Affleck Books

This book looks so fab I cant wait to get it, cause o do I love Ben Affleck so 4 any ben lovas u better get this book just looking at it makes it so great!!!!!!! o but remember he's mine!!!!!!lol!!!!!

This Book Is Awsome. I Read It From begining To End. I Loved Every Part Of It. I Also Recomend The Matt Damon Book Witch Is Way Cool Too.Thanks

This is the greatest book ever written. It's right up there with the Bible and on par with Cervantes and Tolstoy. Good go, Ben.

I am a young adult and I really enjoyed this book. Not only was it filled with wonderful anecdotes about Ben Affleck's life, it was also insightful and funny. I learned a lot about Ben, and about myself. This is not your average teen fare.

i think that this was a very good book. it gave a lot of good information on ben. it was easy to read for younger kids. the only problem was it was too short! i wish i could have a really big book all about ben! so big it would take me forever to read! but other than that it was freat and i reccomend everyone to buy it and read it!

This script is sheer perfection, brilliant in its simplicity. My goal is to learn to write like that!

This is a great story--a tale about guys in their early twenties living in working-class Boston. One of them, Will, just happens to be a genius, with a photographic memory. He is also an abused orphan who doesn't trust anyone but his friends and seems content to do construction and janitorial work. When an M.I.T. professor of mathematics catches him solving a nearly impossible proof one evening after all of the students have left, he is intrigued.

After Will gets into trouble with the law, which is a fairly common occurrence for him, the professor steps in and agrees to work with him and get him counseling if the judge will agree not to send him to jail. Will reluctantly agrees, not really willing to see a therapist. It proves to be difficult to find a therapist who can handle Will; he has read their books and mocks them during therapy sessions. Finally an old college friend of the professor's has a breakthrough and becomes someone that Will can trust.

This is a story about a person learning to take risks in relationships and with his future. The movie was excellent, and the screenplay is very interesting. I hadn't realized that a screenplay has so little direction; it gives me new respect for a film's director as well as the actors and actresses who create three-dimensional characters out of the words ont he page.

I didn't think this was that great. I read this in one night and I was not impressed at all.

The lines such as "How do you like them apples" are classics already. The movie was brilliant and I own the screenplay. A terrific insight into the anatomy of the film.

Having seen the movie and read the screenplay, I can never fail to understand how something like this was ever taken seriously. There is absolutely nothing original here; the writing is shallow, tedious and unbelievably hackneyed and I marvel that such mediocre talent could be so hyped, so gushed over and can only wonder how such 'writing' could ever have been made into a movie let alone win an Academy Award! It baffles me completely.

Incidentally, there is much whispering in industry circles that Affleck and Damon didn't really even write this screenplay. Instead it was the result of a collaboration between Gus Van Zant, Robin Williams, William Goldman and Rob Reiner. As a matter of fact much of William's comedic dialogue was actually improvised, yet authorship was, strangely, still credited to Affleck and Damon - probably for unknown publicity and marketing reasons.

The fact that these two have not produced any screenplays worthwhile since tends to verify suspicions about their real and minimal contributions to Good Will Hunting.

What a book. A true depiction of the male mind, regardless of time period. I don't think I could thank Wakefield enough for writing this novel. It opened my eyes to the things I've been seeing all my life

I wanted to write a review of the Going All the Way audiocassette to clear up one of the major questions I had when I considered purchasing this item. My question was, "What exactly does abridged mean?" How much of the book is cut out? Keeping in mind that I haven't read the novel, only seen the movie, I can say that the abridged audiocassette develops almost exactly like the movie. I give it only 3 stars because I think it is a good story, but I am very disappointed that it is missing the "extras" you don't get from the movie. The total running time is about 3.5 hours. If you think about how long it would take to read a novel aloud, this indicates that perhaps the majority of the book was cut. If you have seen the movie, you will gain very little from this audiocassette.

Despite these negative comments, the audiocassette has some good points, which is why I went no lower than a 3 star rating. The narrator does an excellent job of bringing all of the characters to life and putting the listener inside Sonny's head. This would be a great purchase for someone who has neither read the book nor seen the movie.

Finally, some potential customers may be worried that Going All the Way is something only people similar to the characters (20-something white males) can enjoy, but Dan Wakefield has done such a wonderful job with the characters that anybody can find something with which to identify in both Sonny and Gunner.

This novel captures the underlying unease that two young men face when they return home from the Army in the early '50's. It sketches their growing perception of all the boxes and groups that they were in before they left, like the jocks, what today would called nerds, and the sorority girls.

As they go through their first summer of freedom they begin to realize that the old home town has gotten too small and confining for them, and that it is time to go see what's over the hill. They begin to realize that they do have many choices, and the freedom to pursue them, and they try to sort out what some of them are.

Along the way there are some pretty accurate and painful descriptions of the social and sexual hangups of your average Midwestern male at mid-century.

Good stuff.

I first read Going All the Way in a lit class called "Growing Up In America" at prep school, in 1974. The book was only a few years old then, and it was assigned along with other fine works like The Sound and the Fury, Member of the Wedding, Red Sky at Morning, and The Car Thief. Going All the Way was my favorite, and remains one of my favorites today. I've reread it many times, and have greatly enjoyed reading the whole thing aloud to two different receptive audiences-of-one.

Going All the Way is funny, wise, and true. As a girl of 16, it also taught me a great deal about men, and particularly about the visceral fear most men have of women -- the degree to which they feel we have the power to define them. It is a book that entertains, educates, and enlightens, all at the same time. It doesn't get a whole lot better than that.

I went to a book signing when this edition came out, so I could meet Dan Wakefield, and tell him how much this book has meant to me. I was also very pleased with the movie, which came out literally decades after the book -- while it did, of necessity, pare the story down to the essentials, it portrayed the heart and soul of the story and the characters truly.

Don't miss Going All The Way. It may not be The Great American Novel, but it's certainly *A* Great American Novel.

This is one of the most pitilessly honest and funniest books you'll ever read about early adulthood -- late high school, college and just after. The sexual preoccupation. The social striving. The uncertainty about one's future. Along the way, Mr. Wakefield captures a time and a place (Indiana, early 1950s) perfectly. You could draw a straight line connecting the art of J.D. Salinger, Dan Wakefield and Nick Hornby. Thank you, Mr. Wakefield!

A group of plays, of which this was a member, won first prize in Athens. Philoctetes had been left marooned on an island several years earlier (because of his disease) under orders of Agamemnon and Menelaus. But, the two kings later discover that Troy cannot be conquered without Philoctetes and his bow, a bow given to him by Heracles. Odysseus and Neoptolemus (the son of the late Achilles) arrive at the island to persuade or trick Philoctetes to return with them. Neoptolemus wants to be noble in his actions; yet, his commander, Odysseus, wants to use guile. At the end, a deus-ex-machina device is used to resolve the conflict. The play has excellent characterization, a good plot, and steady movement.

I'm working with a Croatian director to find a translation of PHILOCTETES to perform in America. Since his English is good enough for commuication, but not up to poetic standards, I've had to do my research. This seems to be the most performable, direct AND poetic translation currently available. Better than Grene, even.
Brian Jones
Associate Professor of Theater
Indiana University of PA

Good Greek tragedy. I especially find interesting the controversy behind the happy ending.

"Philoctetes" takes place near the climax of the Trojan War. The title character has the great bow of Hercules, given by the demi-god on his pyre to Philoctetes's father. A member of the Achaean expedition that sailed to Troy, Philoctetes was making an altar on an island along the way when he was bitten by a snake. His cries of pain were so great that he was abandoned by his shipments, under the orders of Odysseus, and marooned on the deserted island of Lemnos. Alone and crippled, Philoctetes used the great bow to survive for the ten years the Achaeans have been fighting against Troy. During that time his hatred against the Achaeans in general, and Odysseus in particular, has grown.

Meanwhile, back at Troy, Odysseus and the other Achaean chieftains have learned from an oracle that Troy will fall only with the help of Philoctetes and his bow (a juicy tidbit it certainly would have been nice to have known eight or nine years earlier). Odysseus and Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, are sent to bring Philoctetes and his bow back to the war. Of course, Odysseus dare not show himself to Philoctetes and sends Neoptolemus to do the dirty work. Neoptolemus gains the confidences of the crippled man by lying about taking him home. During one of his agonizing spasms of pain, Philoctetes gives his bow to Neoptolemus. Regretting having lied to this helpless cripple, Philoctetes returns the bow and admits all, begging him to come to Troy of his own free will. Philoctetes refuses and when Odysseus shows his face and threatens to use force to achieve their goal, he finds himself facing a very angry archer.

In "Philoctetes" Sophocles clearly deals with the balance between the rights of the individual and the needs of society. But this is also a play about citizenship and the need for the idealism of youth to be give way to the responsibilities of adulthood. In fact, this lesson is learned both by Philoctetes, who is taught by the shade of Hercules who appears to resolve the tenses conclusion, and Neoptolemus, who finds his duties at odds with his idealized conception of heroism based upon his father. Although this is a lesser known myth and play, "Philoctetes" does raise some issues worth considering in the classroom by contemporary students.

"Philoctetes" is similar to other plays by Sophocles, which deal with the conflict between the individual and society, although this is a rare instance where Odysseus appears in good light in one of his plays; usually he is presented as a corrupter of innocence (remember, the Greeks considered the hero of Homer's epic poem to be more of a pirate than a true hero), but here he is but a spokesperson for the interests of the state. Final Note: We know of lost plays about "Philoctetes" written by both Aeschylus and Euripides. Certainly it would have been interesting to have these to compare and contrast with this play by Sophocles, just as we have with the "Electra" tragedies.

Aside from the flagrant typos and mis-spellings, this book captures Affleck's Mighty Heart. He has figured out how to "get past the hurt" of his parents' divorce and move on: to the tune of a hot relationship with "it" girl J-Lo! Kudos Ben!

Love,
1998

This book is a great book for people who enjoy reading about Ben Affleck and movies. The book gets into great details of the young actor. You get to learn new and suprising facts about Ben Affleck. I highly recommend this book.

The book had some interesting stuff, but nothing that I didn't know before. It also talked to much abour other people like Robin Williams and Gywneth Paltrow. The pictures were the best part.

I love Ben Affleck, so i thought this book was good. But it had things in it that had nothing to do Ben Affleck or Matt Damon.

While the book does present an accurate and unbiased view of world religions, the text itself is less than gripping (the writing is dry), and the book's organization is a little confusing. This may not be the best text to use if you are interested in getting a clear, overall picutre of a particular religion. It includes studies of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

I use this text in my intro level religion classes. It's not a world religions text however. The book is organized thematically, which can be confusing for non-linear thinkers. For example, if the topic is "religious experience" the text will compare various texts (primary and secondary) from different traditions. Consequently, one can see the similarities and difference between various religious traditions. It's a rather postmodern religious studies text.

At the same time, that may be its weakness. I usually recommend that students have already taken world religions prior to the class where we read this book. It can be a great springboard for discussion and other projects. However for students who don't know much about religion and philosophy (or history, etc) the text may prove a bit superficial. On the other hand, because of how it's organized there is usually something that everyone can relate to.

The book that I read was Ben Affleck by John F. Wukovits. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Ben. This book would also be good if you had to do a report on him. the book mostly will tell you about his life. It really goes indepth about how he became such a famous actor. The book also feel for his life.It lets you know what he went through growing up and how his parents helped to shape his acting career. I hope you enjoy this book.
Meggan G.

This biography gives a look into Ben Affleck's life before and after Hollywood Stardom. It provides a glance into his past, bits of present, and goals for his future. I would definately recommend this book to any Ben Affleck fan, or even someone that admires his particular line of work. Personally, I loved it, but I'm not sure that everyone will.
Angela S.

A boring, slapdash approach to what appears to be a much ado about nothing "mystery." Colin Wilson handled the subject much more briefly, effectively (and deceptively) in his "The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Mysteries." It's worth noting that the Wilson chapter is based on the Gray book!

Afflecj Grey does an excellent job of collecting all of the press reports and eyewitnesses of the elusive "Am Fear Liath More" of Ben MacDhui in the Scottish Grampian Highlands. The book is well documented and fascinating and puts forth some theories as to what may be at the root of the Grey Man phenomenon. Affelck Grey doesn not try to force anything on the reader but allows the reader to form his or her own opinion as to the matter. he is also not overly gullible and has no qualms about poking fun at himself as he does in several personal anecdotes. The main faults of the book are a fairly dull literary style, which makes the book slow reading as well as a large number of Scotttish terms whihc makes it hard for non-Scots to follow. But on the whole, an excellent book. This short (146 pp.) little book was used by Colin Wilson in his "Unsolved Mysteries" collection.