Butler Books

A gift for a retired navy man who served on this ship and was very impressed.

"I can only conclude that science has enormously extended the sphere of our responsibilities, while our consciences have remained the same size," says Butler at one point, aptly summing up some of the main themes covered in this book. Butler's various essays on pre-WWII and wartime Croatia (and other parts of the former Yugoslavia) were the main reason I bought this book. In several pieces written during the 1950s, Butler provided some of the first intelligent commentary (i.e. not propaganda) on the Nazi-supported Ustasha regime in wartime Croatia and the rather dubious role of Archbishop (later Cardinal) Stepinac, Croatia's Roman Catholic primate at the time. But the essays in this book deal with a much wider array of topics, from Irish culture and nationalism, through the Holocaust to literary criticism. Butler is most intriguing and thought-provoking when he speculates on the morals (or lack thereof) of modern man. Thus, in one of the book's most powerful essays, "The Children of Drancy," he writes about the deportation of over 4,000 Jewish children from France to the Nazi Germany (where they were sent to the gas chambers). He notes the enormity of just this one crime, which involved the collaboration of so many people (from politicians to the lowliest railroad technicians and clerks) and a highly-sophisticated, quintessentially modern and industrial division of labor, and how it has been almost completely forgotten - unike, say, Herod's slaughter of the innocents 2000 years ago.

I love this book because it shows the diversity of Sudan - not just famine, war and poverty (of which there is plenty in Sudan) but the richness of the culture of this vast country. I have shared it with local communities in Sydney, Australia, where we have lots of people from Sudan and it shows people where these Sudanese are coming from and why they are here.

Highly recommended.

What can I say? I was impressed. Suetonius was a Hadrian historian with an eye to the scandalous. Throughout his writing, he paints a consise history while insinuating certain rumors via the elusive ablative absolute. He is the source of many famous stories such as Nero singing as Rome burns in his Life of Divus Nero or Caesar's final words to Brutus in Divus Julius: "kai soi teknon;". Butler and Cary's commentary in this volume offers great historical background. If you want grammatical help though, you should seek out the Westcott commentary. Overall though, I have enjoyed this account of the first Caesar's life greatly. Vini Vidi Vici!

Amy Butler's cards set a unique tone for the discriminating correspondent. The cards are of a lovely, heavy stock, colorful, imaginative, unique in being the product of fabric designs. I first learned of the cards by receiving a note on one and immediately called my friend to see where she'd purchased them. Tellingly, she'd found them in a major museum's bookstore. I am always on the lookout for unique, quality correspondence paper/cards - and these are as interesting as any I've found. Beautiful decorated envelopes complete the picture! It's no surprise they've been created by a true artist.

The book's clear style belies a story rich in detail. It gets the readere about as close to plitics and the Supreme Court as he is likely to get. It is particularly strong on the Hughes court and the justices of the period.

This anthology is a must-have. It explodes/expands surrealism (by grounding it), and it explodes/expands southern literature (by freeing it).

Also, the line-up is first-rate: Andrew Hudgins, Joyce Carol Oates, Lee K Abbott, Laura and Pinckney Benedict, along with William Gay, Robert Olen Butler, Chris Offutt, and Rodney Jones. All rock stars, to my mind.

But then there's the up-and-comers: Kyle Minor, Benjamin Percy, and Jacinda Townsend.

Buy this anthology. Assign it to your students, if you teach. Buy it for friends and family. Stand on top of a very tall hill and yodel its praises until everyone hears you.

Sweet Words So Brave... what's up with that? The title would more appropriately read- Listen little girl and I'll tell you a story.
An abbreviated history of Black folk in America is given. Since the book is only 20+ pages long, you know not much history can be told in those few pages. However, what is shown is very good.

I am most impressed with the fact that this book gives a serious picture of Black people in America. The Ilustrator, Jerry Butler, needs to produce books on his own as his pictures make the book. Every picture is packed with so much reality I thought I saw myself on one of those pages. Every house on the planet should read this book and dust-off a place on the bookshelf for this book.

I'm a kindergarten teacher and so I've read thousands of children's books to my students. This book and the similar book "Gallop" by the same author, are some of our favorites and are loved by both children and adults. I've also given both books as gifts that received rave reviews!

This book is an excellent overview of the CALL field for the unitiated. It has a comprehensive approach that is very readable and engaging while grounding itself in relevant research literature.

There are links to loads of web sites and interesting classroom anecdotes that clearly illustrate the principles presented. For me, as a teacher to adult students, the only downside was that many of the examples were for teaching children.