English Books

This was an excellent resource! With our school getting ready to teach combination grades-I will highly recommend it to all teachers. The ideas are practical and with a limited budget, will be attainable in our classes.
Finally- a book to help right away, simple ideas that we can all use!

Recieved item on time, right when we were told it would arrive. Book in very good condition.

I went for this book as soon as I saw it on line - there is little out there for grades 5&6 when it comes to centers. While I got some good ideas, I was disappointed overall. The examples seem to focus on the lower grades, 3rd and 4th, and it left me wanting more information and examples for older kids. I am also unclear on how the novel we might be using in class fits into this concept. One area I did find especially helpful was how to organize and get started at the beginning of the year. It eased some fears for this first time work station user.

This is just what I've needed. Excellent source for getting kids motivated and on tasks that help THEM to learn. Outlines possible problems and solutions ahead of time. Great ideas for taking centers I already want and making them real learning stations in the classroom.

Other teachers on my floor are already looking to "borrow" it.

This book, like Diller's companion book for K-2 teachers, is a wealth of information for those teachers who recognize the importance of differentiating instruction, engaging the learner, and losing mindless worksheets that only serve the purpose of occupying the student's time while the teacher teaches small groups. Whether you are experienced with managing literacy workstations or a new convert, you will get an in-depth look at management of stations, keeping the stations meaningful and engaging throughout the year, and assessing the students' work. This book is the best I have seen for practical, easy to implement, true literacy activities. I highly recommend it for teachers and administrators of students in grades 3-6.

A smart, fast read, but also practical and frank. Usable advice on query letters, proposals, networking, when to self-publlish and how to negotiate.

This is a nice place for prospective non-fiction writers to start investigating the process of what it takes to get published. A quick and easy read, the book's main benefit is as a reality check to knock the naiveté out of prospective authors. To be sure, pretty much everything Brown discusses is covered by other books on the topic, however, these often spend far too much time getting to the point and/or offering various bits of writing advice that aren't really germane to the nuts and bolts of getting a book deal. Quite properly Brown assumes you can write; and while his brevity is often a good thing, sometimes the rapid pace and flip tone leads to broad generalizations that can be slightly misleading.

He comes at the topic with a wealth of personal experience, having published some twenty or so books with a variety of major publishing houses. Despite this, his perspective is rather limited -- as a former financial writer (for Inc. and Forbes), all but one of his books are business titles. And the reality is that business non-fiction is a slightly different beast, and the lessons learned there can't necessarily be extrapolated to other nonfiction genres. Business books tend to be what Hollywood calls "high concept", that is, all about a central, easily grasped premise, and generally not particularly nuanced. So while much of this "insider's guide" is certainly useful for all prospective writers, some of the advice is very hard to apply to other nonfiction genres.

Similarly, Brown downplays the extent to which his existing position as a journalist smoothed the path to the book world. He advocates a stepped process to approaching editors with one's pitch: start small with a query letter, then if you get a nibble, send a brief (around 3 page) mini-proposal, and then, only as a last resort, put together a proper full-scale proposal. While there's certainly logic to avoiding the substantial work of putting together a full proposal, a writer with his background (especially when working with a "name" co-author) can get away with the approach. whereas 99% of the readership for this book cannot. Probably the worst advice in the book is on page 52, where he argues against sending a full proposal even when an editor has responded "tell me more in writing." If an editor tells you this, you'd better come back with as complete and polished a pitch as possible, because if they're not impressed, they may not give you another chance.

The other aspect of full-blown proposals Brown doesn't acknowledge is that the process of creating the proposal will help you immeasurably in honing your idea and pitch -- and may well lead you to realize you can't write the book. Which is not to suggest that Brown doesn't like proposals -- he includes a complete one of his, and has annotated it with copious footnotes pointing out areas for improvement. This "peering under the hood" is a very strong part of the book, and is well worth examining (even though I actually don't like some of the proposal's arrangement).

Generally, whenever I read a book on this topic, I will jot down the few ideas from it that I found particularly unique or compelling. I didn't do that once with this book -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I've already read a lot on the topic, and thus have a good store of material. But this would make a great first book to read on the topic, as long as one recognizes its limitations and reads a few others for more perspective and depth.

I bought this book last Friday afternoon, and had read it entirely by the late evening - I could not put it down.

Not only is it filled with information to help get your first non-fiction book published, it is written in a thouroughly approachable and enjoyable style.

That "memo" is mentioned in the appendix about how this particular book came to be, and I thought it was cool to title a review like that.

Not mentioned in the above little summary is the "snide editorial comments by Ellen Kadin" (on the cover) which are dispersed throughout the book. Ellen Kadin is AMACOM's editor, an independent (and funny) voice to let you know how accurate Paul B. Brown really is. Most, but not all of them are affirmations...but they are all funny. If someone (like me) got the book from a library right next to all those traditional Chapter 6-1/2 books, you might want to skip the her annotations if you are actually reading it _in_ the libary, because you are likely to make enough noise (laughing, cussing, or both) to get dragged out by security...fortunately, I am good friends with my library's security.

With insight and irreverence Paul Brown lays it all out for aspiring writers. He takes you from book proposal to agent to publisher to promotion.

That's all that a would-be nonfiction author could want. He'll tell you things you don't want to hear, but must know in order to make your foray into writing a success.

Brown has endured book ideas that were rejected and books that didn't sell, along with a perennial best-seller Customers For Life.

If nothing else Brown knows his trade when it comes to publishing nonfiction books.

I'd like to point out errors in his 'Nontraditional Approaches' but from my observations, Brown is correct more than I'd like to say.

And, when he has a question, he knows where to go to find the answers, which, of course, he shares with readers.

If you don't like the idea of pitching book ideas to publishers, then maybe being an author isn't for you.

If you don't like the idea of a 40 to 50 page book proposal, Brown will explain why it's in your best interest to get through it, or scrap your idea of a nonfiction book deal.

If you want a bigger advance - and why you should try to get the most you can (besides the obvious reason) - are nailed by Brown in Publishing Confidential.

If your idea is to write a nonfiction best seller, then Brown's book will save you a lot of time, and serve as your tour guide.

You may not write the next top selling business book, it's not a guarantee, but Brown's book will help you get through it with his `insider's guide to what it really takes to land a nonfiction book deal.'

Brown delivers.

THIS GUY IS MY ENGLISH TEACHER!
Mr. Simmons is fricken' cool.
He's really funny, and I'm not lying. =]

<3 Corinne

Shawns poetry is some of the best slam Ive seen! He is an amazing poet, and ahs shown me what it takes to be a good poet! His book is great and really hits at some great topics! He speaks the truth, and doesnt care what people think of it...its just great stuff!!!

Shawn is awesome. His performances rock. He was my camp counseler this summer! His stuff is really deep, and it touches me. Some of my favorites are "Welfare Cheese" and "Angels". He is amazing.

I saw this dude at a show in philly. I can't believe the book was as good as the performance. Anyone know if simmons has a new book coming out, i am first in line!

I saw Simmons perform not too long ago and bought this book instantly. He took my breath on stage and on the page. If your thinking about buying this book- stop thinking- buy it. I was a little disappointed that some of the poetry I saw performed wasn't in the book. Looking forward to a second collection...

Oxford University press is currently undertaking the massive editorial work required to finish this ground-breaking four-volume set that was started more than 25 years ago. The third volume, covering the alphabetic range of P through Sk, is due to appear in March 2007. Volume IV, covering Sk through Z and including a bibliography of tens of thousands of items, is planned for two years later.(...)

I'm an American slang bug and that's why I'm just chafing at the bit to browse next volumes of this undoubtedly the very best and most comprehensive and authoritative complete on-going dictionary of slang. A lot has been already said and written 'bout this work hence I'm lost for new words of appreciation. On the other hand, however, dear editors, mercy on us, you can't just now dump this big project halfway thru editing thus leaving us, all American slang lovers throughout the English-speaking world in the lurch. There's a glitter of hope, as I heard, to cooperate with Oxford University Press. OK! Go ahead and good luck then but let these words be soon followed by real actions. Sincerely Alex

murdered by the media

These words are no longer in use, as we no longer converse truly and freely as a nation of English and slang speakers

This volume is little more than a nostaligic curio, like Dr. Johnson's dictionary, or the great Ambrose Bierce's better.

The only English slang currently in use is that receptive vocabulary emitted by our media, and not expressive nor creative as our one way media permits no conversation. We are made to listen, to hear, to receive, only. The internet alone allows literacy, and look at the level of written speech there. Yet even there the formerly great oral tongue is lost.

The most vibrant languages heard throbbing through our land are now those not dictated by our anglo media. There alone does the uniquely human aural ability live and breathe. And thus this massive dictionary properly fades away unfinished.

In any case, what anglo librarian would permit its presence in a library?

Intriguing for historical reasons alone. Not useful for comprehending the language one actually hears around oneself, as no living and present language is heard. Just dust off your old Lord Buckley collection instead, or the Mercury recording How To Speak Hip. Not even riding the city bus helps anymore.

Forty years ago our Amrican language was still richer, more diverse, more playful, more subtle. Now we have only whitely phosphorized talking heads bleating how we must speak and thus how we must think, and by limiting our vacabulary limiting our capacity for free thought. Our only hope is a healthy jolt of James Joyce and the trembling Twain.

I must agree with settimio biondi from Italy. Having purchased the first two volumes, we've been waiting for 7 years for P~Z. This is an excellent, comprehensive work. Hopefully, Oxford...or someone with a sense of responsibility...will finish the final volume.

We have been waiting for this dictionary for a long time. Specifically, since 1975 when Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner issued their second supplemented edition of the "Dictionary of American Slang."
Editor J.E. Lighter, a researcher at the University of Tennessee, is somewhat disparaging of Wentworth and Flexner, the only previous lexicographers to take a healthy swing at American slang. (I don't count H.L. Mencken, who compiled many lists, but not in a format that a working writer can use.)
Lighter faults their "looseness of definition, unpredictable allocation of citations and a certain historical naivete." Maybe, but their book had, and still has, the most important merit a dictionary can have -- it is useful.
Also, theirs goes through Z, which is more than Lighter can say in 2006, 12 years after his Vol. 1 came out and many more years than that since he began.
Also, Wentworth and Flexner's volume is wieldy. Lighter's dictionary has many excellencies, but handiness is not one of them.
Wentworth and Flexner covered the whole of American English in a small volume of two pounds, six ounces. Lighter covers one-third the ground in a massive folio of six pounds, one ounce.
Lighter is often, but not always, more comprehensive. Take bum.
W&F give this useful word 26 definitions in a page. Lighter gives 29 in three pages, but three of his usages have earliest dates since W&F's last effort. It looks like a draw, but it's not, quite.
W&F give a nice little essay on the finer gradations of meaning of bum (in its sense of vagabond); Lighter is less preachy on usage, letting the extensive quotations do that work for him. This is the approved method for serious work, but although Lighter's citations often seem repetitive, their length does not always ensure completeness, as we shall see.
W&F derive bum from the German bummler, idler, but Lighter appears to think this an example of historical naivete, finding bum sprung full-blown in 1864, without any certain antecedents. (In its sense of fundament, it goes back in English to at least 1387.)
Turn now to cracker. Lighter gives it nearly half a page, in the sense of "a backwoods Southern white person regarded as ignorant, brutal, loutish, bigoted etc.," tracing it to 1766. W&F does not have it at all.
Lighter is clearly ahead here, but there are problems with this definition.
First, it is politically correct but lexically incorrect. A cracker is not a white person but a white man. Like its synonyms redneck and woolhatter, it is never used of a woman.
Second, not one of the 31 citations even hints at a usage that would explain how the Atlanta professional baseball team in the old Sally League (slang for South Atlantic League; I will be interested to see if this makes it into Lighter's Vol. 3, if I live long enough to see it) came to be called the Crackers. Or how Georgians' and north Floridians' own nickname for themselves came to be crackers, the way people from Indiana call themselves Hoosiers.
Lighter does also give five other definitions of cracker: beans, a remarkable individual, dollar, a poor skier who often loses control and a light-skinned Negro.
Taken in all, Lighter has lifted the compilation of American salng to a new, much higher level -- except for Hawaiian American slang.
Except for go for broke, which is listed as "apparently originally Nisei or Hawaiian English," I cannot find any slang words from the Hawaiian dialect of Standard American -- even though some words in Standard Hawaiian have migrated into Slang English, like kahuna.
There are many definitions in Lighter of grind, for example, but none for the ways we in Hawaii use it as noun and verb (for eating). Chance um is missing, too, and give um and blahlah.
The absence of Hawaiian American Slang (Alaskan, too) is a serious fault, but on the whole the book is a corker ("a person or thing of extraordinary size, effectiveness, quality etc.," originally English slang traced to 1882 but brought into American by Mark Twain in 1889).

Good heavy edition. Comes with box cover to protect it. Pages are of good quality.

This dictionary seems to be an excellent resource source. Highly recommended for students of all ages.

As a medical student, I have found this to be an extremely valuable asset to my library. Some of the other students I know simply scoff at buying something like this, what with the Internet being the golden egg to so many. There are times though, that using a book for reference is not only functional, but also sometimes even easier, not to mention you don't have to second guess the information like you sometimes have to when pulling something from the internet. I have to find various times and places to study, and cannot always have easy access to a desktop computer or laptop. This 2,256-page behemoth is just that, it is a monster of a book. However, the durable make of it coupled with several ribbon markers makes it user friendly as well as fun! It is very in depth, having etymologies applied when necessary. It also has over 2,000 illustrations and beyond punctuation and spelling, also goes in depth with historical references so that you are not just finding the source of what you are looking for, but also the history of how it became that way. The medical terms found within are helpful and I have used this every day in some of my own research assignments. It is expensive, but considering that you are using it to better yourself in one form or another, I feel it is worth the price.

Received Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, Deluxe Edition from Woodys-Books. Price charged $167.33. Woodys-Books invoice sent with book $79.93. Requested refund and told by Woodys invoice in error. Woodys now showing price of same item for $105.89. Watch the price these guys charge.

I use unabridged dictionaries to keep up with the changes (mostly egregious) in our American English. I have 19 of them and the changes over the past 15 years are appalling. The dictionary is fascinating.

I happened upon this Bible at a Scholastic Book Fair that was held at my workplace and bought it on a whim. I had been disappointed in the past with other children's Bibles that I had purchased because none seemed to hold my child's interest. This one, however, is completely different. My 5 year old son LOVES this Bible. He asks every night for stories from the Bible, even over other favorites like Pokemon. I like how the book is broken up into "chapters" that flow together. It really reads like an adventure book. The stories are accurate but written at an appropriate developmental level for preschool and young school age children. The pictures are very well done as well and really keep my son's attention. Sometimes he will just sit and look at the pictures and "read" the stories that he has memorized. I HIGHLY recommend this Bible to anyone with young children. You will not be disappointed!

Most childrens' Bibles either oversimplify the stories in the Bible, or change them so they are inaccurate. We were looking for something to start teaching our three year old the stories from the Bible and a friend lent us this book. Our son didn't want to stop reading it. We liked it so much for its accuracy yet understandability for younger children that we gave it as Christmas gifts this year to several friends and all our family with young children.

We gave this book to a little girl in our church. Before we wrapped it, we started reading it and determined that adults love it too because we couldn't put it down. The colored pictures are fantastic and make you feel like you're right there with the characters. The stories are explained really well. We got our money's worth.

My 4yo son LOVES this!! He kept after us until we read it from cover to cover in about a week at bedtime! He lies in bed and looks at the pictures. Can't say enough about the illustrations - beautiful and well done. I initially found it at Walmart and picked it up. It is so simple looking on the front but on the inside it is beautiful!(hmmm) I did not realize it was going to be my BEST childrens Bible ever! I have not found one that I like better. You won't go wrong with this one! I am ordering more for my church Sunday school class to be given away.

I bought a box of these for a church mission that caters to people released from prison. Many of them have reading problems and one of my friends there found that this Bible was very effective at allowing these adults to feel comfortable about reading the Bible on their own. Kids love it too.

These personal stories of aviation employees whose lives changed after September 11th, 2001 makes for an outstanding collection of memories of those who acted courageously and behind the scenes. RECLAIMING THE SKY: 9/11 AND THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE MEN ND WOMEN WHO KEPT AMERICA FLYING offers stories of professionals who were on duty on that day: it makes for a passionate, involving set of experiences of ordinary individuals placed in unusual situations calling for action.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I didn't know it when I started reading it, but this book presents a truly unique perspective on the events of 9/11. Unlike many of the "featured" 9/11 books, Tom Murphy writes not as an outside pundit,partisan political hack or foreign policy wonk... he writes passionately from his position as a long time consultant inside the aviation industry. I was amazed when I read this very insightful book how much I took for granted when I flew both before 9/11 and after. RECLAIMING THE SKY will give you an "on the ground" feel for the what the aviation industry is really like...and what the events of 9/11 meant that fateful day and all the days since. I know you've heard it all before, but when I started it, I couldn't put it down: the book is rich in human detail, conversational and warm in tone, with a depth of compassion and support for those Mr. Murphy knew,worked with and cared deeply about. It's also not just a book about aviation; it's a moving story of Tom Murphy's personal journey as well. I think it's a great book...before writing this review I ordered 3 copies for friends.

This book is structured around the stories of about two dozen aviation industry personnel at three airports (Logan, Newark, Dulles) and two airlines (American, United) who although not at ground zero on September, 11, 2001, were on the front line in every significant sense. Although many people rose heroically that day, these stories make a strong case that the performance of those in the aviation industry was second to none, not only on 9/11 but in the days, weeks, and months following. The author has long experience in the aviation industry, largely developing and running customer service training programs. Due to a cancelled meeting that morning in the North Tower he was heading home to the west coast earlier than planned and was among the last to see from the air the twin towers standing. But professional associations and personal friendships within the aviation industry gave him many other perspectives on 9/11 and its aftermath - perspectives that in variety and scope may well be unmatched.

The stories are well told and woven together to show connections, both personal and professional, between people. In addition to their responses to the events of that day, we learn in some cases why they chose aviation as a career, their pride in the industry and part in it, and other aspects of what makes them "tick." The individuals range widely: a security agent, several flight attendants, a pilot, customer service reps, airline operation officers, to name a few. One of the more striking stories focuses on the general manager of the Newark Airport. Her sharp instincts, clear thinking, and ability to act decisively under considerable pressure illustrate leadership of the highest order. Not all these people survived that September morning but this book leaves no doubt that the memory and spirit of those who didn't are alive and well and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. These stories also give an inside look at the aviation industry beyond the gate agents and flight attendants that most of us are familiar with.

But the personal tragedies of that day were just the beginning. The economic and emotional aftermath of 9/11 hit the aviation industry especially hard. Over 100,000 jobs were lost in the first post 9/11 year alone as funding priorities shifted dramatically, and those remaining in aviation took on additional burdens. How these people not only adapted and endured but prevailed - in essence reclaimed their lives - is the central question the author explores. The later part of the book sheds considerable light on this question and distills much of value from these people. Although individual paths to personal recovery varied common themes were unmistakable. Indeed this book is an excellent guide for anyone recovering from a loss of almost any kind or severity.

At a time when the national discourse seems to dwell so much on the fearful, the negative, and the cynical it is refreshing to be reminded - as this book does - that this need not be so. Here are stories of a few, from among undoubtedly many and unsung others, who under crisis conditions were not paralyzed by fear, were able to act decisively, and were willing to reach out to others. And equally impressive they refused to become victims of that experience in the tough months and years that followed. This book provides an occasionally needed reminder of what seemingly ordinary people can do.

This book brings such a unique perspective to what happened on 9/11. There's this whole "world" of people who had to continue, not just for their own livelihood, but to help maintain one the freedoms that makes us who we are. I really enjoyed the down-to-earth way the author writes, and his honesty with how this has affected him and those around him. This is a great book that helps to explore some of the unspoken sorrows, while not replaying events we've seen so many times. Well worth it. Bravo to the author, and to all those people who kept us flying.

What strikes me most about this book is the honesty, time and care taken by the author in ensuring that the story told is true to the maturing experiences of those involved. I am sure that it would have been relatively easy for Mr. Murphy to rush a book out, given his proximity to the people and events of that terrible day. But he didn't do that. This approach must have required great patience and absolute dedication, but these traits have in the end been richly rewarded in what is a unique account and a developed perspective.

I think this is key. I myself was caught up in the '93 bombing. My experience was relatively mild of course - a bad scare and a long walk down from the 99th floor. But even in my case I've learned that it takes time and reflection to judge the true impact of these seemingly unreal events.

I loved those towers very much. As a Brit in New York I was in "adult Disneyland" - perhaps the best 3 years of my life. Whenever I could, wherever I was in New York, I'd look for the towers, as if addicted to their beauty and iconic majesty. I didn't realise that '93 was just the start of a greater tragedy. My firm relocated and our space was taken by another firm. They were a client of mine and I loved working for them - such great people, with real character. When I left New York to return to London I was given a football by my boss, with signatures of those I'd been closest to in New York. Tragically, 4 of those signatures are from people that were lost on 9/11.

Having left New York I was confined to experiencing 9/11 through a TV, remote and detached. For so long my '93 experience and also 9/11 have seemed and felt to me to be a work of fiction, something from the movies. The relevance of this to the book is that time and reflection have taught me not to gloss over or bury past events but to recognise that they were real, they did happen, it really was intended to topple the towers as I sat in them, that evil had its moment but that the memories of the spirit of the good and the great has in the end prevailed. Thank you Tom for allowing me to find my own maturity and honest perspective.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1M1TYFS1DHIRK Yo look at THIS!

I bought this book for a class, but while I sold most of them back this beauty I kept. The play itself is obscure. Since it was written in (rather poor) French originally and translated back into English, it lacks some of Oscar Wilde's trademark style. This is not to say that the style of the play is without its own merits. As the book is the retelling of a Biblical story- that of Salome, daughter of King Herod, and John the Baptist (Iokanaan in this rendition)- the style of the play often mocks Biblical style. The wording is thus often repetitive and simple, but there's a beauty to it that is in many ways indescrible. While wordy, there is also a particular depth to it that you'll miss if you don't look carefully. Thematically, the play was very entertaining and I enjoyed the revisionist take on the Biblical story. Overall I found this work enthralling. This particular edition is beautiful- it includes all of Aubre Beardsley's stunning ink illustrations of the play. This is well worth having on your bookshelf (although it is rather large- 8x11)

Oscar Wilde's 1905 shocking, controversial play is no longer as disturbing to modern desensitized audiences and critics/literary scholars who recognize it as a play of psychological/Freudian aspects and as a fin-de-siecle example of the Decadence movement in the arts. Wilde's flowery, poetically lyrical, Biblically-influenced orutund words is devilishly at variance with its cruel violence and horror. In this edition, we are treated to the full illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley, Wilde's friend and himself a playwright and exponent of the Decadence. The pictures are dark, erotically charged but full of feminine lines and flowery imagery which were typical of Art-Noveau style in art/architecture. This is the entire play in a single act and I find makes a eye-grabbing book to put on your coffee table so guests can marvel at it. You'd be surprised to see the looks I get from them whenever they see the cover art!!

Wilde did not regard this work as his greatest when compared to his others, most notably The Importance Of Being Earnest. Shortly after Salome premiered, Oscar Wilde poked fun at himself and his play by dressing in drag in Salome's sexy costume for a photograph. It's likely Wilde had a bit of fun in writing a play that was bound to turn heads in a society fresh out of the Victorian Era. The words are indeed poetic and beautiful descriptions of nature, spirituality and romance mix with carnal innuendo.

The main characters- King Herod, Queen Herodias and Salome- are each in dire need of therapy, though they themselves may not admit it being a vainglorious and proud royal family. Queen Herodias became a target of John the Baptists' righteous anger and condemnation because according to old Mosaic Law she sinned by marrying the brother of her deceased first husband and thus committed incest. Full of hatred for the Prophet, she waited for the right moment to extract her revenge as well an opportunity to get him to "shut up" forever through his death. John the Baptist languished in prison at King Herod's Palace Dungeon, though in Wilde's play it was changed to a cistern in the palace courtyard garden. Herod thought it better he live the rest of his life in prison rather than be executed, for internally, Herod had always suspected that John was a reincarnation of the long dead Prophet Elias. Perhaps he thought that his presence would bring good fortune to his home. Herod has his own complexities. This is not the same Herod who ordered the deaths of the infants upon Jesus's birth. This Herod, possibly the son, ruled Jerusalem as a puppet-king and was a sycophant to the Roman Emperor. He lusted after his own daughter or stepdaughter Salome. "You stare at her too much" says the jealous Herodias whom we assume is aging and lackluster compared to her teenage, nubile daughter. Herod entertains sexual thoughts about his daughter and is aroused when she dances her famous Dance of the Seven Veils. I don't buy that he was just dead drunk. He has always lusted after Salome. But...he was in awe of John the Baptist and secretly respected him which is why he is so reluctant and even opposed to have his head severed upon Salome's request.

As for the eponymous heroine herself, she has been a subject of scholarly chat, art, literature, poetry and music throughout the years. Richard Strauss composed a celebrated opera based on this very play in 1905 and the soprano singing the role is in for a challenge because not only must she look young and dance, but her voice must be gargantuan and yet delicate. Salome found herself within the poetic themes of French poet Stephen Mallarme among others and orchestral compositions were made about her. Why does Salome ask for the head of Jon the Baptist ? Simply put, she's crazy young girl. She is only a teenager, probably between the ages of 15 and 18, awakening to her own sexuality which can be a confusing time. She is naive and inexperienced, spoiled rotten and mentally disturbed. She is fascinated with Jon the Baptist as a child would be with a new toy. He is foreign, exotic and mysterious to her and that's what makes him sexually attractive to her. More specifically, she is enamored of his lips though she believes the rest of his features are hideous. Since the Prophet rejects women and worldly things, he scolds Salome's sinfulness and refuses to kiss her, refuses to even turn and look at her face to face. This spurs Salome's anger. No man has ever found her unattractive or turned her down. The Palace Guard Nabbaroth kills himself out of frustated love for her. Many men are intoxicated by her beauty. The jealous, sexually frustrated Salome has reason enough to want Jon the Baptist's head on a platter. I have always felt that Salome was not a naive, thoughtless girl that her mother the Queen used as a pawn for her own revenge, as the Bible seems to imply. Salome had her own reasons for wanting the head of the Prophet. The truth is very disturbing as it would seem that Salome wanted his severed head as a sexy toy. "You would not suffer to kiss me when you were alive," she says in the play," and now you're dead and I'm alive and I have kissed your lips, Jochanaan." Necrophilia at its ugliest! It was for a sick, sexual pleasure that she demanded his head. Yet for all this, Wilde makes her a sympathetic, pitiful figure. We the audience are able to see her thought process through her words each time the Prophet rejects her and we see before our eyes her mental breakdown. Even so, one cannot help but wonder if this child of sin is right about certain claims she brings up. Salome believes that if John the Baptist had turned to look at her just once, he would have fallen in love with her. Could this be true ? Is this why the Prophet controlled himself and averted his eyes ? Salome claims that the Prophet is the only man she ever truly loved, which is a fallible even illogical statement when considering Salome appears to be a virgin, a girl on her first crush and has never experienced mature adult sexual relationships. Salome may be a ditzy, emotional and mental wreck but she has one of the most thought-provoking and inspirational lines I've ever heard in a play: "The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death" which contain in its own way a kind of spirituality. Throught the play the most mysterious, unknowable character is John the Baptist, who, parrot-like, quotes Biblical passages and preaches in a fire-and-brimstone kind of way and never once reveals any of his true character. The play is great and though it's not performed today, it continues to fascinate readers everywhere. And by the way, the proper pronounciation for Salome is not "salami" like the food but sounds more French: Sa-Lo-May.

Beardsley's illustrations for Wilde's "Salome" are quite well known. I enjoyed seeing them, in unexpurgated forms, in the context of the script they were meant to adorn. I think I can see wonderful possibilities in staging that play, where modern sensibilities could show and accept what England of 1892 could not. Even so, I found the script itself somewhat repetitive, with more in it to startle than to explain. Perhaps there's a knack to reading this script that I haven't mastered.

This isn't the only place to find Beardsley's "Salome" illustrations. Other books show the uncensored forms of the pictures, too. This book, however, reproduces them in larger format and crisper printing than the others I know, and is worthwhile for at least that reason.

//wiredwierd

The last reviewer has totally missed the genius of this incredible dramatic work. The story as told in this one act play has nothing to do with the theology of Christian Biblical Mythology. It is a carefully constructed a meticulously executed examination of 'real' personalities interacting within a particular network of historical and social relationships. The unfulfilled passion which drives Wilde's Salomé to murderous revenge is deeply convincing within the context and the characterisation of the personalities created by this greatly inspired Anglo-Irish dramatist.

Complaining that a literary work does not reflect accurately some personally perceived 'historical' truth is like complaining about the historical accuracy of Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' - it is missing the point entirely!

This play is a gripping, fast-moving tragedy which deals with the darker side of human nature vividly, imaginatively and with unguarded honesty. It is not, of course, like Wilde's other more popular plays which were designed to be humorous, witty and light. This like 'De Profundis'' "A picture of Dorian Gray' or some of his truly magnificent later poems, ranks as one of Wilde's greatest contributions to modern English literature. If you haven't already read it, do so - or better still - buy a few copies and stage it!

I read this book over 20 years ago. It was my introduction to Samuel Johnson. The book inspired my deep devotion to Johnsonia. The subject, I now know, is fascinating; for over two centuries biographies of Johnson have never been out of print. But this book caught my attention and fixed it. It is a moving portrait of a person like all of us except with greater disabilities and greater strength and, after years of struggle, greater triumphs.

I urge anyone with an interest in English literature or 18th century England or in the heights to which a honest and brave man can reach to make the effort to read this book. It is, at the very least, a good read. It may also make ytou a better person.

I found this in out annual library sale for $1. I look forward to reading it based on the reviews here on Amazon. I suspect he is the famous Dr. Johnson that was said to disprove Berkeley by kicking a rock? Yes.

This biography has everything: meticulous scholarship, incisive literary criticism, and a prose style that recalls the days when professors could actually write a beautiful sentence.

The weaknesses are very few. At times Bate's analysis can "sprawl," as he once put it, especially when he tries to apply Freud while discussing Johnson's "self-demand" (an intriguing concept that never really explains Johnson's indolence satisfactorily). Also, Bate tends to defend the Thrales even when they come off poorly, which is surprisingly often. Finally, a bit more on Johnson's relationship with Edmund Burke would have been welcome, for these two geniuses were all too aware of each other's greatness.

But these are only minor quibbles. Altogether an inspiring achievement, and a testament to the heights that only the humanities reach.

Samuel Johnson was a brilliant critic, perhaps the greatest English writer after Shakespeare, a fascinating eccentric, and a genuinely heroic man. The great merit of Mr. Bate's biography is that he succeeds in the magical illusion of bringing Johnson alive again, giving us a vivid sense of what it might have been like to know him.

The highest praise for this book is the regret you will feel when the pages end and Johnson's great figure bows out. The biography is that rare item, a genuinely inspiring book.

I always wondered how anyone dare write a biography of Samuel Johnson since Boswell's Johnson is arguably the single greatest volume in all biographical literature. I now understand a bit better how this can be done , thanks to W.Jackson Bate.
Boswell presented Johnson as he knew him and heard him. He was a living witness who both worshipped the great man, and knew how to draw him out. Boswell is presented Johnson as he appears to contemporaries, in a way Johnson 'live'.
Walter Jackson Bate is doing something different. He is taking all the accumulated knowledge of Johnson, and using whatever techniques modern psychological and literary approaches give for understanding the human personality.
He is telling the story in a more detailed , systematic way and in a way which aims at a kind of deeper comprehension.
What he does is provide insights into the life and character of one of the most fascinating and loveable characters of all English Literature.
Physically huge and powerful, and yet tremendously vulnerable emotionally, a person at once strictly critical in his evaluations of others and of literature, and yet suddenly surprisingly kind in care for friends and misfortunates, Johnson is many paradoxes. But what fascinates above all is his tremendous genius, his great mental and linguistic power in presenting an understanding of Literature as vital to Life.
He is certainly one of English Literature greatest 'characters' and 'creators' as this work makes abundantly clear.

Hachette Book Group USA has put out another book that I fell in love with. (The first set of books from Hachette that caught my attention were those by Stephenie Meyer. I was thrilled to learn that Twilight is being made into a movie set to open on December 12, 2008!) This latest book, Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan, was a more difficult read, though a call to action that is timely and necessary. The book is a collection of 5 short stories by Akpan, a Jesuit priest originally from Nigeria who is now living and teaching in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Akpan's is certainly not the first set of stories to chronicle the trouble life of people across Africa. What is unique about the collection is that it is told entirely from the perspective of children. Because of their resiliency, children are able to see the light and dark, simultaneously, in many situations where adults see only one aspect or the other. Children are on a quest for joy, for resolution, and most certainly for peace. As Frank McCourt said in the trilogy of books about his own life, children keep moving forward because it's the only thing they know how to do. Akpan's characters embrace that philosophy and take us along with them for the journey.

To be sure, the circumstances are horrifying - tribal wars, destruction, rape, poverty, starvation. I sometimes had to put the book down because each page is so densely packed with raw emotion and brutally honest storytelling. There is no sugar-coating here. What kept me coming back and reading late into the night was Akpan's intensely visual story telling that has us bear witness to what's happening in countries all across Africa. We are unable to turn away as we make our way through the book and we feel compelled, even obligated, to do something, to say something, to change something. Through literature, he found his voice while also giving a voice to those who are unable to speak for themselves.

Say You're One of Them was recently reviewed in USA Today. And today, there is a front page article in USA Today on Americans who are finding purpose in Africa.

Fantastic collection of short stories about the horendous conditions in Africa. The author tells the stories so the readers know the characters deeply. Humility and humor, something not easy to portray among the horrible conditions, is evident in each story. All the stories are about children and how they handle life, and how they deal with not so nice situations. This book is a good read and I highly reccomend it

The cover photo of Uwem Akpan's brilliant collection of stories is of an African girl running down a dirt road, ostensibly from any number of the evils African children confront within the book's covers. Her dress looks remarkably like what an orphaned girl was wearing in a rural Kenyan village I visited several months ago, so perhaps the characters in these exceptional portraits are all the more real to me as a result. Whatever the reason, through his child's view narration of poverty, trafficking, genocide, and other horrors of modern Africa, the characters in these stories haunt me for days, especially the two Nigerian children in "Fattening for Gabon."

All of these stories have political and moral implications, but Akpan leaves those to the reader, focusing instead on the interaction of the characters with their circumstances. Read this book to understand, in some small part, the resilience of people throughout the African continent in the face of unspeakable tragedy and personal suffering. These are, quite simply, the most extraordinary stories I have ever read.

Stories of abused and battered children in Africa are legion, but few cut as close to the bone as this collection by Uwem Akpan. His five tales, two of which are novella length, are told with the uninhibited, truth-filled voices of the children involved. Each one takes place in a different country but the theme is universal: the biggest challenge faced by children in Africa is staying alive.

Akpan, a Jesuit priest with an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan, piles on details available only to one intimately familiar with the lives described. Be forewarned: some of those details are gruesome to the point of causing distress, which I am sure was his intent. The imagery can range from the droll, like the description of the motorbike loaded with five people, various fruits and vegetables, a rooster and five rolls of toilet paper in "Fattening for Gabon," to the most horrific sight a child can see, a parental bloodbath, in "My Parents' Bedroom." This story ends the book and is the source of the title "Say you're one of them," the command given by a desperate Rwandan Tutsi mother to her Hutu-fathered child as machete-wielding killers approach.

Various dialects are used masterfully to both reveal characters and set scenes. The jargon, slang, and foreign phrases may be off-putting to some readers, but little meaning is lost when the dialogue is read in full context. Quite frankly, the only time many readers can bear to imagine events like those in the book is when they take place on foreign shores. We can be sickened and outraged by horrors on another continent; the same happenings across the street from where we live would paralyze us with fright. Fortunately, Akpan's familiarity with African poetry infuses much of the writing, giving the book a lyrical tone that keeps the more violent passages from slipping into slasher-movie territory.

As a person who has photographed and written about Africa extensively, I must confess I was not shocked by Akpan's stories. Unfortunately, tales like them are all too familiar to me. I was deeply moved by his dramatic intensity, however, and highly appreciative of his ability to put the reader inside the children's lives.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds: A Novel of Scandal, Love and Death in the Congo

This book consists of short stories that describe realistic scenarios of African lives the average American won't see watching network news. Akpan manages to creatively detail interpersonal dynamics with simple adjectives and each story ends so abruptly,leaving you imagining how the next passage would begin. Each story is narrated through the simple, honest eyes of a child and Akpan achieves this so brilliantly by removing judgement. Definite good read.