Of the available references of its kind, this one is the best. However, the latest compilation pales beside its 1952 counterpart which has 510 entries, compared to the 270 entries in this volume. This "new" edition has larger type and revised entries. Some of the articles/summaries are actually better than earlier versions.

However, none of the works of (for example) Thomas Wolfe, among others, are included in this new edition. I suppose the editors wished to keep the new volume as lean and basic as possible. They managed to do so in mostly an excellent way, but at the expense of omitting some essential literary masterpieces.

I do recommend this book, but definitely don't throw out your early editions of the title!

"Literature" here means fiction and non-fiction -- great works of philosophy and political theory are included alongside famous novels, plays, and poems.

This book covers 275 of the "great books" of the western canon. (Make no mistake: this is unabashedly the Western Civ definition of Great Books. It also lacks racial diversity -- but see "Masterpieces of African-American Literature in the same series.)

For each work covered, the book gives a well-written, concise plot summary; descriptions of major characters; all the important facts of date and authorship; and a critical evaluation.

The list of authors is too long to give here. But since $35 is nothing to sneeze at -- and you need to know if the book covers works you're interested in -- here's a sampling: Shakespeare, Proust, Henry James, Tolstoy, Yeats, Trollope, Nietzsche, Coleridge, Dostoevsky, Thomas Mann, Edith Wharton, Voltaire, Chaucer, Kafka, Kant, St, Augustine, Dickens, Plato, Ibsen, Henry Adams, Jane Austen, Emerson, Thoreau, Goethe, Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, Freud, Jung, Marx, Flaubert, Virginia Woolf, Sartre, Camus, Euripides, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, etc., etc.

Whether you feel you have an incomplete education or you've just forgotten the basics of the books you read (or were supposed to read!) in high school and college -- this is the book for you. As it says on the flap copy" Invaluable for syudents and fascinating to every dedicated reader.

A bit dense in places but well, well worth the effort. A panoramic view of a social order in flux, indispensable to anyone wanting to know the origins of the modern 3-class social structure. Along the way, Pirenne argues that the Moslem conquests, rather than the barbarian invasions, explain the cessation of trade that cleared the path for the institutions of feudalism. (Feudalism, of course, was the social structure under which Roman Catholicism was able to apply it's deadly, deadening stranglehold on the western world.)

This is a groundbreaking work in the study of the so-called "Dark Ages." Pirenne, one of the great scholars and historians of the 20th century, discovered that the economic destitution of Western Europe during the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries was a consequence, not of the barbarian invasions, as is commonly supposed, but of the Islamic presence in the Mediterranean. The astonishing advance of Islam into Northern Africa, Spain, and Syria during the 7th and 8th centuries meant that Western Europe lost control of the Mediterranean. It became, as Pirenne puts it, a "Moslem lake," and because of this, Western Europe found itself in what amounted to a state of virtual blockade. All the trading routes to the East were cut off and Gaul and other Western European countries were thrown back on their own resources. Bereft of the economic lifeblood of trade, cities shrunk into insignifance. Marseilles, once a thriving seaport, became a ghost town. The Middle Class ceased to exist. Complete autarky reigned in the West. The economic devestation was so bad that Charlemagne's government could not collect any taxes. All of Charlemagne's revenues came from his own estates.

In "Medieval Cities," Pirenne not only sketches the economic disintegration of Western Europe, he also details the revival of trade and the emergence of a flourishing medieval civilization in the 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries. How did Western Europe pull itself out of the dark ages? Pirenne's brief answer is simple: by reclaiming control of the Mediterranean and thereby opening up sea routes to the East. With the formation of a new merchant class there arose cities and a new social class of great significance: the Middle Class, destined in the centuries to follow to lead Europe into the age of industrialism, democracy, and world supremacy.

Pirenne's work represents a milestone in historiography. Its central thesis about the main causes of the dark ages, which is accepted by European historians like Braudel, is greatly underappreciated here in America, where we find secularists and anti-religious zealots still spreading the lie that Christianity caused the dark ages. Pirenne, with his profound research and impeccable scholarship, tells us what really happened. An extremely important work--highly recommended.

Little Bird teaches Bear how to play "hide and seek," complete with covering his eyes, counting to ten, and, most importantly, taking turns. Later, when Little Bird is not around, Bear asks the moon to play. When it's Bear's turn to count, the moon "hides" behind a cloud. But when Bear can't find the moon, he first enlists the help of Little Bird, then all of the animals in the forest to help search for the moon.

This delightful book teaches toddlers and preschoolers several important lessons. First, they learn the rules of hide and seek, a quintessential childhood game. They can count to ten along with Bear and practice taking turns. And they learn the importance of cooperation and asking for help when you need it. Many books for children attempt to teach such life lessons in heavy-handed ways, but this one maintains its gentle tone throughout.

Of all Frank Asch's books, this is our four year old daughter's favorite. She responds very well to the humor of the situation and loves the idea of playing with the moon.

Back when we first started reading to our daughter as a baby, she was very impatient and wouldn't sit for long stories. We were limited to board books that were very short and direct. Frank Asch's titles helped us show her that sitting for a whole story was worthwhile. Now she'll sit for much longer titles, but the whole Moon Bear series are still favorite re-reads!

Plenty of facts, photos, technical information and trivia. A good book for someone looking for a beginner's-guide to building a film collection. And, great fun to read for us classic film fans!

An overview of the author's "100 Collectible Classics"--and it is very informative, with notes on production, trivia, and much more. There is always going to be a debate over what should be on any "best of" or "collectible" list, but these films are a good cross-section of the best there is in movie history.

This work was way before its time. Lucretius saw into the future in a manner of speaking, and was able to elaborate on physical objects being composed of smaller objects he called atoms. He also touches on many other items with an acuracy that is unbelievable when one considers that scientific advancement has only recently made the tools contributing to the proof of these theories readily available.

Another striking characteristic of this work is that unlike practices in today's society, Lucretius also has his own theories and beliefs on religous matters, and incorporates these along with his scientific view of the world and how it works. (Religion is rarely even mentioned today in scientific papers.)

I enjoyed this work a lot more that I had thought I would. The translation has made it easy to read and comprehend. It wasn't an effort to get from the beginning to the end, and I am glad I took the time to read it.

I took a Roman history class called The Rise of Rome and this book was assigned to shed light upon some insightful details into one of the most popular Hellenistic philosophies, Epicureanism, and although Lucretius was of Roman nationality, this book is the most accessibly popular for students reading about Epicureanism for the first time. Copley's translation is written in meter, but what Lucretius was trying to say was very clear to me. I was actually most impressed by the clarity, although there were many other things that stayed with me after I read this. Although we don't know a lot about him comparatively to other Late-Republic figures like Cicero, Caesar, and Catullus, Lucretius was an interesting fellow (please read T.P. Wiseman's essay The Two Worlds of Titus Lucretius Carus), and he was evidently some sort of Renaissance man, as he was a scholar of everything from biology to philosophy to theology. Lucretius was quite an overachieving sort, as he was able, unlike many during the Roman republic, to find a patron, in this case the Roman politician Memmius, who was able to facilitate his ambitious literary aspirations via monetary funding. The Nature of Things is actually addressed to Memmius, just as the poet Lucan addressed his book on the Civil War between Pompey and Caesar, the Pharsalia, to the Roman emperor Nero a century later. Lucretius' proem in six books is in essence a comprehensive sermon whose message is basically how every man, and especially Memmius, should live his life.

The relationship between the princely poet Lucretius and the Machiavellian politician Memmius is quite interesting. Lucretius, from the evidence of his proem, was a man who lived very close to his ideals, whereas Memmius was a crafty "Goodie" who was later indicted of voting fraud by the senate. The Roman poet Catullus, a contemporary of Lucretius, mentions Memmius in one of his 'hate' poems, calling him something quite nasty, because Memmius--when he was holding the office of Praetor in Asia Minor--cheated Catullus and his companions out of some tribute. It's hard to pigeonhole The Nature of Things, as Lucretius covers many topics in the six books, most conspicuously love, sex, and death. But every line serves the purpose of creating a kind of Epicurean manifesto, listing and elaborating upon the principal concepts mothered by Lucretius' Mohammed, the philosopher Epicurus, who lived nearly three hundred years before Lucretius even started working on his great work. Pursuant to Roman literary convention, Lucretius, at the beginning of his book, invokes his celestial muse, the Roman goddess Venus, who like Memmius, was also reputed to possess Trojan heritage, something Memmius was akin to celebrate profusely.

This book is easy to take with you on a trip anywhere, and it's inexpensive too, so I recommend it highly. The notes on the bottom of the page are also helpful.

I bought the book out of curiosity. I thought that the author needed a hand with his sales and since I talked to him during the prsentation of the book, I felt he would need the help. Anyway, I started reading the book and couldn't stop. The approach he took was easy to understand and follow even for those who've never read a sci-fi themed book before. I felt those things you feel when you read a good book, the book also made me feel as if I was right there with Leonard and his crew. But as I said it has room to improve. The editor should have looked closer when proofreading since it has some grammar errors but they do not distort the flow of the story. The concept I thought was good and original for a sci-fi and that's not to easy to do given all the great sci-fi novels out there that have somehow dealt with aliens and such. I recommend the book to anyone who is interested in a new sci-fi story. P.S. I can't wait for the second part to come out. Keep them coming, Frank!

This book is awesome. I'm saying this because I'm not a sci-fi lover but this book is great. Like the other guy I bought this book at an exhibition in San Juan. I saw Frank Vazquez and he began to talk to me. To my surprise the book was a Great book, I just couldn't stop reading. Man please put out the second part, I'm getting anxious.

War is the minor adversary in this solid reminiscence -- chronicling the English trait for sacrificing their children to keep up appearances in the class struggle. Frank Keeling serves up a searing stew of family dysfunction from within a pressure cooker clamped tightly with an oppressive lid. Inside, a young boy is tossed and scalded by a stew simmering deep with repression and dark family secrets. Keeling's personal writing style keeps up with classic non-fictitious and fictitious depictions of this theme in works such as Tobias Wolff's "This Boy's Life" to "Great Expectations" by Dickens.

In all my years of reading, there has not been many times that a book has compelled me to write a review. This is one that has touched me in a way that no other biography has done. I thoroughly enjoyed Nobody's Son! It isn't like any other biography that I have read, because it reads just like a novel. As I read, it was as though Mr. Keeling was right in my living room telling me his life stories. I could see in my mind's eye everything that was happening. Mr. Keeling writes in a beautiful descriptive voice. These were real stories, about a real person, with real struggles. I found myself saddened to the point of tears as he describes his first years of his life and elated over his success. This man is a survivor in the true sense. I highly recommend this book. There is no doubt that you will enjoy Nobody's Son too.

Oblivion, the pocket sized LARP rulebook for Wraith: The Oblivion is right on par with Laws of the Wild as a fantastic, well compiled book. Oblivion contains information on all Guilds (including the especially illegal 3), a habit I wish White-Wolf would take toward it's tabletop books instead of relying on infinite sourcebooks.

The system is the same one as in all the other books, which is good, because it's a well thought out system. Shadowguiding remains a concern of mine, however. In Live Action, having a player also play someone elses Shadow just isn't always practical. If you have six or so people, it's definately worth having half of them play Shadows, pure and simple.

In short, it's as good a book as Laws of the Night and Laws of the Wild. If you enjoyed them (especially Wild, to which it enjoys more similarities) you should like this.

(ps. And contrary to popular opinion, Wraith and Oblivion do NOT have to be overly depressing. Play it any way you like!)

The LARP rules for Wraith, I thought would be more again to the LARP rules for mage.. Impossible to make believable in a Live Action Setting. Although, Some of the Wraith powers are a hard to pull off live, MET does it very well. I am EXTREMELY impressed. Also, the condensed approach to the rules and setting includes more than the original base tabletop book did for about half the price. A great buy for any LARPer.

As a non-native English speaker, I need a dictionary in my office. It is a easy book to read.

Exhaustively researched and holding some 175,000 precise definitions and entries, The Oxford American Dictionary is an appropriate resource for home, office, and dorm room. Known for its au currant listings, Oxford is always in the process of gauging growth and change in our language. Just think of the words that the internet has added to our vocabularies - to say nothing of scientific research and rap! Each entry includes a pronunciation guide, grammatical identity, and syllabication. Also found are inflected forms, variant spellings, and derivatives. Biographical entries begin with Hank Aaron and end with Zoroaster, while Geographical entries range from Aachen (a town in West Germany) to Zurich. Handy tables offer metric weights and measures as well as conversion from metric to standard measurements. Chemical elements are listed as well as countries of the world. Want to know who our 12th president was? You'll find it here. Oxford boasts more than 100 staff lexicographers plus hundreds of readers and researchers. All that expertise shows in this concise yet extensive dictionary. - Gail Cooke

Eavesdropping: one of humanity's favourite games. This book lets you read other people's mail over the course of a few centuries.

There's a saying "We photograph ourselves every time we open our mouths". I was reminded of the atmospheres conjured by Edgar Lee Masters' "Spoon River Anthology", wherein deceased citizens of an American small town declaim their real epitaphs, rather than the ones on the stones overhead. As with that book, I grew gradually aware of being in the powerful company of an identity in whom all the stories become one. There is an odd sense of incompleteness about the book-perhaps one of your letters and one of mine are awaited?

A seemingly plotless sweep through history that develops the voice of an operatic choir as you read on. Recommended.

This is a very intimate book. The letters, occasionally one or two letters to give a sense of an important author's life, literally do give you a brief glimpse into a living life - like one of those apartment windows Edward Hopper paints, or views seen fleetingly from a train - these letters open up a life to you, often at a moment of great crisis - Alexander Pope's formal letter mourning the death of a friend bursts out uncontrollably despite his reserve at the turn of a line - and sometimes they are quiet letters, saying not much at all except how the picnic was and the very texture of life is given in a half a page. The Kermodes have given, in their dual editorship, a wider spectrum than I believe any one editor's personality and tastes could have plumbed. A book to return to again and again, rediscovering authors whose collected letters you might go and try to find. A book for always finding new friends in, or re-assessing authors you thought you knew in the light of what they wrote a lover, or a friend, when no-one was reading what they read but their own love.