Wang Books

No one who can read French should read Barthes in English but if you must read him in translation avoid this one. Trying to follow his thought in this version is nearly impossible. Although I managed to finish this short book and glean from it the general intention, it was not worth the time it took to untangle the mangled sentences. Simple words were changed into incomprehensible ones. Admittedly, the author's wish to imitate his satirized material may account for the difficulties of translation but that would account for only a small element. This book should be replaced with a new translation.

This is one of the great mythology books of the twentith century.And still relevant today.That people are so scripted by the slogan,we have forgotten the 'essense' of the product.That we have bought into the cosmetic idealisation of the image,rather than the true appearance of the natural object or root meaning of the word.This philosophical book is deep reading,not just for literary francophiles, still around today.That we are aroused and mystified by the ritual act and the shiny decor,surrounding the hidden object,rather than the nuts and bolts of the product itself alone.And its the mystique surrounding our language,toys,actors and art-work; that inspires, entertains ,educates the soul and mind of modern people.Without mythology ,the core of society would wither.And mankind would simply revert back to the dark sterile caves of oblivion.

A problem with the take on myth that Barthes develops in his Mythologies is that he privileges the illusory distinction between myth and revolutionary speech. Myth for him is speech that naturalizes the ideology and relations of the bourgeoisie, while revolutionary speech upsets this. Both, however, are charged with producing the situation the present and interpret. Myth is productive. Myth is the revolutionary speech of bourgeois interests as seen from its receivers rather than its producers. Revolutionary speech is myth as seen by its producers. Producing his own myths is man inventing himself.

Barthes does, however, provide a tool kit for examining and analyzing the mythic. He also created a field guide for identifying species of mythologizing. From these tools an interested party could derive tools for the intentional production of myth.

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In Mythologies, Barthes offers a series of snapshots with titles such as "Plastic," "Striptease," "Toys," "The World of Wrestling," and "Operation Margarine." His aim is to reveal the ideological abuse hidden in these myths, which are manufactured to read as reality.

Though complex, Barthes essays are accessible, charming, and funny. I have taught Mythologies to first-year college students, because it does not require its reader to have read volumes of theory to engage in Barthes' clever reflections.

My favorite essay might be "Toys," which demystifies modern (1954-56) French toys as designed to produce consumers ("users") rather than creators. "Toys" exemplifies how, 50 years later, Barthes' myths are still alive and worth reading.

I was assigned this text as the final leg of a Greek and Roman Mythology course. Having no idea what to expect, I easily read through the collection of short essays and was thoroughly entertained. Even in translation, Barthes is graceful, lighthearted, and humorous in telling of the modern myths surrounding him in 1950s France. A very well-educated philologist, lexicologist, and sociologist, it wasn't until after writing the short essays here compiled that he rigorously developed his semiological/structuralist theories. Those with knowledge of structural linguistics and semiology and those without such a background alike will certainly enjoy every essay of this brief collection.

Furthermore, the longer essay, "Myth Today," which follows the shorter essays published originally in the 50s is replete with extremely interesting, albeit dense, critical theory. While someone with little knowledge of structural linguistics or semiology will have some difficulty with this final essay, it is certainly worth the struggle.

A Soldiers Play is one of the best war stories that i have ever read in my life. If you are looking for a mystery book with twists and turn, this is the book you have been looking for.This book reaches many points that you may not expect. A Soldiers Play has a great deal of Loyalty, Betrayal, and Racism.By the time you finish reading the book,you will detect those plus more.What really made the book good for me was that i had the oppurtunity to act out one of the roles in my class room. I played one of the main roles "Vernon C. Waters". When you act it out, it gives you the chance to know the character better

A soldiers play is a mystery novel. In the novel a sergeant is killed and many soldiers are accused and this keeps you guessing throughout the whole book. This book is a play that is so well written and is written in such a great and precise language. This novel I recommend to anyone who likes a good mystery. This book includes many themes like betrayal, and racism. This play will keep your head spinning with clues and it will surprise you at the end.

This play By Charles Fuller is a really interesting play that leaves you in AH. This play is based around the murder of sargent Waters who was a black man. Throughout the play clues are thrown at you that just make you want to turn the page.During the time period of the play there was still descrimition aganist blacks so that also adds to the action and the main conflicts in the book.
Otherwise reading this play it is great to act out it gives you a viratery of characters to choose from and diffrent emotions to put across. I say that solider's play is a great book if you like shows like law and order and mystery soliving movies. I grantee if you purchase this book you will not be disapointed. Also if you are into movies you can check out a solider's story based on a solider's play.

The drama A soldier's play was an amazing book. Which is about sergeant that betrayed his men that unlimitedly led to his death now Devenport which is a black lawyer has to come and sort out this mess with a racist captian Taylor on his back. The left my at the edge of my seat anxious to turn the next page. But the ending will left me asking for more

This play was a good one, very intresting. This play written by Charles Fuller. There was a lot of drama, the characters would act like in real life. I liked the topics that were being used for example racism, betrayal and friendship. I liked this play because their was a lot of action the racism exicted between the same race. Eventhough their were events I didn't like the play was good. Sargeant Water did a good job on doing his role. This play is about a Sargeant that treated his same race with no respect and in which at the their was a murdured and someone put to jail. This play was so good that you would want more.

Excellent book. Provocative story, well written. The Norton Critical Edition is especially useful in evaluating the text.

This is a definate must read. Written as a poetic play, Soyinka captures the Yoruba experience during the British occupation of Nigeria. It captures their perception of their colonizers, their religious ideologies in sharp contrast with that of the British, their political stance including about Yoruba persons who worked for the British at the time(hence, the mimic men/women) and their trauma and lamentations regarding the slave trade. The title refers to a specific issue that main protagonists will struggle with, leading to the Yoruba/British clash of religious and political ideologies. The result unveils the hypocracy of forced-conversion and explores issues of (in)humanity, suicide and freedom by examining each group's relationship with their leaders, their understanding of the divine God(s) and destiny. This book is one of the texts used in African literature classes.

In this play Soyinka gives such roundness to his characters that it is hard for some to decipher their goodness or "badness" as characters. The play is a story of the western colonizers' failure to recognize African culture as substantial. The play deals with the Yoruba religion and a specific ritual that is thwarted by an ignorant colonizer who does so for reasons traced back to ethnocentricity and racism. The man who is deemed to kill himself is pitied by the westerners and this shows their hippocrisy. By demanding that suicide was immoral and could not be a spiritual endeavor they denied the status of one of the most important men to grace Western Civilization with their presence: Jesus Christ. Christ gave himself away the same way that the character in this play does and did so for spiritual reasons that transcended himself.
THe play gives great insight into African culture and builds with intensity to a hugely climatic ending that is rewarding for the reader to experience.

At a university seminar in the US recently, Prof. Soyinka was asked to respond to charges by certain critics that his writing wasn't 'African' enough. He responded, saying "The people who say these things, I refer to as neo-Tarzanists, people whose Africa is the Africa of Tarzan, swinging from tree to tree. That's not my Africa", he said, to a standing, thunderous ovation. It is difficult to imagine a writer in English today with a wider grasp of the language. Some of his work is unbelievable - metaphor, irony, the supernatural, interwoven with tragedy, lyricism, and language. Top-draw.

Soyinka both entertains and asks subtle questions about mass psychology, individual psychology, and universal human struggles of the will.

Flophouse Life on the Bowery showcases 4 cheap hotels in the Bowery district of New York City. These places are rented out by men & they are a cubicle type room the size of a jail cell. About 100 to 200 men live side by side in these little rooms in 4 or 5 story buildings that are built over a restaurant or some other kind of business. There's a community bathroom. The book explores 4 hotels & a few residents of each. Most of these people stay inside all day & watch tv, sleep, eat, & get drunk or do heroin. The subject of flophouses is interesting, however, this book really lacked substance. There wasn't enough information about the history of the hotels or the residents. It didn't devote much space to the people who own these hotels or the people who work there. Each page has a picture of one of the residents, his name, room number, & his "story" or any statements he wanted to make. Some of them were only a couple of paragraphs long! It's just a glimpse into their lives & doesn't offer any solutions to the problems these people face either.

I live in a modern day "flophouse", but it is a palace by comparison to the Bowery beaus. Marginalized by themselves and society, many still find community and purpose in their shared
space. Some do not make it out alive. Most seem to have given up on big dreams but it's the little ones (like the shoeshiner) who states that if one of us can make it, we can all make it. I love reading about of these mens' lives, but I also admit to an uneasiness that they will never leave the relative safety of a flophouse. That this is the best there is for many of them, and watching them adjust to these facts in each vignette is tender.

The book portrays life at the bottom. It surely shows not all of the men are crazy, drug and alcohol abusers. Some of them through the ups and downs in life never choose to go up again, or maybe to try up again. This may have been decided in a purposeful way or possibly life just became to heavy a load to bear, only they know. I was impressed with how many of them were completly content with their life and were willing to live out their days as they were. We should never judge unless we have been there so lets wish them luck and leave them alone.

The reason we are so drawn to (and, in the same breath, repulsed by) books such as this one is that they show us the truth that is locked up inside of us. They present a side of reality many do not see in pursuit of the paycheck running from the fears presented in this book. And, yes, the reasons why they are at the 'flophouse' is infinitely complicated.

The photos are stunning and the stories are minimalist which has a gripping effect. The photos and the stories open up a world that is almost mythical. Penetrating is the word that comes to mind.

Study them, feel them, connect with them, learn to love them. But do not judge them and do not run from them. Hold onto them and, in the midst of our bustle and struggle, keep them dear in our hearts. And, if one is so compelled reach out, not as veoyeurs, but with compassion, sharing with, realizing that our human wholeness is dependent upon such individuals as these whose lives may be unlike anything we could imagine.

For only when we are willing to get 'real' and walk in the valley of the shadow of death, and this with others, can we ever really become human. These characters are but a shadow of aspects of our own selves.

Turn away. Turn quickly away. My first instinct upon glancing at this title was consistent with Middle Class America's natural reaction to social despair. Cautiously intrigued, I reached to the top shelf in my suburban neighborhood's local library, and pulled down into my comfortable suburban world an enlightening pictorial in brief. With mixed horror and wonder, increasingly awed at these victims of circumstances, reading "Flophouse: Life on the Bowery" was a real look, a first look, into sunken faces and disheveled lives. Black and white photos say the thousand words their subjects never will. The human condition, bare, innate, is plainly presented without pretense or censoring. How very similar, how frighteningly normal, were the lives of these men before the loss of job, wife, or sanity deposited them here, teetering on the brink between life and death, heaven and hell, New York City's Bowery. Read this book, count your blessings and your spare dimes.

The type size in the paperback edition is far too small for my (middle age) eyes.

Orville Vernon Burton brings scholarship, passion and his own biases to this unusual account of the United States through the end of the 19th Century and a bit beyond.

Burton tracks the impact of ther Thirteen, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution on personal freedom for whites, blacks and everyone else. It is a fascinating book for several reasons.

First, Burton is a fine and conscientious scholar of the era. His research is evident on every page. His description of the Democratic Party, its role in the attempt to perpetuate slavery and in the awful depradations visited upon blacks after they acheived freedom is fully told here is fully told here. Burton also tells the history of the unfettered capitalism of the era and the attendant political cronyism that attended its rise. Here, there is a whiff that Burton might be an anti-capitalist himself, but it is difficult to tell with certainty.

What Burton does describe here is the heroic story of common people reaching out for personal freedom, for the right to be free of any kind of oppression. And here, Burton himself is heroic. He tells this story in great, almost overwhelming detail. His treatment of the Reconstruction Period is especially well done and will sadden most readers with its detail and possibly sicken some as well. As the zeal of the North's purpose cooled after the war, the Democratic Party became the handmaiden, if not the instigator, of terrible deeds. This is the most detailed social history of the period I have ever read.

Burton brings to life the enormous, jarring forces of change as freed slaves attempted to join the political, economic and social fabric of the nation, while defeated Southerners worked to subjugate them once again, while immigrants arrived in droves to expand the labor force and push down wages. The nation was still expanding westward, seeing the Native Americans as a force to be conquered, if not worse. Capital was being exploited in the form of new industries, bringing people off the farm into the cities where they became dependent upon the capitalists - and not without anger and resentment at their exploitation.

Burton tries to describe all these currents converging, with the blacks being stripped of their civil rights in the South, not being welcomed in the North and the capitalists colluding with the politicians to oppress everyone.

To his credit, Burton does the job well, but not perfectly. The march toward the end of the book and the end of the 19th Century becomes a bit bedraggled as Burton tries to wrap things up neatly. He doesn't do it neatly, but it really doesn't destroy the high quality of his work.

Overall, a truly unique and important history, even if a somewhat slow read.

Jerry

This book draws together all the various elements of the decades surrounding Lincoln's presidency, and shows how the social pressures led to the Civil War and its eventual resolution.

Dr. Burton succeeds in bring the reader back into the feel of the mid 19th century America. He calls the period roughly 20 years either side of Lincoln's inauguration "The Age of Lincoln". This is not a Lincoln book. Its about the transformation of the United States. The major themes are well documented by both the author and other review's here.

What is stunning is how accessible the book is to the non-historian. This is not a thesis work but a portrait of Americans. Woven around the framework of obvious historical events are individual stories and social trends. Specific stories, well researched and cited. All told in great narrative. I read alot of nonfiction and the occasional fiction , I can't label what the style is but its a bit like a Ken Burns documentary. You see the pictures. You hear the music. As you read. Its an easy to read book...something we readers can appreciate. Yet Burton is on solid factual ground. He brings so many facts and stories to light that I'm sure the work adds to the period's research. Even the book's cover adds to the overall work- a striking bloody red, white and blue across a typically American rural setting at sunset. Its a carefully chosen artwork circa 1861 entitled "Our Banner in the Sky" oil work by the American painter Church. Look at it here.

The reader is immersed in a difficult, painful yet singularly American period. The authors keeps the readers attention with a subtle yet brilliant literary style. Just read the first page.

A five-star work and one of the better books you'll ever read.

This book adds significantly to the scholarly information on the post Civil War era (The author considers this era to extend into the early 20th century). It is based upon a study of original sources( newspapers, then current writings, etc) to help us gain a less filtered sense of what really happened when the war ended and does not accept current literature that has not been so substantiated. The origins of the three distinct Ku Klux Klan movements, how the majority of voters (the recently freed slaves) in the South were disinfranchised for nearly a century, and how the former plantation owners were able to regain their control over the economics of the South are all examined.
It is a necessary addition to both the history class room and to the library of all who are Lincoln scholars and those who wondered why so little time was spent in prior texts on the fifty years after the Civil War. I heartily endorse this book.

By now general readers may think they've encountered every important Civil War story there is to know. Tom Chaffin shows otherwise with this eminently readable book about one of the most bizarre sagas of the conflict. In song, this would be a cross-breeding of "Roll Alabama Roll, "Blow Ye Winds," and "A Pirate's Life For Me." Where evidence is limited, Chaffin makes the most of it without resorting to speculation, a sign of a careful historian, and he weaves lives and events together in seamless fashion. A great read that I recommend unconditionally.

The stories in the Civil War are always the most amazing, a truly great conflict, better than any Greek tragedy. The story of the war at sea has been told elsewhere but this book tells the fascinating tale of the Shenandoah and its raiding activities. In Sea of Grey, Tom Chaffin recounts the 13 month circumnavigation of the world by the Shenandoah. It sailed 58,000 miles, captured 38 vessels, took 1,053 prisoners, and destroyed $1.4 million of cargo. Its greatest victory was the taking of 24 Union whalers in the Bering Sea over a seven day period in June 1865. In some was the 'Black Bart' of the Civil WarIf a Pirate I Must Be...: The True Story of Black Bart, King of the Caribbean Pirates.

When confronted with news of the surrender of the confederacy the captain of the Shenandoah, Lt. Commander Iredell Waddell, put her back into the mode of being a ship of peace.

This is a fascinating story of travel and war on the high seas.

Seth J. Frantzman

The subject matter of this book gave it the potential of being a nautical classic. For lovers of sea lore, as well as Civil War buffs, the cruise of the CSS Shenandoah represents piratical adventure flavored with the bittersweet taste of the "lost cause." Instead, "Sea of Gray" suffers from the author's amateurish writing style--replete with needless repetitions of titles and poor use of syntax. Mr. Chaffin deserves credit for being the first to tell the tale of the Shenandoah, but one wonders how much better the telling would have been in the practiced hands of Samuel Elliott Morrison or C.S. Forrester.

This was a well-told, but little-known story about the Confederate raider, the C.S.S. Shenandoah and her exploits around the world on the oceans during the Civil War. The average person looking for information about the Civil War might want to skip this one, as it can be a little dry at times, but it's absolutely perfect for Civil War buffs. All in all, a good read.

When reading any historical account of Confederate military exploits, the reader usually finds himself with Stonewall's foot soldiers in the Shenandoah Valley or at Chancellorsville, or with Longstreet's divisions during their fateful assault of Cemetery Ridge, or with Forrest's mounted legions at Brice's Crossroads. In all cases, the Confederate battle flags are borne proudly, and the sea is far distant over the horizon.

In SEA OF GRAY, author Tom Chaffin recounts the 13-month circumnavigation of the globe by the commerce raider C.S.S. Shenandoah, during which time it sailed 58,000 miles, captured 38 vessels (and burned most), took 1,053 prisoners, and destroyed $1.4 million of cargo. The high point of the voyage was the taking of 24 Union whalers in the Bering Sea over a seven day period in June 1865.

The book is extensively researched, contains an eminently useful photo section, and includes front and end plate diagrams of the ship's interior and exterior plans respectively.

Despite Chaffin's good intentions and obvious effort, it pains me to say that the narrative is more dogged than inspired. I doubt that even a reader with die-hard Southern sympathies will be sufficiently stirred to break into a rousing rendition of "Dixie" at any point. Perhaps the problem lies with the nature of the expedition itself, during which the raider skulks over the oceans under the guise of foreign flags to bedevil defenseless commerce vessels. One is almost tempted to wish for the appearance of an honest man-o-war of any nationality to put an end to the mischief.

The conquests of the C.S.S. Shenandoah are not the usual stuff of which an heroic epic is made. Indeed, it's only during the last, sad 20,000 miles of the voyage (from just off southern Mexico to around Cape Horn to England), at the start of which the news of the Confederacy's surrender was confirmed by a passing English ship, causing the captain of the Shenandoah, Lt. Commander Iredell Waddell, to de-gun and decommission his command, that this reader began to admire the crew's long-suffering endurance of circumstance and uninspiringly erratic leadership. The men deserved better than their fade-off into history upon their anti-climactic return to Liverpool.

Unless you're extraordinarily interested in all aspects of the American Civil War and are bored reading repetitious re-tellings of the various land battles, I wouldn't recommend SEA OF GRAY except as an interesting footnote to the rebellion. That said, you may love it.

First of all, I dont think i've ever read a book so fast.
I borrowed a biography of Langstonn Hughes a number of years ago from a relative and started to read it. However, i put it down at some point and never picked it back up... which is what happens to books that take a minute to pick up the pace.
So when i saw this book on here, and i noticed it was an Autobiography (and i read all the reviews) i ordered it. Once i got it and opened it up, it seems like in no time i was done and wanting to know more.

This book is amazing to me, because I am an aspiring writer. And i'm always intrigued to find out what the Literary Legends Path to Greatness was. And i was so pleased to read this book, because Hughes' path was in ways very similar to my own.

Taking MYSELF out of the equation however, the book is so great because you are basically walking through the entire world with Langston by your side explaining everything you may need to know. He goes from all over the US to New York to Africa to Italy to Haiti and Cuba and France just soaking up different personality types and different social mores along the way. The way he writes is so conversational that it makes the pages fly by like nothing.

Any aspiring writers should get this book.
and i just started on "Wonder as i Wander" the other day and it looks equally great.

Langston hughes presents us with his travels. This is not a great book nor it a bad book. It falls in between the scope of what happens to a guy when he goes around the world and mets people.

Published when Hughes was 38, the subject of The Big Sea is the period of his life from 1902-1939. It covers a wide variety of episodes in Hughes' life, with key elements being his travels as a youth, his relationship to his father, and the Harlem Renaissance.

I knew his poetry, of course, from all those years as an English major. I have not had the occasion to read any of his prose, and decided to pick this up after reading the collected works of Nella Larsen.

There was a lot to engage with in The Big Sea. I particularly liked Hughes' description of the Harlem Renaissance. His tone when he talked about it was affectionate and wistful, but still acknowledged the limitations that it had as a lasting solution. There were many great stories ("never hit a woman") and fascinating details-- reproductions of the whist party invitations, for example.

I also really was interested in the way that Hughes discusses his father and the issue of the race. His father left the US (first to Cuba, then to Mexico) in order to avoid race prejudice. His father had nothing but scorn for people of color who stayed in the US and subjected themselves to the inevitabilities of race and class limitations. The anger that this self-imposed exile cost him comes out in his dealings with his son and the way in which he engages with the world around him.

At points, it is as though Hughes is meditating on all the different ways that people around him (including him) have used to address the race problem. It is not the most uplifting of sketches, since none of the various paths seem (according to Hughes) to be a good or lasting solution.

Well-written, interesting, and with many pointers to further reading.

I read this as an assignment in college and found it wonderfully painful in its realism and truth. A must read for every American, regardless of what ethic origin.

"On a radio show, he (Hughes) defended the right of trumpeter Louis Armstrong, who had long faced the white world with a broad grin, to vent his racial anger."

Like Armstrong, Hughes also faced the same world with his broad smile. Throughout the BIG SEA and I WONDER AS I WANDER, there in the texts of both autobiographies is the ever smiling Hughes. Other than the people he met and the foreign lands he visited---all making for great and entertaining reading--- very little is revealed about the man he was. His larger than life personae masked a man who was only 5'4 in stature, closeted gay
because being open would have meant a short career and ostracism, especially in the African American community who was a refuge from a racially hostile world and who Hughes loved with an unmatched passion back in his day, and, according to the late Gwendolyn Brooks who had known Hughes since the age of 16 wrote in a New York Times article that when Hughes was subjected to offense and icy treatment because of his race, he was capable of jagged anger - and vengeance, instant or retroactive. She has letters from him that reveal he could respond with real rage when he felt he was treated cruelly by other people.

Both autobiographies do a great job at documenting the world in Hughes' day. The most fascinating thing about the first book of his life is the Harlem Renaissance and the people who moved in it during its illustrious height. Till this day, the BIG SEA provides one of the best sources of this important period in American culture. Few people realized that if not for best friend Arna Bomtemps the autobiography may have never been written. Bontemps encouraged Hughes to write the book. Up to that time, few blacks, especially black males, had seen and done what Hughes managed to do. Plus, the book challenged stereotypes about black America in general. The challenge he had in writing the book was how to write for two audiences, white and black. Characteristically, Hughes did not pander to the white audience, "I do not hate `all' white people," nor did he distance himself from and sacrifice the racial pride his grandmother taught him to have for his people, who he primarily wrote for. In the second autobiography, Hughes is on the road again and much more time is given to his travels, especially in the then Soviet Union. Absent are his communist sympathies. Like many blacks of the day, socialism was preferable to segregation. Blatant is the unspoken critique that in the absence of capitalism, everyone man is "equal." As far as romance is concerned, scholars have noted Hughes'rather perfunctory and insincere rendezvous with the very few woman he talks about in these autobiographies. Quite understandably, Hughes attempts to pass himself off as having all the accoutrements of straight men. His situation with the over zealous Russian woman who he does not portray favorably in I WONDER AS I WANDER is interesting. She is portrayed as the Duboisian woman whose association with black men destroys them. Plus, Hughes did not favor interracial marriage so it is peculiar that he proffered the idea in the text of bring the Russian woman home as a wife as she wanted.

The above quote was from Volume 2 of Arnold Rampersad's biography of Hughes. What made Hughes' defense of Armstrong so intriguing is that Hughes also reveals much about himself and what lied behind the mask he wore. The readers of the BIG SEA and I WONDER AS I WANDER will not see the man behind the mask. They are largely presented surface, a fleeting glimpse of Hughes here and there. A scholar said to really understand Hughes, one must read Rampersad's two biographies. This scholar was partially right. But, don't dismiss these autobiographies! They are worth the read and are a enjoyable read. Time and interest permitting, do read LANGSTON HUGHES Vols. 1 and 2 by Rampersad for balance also read Faith Berry's LANGSTON HUGHES: BEFORE AND BEYOND HARLEM. Reading these latter biographies with the two autobiographies by Hughes, one will be presented the man Langston Hughes was: proudly African American, gay, brave, smart, ambitious, often very angry, and often lonely.

Hughes doesn't reveal much of himself, but his autobiographies are still 5 star ratings because like his work they continue to inspire and for everyone, especially young blacks in the inner city, let them know that they can overcome any obstacle in life so long as the desire and determination is there.

The reviewer Mr. Forrest couldn't understand why the translator changed the name of the text or re-ordered the two parts. If he had read the book he would know that Ma-Wang-Tui texts had this ordering in the original. He would also know that since the two parts are known as the "Tao" and the "Te" ("the way" and "the virtue"), the naming of the book is perfectly appropriate. Mr. Henricks divides his book into two parts also. The first is a straight-forward translation. The second contains the translation as well as comments, notes and original Chinese from the two Ma-Wang-Tui texts used. If you're not interested in chinese philosophy and history, this probably won't appeal to you. You can always get one of the new age, tao-of-pooh type versions.

There are hundreds of translations of the TTC available in English. I found this one to be a little lifeless. I was surprised to find that the premise of calling the book the Te Tao Ching, rather than the Tao Te Ching was that the translator thought the two halves of the book would have been put in a basket one on top of each other, in reverse order. I do not know why it is important to reorder the work, for me it has always made sense in the traditional order, i.e. first to understand what the Tao is, and then how it is applied (in the 'Te' section). Reversing this seems unproductive.

If you would like to read a translation that is perhaps a little more poetic and which contains a more intelligible sense of the living ideas, then you could try the translation by Jane English. The ideas in the TTC are hard to describe, because they are fundamental and help us understand the workings of everything: anything from the course a trickling rivulet of water takes down a pane of glass, to how to govern a state of millions of people. I think the Jane English translation communicates these ideas effectivly. In fact, it is best to read more than one translation: it is always helpful for interpretation to listen to the same idea as expressed by more than one person.

This edition reproduces the entire Chinese text, which will clearly be of use to many people who are studying the original.

The book of Lao Tzu - Te-Tao Ching is one of the ancient Chinese classics of Taoist philosophy that has been read by scholars and translated and published in books many times with varying translation results. It describes the philosophy of Virtue and The Way in 81 short Chapters.

This translation is based on two original manuscripts - named Ma-Wang-Tui - that pre-date the manucripts used in the excellent tranlation by D.C. Lau. In Mr Henricks' translation, he presents two choices for the reader; the translation of the text only, or the translation of the text including commentaries plus both original chinese texts. For each of the 81 chapters either text A or B is used - where the commentaries include comparison analysis between Text A and B.

Besides the translation of the 81 Chapters, information is included about the historical background of the texts to enable the reader to put the meaning and thought of the text into context.

Reading each chapter in this book for me is close to reading poetry that has powerful meaning and thought embedded in it. I recommend this book to people who are interested in Taoist 'thought'. Mr Henricks is a well respected and skilled translator that has done extensive research for this translation. Well worth a 5-star recommendation.

One of my favorite chapters: #20.

The Te Tao Ching, or The Book of the Way and its Power, written around 500 B.C., is traditionally attributed to a man named Li Erh. Because of his wisdom, he is given the title "Lao Tzu", which means "old Master". Many historians believe, however, that it better represents the ancient Chinese thought of around 300 B.C., directly following and reacting to the Era of the Warring States. In any case, the book is a collection of teachings on the correct method of living with virtue and the following the Way, the path to contentment. The Lao Tzu communicates his ideals to us through a variety of means, telling us how, in his mind, we are to achieve a virtuous and content life.

Lao Tzu uses the phrase "uncarved wood" to represent the way the common people should be. This is particularly effective because when we read it, we get a vivid, clean, natural image. The uncarved wood is unaltered by man. It is, according to Lao Tzu, "genuine and simple" (26), and this is how people should exist.

So, "in the government of the Sage: He empties [the people's] minds, and fills their bellies. Weakens their ambition, and strengthens their bones" (55). By keeping the people fed, healthy, and without knowledge, the people become happy, simple, and contented. He "causes the people to be constantly without knowledge and without desires... Then there is nothing that will not be in order" (55). According to Lao Tzu, when you "throw away knowledge,... the people will benefit a hundredfold" (71). Knowledge seems to be unnecessary for true contentment. In fact, it seems to hinder it. When people have knowledge, they become ambitious. When the people are ambitious, they will not be content in their lives. The ideal people will have weapons but have no need of them and means to travel but no desire to leave their villages. "They will relish their food, regard their clothing as beautiful, delight in their customs, and feel safe and secure in their homes. (36)" They will be content to live out their long, healthy lives, having no desire to change their conditions.

The Lao Tzu also adds onto this by the principle of "wu-wei", which literally interpreted means "without taking any action" (xxi). When this is taken in context, though, the principle can be better understood as "does nothing, and yet there is nothing left undone" (xxi). There are several examples in the book of things that follow the principle, to "act without acting". The Sage "takes actions but does not possess them; accomplishes his tasks but does not dwell on them" (48). According to Erh, the Sage follows the Way not by actually doing nothing, but he simply does not do anything that is not genuine or sincere. The Way for men is like the Way of Heaven: "to benefit and not cause any harm; ...to act on behalf of others and not to compete with them" (37). He does not act to gain glory from the world or put on a show for others. He does not "make a display of his worthiness" (48). The Sage who follows the way lives simply, giving whatever others need and not taking credit for it.

Lao Tzu uses another interesting metaphor to emphasize the principle of wu-wei and the minimalist ideals of Taoism in chapter 11of the second section. Here, he speaks of the power and usefulness of nothing. He states, "We fire clay and make vessels; it is precisely where there's no substance, that we find the usefulness of clay pots" (63). So, the useful part of the pot is the hole in the middle, where there is no clay. Likewise, in our lives, it is best when we can do nothing, but leave nothing undone.

The metaphor of the hole in the pot also expresses the fact that too many possessions can lead to unhappiness. The book tells us, "When hollowed out, you'll be full... When you have little, you'll attain much; With much, you'll be confused" (75).

Therefore, according to Lao Tzu, it is best to live as simply as possible with only as much as we need. We must not act to gain anything. We may act to benefit others, but we must not seek any reward. When our goals are to obtain material wealth, or power, or indeed anything, we cannot be content, because:

Of crimes-none is greater than having things one desires;
Of disasters-none is greater than not knowing when one has enough.
Of defects-none brings more sorrow than the desire to attain.

The book contains a wealth of understanding in many areas. Many of the philosophies and ideals are intriguing, and the whole beauty of the work is amplified by the masterful use of paradox and other communication techniques. And if nothing else, you will find a few good quotes. Overall, Taoist or otherwise, if you are interested in culture, philosophy, or ancient China, the Te-Tao Ching may be well worth your time.

The Te Tao Ching, or The Book of the Way and its Power, written around 500 B.C., is traditionally attributed to a man named Li Erh. Because of his wisdom, he is given the title "Lao Tzu", which means "old Master". Many historians believe, however, that it better represents the ancient Chinese thought of around 300 B.C., directly following and reacting to the Era of the Warring States. In any case, the book is a collection of teachings on the correct method of living with virtue and the following the Way, the path to contentment. The Lao Tzu communicates his ideals to us through a variety of means, telling us how, in his mind, we are to achieve a virtuous and content life.

Lao Tzu uses the phrase "uncarved wood" to represent the way the common people should be. This is particularly effective because when we read it, we get a vivid, clean, natural image. The uncarved wood is unaltered by man. It is, according to Lao Tzu, "genuine and simple" (26), and this is how people should exist.

So, "in the government of the Sage: He empties [the people's] minds, and fills their bellies. Weakens their ambition, and strengthens their bones" (55). By keeping the people fed, healthy, and without knowledge, the people become happy, simple, and contented. He "causes the people to be constantly without knowledge and without desires... Then there is nothing that will not be in order" (55). According to Lao Tzu, when you "throw away knowledge,... the people will benefit a hundredfold" (71). Knowledge seems to be unnecessary for true contentment. In fact, it seems to hinder it. When people have knowledge, they become ambitious. When the people are ambitious, they will not be content in their lives. The ideal people will have weapons but have no need of them and means to travel but no desire to leave their villages. "They will relish their food, regard their clothing as beautiful, delight in their customs, and feel safe and secure in their homes. (36)" They will be content to live out their long, healthy lives, having no desire to change their conditions.

The Lao Tzu also adds onto this by the principle of "wu-wei", which literally interpreted means "without taking any action" (xxi). When this is taken in context, though, the principle can be better understood as "does nothing, and yet there is nothing left undone" (xxi). There are several examples in the book of things that follow the principle, to "act without acting". The Sage "takes actions but does not possess them; accomplishes his tasks but does not dwell on them" (48). According to Erh, the Sage follows the Way not by actually doing nothing, but he simply does not do anything that is not genuine or sincere. The Way for men is like the Way of Heaven: "to benefit and not cause any harm; ...to act on behalf of others and not to compete with them" (37). He does not act to gain glory from the world or put on a show for others. He does not "make a display of his worthiness" (48). The Sage who follows the way lives simply, giving whatever others need and not taking credit for it.

Lao Tzu uses another interesting metaphor to emphasize the principle of wu-wei and the minimalist ideals of Taoism in chapter 11of the second section. Here, he speaks of the power and usefulness of nothing. He states, "We fire clay and make vessels; it is precisely where there's no substance, that we find the usefulness of clay pots" (63). So, the useful part of the pot is the hole in the middle, where there is no clay. Likewise, in our lives, it is best when we can do nothing, but leave nothing undone.

The metaphor of the hole in the pot also expresses the fact that too many possessions can lead to unhappiness. The book tells us, "When hollowed out, you'll be full... When you have little, you'll attain much; With much, you'll be confused" (75).

Therefore, according to Lao Tzu, it is best to live as simply as possible with only as much as we need. We must not act to gain anything. We may act to benefit others, but we must not seek any reward. When our goals are to obtain material wealth, or power, or indeed anything, we cannot be content, because:

Of crimes-none is greater than having things one desires;
Of disasters-none is greater than not knowing when one has enough.
Of defects-none brings more sorrow than the desire to attain.

The book contains a wealth of understanding in many areas. Many of the philosophies and ideals are intriguing, and the whole beauty of the work is amplified by the masterful use of paradox and other communication techniques. And if nothing else, you will find a few good quotes. Overall, Taoist or otherwise, if you are interested in culture, philosophy, or ancient China, the Te-Tao Ching may be well worth your time.

Here me out: maybe it is b/c of the book I just finished (the 3rd policeman) that made me edgy for a little more cohesiveness - a novel if you will. This book is all in the title: FRAGMENTS. Its a uniquely presented book that discusses verbs and actions that we find in 'love'. From what I did manage to read, it was an eye opener, but I just couldn't get past the way it was presented. He took several famous authors and took from their works and his life experience and manifested these chapters on the chosen word (chpt one is 'engulf'). I felt like I was reading a REFERENCE book for a poetry class. Good luck!

A personal favourite. Captures admirably the absurdity of it all. Contains gems like `Even as he obsessively asks himself why he is not loved, the amorous subject lives in the belief that the loved object does love him but does not tell him so.' Also has what is probably the best paragraph ever written on jealousy: `As a jealous man, I suffer four times over: because I am jealous, because I blame myself for being so, because I fear my jealousy will wound the other, because I allow myself to be subject to a banality: I suffer from being excluded, from being aggressive, from being crazy and from being common.'

What is love? Perhaps the question has never been answered more succinctly, more completely, and more devastatingly than in *A Lover's Discourse.* In this unique and sly little book, Roland Barthes deconstructs `love,' or, perhaps more accurately, subjects it to a thorough semiotic examination that reveals the psycholinguistic archetypes that comprise all great affairs of the heart--the very definition of which virtually dictates that they all end unhappily.

Barthes examines love in brief chapters, each devoted to a different aspect of the entire humiliating `catastrophe': the helpless infatuation, the agonizing wait beside the telephone that doesn't ring, the jealousy of anyone with access to the beloved, the infantile terror of abandonment, the sense of martyrdom, the suicidal despair...but also the inexplicable enchantment of the seemingly insignificant ((and yet all-too potent)) detail that fatally charms us--the crooked tooth, the dimple, the slant of an eye, the simplest gesture--that causes that one person of all possible people to appear to us as the very image of our desire no matter what suffering they subsequently bring upon us. And they do cause us to suffer, because the lover always loves the beloved more than he or she is loved in return.

It's hard to say whether this book helps to heal a broken heart or turns a stick in it--probably it does a little of both. One thing is certain: this is no *30 Days to Mend a Broken Heart* or such similar self-help collection of insipid platitudes. This is more like chemotherapy. To paraphrase the old joke, Barthes might have cured Cupid of his disease, but, unfortunately, the patient died. If nothing else, *A Lover's Discourse* vividly understands, like even the best of your friends do not, what you are going through when your heart is broken. What Barthes does that is so unique here is to put into words, with an almost scientific detachment and exactitude, the total emotional chaos of an experience that is beyond the power of one in the throes of it to express coherently. `Yes, that's it exactly,' the lover mutters, recognizing himself in these pages, `that's *exactly* how I feel.' Some aspects of love are simply too embarrassing to share with anyone--Barthes doesn't turn away from a single one of them. There's no modesty here: the heart is laid open. This is radical surgery.

One undeniably prescriptive advantage of this text is that it pinpoints with sobering exactitude the way one was *not* loved by the beloved. You no longer need doubt yourself, to be left on the hook forever questioning: `Did she love me/did she love me not?' At the same time you recognize yourself in Barthes' description of love and say `Yes, I loved her just like that' you also recognize your beloved, or more accurately, the absence of your beloved, and can finally assert without further doubt "Yes, that is precisely how she *did not* love me.'

An extraordinary work by an extraordinary intellect about an ordinary experience that leaves everyone stupefied, *A Lover's Discourse* comes as close as its likely to be possible to lucidly describing the indescribable. Is it a cure for a broken heart? Perhaps. If love is a disease that one is cured of simply by knowing the symptoms--an illusion whose power to charm is greatly reduced once you discover the magician's tricks. The magician, of course, being you.

I LOVE this book - it made me reflect deeply about love - what is and what it involves. There are sad statements with it but there are also some parts that make you smile!
Love complicates things and suffering is a great part of it as most of us either know already or will eventually (hopefully!)

Barthes's fascination with Structuralism is abundant in this examination of the terms that could perhaps summarize the incomplete thoughts of an anxious lover. He asserts that the thoughts and words of a lover remain suspended-- they show themselves as thin representations of the truth that lurks in the the lover. Sentences trail off, remain unfulfilled, and are swallowed by frustration. Reading this, it is easy to say, "No kidding! I'm so glad that someone could put this into words!" And that is the torture of his paradox. The words are weak-- the thesaurus will forever be incomplete. The text is a work of metafiction, if ever there were one. Easy to read; yet compelling, Barthes is the essence of the bittersweet.

I really liked this one. Many creative mnemonics. Well organized. I hope Cai and Wang will provide an updated version soon.

Succinct and thoughtfully designed with the information really useful for the study. A great book!

This book reminded me of the BRS series we used in med school; certainly not comprehensive, but definitely helpful. I used it as a framework, and then filled in more details as I studied, so I had just one book to read over (and over and over) as the date neared. I took the test 2 days ago, and there were definitely topics covered in this book that were on the test, but more that weren't. It isn't meant to be a complete review, but it is really helpful, and I used it like I did BRS and First Aid for Step 1; add to it as you go, and you will have a consolidated, easy to review last minute guide in the week before the test. The only part I really didn't like was the question section at the end; the answers should be seperate, so you can test your knowledge.

This is not a comprehensive review book, but a brief, high-yield review guide that focuses on the tricky topics they like to test on the PRITE and Part I of the psychiatry boards. The neuro section is also very useful. The material in the book seems to be based on old PRITE questions, but you can use the topics they cover to review other similar material for these topics in other sources. The questions are useful and appropriate as well, with thorough explanations. Again, the book is brief and not comprehensive, but is a valuable study tool. Incidentally, I was surprised after taking Part I of the Boards how truly similar to the PRITE it was.

This book helped me pass the board. Now that it sits on my bookshelf, still refreshing my knowledge periodically. I really liked the format and the style of clearlly spelling out complicated concepts. True, it is not a comprehensive textbook, but it is really all that a busy clinician needs.