Living History Books

F. R. Leavis said of T. S. Eliot that he was that rare thing: a first-rate intelligence in literary criticism. The compliment is truer of Leavis himself. But first-rate intelligence in literary criticism being a rare thing, it isn't always recognised as such. Now that literary criticism itself is an increasingly rare thing, superseded by the second-hand clich?s of "Theory", misrepresentations of and hostility to Leavis's work have, since his death in 1978, become routine.

Leavis could certainly be clear, even forceful, in his judgements; but the notion that he regarded his views as unarguably true conflicts with both his "theory" and his practice: he knew that intellectual and cultural life was a collaborative enterprise which involved "the creative play of differences" and even "strong disagreements". He set out to present his own judgements clearly - and, crucially, to support them with argument and analysis - so that informed critical debate was enabled. It was a more intellectually honest procedure than the kind of sweeping assertions that often pass for criticism of his work from people who show little sign of having actually read him.

The claim that Leavis refused to defend his critical standards is refuted by ample evidence in his writings, and no-one familiar with his life and work could suppose that he was "never courageous enough" to do so. He was more interested in discussing the specifics of actual works of literature than in "literary theory"; nevertheless he often sought to clarify in more abstract terms what he took the business of criticism to be. That slippery term "ideological" is sometimes used as a club with which to beat him, as if he either didn't know or tried to conceal the values and assumptions implicit in his work; but it's easy to see what kind of values informed his criticism. The real difficulty his opponents have is in accepting that those values might be as worthy of serious consideration as their own ideological preconceptions.

'The Living Principle' is one of Leavis's best books but, as a late work, is maybe not one for first-time readers of Leavis to begin with (they should try Revaluation, The Great Tradition and The Common Pursuit). However, the essays on "Judgement and Analysis" in Chapter 2 ought to be essential reading for any student of literature as a demonstration of what the "close reading" of literary texts can achieve. The discursive opening chapter explores Leavis's view of the nature and importance of literary criticism, revealing some of the informing principles of his own critical practice. It's not an easy discourse - he's not an easy writer - but it repays careful reading and reflection. Particularly important is his central argument that creative literature is important as a form of thought, with the challenging corollary that it is different from and superior to philosophy as a form of "thought about life".

The two subsequent chapters reinforce this argument by analysing the particulars of actual literary texts. "Judgement and Analysis", referred to above, is an admirable demonstration of the kind of attentive reading he wanted to encourage in students. The value judgements of the texts under consideration are not offered as "unarguably true", but they are persuasively made precisely because his analyses give the reader a clear idea of why and how he arrives at those judgements. It's not that he expected his readers to accept all of his judgements (he always insisted that a judgement is of its nature personal) but that he wanted them to benefit from the critical process. And this process was never for Leavis a mere technical exercise. He disliked being associated with "Practical Criticism", believing that practical criticism should be "criticism in practice": the discussions of the texts in this book are primarily concerned with the degree of "reality and sincerity" with which the author's writing presents human experience and emotions.

The last chapter is a long and closely argued study of Eliot's 'Four Quartets'. Leavis pays tribute to the originality of the poetry and to Eliot's status as a "major" poet; but argues that the work is radically flawed because it implicitly denies human creativity. It's beyond the scope of this review to describe how he establishes that judgement. But it's characteristic of his quality as a critic that, even when dealing with a text he admired as a major 20th Century work, he brings to it fundamental criticisms based on profound ethical as well as literary criteria. It is something which, as a first rate intelligence in literary criticism, he had the capacity as well as the courage to do.

My son loved these audio dramatizations of America's greatest heroes and some of America's greatest historical events. He listened to these when he was 8 years old and lived every bit of history along with Ben Franklin, George Washington, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Booker T. Washington and others. He lived the battle at Breed's Hill, fought along with Grant and Lee and listened intently to the battle at Fort Ticonderoga as Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys saved the day. These three volumes of 36 cassette tapes "feature a powerful mixture of historical fact and character portrayal brought to life through the efforts of hundreds of writers, actors and musicians."

A guide that motivates you to discover the seas, this book, apart from aiding identification of some of the Indo-Pacific's most beautiful critters, presents the regions biodiversity at its very best. With photographs of an exquisite quality, not a single image is sub-standard making for a clear depiction of every animal - coral or critter. For photographers, this book also includes a handy "Ideal lens" note with each image.

Take note though that is a photographic guide, and not quite a field guide, so don't expect too much information on species and varieties or sites, but there is an informative and interesting note built of a paragraph or two, that is attached with each image.

This book has a good, though not complete, coverage of cowries, nudibranches, and scorpionfish - probably the more common species and varieties which you are likely to encounter. Half the book then presents the marine environment by zonal distinction, i.e. sandy weed and rubble, which really covers all creatures from snails, cones, eels, and other invertebrates and gastropods.

Most of the animals featured in this book are macrolife, so don't expect images of pelagics, baitballs and coral scapes.

While it claims it is a guide of the Indo-Pac region though, I feel it would is a better guide to the zone between Indonesia and Micronesia, otherwise known as the triangular hotspot of biodiversity.

This book is the step-by-step authority on creating great living spaces. I took it on a shopping trip today and found it an incredible inspiration and resource.

Beautiful photos and interesting stories behind them. If you love staring at photos for minutes at a time, this is eye candy!

From Front Jacket

"The story of the Canadian climb of Mount Everest is one of human triumph over awesome weather conditions, avalanches, conflict, and death. This book is the first official account of the Canadian team's world-record-breaking assault on Mount Everest in the late summer and early fall of 1982.

Mount Everest, whose Tibetan name 'Chomolungma' means 'Goddess Mother of the Land,' is universally recognized as the highest mountain in the world. Lying in the Khumbu Himal, on the border between the Kingdom of Nepal to the south and Chinese Tibet to the north, the mountain rises to a height of 29,028 feet (8,848 metres). Since its discovery during the Survey of India in 1849 (when it was named after the former Surveyor General, Sir George everest), it has been the objective of mountaineers of many nationalities to climb to this highest point on the earth.

With over 115 magnificent color photographs throughout, 'Everest: The Ultimate Challenge' follows the team during the early, most dangerous part of the climb through the Khumbu Icefall where one Canadian and three Sherpa porters were killed. The text, employing the journal entries of all members of the team, follows the men through the climb -- from the decision of six members to abandon the expedition to the summit itself. In addition to accounts of the planning and organization which went into this multi-million-dollar expedition, emphasis is placed on the teamwork - in the face of tragedy, personal conflict, and uncertain weather conditions - that eventually placed two Canadian climbers on top of the world.

This book was very good. It is fairly simple to read, but with alot of information to ponder. I read a chapter a day in addition to my regular devotions, and it supplemented them wonderfully.

At the end of each chapter is Life Applications which normally has two or three verses to memorize that correspond with that chapter, an acrostic to remember things brought up in the chapter, a prayer to say which summarizes that chapter, and how to implement what you read into a habit.

This was my first book I read by Bill Bright and I highly recommend it to others. He was a true warrior for Christ and has much insight into areas of life many of us struggle with. Great for beginning Christians and seasoned alike.

After reading the collection of essays by Mr Zelko, I felt like an expert on film theory! The essays were chock full of information not only on the particular films analyzed, but also on entire genre's and periods in film history. I especially like the way the twelve essays were divided into genres, making it easy to navigate throughout the book. Also, since the length of the essays were never too long, it makes for a very quick read.

As Continental forces and Virginia militia units were engaged in winning independence, American quartermasters and provisioners struggled to provide these units with all the necessities of life, from meals and guns to meat, fodder for horses, the horses themselves, firewood, and every other type of material. Much of this was requisitioned from the civilian population and certificates were issued payable in either continental or state funds, depending on the units supplied, upon presentation to court authorities. Thousands of these certificates issued to Virginians were duly entered by the courts, and they provide a fascinating insight into the period of the Revolution. These "Publick" Claims booklets contain interesting and useful information about the contributions of ordinary people to the Revolutionary War. They provide some details of people's service in the militia or as guards for prisoners of war; they indicate where some bodies of troops were at particular times; and they identify providers of horses, wagons, cattle, grain, or other supplies. Much of the information in these booklets cannot be found anywhere else, which makes the surviving records particularly valuable. Also remarkable is the fact that records survived from virtually every county in the state at that time with the exception of the newly formed Kentucky counties. This makes the collection even more valuable in covering areas which heretofore in this time period have suffered from a lack of personal data. The "Virginia Publick Claims" are published by counties. In addition to a faithful transcription by Janice Luck Abercrombie and the late Richard Slatten, a complete index is provided for each county booklet. This series is an extremely important genealogical tool for searchers in Revolutionary-era materials.

Ray A .Williamson, now of the Space Policy Institute at the George Washington University, has written an important narrative and analysis of the astronomy and cosmology of Native America. Concentrating on the American Southwest and the Great Plains, especially the Pueblo, Navajo, and Pawnee, Williamson carefully reconstructs the astronomy of these native peoples and how those understandings related to the manner in which they lived their lives. He emphasizes the role of archeoastronomy in this process, harnessing history, science, sociology, and anthropology to uncover a long distant and poorly understood past in North America.

Williamson finds that "To live in harmony with the world and its cycles is the goal of traditional Native Americans. Their patterns for living derive from a deeply held attention to the rhythms of the sky and earth" (p. 319). The result is an important study illuminating the Native American view of existence.