Gray Books

It's so nice when a scholar who can write well surveys an area of popular culture that hasn't already been analyzed to death. What David Castronovo does here is give postwar American literature the same sort of critical analysis that we are more used to seeing in books about film or drama. His casts his net wide and brings in a wide and disparate bunch, and sifts them for common themes and anxieties. You get the big familiar leviathans from Hemingway and Salinger, Nabokov and Flannery O'Connor, along with the second-tier "serious" writers of the 1950s; and you also get pop names and bestellers from the era (such as the one refered to in the title). But most remarkable is a central chapter called "Angst, Inc." This covers the period's most emblematic type of fiction--that dark, pulpy stuff (Jim Thompson, Cornell Woolrich, Patricia Highsmith) which all seemed so ephemeral at the time but which later got enshrined as "noir"-ish classics. And with good reason. As Castronovo shows, this low-cult fiction, with their themes of obsessive fear and temptation, was just a purer, franker form of the same thing that the high-cult writers of the time were doing. Thus, Lolita (which Castronovo considers shortly afterwards) was basically just a glossier, more professorial version of Jim Thompson.

The book is deceptively small. It's concentrated and rich, like an exceptionally good book-review periodical. I couldn't wait to get through it, so I could go reread (or explore for the first time) the books under discussion.

I found this book to be very fascinating and I learned lots about the mentality of the Arab world and how it is very different from the concepts of American culture. Also provided lots of information about Saudi Arabia and interesting stories about the day to day lives of a doctor but not only that but gave insights into the private lives of some of the royalty that he provided his services for before he came back to the states. An awesome book.

Dr. Gray has some amazing observation skills and he brings his study to us through this book. A must have for every serious Bible student.

We have enjoyed reading the diferent books about easy peasy people and theiradvencters. They are simple andeasy toread by new readers. Cindy Jolliffe-Petrie

Very clear language used to present general biochemistry to undergrads as well as graduate students. Covers all fundamentals in a logical, but readable fashion. Better than Stryer and easier to follow than the rest of the bunch. Highly recommended.

This is one of those regional books that certainly should have gotten wider distribution and wider press. It was put together by a number of High School English students in Lebanon, Missoui and edited by Ms. Ellen Gray Massey. This is a large collection of personal recollections, stories, and record of how people in the Ozarks lived several generations ago. These are first hand recollections, most of the people recored in this work are now not with us. This is a record of wisdom, how-to-do-it on nothing and more. The are the articles the students published in their school magazine "Bittersweet," some of the best. Do not be misled by the age of the writers. This is a professionally written book, far, far better than most "adult" writers of the same genre produce. If you can get a copy of this work, grab it and hang on to it! Highly recommend this one.

I have had this book for a couple of years, and I still love to pick it up and look at it often. I have several books by this author, and there is no one who loves or has more knowledge of the Ozarks than Mrs. Massey. Even if you have never been to this part of the country, after looking at this book you will have a newfound respect and admiration for the history and the people of the Ozarks region. I highly recommend this book as well as others by this author.

Enjoyed the medieval story about the devoted and courageous servant/falconer made a freeman by his master. Good lesson about loyalty and hard work.

Blake created his series of 116 watercolors at the turn of the century to illustrate 13 poems by Thomas Gray: this reproduces his watercolors in an affordable edition, allowing a much wider audience access to his works. Blake's Watercolours For The Poems Of Thomas Gray republishes all 116 plates originally in the Trianon Press edition.

When you think of the American Civil War many things pop into your mind. Trains, trenches, slavery and ghosts. Ghosts roam the landscape of the battle fields like fish roam the oceans. Of course, on such battle fields like those found in Manassas, Petersburg and Gettysburg, you will very likely run into a soldier who refuses to stay down, even after death.
Many of the chapters, like the one on Chatham, deal with a ghost who died before the Civil War. But Chatham was used as the HQs for the Union during the first Battle of Fredericksburg. Therefore, it was a Haunted Place of the Civil War.
Half the book seems to focus on Washington, DC, where you can't swing a cat without hitting a ghost. Daniel Sickles, Mary Surratt and William H. Seward are said to all roam the streets of the Capital.
From John Brown to Abraham Lincoln there are tons of ghosts, from before, during, and after War that roam our streets. Try not to stare.