S Books

I purchased a hardcover copy from the Charleston historical society's downtown office. I was vacationing and looking for local fiction, opted for Colonial period rather than Civil War or present-day. The streets and historical character of downtown are still present and make this book more interesting. The historial accuracy is very good, although overly worshipful of Marion and his role. I understand the cultural differences between present-day readers and Colonial slaveownwers, and we shouldn't demonize Colonists for that, but CG does tend to perpetuate the oxymoron "well-treated slave" (and Charleston's place as the busiest slave trade port in the New World is ignored by the book). As for Celia, "Sassyface" certainly has gumption, and this can get annoying for mature readers. But it's overall pretty good, and for teens (especially girls), this book is a treasure.

CELIA GARTH takes place during the American Revolutionary War in the city of Charleston, South Carolina. Celia, the main character is a "sassy" twenty-year-old woman who worked as a seamstress in a very fashionable clothing shop. The inhabitants of Charleston were divided in their loyalties. Some were Tories and supported the king and England; many others were supporters of the revolution. After two months of conflict and bombardment, British forces occupied the city of Charleston.

The local hero in South Carolina was Francis Marion, called the "Swamp Fox," by the British. His goal was to keep the British army occupied in South Carolina, and away from General George Washington who was fighting another British army in the north. Celia and her friends supported the revolution and acted as spies for Francis Marion during the two years of the British occupation of Charleston.

The book is full of the flavor and feeling of the late 1700's. Luke Ansell, an American soldier sings the following little ditty, as he walks home after his first meeting with Celia Garth.

"Now girls why act so shy
When provoking men come by?
You know you're only wondering
how you strike us--

Oh forget the won'ts and can'ts!
For since half the world wears pants,
You might as well own up to it--
you like us!"

I learned a great deal about Charleston and how the people of that town lived through the very difficult years of the American Revolution. The book gives a lot of little tidbits of interesting information. For instance, it was popular for the colonial women to name their male babies, George. They would then tell if their baby was named after King George of England or General George Washington.

This is a well-written and very enlightening story.

At the prompting of my mother, grandmother, and aunt, I first read Celia Garth before I was old enough to even understand half of what Gwen Bristow writes about. Since then, I have read it many, many times, and it remains one of my favorites to this day. Celia is such a vivid character, and getting to see Charleston and the Revolutionary War through her eyes is like being there yourself! I cried my eyes out at the plantation death scene, marveled at Celia's courage through it all, and could barely contain my glee when she finally realizes her true happiness. I would recommend this book to anyone, young or old; if you haven't read Celia Garth, you're missing out. And if you haven't ever visited Charleston, SC--well, need I say more? You can see the harbor as Celia did, walk the same streets, see the spire of St. Michael's, and much, much more. It's not the same Charleston as it was a hundred years ago, but it's close enough and thoroughly enjoyable.

The first time I read Celia Garth was about eight years ago. I found it sitting on a bookshelf in my house, and I couldn't put it down. It immediately became my favorite book, and to this day still is. I just recently started reading Gwen Bristow's others, and I can't put them down either! Her Historical Fiction is amazing, and her ability to combine her fictional characters with non-fictional people and places is the best I have ever seen.

I first read this book in high school many years ago. I have not been able to find another copy until Amazon. It is probably one of the best historical fictions next to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Gwen Bristow is a great writer as you can also experience in her Santa Fe Trail. Anyone interested in the Revolutionary War from a woman's prospective will love this book.

Only an author as talented as Gabriel Garcia Marques is able to write a novel which its name tells you the end and you still can't stop reading it. Fantastic!

I have been learning Spanish for 4 years now, and I have had my share at reading very boring and not very well written books in Spanish, and fortunately, some but very few good ones. One is Lazarillo de Tormes, and another is Cronica de Una Muerte Anunciada de Garcia Marquez. I have to say that even if i didn't know that Garcia Marquez was the man that made the literature of Columbia more noticed all over the world, and won the Nobel Prize for this work, and was most well known and famous for One Hundred Years of Solitude (which i hope to read in Spanish as well), i would have still been enamored into his style and what he represents in his works. Obviously, he's speaking for the culture and heritage of the people, and does it very well that from this book alone we learn a lot about it. At times i wish that in Spanish classes we could read books such as these that represent people in Spanish speaking countries in a better light. In other words, i wish we could read Spanish literature like this. I was surprised in how easily i followed this book without constantly relying on my Spanish dictionary. I highly recommend this book.

Don't be fooled by a cute cover and cheap price. The binding for this edition of the book is terrible. I have gone through three books (and I take good care) because all the pages have fallen out just from bending the book back and forth.

I love Garcia Marquez and he is somebody you will want to read again. But this paperback edition won't allow it - the book will break first!!!

Thanks.

En otras palabras, este edicion del libro es de calidad terrible. Ya han roto tres copias del mismo libro en un mes de estudiarlo, que mucho que trato no romperlo.

Escoga otra edicion si quiere comprar este novela fantastica.

Es increible conocer el final de un libro y aun así estar tan intrigado por como sucede o como se llega al final del libro. García Marquez titula claramente su obra Crónica de una Muerte Anunciada porque desde el primer par de hojas ya sabemos que Santiago Nassar va a ser asesinado. Increiblemente las dudas de como? porque? donde? y quien? empiezan a resolverse a lo largo de las páginas. Al final, armamos el rompecabezas, y todo parece caer en su lugar. Definitivamente es una de las mejores obras descriptivas de lengua española, y definitivamente una historia que se debe leer y que se va a recordar.

I might as well write this in English. Since this site is viewed mainly by english speaking readers.

This book is not surprisingly a Very good work by G G Marquez. It is well crafted throughout, and does not bore easily like other books in Spanish (there are lots). It is so well written that you will remember it 5 and 10 years from the first chance.

The othern reviews tell very well what happens in the story. It tells our Latin American cutlure very well, from its names, sounds and traditions/folklore. I am going to purchase 'Amor en tiempos de colera', which is sadi to be a book created as sort of sequel to this one.

Santiago Nasar , and the Vicaria family, along with the rest of the inhabitants of the Colombian town in which the book takes place will startle you as one of the best cronicles written, at 105 pages only.

I bought this as a gift for my mom, and she loved it. It is a great book that keeps you interested, you won't want to put it down.

No te arrepentiràs, me encantan todos los cuentos de este libro, so tan originales y tan fuera de lo común, que te transportan a otro mundo en tu imaginación!!

Cuentos de Eva Luna arrived rapidly. I am reading it for pleasure and I'm not being disappointed. The book is well bound for a paperback, comfortable to hold, easy to read for a student of a second language.

A friend introduced me to this collection this summer. It's a relatively easy read for anyone with a college education in Spanish. Allende uses modern stylistic devices and vocabulary.

The frame is a Scheherazade set up... a series of stories about love relationships.

Some stories are a bit schematic and unsatisfying but when she hits paydirt, it's killer. I especially liked the stories 'Si me tocaras el corazon' and 'Walimai.' These felt almost like deep folk/ fairytales.

If you enjoyed A.S. Byatt's "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye," you'll like this one too.

What a collection of characters! An illiterate woman who sells words. A man obsessed with a little girl. A woman whose marriage was based on letters written by the wrong man. A woman who spends her life waiting for revenge. A rich man who keeps a girl prisoner. Rascals trying to break into society. A lonely dictator. Invisible Indians. Every character is flawed in some terrible way, and yet, somehow appealing. Somehow you become attached to each of the characters and you want to hear their stories. There is something absolutely magical about these stories by Isabel Allende, stories you can't put down.

What is her secret? I don't know. I think she writes with magic ink. But, there is something else, too. Her characters never give up. No matter how bad, how flawed, how actually depraved they may be, they keep struggling toward the light. And so, each of us, with our own struggle to escape from darkness, can relate to these people and their stories.

These are some of the finest stories I have ever read. I recommend the collection most highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

My four year old son is in love with this chapter series! A friend suggested it to us since he seemed ready for a more advanced reading material at bedtime. My husband reads him a chapter every night...sometimes more because they don't want to stop. It's become a great tradition for them, and something they both look forward to. We love that there are so many in the collection! Start with number 1 and just continue. :)

My daughter loves these books and this one is the only one she was missing. Happy to have found it through Amazon!

My 1st grader hates to put it down, he would rather read Magic Tree House books, than play video games. He even reads them to his class and explains the story for show and tell. In his kindergarten class the teacher would also let him read the Magic Tree House books out loud, not to give her a break, but to promote reading out loud. Great books!

Jack and Annie are helping Teddy get all four presents. They're going to Australia to find the last present. They go on all kinds of adventures like helping a little kangaroo get back to its mother. Will Jack and Annie help the little kangaroo find its mother? If you want to know, you'll have to read Dingoes At Dinnertime. I like this book. It's good because I like the Dingoes because they remind me of my dog Paco.

Jack and Annie are trying to get the last present to free Teddy from the spell .Can they get the last present? My favorite part was
When Teddy helped Jack and Annie to get out of the wild fire.
I really liked this book you should too!

HAHA guys

What is this........... eh, not quite sure, but, slipped so easily into the unknown without PREJUDICE, completely into the author's syntax, thoughts and, yes, dreams.

This author waved to the onlookers as he descended to the hard, craggy Mississippi Rocks that he LOVED. Not a particular story many people in the press want to hold above THE LAUREATES and Fakes that permeate our Poetry industry. A truly strange trip through the head of an albatross in flight....

I love ROCKS.

the main point of criticism of this poem is its hyper-personal self-referential content. i have to say, however, that i have never felt so comforted, so saddened nor so delighted by any work of art or literature or film as i have by these songs no matter how little i know about what he really means or is talking about. i don't even want to know the specifics or the origins behind every line.
this is the most jarring and successful work of experimental anything i've ever encountered in my life. berryman had such a command of language; vernacular, colloqialisms, meter, form, internal rhyme, schizo pronoun shifts, multiplicity, this masterpiece has it all. 'the dream songs' take language and poetry to its limits and does so succinctly, with meter and rigid sonnet form berryman devised for the work.
the fact that the beats overshadow people like berryman and john barth and william carlos williams is simply a crime. i honestly feel that this work surpasses 'leaves of grass' and is probably the most amazing achievement in american poetry.
this is not to say that i think berryman is america's finest poet (more than likely our most erudite, but not our finest). on the contrary, i think he was a marginal writer who caught fire like no one ever has. this is what art is; one person's fractured assemblege of all the shattered pieces of everything in an epic confession where he is in fact three people and is killed and raises from the dead and cheats and lies and is mistreated and is wrong, all in heroic fashion. to want to know where it all came from is wrong and selfish and diminishes the work. to be consoled or bored or outraged is what must be done.
i re-read this beast about once a year, last time through 191 was probably my favorite. like all masterpieces, you appreciate something different every time.
buy this book, steal it, whatever you have to do.

At first, I didn't find much to rejoice about in this collection of poems. The expectation Berryman sets up with his title is deceptive. I found little evidence of "dream." What I mean is that I found this writing highly literal, straight-forward and self-conscious, i.e. the antithesis of dreamy. Secondly, "songs" troubled me. One of the thing that distinguishes poetry from prose is poetry's musicality. And having "songs" in the title of a collection hints that there may be lyricism within. However, I found the diction flabby, the tone impotent and therefore lacking any semblance of lyricism. Perhaps what Berryman meant by "songs" is this: Perhaps these poems are loose ballads (without the envoi and without the predicable rhyming scheme). Ballades address an important person (Henry, in this case) and sums up the point of the poems.

It's terrible to sum-up a collection of poems (or is The Dream Songs considered one poem in parts?), but here goes: Basically, in each section we have the protagonist, Henry, in various situations, or in mere contemplation. The forward for this book is interesting in that, along the lines of Pound and Eliot, Berryman has made a concerted effort to inform his readership that this is, indeed, a persona poem, and therefore, not to be confused with a biographical poem. Perhaps what Berryman has produced here is an eclogue. An eclogue is a poem "written in the form of a monologue or dialogue in which the speaker tells us what he feels about a particular theme (and why) and why others ought to feel that same way (from Handbook of Poetic Forms)." When I approach these poems as bucolics (or, eclogues), Berryman's craft and the poems' meanings open up for me. Otherwise, these seem banally idea-driven and terribly discursive in that they're sometimes laden with private references. For example, the opening few lines: "Huffy Henry hid the day,/ unappeasable Henry sulked./ I see his point,-- a trying to put things over."

The best way to enter these poems, then, is to embrace Berryman's eclogues as a means to engaging with the main character, Henry. Because these poems are character-driven, the language is conversational, idiosyncratic, and at times, pedestrian (like how most of us are just plain boring in our impromptu conversations). In this sense, these poems have an immediacy to them; the reader can almost hear Henry's diatribes straight from his mouth. However, Henry is not without pithy insight. In part #28 Henry displays his humor and resign: "If I had to do the whole thing over again/ I wouldn't." At times these sections begin with such intrigue, they reel-in the reader. Part #44 begins: "Tell it to the forest fire, tell it to the moon." And at times, the readers are reminded of the fact that Henry's merely a character in Berryman's head. These last two lines of part #74, "Henry mastered, Henry/ tasting all the secret bits of life." And that's just what we get from these Dream Songs, bits of a Berryman character in all his intricacies, both commonplace and celebratory.

I am not very knowledgable about Berryman and his work. I certainly have not read the poems with the time and intensity of a number of the reviewers on this site. I have an impression of Berryman and his work. It is of something vaguely likeable occaisionally able to provide a line which hits home. It is of a very variable voice in which the disorder and the breakdown somehow make the text too mixed- up.
Perhaps this is unfair. Bellow thought Berryman the best, and among other poets he too was understood as one of the best of his time.
Perhaps then I should let his lines , lines of one sonnet at least speak for themselves:

These lovely motions of the air, the breeze,
tell me I'm not in hell, thojugh round me the dead
lie in their limp postures
dramatizing the dreadful word 'instead'
for lively Henry, fit for debaucheries
and bird- of- paradise vestures

only his heart is elsewhere , down with them
& down with Delmore specially, the new ghost
haunting Henry most:
though fierce the claims of others, coimedela crime
came the Hebrew spectre , on a note of woe
and Join me O.

'Down with them all!'Henry suddenly cried
Their deaths were theirs. I wait on for my own,
I dare say it won't be long,
I have tried to be them, god knows I have tried,
but they are past it all, I have not done,
which brings me to the end of this song.

Berryman's dream song sequence demonstrates how to create a series of related poems, without rigid constraints beyond trying to maintain a certain length. Some are self-standing like #28 "Snow Line" while others require some knowledge of the series characters Henry and Mr. Bones. Everything seems topical: relationships, politics, writers, and even the everyday. Berryman frequently inverts syntax for striking effects. Most of the dream songs make a strange statement and build off of it such as "Life, Friends, is boring. We must not say so." (#14) or "Bats have no bankers and they do not drink." (#63) I admire the scope of topics such as work, love, and writing that are still relevant today and the seemingly matter-of-fact way Berryman writes, which often produces hilarious results, such as the case of the two previously mentioned poems. In one of the later songs he even takes on himself "The only happy people in the world/ are those who do not have to write long poems." (#354) The Dream Songs are crucial for anyone interested in 20th and even Contemporary Literature.

Used to listen to this on tape and wanted to replace it with cd so I could listen to it in the car. If you want to get a taste of life in 1660's London, this is it. The written diaries are also fascinating but fairly hard to read, so Kenneth Branagh helps us out here. Anyone interested in English history will be very pleased with this diary. If you don't yet know who Pepys is then, for sure, you need to buy this. I've listened to it at least twice over the years and alway hear something new with each listening. Highly recommended!

I chose to listen to this book because I felt I "should" be better acquainted with what can arguably be called the most famous diary in history. I looked upon it as a chore that would improve my mind.

I may have, indeed, improved my mind but it turned out to be no chore! What an absolute delight. I've read many historical novels that weren't half as exciting, funny and fascinating as this book. I kept having to remind myself that this man REALLY lived through all these things -- the plague, the great London fire, the machinations of the court.

Plus, his willingness to expose in frank (and sometimes bawdy) detail his personal life, health, sexual dalliances, etc., brought *him* as well as his times vividly to life.

I doubt if trying to read through the actual diary would be as much fun, but the editors' careful selection of entries culled out the best bits while never losing continuity.

And what more can I add to the praise of Branagh as narrator? The man is a phenomenal talent and shows it in this book. Never over-acting, he manages to convey a perfect tone (for instance, just the hint of a whisper at the more personal parts, as though Pepys was confiding in us).

All in all, this book convinced me that improving my mind doesn't HAVE to be tedious.

Of course it is not the complete Pepy's diary but is wonderful to listen to while on long drives. Kenneth Brannagh as the reader brings life into the English language of yesterday. I wonder if a movie is in the offing.

Samuel Pepys' Pepys' Diary is an outstanding classic which comes to life in audio cd format, narrated by Kenneth Branagh whose background in film and direction lend to a vivid narrative indeed. Pepys' classic has lasted centuries because it records in vivid descriptions the bygone world of 17th-century London life: this vivid written word in turn translates well into audio and brings a rich history to life.

I loved these tapes. I concur with the reviews that they are addictive - better for a long country ride than a harried rush hour. Then let Pepys (Branagh) be your witty and engrossing travel companion.

It obviously helps to be familar with the Restoration to enhance your enjoyment of these diaries; though many with even a general background will still find them entertaining. Highly recommended.

This is a very good hard-cover Chinese-English dictionary for those who are interested in a dictionary that features traditional characters and uses Zhuyin (bo po mo fo) for pronunciation, such as anyone interested in visiting Taiwan. The characters are organized by radical number and stroke count, and a Zhuyin phonetic index is in the back of the dictionary, as well as phonetic indices for two other phonetic systems (Gwoyeu Romatzyh and the U. N. Mandarin Phonetic Symbols). Since the dictionary is a Chinese-English dictionary, it is very useful for looking up Chinese characters you read and words you hear. For each character entry, there are often multiple (up to several dozen in some cases) common phrases of two or more characters in length all starting with that character. As I am a native English speaker, I have found that the dictionary is well complimented by an English-Chinese dictionary so that I can also look up words and phrases I know in English and would like to say or write in Chinese.

I recommend this dictionary to native English speaking students of Mandarin Chinese with traditional characters.

I have used this dictionary for nearly 10 years, and I believe that in that time, working regularly with classical documents, I have encountered no more than 5 characters not included in this dictionary. Certainly for students of modern Chinese, this is as complete a dictionary as you will likely ever need. Characters are listed by several different indexes in both the front and the back, including one index for characters with ambiguous radicals! My only objection is that alternative character forms are inconsistently listed in the indexes, meaning that characters that at first appear not to be included may be included under different forms. Others will not like the absence of the most contemporary usages and colloquialisms; in return, however, they will get a wide range of definitions used in both classical and modern Chinese, a remarkable number of phrases, both classical and modern, and a constantly useful range of biographical and historical names, which can otherwise be very difficult to locate. All in all, my dictionary of first choice on a shelf that includes at least 10 of them.

Fantastic! I was expecting a big and good dictionary. And had the surprise in receiveing a wonderful, very well printed, fine paper dictionary - not tzu tian ( words
dictionary) but ci tian ( phrases dictionary )! Hardcover and with a nice box, besides, with a special plastic cover! And for each of its more than 7 thousands entries, more than 6 or 8 examples, with pronounciation, what makes more than 56 thousands expressions! Zhuyin Fuhao and Pyin Yin ! Fantastic is not enough for this treasure!

Above all, this is designed more for advanced learners, native speakers, and particularly users who are familiar with the Taiwanese Zhuyin symbols as all the entries are organized by Zhuyin instead of Pinyin. As Pinyin becomes a more commonly used romanization system for Mandarin, users who don't know Zhuyin or are more familiar with Pinyin may find it inconvenient to use. The main entry (the listed character) does provide the Pinyin of the character in addition to Zhuyin and Wade-Giles symbols, but the sub-entries (the compound nouns and phrases) are only listed with Zhuyin and with no Pinyin reference. I do like the fact that it offers traditional characters. (I believe that a simplified character version is also available out there.) Despite my personal preference on the romanization system, it is a relatively better Chinese-English dictionary compared with those in the market. It has a fairly comprehensive collection of sub-entries under each character with good definition and translation. Last but not the least, the reference pages at the beginning with the traditional radical system and at the end with all three romanization systems listed are pretty useful for learners who are really into learning traditional characters and/or need references on different phonetic romanization systems. So if you don't mind looking up words with Zhuyin symbols, it is a pretty good Chinese-English dictionary.

This may be of use to Chinese speakers from Taiwan who are translating into English. However, for native speakers of English who translate Chinese into English, or for students who need to look-up using pinyin, this dictionary will be of limited value. There is a pinyin index but it is not as convenient as a fully pinyin dictionary. Furthermore, although head character entries have pinyin readings, character compounds listed as sub-entries under each head character lack pinyin readings. It is more comprehensive than Oxford's Chinese-English English-Chinese (ISBN 0195911512) but I only use it rarely for characters I can't find in Oxford.

For me this was an amazing discovery. I read a review of it in a literary magazine in the waiting room of my optician and when I got home I immediately ordered it from Amazon.
What caught my eye in the review were the names of the inhabitants of the February House - Auden, Britten,McCullers... in that amazing year. I knew of their work individually but to read of them living under the same roof was a revelation.What a cauldron of creativity! All against the background of the war in Europe and the period leading up to Pearl Harbour.As I read the book I felt as though I were there. I hope that someone will make a documentary about it or better still a dramatised reconstruction. The two Truman Capote films have blazed the trail.

A friend just recommended this book to me and it's fabulous!!! I live in an artist bldg and it's nothing compared to the energy of Middagh Street. The book is a great read and the research is most impressive. I cannot wait to read the one she's writing about the Chelsea Hotel!

Thomas Wolf once famously said "only the dead know Brooklyn." There might be some truth in that, but some of us know Brooklyn, N.Y.,U.S.A., pretty well,and are still very much alive. Quite a few people are aware of Brooklyn's brownstone belt, that swath of historic houses stretching from the East River to Prospect Park and beyond. Many of these people would declare Brooklyn Heights the ultimate Brooklyn brownstone neighborhood. It's beautiful, and gets scenic views of Manhattan. It's got history galore--an important Revolutionary War battle was fought here;and it's been, and still is,home to a lot of well-known important people.

One little-known fact is that a number of celebrated people shared a house on Middagh Street, in 1940-41, right in the middle of the Second World War. That house, which came to be known as February House-- a number of its residents had February birthdays-- has long since been torn down to make room for the Promenade that provides storied views of Manhattan. But among occupants of February House were poet W.H.Auden, writer Carson McCullers, writers Jane and Paul Bowles,composer Benjamin Britten, and stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.

Writer Sherill Tippens has produced an interesting, pleasantly gossipy book about the house's residents and their accomplishments. Jane Bowles began "Two Serious Ladies," her only completed novel here. The young lesbian Carson McCullers had just tasted, at the age of 23, great success with her novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." She began two other great successes, "The Member of the Wedding," and "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," between drinking bouts, right here on Middagh Street.

Auden and Britten, both homosexual, but not involved with each other, were being raked over the coals at the time by the British press for choosing to sit out World War II in the U.S. But they were working: they collaborated on the opera "Paul Bunyan,"not critically well-received. Auden who continued to live in the Heights, on his own, to pursue his lifelong, unrequited love for the young American Chester Kallman, was working hard in the interstices of his personal soap opera: He produced "The Double Man" in February House. Britten produced "Peter Grimes;"considered one of the great masterpieces of 20th century opera. Meanwhile, he pursued his own personal soap opera: many critics believe this opera echoes developments with his partner, tenor Peter Pears, at the time.

The most unexpected resident of February House would have to be Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque artiste. She was talked into joining the fun by George Davis, homosexual himself, fiction editor of "Harpers Bazaar" magazine, whose idea February House was, and who worked hard to keep it alive. Davis had published some of his own writing, but he was best known for the talented writers he kept on discovering.

In Gypsy Lee's case, she brought some money, a lot of common sense,and a cook to Middagh Street. The house's residents needed all the above. Her reward for her support: George Davis, great editor, midwifed her book, "The G-String Murders," a publishing sensation for many years.

George Davis continued to live at 7 Middaagh Street after its time as an artistic commune had passed. After Kurt Weill's death, Davis married his widow, Lotte Lenya, and devoted his life to introducing America to Weill's great works,such as "Three Penny Opera,"from which we get "Mack the Knife."

There are some informative photographs, extensive notes and acknowledgements in February House. Tippins evidently did a lot of primary research, but she managed to organize the voluminous results in a very readable style. February House well rewards the reader.

Sherill Tippins has done an amazing job of finding the significant narrative threads in the chaotic convergence of creative lives that occurred in the months before Pearl Harbor when Harper's Bazaar editor George Davis and British expatriate poet W.H. Auden rented a brownstone on 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights and actively recruited other creative artists to live with them. Among the co-renters were Carson McCullers who had recently published her highly acclaimed first novel, "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter," soon-to-be famous British composer Benjamin Britten and his parnter, singer Peter Pears, unpublished novelists Paul and Jane Bowles, Broadway set designer Oliver Smith, writer Richard Wright and his wife, and burlesque sensation Gypsy Rose Lee, who it turns out was the most reliable in the rent-paying department and joined the little "creative commune" on the condition that she could bring her own cook and maid. Her fiscal reliability and drive along with Auden's willingness to take on the unpleasant role of house disciplinarian (collecting rent and other "dues" and establishing and enforcing many house rules) are probably sufficient explanation for why this menage managed to last the two or three years it did.

Tippins wisely focuses her attention on the leading figures (without neglecting to name the many others who partied but did not reside at 7 Middagh--Salvador and Gala Dali, Lincoln Kirstein, George Balanchine, Erika Mann and her brothers Klaus and Golo, to name a few). One passer-through, Anais Nin, christened the dwelling "February House" because so many of the residents had February birthdays. Tippins has a good knowledge of the works of these creative people and is able to see how one of the artists intentionally or inadvertantly influenced a subsequent work of one of his or her co-residents. For example, McCullers was struggling with the novel that would later become "The Member of the Wedding" when she was able to appropriate an experience from Chester Kallman's childhood to explain her heroine's profound sense of alienation and abandonment (Kallman was Auden's lover).

Tippins other great achievement here was her ability to slice through history and palpably recreate the political atmosphere in pre-war New York and to do so in a way that reflects on both British and US perspectives. She takes a good hard look at the criticism expatriates like Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Britten, and Pears faced from the British press and fellow artists who chose to remain in Great Britian during the war. She is similarly insightful in her analysis of the role the Mann family had in trying to get an apathetic America to respond to the European crisis. A lesser writer might not have bothered with these issues and chosen to report only the salacious and saleable anecdotes about the goings-on of the February House residents.

I highly recommend this book to anyone even passingly interested in one of the artists who lived at 7 Middagh Street (you're sure to learn something new), to anyone who ever wondered how great works of art come about, or to anyone interested in knowing how history and art intersect. I'm sure I'm going to use Tippins's Selecte Bibliography as a basis for future Amazon.com purchases.

Sherill Tippins' volume fills a tantalizing gap that fans of Auden, McCullers, Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee have long wished could be filled. Most overdue is Tippins' portrait of George Davis: failed literary wunderkind; editor extraordinaire (who "discovered" McCullers and got much-needed writing jobs for her and W. H. Auden in the lean months before Pearl Harbor); husband to Lotte Lenya and the catalyst that re-invented her for American audiences in Marc Blitzstein's staging of Weill's "Threepenny Opera"--the list goes on and on. Davis and Auden are central to Tippins' account and to the amazing colony of artists who called 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights their home in 1940-41. But Tippins gives everyone in that circle his/her due. Her depictions of Auden's rocky romance with Chester Kallman, of Benjamin Britten's coming to terms with his artistic destiny in England, not America, and Gypsy Rose Lee's ability to charm and disarm everyone she met are more than engaging--they are extremely moving.

Tippins' research is exhaustive and impeccable, and she lets her characters speak naturally and eloquently. I could not put this book down and practically read it at one sitting. I was hungry for the kind of information Tippins delivered, and I finished the book with the deepest satisfaction. Gracefully written, carefully organized and researched, and extremely relevant: this book wins on all counts.

This is a lovely coffee table book with mostly spectacular color photos of most of Wrights houses, including many interior shots. There is not much historical information but this is covered in other books.

This book was a wonderful eye opener. It will appeal to the reader for crisp pictures in beautiful settings and landscapes as well as the various style phases Wright went through architecturally. For Wright aficionados, there is a detailed, but not too intense history of his style, works and personal history as he changes design elememts during his career. Grand interior shots only enhance the overall attraction. The book will add diversity to anyone's collection.

There are many different aspects to highlight when studying the work of one of Americas' greatest architects. The part of his work that is probably the most accesible, are his private houses. It was great to see all these houses together in one beautiful volume. The photographs are stunning, and it is great to see so much attention paid to the interior of these houses, as Wright was responsible for most interior design too.
As a professional or just a fan, when you love Wrights' work and want to visually enjoy it to the fullest, this book is a must have. The only thing better is to buy one of his houses...

One beautiful and well done book. Look, read and indulge yourself in Wright. Wonderful photography and ineresting writing by many authors that all to the lore of Wright.

A great gift for someone who has on interest in FLLW.

This is a necessary book for all who study architecture. Why? Because the photography conveys something close to the reality of Mr. Wright's works, especially so when it comes to the interiors.

When I was studying architecture in college in the 1970s, the BEST photography books about Wright's oeuvre were "In the Nature of Materials" and the very expensive Wendingen Edition. Both are presented in black and white and while that kind of pared-down quality may have suited the age in which the International Style was still in its ascendancy, it did nothing whatsoever to convey the true sense of a Wright space--specifically interior space. The intimately human scale of these spaces was missed.

And color is so much a part of Wright's aesthetic, and without it, one is in dreary Kansas instead of Oz.

Living in the northeast, it was not possible to see many Wright buildings first hand, until that trip to Chicago... and then what a revelation! These spaces were not cold grays but marvels of ochres and greens and wood tones and conveyed so much more serenity than those older photos could suggest.

Happily, future years placed me in conjunction with many of the Midwestern buildings, and a day trip could take me to Wisconsin or Michigan or other less-frequently visited residential and commercial works by F L W. Friendships with original Wright clients or owners of Wright houses opened other doors--I have experienced about one third of the places in this book, so--trust me--the photos do them justice and are almost as good as being there.

I would guess that anyone who has been in these places will tell you that this book gives a very fine representation of these spaces. And thankfully, more and more of these spaces are open on a regular or annual basis for the student or admirer of Wright to visit. Some residences are even now B&Bs. Wow!

The fine articles that accompany the photographs are also most helpful and enjoyable.

If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.

Where can I get the rest of her books????

See her website!!!

I enjoyed almost everything about this novel. I was fascinated by, and, for the most part, believed in psychological development of the characters...a plus for any mystery. Set in a semi-tony British Boy's school, always a treat, this fun psychological thriller kept me guessing until the end. As my only previous experience with this writer was the somewhat tiresome movie Chocolat, I was very pleasantly surprised. I look forward to reading her next effort!

For this reader Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris is a blockbuster of a novel with more twists and turns than an amusement park thrill ride. Set at a British boys' school, this riveting tale plays out like a game of chess with each move and counter-move by the participants advancing the story toward its unexpected climax.

The narrative itself covers a fifteen year period in the history of St. Oswald's School for Boys and moves back and forth in time between past AND present. Through the eyes of its two narrators, one a Professor of Classics and the other the offspring of the schools groundskeeper, we are given an "up close and personal" look at subjects as diverse as the youthful despair of "not belonging", to the inner workings of an obsessive mind, to the ambitious in-fighting and competitiveness of the teaching profession.

I will go no further with my critique since too much information would ultimately ruin the surprises neatly concealed in this tale of malice and revenge run amok. Suffice to say that Joanne Harris has given us a protagonist equal to Patricia Highsmith's sociopathic Tom Ripley character.[ASIN:0099282879 The Talented Mr.Ripley]

St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys is one of the most prestigious privates schools in England. Having a pristine image is vital, and whatever potential scandal comes up is immediately covered up. Roy Straitley, a sixty-something Classics professor, is going for his Centurion, but will he be able to achieve it when his fellow staff members are taking over his office and classroom? There are also several new teachers this year, one of which is an aspiring author. There will be changes this year, but Straitley had never envisage just how different things would be. Small things occur at first. Pens go missing, pranks are made, porters get into trouble. But then things escalate, and one scandal follows another. Pedophilia, extramarital affairs, a missing child and Internet porn are among those scandals. And, worse still, there is murder. Who could be causing this? Someone who has been invisible to everyone at the school. Someone who has managed to trespass St. Oswald's as a child, becomes obsessed with one of the students, and has come back for revenge after everything was covered up to protect the school's image. St. Oswald's goes out of its way to avoid scandals, and this person will be changing that...

Gentlemen and Players is one of the cleverest written novels out there. Its dark, sinister and disturbing language drew me from the very start. The mysterious narrator -- the one seeking revenge -- made my skin crawl, and the big twist in the last fifty or so pages truly shocked me. The fact that it hadn't even occurred to me is a good indication of how well written this book is. Many things made sense when the person's identity is revealed. But I don't want to spoil it for the reader, and so I won't give further details. One thing is certain though: Joanne Harris is an excellent author. I haven't read Chocolat or her other novels, but Gentlemen and Players is a literary thriller that I will remember for quite a while. I cannot recommend this gem enough. If you've read this book and are looking for something as riveting as this, then I recommend The Keep by Jennifer Egan.

I was a little hesitant at first about reading this book. However, it did not take me long at all to realize that I had chosen a winner. The plot is amazing! If only every book was written this well. Yes, you think you have it all figured out and WHAM! It's NOT to be missed!