Blake Books

This book of Blake's illustrations -- both color and detail black & white -- of his interpretation of the Book of Job is such a beautiful treasure.

`Blake's Illustrations for the Book of Job' by the great 18th century illustrator and poet, William Blake, is a superior source of inexpensive copies of these works, which the publisher characterizes as `among the artist's greatest achievements'.
The best feature of the volume, aside from its reasonable price, is the size of the illustrations. As long as one is willing to stress the spine of the book a bit, it is very easy to make excellent scans of the illustrations. And, if one needs especially high quality scans of the large color reproductions, you can cut out the page(s) to insure that they lay flat on the scanning bed with no shadow creeping in along the edges. Since the list price of the book is less than $10, it is virtually no hardship to buy two copies of the book to have one intact on your shelves while the second copy gives up its pages for your presentations.
For those unfamiliar with Blake's work, it's important to know that he did not one, but at least two full series of illustrations, both of which are in this volume. The first is a series of 21 black and white engravings, with borders including English and Hebrew writings relevant to the scene depicted. The second is a series of 21 larger color engravings, the Linnell set, made by manually applying watercolor to the black line image made by an engraving reproduction. Supplementing the color engravings are two additional sets (not of the full set of 21) called the Butts Set and the New Zealand set. There are some small variations in coloring and in line detail between the parallel images in the New Zealand set compared to the Linnell set reproductions. One advantage of the New Zealand set is that they are smaller, so they may be less difficult to scan and embed in a document.
Blake's Job illustrations are a terrific find for those who wish to do a Bible study of the Book of Job, as it reinforces the sense that this is one of the most powerfully written pieces of literature in the whole of Judeo-Christian scriptures.

Blake's Illustrations for the Book of Job makes me want to take a Bible study course, just to learn as much as I can about the compelling sketches so beautifully printed on the pages of this eye-catching book. Each lovely oversized page of this book depicts a Scripture episode found the Biblical Book of Job, all of them worth meditating on. I am particularly impressed by the images Blake paints of God, who appears consistently benevolent even in the face of Satan. This book creates fascinating imagery, painted by a man whose life was, apparently, somewhat fixated on this particular subject. Blake painted these images sometime in the early 19th century, but they are still contemporary and memorable. I really love this book for its artistic interest and as a subject for an art history course.

I was shown a copy of this book 25 years ago. Blake's art transformed my world. I have been a student of Blake ever since. I still go back to this book often. This book, in a few pages, gave me an entry into Blake's system.

This is a book is quite good as most Norton Critical Editions are. It has a lot of what is needed by students for a course on Blake or, more likely, a course that spends part of a term on Blake.

It has some biographical material and some maps of England and London at the time Blake lived. There are also a good helping of black and white as well as color plates of Blake's illuminated works. The color plates are only good - the color is not produced beautifully. The student will only get an impression of the true power of Blake's artistry. However, a good teacher will point the student to the Blake Archive at:... so the students can see the works more completely with variants and in better color (if you have good video cards and monitors).

One of the best parts of this book begins on page 176 where working drafts are shown and compared to the final versions. There is also a nice selection of critical writing on Blake - criticism from Blake's time through the present. There is also a useful bibliography.

In some ways this is "Erdman Lite", but it is much more portable than Erdman and for an introductory course on Blake it is probably sufficient. I am glad that I have it in my library.

But please don't stop here!

Nice book, but too bad its front picture cover is defaced by Norton's double-layer of big gold stickers with high-tack adhesive that makes them impossible to remove without adhesive remaining on the cover.

This is absolutely the best compendium of Blake's work which articualtes an outstanding range of his vision. This edition acknowledges the poetry and color paintings of a consumate craftsman of the imagination on high quality, acid free paper and is nylon stitched and bound in signatures to last a lifetime. Books are rarely made this way but the Norton edition is a beautiful rendering of the first, and perhaps, primary British Romantic poet.

William Blake is one of those soaring pioneers of the human imagination whose visions and their scope make you feel rather humble at times. His works are quite diverse and his output during his life very considerable. Blake's longer poems, such as 'Jerusalem' or the 'Four Zoas', would easily make large books of their own in any edition of his works.

This Norton's edition contains selections from several of Blake's major works, including his Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, his visionary poems, as well as his political poems. The book also contains many scholarly aids including a chronology of Blake's life, critical essays by leading Blake scholars, and colour pages showing Blake's beautiful illustrations to some of his works (as well as being a great poet Blake was also a painter and engraver of very considerable ability). While critics never seem to really reach any consensus on what Blake's poems really 'mean' (Blake is read variously as a Gnostic by Harold Bloom, a revolutionary critic of England during the industrial revolution by Terry Eagleton, or as a disciple of Swedenborg and Boehme by others) Blake's poems contain incredible beauty and visionary power and polyvalent symbols energised with multiple meanings. I think if one consistent theme can be read from Blake and his poems, and I think this was his own intent, was that the power of the human imagination and what it produces in art transcends any attempt to 'bracket' or reduce it to a dead and static system of lifeless scientific symbols; I imagine Blake would class many critics of his work as agents of Urizen, trying to carve out of the fiery energized cosmos of the living human mind the perfect frozen archetype which orders all things perfectly but in doing so, misses the whole point.

Blake's poems then should be read not by trying to impose what you want to see in them but by trying to let them speak to you and perhaps, ignite your own spark of imagination, as Blake has done with many brilliant poets from Yeats to Allan Ginsberg and many others.

This is truly an awesome guide to writing your own PHP extensions. I would like to add, though, that the book only covers PHP4 - not PHP5.

If you ever want or have to build your own PHP extension, there's only one serious recommendation: read this book!
It's well written, the examples are easy to use and it's just fun working with it. Building your own extension has never been that easy.
This book saved me weeks of research in bad commented source codes. Thanks!

This is a great in-depth book for extending PHP. Clear concise examples throughout for customization and PHP extensions. A must have in any advanced programers library.

This book will save you a lot of time if you have to implement
a serious PHP extension for the first time. It's definitely
worth it -- not so much because the book is so great (it is
very good overall) -- but more because there isn't any other
resource quite like it out there.

Having said that, it could have had a more discussion
of the overal environment of PHP extension programming, including:

- how/when zvals are garbage collected (how can you verify
you're not creating memory leaks?)
- when zvals are created and consumed and who "owns" them
as they are passed around between functions
- threading issues: what are you allowed to do/not do wrt.
threading?
- Many PHP macros are written dangerously, e.g. they hardly
ever use constructs like "do {..} while (0)" or extra parens.

Obviously if you get these issues wrong you're likely to
have some trouble - and hard to debug trouble at that.

In other words, the first chapter is "First PHP extension"
but an overall introductory chapter about the funny little
world that PHP extensions live in before that would have
been nice. But overall a great book and glad to have found it.

I could go on forever about the beauty and complexities of Blake's poetry, but nothing I could say could communicate the experience of reading Blake, so my advice would be to read through this collection yourself and then read Northrop Frye's analysis of Blake's work. I have yet to do so myself, but I hope to do so eventually. Blake's poetry is not something to be understood by the rational faculties and just needs to be absorbed in all it's beauty by reading and rereading it.

I like this anthology better than any others I have come across (belive me I've seen many) because it arranges all of the poems in chronological order rather than trying to organize them for you. This way you can read them in the order they were developed or choose any other way to read them and still be able to find them by the date. This edition is also more complete and does not contain sections of poems like 'Jerusalem' or 'The Four Zoas', but the works in their entirety. The letters at the end are also an unexpected delight to read.

While Sir Geoffrey Keynes (brother of "that other Keynes") did a much-lauded service with this edition, wary readers should note that the punctuation is deliberately "corrected" by the editor. The Erdman and Ostriker editions at least attempt to give you what Blake wrote. Insofar as, in the illuminated works, the punctuation was Blake's own and not that of a drunken compositor, that seems an important consideration.

(I went with the Erdman; the Penguin's notes are better in many ways, glosses rather than commentary, but Penguin books are so damn shoddy these days, & the Erdman is published as a book that'll bear some reading without falling apart. Look at the old 2dhand Penguins in used-book shops; few of today's Penguins will survive so long, I fear.)

William Blake is one of the most underrated writers of all time. He is also a wonderful visual artist. Unlike his contemporaries, such as Milton, he created his own Mythology. A complex heirarchy of preternatural beings. Many people have spent years trying to piece together the puzzle of his complex philosophy. Any fan of enlish literature, and desire to be challeged by a writer gifted not only in meter, but also in content will be sad that they had not read Blake sooner. He comes very highly recommended. He affects the way you think. I close with his words: "Forth from the dead dust, rattling bones to bones/ Join; shaking convuls'd, the shiv'ring clay breathes,/ And all naked flesh stands: Fathers and Friends,/ Mothers & Infants, Kings & Warriors."

Mr. Keynes' edition of Blake's complete poetry and prose is the one I've used not only at Shimer College, but also in Russia and China when I taught Blake there. Mr. Keynes arranges Blake's writings chronologically. The reader can thus more clearly see how Blake's mythic system evolves. Clarity matters when a reader falls into a universe as visionary and fluid as William Blake's.

Each poem is a like a magical brick in the mystical structure Blake ultimately builds. His work begins in Innocence, a world where science, imagination, love, and wild beasts blithely dance in balance. When the cruelty, greed, and fears of Experience blight the peaceable kingdoms then society and the human soul split into warring factions.

Blake has been called apocalyptic. In his late great prophetic books families, lovers, societies, and the ecosystem fall to bits. But Los, Blake's heroic artist, "keeps the divine vision in times of trouble." Techno-science and institutionalized greed overshadow the earth, but Los keeps on building Golgonooza, the gorgeous city of art which ultimately connects heaven and earth. This can bring Jerusalem (the feminine divine)back into the heart of Albion (the universal humanity). When the feminine divine suffuses masculine power all things coalesce in a cosmic orgasm of art, science, pleasure, and prayer. "There is no body distinct from the soul!" Mr. Blake proclaimed in his Marriage of Heaven & Hell. "Everything that lives is Holy!" cries Oothoon, whose indestructible purity embraces the love that's "free as the mountain wind." She's become a role model for some exuberant Shimer students.

To truly partake of Blake please treat yourself to at least a few of the full-color illustrated editions that are now wonderfully affordable. The Dover editions are a bargain--but I order the Blake Trust (Princeton University Press) editions for my classes as well as Sir Geoffrey Keynes' lovingly edited Complete Writings. Buy this book! It can bring you bliss!

Dances with wolves is one of my favourite movies ever. Once you see the movie as many times as I've seen it :) you try to find something else to continue the story. The ilustrated story of the epic brings you back to the movie and has very nice photos and comments of several scenes. I reccomend it to any fan of the movie.

I got this book at Waldens ages ago and have enjoyed looking it over repeatedly. Dances With Wolves is truly a masterpiece and brilliant work. Kevin Costner is simply the best in acting, directing, and entertaining us.
Penni Weston
Author of Accidental Outlaw a novel written for Kevin Costner.

If you liked the movie then this book is a must! Not only was Kevin Costner make one of the best films in history but he followed it up with this great book! My daughter picked this one up for me at a library sale. I didn't even know it existed to be honest or I would have purchased it myself. The book is a bit tattered so I checked out the local bookstore and although they didn't have it on the shelf, it can be ordered. If you liked the movie then consider this book for your collection. I fully recommend this great work of art by Mister Costner and friend.

I wonder if Kevin Costner even realizes the artistic and historic contribution he has made with this film. As an artist I found this book to satisfy my graphic appetite and as a romantic I have, once again, been allowed to travel back in time. Mr. Costner has shown us his artistic brilliance in so many ways and I thank him for his efforts. Enjoy the book; it is a treasure.

I loved the witty short stories in this book. They show a more thorough and less sentimental look at past relationships. Some stories were better than others, but one thing is certain: you will see yourself in more than just one of the stories. If you enjoy reading about relationships as much as I do, you'd love this!

I couldn't stop reading...what a delicious collection of stories! I am so tired of sappy writing about love, how refreshing it was to read these smart reflections. Erotic, hopeful, sad, beautiful, wistful, happy--all tumbled into a tangle of stories connected by a theme with a twist and the keen perceptions of this talented group of writers. I am left hungry for more...

As often as we come across them, rarely do we find books that truly relate to the experience of love gained and lost. Most of us are left to mumble through Shakespearean aphorisms like mouths-full of sand spread on stale crackers. Not any more. The guide for the lovelorn has arrived. New Stories About Old Flames is everything you need to ease the pain, reach out your now-soothed heart, and -- if not actually touch the face of an angel -- at least be able to finally admit to yourself that yes, she had a moustache.

I began reading this book with low expectations. A number of the contributors were unknown to me, nearly half of the stories have been published before elsewhere, and "failed love" seems like such a tired theme. But after reading a few stories (specifically, by the time I finished Maggie Estep's story) I was quite impressed. It's fascinating to read these stories in sequence, to perceive the similarities. No matter how different the setting, it seems there are certain elements of tone and mood that persist from one story to the next.

My favorites were the clever, evocative pieces by Junot Diaz, Susan Perabo, and the previously unknown-to-me Evany Thomas. The book contains quite a few other gems as well, in addition to just a few failures--notably Paulina Borsook's flabby story, which for some reason is allowed not only to run 20 pages but then to leave off in the middle, to be continued online at the publisher's web site.

The editor, also-unknown Blake Ferris (pseudonym?), has for the most part chosen excellent stories, but apparently neglected to copyedit them: the book is littered with typographical and layout errors, enough to bother even such a hardcore non-perfectionist as myself. Hopefully these will be corrected in a second printing.

But despite these shortcomings, the book's marvelous, emotional moments and revelatory humor make it well worth owning, reading, and rereading. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

If your looking for an excellent book to help you on your quest to learning how to play your keyboard and read music. Then this is the book for you. It really makes learning a fun part of the proccess. I liked the cd and the way this book was written. I will defintaly buy more fasttrack books in the future.

I have enjoyed the book very much. For a beginner it is very helpful.

I have to say, given all the choices for keyboard instruction available, I got really lucky in choosing this one! After just 5-6 weeks, I am halfway thru book 1 and they've got me playing loads of songs with 2 hands(something I thought I wouldn't be able to do for awhile!). This book takes a very 'hands-on' approach(this is key!), and includes a CD for you jam along to. The keyboard parts you are intended to play are panned to the right, so that you can hear what they're supposed to sound like, and later pan to the left in case you no longer wish to hear them. I also like the book's laid-back 'take it easy on yourself' attitude, while teaching the reader music theory one piece at a time. Granted, you do start out playing some songs you've probably heard too many times already("skip to my lou", for example), but they are good teaching exercises, and later on the book has you playing material that is more rock, blues, and classical-oriented. I can't wait to start book 2!

very easy to understand and follow and encourages a keen interest to learn quickly and accurately

I tend to choose my books from the library mainly based on the strength of the illustrations and only casually flip through the text, checking that the message of the book isn't one I find offensive. I save the really juicy task of reading the books cover to cover for when I get home. This book, both during the flip-through and the first reading alone, didn't really appeal -- but I found when I went to share it with my daughter that in reading aloud this story comes alive! There are only a few words on each page but, since the text is the thoughts inside Fledgling's head as she ventures out into the city on her own, flying for the first time, you really feel that you are taking the flight alongside her. The urban scenery is detailed and realistic although my daughter, never having been on the subway, missed most of the action when the inhabitants of the subway car frantically try to shoo away the confused and frightened bird. The story also has a reassuring message; when Fledgling realizes she doesn't know where home is, she hears the sound of her family calling her and returns safely. This is a fantastic book for any nature lover, or to teach your child about some of the wildlife that has made our cities their home.

Fledging is a beautifully illustrated book with the main character being a kestrel, a small falcon. This is fledging's first day of flight. He has an exciting flight through the canyons of Manhattan, to a Coney Island roller coaster to a being in a subway car. This delightful book is ideal for the pre-school and kindergarten set. Robert Blake's books are exciting because he never illustrates his books just in one style or medium. He paints with earth tones water colors in this book and soft watercolors in The Perfect Spot and wintry oils in Akiak.

Fledgling witnesses a falcon's first flight from its rooftop home in Brooklyn. Not only must the fledgling overcome its fear of flying but once airborne it is chased by a hawk. In escaping the hawk the fledgling takes the reader on a bird's-eye tour of the city from the subway to the rooftops. We enjoy an exhilarating ride and vicarious pride in the fledgling's courage and skill. The realistic watercolors bring Brooklyn to life and give immediacy to the dangers of urban life for wild creatures.
For children from three to six.

When you hear the word, "watercolors", you may immediately think of soft dreamy landscapes and lovely vistas. "Watercolors", the word, does not conjure up vibrant images and exciting chase sequences. And yet that is exactly what you will find in Robert Blake's visually astounding, "Fledgling". A simple tale about the day in the life of a young bird, the illustrations in this book are topsy-turvy twistings of perspective and distance. It can single-handedly change how you feel about the art of watercolors.

Even before you reach the book's title page you see a single page displaying three tentative birdies. Says the text, "Today is the day we are all going to fly". And there you have it. A single kestral (a member of the falcon family that may live in metropolitan areas) is about to learn how to fly. At first the bird is tentative and resorts merely to gliding. Subsequently, however, it's figured out the logistics of good flying. And not a minute too soon. Appearing out of the upper left corner dive a pair of sharp speedy claws. The rest of the book consists of the kestral trying frantically to escape from a hungry hawk. Through the roller coasters of Coney Island! Into the subway car of the D train! Up and up and away they fly, until the kestral is free but lost. Fortunately a friendly cry from its family leads our hero home. Happy and safe.

This is one of those cases where the story is fine but you've undoubtedly seen it one hundred times before. It's the pictures that let it stand out. In his note at the back of the book, Blake explains how he was inspired to create this story. He describes the pains he took to draw falcons, "in every conceivable position". The result is a book that clearly reflects his efforts. Our hero spreads his beautifully spotted wings amid the streets of modern day Brooklyn. Every stripe and feather is in place on this magnificently rendered animal. Blake, having mastered the bird itself, then shifts the viewer's perspective. One minute you're looking up at the kestral from below as it flies by an intricately designed ferris wheel. The next minute you're looking down on it as it searches the city streets for its family. The twisting images and skewed scenes are mesmerizing. Best of all, Blake includes some fabulous details with his story. Be sure to notice the dogs that break away from their walkers to follows the two birds into the subway's depths.

I could go on all day about these pictures. I could mention how well Blake uses light and shadow, or how perfectly the buildings bend within the pages. I could point out the advantage of a blue headed hero (especially when he's poised against a metropolitan background) or the fine-lined illustrations that make every picture interesting. Heck, the book's even occasionally broken up into three or four separate columns, according to the needs of the text. I'm disheartened by the fact that "Fledgling" did not garner its own Caldecott Honor, let alone Award. It's also a little sad to see the Twin Towers standing proud and tall on the cover, though Blake is hardly to blame for that. And there are some slight inconsistencies in the kestral's colors from picture to picture. There ends all my complaints of this book. As it stands, I feel "Fledgling" is one of the strongest picture books out there. Children everywhere will identify with the bird's sense of loss and powerlessness, and will enjoy the ending just a bit more as a result. If you need at least one beautiful picture book in your collection, choose this one. It withstands repeated gazings.

I have read Matilda, The Witches, The Twits, and more of Roald Dahl's wonderful books to children of all ages, all economic levels, and from all over the world. Dahl has an amazing ability to captivate any audience. He also allows children to view Norwegian and British cultures.
His books are hilarious, full of rhymes, puns, metaphors, and rich with vocabulary. Dahl can take any reader, from age 5 to 95, to a whole new world.
Strongly, strongly recommend Matilda, The Witches, and especially Boy for children, teens, AND adults. Whether someone reads to them or they read alone.

This is an exellent book that is suitable both for children and adults.
Funny story!

J.S.- Class Pick
Are you sick? If you are, you gotta have some of George's Marvelous Medicine! George's Marvelous Medicine is a book where George's grandma is the meanest grandma on the block. So George decides to make a medicine that will fix his Grandma's attitude forever. George tries a couple of times to fix Grandma with surprising results. You must read it to find out what happens next. This fun filled book is funny, inspiring, and joyful. I hope you enjoy George's Marvelous Medicine.

M.W.- Class Pick
Do you have a grumpy old relative or a bully that you want to get rid of? Well, in the book George's Marvelous Medicine, George has the same problem. George is an 8 year old boy who has to spend the day with his "horrid, grouchy, grizzly, old grunion of a grandma." Luckily George gets an amazing plan to give his grandma a taste of her own medicine (literally.) Read this book and see what George puts in his recipe and what happens to his grandma.

B.C. - Class Pick
"You're growing too fast, George!" Grandma said. George does not like the cranky, mean, old grandma. How could George find a way to get Grandma to be just a little bit nicer? Grumpy Grandma had never gotten off of her chair in a very long time. Finally, George thought of it! He would make a Marvelous Medicine. Just wait until Grandma drinks this! Read George's Marvelous Medicine to find out what happens.

You cant go wrong with Roald Dahl, we've (my self and my kids,4 and 6) been pleased with every story purchased.

Get your kids to learn to pronunce rumbustification and you will all enjoy the two great stories in this book. Great illustrations too.

My 5 year old son just loves this book, we have been reading it over and over again for the past year. Great fun for both kids and parents!

This book was read to me by a teacher as a way to learn to write a story outline, and with this book I found it extremely easy. The Librarian and the Robbers was hilarious and easy to follow.

It's kind of sad that the lack of reviews here makes it look like no one has looked at this funny book on this site since 1998. It's very funny and just the kind of book a young boy would make any adult read to him over and over. And girls will like it too.

If you had put your hand over my eyes and read the first paragraph of the first story to me, with main characters Alpha, Oliver and Omega, I would have known who wrote it right away. It has Mahy's rhythm, her humor that comes from the sound of the words, the alliteration she loves. This is a book made to be read aloud. It sounds funny, and it means funny too. The plot of these two stories twist in ways that, even having read a lot of Mahy, I never could have predicted. Everytime I encounter one of her stories, I wonder how that kind of twist came to her. I wish I could do it myself.

The first story is about three boys who have recently moved into a house. In the apartment, whenever the boys tried to do something adventuresome, they were told to wait until they were in a big house. Then they'd have space enough to have an adventure. Well, they were in the new house, and nothing was happening... until a pirate decides their house is the perfect place to "steal" a party.

In the second story, a bunch of atypical robbers kidnap an orphaned librarian reasoning that her "parents" would be the city, and they would have to come up with ransom in order to open the library again. But of course, the librarian always wins. Mahy was herself a librarian for many years.

Perfect read-aloud book. Lots of fun. And the illustrations are an extra (goofy) plus. They are done by Quentin Blake, the illustrator who worked on Roald Dahl's books, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, BFG, The Witches etc. You'll recognize his style when you see it.