I'm writing a thesis regarding the tragic mode in works ranging from Aueschylus' Oresteia to Miller's Death of a Salesman, works that include O'Neil's Mourning Becomes Electra. In using this book as a reference I have been able to create a thesis that is both informed and interesting. Great book...

A very good book.

"Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star."

With these words, Henry Thoreau ended his world-famous masterpiece, "Walden", neatly summarizing the essence of both his book and his life: that we are all on a journey of awakening to the divine fullness of Life. Like the writings of great saints and mystics through time, "Walden" is less one man's philosophical musings than it is the ecstatic outpouring of a soul that has "dipped into the well of eternal Truths" and held up the dipper for the rest of us to drink from.

But the real wonder of "Walden" is that it speaks even more to the problems of our nation today than it did 150 years ago -- that we are living "lives of quiet desperation", our souls drowning in a sea of materialism and media messages, our natural environment poisoned and obliterated before our slightly-open eyes. We are out of touch with the rhythms of nature and with our own beingness.

Yet Thoreau does not merely describe the problems of our time, he gives specific solutions -- solutions that are increasingly respoken if not practiced: Follow a different drummer. Follow not your neighbor nor your parents nor anyone else, but follow the genius within yourself. Sit still and listen to the divine music within. Simplify.

There's a reason Thoreau's "Walden" has never been out of print since the 1860's, and possibly never will: it's a message we need to hear, more than ever.

John Keats (5934-0, $19.95) adds to the research guides in the 'Major Poets' series, blending a biography with extracts of major critical essays examining the poet's works. New to the Major Short Story Writers series ($19.95 each) is D. H. Lawrence (5947-2) and Henry James (5943-X), which use similar approaches to examine the major themes and ideas of each writer. All are recommended as basic library acquisitions.

After reading Huck Finn at age eight, and then reading it again in English class at age fourteen, I found that, though this is a delightful book, it is not the moral monster it is made out to be by English teachers everywhere. I don't believe that it should be banned from libraries or schools, having read it at a young age with no particular evils coming from it, but I also don't believe that it is a book that should be scrutinized as it is now. I think that everyone will take away something different from this book, and that it should be discussed, but while reading this in class everyone came up with the "right" answers, not their own personal opinions and ideas.

An extension of Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn is a book that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
-LJ

Kids ages 13 and older will find this an excellent research and study guide to the short stories of Jack London. Almost 90 pages cover the plots and criticism of four selected London stories, providing a blend of cross-criticism of London's various works and insights on London's methods. Highly recommended.

John Keats (5934-0, $19.95) adds to the research guides in the 'Major Poets' series, blending a biography with extracts of major critical essays examining the poet's works. New to the Major Short Story Writers series ($19.95 each) is D. H. Lawrence (5947-2) and Henry James (5943-X), which use similar approaches to examine the major themes and ideas of each writer. All are recommended as basic library acquisitions.

This is by no means a review. I find Bloom stimulating in all his various books even if frequently obscure and discursive. He incites me to want to know more. This book is no different. Don't know much about Kabbalah? Well, don't look here for answers (Bloom himself encourages you to seek out Gershom Sholem's work in the field). Instead you'll find insights into reading and interpretation, for this is what Bloom's entire oeuvre is really about--how we discover meaning in all aspects of human endeavor.

This book is a wonderful tease on one hand--name-dropping in an esoteric field is always interesting and makes me want to search out those "formidable" authors--and an attempt to fill in some of the gaps in Bloom's readers' knowledge--he's been talking Kabbalah from the beginning and in this dedicated volume you begin to really understand its hold on him.

Short and sweet and worth the effort.

i chose this book for school because it was a short & easy read; i fell in love with it because, like few school books, i could relate so deeply to the main character. Edna Pontellier wakes up from a life in a dream and fights for self and independence- a struggle that anyone, especially adolescents, can identify with. I can't emphasize enough how beautiful and moving Chopin's prose is. Reading it was pure pleasure, and when self-realization and introspective thought comes along with that, you know the book is a winner.