Irish Books

I am from England and have bought all of Deric Longden's books there. I am surpries to find that they are all out of print here - he has an amazing way with words that left me laughing out loud. The tale of a small white kitten called Thermal (for reasons which I will not go into here) is one that as well being incredibly funny also has moments of sadness init as well. The books "Diana's story" and "Lost for words" are also not to be missed, although I can guarentee tears as well as laughter with these books.

American readers who enjoy authors such as Cleveland Armory are really deprived of the British author Derick Longden's classics. "The Cat Who Came In From the Cold" was the first of his books I read, but was able to read more only because I have a friend who orders them from the UK. Longden imparts personality and (imagined) dialogues and thoughts from his cats, which will have you chuckling and nodding in agreement with his knowledge of our feline favorites. GET HIS BOOKS!

I first picked up the audio version of "The Cat Who Came in From the Cold" from our library while preparing for a marathon car trip with my husband (not a man who thinks highly of cats) and sons (ages 23, 20 and 14). I was pretty skeptical that the male majority would really 'let' me listen to a book with a cute little kitten on the cover, but I added it to my stack anyway (it's good to be Queen!). After having had my fill of "Tom Clancy" and his friends, I plugged in "The Cat Who Came in From the Cold" and soon ALL of us were all laughing the miles away. On our return leg of our trip, all these big guys (and their mom AND DAD) wanted to hear the "Thermal" tapes again (listening to a story a second time through is unheard of around here!) Along with most of Deric Longden's other books, we now own our own set of tapes to share with family, and the book version (which my 14 year old son, who hates to read, read cover to cover in about a day). Cheeky Thermal is an oft quoted cat around here. It is also nice to find a book that appeals to everyone in the family without any objectionable material. This is just great, light-hearted fare.

I listened to this book on audio cassette while I cleaned my barn. It was so much fun to listen to, I cleaned more and more each day because I didn't want to turn off the tape. My barn is now immaculate, and I was sorry to come to the end of the story!

Having read Deric Longden's first five books (the others include Diana's Story, Lost For Words, I'm a Stranger Here Myself & Enough to Make a Cat Laugh), I can confidentally say that this is when the author is at his best. He delivers enough comedy (something to be expanded upon in subsequent books), but mixed with a subtle version of his own blend of tragedy (already established in previous books). Whilst many thought that his characterization of his mother's mental decline in Lost For Words was distasteful, I would think that even the harshest of critics would fail not to find the story of a lost kitten a least a little endearing.

Although it may be easy enough to dismiss this as simply a children's novel, I would say that, given enough suspension of disbelief & a little imagination, this can be a thoroughly enjoying read, and (cliche) a book that you will want to keep coming back to, time & again, even if only for some of the amusing anecdottes presented by Thermal.

A bottom-up social history of some of the most important radical struggles in the last two decades; a critical, first-person account of revolutionary movements, their successes as well as failures, their potential as well as their flaws. Ryan's radical anthropology of a dozen different movements reads like an ethnography of activism, from Ireland to Kurdistan to Guatemala and Chiapas.

Never one to blithely proceed as a militant tourist, Ryan consistently critiques his own role in the narratives he recounts, exploring tensions of race, class and nationality in the brave new world of global neoliberalism. Nor is he simply a lifestyle radical, playing mount-the-barricades in a dozen different cities. "Unconditional solidarity for any political party or movement is a foolish stance," he writes after discovering the new neoliberalized version of Sandinistas in Nicaragua, "especially when one has no participation in the process of decision-making or ideological direction. But one's loyalty remains to the idea and the revolutionary actions of a movement in a particular time." (264)

Who are the "clandestines"? As Ryan describes it, "clandestinity is about protecting ourselves, our rebel spaces and allowing the seed to germinate underground." (273) His description of developing, maintaining and deploying these spaces will be interesting to anyone pursuing radical social change.

Written by diehard anti-capitalist Ramor Ryan, Clandestines: The Pirate Journals Of An Irish Exile gathers memories of an anarchist's travels and exploits across the world during the 1980's and 1990's. From the hovels of Berlin during the fall of the wall, to a mystery in the Zapatista Autonomous Zone, to a Croatian Rainbow Gathering following G8 protests in Genoa, to a Kurdish guerilla camp, Clandestines tracks the struggles of a world in flux, on the cusp of transforming into a post-Cold War society. A sharp-eyed perspective from an author who despises all forms of imperialism and is utterly unafraid to declare it.

I can honestly say that I learned a great deal from reading this book, and enjoyed every minute of it. Ryan's stories are full of grit, hope, morality and rebelliousness. Highly recommended.

I never thought I would enjoy a travel journal, but Ramor Ryan changed my mind. At first I thought it was going to be an over-romantic story of this guy traveling around the world in order to avoid himself, in the way that a lot of Crimethinc type of stuff reads. I'm really not into that kind of stuff. However, he really surprised me, and I'm ashamed I thought that of him in the first place in association with Crimethinc, because this guy is a real character, a great writer, and no one can call him fake for leaving out the messy details. In fact, read about his review of the two different "Days of War and Nights of Love" (one by Crimethinc, and one by Eduardo Galeano) online.

In the great tradition of Irish story-tellers, Ryan recalls experiences from the squats of West Berlin, the war zone of Kurdistan, the revolution and post-revolution repression in Nicauragua, his youth in Ireland watching the British army attack a Republican demonstration, and much more. He is an exile from his native land, moving from situations of struggle across the planet with a keen analysis of each. Ryan left Ireland in the 1980s for Nicaragua to help defend the Revolution there, and ended up seeing the Sandinistas crumble under the might of the US-funded Contras, alienating Indigenous peoples struggling for autonomy in the process. He remarks that a generation of international solidarity activists in the 1980s got their start in Nicaragua; much like many saw the same in Chiapas in the 1990s.

If you've never heard of Ramor Ryan, look him up. I would love to meet him, because this guy has such a wealth of information and has seen so much without thinking he is better than anyone else for having done so. He brings a personal touch to bloody places stormed by revolution, repression, and fights for a better world. By the end of it, I thought to myself that he had really lived his life thus far to the fullest, and brought a whole new meaning to what I thought of as an "international solidarity" activist. Much of what he writes is exciting in that revolutionary situations are very much within reach, but at the same time depressing when he discusses the aftermath in the case of defeat (like in Kurdistan or in Nicaragua).

If you want to find an inspirational person, you have to meet Ramor Ryan by reading his Clandestines.

I have read numerous engrossing and exciting novels this year, but this book tops all of those, and these stories are true! If you like adventure, or want to simply know more about the world, read this book. He puts a very human face on the trials and tribulations of so many varied people, you ultimately feel like you were there. This book is your chance at a small piece of Ramor's varied experiences. Don't miss-out on the adventures.

Glyer's book provides valuable insight for fans and scholars of The Inklings collective works. She has a fresh slant on material that most Tolkien and Lewis readers have seen in other formats. Her agenda, though, presents the idea of "influence" in a changing light. I think that she opens doors of critcical opportunity that will allow much more fruitful sorts of investigations of Lewis, Tolkien, and William's work.

The Company They Keep is scholarly writing at it's best. I used it with gifted high schoolers with excellent results. The students became excited about how Glyer did such extensive research and then wrote about it in such an interesting and readable way.

Glyer has put together an incredibly researched study of the relationships of "The Inklings," the social gathering that included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien among others. "The Company They Keep" is not a casual read for the Narnia fan; it is a scholarly exposition of the influence that the Inklings had upon one another and the way that that influence appears in their works.

Using a formula for determining influence created by another scholar, Karen Lefevre, Glyer analyzes the way the Inklings served as Resonators (encouraging voices), Opponents (thoughtful critics), Editors, and Collaborators (project teammates) for one another. She then adds her own fifth category, that they were Referents who wrote about one another and promoted one another's books to publishers and the public. Ultimately, Glyer rejects what Inkling scholarship heretofore has asserted: that the Inklings by their own admission did not largely influence each other. Glyer argues that such claims were aimed at acknowledging their independent credibility, but that in fact they had significant roles in shaping one another's works.

So the book is important on two levels. It contributes notably to biographical scholarship on the Inklings. But is also makes thoughtful contributions to literary criticism, which traces and debates the nature of influence. Glyer is immersed in the field and defends her thesis well.

It's a great book; not a "fun" read, but definitely a fascinating one for the serious reader.

James W. Miller is the author of God Scent: A Devotional

The fantasy literature of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkein is so imaginative and idiosyncratic that one accepts that they wrote such lasting works somewhat obstinately and mainly privately almost as a hobby with little hope they would ever be published, much less popular. The picture of J. R. Rowling writing the beginnings of the first Harry Potter book sitting along at a table in an English shop comes to mind with this image of the earlier authors. Lewis and Tolkein are known to be good friends as well as professional colleagues at Oxford University. But as professor of English at Azusa Pacific U. in California Glyer puts forward, Lewis and Tolkein were part of a circle of academics and writers who had a large, discernible, and often documented influence on their works. From diaries, memoirs, letters, and other sources, Glyer finds that this influence is most evident with Tolkein. This circle which acquired the name "The Inklings," "modeled the behavior of poets and storytellers, provided feedback on his drafts, helped him develop his own critical faculties, recommended reading material that supported and shaped his imagination, and suggested that certain pieces be started, reworked, completed, or submitted for publication." Glyer continues, "It is no small matter that all of this early influence took place within a highly interactive group setting." What the author says with respect to Tolkein applies as well to Lewis, though not quite so overtly recognizably. In their turn, Tolkein and Lewis were active participants in the group offering the same support and suggestions to its other members. Shortly after arriving at Oxford as a student, Tolkein founded the literary society named the "Apolausticks."

In an appendix by a David Bratman, relevant background on 17 members of the Inklings besides Tolkein and Lewis is given. Most became university professors of English or medieval literature or of language studies, with most doing scholarly writings on literary criticism. This work of literary criticism and author biography is obviously timely given the current interest in these authors as evidenced by widely-popular movies made from books of theirs.

This book shows scholarly intellect, hard work, dedication, and insightful thought that I have only achieved in lofty dreams. Diana Glyer presents interesting, insiteful, and inspiring information about the Inklings that you will not find anywhere else. I have never read a book that so skillfully puts scholarship in such an accessable read. For anyone who is a fan of the Inklings, Lewis, Tolkien, Williams, or anyone remotely related to these men do yourself a favor and read this book.

As the years go by, and my range of knowledge grows, I find myself being drawn back again and again to John Donne. Unlike one of the previous reviewers, I do share his religion and even practice a more modern version of his denomination. Still there is something more there. As far as comparing Donne with Eliot, although I think Eliot was a great poet, there is more depth of feeling in Donne's work. However, one must consider that Eliot put his wife away (literally) when she became an embarassment because her mental problems. Since these turned out to be hormonally driven, this betrayal is all the more tragic. Donne, on the other hand, after years of carousing, found his soul mate and his one true love and continued to be devoted to her years after she died. As great as this love was, his writings show that, although he was afraid to trust the promises made by his God, he loved him even more. Now, that is devotion and that is the root of wonderful and beautiful thoughts he put to paper.

Few words of poetry are more quoted and misquoted than John Donne's "the Bell tolls for thee". This volume contains some of the most beautiful verse ever written in the English language. Donne Was a giant and his language while archaic is beautiful and resonates over the centuries.

A wonderful addition to anyone's library.

John Donne, the greatest poet to write in the English language.
John Donne's poetry cries truth from blood.
John Donne writes with blood
Blood is spirit.
The mind works against the spirit.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

I agree with all the positive things said about Donne on this page. Also, this book's great strength is its breadth, including poems, letters, sermons, and other writings of Donne. One gets all the poems and most of his available prose. The only difficulty I had is that all of the poems are presented without any effort to modernize the spelling of words. Often, this distracts from a more perfect enjoyment of Donne's wit, sentiment, conceits and emotions. For those who might find antiquated spelling a distraction, I recommend they find another edition.

Although I care less about his prose, John Donne wrote some very impressive and intuitive so-called love poetry, as well as religious poems that I like. A master of metaphor, he also shows great range of emotions, insight, and passion. My favorite work is his "divine poems" and his "songs and sonnets". Some really beautiful use of language and wise "deep" sentiments. The elegies also have some wonderful lines.

David Rehak
author of "Poems From My Bleeding Heart"

I have read some of Cormac's stories in the Irish Newspapers, and enjoyed them. One particular story stands
out, The Life of a Five Pound Note. only Cormac could come
up with such an interesting story. I hope I will see it in
print again, and enjoy it as much as the first time I read
it,a few years back.

You don't have to be Irish to fall in love with this book. Cormac knows the west of Ireland, yes, but more than that he knows people. The stories are funny, sad, provacative, thought provoking and sometimes a bit shocking. The book is not available in Ireland, sad to say, so we are doubly privledged to be able to obtain it here in the USA. After we bought a copy for ouselves and started reading it, we immediately purchases two more copies as gifts; what more can I say.

The Irish have a story telling tradition of which Cormac has been thouroughly steeped in. Whether you read his collection of columns or hear him read them over the air or in person peppered with sly comments (Ask him to sing 'Hokus Pokus, Focus folks' ;),
you will sense Ireland, and indeed, sense an Ireland that is slowly disappearing. From the stories about the 'troubles' to the last leprechaun in Ireland who just so happens to appear to Cormac, his compilation runs the gamut of the country. Pick this book up, there is no equal!

'Bout time.....as we say in the South for Cormac MacConnell's columns to show up in print. Now I can pitch out all the yellowed newspaper clippings I saved from Irish Voice and the fading printouts from Emigrant Online which constituted my personal "Cormac scrapbook." Cormac's Corner is a beautifully printed collection of the lyrical observations and ascerbic stories of my favorite author, complete with the surreal/folk art illustrations of Caty Batholomew. But maybe I can't recycle my Cormac file yet. The book, though it includes four "books" of collected columns doesn't include my all time favorites. "Why Eileen Brennan Sat Down" is a masterpiece of a little tale wherein the nausea that compels a woman to take her seat again when everybody stands up to sing in church is interpreted in its own way by her infertile husband, the doctor who treated him, the dry goods salesman anticipating the baby products she'll need and the hung over hired man who's the only one who knows the true story. Not to mention "A Stitch in Time" where an Aran island sweater with a magical knitted pattern is designed to take its well deserved revenge on its wearer. Nonetheless its 'bout time we got Cormac inbetween the covers of an elegant book. Now let's get him on tape and hear him read these stories in his melodious baritone which I'm told he uses as an announcer for Clare FM. 'Bout time all of America discovered and fell in love with Cormac MacConnell's writings.

Cormac MacConnell paints pictures with words, taking the reader down uncharted paths....a master storyteller, he draws us into another world.

In the great tradition of Charles Kuralt, Charles Osgood, and Robert Fulghum, MacConnell has compiled his "slice of life" stories into a charming book. As Kuralt spun stories about ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things, MacConnell, too, introduces us to amazing stories, sometimes sad, sometimes charming, sometimes hilarious- and always wonderful.

A great Christmas gift - and a great read!

A small in size book, being about 5 x 6. It is printed on glossy paper with many photographs. It is an exceptional buy for the amount of money tendered. If you read anything by Mr. Carroll you have to have this book too. Mr. Carroll's work is a must for anyone writing anything. The simple truth is his writing means nothing as far as plot, but his style is brilliant.

Is there anyone out there that knows what the name of the writing style used by Mr. Carroll. For instance his characters are telling a story to someone small Mr. Carroll aims his text at a small animal. The small animal answers back in small type. When someone is running and talking, there are long drawn out sentences.

I hardly ever buy nonfiction but seeing this at Borders I knew I had to have it. Lewis Carrol is one of the greatest writers of the nineteenth century, surpassing even Tolstoy,Dostoevsky,and Dickens. I have a complete collection of all of his works and enjoy them all(except for the math puzzles, math has never been my strongest point.) If you are a fan of Lewis Carroll then this is the book for you. Gorgous illustrations and photographs, an interesting and informative text, this is a wonderful little book to own. It is also informative if you are interested in Victorian England such as Iam (probably due to my Lewis Carroll fixation) There are also examples of Lewis Carrolls photography and pictures of the Liddle children. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the world of Alice and who is obsessed with Mr. Dodgson's books.

This book provides a well written description of the conditions and environment that led to the writing of the Alice books. The reader is immersed in Victorian culture both verbally and visually. The profusely illustrated book is a joy to read and informative as well. It fills the niche between biography and textual analysis.

Joel Birenbaum, president of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America

I mention the 'train book' aspect because this book is just the size to tuck into a handbag. As one who loves Lewis Carroll's works, and has studied Victorian England in depth, I found this work to be a surprisingly rich, delightful treatment of Lewis Carroll's life and work.

It is not an in-depth study of all aspects of his life, and, somehow, I found it most refreshing that, unlike some books which are, there were no diversions into Freudian speculation or treatments of bizarre theories about Dodgson's ways. Instead, the reader is treated to a fairly thorough survey of biographical information and essentials of Lewis Carroll's writings.

The illustrations are exceptionally extensive, including many photographs (of or by Carroll), varied illustrations from editions of "Alice," and, as far as textual illustrations are concerned, excerpts from Dodgson's private correspondence and diaries. One comes to the end of the book with a sense of having covered an amazingly large scope. For example, other authors have mentioned (without showing) the supposedly notorious nude photographs of children which Dodgson prepared. This book not only includes the pictures (which tend to the cherubic, with no flavour of the erotic), but places them into the Victorian cultural perspective with taste and dignity.

The author's style is superb - with a blend of beautiful language, concise but thorough treatment of the material, and impressive dignity. There is none of the excesses common in many books on Lewis Carroll, where rash speculation and prurient "let's pander to the 21st century love for 'dirt'" ruin the essentials of the story. Lewis Carroll is presented in all his brilliance, humour, and eccentricity. The classic works, with all of their fancy, wit, and wonder, are not ruined by excessive analysis or so filled with 'dark' speculation that one forgets what every child can see: they are delightful diversions.

Pair this book with an annotated edition of Lewis Carroll's works, and you will have the perfect gift for anyone who has ever loved "Alice" and her creator. And creator indeed Carroll was, for, as this book shows well, the Alice of fiction was hardly a model of Alice Liddell. The author speaks in some detail of the relationship of the "real" Alice and Charles Dodgson, with no tired attempts to confuse them with the book's contents. As well, the references to other Victorian literature and art places Carroll's work, and the friendship with the Liddell family, in an enlightening perspective for the contomporary reader.

Witty, insightful, and extensively detailed for a pocket book, I would highly recommend this work for anyone who already loves Lewis Carroll or would like a further acquaintance.

This tidy, colorful book presents an evenly balanced look at the life and times of Lewis Carroll. The reproductions of rare photos are outstanding, and are cause enough to buy the book on it's own. The text aviods the loathesome practice of trying to find deep symbolism and imagery in Carroll's works, but rather focuses on them with a pleasant reverence.

Top notch telling of the adventures of Father Duffy and the Fighting 69th. Maqnificent battle sequences as well as historical background.Fine piece of work...R.D.Morgan..author of "The Tri-State Terror" and "Taming the Sooner State".

My husband has this book in hardcover and liked it so much that he bought the soft covered version for an older gentleman he knows from the Catholic War Veterans: Father Duffy Post in Manhattan, NY. It is a well written and informative story that does great justice to the bravery and courage of this Catholic Chaplain and others from the Fighting 69th. It also tells the story of the immigrants of NYC as they fought and died together during this first World War.

This is a very good book and thoroughly researched about the Fighting 69th Regiment New York US Infantry. It provides a very detailed account of the Regiment's actions in the Great War of 1914-1918, although the United States did not declare war on Germany until early 1917. The Regiment was transported to France towards the end of 1917 and went into the trenches in February 1918. The book describes the various actions in which the Regiment fought and the doughboys suffered very heavy casualties in its advance to the Hindenberg Line. The book was based upon the writings from his diary of the regimental chaplain Father Francis P Duffy, who also wrote a book in 1919 about the Regiment, a copy of which has recently been received from Amazon and will be my next read.

I've read a lot about the American Expeditionary Force and the Fighting 69th, but Stephen Harris's study really expanded my knowledge about both. I'll certainly have a much better appreciation of Joyce Kilmer's "Rouge Bouquet" next time I hear it read and of the goings on at the River Ourcq next time I visit that battlefield. What I really enjoyed, however, was the author's biographical sketches and background on a whole raft of fascinating individuals. These include average Joes caught up in the adventure of lifetime, Medal of Honor recipients, plus well-known characters like Kilmer, Wild Bill Donovan and--most importantly--the namesake of the book, Father Francis Duffy. The good father turns out to be amazingly multi-dimensional: a good Samaritan to Teddy Roosevelt's returning malaria-afflicted Rough Riders, a learned modernist intellectual who works his way into his bishop's doghouse, a military politician of the first order, the proud protector of his Irish and unofficially Irish flock, and New York City's most beloved humanitarian. A strong recommendation for Duffy's War.

The 69th regiment, is one of the oldest and most famous units in the United States Army. It's history goes back to 1851 when it was known as the 69th New York Militia. ('A' company can trace its roots further back to the Revolutionary War.) The unit gained fame at numerous Civil War battlefields and Gen. Lee gave it the name 'The Fighting 69th.'

This book takes the regiment into the next war, World War I, where its actions were no less heroic. It spent 170 days in the front lines suffering hundreds killed and thousands wounded. Perhaps its most famous members were Father Francis Duffy (whose statue is in Times Square, which technically is really Duffy Square), Wild Bill Donovan who headed the OSS in World War II, and the poet Joyce Kilmer ('Trees') who was killed. The regiment was part of the 42nd Rainbow Division under Douglas MacArthur.

This is the full, previously unpublished story of the regiments actions in World War I and fills out a trilogy of stories concentrating on individual regiments by the same author.

The 69th still exists. It was one of the first military responders at 9/11 - having two men killed there, and it was federalized and sent to Iraq in 2004.

I obtained a copy of the play from my local library think that it would resemble the movie; it did not. This play was so riveting that I read the play 4 more times while in my possession. The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance follows the tragic life of Joseph Merrick. Pomerance wrote everything just right to complete a masterpiece. Pomerances use of diction and dialogue took the read right into Merricks hospital room in turn of the 20th century London.
While reading the play, I found myself becoming emotionally attached to Merrick as he transformed from a horrid animal to a person of intelligence and wisdom. Each time I read the play I picked up the little things Pomerance wrote about how cruel humanity can be to things they don't understand.
I found myself finishing the play and then turning back to page one. The play was enthralling. Expanding my mind to the world before me while ironically keeping me away from it. The Elephant Man should be dispersed to high schools nation wide, so teenagers have the chance to read and annotate a great piece of literature. This play is great to read for your own pleasure. It will expand your mind, and rethink your position in society.
A strong worded masterpiece like a cannonball ripping through the literary cannon. I recommend this play to anyone of any age looking to expand their mind and thoughts of the society around them.

I read this book in my Literature class where we began a journey into the life of Joseph Merrick(The Elephant Man). Merrick was born physically deformed that would scare anyone but had the most pure heart. This play is about how society drove this man into obsurity to hide his hideous face under a burlap sack until his oversized head falls back and he dies a most poetic death.

I obtained a copy of the play from my local library think that it would resemble the movie; it did not. This play was so riveting that I read the play 4 more times while in my possession. The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance follows the tragic life of Joseph Merrick. Pomerance wrote everything just right to complete a masterpiece. Pomerances use of diction and dialogue took the read right into Merricks hospital room in turn of the 20th century London.
While reading the play, I found myself becoming emotionally attached to Merrick as he transformed from a horrid animal to a person of intelligence and wisdom. Each time I read the play I picked up the little things Pomerance wrote about how cruel humanity can be to things they don't understand.
I found myself finishing the play and then turning back to page one. The play was enthralling. Expanding my mind to the world before me while ironically keeping me away from it. The Elephant Man should be dispersed to high schools nation wide, so teenagers have the chance to read and annotate a great piece of literature. This play is great to read for your own pleasure. It will expand your mind, and rethink your position in society.
A strong worded masterpiece like a cannonball ripping through the literary cannon. I recommend this play to anyone of any age looking to expand their mind and thoughts of the society around them.

This play by Bernard Pomerance is one of the most moving and beautiful scripts I have ever read. The dialogue is richly textured and has many layers of subtext, including implications about British colonialism. I chose to see the play as, among other things, a metaphor for the British view of the "white man's burden" and their fascination with the idea of the "civilized savage", but I think the most brilliant works of art are open to myriad interpretations. Although a play needs to be performed to fully come alive, Pomerance's script stands alone well, as a poem or novel would. Its words go to the core of the human experience.

I can think of few films that have touched me as deeply as Lynch's "The Elephant Man." Hence, I was prepared for an anticlimactic theater piece when I picked up the script and subsequently attended the play. To my surprise, it's every bit as powerful as the film--in no way a replacement for Lynch's supreme achievement but a necessary complement to it.

Pomerance' play concentrates on Dr. Frederick Treves, whose experience places him in the company of Conrad's Marlowe. By the end of the play his promotion to knighthood is one more empty Victorian consolation added to a career that has become meaningless. In his powerful, climactic "corset" speech he rises to social indictment of the highest order--a recognition of the "horror" and a denunciation of the shallow, exploitive, self-deluded, spiritless society that he would prefer to be no part of (his epiphany is also suggestive of Charles Smithson's in "The French Lieutenant's Woman").

Juxtaposed with the film, Pomerance's play makes us aware of the power of the theater of the imagination. Unlike the movie, whose requirements for verisimilitude led John Hurt to putting on facial make-up for six hours prior to each day's shoot, the play's John Merrick appears without disguise. His normal features are soon replaced, however, by the audience's realization that Merrick could be--and is--any one of us.

Both a little less realistic and less sentimental than the film, the play is at the same time a provocative and moving study in self-discovery.

This is one of those books you think initially think would intimidate and overwhelm you; but from the first word it actually reads like a novel you can't put down. We are all fortunate that the Ravitch team writes so accessibly and engagingly. This book has already become part of my nightly bedtime routine; I look forward to reading a selection every night. "The English Reader" should be in everyone's library -- or at everyone's bedside. It's a lively treasure.

No one's better than educational historian Diane Ravitch at pointing out what's missing from today's schooling and doing something about it. This new anthology brings together poems, stories, songs and other literature that used to be part of the common experience of all educated men and women and have been replaced by second-rate material designed to be easy to read, raising scores without raising knowledge. Nothing in one of today's textbook readers will be remembered for long, while the pages of this book contain phrases, lines, whole paragraphs that touch us, stay in our memories, and connect us with each other through our common knowledge of these classics of our common culture. An excellent gift for any child, parent, teacher, or friend; these selections are sure to resonate and provide lasting pleasures.

A very nicely done anthology containing important cultural slices of English prose and poetry. The short but helpful introductions given to the author of each chosen writing are just right.

Perfect reading for those of us whose earlier education did not cover a wide swath of the written word as produced in the mother country. Even an experienced reader will enjoy stumbling across thoughts known to him but hitherto not tied in his mind to the specific work of a British author.

The English Reader wakes one up to remember all the past days when one read these wonderful pieces and a life of business took one away from their enjoyment. It's like stopping to smell the roses. Thank you

"Life imitates art," declares Oscar Wilde in The Decay of Lying, one of the many wonderful pieces of writing collected in The English Reader. Yet most of us are woefully ignorant of the art or at least the literature that our lives imitate. This indispensable anthology proves how instrumental the literary arts have been in creating the culture we know. It also proves something else--that great literature is fun to read. Thank you to Michael and Diane Ravitch for this educational and engaging book.

I bought two of this item. My step mother wanted to find this storybook for a long time friend. So one for my stepmom and one for her friend. Both books arrived in first class condition and the subject matter was exactly what was wanted. Worth the price and I'm thankful that such literature is still printed. I was surprised to find the story was about early Nove Scotia and it's people.

Carries me away. Great read. This guy can write...has a great future. It is entrancing, haunting. I wanted it to go on. In addition to the lyrical euphoria, this gives a great perception of the life and times surrounding the historic conflict and relocation. I am encouraging all my friends to put down their heavy, current books and revive the other side of their brains.

Evangeline is Longfellow's masterpiece. The poem begins with
the famous "forest primeval" . The reader is taken to the home
of the Acadian farmers and the famous village reminescent
of a variety of tradespeople. The work describes whole
communities dispersed and separated from the homeland in the
mid-1700s. Evangeline and Gabriel flee home and experience
the pain of separation despite the fact that Gabriel seems to
keep a step ahead during a major part of the story. The work
attests to the beauty and strength of a woman's devotion.
In many ways, our fate and destiny tend to be random events which are out of our immediate control. This work traces the
fate of important characters living in a state of uncontrolled
flux and uncertainty . Readers of the poem will discover
how the story unfolds and the difficult choices presented
at various stages of Longfellow's journey. The work is
written utilizing an advanced vocabulary typical of the
writers during this period .

After more than half a century, I remembered still the sonorous rhythms of the prelude to Evangeline. Much has changed since I first read the tale of Arcadian innocence torn apart on order of the heartless King, and Longfellow and his poetry have fallen on hard times and harder hearts in the interim

His allusions and images are strained; his words pathetically romantic and sentimental; and the story of Evangeline barely tracks the actual events of 1755. All of the charges are true, yet much of value remains in the poem. The poet recognized instantly a crime against humanity when he first heard the tale, and he had the talent, drive, and fortitude to create this vehicle to memorialize the sad story of star crossed lovers, families, and communities divided and exiled from their adored homeland.

That a heart could be committed to a lifetime of wandering in search of a lost love seems archaic to the sophisticates of the twenty-first century, but I believe it possible, even today.

I read the poem - aloud and silently - and the beat of the accents, like operatic arias, added to the the sorrow of the sentimental story. I recommend this poem to parents who love to read aloud to their children. I'm sure that Evangeline and her beloved Gabriel have the power still to stir the hearts of the young - and of the readers, too.

A very useful notes section offsets an overly wordy foreword. I found it easy to find and reference words and phrases no longer in common use.

Read it aloud to your early adolescent sons and daughters and to your love. You'll be happy you did.

I have a passion for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's lyrical lines of Evangeline. Therefore, I was uneasy in the purchase of Evangeline, A Novel. I shouldn't have been. Finis Fox's insight into the lives, loves and losses of the Acadians is remarkable. He adds to the story lines rather than detracting from them. His words are at once romantic and colorful, lulling you into passive reflection. The emotions are all there, the joy, the pain and the suffering. He does not stray far from Longfellow's poem, using the same names of people and places. It is a story worth reading! It would be worth the price if it were twice as much. I wish it could have been longer, but in staying true to Longfellow, the story moved much the same as did the poem. If you loved Evangeline, you will love this novel as much or maybe more!