy, ranging from his childhood to the early years of his career.

The book concerns itself with these memoirs, and with filling in the areas not discussed with contemporary magazine or newspaper articles, letters, and other writings by musicians close to Rosenthal.

I would encourage the reader to "begin from the beginning" - to start not with Chapter 1, but before - with the excellently written Preface by pianist and musicologist Charles Rosen. Rosen knew both Rosenthal and his wife very well, having studied with both in childhood.

Rosenthal's importance as a pianist needs no defense among members of the various Internet groups that may be reading this review. To the uninitiated, let me say that his childhood study with Karol Mikuli (one of the more important pupils of Chopin) and his adult study with Franz Liszt gave him many insights into nineteenth-century performance practice. He is considered one of the closest links we have to Chopin to have recorded. His recording career began in his sixties, and although it may not show him "at his best", there is enough evidence there to support his reputation as one of the greats. Some of his technical feats are impressive - at any age.

I do not feel qualified to discuss the "literary merits" of the book itself - the translations appear to be very well done and enjoyable. As the book is a collection of essays, it does not follow a long pattern of narrative. It is an enjoyable read, with many short, self-contained sections. The editors have taken great care to avoid redundancy - Rosenthal evidently used material from previously written articles in other, later articles, without considering that his writings would one day be collected.

The reader looking for Rosenthal's renowned one-liners need not fear. Many are mentioned and the circumstances explained. Some of the more "famous" one-liners that received repeated coverage are tactfully edited out of various articles, to spare us from reading yet again "He plays well, but he's no Paderewski."

Among the writers represented are Eduard Hanslick, James Gibbons Huneker, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, and a handful of critics who covered Rosenthal's concerts - as well as Rosenthal's "letters to the editor" in response to a few reviews.

There are some interesting revelations here. For example, Rosenthal made the claim that it was Chopin, not Paganini, that drove Liszt back into a period of intense study, and that he did not want the public to know that another pianist had caused this period of soul-searching. True or not, Rosenthal evidently enjoyed sharing this story.

For the curious, I list the tracks on the accompanying CD:

Nocturne in D flat, op. 27/2 (Chopin)
Sonata no. 3 in B minor, op. 58 (Chopin)
Mazurka in C sharp minor, op. 63/3 (Chopin)
Etude in G flat, op. 10 no. 5 (Chopin)
Etude in C, op. 10 no. 1 (Chopin)
Mazurka in G, op. 67 no. 1 (Chopin)
Triana (Albeniz)
Blue Danube Waltz (Strauss-Rosenthal)
Moment musical, op. 94 no. 3 (Schubert)
Soiree de Vienne no. 6 (Schubert-Liszt)
Waltz in C sharp minor, op. 63 no. 1 (Chopin)

The previously unpublished tracks are:
Sonata in B minor, op. 58: Finale (Chopin)
Sonata in B minor, op. 58: Largo (Chopin) from a 1935 BBC broadcast - incomplete
My Joys (Chopin-Liszt)

My major caveat with the CD is that the Chopin B minor, a test pressing from 1939 and previously issued on an RCA Camden LP, does little to enrich Rosenthal's reputation, as has been repeatedly discussed. But the buyer of this book will likely know the story of this recording.

If I give away too many details, one may be tempted not to buy the book. So I won't. I did find interesting one little "psychological" angle - the editors theorize that Rosenthal was obsessed with "the idea of a lesser talent usurping or diminishing the aura of a greater one". He often discussed the Kalkbrenner-Chopin story and the Salieri-Mozart rivalry, and the editors believe that this is shown in his responses to newspaper critics, as well as in his treatment of how Julian Fontana edited Chopin's posthumous works for publication.

Mitchell and Evans have done an excellent job of editing and organizing the articles, eliminating redundancies, and providing generous editorial notes to the text.

An annotated "concertography" (listing of works performed in concert) by Mark Mitchell is included, as well as a discography by Allan Evans - listed alphabetically by composer, and including 78 rpm matrix information where applicable. In the case of the Odeon-Parlophone issues, which appeared stateside on Decca and Columbia, he includes these numbers where possible also.

As a record collector and self-ordained "piano historian" I found the book overall to be a very informative - as well as entertaining - read, and a book to which I will refer often. Very highly recommended.

I am a screenwriter. And I find that Vladimir Propp's structure works great for my stories. Have a look at it and try to apply it to any modern movie:

1.. A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced);
2.. An interdiction is addressed to the hero ('don't go there', 'go to this place');
3.. The interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale);
4.. The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc; or intended victim questions the villain);
5.. The villain gains information about the victim;
6.. The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim);
7.. Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping the enemy;
8.. Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc, comits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc);
9.. Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc/ alternative is that victimised hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment);
10.. Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action;
11.. Hero leaves home;
12.. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor);
13.. Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against them);
14.. Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters);
15.. Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search;
16.. Hero and villain join in direct combat;
17.. Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf);
18.. Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep, banished);
19.. Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revivied, captive freed);
20.. Hero returns;
21.. Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero);
22.. Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life);
23.. Hero unrecognised, arrives home or in another country;
24.. False hero presents unfounded claims;
25.. Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks);
26.. Task is resolved;
27.. Hero is recognised (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her);
28.. False hero or villain is exposed;
29.. Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc);
30.. Villain is punished;
31.. Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).

This structure works for many stories and films. I do recommed the book for any writer and screenwriter especially for those who write modern fairy tales. It's a must!

This is the first work to systematically characterize and describe a corpus of folktales. It includes a list of possible plot twists, in their correct chronological order for any story, and numerous examples from actual Russian fairy tales. This translation in particular reads well and makes a point of not departing from the text's literal meaning in any significant way. I would highly recommend this work for anyone interested in folktales or oral literature in general.

This seminal work is essential for an understanding of structuralist theory and the theory of folklore. It differs from the psychological view of the folktale in its descriptive ability. This theory is based on objective description and sytagmatic conjunction and complementation. Because of that, it is more applicable and flexible than any psychological dissection. Also, two people will reach roughly the same conclusions with this method- something impossible with a psychological approach. This is excellent for anyone interested in attacking the down and dirty working parts of a narrative.

This is an attempt to work out the underlying structural patterns (types of characters, what they do, how they are ordered) of Russian folktales, based on classic collections made in the nineteenth-century. If you are fortunate enough to have read a large collection of such stories -- preferably in translation, not "retold by ..." -- you will soon see the point of Propp's argument. Other European, and some non-European, traditions provide an almost equally good starting point, although the examples often are not so close as to be immediately convincing. Ideally, "Morphology of the Folktale" would be bound with at least a selection of the Russian folktales Propp analyzes, but this does not seem likely to happen.

Taken by itself, however, Propp's exploration is going to seem both dry and confusing. Try to imagine a book about the five-act structure of Shakespeare's tragedies being read by someone who had never seen or read a play before, and you may understand the problem.

Although Propp's exposition sometimes seems labored, he presents a convincing case that at least some oral prose narratives are built up of a stock of situations and events which can be slightly reordered, multiplied, and otherwise complicated, but amount to a "language" (a vocabulary, grammar, and syntax) of story-telling. This puts a new light on the problem of the distribution of folktales, and how they develop variants, two of the great issues of folklore studies in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Despite its origins in a single body of oral literature, Propp's methods have been applied to other literature with known or suspected oral roots, sometimes with slightly contradictory results. I know of at least two different Proppian analyses of "Beowulf," for example. This is due at least in part to Propp's attempt to introduce fine divisions between similar plot elements, which, again, seem to work better with his source material than with other groups of stories. (And "Beowulf" has long been recognized to include elements later found in European fairy tales, so the possibility of applying Propp's structures was more intriguing than revolutionary.)

In "Feud in the Icelandic Saga" (1983), Jesse Byock reviewed efforts to apply Propp's methods to the Sagas of the Icelanders, another body of prose literature supposed to be grounded in oral techniques. He argued that a different approach is needed to their formally realistic stories about personalities, and the functioning of society; which does not diminish the validity of Propp's approach to the wonder-tale.

Story was very well written. I couldn't put the book down. I read it in one day. Each chapter left you needing to read the next one to see what was going to happen next. You felt as if you were in the story yourself living a part of the action along with the characters.
If you buy this book, you will not be disappointed.

This book is a wonderful work of fiction. It tells the story of true love intertwined with the deep suspense of mystery. The love story will keep you reading and the suspense will keep you guessing. I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone! Hopefully there will be a sequel as I am curious to the lives of the...well I guess you will have to read it to find out.

I found this story to be well written as I could imagine it taking place in my mind. I read the book in two sittings because I couldn't put it down. The book has a perfect balance of suspense and love leaving you to guess the next event but not always being right. I hope there will be a sequel as I am now very interested in the lives of these characters after this novel ended.

The Music Teacher, is one of the best books I have read in quite sometime. A friend told me it was great, and after reading the book for myself I enthusiastically agree. The story was excellent, the suspense was suspenseful without being overdone, and the bond you feel with the characters is amazingly genuine. I have a feeling this book is going to be up there on the Best Sellers list.