Blake Books

Pendragon is Blake and Lloyd's second book, and builds creditably on their first one, Keys to Avalon. They have painstakingly documented the evidence which leads them to the conclusion that Arthur was Welsh and lived, fought, and died in Wales. The evidence for this appears incontrovertible, even if the particular details are not necessarily as easily fleshed out. If nothing else, this is an incredibly important gift to Arthurian research, which hopefully will eventually supercede the always dubious, Arthurian claims of regions from Cornwall to Scotland.

As an anthropologist, I most appreciate their attention to the differences in language and culture which prompted later chroniclers and authors to shift Arthur from his original location to Great Britain as a whole.

Anyone looking for the 'real', historical Arthur will find him here.

Who was King Arthur? The honest answer is, "We don't know." However, it certainly is a lot more fun to at least try to see what the evidence says. And in that vein, this book excellently approaches answering that question by looking at the oldest Arthur evidence written more closely in time to when Arthur would have lived and written in a tongue that he was more likely to have spoken. While it's true that for most people these limitations would produce only a small amount of literature akin to a book of haiku, this book uses that evidence as a starting point to make educated suppositions as to who Arthur was and when he lived.
For those who's interest in Arthur was piqued by the recent movie featuring Keira Knightly in a leather bikini, it's an interesting topic so read the book. To those who've read only the book, go see the movie because you need to get out more.

Pendragon: The Definitive Account of the Origins of Arthur does indeed come closest of all the Arthurian literature to identifying the real 6th century man. Mssrs. Blake and Lloyd do a great job of peeling away the later Medieval romanticist mythology to get at the northern Welsh warband leader as depicted in the original Welsh texts. Their examination of the geographic locations associated with Arthur and his compatriots is much more plausible an explanation than any other. Enlightening and again sound is their assertion that he fought most, or even all, of his battles against fellow Welsh Britons rather than Saxons (except possibly at Badon).

If there is one criticism it would be that the authors failed to follow their own evidence to what seems to me to be an obvious conclusion. They claim that Arthur was only a war leader and never a king but admit that Arthur is not a Welsh name. From their own information, it is possible that he started as a war leader under King Maelgwn of Gwynneth, where one of Arthur's hill fort 'courts' resides and where the early documents reveal to be his original homeland. Yet, he may have later become a king in his own right, the one they identify as Cuneglasus of the Bear's Stronghold. (Arthur comes from the Latin Artoris, which means The Bear.) He may well have been one of the adulterous underlings that Gildas criticized but also later one of the five kings who Gildas likewise lambasted. The second hill fort 'court' they identify lies within the small realm of that minor Welsh king. It is a real possibility that Arthur was Cuneglasus. As they point out, it was Gildas who attached animal names to the five kings he criticized, that one being the Bear. They also cite several early Welsh texts that call him a king or sovereign as well.

Their analysis of the origin of Pendragon, as part of that discussion, is ingenious.

All in all, for anyone who is interested in clearing away the Medieval Romance and finding out about the real Arthur, this is probably the most important tome to read. I heartily recommend it.

One of the best written historical references I have had the pleasure to read. Gives a historical document based evaluation of the Authurian theory.

One of the annoying things about the received opinion about the Romantic poets is the statement that there were exactly six of them--Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Keats, and Shelley. This pronouncement is usually delivered with equal conviction to assertions you usually hear only in the natural sciences--e.g., that there are three kinds of human muscle (cardiac, striated, and slow-flexing) and two kinds of stony drip-accreted icicles in caves (stalactites and stalagmites). Nor elsewhere in the area of literature do you quite hear that there were so many Russian realist novelists, so many French Symbolist poets, so many English medieval poets, etc. So it's something of a relief to read in the editors' introduction to the "Portable Romantic Poets" that American romantics are included as well, because poets don't just arrest their reading, as anthologizers usually arrest their selecting, at continental or national boundaries. It's also welcome to see the inclusion of poets who are sometimes left out because they might be felt to be minor or unpopular (Landor) or generically different (Burns) by anthologizers. This anthology is a welcome corrective to received wisdom about who actually qualifies as a Romantic. And the efficient introduction is a minor masterpiece of cultural exposition as well.

Far be it from me to critique these poets, but I can say something about this particular presentation. It's a handy little volume, with a several-page introduction providing historical context, and a several-page calendar of British and American poetry from 1750 to around 1850. The calendar doesn't just list poetry, it includes events like "Watt's steam engine patented" and "Lewis and Clark Expedition" as well as the publication of novels and music, so context is well established. At the back of the book is an index of poems by title and by first line, and there's a set of biographical notes on the poets.

If you want to know what romantic poetry's all about, take a look at this. I don't know how an English Lit Ph.D. would rate this book but I think it's a nice collection.

The first verse of William Blake's Auguries of Innocence appears in Bronowski, as homage to Ludwig Boltzmann: " To see a World in a Grain of Sand, And a Heaven in a Wild flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, And Eternity in an hour...." William Blake was born in London in 1757. He attended drawing school and thereafter eked out a very modest existence as an engraver and artist. He was not able to find a publisher so in 1789 he himself engraved and published Songs of Innocence and The Book of Thel. Blake died in 1827. Blake was one of many 'romantic poets' of that epoch. Auden and Pearson point out that the romantic definition of man appears towards the end of the eighteenth century. The divine element that man possesses is not power nor free will of reason, but self-consciousness. Man can see possibilities, he can imagine states of existence other than they are.

The great defining moment of the Romantic movement in English poetry is generally considered the publication by Wordsworth and Coleridge of 'The Lyrical Ballads' in 1797. But the editors of this anthology take an earlier point of origin and begin with the great myth - master and singer of songs of innocence and experience, William Blake. They include in their anthology not simply English Romantic poets but also the Americans , Emerson and Thoreau( Transcendentalists) and Poe. They also include a number of minor, lesser known poets.
But what is most important is that they have most of the great definining poems of English Romantic Poetry, the great poems of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats.
There are of course as many definitions of Romanticism as there are of other key intellectual-historical concepts such as 'Nature' and 'Classicism' But one clear element is a new found emphasis on self, and subjectivity , the expression of the individual's feeling of the world. Wordsworth went to everyday life and language, to nature and the world of the ' simple people' he met in his countryside wanderings. Coleridge went to the world of myth and mystery, but they both provided in deeper ways whole worlds of feeling which were at times ' deeper than tears'.
An outstanding anthology of one of the most important 'movements' or ' periods' in the world- history of poetry.

This book is one of the best collections of children's poetry I have ever read. I have a very old hard back copy which is a first edition that I had forgot about but found it the other day in a trunk at my Nans house and over the years I have read it so much it is now only worth sentimental value. This book is cleverly written which touches upon familiar childhood antics that people may have experienced themselves when they were young. As you read through the book it makes you say, "That's exactly how I used to think about things" and it really makes you feel as if Micael Rosen has written it about you personally. The things the kids in the story get up too, now make me realise they had an influence over the things myself and my sisters got into trouble over because we made our front room into a gymnasium as the kids in the story did and got into trouble over. This really is first class reading, simply written but enough comic tone and clever wit to stun amuse and take hold of young and old alike! Five star rating for a five star book!!!

This has to be the best poetry book ever written for kids. Micael Rosen tells funny tails about his baby and other things. Some poems are deep and delve into the world of the poorer English society, whereas others are just plain silly and make you laugh unstoppably.

I cannot believe that no one has reviewed this book before, and am stunned and saddened that it is now out of print! It's fantastic - I discovered it at the age of eight, and it is a book I regularly read aloud and have bought for children I know. The poems are funny, witty, and touch on subjects familiar to most children (stealing chocolate cake from the pantry in the middle of the night for example, or being caught jumping on the furniture!). This book can be either a family read or a private one - it's hilarious both ways. Whatever age you are, DO read it - I can't recommend it highly enough.

This has to be the best poetry book ever written for kids. Micael Rosen tells funny tails about his baby and other things. Some poems are deep and delve into the world of the poorer English society, whereas others are just plain silly and make you laugh unstoppably.

This book mostly talked about his life off of the pitch and all the stress he went thourgh in the the World Cup.

This book is GREAT! It explains Ronaldo`s footballing life and his personal, and public life, and many secrets only a few on the earth know.

i got this book for my birth day a i read it. i thought that itall talk a bout soccer, but it didn't. i taked abot how he grow up inbrazil and how the enverment was so diffecult in there. how he escaped from all bad things like gaging and drug and alcholes. his father was not so lucky. he smoked and he had alot of alckholes and drug. he was very unkind to his wife and his son. there fore, his wife decided to built up her self and her son.

Ever since the final whistle of the World Cup final I have had a big unanswered question. Why did the world's best player in the world's best team play so badly in the one game, the most important game, of his life so far, giving one of the world's worst performances in front of the world's biggest ever event audience of 2 billion. Months before the world cup the papers were full of Ronaldo. How Ronaldo would score more goals than ever seen before. How this would be his world cup like Pele's 1970, Kempes' 1978, Rossi's 1982, Maradona's 1986, and Romario's 1994. TV Programmes showed endless clips of his sublime skills, his genius. Months after the tragedy that was France '98. No credible explanation has appeared until now!! Clarkson's book to answer the question of what happened on that fateful day in Paris.He gives a complete picture of what makes up the man - Ronaldo. Clarkson delves into Ronaldo's childhood, giving an account of the early flashes of brilliance, his love of the game, his disappointments, the influence of his family and even his lack of confidence with girls. Then he takes us through Ronaldo's early career in a lowly 2nd division Brazillian League team. Then the breakthrough and subsequent move to Europe followed by stardom and megabucks. Then we are told of the trials and tribulations of his life in Europe. The immense build up to the World cup and the account of what actually happened to Ronaldo's Brazil. I must confess I did not let the book go until i had read in from cover to cover. Clarkson has a lovely smooth flowingly style of writing which captures the essence of the story. After reading the book I felt i had understood one of the most intriguing mysteries of footballing history.

I feel that Coach Bailey's wonderful recount of this controversial decade gives the younger reader an idea of what really happened. A must read for anyone.

This veritable page-turner is a must for all self-respecting scholars and their coffee tables.

This is a truly magnificent book. Anyone who has the ability to read it should!!

This sadly neglected masterpiece should be brought back into print immediately. It is, to my mind, the definitive guide to a badly misrepresented decade. Mr. Bailey's writing is witty and readable throughout, never didactic or ponderous, and the lavish illustrations will satisfy even the most anti-literate coffeetable connoisseur. A wow.

William Blake is one of the giants of poetry. He is often overlooked because of the obliqueness of many of his poems. But this affordable (read: cheap) collection of poems is well worth the price of admission. Most of Blakes most famous and well loved poems are included in this volume. Most of us had to read at least a couple of these poems in school. The Tyger still stands as one of the great poems of the English language. The Fly, The Lamb, Children of a Future Age, London and Ah, Sunflower are all included here. These are some of the most beautiful poems ever written. Even if you struggle to understand the meaning, the sheer beauty and music of the verses can still carry you away. Anyone interested in poetry needs to read these poems. It is among the best ever written.

This is an excellent compilation of Blake's monumentous work in the English language. I am dissapointed, however, that this does not include some of my favorite poems by him, but it is still, in its entirety, very good. His language and masterful skill is beautiful and I suggest this volume because it is both content rich and economical. As for those who say Blake is a "dork," they might be too if they spend their free time insulting writers who died three hundred years ago. Anyway, happy reading!

Blake is the master of the simple childlike deep and meaningful line. "Little Lamb , who made thee dost thou know who made thee" The lines of the first book are of innocence, before knowledge and experience have complicated the soul. The lines of the 'Songs of Experience" are of a more problematic reality. "Tiger Tiger burning bright in the forest of the night/ What immortal hand or eye/ Dare frame thy fearful symmetry/?
Blake is a thinker with an ideology, a revolutionary but I think his greatest value is not in the political or even metaphysical ideas but rather in the psychological apprehension in lines of beauty. Blake understands that wrath held within it will grow, but spoken wrath may go- he understands that the road to hell may be paved with good intentions. His proverbial quality is in this simple , or seemingly simple poetry too , and he is telling us about life and soul while uplifting us with lines which ring and remain in the mind.
These poems are Blake at his most accessible and memorable, whatever literary critics may say about the longer epic poems. These are the poems which have meant and will mean much to mankind. And they can be read with pleasure and puzzlement, over and over again.

In order to understand Blake's vision, it's helpful to know as much as possible about the social and historical context in which he was writing, and about the kinds of attitudes and social conditions he was addressing. Without that context, readers are unlikely to appreciate Blake as fully as he deserves to be appreciated. Such readers may write uninformed and ignorant reviews in this column. Those who understand the context in which Blake was writing are likely to have a much deeper appreciation of Blake's poetic beauty and sharp social conscience.

I got this, and read it over a couple of days just recently. It is a book written by an old friend of Sting's, with the first half being mostly about their childhood days at a catholic school, and the second half being about their exploits in later years.

It is unbelievably funny, and entertaining! You can really tell that they've had fun together and love one another. Lots of good hearted poking fun at Stingo. Jim has a wonderful way of telling a story. Makes you feel like he'd tell the story the same way to a group of friends in the living room or something. The book made me laugh throughout, as well as think about some things in my own life. If you love Sting this will give you even more of a look at him and more appreciation for who he is. I would think, though, that even a person who didn't know about Sting would really have fun reading this book. Good job, Berryman.

I read this little book as soon it arrived to me (very quickly, thanks Amazon!). I was curious because I heard a lot about it but never found it in Italy, where I live. I think it is a must for all Sting's fans, because Berryman write about his friend Sting, not at all the star Sting. There are frankly hilarious pages, above all a scene about a fool roundabout in a classroom following a teacher who was following Sting, who was... ok, read it! I laughed to tears. Just imagine a Woodehouse book, and substitute Jeeves and Bertie with Sting and Jim and you'll have the right picture!

James Berryman's book is (much) less a biography of Sting than a humorous tale of life in Catholic school in England, where he happened to be friends with the-boy-who-would-be-Sting. This is not a criticism of the volume, though readers looking for deep insight and more detailed information on Sting's early years would do better to read the man's own memoirs, "Broken Music". Berryman's book instead takes an episodic approach to the misadventures of the boys of St. Cuthberts, from the first day of school when he first met on Gordon Sumner to their graduation and beyond.

School days take up about three-quarters of the book, the remained covering the years that followed and occasional meetings with Sting as his star began to rise. It's a fun story that does present a decidedly more down-to-earth view of Sting than we've read or seen elsewhere, even if afterwards one does wonder if the whole book hadn't just been a cheap ploy to cash in on Barryman's lifelong friendship with a celebrity.

Nevertheless, it is entertaining and probably worth a read by any dedicated Sting fan, as well as those interested in a humorous read about growing up in 1960s Newcastle.

This book is written by one of Sting's personal friends. James Berryman shares his impressions and relationship with Sting from the first day of grammer school through the present. It is a fast read, great for Sting fans but also a good book just for the stories James Berryman tells about his life growing up.

A terrific book. This is the best biography of Blake that I know of, and is also one of the most encouraging books I have read in years. Bentley sews together contemporary reports, journals from Blake's friends, and Blake's poems and drawings themselves to form a mysterious--although moving--picture of the man. Blake, upon moving back to the Thames, one day opened his window and reported that he saw the filthy river moving along 'like a gold bar.' From his early years, he claimed to have visions of fairies and angels, and later in life even was able to see William Wallace and Satan (the sketches are included in the book). I know of nothing like Blake, and would give this outstanding biography of him six stars.

This biography concentrates too much on Blake's occupation as an engraver and glosses over his reputation as a poet and visionary. Such a bluntly factual, objective account of Blake seems out of keeping with his spiritual enthusiasm and disdain for the factual (i.e. the physical world). But this book did help me develop an appreciation for Blake. The "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" did not impress me because they seemed to be the epitome of maudlin Christian sentimentality. However, Bentley's biography makes it clear that Blake was not a conventional Christian. I was impressed by the importance Blake placed on the imagination, creativity, and the arts as the true expressions of spirituality and the sublime. I also admire Blake's spirited defense of imagination and the Poetic Genius.

If Blake were alive today I think he would rant against the scholars rather than Empire. The scholars have laid claim to the poet's place in society and the only empire that exists today is the academic empire. Just look at the way a college campus expands and swallows up all the property around itself! It is the scholars who attack men of inspiration and genius because they need to promote poetry as something that can be taught and explicated.

Blake does seem mad when he talks about speaking with angels and spirits but he probably did possess the faculty of a visionary imagination which caused him to express such reverence for the world of imagination, even to the extent of preferring it to the natural world. It reminds me of a quote from Rimbaud, "I came to find my mind's disorder sacred".

This is a very good, straight-forward biography of a mysterious man. Anyone curious about Blake should read it. People who love Blake will still love him, their love enhanced by the very clear context given to the events of his life. Of the visions that are of course the oddest thing about Blake, at least to the vast majority of us who don't have them, the author is neutral. You can't really know. I'm personally for rather than against visionaries even if they are delusional, just because this is indeed the age of fiberglass. Someone said of Blake that he was cracked, but the Light came through the crack. I like to believe he was visited by Milton, Michaelangelo and William Wallace, etc., and that he saw trees full of angels. At the same time, there is a question about the nature of inspiration. Once established, Blake's style in poetry and painting never changed much, only the subjects changed: so the various spirits did nothing in the way of altering his method, nor did they alter his views much, though he seems to have mellowed somewhat. He seems to have been a channel for one Spirit who changed form. There are other artists who seem to me to have represented the world beyond in a more profound way: Bach, Milton, Michaelangelo, Wordsworth for example. And of course, Shakespeare seems to have had a 100 people's combined understanding of how life is. And there are artists, more like us, who seemed to have developed as life progressed.

Still, he was one of the men who lived for and frequently in the electric blessing that changes everything, that power, gift, the angels, like Cupid, seem to bestow as they choose. Blake was a vehicle.

He was the great Outsider artist. He was a Hero of poor England. Thank God for Blake who said, "I live in a hole here, but God has a beautiful mansion for me elsewhere." He was authentic, poor and a real man. Everyone should know how he died singing Hallelujahs and hymns of praise.

The scholarship that works through this book is obviously one of love and devotion of many many years. Bentley's sorting out of events in Blake's life is amazingly well researched - it is the first Blake biography that does not have that usual blur of focus that leaves one more mystified than enlightened. Blake's contemporaries, friends, enemies, patrons, etc. are all given voice through their own extant letters, articles . . - this contextualizes him beautifully and clears the field of critical debris that has grown out over the centuries. In fact, it is Bentley's sober critical eye (of fairness) which is so refreshing - his sense of balance is impeccable. Only a lifetime lover of Blake could hit so consistently true tones. But if you're arriving to this book looking for critical scholarship of the work and myth than you're walking through the wrong door. This book is not about the minutae of the work (see Northrop Frye for that) - it assumes already that one is also a lover and "understander" of the work. This book is about the man - written and informed, of course, by the man's work, but is a book about Blake's life - not a treatise on Urthona. Yes, I recommend this book. Walk on in and stroll around.

This is Book #5 of the Wagon's West Series and just as good as the previous ones.

This one deals with the war between Texas and Mexico as well as how Texas becomes a state.

A lot of our favorite characters are back and in this one Danny Taylor and Chet Harris are not only forced to make choices that will affect their lives but they also grow up rather quickly. The Blake's as well as Ginny are again in this one.

Dana Fuller Ross' novels of America's great expansion into the western territories is some of the most intelligent, well written and well researched historic fiction I have read. "Texas" is Book 5 in a series of 24 novels which truly bring history to life in a panoramic saga of one of the United States' most important and fascinating periods.

By 1844 the pioneers who forged the Oregon Trail were well established in Oregon Territory. Various wagon trains had followed their lead and the American population in the Pacific Northwest began to grow at an amazing rate. The new settlers' farms, ranches, offices, boatyards, orchards and lumber mills were thriving. Men like the aging former President Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas, future US President James K. Polk, Majority Leader of the US Senate, Andrew Johnson and President John Tyler planned to fulfill America's "manifest destiny" - the belief that America had a God-given right, or destiny, to expand the country's borders from "sea to shining sea." Their priorities were to settle the Oregon boundary dispute with Great Britain and admit Texas to the Union.

Rallying to the cause of Texas liberty from Mexico, volunteers from Oregon left their homes and joined the Texas Rangers, built the Texas navy, consented to repeat their arduous journey across the American continent and traveled east to lead wagon trains of new settlers to Texas. The United States sent wagon loads of rifles, guns and ammunition to assist the Texans, and finally the new state of Texas joined the Union as the nation's 28th state. The Mexican American War, which followed, culminated in US victory. The Texas boundary was set at the Rio Grande, and the US also bought New Mexico Province and what was called Upper California from the Mexicans. And the US/Oregon border with Great Britain was finally established at the 49th parallel.

Many of the characters from the first four books appear in "Texas" and new ones, both historical and fictitious, are introduced. Colonel Leland Blake and his wife Cathy leave their home in Oregon temporarily when they are given charge of the huge new wagon train to Texas. Danny Taylor and Chet Harris, who were adolescents on the Oregon Trail, both volunteer for the Texas Rangers to fight under their idol Captain Rick Miller. Harry Canning, another Oregon veteran, goes to Texas to put his boat building skills to use. The author gives these characters tremendous depth and illustrates how settling in the new land, along with new responsibilities, changes them and effects their relationships and lives.

The history, characters, plot and subplots in "Texas" are some of the most exciting and dynamic in the series. I love history, and while I have read and studied this period in America's development, I have learned so much from reading the first five Wagons West" books. I plan to continue until I read them all. A wonderful reading experience.
JANA

Maybe it's because it's the first non-Oregon Trail book in the series, but Texas just does not have the "oomph" of most of the other books. The major characters of the series so far take a backseat to lesser characters in this book, breaking away much of the familiarity with the series. It is still a good book, especially if you want a novel set during the Mexican-American war. However, don't lose any sleep if you are trying to read the entire series and can't find this one in your library.

I am the proud owner of the entire Wagons West Series (all 24 novels). I began reading them in high school some 19 years ago. I have just recently begun re-reading the series and it's like visiting old friends. Texas, picks up two years after the settling of Oregon and we find the United States in the process of annexing Texas into the Union. Soon old characters like Whip Holt and Lee Blake are back in the saddle doing what they do best, helping our country expand, with selfless dedication. We are introduced to new friends who display the same attributes of the earlier settlers in the Oregon series. Overall, the book is quite enjoyable, and it is almost imposssible to put down. The reader is transported to the old West, and can develop a sense of pride and understanding for those brave men and women who were the trailblazers of our American history.

This is a fascinating look at a long-gone time. Mr. Blake's book not only gives the reader great insight into the artistry and work of Lon Chaney, it is a peak into the past, of the days of silent film.

Beyond the other rave reviews for this book relative to the artist, what made this book all the more valuable to me was Mr. Blake's description on movie-making at the turn of the 20th century. We can hear, feel and almost smell the greasepaint of that time, the hard work, the ramshackle artistry of these cinema pioneers.

This is one of the best books on early film, and a credit to the magic of Lon Chaney.

Before reading this book, I knew almost nothing of Lon Chaney except his reputation as a horror actor. I was amazed to discover exactly how misleading that title actually was. Blake's work introduced a genius at makeup and pantomime who was capable of playing any role convincingly. Through it, I gained a respect for a great but seldom-discussed actor.

This is one sequel that is worth waiting for! Armed with new information from the files of Lon Chaney's former business manager, Blake has written a worthy follow-up to his first book on the famous actor. This time, Blake covers Chaney's performances and the making of many of his films in the reader-friendly tone he established in his first book. Blake has broken new ground in film history, revealing that it was Chaney's idea to make "Hunchback of Notre Dame", NOT Universal's studio head, Irving Thalberg!! It is just amazing what new nuggets of information Blake dug up, including lengthy interviews with probably the only surviving crew memeber from Chaney's MGM days and a nurse who attended him during his last trip to New York where he sought a cure of his cancer. He also debunks the myth that Chaney would have played the title role in "Dracula". It is heavily illustrated with many super rare photos. This book is just as good, if not better, than Blake's first effort. Both are a MUST if you're an admirer of Lon Chaney.

Michael F. Blake's second book on Lon Chaney, A Thousand Faces: Lon Chaney's Unique Artistry in Motion Pictures, is a worthy and much-welcome companion volume to the author's first book: Lon Chaney: The Man Behind The Thousand Faces. This book serves a two-fold purpose: First, Blake reveals a lot of new information he uncovered about the actor's life and films since his first book. Second, this time around biography takes a backseat to a detailed look at the films themselves (although there is still plenty to be learned of Chaney's life).

Being THE acknowledged Chaney authority and having acted himself at an early age, Blake is able to provide a knowledgeable and well-balanced analysis/commentary of Chaney's films (at least those that are not "lost"). While certainly the biggest fan of Lon Chaney, Blake maintains the needed objectively to fairly critique each film and performance. As with his first book, a big highlight here is the wealth of rare photos presented (including Lon both in and out of make-up), as is the always fascinating information on how Chaney, a make-up master, created those amazing characters. Blake is to be lauded for his vast efforts in keeping alive the legacy of one of the greatest talents of the silent era. Thanks to author Blake, all the many fans of Lon Chaney can be assured that Chaney's many talents and contributions to the world of film (and film make-up!) will never be forgotten.