literature

It is a great book for all ages. Students and adults alike will truly find this book very useful. In a society where we are trying to embrace multiculturalism, "Facing the Lion" comes in handy!

Everyone in America ought to read this one! You will truly be amazed!

Not only did I find the author's story quite exceptional, he has a way of telling it, interspersed with humor. Some lines just left me rolling down with laughter. Within those humorous lines, however, is a humbling story of a young man who emerged from the harsh world of the northern Kenya frontier to become a success story in the academic world. Very few people can do both. Many fall by the wayside. The author just soldiered on.
I'm glad I bought the book, and I can't wait to read it to my 6-year old, chapter-by-chapter, every night.

Excellent book.

This book has moved me more than anything else I've read in recent years, and I highly recommend that othes read this outstanding work of art.

But this book isn't about Abraham Lincoln. It's about the trait that we will all, both saints and sinners, one day have in common: death. And it is about the small triumphs of life that the dead remember. Just as William Carlos Williams was a doctor, and his poetry was informed by his contact with everyday people, so too Masters. He was a lawyer and a keen observationist. He writes directly and frankly, especially about male-female relations, which earned this book a bit of a scandalous reputation in its time. Of course, it is mild enough today that the book is assigned reading in junior highs, even in the South.

I've read this book three times through, and often re-read individual favorites. And I have it in easy reach on my shelf because I plan to keep re-reading it. There is something about the people of Spoon River and their sentiments that keeps me coming back. As May Swenson says, in her introduction to this edition, Masters "bequeathed to us a world in microcosm." A world, in my opinion, worth exploring again and again.

"Spoon River Anthology" has perhaps the highest character-to-page ratio of any work in literature. Many of the narratives are interrelated in the sense that different people involved in a particular situation present their respective arguments which may be defensive apologies or rationalizations or vindictive taunts. The names of the characters are often indicative of their personalities; appellations like Isaiah Beethoven, Voltaire Johnson, and Percy Bysshe Shelley show that Spoon River is hardly a haven for subtlety.

The most commonly mentioned character is the wealthy Thomas Rhodes, the failure of whose bank had caused financial ruin to many of the town's residents, although we learn later that the culpability rests with his son Ralph's bad loans and speculations. George Reece, the innocent cashier, took the rap and was sent to prison; his wife in her narrative advises the reader of her epitaph to "memorize some bit of verse of truth or beauty." She did so herself, taking a line from Alexander Pope, which enabled her to raise her children "clean and strong" in the face of hardship.

In Spoon River, lives of quiet desperation result in a cemetery of yapping corpses, lamenting wasted youth and lost chances. Margaret Fuller Slack tells us that she aspired to be a novelist "as great as George Eliot" but marriage and motherhood cost her all of her time; her death from lockjaw is "ironical" because presumably she had so much to say. Searcy Foote confesses remorselessly that he murdered his invalid aunt for money and personal freedom. Zilpha Marsh, the ouija-board reader, was regarded as a fool when she would report to the townspeople that she had made contact with the spirit of a notorious figure from the past; the present tense of her narrative suggests that she is unaware that now she, too, is merely in the past.

Every single narrative in this fantastic collection is worthy of commentary; to mention just a few risks a skewed impression of the whole because the "Anthology" really must be read in its entirety to grasp its context. However, there is one more feature which must be noted: The "Anthology" ends with a fragment of an epic poem by Jonathan Swift Somers, one of the deceased. Apparently it is a parody of the Iliad, and naturally it is called the Spooniad, drawing a parallel between the fall of Troy and that of Rhodes's bank. Somers did not live to complete this ambitious project, which is just as well since in Spoon River death affords a distinction few living poets can hope to attain.

Since the chapters are short, you can do two or three a night without losing continuity. At the same time, the story has enough depth and cleverness that the parent can remain engaged. Thus, it's a catalyst for bonding.

One of the things that makes it special is the main character. Elmer Elevator, on the advice of a stray cat, starts out on a noble odyssey to free a baby dragon from its animal tormentors. In his preparation, Elmer packs dozens of seemingly useless items, including a magnifying glass, brush, sandwiches, and lollipops. While he travels across Wild Island, all these items become essential, and you wonder if the story was being told by MacGyver :-)

We've read the trilogy to completion five times and it's still a hit with everyone.

Some of the classic fairy tales, poems and rhymes are included in this book. Very nice. This would be a great resource for a grandmother who doesn't want a lot of books on her shelf or doesn't want a lot of childrens books hanging around.

My one complaint about this book is that in some ways it's the type of book that you love at first sight but have a hard time really using. I say that because there are so many varied things in it- recipes, poems mom and poems for kids, quotes, stories for kids and for mom, etc. I am sure that I will never use the recipes because this book will sit on my shelf in my room to use when my son climbs into bed with me in the morning.. I'll forget about the recipes. IF I kept this in the kitchen, I'd never sit down and read the quotes etc.

However, it's a lovely book with a nice collection of a variey of readings- poetry, rhymes, quotes, songs, stories, finger games, and more. This would be a nice gift for a baby shower or a mother's day present. I am not sure I would have picked it up for myself, mainly because I have so many books of quotes, recipe books and children's books that the items in this book are most likely repeated elsewhere.

This is a story about hope - hope that one can survive the system, hope that the disease can be conquered, hope for a future with friends and the things one values. In his usual way, the author explores all facets of Soviet socity with a particular emphasis on the world he knows best - the world of the zek, the political prisoner. The reflections of Oleg and his determination to survive shine through the utterly gray and workout Soviet background. It is this dramatic accentuation that makes the word pictures so moving. For despite all the reasons to give up, he endures. This is a quiet novel but a deeply moving one, so different from the historical works that followed.

The ending of the book will disappoint those who want a happy ending, or just an ending with all the loose ends tied up. In real life, though, loose ends usually stay loose. My thought is that Solzhenitshyn intended the reader to understand that for the characters and the society who are so damaged by the past there can be no happy endings; the best they can hope for is to continue from day to day, grasping at whatever happiness briefly comes their way.

Solzhynetsin again provides the reader with an in-your-face portrayal of the Soviet state but his primary mission is the exploration of the humanity of people in distress. If there is one common theme it is universal hope - hope for freedom, hope for recovery, hope for the future.

Oleg stands out in all his suffering and good humor. His portrait, against a background of drab, cold, gray and utterly barren physical, emotional and spiritual landscapes, is a tour de force of sympathetic semi-autobiographical writing. Who can forget the pitiful state of Soviet medicine against the care of the nurses and doctors. Again, Solzhynetsin the storyteller and Solzhynetsin the seer unite in an unforgettable portrayal of Russia and Russians.

By far, however, the most fascinating writer in the course was Harlan Ellison, and we read two of his stories, A Boy and His Dog and Repent Harlenquin Said the Ticktockman. In just a few pages of each of his stories, Ellison creates a believeable world through the use of nimble wordplay and intriguing characters.

Essential Ellison demonstrates Ellison's development over the course of his career and provides a wealth of entertaining stories. Even more than the fiction, however, I enjoyed the autobiographical essays that are interspersed throughout the book. Ellison opens the window to his own personality, and he is character as vivid as any of his fictional creations.

The only reason that I gave four stars instead of the unabashed five star rating is because there are several stories in this 1000+ page tome that did not catch my fancy. That's to be expected, but I struggled through about 200 pages of the overall book. Don't let that deter you - find the stories that resonate with you.

Ellison has written over 1700 stories, essays, other works in his career. He has thoughts of all kinds on lots of differing topics. And there is one thing to say, he is never boring. You might disagree with Harlan Ellison, but you will be entertained and you will think after reading his thoughts.

This is a great book and I would highly recommend it to one and all.

This massive (over 1000 pages) retrospective brings you the best of Harlan Ellison, encompassing fiction, essays, reviews and more. Providing the reader with "a portrait of one artist as sublime Rebel" (from the introduction), The Essential Ellison is a work of pure genius which will remain a cherished part of your collection for years to come.

Princess Irene meets a mysterious but loving old lady at a spinning wheel (have we heard this somewhere before?), while Curdie proves himself a useful ally to her King-papa. Her faithful but outspoken nurse, Lootie, learns some bitter lessons, as she is almost dismissed by the king and (even worse) by Irene herself. Grown ups must learn to believe what they hear from honest children; children must learn to believe what can not always be seen or what makes scientific sense. Any little girl who sees herself as an unrecognized princess can learn to behave with the grace and dignity of a True Princess. Boys will admire the courage and resourcefulness of the miner's son--the only one in the kingdom to realize what the goblins are plotting. A quaintly spun yarn (with gentle edification for children) for readers of all ages.

George MacDonald, a Congregational minister turned novelist, who seems nearly forgotten now, was one of the seminal figures in the development of Fantasy. His influence on other Fantasy authors is obvious, he was a childhood favorite of JRR Tolkein, who especially liked this book, and C.S. Lewis named him one of his favorite authors. His own stories draw on many of the themes and characters of classical European fairy tales. But where they were often merely horrific and meaningless, MacDonald adds a layer of Christian allegory. Thus, Irene and Curdie are eventually saved by a thread so slender that you can't even see it, but which leads them back to safety, teaching Curdie that you sometimes have to believe in things that you can't see.

The book would be interesting simply as a touchstone of modern fiction, but it stands up well on its own and will delight adults and children alike.

GRADE: A

Each photograph is magnificent, and well taken, while the collages - for want of a better name - are really ingenious. Some objects take forever to find - the peanut pony tail, the mushroom car tires, and some are perfectly obvious, though you'd never have considered that a disposable razor could look like a vacuum cleaner. It's beautiful to look at and fun to explore. If only Steiner had left it at that and not tried to write poetry to go with it. The rhymes are unbelievably inane and stilted and take away from rather than add to the book.

This edition may actually be too difficult for children, as many adults seem to have trouble finding all the objects. "Look-Alikes Jr." came out soon afterwards and is much simpler, though just as much fun; much more suited to the under 12's and the less patient!

This book will last so long and provide so much enjoyment that it's well worth buying for the whole family.