Hardcover -224 pages 25th print edition

Christopher Fowler and John Bolton give us here a phenomenal comic strip. It is centered on the mental world in which people can really be free, themselves, without any restraint from society and from their own personal censorship. We are ourselves and free only on this mental level that lies beyond real life. Real life is grey, drab, sad, full of norms and predigested behaviors. The mental plane is free, full of colors, full of adventures. Everything is possible and we meet there the strangest beings we can imagine, all those who have left their bodies somewhere in the real world to live the freedom of their minds. But somewhere there is a myth : the desire of those liberated souls to go back to the real world and see their real bodies. They discover then that in the real world they live a life of total alienation, often pent up in some asylum, whereas on the mental plane they can be free and experience feelings that would be impossible in the real world, because on the mental plane they accept any absurdity as being freedom and real being. Yet, in a way, generally catastrophic from a social point of view, the mental state they are in on the mental plane, can free their social bodies and beings in real society by some supernormal, extranormal intervention. The drawing is creative and rich in colors and strange forms. On the mental plane everything is possible, and the drawing assumes this freedom to produce a vision of real freedom in insanity. We long for the possibility to be there and finally get rid of all our restraints. Even if life on the mental plane is only possible if our bodies are still alive in society, somewhere, in a way or another. A fascinating world that is given a tremendous force by a very creative language.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

This book turned everything around when it seemed that Milton's poetic reputation was unsalvagable. Ricks can see more in a line of verse than any other critic, and he writes like an angel. Simply the best work of criticism ever written about this great poet.

Wyclif's preaching and biblical hermeneutics sparked the Lollard movement, England's first step towards empowering the laity to read Holy Scripture in English. Scholarship of Lollardy is blossoming these days, but is hampered by the difficulty of reading Wyclif's philosophically dense De Veritate Sacrae Scripturae. Levy's translation and abridgement of this important work will help Lollard scholars to understand Wyclif's biblical hermeneutics, and will introduce the general reader to the fascinating world of late medieval theory of Scripture.

This book is brutal. I cannot recommend it highly enough, and yet I don't think I could read it again. Anyone who has enjoyed Christopher's other apocalyptic novels (Death of Grass, Ragged Edge, etc.) know how harsh he can be, and this book is the harshest of the lot. Nevertheless it is brilliant, further proof (if any was needed) that Christopher is the master of the disaster novel; it's too bad only his young adult works are still in print. Readers familiar with the rest of Christopher's canon might not be taken in by the trick ending: he's used it more than once, but this time is the best, the kind of trick that isn't cheap, that makes you question the assumptions you brought to the book.

This 38 page book is a jewel. It is well written and profusely illustrated. The book tells the story of an old Badger who cannot sleep because the older he gets the harder it is to sleep through the winter. He is alone and his closest friends are an old hare and a family of field mice. He comes up with the idea of a "holiday feast" to share the company of his friends and cooperatively pull together the party. He is at a loss about what he should contribute until he thinks about bringing a tree. Off he goes to find the perfect tree, and at long last finds it. He raises his axe to chop it down, but stops. He doesn't have the heart to "cut it now before it had a chance to grow to the size of the other large trees in the surrounding forest." Ollie the Badger then goes to tell Stanley Hare of his idea for a "holiday feast" and of his quandry about the tree he has found. They go off together with the Poppa mouse to survey the situation. When Stanley Hare finally proclaims "We'll decorate it here" the scene is set for a heartwarming ending.There are Christmas carols woven into the story which makes it a fun participatory 'read aloud' for parents or Grand parents to share with their little ones, but it is written in such a way that it has meaning for the adults too.

The only book with all the paintings and drawing by J.R.R Tolkien. Discover visually the author's own idea about his world. Moreover, it's a very beautiful book : the cover is nice and the drawings are awesome

I have never read this book for myself. My father read this story to my brothers and I when we were younger. I cannot stress to you the profound impact this book has had upon me. The fear that John Christopher creates, the very fight for ones own identity is gripping and terrifying. To think that these possessors can take all that you are and shut it away so powerfully that nothing you do can change that, or unlock it, or ever communicate outside of yourself again, is one of them ost frightening concepts that I have ever seen or heard in printed page or word.

John Christopher creates believable characters, not all of them very nice people. As they try and cope with the horror that descends upon them, one cannot help but iagine that you ytourself are transported to that Swiss Chalet, cut off from all humanity, from all aid. And there are people out there waiting to take you. I have found this book in my thoughts and in my dreams many times. This is not one that will ever leave you once yo have read it. It is truly unforgettable. It will possess you too.

Do not read this book unless you are willing to change yourself forever.

This book provides excellent insight into the reasons why we do the things that we do. The thing that scared me was that I saw a little bit of myself in each category. But who knows, maybe that means I'm normal. The stories are good and very insightful. Dr. Berecz relates his case histories well, and he provides analysis that can be easily understood. You can find out not only about yourself, but you can start to understand how other people (boss, friend, co-worker) work. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of themself.

S I L E N C I N G T H E S O U N D E D S E L F John Cage and the American Experimental Tradition by Christopher Shultis [Northeastern U Press 1998]

what cart? what horse?

the intro lays out the poles of the study after noting that the inquiry "is governed by an assumption that an emphasis on process is a shared concern of all artists commonly regarded as *experimental*" (p.xvi) Shultis goes on to note that processes can be initiated in two ways

1) by a self controlling the process 2) by a self co-existing with process

next we are given 3 criteria against which to contrast those whose work fits with option 1 and option 2 - these are their attitudes about Nature, Symbolism, and the Unintentional

briefly

the is outside of Nature, separate from it, is IN the environment, seeks to know, use, etc // uses Symbolism in the same way that it uses nature as a means to an end // and is closed to the unintentional

the 'self coexistent with process' is inside Nature, not separate, part OF the environment // uses natural objects as themselves instead of as Symbolic of other things // & is open to the Unintentional

ok

so far this is all intro - where CS lays out the presuppositions of the study to follow - this is all enmeshed with a contrast between Emerson (who will be aligned with Charles Ives, Charles Olson - Projectivists) and Thoreau (Cage, Objectivists) part of what i like in all of this is that CS is very careful to state that the poles of his comparison are in some sense hypothetical - intentionally overdrawn - and that what he's interested in is the gray area between them & how consideration of Cage is useful to charting this space Emerson and the Charles' Olson and Ives - via their 'projectivist' stance (retro application warning) are in CS's view 'dualistic' - Thoreau, the Objectivists and Cage are 'nondualistic'

i changed the heading of this post from "review" to "thoughts" b/c i find that i'm basically in sympathy with the book - and as Shultis has been quite careful in delineating just what he is making claims about and what he is not i find it hard to do much more than agree with the main points of the book within their chosen and carefully staked ground

those who have an investment in Emerson or Thoreau might have differences or wish to debate terms but i have not these investments and so in addition to recommending the book to anyone interested in Cage's poetics as well as to Olsonites and fans of the Objectivists and others i'd like to ask some questions about the 'gray area between the poles' that Shultis' study highlights

if - as Cage said - his purpose was purposelessness or perhaps - that nonintention was his intention then he does partake of both poles he intends not to intend some i'm sure find this contradictory just as Shultis (and maybe Cage fans generally) see it as breaking with the dualistic logic one finds in Emerson but an insistence on nonduality

but i wonder

i think Cage probably wd have said something similar and affirmed in some way what i hear Shultis affirming in his book

but still i wonder whether it might be that Cage's position implies less a 'nondual' situation than a multiple one - i've read statements wherein he speaks against 'unity' in favor of 'multiplicity'

is 'unity' a dualistic notion - maybe so but is non-dualism also built on a notion of unity ? one without any outside ?

so cd it be that Cage's position has less to do with an argument between 1 and 2 but instead poses in some way an argument for a 3rd position ?

in the Peircean triad each element necessarily mediates between the other two Cage's intention to be nonintentional mediates between the poles of Shultis' study

likewise understanding what Cage is Intending in relation to "normal" Intention requires the mediation of some notion of Nonintention

just as understanding in what sense Cage's work is nonintentional must be mediated by the fact that he does it - Intends it

)L