literature

I grew up with this book. My dad had one from his childhood (an original 1942 edition) which was used and used, the binding held together with duct tape. It was known in our house as "the Brown Book." It seems that the source of all the the famous lines from literature can be found in here. "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink." "And you Brutus?" Lincoln's Gettysburg address, George Washington's Farewell, even the letter from Lincoln to Mrs. Bixby (which was quoted by the commanding officer and served as the reason for "Saving Private Ryan" in the movie. Due solely to this book I was familiar with the letter long before that movie came out.) This is a wonderful resource, reference book and collection of so many of the valued literary and historical pieces from our culture. Even my five year old loves it when I read passages from it to her. Every house should have one.

Like the other two books by Ralph Woods in this series, this book contains hundreds of poems, speeches and other literary golden nuggets that will delight any family that reads. My copy goes to all family wedding rehersals, christenings, funerals and family functions where people search for just the right quotation to match the occasion. My home library shelves would feel bare without a copy. My only problem with this book is getting my friends to return it after they have "borrowed" it to verify some half-forgotten gem from their childhood.

I learned to read literature of many sorts when I was just a child. I've remembered passages from this book for nearly 50 years. This is a must-have volume of outstanding workmanship. Every homeschooler will benefit from having it in their reference library.

Walter Harding was one of the greatest Thoreau scholars. His annotations include explanations of puns I hadn't understood, sources of quotes and references in the text, and information about Thoreau's time. I also learned that one of my favorite places in Concord was referred to by Thoreau as Fairyland Pond.

The book also includes a map of the area in Thoreau's time, reproductions of HDT's manuscript pages, drawings and excerpts from his journal, and his map of Walden Pond with water depths he determined.

I wouldn't say the book is perfect--there are still a few obscure references without notes, and some notes for points that are obvious--but it's as close as anyone is likely to come.

Be sure to also read Harding's The Days of Henry Thoreau, a great biography.

Undoutedly <>is a great book for every nature lover .In this eligent edition you will surprised in such considerations that pulisher had made,the lovely dark green hard cover and gorgeous essays by Thoreau were fit author's initial intents of his writting.I read <>for more than three times,this special book could popular for hundred year because of its humanity remedied most of people's madness and negetive thoughts.<> surely is not a personal expirence,mostly reflected the goodness among the nature ,human and poetry.

When I first heard about this author in one of my classes, I felt that it was the most boring pices of information that I haveever heard. But, when I started to actually lusten to what he was actually saying it really got me thinking. I was the only onbe in my class that actually understood what he was saying in his stories. His writing has got me thinking different ways on everyday situation. I had never thought that I would start to think like this. His writing has got me to see things different than I ever thought that I would. What he did in his life is cool, going to live at a pond all by himself for about 2 years and find the essintials of life, is brilient. In resistance to civil government, I had never read better writing in my life. When he had to spend a night in jail and realized that it was not even a hard punishnment, for not paying his taxes. There are really no words that I can use that can explain my love for his writing, because it has just moved me to no end. I really wish that I could have been alive when he was so I could have gotten to know him better.

This is a great book about teenage sexuality. It has a ton of great information, including answers to the questions teens ask the most when it comes to this topic. There are a few reasons why I can't give this book five stars. First of all, the author often feels the need to explain what every word means. For example, whenever the word "urinate" was mentioned in the book, the author wrote "pee" in paranthesis after it. Only five-year-olds don't know what urinate means! I felt that he was speaking to the readers as though they did not understand the definition of the most common words. Other words he felt the need to explain were: deformities, defecate, nausea, and sheath. Another problem with this book was the fact that it had a lot of errors in spelling, grammar, etc. It was obviously not very carefully edited. Other than these few complaints, I feel that this book will help expand your knowledge of the concept of sexuality. Though I learned nothing new, it was a good way to get more details.

Working within a private practice, I constantly find young people and parents who are looking for understandable answers to their questions about sex, responsibility and growing up in a healthy way. I have personally read over a dozen books on this topic, but this is the one we have in our waiting room and that we recommend to our youth and parents.

This book provides accurate, honest, understandable and realistic information to those who need it most. Our teens love it, and parents find it to be a Godsend. If there is one book each family should have it's this one.

Well this book of The undergroung teenage sexuality well is about how did you should take care of your body when you have intercoase. Also this book its very intesting to all the teenage who their parents dont talk to them about sex. I think this book should be read by all ages because thereare some teenage dont know about there reproductive parts.

My 10 year old sister was given this book as a gift. I'm pretty good at history, so I thought learning all the presidents in order would be really cool. I read the book for 20 or 30 minutes, took the quizes, and by the time I was done I could name all the presidents in order, and backwords. The book also gives you clues to help remember the 5,10,15,20,25,30,35, and 40th presidents.

I was on a pop quiz team in high school so knowing the order of all the US Presidents was imperative and the book helped accomplish that end. It uses cartoons and silly phrases that are easy to remember and visualize. Now I will never forget that JFK was the 35th and Buchanan was the 15th. Rock Forth.

I am in a presidential class at a Univeristy and I had to learn all the presidents for class. I checked out the book and read it and within about 20 minutes i could write all 43 presidents from memory. This is unreal it really works!!!!

This is an exceptionally beautifully illustrated book. It holds the interest of my 6 yr and 3 yr sons. The pop-ups work well and with different textures the children can learn with the sense of touch as well as sight. We love this book

If you love butterflies, or love pop-ups, this is a don't miss book! The pop-ups are terrific...very detailed and intricate. In addition, the butterfly facts are correct! You can't miss with this book!!

My daughter loves this book,not just because I love it. It came with a framed paper butterfly she absolutely loved. When I was reading it to her she was asking questions and was so into the book and she learned all about butterflies.

The story of B. Traven is as fascinating as any of his novels. A resident of Acapulco, Mexico, who wrote in English, he carefully clouded the issue of his real background, so that for many years he was believed to be one Berick Traven Torsvan, from Chicago, IL, and some even believed him to be Ambrose Bierce. It is still not possible to say with certainty who he actually was, but the best available evidence indicates that he was Ret Marut, a revolutionary anarchist who fled from Germany in the wake of the failure of the post-WWI revolution. This supposition at least has the advantage of squaring with the radical-Left political tenor of his novels, the most famous of which is Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

This is one of those books which has become inseparable from its better known movie version--it's probably impossible to read the story without picturing Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston. As anyone whose ever seen the movie (which hopefully means everyone) will know, Dobbs is a down-at-the-heels American looking for work in the Mexican oil fields. He and Curtin, another roustabout, have idle dreams of getting rich quick, but it's not until they join up with the aged gold prospector Howard that they actually head into the Sierra Madre mountain range to find their fortune. It is Howard who enunciates Traven's political message and forecasts the plot of the tale :

[G]old is a very devilish sort of thing, believe me, boys. In the first place, it changes your character entirely. When you have it your soul is no longer the same as it was before. No getting away from that. You may have so much piled up that you can't carry it away; but, bet your blessed paradise, the more you have, the more you want to add, to make it just that much more. Like sitting at roulette. Just one more turn. So it goes on and on and on. You cease to distinguish between right and wrong. You can no longer see clearly what is good and what is bad. You lose your judgment. That's what it is.

Perhaps this too argues for Traven's Germanic origins, for sure enough, they do find gold, and within short order the men are acting like creatures out of the Brothers Grimm or the Ring of the Nibelungen, with predictably horrific and tragic results.

Traven's point here, though grounded in everything from Genesis to Teutonic myth to Marxism, is ridiculously utopian. It is not gold (or materialism generally) that makes men act like animals; filthy lucre is merely one more thing to fight over; but food, land, mates, beliefs, skin color, language, etc., serve equally well to make men lose their judgment. In this sense, the novel is horribly dated, obviously a product of a time before we'd seen just how evil socialism would turn out and the degree to which right and wrong would cease to be distinguishable to the practitioners of the anti-materialist ethos.

On the other hand, the awesome power which Traven confers upon gold, to corrupt the human soul, and the harkening back to ancient myth, somehow serve to give the novel a quality of timelessness. Read simply as a meditation on greed, it's hard to see how Traven's core message could ever be out of date. There's a whole lot of Dobbs in all of us; let's try to avoid his fate, eh?

GRADE : B+

Traven deserves recognition as one of the great social novelists, right next to Stienbeck and Orwell-anyone who wonders why need only to read this, his most well-known work (thanks to the film by John Huston). Traven's story is a simple enough tale of how greed can corrupt men, but his intimate portrait of the social conditions which brings this about is what makes the book special. Set in Mexico between the two World Wars, it starts with a destitute American vagabond who's reduced to begging for his meals. He joins up with another American to work at oil camps, only to be exploited and cheated out of their pay. Eventually the duo team up with an old prospector and head to the hills to seek gold.

When they do find some gold, it gradually begins to corrupt them like some cursed treasure from myth. Even though the old prospector warns the two younger men at length of what gold can do to men's minds, paranoia and obsession slowly infiltrate the men's heads. While the men's encounter with bandits is one of film's most famous moments ("Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges!"), many other predators lurk in the dusty Mexican landscape. Traven's familiarity with the area is one of the elements that makes the book so strong, as he is able to capture the textures and smells of the mountains and bring them to life. As the story plays out, Traven seems to reveal a strong belief in karma or cosmic justice of sorts and in the end, only the indigenous Huichol Indians emerge as wholly admirable people.

The movie is of course famous, and deservedly so. It is one of one of the very best films made during perhaps the peak period of the Hollywood studio system. The direction, cinematography and peformances are all flawless. But sadly, very few people seem to even realize that it was adapted from a novel. Even fewer have read it. And this is truly a remarkable novel. The mysterious B. Traven (there were two nonfiction books published about trying to uncover his true identity) writes with passion and power. His portrayal of Dobbs' descent into madness is one of the great psychological character studies in all of fiction. His descriptions of the Mexican people and landscape all have the ring of truth. (Probably no author has ever so successfully immersed himself in a foreign culture. It is hard to believe that he is not himself a native of this land.) He makes the minute details of prospecting into something fascinating. And even through extended discourses on a range of subjects from desert topography to the Mexican lottery system to the horrific treatment of the indiginous people by the Spanish colonists, he never loses the thread of the story. And he is above all else a master storyteller. Comparisons to Steinbeck, Jack London, Dickens come to mind. Add to that the psychological depth of a Dostoyevsky and the crusading spirit of an Upton Sinclair. So even if you've seen the movie, don't miss out on this novel. It is one of probably only a few cases in which a great novel was made into a great film, and each stands on its own as a masterpiece. (I can think of "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Wuthering Heights" but not too many others.) And then go on to read the rest of Traven. The grim realities of which he writes may be strong medicine for some, but there is an underlying love of the underdog and faith in a better future that shines through.

I used this book from about pg 200 of Ulysses onward, and I think it's just about indispensable. There should not be any embarrassment in this: unless you know Latin, German, French, Hebrew (together with a good cross-section of literature from all these languages), Catholic & Jewish culture, English literature more or less entire, and (hardest of all) Dublin slang, culture, politics, and all the knick-knacks of daily life from 1904, Ulysses presents many baffling passages. This book helps out with all these things, plus plenty of other stuff: myths, songs, internal reference cross-indexing (for those of us who can't remember that Stephen Daedalus thought of the same Latin quotation 600 pages earlier), Joyce's basic scheme for each section, and more.

There are two failings, and they are minor: (1) there are still plenty of obscure words and phrases that aren't annotated (the introduction acknowledges this) and conversely (2) there are a number of things that don't need annotations that get them (particularly galling are the annotations that simply tell you that they don't know what Joyce is talking about either).

Still, an essential reference, and pretty entertaining in its own right (like flipping through an encyclopedia or Brewer's Phrase & Fable).

Gifford's book offers fascinating glosses and contextual annotations for Ulysses, but was not quite what I was looking for to help me with my first attempt at the book. The annotations are mostly disjoint explanations of specific allusions and references.

There are other guides to Ulysses that are better suited for the novice Joyce reader, helping the reader to keep track of the plot, the progress of the Odyssey and Hamlet corelations and explaining the shifts in style through the book. This kind of hand-holding may be unnecessary for more sophisticated readers, but for my first read, it was essential!

All the surface details, references to mythology, history, politics, music, literature, etc, can be found in this book (Joyce's novel is not included within, just the annotations, but it still clocks in at 700 pages!). If you want to know exactly what Joyce was referring to--this is the place. However, it won't necessarily tell you what he MEANT (aheheh, some things must be left to the reader).

Of course, if you've never read Ulysses you don't need to know every obscure reference. Just pick up REJOYCE or THE NEW BLOOMSDAY BOOK, which have generalized overviews of the novel. This is for the deep scholars. But as Joyce said, all he expects of his readers is that they study his works for the rest of their lives.

This will keep you busy.

I worked backwards, first reading The Travelling Hornplayer, before I read this. A measure of a good book for me is whether or not I think about the characters when I am not reading, and how much I enjoy them--for good or bad--when I am reading. It is delightful to finally see Alice get away from Roland "my poppet" Dent and head back to Jem. This is a book well worth reading! Go and find all of Trapido's books, you won't be sorry.

I started my Trapido obsession when "The Travelling Hornplayer" came into the bookshop where I work on weekends. After reading that (with bated breath) I ordered each and every other books by this wonder that I could find. So, even after reading the 'series' out of sequence, I can hereby state that is one of the best bunches of books around. "Temples of Delight" appealed to me a bit more, maybe, than even the others; I always was a bit of a sucker for a school story, which the story of Jem and Alice starts out as. Plus, the enchanting scraps of "The Divine Miss Davidine Delight," Jem's novel, are just gorgeous. I can picture Iona Morgan cacking herself as she reads it in Alice's room. The characters on the whole are very easy to visualise, which for me is a big indication of the author's abilities. Even more than that, you find yourself yelling at Roland, "Stop it, you twit!" and at Joe, "You complete jammy bas*ard!" (isn't he AWFUL!) and feeling so sorry for little Alice. And then, she's so happy, and you can believe she deserves her happiness. In the series as a whole, I love the Shakespearean twists (not quite the second son of Sir Rowland de Boys, however) and the way everyone pairs off, in the most unlikely couples. Reading through each book, you come across linkages and cross-linkages you utterly weren't expecting. Magnificent. I can't say enough nice things about this book, this series, this author. I can't wait for the next one! (I think its to be called "Having Sex With Stravinsky" and is due sometime in 2001. Or before, if we all wish hard enough.) Read on!

Don't miss this one! Mainly about the lives of school girls in modern England, with enough eccentrics and quirks to keep you smiling throughout, with nice Mozartian references, not to mention PG Wodehouse, "The Leopard", Oxford, aging hippies,and several disorganized, but loving families. The heroine's mixed up love life is mostly amusing, though it does seem to hit a strange wall with the very odd Giavanni at the end. Still, this is miles ahead of most popular fiction out there,and worth re-reading too!

Trying to critique any book of Borowski is an enormous task. Borowski's character by itseelf is complex (specally his clueless suicide etc.) and the books are even denser so it is sometimes difficult to understand who is the main target especially when you read the post war writings. "This way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentleman" is a fantastic recreation of the truth - Borowski must have been extremely powerful character that is why he found the language to describe the horrors of Auschwitz - most people will not even find the language do describe this macabre specter even years after getting freedom. The horror is at such a level that death is no more a part of the horror rather its is a means of escaping further pain. This is one of the first hand descriptions of Nazi atrocities and there are very few better examples. It can be safely assumed that the first person narrator of all the short stories in this book is the author himself. The real wonder is the satire he has incorporated even within such situations. The story called "The man with the package " is not only touching but probably one of the best I have ever read from any author. Gogol also dealt with similar topics of atrocities but of a different regime but Gogol always kept a sense of suspense where the end could not be predicted easily. For Tadeusz Borowski the twist in the end, which may be easily guessed, is not at all important rather the way he arrives to this end is far more effective and magnetic. You may think this is strange but at no point you feel like crying or sorry rather you sense the shivers down the spine and then you feel the disgust for the Nazi regime - probably this is the biggest punishment an author can give to his oppressors. The post war stories are not so hypnotic. I will recommend everybody to buy this book and give it to their next generation.
Just one question bothers me all the time - how did Borowski survive Auschwitz - was it just luck and coincidence or a little helping hand from his side to the Nazis. I see him trying to vindicate his position all the time but could he really do so? Please read the book and find for yourself.

Borowski's account of life in Aushcwitz is a classic. The brutality, inhumanity, and gruesome daily life in the hell-on-earth that was the Holocaust is matter-of-factly, even non-chalantly described and recounted in _This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen_. Little wonder the author put his own head in a gas oven in the years following his experiences. The images are haunting. But what I found to be most disturbing was the simple language Borowski used in retelling his experiences.

Borowski, a Pole, lived separately from the Jews who were daily incenerated. And while his life was unimaginably difficult, by some measure it was better than that of the Jews. A sense of guilt - call it survivors guilt, or regret, or perhaps at its most elemental level, deep and profound sadness - permeates the book, as it should. It is a remarkable read, profound and stunning. Highly recommended.

First of all, the narrator is not Jewish; he is a Pole that lived apart from the Jews in the camp and therefore got better treatment. Apart from that, what really makes this an interesting read is the way that the narrator sort of looks at life in a concentration camp rather non chalantly. There's a great variety of different emotions being presented here. He gets bored, tired, lonely, and angry, all while telling of the horrors of the camp as a sort of backing. The perspective really makes it interesting, and its small, and written in an easy to read manner. You could read this in about two hours if you really tried. Read the story about the Russian soliders being executed. Its almost as horrifying as a Lovecraft story! For anyone interested in the Holocaust, this is a definate must read.

William Wegman is one of America's most important photographers,and Puppies is a wonderful,dear,sweet,happy and tragic book,all at the same time. Wegman's reputation may be in photography,but this beautiful book of photos proves that he is a great storyteller as well. Not only is it a picture book,it is a touching storybook of the lives of his beloved dogs. Sometimes that love gives me the creeps,but of course,I have never lived with dogs. Cats,on the other hand... A great book,get it!

I want to rate this wonderful book a ten, but it ends so abruptly. Maybe that was the intent, as a sort of creative style, but I actually thought some pages were missing. Wegman really captures the emotion of each dog, their personality. We dog lovers know how individual and special each dogs' personality can be. I really wanted this book to go on and on and I can't wait to see these puppies grow up! I really enjoyed it and I'm considering starting a collection of all of Wegman's books!

There isn't much to say about this loving photo essay except that the photos are wonderful and peaceful, and the prose engaging. I like to have the Wegman books near my bed for when I am wound up and unable to sleep. They are very calming and sweet. I always appreciate the deep respect and love Wegman displays toward his dogs, in both his prose and photographic work.