Coleman Books

A thoroughly interesting, inspirational, and sometimes heartbreaking first hand account of life on the Texas frontier. A spirited woman survives two husbands, a war for independence, a civil war, and the death of all but one of her children. Her journals reports all events from the perspective of a mid-late eighteenth century woman's concerns. For instance Ann Raney Coleman complains mightily about the poor financial decisions of her both her husbands, which rendered her penniless in her old age. But she never once questions the principle of coverture that placed her inherited property beyond her control and into the hands of her husbands, in the first place.

The story of a difficult and remarkable life illustrating the difficulties faced by women in the Victorian era and the dramatic hardships faced by all on the Texas frontier. Being taken from journals the style is idiosyncratic and sometimes frustrating. Whole paragraphs spent on the dress worn to a ball and barely a line on important events. Some slight inaccuracies on her early life in Whitehaven being taken from memory. On the whole an interesting read and quite uplifting despite being ultimately a tale of tragedy.

No reading of the Eclogues is complete without a reading of the Idylls of Theocritus.

Having said that, and having (re-)read that, I find myself commenting on the other review, which was excellent (though it was written for a different edition). I disagree that Virgil "slavishly imitated" Theocritus. My impression is that the Eclogues are more of an artful (and extensive) adaptation. The fear of plagiarism and insistence on originality is a modern phenomenon. Ancient literature depended upon the recasting of existing works to suit the poet's purpose and taste. Appropriation provided a cultural continuum that preserved and transmitted the beauty, values, and ideas of one's predecessors. In Virgil's case, poetic license would not have referred to a deviation from form or tradition as it does today; it would have meant knowing the rules and biding by them.

If anything was slavishly imitated by Virgil, it would have been the characters created by Theocritus. Daphnis, Thyrsis, Amaryllis, Tityrus, Corydon, Damoetas and Menalcas all make somewhat more than cameo appearances in the Eclogues. They have in fact re-emerged as Virgil's main cast of characters. In some cases they appear as the poet himself!

The Idylls as an art form only superficially affected Virgil. Of course he adapted the singing contests to his own settings and themes. The prizes still included cups, heifers, girls, banes and boons. While the Idylls were a collection of poems written at various times and for various purposes, the Eclogues appear to be (and there is ample evidence to support this) composed as a coherent set. They are the equivalent of a modern-day popular music album. Cohesive devices link one poem to another; matching numbers of lines provide internal balance; there is an introduction and a conclusion.

This edition of Vergil's ECLOGUES comes in Cambridge University Press' "Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics" series, and is a typical entry. The Eclogues were Virgil's first literary creation, ten pastoral poems that are often a slavish imitation of the bucolic poetry written by Theocritus, but occasionally show striking originality. The fourth eclogue, a foretelling of a golden age brought in by the birth of a miraculous child, is historically significant as it was appreciated by some in the early Church.

The Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics series combines the text with an introduction and extensive commentary. Here these materials are prepared by Robert Coleman, a fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. The introduction consists of four sections: "The pastoral before Vergil", "The chronology and arrangement of the Eclogues", "Vergil's achievement as a pastoral poet", and "Text, Note on orthography". These are interesting, but as with the introductions of so many works in this series, one feels that the author already expects you to know all about the work in question already. The commentary takes up 227 pages of this 303-page work, and deals many with explicating the historical allusions and poetic devices of the Eclogues. Regrettably, the commentary does not touch much on Virgil's use of archaic Latin diction, for it would be interesting to explore how much earlier these forms had passed from colloquial speech.

If you are interested in the literary themes, this is a good edition to have. Those who would rather read the book out of linguistic interest (like this student of comparative Indo-European linguistics) might rather go with the Oxford Classical Text edition.

I really enjoy this book because it covers a lot of really important factors to think about in a relationship.

My only problem is that the author doesn't necessarily go into quite enough detail at times. I feel like he makes statements about actions that we do in a relationship without giving enough specificity, without saying what to do in certain situations or what to do instead of something else.

All in all it's a great list of issues in relationships but I don't think it's enough. It's good to become aware of these things but I think you have to take everything with a grain of salt as it applies to your particular situation. For example, the first problem in particular, don't move in with your partner. I felt like he was too all or nothing. It's not that simple, what about mitigating factors? He says if you're considering living with your partner, reconsider. I just feel like he doesn't explain his position, give alternatives to the mistake or solutions. What should we do instead? What if you're younger or older? He says people who live together have a higher rate of drug and alcohol use, but, what if you know you and your partner won't go down that road?

My point: think about these issues but supplement the information with other books, articles, research.

I would highly recommend Communication Miracles for Couples: Easy and Effective Tools to Create More Love and Less Conflict, it's a wonderfully helpful book, incredibly easy to read and understand and super easy to apply to your life!

An excellent collection of advice that any beginning or mid-level manager can use. It's like having a personal mentor in a small book.
The short suggestions are nicely grouped by subject, which makes browsing easy. Another point that I liked is the advice is to-the-point, you don't need to read dozens of pages just to find the hidden meaning as in many other business books.

Exquisitely detailed portrayal of Lincoln's relations with relatives, including father and stepmother. Also has much about Abraham Lincoln's dealings with other persons in Coles County. This book will be enjoyed more by persons interested in that particular topic than by persons with a more general interest in Lincoln.

This book is actually two: 1979's "Mad Dog Black Lady" and the 1990 "African Sleeping Sickness". Both are incredibly powerful collections of poetry (with some stories), and the sheer volume of work contained here (328 pgs, with almost a poem for every 2 on average) is almost enough to make you OD on poetry. The work is strong stuff, with stories of love, sex and danger throughout, and Coleman's voice is so hardcore compelling you don't know if you should read the bok or run from it.

Captures the biting energy of her short stories in poetic form. Wow.

This book is a condensed selection of choice passages from the 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, which was peppered with absurd descriptions of social mores and sweeping generalizations about national characters. It's the acme of the imperialist mindset, distilled for occaisional reading; perfect for a professor's bathroom.

If you've ever seen this wonderful musical you know that the text contains many wonderful voice parts. Rejoice! Here is your book. This book contains many of the songs from the wonderful show, including: "The Prince Of Humbug", "The Colors Of My Life", "Bigger Isn't Better","I Like Your Style" and the sassy "Thank God I'm Old". Many more are included. This book is great for young vocalists just starting to find their range because, as I said before the parts are so diverse. The piano score, is as well, easy to follow. Beginners should definitely pick up this book.

I like this little book ... and if you're looking for some light reading that will help you gain insight into the beliefs of Catholics, this volume is for you. The Coleman family has done a good job of outlining the basics of the faith while avoiding the tendency toward "Catholic fundamentalism" that is so pervasive today. The answers in this booklet are laid out so as to be readable and well-organized. The authors wisely avoid divisive issues, but they do a good job introducing non-doctrinal issues that are being discussed in the church today (such as gospel authorship and mandatory celibacy for priests). Although there are a couple of places in the book where nuance might be helpful, one must remember that this volume is offered as a simple expression of the basics of the Roman Catholic faith. In that sense, the authors have done a nice job and I recommend this volume to those who are looking for such an introduction.

This book is what I expected and has lots of great ideas for shelving options which is why I bought it. I may end up having someone else build them, but the book is still a good one.