In an afterword to "Xaipe," the book of poems by E.E. Cummings, George James Firmage notes that the title is derived from a Greek word whose simplest transliteration is "khi-ra" (with accent on the first syllable). Firmage further notes that the book was published by Oxford in 1950.

Xaipe is a curious collection of sequentially numbered poems. Many of the poems are very visually oriented; Cummings plays with with word division, punctuation, and the arrangement of words on the page. He often warps and reshapes language like a sculptor using clay; reading some of these poems is like deciphering a series of strange hieroglyphics.

Much of the book is also ear-oriented. Cummings demonstrates his mastery of rhyme, meter, alliteration, and repetition. He even includes a number of sonnets; sonnets, that is, as channeled through his experimental sensibility.

The tone of the book varies: cynical, satiric, revelatory, even tender. Cummings often uses seemingly invented words: "livingest" (from poem #1); "unteach" (#5); "fingeryhands," "whying" (#14); etc. One of my favorite poems is #22, a sonnet that begins "when serpents bargain for the right to squirm."

But is there an overall theme to "Xaipe"? I'll leave that to each reader to answer. But I sensed in the book as a whole a distrust of officialdom and a wariness of war, and a sense of skepticism about humanity; I felt at times that Cummings was resisting the rationality and formality of language and seeking a pure experience and attentiveness that actually transcends the written or spoken word.

"Xaipe" feels like a prolonged experiment, and while the experiment may not be wholly successful, it is nonetheless marked by flashes of genius. Definitely a volume of poetry worth exploring. For a stimulating companion text, try something by the philosopher J. Krishnamurti.

Gordon's research is indeed thorough but in a failed attempt to come up with a new angle on Gen. Pickett she has rashly and by all accounts innaccurately, drawn many an absurd and far fetched conclusion. Her accusations are both silly and shameless, and supported by nothing more than the common misconceptions about the General that became popular after the war. For a more credible biography of General Pickett see Edward G. Longacre's "Leader of the Charge."

Lesly Gordon does a well done bio on Pickett the General associated withh three of the greatest disasters of Lee's Northern Army of Virginia. Pickett is obviously associated with the great charge at Gettysburg but also the crushing disaster at Five Forks and within a week the final crushing blow at Saylers Creek where Lee lost over 6,000 soildiers. The bio covers Pickett's early years with the Mexican War where he takes the flag from a wounded Longstreet to bound up the steps at Chapultepec, his realtionship with an Indian maiden that may have included marriage and the son that he seemingly abandoned and left in the northwest. Picket also is involved with a virtual skirmish with England over islands in the northwest near Pugent Sound.

But the best part of the book is Gordon's filling in of Pickett's Civil War career. After an early wounding during the Peninsula Campaign, Pickett's career stays on the back burner until Gettysburg. After discussion of Pickett's role and actions where he actually participates in 1/3 of the charge that holds his name Pickett has other assignments such as the retaking of North Carolina towns and his early defense of Petersburg where he holds back the Union forces with just a few thousand men until Beauregard arrives to take command. Pickett's miring in controversy is well brought out such as his decision to hang former Confederates that were captuted while fighting for the Union in North Carolina and his infamous part in the Five Forks battle where he was away from the fight eating shad and partaking in drink with Rosser and Fitz Lee while his command is virtually wiped out. The later is whispered but little known until after his death. His remnants of command are virtually captured at Sayler's Creek and Lee allegedly discharges him with Anderson and Bushrod Johnson days before Appomatox.

Gordon's bio is fascinating as Pickett seems to be a brave and valiant soldier but one that is immature such as his leaving the lines in Suffolk to visit LaSalle`his future wife who lived a few miles in Chuckatuck, his stepping away from command to party behind the lines at Five Forks and his penchant for writing emotional and whinny battle reports. The latter is probably why Lee had Pickett tear up his Gettysburg report. LaSalle is revealed as a dedicated wife but one that fabricates history to enhance Pickett's reputation. Alleged letters from Pickett that she published are in many cases most likely written by her own hand and recent scholarship has shown gross plagerism and in some cases illogical history where the facts dispute her version of the truth such as Lincoln stopping by to see the Picketts in Richmond. A fascinating account of inconsistencies, Pickett stems the tide at Petersburg abnd fights well at Dinwiddie Court House against Sheridan but then relaxes too much at Five Forks in a very difficult and unsupported position which in the end results in the collapse of Lee's right wing. Gordon does well in removing some of the mystery about Pickett who today is burried near his men at Hollywood Cemetery but seemingly isolated from other Generals burried there.

Unlike the previous customer reviewer, and like the scores of accredited professional reviewers itemized in part in Amazon's own professional listings, I found Gordon's new biography to be first rate. It is meticulously researched and introduces new materials about the general's life heretofore unpublished. And if Gordon's interest in the role that Pickett's marriage played in shaping his 'life' is offputting to some reactionary types, then so much the better. Biography requires the evocation of an individual's entire cultural ethos, both on the battlefield and off, and Gordon's evenhanded work here help us round out the picture of an important, if enigmatic historical personage.

if a train watcher of any kind you need this book but the black and white pix, or lack of many pix as well as lack of any maps at all shows a distinct lack of effort by Kalmbach; very dissappointing

American Shortline Railway Guide is a great help for any train buff. Over 500 short lines are described: history, current status, number of engines (some lines with full listing), cars, as well as address of owner and radio frequencies. I especially liked the many pictures accompanying the text. There is really one drawback only: The book does not contain any maps. You will need a train atlas or a Rand Mc Nally on the side, unfortunately. Other interesting details are lists of abandoned and non-operating lines as well as addresses of ownerships companies. A must-have for US train buffs, especially in conjunction with the Train-Watchers Guide to North American Railroads (also by George W. Drury).

I don't think it's something you'd want to read for its own sake unless you have a particular interest in the development of the novel in in the nineteenth century. The plot concerns the efforts of Sir Austin Feverel to prevent his son's marriage and then to break it up. There are ponderous attemps at humor. A tragic and melodramatic ending is tacked on. The story is often difficult to follow, with characters being assigned different names. Jane Austen had already shown how a a tight light novel could be constructed. Madame Bovary had been written (for the diffference between mediocrity and genius compare the descriptions of the food at the wedding breakasts in this and in Madame Bovary). This has the clumsy baggy long-winded structure of Dickens (who was writing Great Expectations at the sme time) but without the great characters and confrontations. This was popular literature in its time, and considered scandalous.

Excellent example of the style of the time.

This book is shallow, judgemental, poorly researched and an insult to any the intelligence of any thinking person. There are some marvelous biographies about Edgar Allan Poe (The one by pulitzer prive winning biographer, Kenneth Silverman, is the best.) To call this a STUDY guide is absurd. It's a slanted, bias, narrow minded piece of propoganda.

Harold Bloom has assembled a slim volume of literary criticism on Edgar Allan Poe. Bloom's introductory essay on Poe and his critics is interesting and informative but takes a harsh slant against Poe's literary merit. Not surprisingly, a number of the essays side with Bloom.

The great majority of the essays were written by esteemed Poe scholars, poets and novelists. D.H. Lawrence's essay contains a number of factual inaccuracies and is gratuitously offensive. Allen Tate's essay "The Angelic Imagination" is very good, as is Richard Wilbur's "House of Poe."

What surprised me most is the pausity of references to Poe's metaphysics, mysticism and hidden meaning. Harold Bloom has written at least 3 books on gnosticism and gnosis in American religion and literature. In at least one of those books, he called Poe a "representative American gnostic." Ironically, Bloom more or less pretends in this book that Poe's works have no meaning or message whatsoever and that Poe wrote only for effect. There are a number of essays which focus on Poe's metaphysics. Take a look at those collected in Eric W. Carlson's book, Critical Essays on Edgar Allan Poe.

a pretty good book. it's definently a good read for those interested in poe.

Written in 1871 The Coming Race was one of the last books ever written by the author, he died two years later. The story begins when an American civil engineer falls into an underground world. There he discovers a subterranean paradise inhabited by a race called the Vril-ya.These Vril-ya tell the narrator that they are descended from ancestors who escaped the 'upper world' as a result of a deluge which covered the earth. Their evolution has taken a certain course mainly because of the discovery of an energy source, similar to electricity.This energy, from which they also take their name, is called Vril. Lytton's narrative, published in the same year as The Descent of Man, is one of the first truly post-Darwinian novels. It incorporates many of the scientific ideas of the period, and the subsequent fears of degeneration and devolution. The narrator soon discovers that this subterranean paradise is not all that it seems. Lurking in an unlit region of this underground world are a race of primitive savages, who like Wells's Morlocks, represent the flipside of evolution. Without Vril the savages have not progressed, they live in darkness, eat meat and resemble animals. In contrast, the Vril-ya live perfect lives, they are physically beautiful and have developed the abvility to fly with the help of Vril. The narrator appears to have stumbled into a parasise where a race of angels live in perfect harmony, without conflict, without envy and where all men are considered equal. The one thing that this future paradise cannot overcome is boredom.Tthe narrator concludes that although mankind dreams of perfectibility it is a pleasure that we are not meant to enjoy, at least not in this lifetime. Worth a read, especially if you are interested in the history of Science Fiction.

Written in 1871 The Coming Race was the last novel ever written by Lytton, he died two years later. The story begins when an American civil engineer falls into an underground world. He discovers a civilisation inhabited by a race called the Vril-ya who tell him that they are descended from ancestors who escaped the 'upper world' as a result of a deluge which covered the earth. Their evolution has taken a certain course mainly because of the discovery of an energy source, similar to electricty. This energy, from which they also take their name, is called Vril. Lytton's dystopic narrative is influenced by the post-Darwinian fears of degeneration and devolution. He soon discovers that this subterranean paradise is not all that it seems. Lurking in an unlit region of this underground world are a race of primitive savages who, like Wells's Morlocks, represent the flipside of evolution. Without Vril the savages have not progressed, they live in darkness, eat meat and resemble animals. In contrast the Vril-ya live perfect lives, they are beautiful and have developed the ability, with the help of Vril, to fly. The narrator appears to have stumbled into a paradise where a race of angels live in perfect harmony, without conflict, without envy and where all men are considered equal. The one thing that this future paradise cannot overcome is boredom. The narrator concludes that although mankind dreams of perfectibility it is a pleasure that we are not meant to enjoy, at least not in this world. Worth a read, especially if you are interested in the development of science fiction.

The Book I read was George Bush's War. The Author of this book is Jean Edward Smith. I think that Smith is a very smart man or he's got some inside connections, because he has information on meetings that happened incognito, if you know what I mean. I also thought this book was exceptionally educational. The reason why I felt this book is educational is because it provided me with a different sense of humor than I am used too, while getting some strong information in-bedded in my head. I felt that the main plot in this book is about one person, George bush, rounding up a group of people to rise against Iraq. I feel that the strength of this book is when the U.S walked up on the Iraqi people. It also talks about how Iraq placed Saddam on a pedestal, as a hero and how he was viewed that way by the entire Arab world. This book included "behind the scenes" interviews, and information that had not been released to the public. It had real life interviews. This book contains many details that are irrelevant to my research, but over all I would say this book is good. I feel that this book is good for writing papers or reports, but if you want to learn a lot about the war I would recommend you to another book. Thanks
By Justin

I read George Bush's War by Smith. I liked most of it. The thesis of the book is that George Bush was the sole figure in rallying opposition against Iraq.

The strengths of the book is that the book contains good material on why Saddam was regarded as a hero in the Arab world. He gives a pretty good history of the Middle East. Also, I like some of the "behind the scenes" information of the campaign against Iraq.

The weaknesses of the book are glaring. First, there are too many quotes. I do not really care what the assistant to the US Ambassador to some country that I never heard of says about something that an equally minute representative said about Saddam Hussien, just to give an example. Keep in mind that not ALL quotes were bad. Another thing is that the book STOPS at the bombing of Baghdad. The questions of why did Jordan support Iraq or Did Iraq and Iran mend fences were never mentioned. The major weaknes is that there was not enough historical distance at that time to justify writing a detailed work. In political terms, the book is above average. In military terms, it is pretty weak.

If someone was writing a paper on the Gulf War, I would recommend this book as a starting point. If someone wanted to know about military concerns, this is not the book for you.

I didn't like the book - but the girls in my class are crazy about them! They are the perfect series for second grade readers. The content is age appropriate and cute.

Maliciously delightful. Benson's collection of sketches has barely aged; the frauds & snobs he dissects are still with us. Readers of the "Lucia" books will recognize prototypes of the characters he would later present in greater detail.

The illustrations are a witty variation on themes from Beardsley.