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books tagged “criticism”
books tagged “criticism”
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The Accidental Masterpiece: On The Art Of Life And Vice Versaby Michael KimmelmanISBN 1594200556 (1-59420-055-6)
Hardcover, Penguin Pr
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Alan Moore's Writing for Comicsby Alan Moore, Jacen BurrowsISBN 1592910122 (1-59291-012-2)
Softcover, Avatar Pr Inc
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Alone! Alone!: Lives of Some Outsider Womenby Rosemary DinnageISBN 1590171713 (1-59017-171-3)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Alone! Alone!: Lives of Some Outsider Women'Book summary:In the 30 years she has spent writing about psychology, child development, biography, and fiction, Rosemary Dinnage has examined a variety of odd and accomplished women, all of whom in one way or another lived their lives apart from their contemporaries. Here are solitary figures like Gwen John, Simone Weil, and Barbara Pym; muses and partners of dominant men, like Clementine Churchill and Giuseppina Verdi; survivors such as Isak Dinesen, Doris Lessing, and Rebecca West; and other extraordinary talents including writers Katherine Mansfield, Iris Murdoch, and Anita Brookner. These portraits of extraordinary women who lived on the edges of their societies will appeal to anyone interested in the lives of fascinating and often forgotten women. [via]
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American Humor: A Study of the National Characterby Constance Rourke, Greil MarcusISBN 1590170792 (1-59017-079-2)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'American Humor: A Study of the National Character'Book summary:Stepping out of the darkness, the American emerges upon the stage of history as a new character, as puzzling to himself as to others. American Humor, Constance Rourke's pioneering "study of the national character," singles out the archetypal figures of the Yankee peddler, the backwoodsman, and the blackface minstrel to illuminate the fundamental role of popular culture in fashioning a distinctive American sensibility. A memorable performance in its own right, American Humor crackles with the jibes and jokes of generations while presenting a striking picture of a vagabond nation in perpetual self-pursuit. Davy Crockett and Henry James, Jim Crow and Emily Dickinson rub shoulders in a work that inspired such later critics as Pauline Kael and Lester Bangs and which still has much to say about the America of Bob Dylan and Thomas Pynchon, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. [via]
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The Annotated Ancient Marinerby Martin Gardner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Gustave DoreISBN 1591021251 (1-59102-125-1)
Hardcover, Prometheus Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Annotated Ancient Mariner'Book summary:Coleridge's greatest work, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, is utterly unique, unlike any other ballad. No narrative poem has rivaled it in combining scenes of terror with scenes of incomparable beauty. Although enormously popular in the nineteenth century, it is seldom read or studied today. This annotated version by Martin Gardner will help to renew the appreciation and deepen the understanding of Coleridge's unjustly neglected masterpiece.
Preceding the poem is a biographical sketch of the great poet, which emphasizes those aspects of his many-sided life and personality that have the strongest bearing on the poem, especially on circumstances surrounding its composition. Both the 1798 and 1834 versions of the poem are presented, with notes on words, lines, and stanzas that Coleridge later excised. Following the poem, Gardner summarizes major critical attitudes toward the ballad, discusses possible higher levels of meaning, and closes with questions concerning the poem's much-debated moral.
Many artists have illustrated the Rime, but none as skillfully as Gustave Doré. He was far and away the most popular and prolific book illustrator of all time, and though his work has been out of fashion for some time, it is becoming harder and harder to dismiss him as a mere yeoman illustrator.
Here is your chance to read, or reread, Coleridge's classic Rime, to fully understand it, and to relish Doré's magnificent illustrations. [via]More editions of The Annotated Ancient Mariner:
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Argument & Song: Sources & Silences in Poetryby Stanley PlumlyISBN 1590510763 (1-59051-076-3)
Hardcover, W W Norton & Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Argument & Song: Sources & Silences in Poetry'Book summary:Stanley Plumly is one of his generation's important poets. He was born in Barnesville, Ohio, in 1939, and grew up in the lumber and farming regions of Virginia and Ohio. Writing in The Atlantic, Peter Davison said of his work, "Plumly's rich, dense poems give off a special fragrance, the incense of the English Romantic movement mingling with forest odors from the Old Northwest Territory between the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Great Lakes."
This volume collects fifteen of Plumly's essays on poetry and art, including the seminal "Chapter and Verse," "Sentimental Forms," and "The Abrupt Edge." Meditating on poems by Keats, Stevens, James Wright, Plath, and Matthews, on Emily Brontes prose, and paintings by Whistler, Plumly returns again and again to essential matters: the impulses, occasions, and places out of which art arises and the forms by which imagination gives it shape.
About Stanley Plumly's poetry:
"Reading Stanley Plumly is like having someone whisper unceasingly in your ear, humming of light, trees, sleep, snow."
- The New York Times Book Review
"Plumly&'s landscapes, for all their underpinnings in concrete detail, seem at times like sets in a Fellini movie: softly falling snow, birds, suicides, and blossoming red roses, with flashes of insight that burn the retinas and leave an afterimage even more surreal."
- Kirkus Reviews
"The voice of [his] poems reveals a plaintiveness without sentimentality, weaving poignant stories that transcend mere narrative."
- The Boston Review [via]More editions of Argument & Song: Sources & Silences in Poetry:
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeareby E. NesbitISBN 1588278069 (1-58827-806-9)
Hardcover, Indypublish.Com
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Beowulfby John McNamara, AnonymousISBN 1593082665 (1-59308-266-5)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Beowulf'Book summary:[via]Beowulf, by Anonymous, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:Widely regarded as the first true masterpiece of English literature, Beowulf describes the thrilling adventures of a great Scandinavian warrior of the sixth century. Its lyric intensity and imaginative vitality are unparalleled, and the poem has greatly influenced many important modern novelists and poets, most notably J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings.
Part history and part mythology, Beowulf opens in the court of the Danish king where a horrible demon named Grendel devours men in their sleep every night. The hero Beowulf arrives and kills the monster, but joy turns to horror when Grendels mother attacks the hall to avenge the death of her son. Ultimately triumphant, Beowulf becomes king himself and rules peacefully for fifty years until, one dark day, a foe more powerful than any he has yet faced is arousedan ancient dragon guarding a horde of treasure. Once again, Beowulf must summon all his strength and courage to face the beast, but this time victory exacts a terrible price.
New translation by John McNamara. Features an original map and genealogy chart.
John McNamara is Professor of English at the University of Houston, where he teaches the early languages and literatures of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with a special focus on their oral traditions. He is the co-editor of Medieval Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs.
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Bleak Houseby Charles Dickens, Tatiana M. HolwayISBN 1593083114 (1-59308-311-4)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Bleak House'Book summary:Bleak House is a satirical look at the Byzantine legal system in London as it consumes the minds and talents of the greedy and nearly destroys the lives of innocents--a contemporary tale indeed. Dickens's tale takes us from the foggy dank streets of London and the maze of the Inns of Court to the peaceful countryside of England. Likewise, the characters run from murderous villains to virtuous girls, from a devoted lover to a "fallen woman," all of whom are affected by a legal suit in which there will, of course, be no winner. The first-person narrative related by the orphan Esther is particularly sweet. The articulate reading by the acclaimed British actor Paul Scofield, whose distinctive broad English accent lends just the right degree of sonority and humor to the text, brings out the color in this classic social commentary disguised as a Victorian drama. However, to abridge Dickens is, well, a Dickensian task, the results of which make for a story in which the author's convoluted plot lines and twists of fate play out in what seems to be a fast-forward format. Listeners must pay close attention in order to keep up with the multiple narratives and cast of curious characters, including the memorable Inspector Bucket and Mr. Guppy. Fortunately, the publisher provides a partial list of characters on the inside jacket. (Running time: 3 hours; 2 cassettes) [via]
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The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classicsby W. John CampbellISBN 1586632043 (1-58663-204-3)
Hardcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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The Brothers Karamazov: Library Editionby Fyodor DostoevskyISBN 159308045X (1-59308-045-X)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Brothers Karamazov: Library Edition'Book summary:[via]The Brother Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influencesbiographical, historical, and literaryto enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.
The last and greatest of Dostoevskys novels, The Brothers Karamazov is a towering masterpiece of literature, philosophy, psychology, and religion. It tells the story of intellectual Ivan, sensual Dmitri, and idealistic Alyosha Karamazov, who collide in the wake of their despicable fathers brutal murder.
Into the framework of the story Dostoevsky poured all of his deepest concernsthe origin of evil, the nature of freedom, the craving for meaning and, most importantly, whether God exists. The novel is famous for three chapters that may be ranked among the greatest pages of Western literature. Rebellion and The Grand Inquisitor present what many have considered the strongest arguments ever formulated against the existence of God, while The Devil brilliantly portrays the banality of evil. Ultimately, Dostoevsky believes that Christ-like love prevails. But does he prove it?
A rich, moving exploration of the critical questions of human existence, The Brothers Karamazov powerfully challenges all readers to reevaluate the world and their place in it.
Maire Jaanus is Professor of English and department Chair at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is the author of Georg Trakl, Literature and Negation, and a novel, She, and co-editor of Reading Seminars I and II, Reading Seminar XI, and the forthcoming Lacan in the German-Speaking World.More editions of The Brothers Karamazov: Library Edition:
Clive Barker the Dark Fantasticby Douglas WinterISBN 1587670518 (1-58767-051-8)
Hardcover, Cemetery Dance Pubns
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Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Black GarnettISBN 1593080816 (1-59308-081-6)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Crime and Punishment'Book summary:[via]Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:Few authors have been as personally familiar with desperation as Fyodor Dostoevsky, and none have been so adept at describing it. Crime and Punishmentthe novel that heralded the authors period of masterworkstells the story of the poor and talented student Raskolnikov, a character of unparalleled psychological depth and complexity. Raskolnikov reasons that men like himself, by virtue of their intellectual superiority, can and must transcend societal law. To test his theory, he devises the perfect crimethe murder of a spiteful pawnbroker living in St. Petersburg.
In one of the most gripping crime stories of all time, Raskolnikov soon realizes the folly of his abstractions. Haunted by vivid hallucinations and the torments of his conscience, he seeks relief from his terror and moral isolationfirst from Sonia, the pious streetwalker who urges him to confess, then in a tense game of cat and mouse with Porfiry, the brilliant magistrate assigned to the murder investigation. A tour de force of suspense, Crime and Punishment delineates the theories and motivations that underlie a bankrupt morality.Priscilla Meyer is Professor of Russian Language and Literature at Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut. She published Find What the Sailor Has Hidden, the first monograph on Vladimir Nabokovs Pale Fire, and edited the first English translation of Andrei Bitovs collection of short stories, Life in Windy Weather.More editions of Crime and Punishment:
The Dark Barbarian: The Writings of Robert E Howard A Critical Anthologyby Don HerronISBN 1587152037 (1-58715-203-7)
Softcover, Wildside Pr
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The Death of Picassoby Guy DavenportISBN 1593760566 (1-59376-056-6)
Softcover, Shoemaker & Hoard
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Death of Picasso'Book summary:When Guy Davenport looks at the world, the world changes, sometimes just a little and sometimes a lot. And no reader is the same after reading his or her first Davenport essay or story. He is a writer perfectly described by the term singular, and in praising his work, from fiction to poetry, from translations to essays, critics all over the world have noted his unique manner, his remarkable erudition, and his startling humor. He is the finely realized perfection of high modernism blended with an American sensibility as old as Emersons. For The Death of Picasso, Davenport has gathered twenty-seven essays and stories from throughout his career, more than one-third of which have never before appeared in book form. The whole stands as the authors choice of the pieces he would have us read today if we are curious about what hes been up to all this time. The result is an exciting and invigorating selection, a testament to one of the prose masters at work today.[via]
Discovering H.P. Lovecraftby Darrell SchweitzerISBN 1587154714 (1-58715-471-4)
Softcover, Wildside Pr
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El Hobbit / the Hobbitby J. R. R. TolkienISBN 1594130051 (1-59413-005-1)
Softcover, Large Print Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'El Hobbit / the Hobbit'Book summary:Poor Bilbo Baggins! An unassuming and rather plump hobbit (as most of these small, furry- footed people tend to be ), Baggins finds himself unwittingly drawn into adventure by a wizard named Gandalf and 13 dwarves bound for the Lonely Mountain, where a dragon named Smaug hordes a stolen treasure. Before he knows what is happening, Baggins finds himself on the road to danger. Wizards, dwarves and dragons may seem the stuff of children's fairy tales, but The Hobbit is in a class of its own--light-hearted enough for younger readers, yet with a dark edge guaranteed to intrigue an older audience. In the best tradition of the archetypal hero's quest, Bilbo Baggins sets out on his fateful journey a callow, untested soul and returns--tempered by hardship, danger and loss--a better man--er, hobbit.
This book is the predecessor to Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, and though that trilogy can be thoroughly enjoyed without first reading The Hobbit, much that happens in the later novels is foreshadowed here. A word of caution, however: as Bilbo discovers early on, travel and adventure are addictive things; embark on this journey to the Lonely Mountain with Tolkien's reluctant hero, and you might not be able to stop there. And the road taken to the distant mountains of Mordor in the ensuing trilogy is an even more perilous one. [via]
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Essaysby Michel E. De Montaigne, Percival Chubb, John FlorioISBN 1591022703 (1-59102-270-3)
Softcover, Prometheus Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Essays'Book summary:Living at a time of religious strife and the decline of the intellectual optimism that had begun in the Renaissance, Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592) expressed in his writings both a deep skepticism about human affairs and a wide-ranging intellectual curiosity reflective of the age. Having witnessed firsthand the bloody armed conflicts, fanaticism, and persecutions that arose out of religious differences between French Catholics and Protestant Huguenots, Montaigne was especially skeptical about human claims to knowledge. For this reason he published, not systematic philosophy, but mere attempts at knowledge, essays in understanding, or essais, as he called them in French. He thus inaugurated a new literary genre that proved to be very influential.
Despite his skepticism Montaigne realized that the intellectual horizon of his day was full of exciting new developments. The New World had only recently been discovered and explorers to many parts of the hitherto undiscovered world were bringing back reports of strange lands, people, and customs. At the same time the intellectual discoveries of the Renaissance had uncovered the powerful works of ancient Greek and Latin authors, and science, still in its infancy, was beginning to ask important new questions.
The essays reflect all these interests, plus a refreshing honesty about the frailties of human nature. Montaigne writes about vanity, the value of friendship, constancy, idleness, liars, virtue, cowardice, prognostication, cannibals, the greatness of Rome, "That to Study Philosophy Is to Learn to Die," and a host of other topics.
Filled with insights and keen observations that have inspired later writers as diverse as Shakespeare, Bacon, Voltaire, Rousseau, Flaubert, Virginia Woolf, and Roland Barthes, the Essays of Montaigne should be on the shelf of every student, scholar, and book lover. [via]More editions of Essays:
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Far from the Madding Gerund: And Other Dispatches from Language Logby Geoffrey K. Pullum, Mark LibermanISBN 1590280555 (1-59028-055-5)
Softcover, Franklin Beedle & Assoc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Far from the Madding Gerund: And Other Dispatches from Language Log'Book summary:Mark Liberman and Geoffrey K. Pullum have collected some of their most insightful and amusing material from Language Log, their popular web site. Often irreverent and hilarious, these brief essays take on many sacred cows, showing us--among many things--why Strunk & White is useless, how the College Board can't identify sentence errors in the SAT, and what makes Dan Brown one of the worst prose stylists in the business.
There is plenty here to inspire deeper thoughts as well. Why do Pete Rose's statements fall short of saying "I'm sorry," and can we learn how to apologize by analyzing his mistakes? Is there such a thing as mind-reading fatigue? What is the meaning of "pluralism" and "Yankeehood"?
Language Log is a site where serious professional linguists go to have fun. There's plenty of fun and plenty to get you thinking about language in new ways in this collection. [via]
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Follies of the Wise: Dissenting Essaysby Frederick CrewsISBN 1593761503 (1-59376-150-3)
Softcover, Shoemaker & Hoard
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Follies of the Wise: Dissenting Essays'Book summary:True skepticism is an attitude of constant questioning, a mode of thinking Frederick Crews held so dear he applied it to Freudian psychoanalytic theory, an intellectual tradition he initially believed to be empirically sound. But as his examination of the logical structure and institutional history of psychoanalysis revealed ever more cracks in the field's empirical framework, Crews broke with Freudian theory, eventually labeling it the very model of a modern pseudoscience.[via]
This collection features essays chronicling his rejection of Freudian psychoanalysis and our recent recovered memory movement, including such controversial and widely quoted pieces as The Unknown Freud and The Revenge of the Repressed. Crews also tackles new subjects as diverse as UFO abduction reports, American Buddhism, contemporary literary criticism, and theosophy. A single theme animates these bracing and witty discussions: the temptation to reach for facile wisdom without attending to the little voice that asks, How might I be deceiving myself here?More editions of Follies of the Wise: Dissenting Essays:
From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbook on Myth And Fantasyby Matthew T. Dickerson, David O'haraISBN 1587431335 (1-58743-133-5)
Softcover, Baker Pub Group
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God Is Not: Religious, Nice, One of Us, an American, a Capitalistby D. Brent LaythamISBN 1587431017 (1-58743-101-7)
Softcover, Brazos Pr
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Gulliver's Travelsby Jonathan Swift, Michael SeidelISBN 1593080573 (1-59308-057-3)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Gulliver's Travels'Book summary:[via]Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:Considered the greatest satire ever written in English, Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels chronicles the fantastic voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, principally to four marvelous realms: Lilliput, where the people are six inches tall; Brobdingnag, a land inhabited by giants; Laputa, a wondrous flying island; and a country where the Houyhnhnms, a race of intelligent horses, are served by savage humanoid creatures called Yahoos.
Beneath the surface of this enchanting fantasy lurks a devastating critique of human malevolence, stupidity, greed, vanity, and short-sightedness. A brilliant combination of adventure, humor, and philosophy, Gullivers Travels is one of literatures most durable masterpieces.Michael Seidel is Jesse and George Siegel Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University. He has written widely on eighteenth-century literature. His books include Satiric Inheritance: Rabelais to Sterne (1979), Exile and the Narrative Imagination (1986), and Robinson Crusoe: Island Myths and the Novel (1991).
H.P. Lovecraft a Century Less a Dreamby Scott ConnorsISBN 1587152150 (1-58715-215-0)
Hardcover, Wildside Pr
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Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind The Rhymeby Chris RobertsISBN 1592402178 (1-59240-217-8)
Softcover, Gotham Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind the Rhyme'Book summary:Was Little Jack Horner a squatter? "Baa Baa Black Sheep" a bleat about taxation? What did Jack and Jill really do on that hill? Chris Roberts reveals the seamy and quirky stories behind our favorite nursery rhymes.
Nursery rhymes are rarely as innocent as they seemthere is a wealth of concealed meaning in our familiar childhood verse. More than a century after Queen Victoria decided that children were better off without the full story, London librarian Chris Roberts brings the truth to light. He traces the origins of the subtle phrases and antiquated references, revealing religious hatred, political subversion, and sexual innuendo.
Roberts reveals that when Jack, nimble and quick, jumped over a candlestick, he was reenacting a popular sport that tested whether a person was lean and healthy. Humpty Dumpty was actually a cannon mounted on the walls of a church in Colchester, blown up during the English Civil War. Few know that the cockles in "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" actually refer to cuckolds in the promiscuous court of Mary Queen of Scots. Or that "Rub-a-dub-dub, three maids in a tub" was inspired by a fairground peepshow.
A fascinating history lesson that makes astonishing connections to contemporary popular culture, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown is for Anglophiles, parents, history buffs, and anyone who has ever wondered about the origins of rhymes. The book features a glossary of slang and historical terms, and spooky silhouettes of nursery-rhyme characters to accompany the rhymes. Mother Goose will never look the same again. [via]
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High Fidelityby Nick HornbyISBN 1594481784 (1-59448-178-4)
Softcover, Riverhead Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'High Fidelity'Book summary:It has been said often enough that baby boomers are a television generation, but the very funny novel High Fidelity reminds that in a way they are the record-album generation as well. This funny novel is obsessed with music; Hornby's narrator is an early-thirtysomething English guy who runs a London record store. He sells albums recorded the old-fashioned way--on vinyl--and is having a tough time making other transitions as well, specifically adulthood. The book is in one sense a love story, both sweet and interesting; most entertaining, though, are the hilarious arguments over arcane matters of pop music. [via]
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The Hobbit Companionby David Day, Lidia PostmaISBN 158663528X (1-58663-528-X)
Hardcover, Barnes & Noble
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The House of Mirthby Edith WhartonISBN 1593081537 (1-59308-153-7)
Softcover, Barnes & Noble
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The House of Mirth'Book summary:"The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth," warns Ecclesiastes 7:4, and so does the novel by Edith Wharton that takes its title from this call to heed. New York at the turn of the century was a time of opulence and frivolity for those who could afford it. But for those who couldn't and yet wanted desperately to keep up with the whirlwind, like Wharton's charming Lily Bart, it was something else altogether: a gilded cage rather than the Gilded Age.
One of Wharton's earliest descriptions of her heroine, in the library of her bachelor friend and sometime suitor Lawrence Selden, indicates that she appears "as though she were a captured dryad subdued to the conventions of the drawing room." Indeed, herein lies Lily's problem. She has, we're told, "been brought up to be ornamental," and yet her spirit is larger than what this ancillary role requires. By today's standards she would be nothing more than a mild rebel, but in the era into which Wharton drops her unmercifully, this tiny spark of character, combined with numerous assaults by vicious society women and bad luck, ultimately renders Lily persona non grata. Her own ambivalence about her position serves to open the door to disaster: several times she is on the verge of "good" marriage and squanders it at the last moment, unwilling to play by the rules of a society that produces, as she calls them, "poor, miserable, marriageable girls.
Lily's rather violent tumble down the social ladder provides a thumbnail sketch of the general injustices of the upper classes (which, incidentally, Wharton never quite manages to condemn entirely, clearly believing that such life is cruel but without alternative). From her start as a beautiful woman at the height of her powers to her sad finale as a recently fired milliner's assistant addicted to sleeping drugs, Lily Bart is heroic, not least for her final admission of her own role in her downfall. "Once--twice--you gave me the chance to escape from my life and I refused it: refused it because I was a coward," she tells Selden as the book draws to a close. All manner of hideous socialite beasts--some of whose treatment by Wharton, such as the token social-climbing Jew, Simon Rosedale, date the book unfortunately--wander through the novel while Lily plummets. As her tale winds down to nothing more than the remnants of social grace and cold hard cash, it's hard not to agree with Lily's own assessment of herself: "I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else." Nevertheless, it's even harder not to believe that she deserved better, which is why The House of Mirth remains so timely and so vital in spite of its crushing end and its unflattering portrait of what life offers up. --Melanie Rehak [via]
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Howards Endby Mary Gordon, E. M. ForsterISBN 1593080220 (1-59308-022-0)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Howards End'Book summary:Margaret Schlegel, engaged to the much older, widowed Henry Wilcox, meets her intended the morning after accepting his proposal and realizes that he is a man who has lived without introspection or true self-knowledge. As she contemplates the state of Wilcox's soul, her remedy for what ails him has become one of the most oft-quoted passages in literature:
Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer.
Like all of Forster's work, Howards End concerns itself with class, nationality, economic status, and how each of these affects personal relationships. It follows the intertwined fortunes of the Schlegel sisters, Margaret and Helen, and the Wilcox family over the course of several years. The Schlegels are intellectuals, devotees of art and literature. The Wilcoxes, on the other hand, can't be bothered with the life of the mind or the heart, leading, instead, outer lives of "telegrams and anger" that foster "such virtues as neatness, decision, and obedience, virtues of the second rank, no doubt, but they have formed our civilization." Helen, after a brief flirtation with one of the Wilcox sons, has developed an antipathy for the family; Margaret, however, forms a brief but intense friendship with Mrs. Wilcox, which is cut short by the older woman's death. When her family discovers a scrap of paper requesting that Henry give their home, Howards End, to Margaret, it precipitates a spiritual crisis among them that will take years to resolve.Forster's 1910 novel begins as a collection of seemingly unrelated events--Helen's impulsive engagement to Paul Wilcox; a chance meeting between the Schlegel sisters and an impoverished clerk named Leonard Bast at a concert; a casual conversation between the sisters and Henry Wilcox in London one night. But as it moves along, these disparate threads gradually knit into a tightly woven fabric of tragic misunderstandings, impulsive actions, and irreparable consequences, and, eventually, connection. Though set in the early years of the 20th century, Howards End seems even more suited to our own fragmented era of e-mails and anger. For readers living in such an age, the exhortation to "only connect" resonates ever more profoundly. --Alix Wilber [via]
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Infernoby Dante Alighieri, Peter Bondanella, Henry Wadsworth LongfellowISBN 1593083319 (1-59308-331-9)
Hardcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Inferno'Book summary:[via]The Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influencesbiographical, historical, and literaryto enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.The Inferno remains literatures most hallowed and graphic vision of Hell. Dante plunges readers into this unforgettable world with a deceptively simpleand now legendarytercet:
Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.
With these words, Dante plunges readers into the unforgettable world of the Infernoone of the most graphic visions of Hell ever created. In this first part of the epic The Divine Comedy, Dante is led by the poet Virgil down into the nine circles of Hell, where he travels through nightmare landscapes of fetid cesspools, viper pits, frozen lakes, and boiling rivers of blood and witnesses sinners being beaten, burned, eaten, defecated upon, and torn to pieces by demons. Along the way he meets the most fascinating characters known to the classical and medieval worldthe silver-tongued Ulysses, lustful Francesca da Rimini, the heretical Farinata degli Uberti, and scores of other intriguing and notorious figures.
This edition of the Inferno revives the famous Henry Wadsworth Longfellow translation, which first introduced Dantes literary genius to a broad American audience. Opening the book we stand face to face with the poet, wrote William Dean Howells of Longfellows Dante, and when his voice ceases we may marvel if he has not sung to us in his own Tuscan. Lyrically graceful and brimming with startlingly vivid images, Dantes Inferno is a perpetually engrossing classic that ranks with the greatest works of Homer and Shakespeare.
Features a map of Hell and illustrations by Gustave Doré.Peter Bondanella is Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and Italian at Indiana University and a past president of the American Association for Italian Studies. His publications include a number of translations of Italian classics, books on Italian Renaissance literature and Italian cinema, and a dictionary of Italian literature.More editions of Inferno:
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The Infernoby Peter Bondanella, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Gustave Dore, Alighieri DanteISBN 1593080514 (1-59308-051-4)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Inferno'Book summary:The Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:The Inferno remains literatures most hallowed and graphic vision of Hell. Dante plunges readers into this unforgettable world with a deceptively simpleand now legendarytercet:
Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.
With these words, Dante plunges readers into the unforgettable world of the Infernoone of the most graphic visions of Hell ever created. In this first part of the epic The Divine Comedy, Dante is led by the poet Virgil down into the nine circles of Hell, where he travels through nightmare landscapes of fetid cesspools, viper pits, frozen lakes, and boiling rivers of blood and witnesses sinners being beaten, burned, eaten, defecated upon, and torn to pieces by demons. Along the way he meets the most fascinating characters known to the classical and medieval worldthe silver-tongued Ulysses, lustful Francesca da Rimini, the heretical Farinata degli Uberti, and scores of other intriguing and notorious figures.
This edition of the Inferno revives the famous Henry Wadsworth Longfellow translation, which first introduced Dantes literary genius to a broad American audience. Opening the book we stand face to face with the poet, wrote William Dean Howells of Longfellows Dante, and when his voice ceases we may marvel if he has not sung to us in his own Tuscan. Lyrically graceful and brimming with startlingly vivid images, Dantes Inferno is a perpetually engrossing classic that ranks with the greatest works of Homer and Shakespeare.
Features a map of Hell and illustrations by Gustave Doré.[via]Peter Bondanella is Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and Italian at Indiana University and a past president of the American Association for Italian Studies. His publications include a number of translations of Italian classics, books on Italian Renaissance literature and Italian cinema, and a dictionary of Italian literature.
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The Inferno Of Dante Alighieriby Dante Alighieri, Ciaran CarsonISBN 1590171144 (1-59017-114-4)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Inferno Of Dante Alighieri'Book summary:This startling new translation of Dante's Inferno is by Ciaran Carson, one of contemporary Ireland's most dazzlingly gifted poets. Written in a vigorous and inventive contemporary idiom, while also reproducing the intricate rhyme-scheme that is so essential to the beauty and power of Dante's epic, Carson's virtuosic rendering of the Inferno is that rare thinga translation with the heft and force of a true English poem. Like Seamus Heaney's Beowulf and Ted Hughes's Tales from Ovid, Ciaran Carson's Inferno is an extraordinary modern response to one of the great works of world literature. [via]
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King Learby SparkNotes Staff, William ShakespeareISBN 1586634062 (1-58663-406-2)
Softcover, Spark Publishing Group
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Leaves of Grassby Walt Whitman, Karen KarbienerISBN 1593080832 (1-59308-083-2)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Leaves of Grass'Book summary:Leaves of Grass (1855) is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman. Among the poems in the collection are "Song of Myself," "I Sing the Body Electric," and in later editions, Whitman's elegy to the assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." Whitman spent his entire life writing Leaves of Grass, revising it in several editions until his death.
Leaves of Grass has its genesis in an essay called The Poet by Ralph Waldo Emerson, published in 1845, which expressed the need for the United States to have its own new and unique poet to write about the new country's virtues and vices. Whitman, reading the essay, consciously set out to answer Emerson's call as he began work on the first edition of Leaves of Grass. Whitman, however, downplayed Emerson's influence, stating, "I was simmering, simmering, simmering; Emerson brought me to a boil".
On May 15, 1855, Whitman registered the title Leaves of Grass with the clerk of the United States District Court, Southern District of New Jersey, and received its copyright. The first edition was published in Brooklyn at the Fulton Street printing shop of two Scottish immigrants, James and Andrew Rome, whom Whitman had known since the 1840s, on July 4, 1855. Whitman paid for and did much of the typesetting for the first edition himself. The book did not include the author's name, instead offering an engraving by Samuel Hollyer depicting the poet in work clothes and a jaunty hat, arms at his side. Early advertisements for the first edition appealed to "lovers of literary curiosities" as an oddity. Sales on the book were few but Whitman was not discouraged.
The first edition was very small, collecting only twelve unnamed poems in 95 pages. Whitman once said he intended the book to be small enough to be carried in a pocket. "That would tend to induce people to take me along with them and read me in the open air: I am nearly always successful with the reader in the open air. "About 800 were printed, though only 200 were bound in its trademark green cloth cover. The only American library known to have purchased a copy of the first edition was in Philadelphia. The poems of the first edition, which were given titles in later issues, were "Song of Myself," "A Song For Occupations," "To Think of Time," "The Sleepers," "I Sing the Body Electric," "Faces," "Song of the Answerer," "Europe: The 72d and 73d Years of These States," "A Boston Ballad," "There Was a Child Went Forth," "Who Learns My Lesson Complete?", and "Great Are the Myths."
The title Leaves of Grass was a pun. "Grass" was a term given by publishers to works of minor value and "leaves" is another name for the pages on which they were printed.
Whitman sent a copy of the first edition of Leaves of Grass to Emerson, the man who had inspired its creation. In a letter to Whitman, Emerson said "I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom America has yet contributed." He went on, "I am very happy in reading it, as great power makes us happy." [via] 
Mark Twain on Travelby Terry MortISBN 1592288065 (1-59228-806-5)
Hardcover, Globe Pequot Pr
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The Mayor of Casterbridgeby Thomas HardyISBN 1593083092 (1-59308-309-2)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'Book summary:[via]The Mayor of Casterbridge, by Thomas Hardy, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influencesbiographical, historical, and literaryto enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.
Thomas Hardys first masterpiece, The Mayor of Casterbridge opens with a scene of such heartlessness and cruelty that it still shocks readers today. A poor workman named Michael Henchard, in a fit of drunken rage, sells his wife and baby daughter to a stranger at a country fair. Stricken with remorse, Henchard forswears alcohol and works hard to become a prosperous businessman and the respected mayor of Casterbridge. But he cannot erase his past. His wife ultimately returns to offer Henchard the choice of redemption or a further descent into his own self-destructive nature. A dark, complex story, The Mayor of Casterbridge brims with invention, vitality, and even wit.
Phillip Lopate, a professor at Hofstra University in New York City, is best known as an essayist ( Bachelorhood, Against Joie De Vivre, Portrait of My Body ). He is the editor of the anthology Art of the Personal Essay and has written a novel, The Rug Merchant, and a book of poetry, The Daily Round.More editions of The Mayor of Casterbridge:
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Midsummer Night's Dreamby Harold BloomISBN 1594480095 (1-59448-009-5)
Softcover, Riverhead Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Midsummer Night's Dream'Book summary:Not perhaps since Samuel Johnson in the mid eighteenth centruy has a critic explained to ta genera audience as ably as Mr. Bloom does how much Shakespeare matters to our sens of who we are [via]
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A Midsummer Night's Dreamby William Shakespeare, John CrowtherISBN 1586638483 (1-58663-848-3)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'Book summary:[via]No Fear Shakespeare gives you the complete text of A Midsummer Night's Dream on the left-hand page, side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right.
Each No Fear Shakespeare contains
- The complete text of the original play
- A line-by-line translation that puts Shakespeare into everyday language
- A complete list of characters with descriptions
- Plenty of helpful commentary
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Never Threaten to Eat Your Co-Workers: Best of Blogsby Alan Graham, Bonnie Burton, John Burton, Doc SearlsISBN 1590593219 (1-59059-321-9)
Softcover, Springer-Verlag New York Inc
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Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in Americaby Barbara EhrenreichISBN 1587243687 (1-58724-368-7)
Hardcover, Wheeler Pub Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America'Book summary:Essayist and cultural critic Barbara Ehrenreich has always specialized in turning received wisdom on its head with intelligence, clarity, and verve. With some 12 million women being pushed into the labor market by welfare reform, she decided to do some good old-fashioned journalism and find out just how they were going to survive on the wages of the unskilled--at $6 to $7 an hour, only half of what is considered a living wage. So she did what millions of Americans do, she looked for a job and a place to live, worked that job, and tried to make ends meet.
As a waitress in Florida, where her name is suddenly transposed to "girl," trailer trash becomes a demographic category to aspire to with rent at $675 per month. In Maine, where she ends up working as both a cleaning woman and a nursing home assistant, she must first fill out endless pre-employment tests with trick questions such as "Some people work better when they're a little bit high." In Minnesota, she works at Wal-Mart under the repressive surveillance of men and women whose job it is to monitor her behavior for signs of sloth, theft, drug abuse, or worse. She even gets to experience the humiliation of the urine test.
So, do the poor have survival strategies unknown to the middle class? And did Ehrenreich feel the "bracing psychological effects of getting out of the house, as promised by the wonks who brought us welfare reform?" Nah. Even in her best-case scenario, with all the advantages of education, health, a car, and money for first month's rent, she has to work two jobs, seven days a week, and still almost winds up in a shelter. As Ehrenreich points out with her potent combination of humor and outrage, the laws of supply and demand have been reversed. Rental prices skyrocket, but wages never rise. Rather, jobs are so cheap as measured by the pay that workers are encouraged to take as many as they can. Behind those trademark Wal-Mart vests, it turns out, are the borderline homeless. With her characteristic wry wit and her unabashedly liberal bent, Ehrenreich brings the invisible poor out of hiding and, in the process, the world they inhabit--where civil liberties are often ignored and hard work fails to live up to its reputation as the ticket out of poverty. --Lesley Reed [via]
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Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemiesby Ian Buruma, Avishai MargalitISBN 1594200084 (1-59420-008-4)
Hardcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies'Book summary:A pioneering investigation of the lineage of anti-Western stereotypes that traces them back to the West itself.
Twenty-five years ago, Edward Said's Orientalism spawned a generation of scholarship on the denigrating and dangerous mirage of "the East" in the Western colonial mind. But "the West" is the more dangerous mirage of our own time, Ian Buruma and Avishai Margalit argue, and the idea of "the West" in the minds of its self-proclaimed enemies remains largely unexamined and woefully misunderstood. Occidentalism is their groundbreaking investigation of the demonizing fantasies and stereotypes about the Western world that fuel such hatred in the hearts of others.
We generally understand "radical Islam" as a purely Islamic phenomenon, but Buruma and Margalit show that while the Islamic part of radical Islam certainly is, the radical part owes a primary debt of inheritance to the West. Whatever else they are, al Qaeda and its ilk are revolutionary anti-Western political movements, and Buruma and Margalit show us that the bogeyman of the West who stalks their thinking is the same one who has haunted the thoughts of many other revolutionary groups, going back to the early nineteenth century. In this genealogy of the components of the anti-Western worldview, the same oppositions appear again and again: the heroic revolutionary versus the timid, soft bourgeois; the rootless, deracinated cosmopolitan living in the Western city, cut off from the roots of a spiritually healthy society; the sterile Western mind, all reason and no soul; the machine society, controlled from the center by a cabal of insiders-often Jews-pulling the hidden levers of power versus an organically knit-together one, a society of "blood and soil." The anti-Western virus has found a ready host in the Islamic world for a number of legitimate reasons, they argue, but in no way does that make it an exclusively Islamic matter.
A work of extraordinary range and erudition, Occidentalism will permanently enlarge our collective frame of vision. [via]More editions of Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies:
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Oliver Twistby Charles Dickens, George Cruikshank, Jill MullerISBN 1593080301 (1-59308-030-1)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Oliver Twist'Book summary:[via]Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:One of Dickenss most popular novels, Oliver Twist is the story of a young orphan who dares to say, "Please, sir, I want some more." After escaping from the dark and dismal workhouse where he was born, Oliver finds himself on the mean streets of Victorian-era London and is unwittingly recruited into a scabrous gang of scheming urchins. In this band of petty thieves Oliver encounters the extraordinary and vibrant characters who have captured readers imaginations for more than 150 years: the loathsome Fagin, the beautiful and tragic Nancy, the crafty Artful Dodger, and perhaps one of the greatest villains of all timethe terrifying Bill Sikes.
Rife with Dickenss disturbing descriptions of street life, the novel is buoyed by the purity of the orphan Oliver. Though he is treated with cruelty and surrounded by coarseness for most of his life, his pious innocence leads him at last to salvationand the shocking discovery of his true identity.Features illustrations by George Cruikshank.Jill Muller was born in England and educated at Mercy College and Columbia University, and currently teaches at Mercy College and Columbia University. She is working on a book on the Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, to be published by Routledge.
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An Outline of Russian Literature.by Maurice BaringISBN 1594549419 (1-59454-941-9)
Softcover, Nova Science Pub Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'An Outline of Russian Literature.'Book summary:Russian literature begins with the nineteenth century, that is to say with the reign of Alexander I. It was then that the literary fruits on which Russia has since fed were born. The seeds were sown, of course, centuries earlier; but the history of Russian literature up to the nineteenth century is not a history of literature, it is the history of Russia. It may well be objected that it is difficult to separate Russian literature from Russian history; that for the understanding of Russian literature an understanding of Russian history is indispensable. This is probably true; but, in a sketch of this dimension, it would be quite impossible to give even an adequate outline of all the vicissitudes in the life of the Russian people which have helped and hindered, blighted and fostered the growth of the Russian tree of letters. All that one can do is to mention some of the chief landmarks amongst the events which directly affected the growth of Russian literature until the dawn of that epoch when its fruits became palpable to Russia and to the world. This book has been completely retyped and indexed from the 1914 version with the same title. [via]
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Persuasionby Jane Austen, George Stade, Susan Ostrov WeisserISBN 1593080484 (1-59308-048-4)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Persuasion'Book summary:Anne Elliot, heroine of Austen's last novel, did something we can all relate to: Long ago, she let the love of her life get away. In this case, she had allowed herself to be persuaded by a trusted family friend that the young man she loved wasn't an adequate match, social stationwise, and that Anne could do better. The novel opens some seven years after Anne sent her beau packing, and she's still alone. But then the guy she never stopped loving comes back from the sea. As always, Austen's storytelling is so confident, you can't help but allow yourself to be taken on the enjoyable journey. [via]
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Picture This: How Pictures Workby Molly BangISBN 1587170302 (1-58717-030-2)
Softcover, Seastar Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Picture This: How Pictures Work'Book summary:Everyone knows that a picture tells a thousand words. But what about the elements that make up a picture? Using the tale of Little Red Riding Hood as an example, Molly Bang uses boldly graphic artwork to explain how imagesand their individual componentswork to tell a story that engages the emotions: Why are diagonals dramatic? Why are curves calming? Why does red feel hot and blue feel cold? First published in 1991, Picture This fans will welcome the new edition's striking redesign and introduce its insights to many other artists and art appreciators alike. [via]
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Picture This: How Pictures Workby Molly Garrett BangISBN 1587170299 (1-58717-029-9)
Hardcover, North-South Books, Incorporated
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The Rape of the Masters: How Political Correctness Sabotages Artby Roger KimballISBN 1594031215 (1-59403-121-5)
Softcover, Encounter Books
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The Return of the Nativeby Thomas Hardy, Lauren WalshISBN 1593082207 (1-59308-220-7)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Return of the Native'Book summary:[via]The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:A haunting tale of romantic self-deception, The Return of the Native focuses on mismatched lovers who see in each other only what they want to see, and decidedly not what is actually there.
Clym Yeobright, the native of the title, returns to Hardys fictional Egdon Heath determined to be a force for social progress. Dazzled by the beauty of Eustacia Vye, he imagines theyre soul mates, woos and wins her, and enters into what is at first a passionate marriage. He soon discovers that what she really wants is a passport to a more exciting and sophisticated life, away from provincial England. Surrounding them are Clyms mother, strongly opposed to his marriage; Damon Wildeve, in love with Eustacia but married to Clyms cousin, Thomasin; and the oddly ambiguous observer Diggory Venn, whose frustrated love for Thomasin turns him into either a guardian angel or a jealous manipulatoror perhaps both. This stew of curdled love and conflicting emotions can only boil over into tragedy, and the books darkly ironic ending marks it as both a classically Victorian novel and a forerunner of the modernist fiction that followed it.Lauren Walsh teaches a writing seminar at Columbia University, where she is completing her Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature.More editions of The Return of the Native:
The Road to the Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opusby Bev VincentISBN 1587671042 (1-58767-104-2)
Hardcover, Cemetery Dance Pubns
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Satisfaction Guaranteed: The Making of the American Mass Marketby Susan StrasserISBN 1588341461 (1-58834-146-1)
Softcover, Smithsonian Inst Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Satisfaction Guaranteed: The Making of the American Mass Market'Book summary:This sweeping history provides the reader with a better understanding of Americas consumer society, obsession with shopping, and devotion to brands. Focusing on the advertising campaigns of Coca-Cola, Kelloggs, Wrigleys, Gillette, and Kodak, Strasser shows how companies created both national brands and national markets. These new brands eventually displaced generic manufacturers and created a new desire for brand-name goods. The book also details the rise and development of department stores such as Macys, grocery store chains such as A&P and Piggly Wiggly, and mail-order companies like Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward. [via]
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Secrets Of Angels & Demons: The Unauthorized Guide To The Bestselling Novelby Arne De Keijzer, Dan Burstein, David A. ShugartsISBN 1593151403 (1-59315-140-3)
Hardcover, Vanguard Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Secrets Of Angels & Demons: The Unauthorized Guide To The Bestselling Novel'Book summary:Angels & Demons Guide Book [via]
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Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind the Da Vinci Codeby Arne De Keijzer, Dan Burstein, David A. Shugarts, John BernsteinISBN 1593150229 (1-59315-022-9)
Hardcover, Vanguard Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind the Da Vinci Code'Book summary:Secrets of the Code, a five-month New York Times bestseller, is a sweeping tour, guided by renowned experts, through the many provocative ideas raised in The Da Vinci Code. With excerpts from many original works, all-new material, and interviews with prominent scholars exploring the novels underlying themes, Secrets of the Code will satisfy your curiosity, engage your imagination, and provide you with insights to better understand the historical and religious issues of the novel.[via]More editions of Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind the Da Vinci Code:
Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind the Davinci Codeby Dan BursteinISBN 1593152736 (1-59315-273-6)
Softcover, Vanguard Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind the Davinci Code'Book summary:Secrets of the Code, a five-month New York Times bestseller, is a sweeping tour, guided by renowned experts, through the many provocative ideas raised in The Da Vinci Code. With excerpts from many original works, all-new material, and interviews with prominent scholars exploring the novels underlying themes, Secrets of the Code will satisfy your curiosity, engage your imagination, and provide you with insights to better understand the historical and religious issues of the novel.[via]More editions of Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind the Davinci Code:
Secrets of the Vine: Breaking Through to Abundanceby Bruce Wilkinson, David KoppISBN 1590524969 (1-59052-496-9)
Hardcover, Multnomah Pub
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Shakespeare's Henry IVby Harold BloomISBN 1594480109 (1-59448-010-9)
Softcover, Riverhead Books
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Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrewby Harold BloomISBN 1594480907 (1-59448-090-7)
Softcover, Riverhead Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew'Book summary:Shakespeare, who clearly preferred his women characters to his men (always excepting Falstaff and Hamlet), enlarges the human from the start, by subtly suggesting that women have the truer sense of reality. [via]
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Sister Carrieby Theodore Dreiser, Herbert LeibowitzISBN 1593082266 (1-59308-226-6)
Softcover, Barnes & Noble
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sister Carrie'Book summary:Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser's revolutionary first novel, was published in 1900--sort of. The story of Carrie Meeber, an 18-year-old country girl who moves to Chicago and becomes a kept woman, was strong stuff at the turn of the century, and what Dreiser's wary publisher released was a highly expurgated version. Times change, and we now have a restored "author's cut" of Sister Carrie that shows how truly ahead of his time Dreiser was. First and foremost, he has written an astute, nonmoralizing account of a woman and her limited options in late-19th-century America. That's impressive in and of itself, but Dreiser doesn't stop there. Digging deeply into the psychological underpinnings of his characters, he gives us people who are often strangers to themselves, drifting numbly until fate pushes them on a path they can later neither defend nor even remember choosing.
Dreiser's story unfolds in the measured cadences of an earlier era. This sometimes works brilliantly as we follow the choices, small and large, that lead some characters to doom and others to glory. On the other hand, the middle chapters--of which there are many--do drag somewhat, even when one appreciates Dreiser's intentions. If you can make it through the sagging midsection, however, you'll be rewarded by Sister Carrie's last 150 pages, which depict the harrowing downward spiral of one of the book's central characters. Here Dreiser portrays with brutal power how the wrong decision--or lack of decision--can lay waste to a life. --Rebecca Gleason [via]
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Snake's Hands: The Fiction of John Crowleyby Alice K. Turner, Michael Andre-DriussiISBN 1592240518 (1-59224-051-8)
Softcover, Cosmos Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Snake's Hands: The Fiction of John Crowley'Book summary:Brilliant, poetic, a master of fantastic symbolism and emotional portraiture, John Crowley is one of the finest contemporary American novelists. As Harold Bloom writes in his Preface to this book, "Crowley writes so magnificently that only a handful of living writers can equal him as a stylist . . . Of novelists, only Philip Roth consistently writes on Crowley's level." Engine Summer; Little, Big; Aegypt; Great Work of Time; The Translator: these are only the highlights of a twenty-five year literary career of extraordinary depth and eloquence. Yet Crowley has not been the subject of a full-length critical study until now; Snake's-Hands remedies this lack, in full. In Snake's-Hands, Alice K. Turner and Michael Andre-Driussi assemble a host of brilliant essays on the fiction of John Crowley, by such eminent writers and critics as John Clute, Thomas M. Disch, James Hynes, Brian Attebery, and Bill Sheehan. Explore with them Crowley's fantasticated retellings of the Hundred Years' War and of innumerable beast fables; his subtle rendering of the bucolic decline of Earth; his astonishing, multi-leveled vision of the fairylands deep within mundane reality; his British Empire upon which the sun, heartbreakingly, never can set; his glowing, brooding trio of Hermetic masterpieces; his tale of poetry at war with nuclear annihilation. Wonders of artistry, the artistry of wonder: Crowley is a genius, and Snake's-Hands demonstrates this alluringly, in a potent mosaic of insights. Snake's-Hands: The Fiction of John Crowley is the essential guide to the work of a great writer, and a landmark of criticism in its own right. [via]
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So Many Books: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundanceby Gabriel Zaid, Natasha WimmerISBN 158988003X (1-58988-003-X)
Softcover, Paul Dry Books Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'So Many Books: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance'Book summary:[via]"Reading liberates the reader and transports him from his book to a reading of himself and all of life. It leads him to participate in conversations, and in some cases to arrange them . . . It could even be said that to publish a book is to insert it into the middle of a conversation." (from So Many Books)
Join the conversation! In So Many Books, Gabriel Zaid offers his observations on the literary condition: a highly original analysis of the predicament that readers, authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and teachers find themselves in today--when there are simply more books than any of us can contemplate."...Zaid traces the preoccupation with reading back through Dr. Johnson, Seneca, and even the Bible ('Of making many books there is no end'). He emerges as a playful celebrant of literary proliferation, noting that there is a new book published every thirty seconds, and optimistically points out that publishers who moan about low sales 'see as a failure what is actually a blessing: The book business, unlike newspapers, films, or television, is viable on a small scale.' Zaid, who claims to own more than ten thousand books, says he has sometimes thought that 'a chastity glove for authors who cant contain themselves' would be a good idea. Nonetheless, he cheerfully opines that 'the truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more.'"--The New Yorker
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Sons and Loversby D. H. LawrenceISBN 1593080131 (1-59308-013-1)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sons and Lovers'Book summary:Sons and Lovers, by D. H. Lawrence, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:Called the most widely-read English novel of the twentieth century, D. H. Lawrences largely autobiographical Sons and Lovers tells the story of Paul Morel, a young artist growing into manhood in a British working-class community near the Nottingham coalfields. His mother Gertrude, unhappily married to Pauls hard-drinking father, devotes all her energies to her son. They develop a powerful and passionate relationship, but eventually tensions arise when Paul falls in love with a girl and seeks to escape his family ties. Torn between his desire for independence and his abiding attachment to his loving but overbearing mother, Paul struggles to define himself sexually and emotionally through his relationships with two womenthe innocent, old-fashioned Miriam Leivers, and the experienced, provocatively modern Clara Dawes.[via]Heralding Lawrences mature period, Sons and Lovers vividly evokes the all-consuming nature of possessive love and sexual attraction. Lushly descriptive and deeply emotional, it is rich in universal truths about human relationships.
Victoria Blake is a freelance writer. She has worked at The Paris Review and contributed to the Boulder Daily Camera, small literary presses in the United States, and English-language publications in Bangkok, Thailand. She currently lives and works in San Diego, California.
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Soul and Formby Georg Lukacs, Anna Bostock, Judith ButlerISBN 1590172361 (1-59017-236-1)
Softcover, New York Review of Books
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Sparknotes a Midsummer Night's Dreamby William ShakespeareISBN 1586634046 (1-58663-404-6)
Softcover, Spark Pub Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sparknotes a Midsummer Night's Dream'Book summary:Get your "A" in gear!
They're today's most popular study guides-with everything you need to succeed in school. Written by Harvard students for students, since its inception SparkNotes" has developed a loyal community of dedicated users and become a major education brand. Consumer demand has been so strong that the guides have expanded to over 150 titles. SparkNotes'" motto is Smarter, Better, Faster because:
· They feature the most current ideas and themes, written by experts.
· They're easier to understand, because the same people who use them have also written them.
· The clear writing style and edited content enables students to read through the material quickly, saving valuable time.
And with everything covered--context; plot overview; character lists; themes, motifs, and symbols; summary and analysis, key facts; study questions and essay topics; and reviews and resources--you don't have to go anywhere else!
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Sparknotes Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stoneby J. K. RowlingISBN 1586635182 (1-58663-518-2)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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Sparknotes the Adventures of Tom Sawyerby Mark TwainISBN 1586633929 (1-58663-392-9)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sparknotes the Adventures of Tom Sawyer'Book summary:Get your "A" in gear!
They're today's most popular study guides-with everything you need to succeed in school. Written by Harvard students for students, since its inception SparkNotes" has developed a loyal community of dedicated users and become a major education brand. Consumer demand has been so strong that the guides have expanded to over 150 titles. SparkNotes'" motto is Smarter, Better, Faster because:
· They feature the most current ideas and themes, written by experts.
· They're easier to understand, because the same people who use them have also written them.
· The clear writing style and edited content enables students to read through the material quickly, saving valuable time.
And with everything covered--context; plot overview; character lists; themes, motifs, and symbols; summary and analysis, key facts; study questions and essay topics; and reviews and resources--you don't have to go anywhere else!
[via]More editions of Sparknotes the Adventures of Tom Sawyer:
Stan Brakhage: Filmmakerby David E. JamesISBN 1592132723 (1-59213-272-3)
Softcover, Temple Univ Pr
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Standing By Words: Essaysby Wendell BerryISBN 1593760558 (1-59376-055-8)
Softcover, Shoemaker & Hoard
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Standing By Words: Essays'Book summary:In these six essays, award-winning author Wendell Berry considers the degeneration of language that is manifest throughout our culture, from poetry to politics, from conversation to advertising, and he shows how the ever widening cleft between words and their referents mirrors the increasing isolation of individuals from their communities and of their communities from the land. From the essay, Standing by Words, Berry writes, Two epidemic illnesses of our timeupon both of which virtual industries of cures have been foundedare the disintegration of communities and the disintegration of persons. That these two are related (that private loneliness, for example, will necessarily accompany public confusion) is clear enough. What seems not so well understood, because not so much examined, is the relation between these disintegrations and the disintegration of language. My impression is that we have seen, for perhaps a hundred and fifty years, a gradual increase in language that is either meaningless or destructive of meaning. And I believe that this increasing unreliability of language parallels the increasing disintegration, over the same period, of persons and communities. Out-of-print for more than fifteen years, Standing by Words offers a masterfully written argument for the literary tradition.[via]More editions of Standing By Words: Essays:
A Theater of Envy: William Shakespeareby Rene GirardISBN 1587318601 (1-58731-860-1)
Softcover, St Augustine Pr Inc
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There You Are: Writings On Irish And American Literature And Historyby Thomas Flanagan, Christopher CahillISBN 1590171063 (1-59017-106-3)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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The Tibetan Book of the Dead : The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardoby Francesca Fremantle, Chogyam TrungpaISBN 1590300599 (1-59030-059-9)
Hardcover, Shambhala Publications, Incorporated
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Tibetan Book of the Dead : The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo'Book summary:In this classic scripture of Tibetan Buddhismtraditionally read aloud to the dying to help them attain liberationdeath and rebirth are seen as a process that provides an opportunity to recognize the true nature of mind. This unabridged translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead emphasizes the practical advice that the book offers to the living. The insightful commentary by Chögyam Trungpa, written in clear, concise language, explains what the text teaches us about human psychology. This book will be of interest to people concerned with death and dying, as well as those who seek greater spiritual understanding in everyday life. [via]
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Tolkien's Ringby David Day, Alan LeeISBN 1586635271 (1-58663-527-1)
Hardcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Tolkien's Ring'Book summary:J.R.R. Tolkien had a great knowledge of, and love for, world mythology when he wrote his beloved trilogy of Middle Earth. In particular, the symbol of the Ring has a rich and fascinating heritage, and this beautifully illustrated literary detective work searches down Tolkien's sources and inspiration. To understand the roots of The Lord of the Rings, we must go far back, to a tradition of ring-quest tales that came into being before the pyramids of Egypt were built, or the walls of Babylon raised. The extraordinary journey passes through the most magical stories told: Norse myths, including the Volsunga Saga; the Arthurian legends; the Carolingian tales, linked to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne; Celtic and Saxon myths; German romances, such as the Nibelungenlied; and more. By drawing on these potent primary myths and legends, Tolkien was able himself to create a new mythology for the 20th century--and beyond.[via]More editions of Tolkien's Ring:
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Tom Jonesby Henry Fielding, Ross HamiltonISBN 1593080700 (1-59308-070-0)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Tom Jones'Book summary:[via]Tom Jones, by Henry Fielding, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:Reacting against the sentimentality and moralism of the earliest English novels, Henry Fielding chose to create a work whose main character contains all the complexities of a real human being: the foundling Tom Jones. Tom has been raised by the Squire Allworthy to love virtue, and he truly wants to do good. But Toms inability to control his temper and his hearty appetite for food, drink, and the opposite sex get him kicked out of Allworthys estate and separated from his one real love, Sophia Western. So he begins a journey from the English countryside to the teeming city of London. Along the way he meets a parade of colorful characters, enjoys a series of bawdy, comic adventures, eventually discovers his true parentage, triumphs over the villainous Blifil, and rejoins the beautiful Sophia.
Soon after its 1749 publication, Tom Jones was condemned for being lewd, and even blamed for several earthquakes. But what really riled its critics was its supremely funny satirical attack on eighteenth-century British society and its follies and hypocrisies which, of course, are very much like our own.Ross Hamilton is Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Barnard College, where he specializes in eighteenth-century and romantic literature. His book, The Shock of Experience: A Literary History of Accident, is forthcoming.
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Utopiaby Thomas More, Wayne A. Rebhorn, Ralph RobinsonISBN 1593082444 (1-59308-244-4)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Utopia'Book summary:[via]Utopia, by Sir Thomas More, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influencesbiographical, historical, and literaryto enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.
One of the most influential books in the Western philosophical and literary tradition, Sir Thomas Mores Utopia appeared in 1516. The formidable Henry VIII had recently assumed the throne in England, and conflicting ideas about religion were fueling the Reformation throughout Europe. A scathing satire, Utopia was hugely successful and vaulted More to the forefront of the growing humanist movement.
The story of Utopia is told by a mysterious sailor named Raphael Hythloday, who travels to the New World with the Italian explorer Vespucci and remains at a fort built at the farthest point reached. From there, he discovers a strange island kingdom named Utopia, a pagan and communist city-state in which language, social customs, dress, architecture, and education are identical throughout the countrys fifty-four cities. The Utopians have eliminated wealth, the nobility, and currency. Labor and goods are distributed equally and property is held in common. And there are no monasteries, alehouses, or academies to tempt a person to withdraw from society.
Given Mores satiric leanings and eventual execution, is Utopia simply an attack on Europes wickedness? Or is it a philosophical tract extolling the ideal way to live? Ultimately, Utopia navigates a course between the desire to create perfection and the pragmatic understanding that perfection, given the fallibility of mankind, is impossible.
Wayne A. Rebhorn is Celanese Centennial Professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin. He has written extensively on Renaissance literature in English, Italian, French, Spanish, and Latin, on authors from Boccaccio through More and Shakespeare down to Milton. -
Villetteby Laura EngelISBN 1593083165 (1-59308-316-5)
Softcover, Sterling Pub Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Villette'Book summary:[via]Villette, by Charlotte Bronte, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:Charlotte Brontës last and most autobiographical novel, Villette explores the inner life of a lonely young Englishwoman, Lucy Snowe, who leaves an unhappy existence in England to become a teacher in the capital of a fictional European country. Drawn to the schools headmaster, Lucy must face the pain of unrequited love and the question of her place in society.
For Villette, Brontë drew upon her own experiences ten years earlier, when she studied in Brussels and developed an unreciprocated passion for her married teacher. The novel also reflects her devastating sense of loss and isolation after the deaths of her beloved brother and sisters, and her confusion and conflicts over the fame she achieved for having written Jane Eyre. But despite Brontës heartsick inspiration for the novel, and the grief that haunts its heroine, Villette is a story of triumph, in which Lucy Snowe comes to understand and appreciate her own strength and value.
Celebrated by George Eliot and Virginia Woolf for its strikingly modern psychological depth and examination of womens roles, Villette is now recognized as Charlotte Brontës masterpiece, surpassing even Jane Eyre.Laura Engel is Assistant Professor in the English Department at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where she specializes in eighteenth-century British literature and drama.
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War And The Iliadby Simone Weil, Mary McCarthy, Hermann Broch, Rachel Bespaloff, Christopher BenfeyISBN 1590171454 (1-59017-145-4)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'War And The Iliad'Book summary:War and the Iliad is a perfect introduction to the range of Homer's art as well as a provocative and rewarding demonstration of the links between literature, philosophy, and questions of life and death.
Simone Weil's The Iliad, or the Poem of Force is one of her most celebrated works--an inspired analysis of Homer's epic that presents a nightmare vision of combat as a machine in which all humanity is lost. First published on the eve of war in 1939, the essay has often been read as a pacifist manifesto. Rachel Bespaloff was a French contemporary of Weil's whose work similarly explored the complex relations between literature, religion, and philosophy. She composed her own distinctive discussion of the Iliad in the midst of World War II--calling it "her method of facing the war"--and, as Christopher Benfey argues in his introduction, the essay was very probably written in response to Weil. Bespaloff's account of the Iliad brings out Homer's novelistic approach to character and the existential drama of his characters' choices; it is marked, too, by a tragic awareness of how the Iliad speaks to times and places where there is no hope apart from war.
This edition brings together these two influential essays for the first time, accompanied by Benfey's scholarly introduction and an afterword by the great Austrian novelist Hermann Broch. [via]More editions of War And The Iliad:
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The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill And So Little Goodby William EasterlyISBN 1594200378 (1-59420-037-8)
Hardcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill And So Little Good'Book summary:An informed and excoriating attack on the tragic waste, futility, and hubris of the West's efforts to date to improve the lot of the so-called developing world, with constructive suggestions on how to move forward.
William Easterly's The White Man's Burden is about what its author calls the twin tragedies of global poverty. The first, of course, is that so many are seemingly fated to live horribly stunted, miserable lives and die such early deaths. The second is that after fifty years and more than $2.3 trillion in aid from the West to address the first tragedy, it has shockingly little to show for it. We'll never solve the first tragedy, Easterly argues, unless we figure out the second.
The ironies are many: We preach a gospel of freedom and individual accountability, yet we intrude in the inner workings of other countries through bloated aid bureaucracies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank that are accountable to no one for the effects of their prescriptions. We take credit for the economic success stories of the last fifty years, like South Korea and Taiwan, when in fact we deserve very little. However, we reject all accountability for pouring more than half a trillion dollars into Africa and other regions and trying one "big new idea" after another, to no avail. Most of the places in which we've meddled are in fact no better off or are even worse off than they were before. Could it be that we don't know as much as we think we do about the magic spells that will open the door to the road to wealth?
Absolutely, William Easterly thunders in this angry, irreverent, and important book. He contrasts two approaches: (1) the ineffective planners' approach to development-never able to marshal enough knowledge or motivation to get the overambitious plans implemented to attain the plan's arbitrary targets and (2) a more constructive searchers' approach-always on the lookout for piecemeal improvements to poor peoples' well-being, with a system to get more aid resources to those who find things that work. Once we shift power and money from planners to searchers, there's much we can do that's focused and pragmatic to improve the lot of millions, such as public health, sanitation, education, roads, and nutrition initiatives. We need to face our own history of ineptitude and learn our lessons, especially at a time when the question of our ability to "build democracy," to transplant the institutions of our civil society into foreign soil so that they take root, has become one of the most pressing we face. [via]More editions of The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill And So Little Good:
The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What Our Favorite Hero Teaches Us About Moral Choicesby Edmund M. KernISBN 1591021332 (1-59102-133-2)
Softcover, Prometheus Books
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The Works of Edgar Allan Poeby Edgar Allan PoeISBN 1588275752 (1-58827-575-2)
Softcover, IndyPublish.com
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Works of Edgar Allan Poe'Book summary:He revolutionized the horror tale, giving it psychological insight and a consistent tone and atmosphere; he invented the modern detective story; he wrote some of the world's best-known lyric poetry and a major novella of the fantastic; he impressed such writers as Baudelaire, Mallarme and Borges. If it's been a while since you read any Edgar A. Poe (he never used "Allan"), you've probably forgotten how terrific he is. And some of his best work is in his lesser-known stories, such as "The Imp of the Perverse" and "A Descent into the Maelstrom." In short, what are you waiting for? [via]
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The World of Odysseusby M. I. Finley, Bernard KnoxISBN 1590170172 (1-59017-017-2)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The World of Odysseus'Book summary:The World of Odysseus is a concise and penetrating account of the society that gave birth to the Iliad and the Odyssey--a book that provides a vivid picture of the Greek Dark Ages, its men and women, works and days, morals and values. Long celebrated as a pathbreaking achievement in the social history of the ancient world, M.I. Finley's brilliant study remains, as classicist Bernard Knox notes in his introduction to this new edition, "as indispensable to the professional as it is accessible to the general reader"--a fundamental companion for students of Homer and Homeric Greece. [via]
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Zen Mind, Beginner's Mindby S. Suzuki, Trudy Dixon, Richard BakerISBN 1590302672 (1-59030-267-2)
Hardcover, Shambhala Pubns
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind'Book summary:A respected Zen master in Japan and founder of the San Francisco Zen Center, Shunryu Suzuki has blazed a path in American Buddhism like few others. He is the master who climbs down from the pages of the koan books and answers your questions face to face. If not face to face, you can at least find the answers as recorded in Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, a transcription of juicy excerpts from his lectures. From diverse topics such as transience of the world, sudden enlightenment, and the nuts and bolts of meditation, Suzuki always returns to the idea of beginner's mind, a recognition that our original nature is our true nature. With beginner's mind, we dedicate ourselves to sincere practice, without the thought of gaining anything special. Day to day life becomes our Zen training, and we discover that "to study Buddhism is to study ourselves." And to know our true selves is to be enlightened. --Brian Bruya [via]
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A Zen Wave: Basho's Haiku & Zenby Robert Aitken, W.S. MerwinISBN 1593760086 (1-59376-008-6)
Softcover, Shoemaker & Hoard
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La Caseta Magicaby Norton Juster, Jules Feiffer, Alberto Jiménez RiojaISBN 1587171090 (1-58717-109-0)
Softcover, Chronicle Books LLC
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› Find signed collectible books: 'La Caseta Magica'Book summary:Norton Juster's timeless, best-selling novel will reach an even wider readership with this outstanding Spanish translation. Milo thinks that just about everything is a big waste of time--when he even bothers to think at all. But he starts to see life in a whole new way after a mysterious gift transports him to the Lands Beyond. Accompanied by the ticking watchdog Tock and the boastful Humbug, Milo embarks on an unforgettable quest to rescue Princesses Rhyme and Reason and restore common sense to the Kingdom of Wisdom. [via]
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