Clarke Books

A distillation of philosophical wisdom. An elegantly written concise little book that is truly excellent. For those philosophically inclined. Manna for the soul for those also religiously inclined. Not difficult, but may benefit by a little familiarity with some basic Thomist philosophy such as in Etienne Gilson's Philosophy of God.

This lecture by Norris Clarke is an extraordinarily clear and creative completion of St Thomas' work on the human person. It's a masterful little gem.

Clarke brings St Thomas's work right up to date by incorporating the insights of personalist philosophers into St Thomas's metaphysics. Thus, Clarke demonstrates that the human person is not just a substance but a relational substance. The relational aspect of being is not accidental to being but is a primordial constituent thereof. "To be fully is to be substance- in- relation" (page 14).

Listen to what Norris says about the Trinity (page 11 and 15):

"For what the doctrine of the Trinity means is that the very inner nature of the Supreme Being itself - is an ecstatic process (beyond time and change) of self communicating love: the Father, un originated possessor of the infinite fullness of the divine nature, communicates ecstatically his entire divine nature to the Second Person, the Son or the Word, in an act of loving self knowledge, so that the only distinction between them is the distinction of two complementary but opposed relations, Giver and Receiver. Then both together, in a single act of mutual love, pour forth the same divine essence again in all its fullness to their love image, the Holy Spirit, the third Person."

"Within the divine being, the relations and procession between the three Persons are not accidental but constitutive of the very nature of the divine substance. Substantiality and relationality are here equally primordial and necessary dimensions of being itself at its highest intensity".

Thus, as we are made in the image of God, our very being is relational. But, we are also substance, namely substance in relation. If we were merely constituted by our relationality, we would have nothing to communicate.

Norris brings out another important insight, namely that the Word shows us that receptivity is itself a positive aspect of perfection of being (page 20). This has important implications for the understanding of the masculine and feminine dimensions of human personality (page 21).

Norris goes on to examine St Thomas's work on the characteristics of persons, namely i) Personal Being as Self-possessing; ii) Personal Being as Self- communicative and relational and iii) Personal Being as self-transcending. Norris is very insightful - what is it about giving that we receive, why to find ourselves, do we need to lose ourselves, why do we need communion to be self affirmed? We are rooted in ourselves but we are also ecstatically transcendent communal beings.

And Norris notes that in out life journey, our self knowledge never reaches completion, wryly observing that even post 70 years of age, there are surprises (page 46). And again, Norris notes the relational aspects of being; "Everywhere our growth and development, positive and negative, are mediated by relations, - though, not we insist, simply reducible to them. (page 67). "In a word, the final goal and perfection of the whole universe is, literally, the communion between persons..." (page 80). "To be: is to be in communion" (page 82). "It is of great importance, then, for a healthy personal development to find some appropriate way of expressing to somebody all the significant levels of being and personality within us, concluding the deepest and most intimate. Paradoxically, it seems that what we don't share, we tend to lose hold of, what we don't give away we can't hold on to (page 92). "Why it must be that way that self-possession must keep pace with self expression is one of the deep mysteries of being (page 93). "Thus the Christian revelation of the Trinity is not abstruse doctrine for theologians alone but has a unique illuminate power as to the meaning of being... (page 112)."

Many thanks Fr Clarke for your brilliant insights!

I was a graduate student in philosophy at Marquette University when Fr. Clarke came to Marquette to deliver the annual "Aquinas Lecture." The book here is the written text of the lecture presented on a sunny but cool Sunday in March of 1993. I attended many lectures as a graduate student and remember only a few, this being one. Fr. Clarke spoke rather softly and you could hear a pin drop in the hall in which the talk was delivered. He was short, and smiled alot. The day after this lecture he came and spoke to the required course on St. Thomas Aquinas which I was in. I remember that talk very well also. He came in and said "I could talk about three topics today, I'll tell you the three topics and then as a class you decide what you want me to talk on." He then gave a unscripted hour and a half long talk on how Aquinas viewed human beings as the highest of material entities, and the lowest of spiritual creatures. I still remember that talk as well. This book is an excellent contemporary discussion of the Thomistic notion of what a human is, presented by one of the best living Thomists. I highly recommend it to Thomists and non-Thomists alike; it is a powerful presentation.

This book by one of the deepest philosophers alive deserves to be regarded as a successor to Martin Buber's "I and Thou". The author was kind enough to be my spiritual advisor and to validate an experience I had during my final semester at Fordham University many years ago.

Father Clarke was my teacher for in several courses at Fordham in the 1950's; I obtained a minor in Philosophy. He also was a spiritual advisor to me in a time of personal difficulty over matters of faith and belief. Finally, he was the most intelligent, modest and gentle man I can remember. If I had listened to him in 1958/9, I would have saved myself much grief, lapsing from the Church for 35 years ..and, who knows what else? Yet, even as we wrestled with my faith/belief, he reduced it all to a simple issue...as he was always able to get to the core of philosophical issues in his classes...and, he left me with hope and the offer to come to him whenever...even though I rejected his advice. He was a great teacher.
I never knew he was the giant in American philosophy that he was; sadly, after graduation from Fordham, I was commissioned in USAF, never returned to NYC, and my grad school career took other paths. Upon idly putting his name in Google, I saw all he had written and obtained 3 of his books, to include the above. It was wonderous to read him; I almost could hear and see him. As ever, he gave insights, makes you wrestle with concepts and shows how St. Thomas is relevant today. His writings, sadly too few are in print,must be experienced...and, I mean must be experienced/read. This one should lead to 2 of his books...they will also be well-worth your time.

I own a large pile of how-to-write books. Many of the books do not get you from here to there in terms of acquiring writing skills. Most give you a destination, but only a vague sense of how to get to that destination. It's like trying to go from your house to Oz, on a clear & sunny day.

Meredith's book is simple and excellent because it provides very clear directions & instructions for how to get to your writing destination.

When I first read this book, I was expecting it to be about writing stuff that publishers would buy. Well, it had that all right, but not until it went through what they ARE buying, what other genres there are, how others broke in to the business, etc. In other words, stuff you could find pretty much any other place you look. On the other hand, when it does get into the actual "writing" of the book, it gives good information and good techniques that I believe any good writer could use. Whether or not you actually want to get published is beyond the point - you can skip that part if you want to.

First appearing in 1950, and a hilarious 1974 introduction by the redoubtable Arthur C. Clarke, pioneering literary agent Scott Meredith's (I923-1993) Writing to Sell is an excellent tool for the aspiring writer. Meredith has a deep understanding of the marketplace (although some of his observations have become dated), as well as of what makes plots work (his original aspiration was to be a science fiction writer).He generalizes the successful plot as one in which an initial conflict is complicated to a climax, makes useful distinctions (e.g., between "incident" and "story") and gives many practical suggestions on novel writing and revising. (There is one chapter devoted to nonfiction.) Perhaps reflecting Meredith's financial success, there is a tendency to equate literary success entirely with sales reminiscent of Mickey Spillane's comment that what intellectuals don't understand is more people eat peanuts than caviar-or Tom Clancy's comment not to "commit art." Meredith's clients have included Norman Mailer, Ellery Queen, Robert Silverberg, and Philip K. Dick; and he was mentor to many agents and editors. With the qualification that his "just-sell-it" tonic may quash artistic originality, there is a lot to learn from his distillation of the American writing experience-which is no doubt why this book remains in print with Writer's Digest Books half a century after its initial publication. From the need to start off in a recognizable genre, to the importance of not skimping on the first draft and presenting likable characters with seemingly impossible problems, Meredith's work is a highly readable primer on the basic attributes of a salable novel. In short, although somewhat mercantile and dated,Writing to Sell is an excellent craft of writing work.

When I was given this book, I had never been paid for my fiction. Now I make a living at it; in fact, since I started applying these principles to my fiction, I've never FAILED to sell a novel. I've sold nine so far.

This book contains everything you need to know.

Now that I've read eight or nine how-to books on novel writing, I can say with certainty that this one, along with Sol Stein's, has had the greatest impact on me. Both of these men have significant experience as literary agents, so it behooves aspiring writers such as myself to pay greater heed to them than to writers who merely let us in on their personal secrets or academics who publish scholarly papers about fiction, but are unable to sell any themselves. Editors and literary agents are the ones who must be sold on the script in order for it to be published, after all.

This is a very encouraging book for whatever you face in life. I keep it at my bedside and have ordered many extra copies to give as gifts. You really cant go wrong with Spurgeon. This book is a blessing and conveys basic tenets of the Christian faith arranged in biblical order with lots of wisdom and insight. Rest for the weary. An uplifting and soothing balm for the soul. Thanks be to God for Spurgeon and the writings he left us! We are truly "more than conquerors" as "all things work to the good according to His purpose." Romans 8

Besides the Bible, it makes a thoughtful & timeless gift to those in need of comfort and encouragement whether for someone who is ill, or going through difficult times, for the loss of a loved one, or for everyday reassurance that the Lord is with us always. Spurgeon eloquently puts scripture together with the emotions one may experience in their lives. I have made it part of my Church Library and Home Library.

I bought this book in 2003 and my mother loved it. It was a good gift and it was a welcomed edition to the books she re-reads often.

For several years I have given this book to those who were experiencing various trials--mourning the loss of a loved one mostly, but I now have occasion to use it myself as I mourn the loss of my own dear loved one.
Charles Spurgeon is able to speak to my heart and point me 'outward and upward' instead of allowing me to linger 'inward and downward'.
It is a wonderful resource to provide hope and encouragement as we walk through our lives and dark times attempting to give glory to God.

Every person living will at some time face trouble. Outside the Bible, this book is great help during such time.

I just passed the NetWare 5 Administration test #50-639. This is by far the best book I read in preparing for the test. Simple, straight forward, and easy to understand. No superfluous BS, just what you need to know to understand NetWare 5 and pass the test. Definitely well worth the money!

I found this to be an excellant summary - good for reviewing and consolidating study done elsewhere - NB this is a study NOTE book - if you haven't done the CNA course or worked through some self-paced material then do that first. Also - this book is for exam 50-645 (nw 5.0) which was fine for me but be aware that it's on the retirement track now so you should probably go for NW5.1. I'm definitly going to search out "Clarke" material for further CNE papers

This book covers all the topics covered on the test and gives hints of which main topics to memorized and know. Most indispensible for preparing to take the test.

This book does just as the author claims. It chisels down all necessary knowledge of NetWare 5 CNA without allot of wasted words like most THICK Technical books, which I despise. I have worked with NetWare since version 3.11 and this book is accurate to the T. I also recommend using Big Red self test exam software to compliment this book for the serious CNA exam prep.

All exam points were covered in 235 pages. 2 weeks after purchasing I passed the CNA exam. Keep up the good work David Clarke.

Probably the single best Christmas book I have ever read. Fantastic story and terrific artwork. A lot of imagination went into explaining the various facets and history of Christmas. I have to buy a used copy since I gave away the other two I bought to friends and relatives.

Every Season this most wonderful book is appropriately displayed on our coffee table along with double stuffed cookies, a friendly note why the kids were good, and some milk for Santa. It beautifully illustrates and tells how Scribbler Elf wrote the story and other Elves painted the wonderful pictures.

We've found, with a little help of the internet, one of our favorite painter Elves (James Himsworth III) still painting other wonderful children's books at GHLPublishing.com and Dimensions. However, we really wish this classic was more readily available to our neighbors and friends. Many of our neighbors find it difficult to locate. But, thanks to Amazon.com for promoting this fine children's tale!

We recommend this book to anyone who loves Christmas and Santa. Please write and ask Amazon.com and GHLPublishing.com to carry this every Holiday season. Don't let it go out of print, please.

Merry Christmas, The Habermehl Family (Terry 9, Jason 4, Mom)

It tells you so much about Santa and the North pole.I love how it tells how he got started!Its just great!A holiday favorite!

One of the best stories about Santa Claus I've ever read. I nearly cried when I bought this for my young daughter some years ago as it brought back all the magical Christmases from my youth. Its tale is wonderful and the illustrations are delightful. It will warm the hearts of all ages....

I think that this is a GREAT book! I really liked how it tells you that Scribbler Elf wrote the story and the other Elves painted the pictures. Once I started this story, I didn't put it down until I was done. I recommend this book to anyone who loves Christmas and Santa!

The tools laid out in Mark Kuta's "Think Like a CEO" will provide you with the analysis you will need to cover most of the cases you find yourself in front of. These are the financial metrics that you should know like the back of your hand. Remember that with these metrics you will be focusing on what your C-Level prospect worries about every single day.
By reading this book, when you meet with the C-level executive, you can get the conversation to revolve around his specific challenges.
As Mark Kuta says, learn to talk like "It looks like your penetration strategy has yielded solid results. How are you dealing with the challenges of your top line increasing 36 percent year over, while gross margins tighten?", instead of dealing with generalities.

Why this is important to a C-Level executive? Most all CEO's watch the sales numbers closely. The fact of the matter is, many Wall Street analysts look for growth on the "top line" as much as they do on the bottom line. Reading this book already helped me make a sale, by learning to look at the sale from the standpoint of the executive of the company I was dealing with.

Thoughtfully constructed. A surprisingly value added read. A book to refer to, profit by, and read again.

This book helped me to land a major account recently and I'm getting better traction with current prospects. Mark has done a wonderful job of helping the reader understand the profit engine of any business and using this knowledge to build a powerfully effective sales strategy by aligning it with the CEO's profit strategy.

I've read hundreds of business books and this is one of the best I've ever read for helping a sales professional get inside the mind of a big company CEO. Mark Kuta's premise is that managers at all levels of a company are dilegently working to implement the various strategies, tactics and plans that collectively promulgate the overall profit strategy of the CEO. And if you can understand the business "language" involved in this collective company process, you will posses the ability to successfully sell at any level in a company, including the "C" suite.

One of the key tools Mark Kuta uses is his Value Proposition, which he shows the reader how to develop from the perspective of the target company's CEO. Once developed, the Value Proposition can be used at any level in the company and still be effective because it will resonate with the company's internal messages generated by the CEO and senior management to its employees.

If the reader does not know how to read a company's financial statements, no problem. Mark takes the reader step-by-step through the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement, focusing on only the most important things to learn. The reader will come away with the 5 most important things to know from each of the three statements as well as how to use them together to develop a powerful sales strategy and value proposition.

I am a Business Coach and I am always reading books to learn and acquire the necessary tools to coach my clients. After reading about 1/4 of the book I was amazed of how much I had learned already. I understood the financial basics in order to assess how a business is doing. Great tool for my business and also to recommend to all my clients.

Our division chief strongly recommended this book, and I dutifully accepted the assignment the way one accepts weekend homework from the boss. Ten pages into it, however, I understood why he'd given it to us. Reading "Think Like A CEO" is like a private lunch with Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch. I learned more reading it that Friday night than I did in two years of B-school, and woke up Saturday morning literally teeming with ideas, angles, and inspiration, wishing it was Monday so I could get back in the field and outsell my competitors. "Think Like A CEO" teaches you how CEO's think, enabling you to speak their language, push their buttons, sidestep their objections, and make them want--and pay for--whatever it is you're selling. Buy it, read it, implement a fraction of the strategies, and if it doesn't improve your numbers, you're in the wrong business.

His works are profound. although, he has many critics who would like to ... his legacy. When i first read this book it really opened me up to the problems facing black men/women right here in the belly of the beast "America". I would recommend this book to anyone looking to face the problems that lingers still in the black communities all over the world!!!

During a time in my life, when I loved all things to do with Socialism, this book was almost my bible. Mr. Clarke preached Afro-Centric Socialism, to an extent that gave me new faith in myself. His views at time were extreme, but his insight into numerous topics gave me a strong respect for him.

The book is essentially a series of essays, detailing the problems in Africa, and to the other key areas of the Black Diaspora. For anyone interested in Black Nationalism or Pan-African movements, this book is essentially a bible for you.

DR. JOHN HENRIK CLARKE WAS DEFINATELY A ELDER AND A WARRIOR IN PAN-AFRICANISM, AFRICAN-CENTRICITY, AND AFRICAN WORLD NATIONALISM. HE WAS A PROPHET AND A MASTER TEACHER. HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LIBERATION AND MOTIVATION FOR AFRICAN PEOPLE WILL DEFINATELY BE REMEMBERED. THIS BOOK IS A EXCELLENT BOOK THAT GIVES ALOT OF INFORMATION ON THE LIVES OF KWAME NKRUMAH, MALCOLM X, PATRICE LUMUMBA, MARCUS GARVEY AND WEB DU'BOIS. HE HAS CHAPTER ON THE HISTORY OF AFRICAN PEOPLE AND REVOLUTION AND ACT OF LIBERATION BY AFRICAN PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD.THIS BOOK IS DEFINATELY RECOMMENDED IN THE INVESTIGATION AND RE-AWAKENING OF THE AFRICAN MIND. MY THE GREAT GRIOT REST IN PEACE, HIS WORK AND LEGACY WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBER AND UNHELD BY FUTURE GENERATIONS

Africans At The Crossroads is one of the best books you can ever read. John Henrik Clarke gives unsurmountable wisdom with each chapter as he details our struggle. He sheds light on noteworthy leaders like Malcolm X, Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah, Marcus Garvey and others in this magnum opus of a publication. His death is a tragic loss especially at a time when the world is filled with craven pseudoscholars like Jesse Lee Petersucker and Skip Gates and Scary Elder. I had to hold back tears while watching his lectures after I found out that he passed away in 1999. This book as with everything else that John Henrik Clarke can give you is as good as gold. REST IN PEACE JOHN HENRIK CLARKE!!!

This book helps to remove the viel of ignorance. Dr. Clarke towards the end of the book gives a list of recommended reading material. He informs of past and present problems, gives recommended solutions to our problems, and then encourages us to move forward. Plainly, he forces us to think about what we've been told about ourselves.

Victoria was in a slump, she had left Shane McGowan, had moved to Dublin and was in a funk when she started communicating with Angels. A woman not unfamiliar with mysticism and who had explored a lot of different ideas and religions she still finds this a little baffling. Still she went with some of the suggestions and found that her life improved. This is her diary. Some of what is suggested is pretty obvious but sometimes it's the way it's said rather than what is said that can help a person move in their life.

Interesting and thought provoking.

When Victoria walked into my yoga studio with such beautiful energy, I knew that an angel had landed. "Are you an angel? I asked. She smiled. I felt happy, safe, and much loved in her radiant presence.


I was overwhelmed when I read her previous life in "Angel in Disguise?" The distress, struggle, and pain she had experienced in the past. At present, I only see an angel smiling and warming my heart completely. Her book is truthful, bare, emotional, and fantastically funny. Although the reality is harsh and mostly unpleasant, Victoria has risen from above with the aid of angels. The book is mystical, spiritual, and most importantly - real.


Indeed, Victoria is an angel in disguise. I am privileged and delighted to recognize her under those stylish clothes and fabulous jewelries. Victoria, rock on!

As a memoir about life in rock n roll's inner circle, Angel in Disguise stands out for its sheer, raw honesty. In an industry predicated on cool, most people try to maintain some form of mystique. But ... while this may sell records, it tends to make for a boring book.

Victoria, on the other hand, is brave enough not to hold back her emotions and motivations, even the embarrassing ones. Though she's close to Nick Cave, Shane MacGowan, practically every other icon in music's pantheon of coolness and even Johnny Depp, she doesn't try to create more mystique around them or herself. To me, she deserves a lot of credit for revealing herself so fully, since opening yourself up to everyone's judgment is a difficult thing to do.

The other special aspect of this book is its angel wisdom. Victoria does channeling, a form of meditation where you get quiet and centered and wait for messages from the higher realms. Since angelic wisdom is articulated to benefit as many people as possible, anyone can try the exercises that the angels suggest to Victoria. If you don't believe in angels, no worries -- just treat the angel advice as if it were advice given by anyone and then judge it on its own merits!

A book about angels may cause some to raise a cynical eyebrow but this book avoids any kind of obvious pigeonhole. In fact it details Victoria Clarke's journey of self discovery: from her lowest moments and learning through her mistakes with these non interfering beings that gently guide her in the right direction to where her self confidence is rebuilt. This book is self affirming - the books tone is both self depreciating and warm as is Victoria herself. Although that character Ronan seems a bit of a scoundrel.

A great read!

Even though I have to be completely honest and admit that I actually wrote this book, I have no hesitation in recommending it! It is not only fabulous and funny, but really and truly it saved my life and if you read it you will see how! I have to re-read it every so often to remind myself how wonderful those angels can be, if only we ask them to help us. And if you dont ask, they cant help!

If you like Paul Theroux, you'll like this book. It's a little dated, but still very interesting. The author mixes general cultural, specifics and anecdotes perfectly. Well worth the read.

This is a difficult book not to like. I was worried at first that Clarke's tour of the equator might be a sort of weak gimmick, but he sticks to his plan only in so far as it helps bring to life the people and the cultures that he visits along the way. This is a very human book, with many stories of lives along the equator that are at once quite finely drawn but still pointing to the larger issues of environmental degradation overpopulation and disease. I think it is this very humanness that prevents it from seeming overly depressing or

Though I may be naive, this was a fantastic book. There is something so appealing about following an indiscriminate line while traveling, even if it only highlights the absolute irrelevance of manmade lines and borders that the powers that be have drawn across the globe.

However, this book was not just a cynical statement about those lines; it was a heartfelt and honest tribute to the places and people found along the way. The kindness and compassion which Clarke writes with is not condescending, but genuinely respectful and curious.

Though it was perhaps an unintended consequence of linear travel, the variety and newness (at least to me!) of places he traveled to was outstanding. This is certainly not just another boring, cliché travel book about Tuscan suns and cozy cafes in Paris - it took me to places I'd never understood really existed.

Thank you for this book - I hope to shake your hand someday.

I read this book years ago when it first came out. I keep going back and reading it again. I don't generally enjoy travel writing, but this book is simply one of the best I've ever read. Not just interesting, but witty and interesting, which is something much better.

The kind of book that you regret having read the first time because you'll never get to read it again for the first time!

Intelligent, insightful, and not at all patronizing of the cultures he visits. He did manage to hit some of the world's hell-holes along the way. The sections on French Guyana and the South Pacific were particularly interesting.

The well-known phrase 'for the term of his natural life' is used by Marcus Clarke to bring home the horrors of transportation and the Tasmanian penal system in the 19th century.
Richard Devine, an innocent man (under an assumed name of Rufus Dawes) convicted of a crime he did not commit, is sent for transportation and assumed killed in a shipwreck. In reality, he is heir to a vast estate (unbeknown to him) and the convolutions of the tale that evolve from this are wonderfully written; the gradual demolishing of Dawes, the unspeakable duality of Frere, the calculating guile of Sarah and the gullible innocence of Sylvia are woven together in a plot that does not end happily ever after. This I think, serves to underline the barbarism and futility of the transportation system.
Based on actual events, Clarke uses his 'hero' to illustrate the depravation and privations that prisoners (and their guards) had to endure. Graphically showing how degradation degrades and power corrupts, the narrative never dwells on gruesome details, instead it relies for effect on the imagination of the reader, which can be more terrifying.
A book that deserves a wider readership.

This was without question one of the most gripping novels I've read in many a day. I first ran across this work in a brief mention by British travel writer/popular historian James Morris, where he thought it akin to the gulag novels of post-Stalinist Russia in subject matter and philosophical content. Add to that a wealth of striking narrative detail, immensely memorable characters (Maurice Frere, Sarah Purfoy, and particularly James North leap to mind), some truly transporting (no pun intended) and incredibly creepy passages, mind-blowing plot twists and turns, and a persistent refusal to provide too pat solutions to characters' problems... Clarke wasn't better than Dickens or Eliot, but neither of the latter could have written this book.

Clarke's masterpiece was published in 1874, after being serialized in 1870-72. Critics have lambasted a few of the less believable elements and some of the pat characterization of a number of supporting characters, but these are flaws to be found in most novels of that time (and ours). Clarke redeems himself by taking the cliches and mannerisms of the nineteenth-century English novel and using them to illuminate a whole new society, one practically mythical to the metropolitan consciousness of the Victorian Anglophone world. This work is a great counterpoint to all those English novels of the day where the hero or villain gets packed off to the antipodes and returns mysteriously changed. The main thrust of the novel, though, was the need to tell the true story of (white) Australian society's beginnings. Clarke, in telling the story of the unjustly convicted Rufus Dawes (aka Richard Devine), provides a panoramic view of early Victorian Australia, from the hellish convict settlements of Macquarie Harbor and Norfolk Island to the nascent frontier towns of Hobart and Melbourne, from the aging memories of the "First Fleeters" (the original convicts who arrived in 1788) to the controversial Eureka Stockade Uprising of 1854. The narrative frequently moves at a deliciously whirlwind pace to accomodate the exciting interaction of characters and history.

Clarke's novel is generally cited as nineteenth-century Australia's greatest and points the way towards more nuanced examinations of the colonial experience in the twentieth century (Peter Carey's JOE MAGGS, about the "off-stage" life of Dickens antihero Abel Magwitch, is apparently very much in this vein). Don't read it just for this reason, though. Please be sure to find the longer, original version, as I was fortunate enough to do. Clarke was forced to produce a revised, shortened version for the original publication, one dictated by his editors that turned the novel into a much more "conventional" Victorian literary production (and has a longer title--FOR THE TERM OF HIS NATURAL LIFE). I understand a TV series was made in the mid-80s with Anthony Perkins as North. If this was the case, then it badly needs to be remade on celluloid, because I can't seem to find the series. It's a magnificent novel whose flaws, I think, are amply counterbalanced by its unexpected joys.

It's a collation of events by various persons involved in the penal settlement of early Australia. Marcus Clarke has interwoven these events into a novel of fiction. These are stark facts; and show, as far as I've researched, very detailed. L.P. Hartely said it all,in this case.."The past is a foreign country.They do things differently there." The more you read on, the more you want to know..

LEt me set the record straight first...I have never read this book. I had seen the mini-series almost 10 years ago on CBC Canada. The series was very gripping and always left me waiting for the next in the sequence. Following the end of the series I was determined that I had to read this book. My last attempt to find it was in 1991 when I was told it was out of print and could not be found anywhere. Luckily I have just tripped across the information again and it prompted me to start looking again. Needless to say (but I must) I am thrilled to find it and now be able to finally read it. I hope it is everything that I know it is and more. It is an epic tale of grand proportions. Now if I can only find the video series AND a hard cover copy to add to my library!

Well, as an Australian living in the year 2000, reading this book, written in the 1880s, is an emotional experience.

For it is through works such as this that we can see our past. We can examine the nature of the beast that gave birth to us. Who we are. From whence we came.

If you want to understand why Australians are they way they are, and have the attitudes and language that they do, then give this book a read.