literature

Joseph Mitchell's Up in the Old Hotel is by far the best book that I have read by an Amerian writer. His words paint pictures so vivid that I could smell the ale from the saloons, hear the laughter from the comrads, feel the salty sea air around Fulton's Fish Market, and tast the diner/coffeepot food. Mitchell succeeded in creating nothing less than magic in these stories. Each is so independant, but yet together they weave incredible tapestries. The New York that Mitchell portrays here is one that could only be viewed from these stories. The way that the people and places are captured will preserve their memories for ever in the minds of his readers. An excellent book, I personally recommend to every lover of the American Dream

Joseph Mitchell writes and I become the wiser. His first story on McSorley's Irish Pub prompted my visit to same last week when I visited NY. The visit made me pick up Mitchell's book and read it all over again. Every story is worthwhile despite subjects that would, at first, seem uninteresting. His profile of Joe Gould was one of the best pieces of non-fiction writing I can recall. If only a dozen guys in the world could write this way about real people.

I was first introduced to this author through his obituary (odd, I know). He appeared in an anthology of obituaries (Last Word - Obituaries from the NY Times) and I was intrigued enough to buy this collection of stories and profiles that appeared mostly in the New Yorker in the 30' and 40's. What a talent! His work is evocative and caring. The most ordinary citizen (or not so ordinary) has a story that he hears and probably no one else listens to. He conveys to his reader a gentle sense of life and
struggle and humor.

This is a wonderful revisionary view of a bunch of authors who put me to sleep in high school. Peyser pulls the pants down on the "old grey ladies" of American literature. Someone had to do it (I guess) and I'm glad it was him and not me, but I'm also glad to have this rather strange and wondrous book.

Up until now, Peyser has been known mostly for his uproarious commentaries on NPR, and for his notorious flipping off of Cokie Roberts on the old David Brinkley show. (He has never been invited back.) I have to admit that when I first saw this book I just assumed it was another of his spoofs, but it turns out that Peyser is a bona fide literary critic. There is some very funny stuff about the vastly overrated Charlotte Perkins Gilman--Peyser cuts the old trog down to size--but mostly this is very smart and very down-to-earth cultural criticism. We have to be grateful for this book, but I for one cannot help but feel a little sad, too, since it would seem that with its publication P. has shed his youthful guise of hilarity, and that he has now stepped into full manhood, revealing what most of us have always suspected underlay the shimmering surface of his speech: knowledge of what Matt Arnold named "the eternal note of sadness."

You know, this is not the sort of book I would normally read. But there it was, suddenly, on the coffee table one night. How it got there I have no idea. Just curious, I began to leaf through the pages, and the words began to resonate with me. Unable to sleep, I read it through in one sitting by candlelight. The next morning, I began to look at things around me differently. First, I removed several unessential appliances from the house in an effort to simplify my existence. Then it became time to de-clutter and I threw out several items I realized I had no more use for. Then, and this all seemed so logical in light of the things I'd read, I divorced the wife and sent her on her why. Sure, she cried a bit, but I knew I was doing the right thing. And I've never regretted it. This is, indeed, one of the best books I've read all year.

All I need to know in Life I learned from Romance Novels by Victoria Johnson was a pleasure and a thought provoking experience. The things that the author talks about are the things that interest me. I can not wait for her next Book!

I recently read All I need to know in life I learned from romance novels was incredible and fun to read. It is a wonderful reference. Relationships can be fun and exciting. The quotes from the top authors in the romance field are great. The websites for even more information are great. The author seems like a wonderful and fun down to earth woman that has a beautiful romantic relationship.

I loved every word printed in the book. I am a big fan of Victoria Johnson's and I can not wait for her next book, I will buy that based on her love and appreciation of the romance field.

The Bears of Blue River was written by Charles Major a native of Indiana. The story takes place in the early nineteenth century in rural Indiana. Indiana was just a baby state during the time of the story.
The characters of this story are very significant. Balser Brent and his wife moved their family including three children, Little Balser, a younger brother Jim and a one year old sister, to Indiana. The family moved from North Carolina. When they moved to Indiana the family purchased 80 acres of land. The land was located on the east bank of the Big Blue River.
Little Balser is the main character of the book. He was a very brave young man. He was brave because he always had encounters with bears and wildlife. One day Little Balsers mother told him to go fishing and take his fathers gun incase he ran into some bears. As he was on his way back home with the fish he had caught, he ran into a bear. It was standing in front of Balser. Balser fed the bear one of the fish and then Balser shot the bear with his father's gun.
Little Balser had a big dream to own his own gun someday. Balser helped a young couple to escape to be married. The couple wanted to repay Balser, but they didn't know how. So they asked Balser if there was something they could bring him. Balser told them he really wanted his own gun. A few weeks later the couple brought Balser back his very own gun from Indianapolis.
There are many other exciting adventures with Balser. One significant part is when Balser and his father found two cubs in a cave close to Conns Creek. They had killed the momma and papa bears, so Balser took the cubs home to raise. Balser named the cubs Tom and Jerry. This is significant because the statue on the north end of the circle in Shelbyville, Indiana is Balser holding up the two cubs. Every summer Shelbyville holds a celebration "The Bears of Blue River." The celebration consists of a parade and entertainment to remember Shelbyville, Indiana and how it once was in the past

My home room teacher read this book to my class in 1954. It was something that all of us looked forward to everyday. I have read thousands of books since, and no book has touched me like this one. It is a book that has appeal and value for young girls and boys.

My mother "made" me read this book when I was in 5th grade -- I really had no interest in it, but once I got started, I couldn't put it down!! It's appealing to boys and girls, well written, and really exciting. A great read for kids of all ages.

A work of utter splendor, Spring Snow is the first installment of Yukio Mishima's magnificent tetralogy.

I read the 4 books as in a trance in the fleeting light of a long gone summer. And like Mishima, finishing the Sea of Fertility made me feel as if it were the end of the world.

Shatteringly beautiful, lined with infinite grace, agonizingly moving, Mishima's last work is perhaps the crowning achievement of 20th century world literature.

I just finished this first novel in the series. This is so much more than a tragic story of star-crossed lovers. Mishima evokes an astonishingly vivid Japan of the early 20th century. I simply don't know enough about Japan's history and culture to know if the general setting is historically accurate, but if it isn't he has created a rich, complex world of great beauty tinged with sadness. This is one of those rare books where I will catch myself thinking about the characters as if they were people I know. His descriptions at times border on poetry even in translation. I think that Mishima was facinated by the idea of karma, how actions plant seeds which eventually blossum into effect. I think this accounts for having his characters almost stop the action in places to discuss Buddhist philosophy (which also lets the reader in on how the story will unfold). I am starting Runaway Horses and looking forward to meeting Kiyoaki in his next incarnation. Will he see Satoko again?

This is the beginning of the posthumous work of Mishima. You will follow the lives of four people who got reincarnated in different time and in different place with Honda. His flowing and elegant style hits the highest and psychological descriptions, that even characters did not realized themselves so well, are so elaborated and sometimes scare us. It seems like weaving beautiful tapestry and you can feel the person of genius and bliss for enjoying the output of the genius. But you may lost at the end like this story and come back to this story again and again.

this is the book that got me hooked on Remarque. the story takes place in 1928. world war 1 is over, but its traces are conspicuously intertwined with the characters' lives and the world around them. the story is told through the eyes of the youngest comrade- Lohkamp. the three lead a monotonous existance in this world of violence and melancholy, an existance sweetened by the cherished bond between the three. later on, Pat, a third party, enters the life of the main character. with her presence, events unfold that bring the comrades to closer to one another, and allow them, as well as the reader, to delve deeply into the intricacy of the human spirit. overall, it is a story of life, love and war's aftermath, and anyone could learn from the humanity and occasional eccentricity i so admire in Remarque's characters.

If you love Remarque's work, and have yet to read Three Comrades, it is one of his best.. If you've never read Remarque, this book is as good as any as a place to get "hooked." I realize we all had to read All Quiet on the Western Front, but this remarkable writer captures and expresses not only a particular, and personal, feeling for and of an important period of our history, he also brings it alive for us in a haunting, poetic manner. Indeed, The Road Back should be every bit as required reading when it comes to Remarque's work as "All Quiet." Still, you cannot go astray if you begin your journey reading in Remarque with Three Comrades. After you've finished with Remarque, read all of Graham Greene; these two writers are kindrid spirits--true 20th C. "romance" (and I do not mean Harlequin) writers of the highest order.

This is a book of three veterans of World War I trying to continue life in Germany after the war. They are like the Three Musketeers - all for one and one for all. When the narrator character falls in love, the girlfriend becomes the D'artagnon.

The characters think they have seen all that can be seen of death and are immune from any feeling relating to it. They learn otherwise as the girlfriend has a terminal injury and there is another death close to them.

Remarque is a terrific writer. He captures so well the characters and the times in which they live. The characters - both main three-four and the supporting cast jump out of the pages at the reader. (He reminds me of a German Steinbeck in the way he able to portray characters.) As the three friends plod on fighting to live well and happily in a depressed economy and a depressing time, one finds himself rooting them on.

Somehow, Remarque makes the reader have complete empathy with characters - even though we are now eighty plus years away from when they lived. Only one of the best writers of the last century could accomplish such a feat.

I rate this above Night in Lisbon and as good, if not better, than All Quiet on the WEstern Front

Brief summary and Review:

Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story is a wonderful book of how a family stays together through thick and thin. The story is about one Jewish family's struggle for survival during the Nazi occupation of Europe. The family includes Ruth Blumenthal, the mother, Walter Blumenthal, the father, Marion Blumenthal, the daughter, and Albert Blumenthal, the son. The Blumenthals lived in concentration camps for six years which included Westerbork in Holland and the notorious concentration camp of Bergen-Belson in Germany. Conditions in these camps were so terrible that nearly half the camps population died of disease, starvation, exposure, exhaustion, or brutal beatings. The book received its name from young Marion's search to find four perfect pebbles of almost the same size. If Marion could manage to find these four pebbles, she felt that it meant her family would remain whole and be strong enough to survive the Nazi reign. This game kept young Marion's mind on things other than dead bodies lying around, the rumbles of her starving tummy, and the want for her family and life to go back to normal. This is a great story about the importance of family and diversity. I would encourage everyone to take this book home with them today and experience the true account of one family's struggle through the Holocaust.

As a junior high reading teacher and being extremely interested in survivors of the Holocaust, I was thrilled to read this book. Students will readily relate to this book. The author was 5 year younger than Anne Frank, her family moved to Amsterdam from Germany when she was a small child, she went to Westerbork and Bergen-Belsen. The similarities are remarkable. Marion Lazan is an exceptional writer and speaker. After reading her book, we were fortunate enough to have her as a speaker. She is marvelous. This book is a must. Pamela Blevins

FOUR PERFECT PEBBLES is just one of thousands of such stories that mandate telling and retelling. Simply and beautifully, Perl relates one little girl's mode of survival through one of history's most heinous periods. As the author of another Holocaust book, FAR ABOVE RUBIES by Cynthia Polansky, I read everything I can get my hands on pertaining to the Holocaust. This one is a gem that must not be overlooked.

When was the last time that you heard about a boy who never, ever gave up? I don't know about you, but it's not very often that I hear about that. Well, guess what? In Og Mandino's terrific novel, The Twelfth Angel, that's exactly the type of boy you meet.
Mandino exquisitely describes the story of a billionaire computer company's president, John Harding. He is the new and very occupied president of Millennium who is thinking about ending his life after the death of his adored wife Sally and his beloved son Rick in a car crash. As John Harding is thinking about committing suicide, his old kinder-garden friend shows up. After talking for a while, he asks John a question; one that mysteriously, yet extraordinarily changes his life forever. John accepts to be the coach of the Angels, a Little League Baseball team in which he had played thirty years earlier.
As Mandino makes the story move quickly, he draws for all his readers an adorable petit twelve-year old that plays for the Angels. His name is Timothy Noble. Timothy is uncoordinated and can't catch, bat, throw or even play baseball. In spit of all this, he never gives up! John Harding helps him after practice, but he can't get it right. Still, he never gives up and doesn't bother to keep on trying. Little by little he teaches his coach and teammates to be perseverant. He even got them to worry about when he was going to finally make his good throw.
I loved the book, which was pleasant, warm and heart touching. The story reaches all aspects of life including love, friendship, death, emotional strength, self-confidence and perseverance.
I recommend The Twelfth Angel to everyone because I think that no one should miss such an amazing, wonderful, extraordinary and enjoyable book, which was created so realistically. I think that it leaves us with a better view about life and leaves a magical lesson.

Word Count: 326

I loved this book. I started on Tuesday evening and finished Wednesday evening. It's one of those "just can't put it down types". I found myself totally immersed in John Harding's insufferable grieve, and his compassioned interaction with little Timmy Noble. The ending made one wish there were more people like John in this rough old world. I will be buying several copies for my friends and family to read, along with a Kleenex or two. I've read several of Mandino's book, and think this is by far his best. My niece, Laurie, let me read her copy while we were on vacation. Thanks, Laurie. Love, Aunt Peggy

The Twelfth Angel, by Og Mandigo, is truly an inspiring and heartfelt story. This story left such an unforgettable impact on me that I know I'm likely to ponder it for years. Everyone should absolutely read this book, especially those in need of inspiration and hope. This book leaves you with tears, with hope you never knew you had, and with the wanting to never give up.

I don't want to give away too much, but this book is about a young, diligent, succesful, loving man who moves back to his small hometown of Boland, NH, with his wife Sally and their young boy Rick. When tradegy strikes, John has to struggle to cope. His life is shattered and he ultimately looks to suicide as an answer. Fortunately, his old friend, Bill helps him out of the gutter, which is where his life now lies, by asking him to help coach the boys little league. Uncertain, John finally accepts.

The day of tryouts John notices a boy who is smaller than any of the other kids, whose baseball hat and clothes look about two sizes too big on him. This little boy isn't very good at baseball, but he kept on trying, the whole time with determination and a big smile on his face. Although some of the older and better kids laughed and smirked at his constant mistakes and misses, this little boy was never put down and never stopped. And to John's surprise, this boy was amazingly the splitting image of his boy Rick! At first John had even thought he could have been Rick. This little boy, Timothy Noble, was by far the worst player of all the kids who tried out, and who had managed, almost as if by destiny, to end up on John's baseball team, receiving a jersey with number twelve on it.

Early on in the baseball season, John noticed that there was something very genuine and original about Timothy. What John and Timothy both don't know, is that their relationship will become very close, as they both need each other more than they can imagine.

I absolutely loved this heartfelt story. I even had tears gushing down my cheeks as I neared the end of the book. I think that this book is truly inspiring and comforting. I loved how caring and concerned John was of Timothy, and I especially loved little Timothy Noble and how happy he was. I was truly touched by this story and will always cherish everything I learned from this book. The lesson I think that Mandigo was in a way trying to get across is that you must be positive and have at least a good-maybe even a great-outlook on life, no matter what comes your way. If you are positive, you have a positive feedback, making your life richer everyday and in many different ways.

I really enjoyed Og Mandigo's writing style, as he was very, very vivid with his descriptions. I definitely plan to read more of his books in the future, and I would recommend this book to anyone who can read!

The steep price of this book gives away that it's a college textbook, not a book for the general reader. There are books for the novice out there that answer the same questions this book but cost you a lot less. But this really is better than most books.

Rather than trying to address itself to writing globally or simply act as boosterism to get you busy, this book actually gets into the nuts and bolts of the writing craft. It answers questions about constructing narrative fiction that even experienced writers have from time to time. There's no fiddling business about comma use--there are other books for that--but for narrative structure, beginnings and ends, building tension, and more, this is your book.

Many books of this type are laden with platitudes and aphorisms about writing. They're pretty, but they don't really help you get going. What really sets this book apart is that, after it gives you your standards and rules, it gives you excerpts from other writers' fiction to demonstrate how it works in the real world of published fiction. Now that's truly useful.

All that said, it suffers from the same problem that afflicts all fiction-writing books: it can't really teach you how to write. It's okay to have this book at hand to answer your questions, give you tutorials, and work on fine-tuning, but the only way you'll really get good at writing is to stop studying books and start writing like you mean it.

This book is good within the limitations that surround all fiction-writing books. To really succeed, you need to just knuckle down and write, but as you're doing that, this is the book to have within reach. Now stop reading my stupid review and start writing your fiction!

If you buy only one writing book in your life, make it Janet Burroway's book. She offers the most sensible and insightful look into creating believable fiction that I've ever come across. I credit her with teaching me the extras that took me from unpublished writer to published author.

I can't even begin to discuss all the issues that this book covers. Burroway's chapters on characterization, metaphors and similes, plot development, and point-of-view are standouts. The writing exercises are for the most part instructive (especially if this book is used as a textbook), and are great for overcoming writer's block.

Burroway's emphasis is unequivocally on literary fiction, but her lessons can be applied to all genres. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about writing fiction. For the hobbyist, you might want to find a how-to book that is not quite as comprehensive and thus less demanding.

An excellent tool for the craft! The text covers a variety of topics in fiction writing and includes story examples to demonstrate key concepts. The book is well organized, easily readable, and technically insightful. The chapters on structure and characterization were particularly helpful to me but each topic is thoroughly covered in concise language with meaningful examples. I feel like a better writer and a more alert reader. A must have for writers and literature aficionados.

I first encountered this extraordinary history back in the early '70s as a medieval student and then again some years ago beyond study and therefore with considerably more money-at least compared to a student-and I was able to purchase this wonderful set.

I freely admit not having read the three volumes cover to cover but have parachuted in to various topics within the span of information covered by the set and I can attest to the brilliance of Runciman's writing. He represents the best of historical writing in that he is the undoubted master of his sources and their subject matter but he can also convey the extraordinary complexity of these centuries in a writing style that is at once understandable and also colourful. To my mind he is the best of the best because, as undoubted master of his subject, he is also able to tease out and convey the human interest, the drama and the wrenching saddness of all that was the Crusades.

Steven Runciman has transcended history as few other historians of any time have been able to do. He has imbued the structure of history with the richness of a night at the opera or theatre-the reader is presented with the panoply of humanness at every turn and I believe this is the true mark of a master's hand.

This book, often published as three volumes is the definitive history of the crusades. It is at once a tremendously entertaining and gripping story, and an academically accurate account that stimulates one to further enquiry. His account is so alive it is as if one was reading events unfolding in a newspaper day by day and the destruction of Constantinople was only yesterday.

Runciman tells the story of the West's response to the fall of Jerusalem to the Arabs, and their unexpected success in reconquering it. Throughout the story the Christian west, the Byzantine Empire, and the Arab world are painted with all their good and bad points.

No one comes out of this story without fault, but Runciman points out that there was a tremendous invigoration of western civilization through its contact with the Byzantine and Arab world. The short lived Kingdom of Jerusalem became in a way an experiment in East-West civilization that ultimately was destroyed by the arrival of later crusaders whose enthusiasm for attacking the Arabs (with whom the earlier crusaders had learned to live in relative peace) was not matched by their numbers or competence. Runciman notes that Arab distrust of the West had its roots in this time.

A great introduction to Byzantine, Arabic, or Latin history. See also the work of JJ Norwich on Byzantium and the Normans in Sicily

This second volume of Steven Runciman's three-volume history of the crusades is a masterful piece of scholarship and historiography. If all historians read Runciman's History of the Crusades and learned of his style, there would be fewer complaints from readers that histories are dry, crusty stories.

Indeed, Runciman artfully weaves several elements such as the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the zenith of Byzantium and the ascension of the Turkish power in the persons of Zenghi, Nur ed-din and Saladin powerful, gripping narrative that brings the rogues and heroes of the crusades to life. Runciman skillfully explains the court intrigues behind the scenes in the crusader kingdom and fiefdoms, the delicate balance of power between Byzantium and the Frankish east and the Turks and the rivalry between Turkish clans and leaders.

This second novel concerns the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, its place in the three-volume set is critical in that Runciman articulates a few of his his theories concerning the lessons learned from the crusades, and they are difficult to refute. Runciman of particular relevance to contemporary foreign policy in that region, Runciman notices that the politically fractious Turks discovered a unifying force in the presence of the alien Franks, which became a focal point in the development of a pan-Turkish/Muslin identity and a nexus for action. Also, Runciman argues that first-generation crusaders acclimated to local political and cultural customs and could have co-existed to some degree with the Turks and Muslims had it not been for the brash crusaders that arrived after the establishment of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and viewed the situation in more stark, black-and-white terms. Runciman also holds that the Latins could have made more effective use of Byzantium in formulating policy for the east rather than competing with it in some instances and altogether ignoring it in others. Finally, while Runciman assumes that the triumph of Islam in the crusades was an inevitability (mostly due to the policies chosen by the petty nobles that arrived in the east after the first crusade to aggrandize rather than consolidate crusader power) there were shrewd, far-sighted individuals and more of these distinguished men could have stemmed the tide a bit longer. In other words, qualities such as leadership and "the vision thing" are timeless.