Beginning with a physical description of the British Isles, touching lightly on the earliest cultures of man indigenous to the region, Adams's story really begins with the coming of the Germanic, fairhaired Celts sometime in the 1,000 years before Christ. Britain's literature begins with its myths and legends. This book is an entertaining outline of English history as the background of its literature.

About the legends of Ireland, for example, Adams writes, "There are a great many more stories than the 'Ulster cycle" of Celtic legend, and there is another entire cycle of primitive stories from the south of Ireland, dealing with Finn MacCool, his trusty band of Fenian comrades, and his son the warrior-poet Ossian. Readers of Yeats and Joyce will recognize, again and again, in the characters and episodes of ancient Irish legend, the origins of persons and events, as well as the point of hundreds of allusions, in these modern writers."

Adams does not pretend to write a comprehensive book without prejudice. "There are two long stories to tell," he writes, " and very little space to tell them, other elements of the background must be treated only intermittently...I make no apology for having introduced my own enthusiasms into the literary commentary." After all, it IS his book. He gets to choose what to say and how to say it. It's well that he doesn't apologize because his "enthusiasms" are what makes the book readable and delightful.

This isn't an anthology -- the reader will have to track down copies of works but there's a bibliography and references to writers and their publications are plentiful. He doesn't confine himself to just the well-known literary works, but offers examples of lesser-known works, as well.

This is reading that will give you insight into your travels as well as suggest fascinating new books that will challenge you to see modern writing in a new light. It's an additional perspective on English literature that you'll enjoy pursuing.

This book is an excellent overview of British history prior to 1950 or so. Think of it as a combination "British history for dummies" and detailed time-line of events and literature. Literature and history are undeniably intertwined in real life, and this book reflects that remarkably well. It does talk about literature in detail, but this book is probably better for history buffs or as a companion to a literature book.

Portions of this book are in my British Literature II book. The various things covered include medieval & modern coinage and titles for the peerage -- both chapters are very informative and well-written. Those two chapters alone make this a good buy for anyone who needs resources on Britain. Writers who place their fictional worlds in historic times and fantasy ought to find this a valuable investment.

After being in Paris for an entire summer, I've returned to the US with great heartache. Paris had a profound effect on me, so when I arrived in the states, I feverishly tried to gather all I could to remind me of Paris. On a whim I bought "Parisians." From the moment I opened it up, I was suddenly back in my beloved city. The photographs capture Paris in the way that takes me back everytime. Turnley's skill at capturing the essence of Parisians is striking, uncanny and charming. If you've been, you miss it, or want to know what Paris is "really" like, just open the cover of "Parisians." On the days I want nothing more than to transport back to Paris, all I have to do is open this book and I'm there.

Peter Turnley has captured the spirit of Paris and the souls of Parisians and presented it in one beautifully produced volume for the world to see at an affordable price. The images are stunning and the order of the images contributes to the quality of the book. I expect to return to these images often for years to come.

For those of you who have been to Paris, Peter Turnley's work will strike a deep sense of longing to return. His ability to capture some many facets of life throughout his book is delightful. I really enjoyed the mix of people, places, and situations he photographed such as a French woman in a barista or fans at a soccer game. His use of black and white photography added a sense of timelessness to the work. In summary, I think the book is an amazing piece of work that highlights the diversity and beauty of Paris.

This book is an outstanding reference for the primary care pediatrician in office practice. It is much better oriented to day-to-day pediatrics than Nelson's and its imitators. The CD-ROM is very useful and easy to navigate. As a bonus, the CD-ROM contains all of the excellent illustrations for Zitelli & Davis' superb Atlas of Pediatric Physical Diagnosis.

This book is an outstanding reference for the primary care pediatrician in office practice. It is much better oriented to day-to-day pediatrics than Nelson's and its imitators. The CD-ROM is very useful and easy to navigate. As a bonus, the CD-ROM contains all of the excellent illustrations for Zitelli & Davis' superb Atlas of Pediatric Physical Diagnosis.

This book was a great reference in residency and now in practice

Meredith's masterpiece is woefully underread, and it is a sad truth that the Norton scholarly edition is the only edition of THE EGOIST now in print. This is not an easy read, however: Meredith's caustic dialogue foreshadows henry James's in its mastery of ambiguities, and his witty paradoxes surpass even Oscar Wilde (who admitted his debt to Meredith). The plot is a simple one: the wealthy handsome and titled Sir Willoughby Patterne, having been jilted by one fiancée, proposes to another young woman, the intelligent and intensely likeable Clara Middleton, who accepts him; before very long, Clara has realized what a monstrous egoist Sir Willoughby is, but not after it seems too late for her to go back on her word. This is one of the most brilliant studies of mortification ever accomplished, and what makes it all the more amazing is that Meredith clearly modelled Sir Willoughby in part on himself and the extraordinarily sympathetic Clara on his wife, Mary Ellen Peacock, who deserted Meredith for another man. This book is funny, thought-provoking, and exceptionally poignant: there are moments when you read it that your heart will go into your stomach as you sympathize with Clara's appalling plight.

This is one of the funniest novels I've ever read. The basic story is simple: Sir Willoughby Patterne's betrothal to the young Clara Middleton is threatened when she realizes his enormous love of himself. The novel consists of Clara's efforts to get out of the engagement without doing something so scandalous as eloping with someone else.

The characters are drawn vividly and with depth. The incidents are both amusing and realistic. Clara Middleton is one of the great witty heroines of English literature, perhaps the wittiest Victorian heroine.

The beginning can be slow going. Meredith likes to use twenty words when other people might use ten. He also likes to play verbal games. As you proceed in the novel and get used to the style, you can have a lot of fun picking out the puns, allusions, etc.

This is Meredith's best novel. The plot is tightly controlled and the ending is pure comedy in the tradition of Fielding, Austen and Thackeray. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who feels comfortable reading Victorian English and likes a good love-comedy.

To understand capitalism, read the Wealth of Nations. But, to really understand it, as well as the other ideas of Adam Smith, read his essential works. This book allows the reader to fully grasp the concepts of capitalism and get a clear picture of how and why it works. Thankfully, Heilbronner did not dilute the works of Smith, he just condensed them for the modern day reader. With this book you can cut through the jargon and see the real points that Smith was trying to get across.

After reading Heilbroner's The Worldly Philosophers, I decided to read Smith's Wealth of Nations, but found myself daunted by the length and language of the book. Then I discovered Heilbroner's Essential Adam Smith and was hooked. The book offers the essential parts of Wealth of Nations, as well as a good sampling of some of his other works. As a result, I have not only read the entire Wealth several times, but have also read everything by and about Smith that I can find. Heilbroner's book is a good way to get to the heart of Smith's thinking, but, like me, you will probably find yourself wanting to learn more about the man, his ideas, and his life. Enjoy!

Forbidden Fruit: The Fall Of Eve And Adam is an outstanding, multi-cast audio theater production dramatizing the Fall of Adam and Even as viewed from the perspective of five classic writers. Audio playwright Judith Seto draws upon The Bible, a medieval play, and works by John Milton, Bernard Shaw, and Mark Twain to present this classic story, and giving it her own unique and very clever feminist twist. Forbidden Fruit has a running time of 1 hour, 48 minutes, presents flawless production values, and is a very highly recommended, totally engaging listening experience that has been rarely equaled, and never surpassed.

Forbidden Fruit: The Fall of Eve and Adam is an engaging exploration of some of the great literary treatments of the Adam and Eve of myth and literature. I especially found the performances of Shaw's and Mark Twain's material to be enthralling. The whole production has a sense of intimacy and imaginative play.

For those who have a hard time penetrating Jameson's notoriously difficult writing style (including myself), I highly recommend Adam Roberts' brief introduction to one of the most seminal Marxist critics of our time. This book does a nice job introducing difficult subjects such as Marxist theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis. Definitely worth my money.

I found this book tremendously helpful when attempting to trudge through Jameson's dense academic writing. This book not only sets out a chronological development of Jameson's arguments, but also provides many of his theoretical influences, from Marx to Lacan. In addition, difficult terms (such as "cognitive mapping" or "schizophrenia") and fellow critics (e.g. Habermas) are presented in an easily understood manner. Roberts' writing is clear, concise, and articulate, threading easily through many of Jameson's more difficult concepts. Highly recommended.

This book forms the text for a one week residential training course. The course was a life changing event for me, game me confidence in my abilities and changed my whole attitude to the workplace. Instead of trying to get around conflict in the workplace I now have the tools to tackle it head on. Learn about the skill to critique everything you do in a way that is non-threatening and based on fact and not emotion. Everyone in the workplace should read this book.

Most management texts try to deal with how you as an individual can influence how other people behave so that you come out on top. This book goes under the skin of different personality types to show what it is that motivates them in the way they behave. Instead of showing how to "use" people to get what you want, it shows how to get the best out of everyone, yourself included, to get what is best for the Company / family / business whatever you need to improve. Instead of results driven management being the be-all and end-all it is clear that results are only one side of the equation. To be a good manager you need to bring people along with you, not drive them in front of you. This book forms the text for a management training course that can only be said to be revolutionary. I have three university degrees and I would gladly trade the lot for what I learned in the one week course! Everyone who works for a living should read this book.

A great quick read with a valuable lesson!!

Obvious Adams is written over 8 decades ago, but I find it most interesting that the lessons apply quite well to today world.

I think this book must have helped shape Ogilvy's philosophy.

Get the facts. Find out what people want. Give it to them. Often the simplest solution is the best.

Seems obvious, doesn't it.

Robert Adams' photographs are testimony to his continued sensitivity to the West and the hopes for what is POSSIBLE. Adams is one of the most influential photographers of the late 20th century and all photographers concerned about their own environment can learn from him.

The photographs in this publication are a departure from Robert Adams' more sobering work. This book celebrates the simple joy of spending time outside, looking and exploring, and it just might incite spring fever in you.