Epstein divides his essays into the literary and familiar. The former examine lives of writers and the lives of their books, while the latter are more personal and introspective along the lines of autobiography.

The recurrent theme in this latest crop is aging and death and I'm unclear on whether Epstein has decided to go gently. In one, he mourns the bodily changes that accompany maturity, in another the discomfort, physical and otherwise, associated with a heart bypass operation. We see him scan the obituary pages and sadly note the passing of friends. Perhaps if I were closer to Epstein's age, I would find these reflections less morbid. As things are, I doubt I can reach his degree of understanding in such matters, or do them justice, without having walked in his well-worn shoes.

There's a brief look at Epstein's friendship with Albert Goldman, who achieved a small bit of fame for his biographies of Elvis and John Lennon. Goldman emerges as a sad type, a hippie liberal still trying to be hip at an age when that word has no meaning. By contrast, Edward Shils, in a moving tribute, is shown to be a man devoted to the fundamental.

In his chatty way, Epstein treats us to more essays about lengthy books, name dropping, name-pronouncing, and napping. I'm especially fond of the last one, "The Art of the Nap." Albert Jay Nock wrote an essay called "The Art of Snoring," which suggested that the world's problems were usually caused by busy people who could not mind their own busy-ness. His prescription: more naps.

Is Epstein still at the top of his game? I'd say so.

Joseph Epstein is out of step with the times; so much the worse for the times. But you wouldn't expect one of our best essayists to share the hyperkinetic spirit of our quick-cut, crisis-of-the-week, information overload age, malnourished as it is on fast food and fast thought. Epstein's readers, used to his erudite and soothing literary voice, will conclude that he's, square peg or no, comfortable in the world. Epstein is a clear, deliberate thinker and graceful writer who won't be rushed. He knows his way around an idea, an anecdote, a philosophical question. He creates intimacy, interest, and assent without being the least polemical or didactic (see above re one of our best essayists), and demonstrates that as well as being useful, intelligence can also be a sheer joy. Narcissus Leaves the Pool -- the sixth essay collection of Epstein's 13 books - will only add to his reputation. The 16 pieces here repay the serious and the playful mind (if the same mind, so much the better). In his surefooted style -- serious but not solemn, humorous but never trivial, deep but always accessible. Epstein ponders what distinguishes a point of view from a grab-bag of opinions; shows how the role of popular music has changed in our lives; counts the ways professional sports offend these days, ("Watching Monica Seles play Arantxa Vicario, two players who grunt with every stroke, I feel that I am inside a hernia testing center.") and laments how hard it is for one who's loved the games to chuck the increasingly hard to justify habit; praises napping and disparages name dropping. He comes to terms with turning 60 in "Will You Still Feed Me." The title of the book and of the lead essay means to suggest the writer has reached an age where the preening and overreaching are done, where possibilities are relinquished. He's not exactly asking what to make of a diminished thing, but conceding that the future, while still pleasing at 61, is contracted. He's reached the age where when reading a good book he feels obligated to do a good job of it as it's unlikely he'll read that book again. An age where every trip to the doctor's office carries the real threat that the doctor will find what he has been poking around looking for these many years. Epstein admits squeamishness, but denies being a hypochondriac, "..only your normal thanatophobe." He ponders the question of how to maintain dignity in the physician's office. "While respecting what they do and realizing the need for them, I have tried to the best of my ability to steer clear of physicians. I find that, given a chance, they discover things I would rather not know about." Once such discovery led to one of life's experiences Epstein would have as soon skipped, heart surgery. He describes it in "Taking the Bypass." Epstein might not think to label himself a conservative. In part because the breathless clamors that fill political journals -- elections, legislative maneuvering, the routine changes of government -- do not interest him much. He's aware of the overall seriousness of politics, especially where it's very bad. He is friends with people who lost family in Hitler's death camps. But his principle concern is the with the workings of the human heart, not with the routine insolences of office. His skepticism regarding all Big Ideas and his rejection of all causes that individuals must be sacrificed in the name of put him, literary temperament and all, on the right side of the angels. A conservative in all but registration. Not one to diminish literature by hitching it to any ideological wagon, Epstein has no patience with tenured Philistines who flog their agendas with the literary masters. In "The Pleasures of Reading," he nails these villains. "What wide reading teaches is the richness, the complexity, the mystery of life.I have come to believe there is something deeply apolitical something above politics in literature, despite what feminist, Marxist, and other politicized literature critics might think. If at the end of a long life of reading the chief message you bring away is that women have had it lousy, or that capitalism stinks, or that attention must above all be paid to victims, then I'd say you just might have missed something." Epstein takes his reading seriously (though not solemnly, as you'll see). He's amused by profiles of people who list reading as a hobby. "I should as readily list under my hobbies, tennis, travel, and breathing." Epstein notices how few grownups there are these days and parses this matter in "Grow Up Why Dontcha." No accident that Seinfeld and Friends became so popular in the land of the perpetual adolescent. Role models in arrested development come with the substantial tuitions at America's colleges in the person of paunchy professors, certifiably past fifty, wearing blue jeans, hiking shoes, and even in some cases, God help us, backpacks. "In our own day one still sees what are essentially sixties characters in their fifties, walking the streets, tie-dyed, long-haired, sadly sandaled, neither grateful nor dead, waiting for the magic bus to the past." Epstein manages to combine literary insights of the literature professor (Northwestern) that he is -- you'll encounter Proust, Montaigne, T.S. Eliot, and Solzhenitsyn in these pages -- with the acute observations of the street smart Chicago boy he also is. You'll also run across Joe Montana, Mike Ditka ( I did say Chicago), Floyd Patterson, and former welter weight Carmen Basilio. Epstein delights in all precincts of Vanity Fair. Epstein, like your average French desert, is pretty rich stuff and probably is better read an essay or two at a time. Those who've read A Line Out For a Walk, Once More Around the Block, With My Trousers Rolled, or The Middle of My Tether know this already. It probably wouldn't do anyone actual harm to read an entire book of Epstein essays at one sitting. But why take a chance? Larry Thornberry - Tampa LTBerrywtr@aol.com

Loved it. Have converted all my friends to Epstein enthusiasts

As a wordsmith, Epstein has few peers. These essays are to be luxuriated in, read and re-read. Pure pleasure.

Joseph Epstein is the type of writer whose works everyone should read but, sadly, too few do. He is both erudite and witty while retaining the nonchalance of "just one of the guys from the neighborhood." His writing is always insightful and always enjoyable. To those who keep a notepad and pencil handy while reading to jot down a tidbit of obscure information or a reference to a book to be explored at a later date, Mr. Epstein's books will necessitate the presence of a good pencil sharpener as well. Sadly, most of his books, of which there have been many, are now out of print. Such is the fate of interesting, witty, and sublime writers in our questionably literate time. Thankfully, A Line Out For A Walk remains available.

Comprising a series of essays, most of which originally published under his pen name "Aristides" while serving his remarkable tenure as editor of that once great journal of American letter, The American Scholar, A Line Out For A Walk is a remarkable book. In it can be found something to please the tastes of most everyone; reminiscences of old friends (some notable, some known only to a few), literary investigations, histories, ponderings, puns, observations, laments, biographical sketches, and reflections - all are offered in the straightforward yet eloquent style that has become Mr. Epstein's trademark. Should anyone finish a reading of this book and not felt themselves to have spent the time wisely and profitably, they should abandon reading altogether as they are obviously missing the point of it.

Mr. Epstein's essays are not the thin, watery things we so commonly see today, containing only a few personal, usually embarrassing remembrances of the author' life. They are full of life, being composed both the high and the low, the intellectual and the mundane. In one essay alone you are likely to find some of the life of Henry James, a note on the achievements of Jewish baseball players, an observation on the nature of indoor cats, three snippets from Lady Montagu's travel journals, a tale of life in the Chicago of the 50's, a little known personal habit of Woodrow Wilson, the real meaning behind one of Gainsborough's paintings, and a brief life of a little known but highly respected journalist from the 1890's. These are not things expected in a modern essayist; these are the qualities of products from the golden years of the essay. Indeed, Mr. Epstein should be, and no doubt someday will be, ranked among the likes of Lamb, Hazlitt, and Leibling. After all to which he has been subjected in his lifetime, it is the least that can be done to honor his outstanding work.

From his first encounter with Joyce's writings in Paris in 1927, Campbell remained deeply involved with the works of Joyce. He gave many lectures on Joyce, frequently read from his works, and published a number of articles on Joyce's works. This book provides a survey of Campbell's Joycean studies by conflating his articles and representative lectures, from his obituary notice on the death of Joyce in 1941 to lectures delivered within a few years of Campbell's death. Also included, in the "Dialogues" section, is a selection of Campbell's responses to questions from members of the audience at some of his lectures. Questions from listeners seemed to fire Campbell, and some of these exchanges provide a deeper insight into the material presented in the formal lectures. This book contains both elementary material and advanced analysis of the work of Joyce; it is, therefore, both an introduction to Joyce's major works and a major contribution to Joyce criticism. The whole provides a representative portrait of Joseph Campbell as a critic of Joyce. 304 pp. (From the back cover).

For me this book helps parralell the inner workings of you or me, reminding me of the pathes we take, no matter the presence or withdrawl of glamour, are adventures..... IT IS A VALUABLE screenwriters source.

Joseph Epstein is an intersting author who has taken the art of the Personal Essay to a higher Realm. In this book, he has chosen a variety of authors who have similarly treated this art form, and presents a delightful collection of the same. An enjoyable read for people who enjoy good literary style. Included authors include Twain, Beerbohm, Woolf, Parker, Orwell, Fitzgerald, Connolly, Greene, Capote, Baldwin, Naipaul, Tan, etc.. Try it out!

Joseph Epstein's collection of essays on various literary figures carries with it two of my favorite virtues: readability and inclusiveness. A book that is readable (or if difficult, rewards the effort, like Faulkner's novels) and that covers all the bases is a joy to find, and "Partial Payments" fits that category nicely. Epstein's basic method is this: read all of a writer's works, a healthy piece of the biographical writings, and then cogitate upon the subject. Each one of Epstein's essays effectively provides an introduction to the writer under scrutiny; each one carries with it a sense of worth and incisive definition of the writer's gifts. Epstein takes for the most part writers who have fallen out of the canon (like H.L. Mencken), or who are no longer read outside of literary history classes (like Theodore Dreiser), or who need fresh views (like E.B. White), and strikes off a portrait in words. Every single one of his essays is worth reading, and most of them have sent me to the local library or Amazon to buy one of the recommended texts. In short, a guidebook to a literary cornucopia of the unjustly forgotten or neglected.

THE DIMWIT'S DICTIONARY is not exactly a kind book - it will shred every linguistic prop a writer is comfortable with & proud to know & use. Not that I'm proposing writers reinvent the way they write, I am, however, encouraging they use this dictionary to discover how hackneyed their writing might be. It is a litmus test to learn what separates the ho-hum from the memorable; the bland from the interesting.

Discover just how original, or not, is your writing. Learn about Ineffectual phrases, Moribund metaphors & Infantile phrases; Overworked words, Inescapable pairs & Torpid terms; Withered words, Wretched Redundancies & Egregious English; Quack equations, Foreign phrases, Grammatical gimmicks & much, much more!

THE DIMWIT'S DICTIONARY is an invaluable tool all writers need to have on their tool shelf, not to be taken too seriously or too much to heart, or brain, as is the case, as an author could get dreadfully pompous!

Somewhat self-righteous and pedantic at times, but highly pertinent on the whole. Actually makes very good reading. Mister Fiske seems to entertain a pet hate for foreign metaphors, French in particular, except when it suits him (portmanteau is coat-hanger in English).
Would definitely recommends it as a teaching reference at university level.
As a last word, Mister Fiske would do us a great favour by publishing all his works into one single book. References to other work(s) smacks of (concerted) mercantilism.

The Dimwit's Dictionary by Robert Hartwell Fiske (Editor of the online journal about the English language: "Vocabula Review") is filled cover to cover with alternatives to over 5,000 tiresome cliche phrases. The entries are of two types. One type offers synonyms for cliche words and phrases, from "Achilles' heel" (foible, deficiency, etc.) to "you name it" (and so forth, and the like). The other type of entry identifies flawed and horribly overused verbal expressions, and categorizes them by type: "zillions" is an infantile phrase; "advice is cheap" is a quack equation; and "nipping at your heels" is a moribund metaphor. The value of this second type of entry is straightforward - if one is using any such phrase in their writing, then reaching for synonyms simply isn't enough; it's time to completely rework the expressed thought. Both types of entries are presented alongside one another in this alphabetized volume. Overall, The Dimwit's Dictionary is easy to use, and should be cover-to-cover reading (not simply used sporadically as a reference, but a page-by-page reading and explicit indoctrination in what phrases to avoid) for every neophyte writer who aspires to effective and memorable writing.

I thought that Heart of Darkness was an excellent book that everyone should read. I portrays every single persons true self, there sense of darkness and treachery in the world. Not every person you meet shows there sense of darkness, but this book displays how there is a feeling in that amongst all of us. Joseph Conrad shows a lot of feelings that some humans experience, like racism, and insanity. This book takes you for a real roller coaster ride. If you liked Heart of Darkness, you should see the movie Apocalypse Now. This movie is exactly the same thing as this except it's in a different time period. This novella is a story about Marlow and is adventure through the Congo River. As Marlow goes down the river, he encounters several obstacles that make him realize the true threat of the Congo River. The plot and the themes of the story are difficult to understand but eventually it can be grasped. The only attribute I particularly didn't like about the book was the extreme detail that Conrad shows in the book. I thought that he could have summed up most of the stories details to a shorter version. All and all it was a very interesting book.

Heart of Darkness is a novella that really needs to be read more than just once to fully appreciate Conrad's style of writing. The story is an account of one man's simultaneous journey into the darkness of a river as well as into the shadows of a madman's mind. There is a very brilliant flow of foreshadowing that Conrad brings to his writing that provides the reader with accounts of the time period and the horrible events to come. Through Conrad's illuminating writing style we slowly see how the narrator begins to understand the madness or darkness that surrounds him.

I recommend this particular version of the novella because it contains a variety of essays, which discusses some of the main issues in the reading and historical information. Issues like racism and colonialism are discussed throughout many essays. It also contains essays on the movie inspired by the book Apocalypse Now, which is set against the background of the Vietnam War. I recommend reading Heart of Darkness and then viewing Apocalypse Now, especially in DVD format which contains an interesting directors commentary.

There can be long debate about the hidden meanings, etc. in Heart of Darkness. And, of course, if one pays even a scintilla of attention. one's mind will no doubt be provoked by this deep, mysterious and moving tale. For example, there could be (I'm sure there has already been) a century long debate on the exact meaning of the title. However, besides the import of its moral/human/instinctive/spritual teachings, Heart of Darkness is often overlooked for the sheer excitement and anticipation the words cause. This is, to put it bluntly, a terriffic story. I was so anticipating the meeting between Marlow and Kurtz that I could barely stand it. And the visual imagery is astonishing. I will never forget the stakes with heads of savages. One must wonder how familiar Conrad was with the story of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula)!! Of course, it is the importance of the work that has made its immutable mark on literature. Any reader will surely be able to recognize his or her ! own instinctive/unconscious capabilities (desires, perhaps?) when they read this book. Who among us can wholly deny that we would not have behaved like Kurtz when left unrestrained by our society and placed in a position where it was not difficult to make a relatively unchallenged rise to power? Perhaps imperialism, left unchecked, is human nature, and our nature, our instinct is to civilize those different from us by way of any means feasible, which, with "savages" or the "uncivilized", is violence, fear or terror. Do a quick check of history, and you will find this to be true. The Heart of Darkness may in fact be the heart of man, a metaphor for the instinctive nature of man.

havent read all of it yet; but ive read her, the authors first book which is pretty accurate; my uncle was an amazing, dynamic and brilliant innovator in many fields; not only in theatre which he dedicated his life to; but sensitive to all people; because of him homeless people are being given food now; progams he started when he was alive; my whole family have the papp blood; myself as a teacher, linguist, dancer, singer,etc; sister artist;;;this was given to us by my grandfather an immigrant from poland who loved music, yiddish theatre, was an actor, comedian,;;etc. may my uncle, Joseph Papp who has given my mother, and family, never be forgetten; looking forward to getting the book and will follow with unbiased critique

The story of Joe Papp is the story of a precious stage ofAmerican theater history -- an intensely productive period forAmerican playwrights and New York theater -- and as such, this book is satisfying. The author is a Papp fan, so it's to her credit that this reader found Papp complex and industrious, but not terribly likable or insightful about the theatrical art or craft. As a visionary, his successes are a matter of record -- though no one would want producers to emulate his thoughtless, irresponsible, "raging bull" approach to developing the artistic and financial security of an organization. Yet the man was a force of nature, and his interaction with his community -- documented here in detail -- is of genuine historical interest.

This book was originally written for bureaucrats so that they might better communicate officialese. Yet it really goes further: it can be used, appreciated, by anyone wishing to improve or confirm their knowledge of written English. Gowers writes in compact, sometimes dryly humourous, style, as he corrects the often confused use of "which-that" and "who-whom", the employment or negligence of the subjunctive, and punctuation. It's an enjoyable,educative work relevant to today, with the English language changing and, perhaps, degrading.

Overall, this was a good, light read. The book is, in essence, a long, witty personal essay about snobbery in America. As some other reviewers below have noted, it's slightly redundant, and it seems like it could have been trimmed down a bit to make a pithy 50 page article. But Epstein's tour though snobbery was enjoyable.

The book has three main parts. First, Epstein reviews definitions of snobbery, considers how it has changed over time, and then he delves into the various areas that are used by snobs today as bases of status. What follows is a summary of the book's main points:

The essence of snobbery is that you want to impress people, to make yourself feel superior at the expense of other people. The dictionary definition is one with an "exaggerated respect for social position or wealth, and a disposition to be ashamed of socially inferior connections; behaves with servility to social superiors, and judges merit by externals; person despising those whose attainments or tastes he considers inferior to his own." Snobs live in a world of relentless one-upmanship; his only standard is one of comparison, competition, and rivalry. The snob is always positioning himself, trying to gain ground on his superiors, distancing his perceived inferiors. A snobs high standards are tools used in an attempt to impress others, rather than as ends in themselves. Snobs respect the trappings of status: social class, money, style, taste, fashion, attainments, prestige, power, glamorous careers & possessions, memberships in exclusive clubs and groups, name-dropping, celebrities, socially favorable marriages.

Ironically, however, the snob's quest for status leaves him powerless, for status is not in the possession of it's holder, but in the eyes of the beholder; you cannot convey status on yourself, others must do that. Snobs hope that others will take him at his own extravagant self-valuation; he needs confirmation, acceptance, and fears rejection. For snobs, the wrong opinion, family, schools, connections, clothes, taste, or manners is more than stupid - it's a disqualification.

Epstein also asserts that the basis of snobbery has changed over the last century. The old WASP-ocracy, with its emphasis on lineage, Ivy League schools, exclusive neighborhoods and work at law & Wall St firms, has declined for a variety of reasons. In its place, Epstein asserts, the emphasis on taste, style, and being "with it" has increased. Consumption patterns began to replace social class as an organizing principle of society. Taste -- in politics, food, clothes, culture, opinions -- betrays social class, personal aspirations, self-conceptions. These are the remaining grounds for snobbery today.

Finally, why does snobbery persist? Snobbery thrives in democracies, in fact, because social mobility allows one to rise, as well as fall. The quest to rise and do better than one's parents is a central part of American culture, and the societal hope is that quest for prestige will drive people to higher levels of achievement. Fear of falling, as well, drives many to snobbery. Until we reach the day when society is fair, kind an generous, and nobody needs reassurance of their worth, then snobbery will exist. Epstein also reminds us, however, that status is a side dish of life, not the main course, and that the best way to gain prestige in a snobbish world not to care about it at all.

Northwestern University professor and writer Joseph Epstein's latest book, "Snobbery" is a highly entertaining and well-considered look into the world of the snob: the upward-looking, the downward-looking, the 'virtuous,' and the reverse types (to name but a few). His coverage is by no means comprehensive, for snobbery is truly a broad topic, but Epstein touches well on those aspects of "the grave but localized disease" that are frequently encountered, and that he is most familiar with.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part (chapters one through ten) seeks (and finds) a fair definition of what snobbery is, explains how it works, and traces the history of snobbery in America from its revolutionary origins, to its classist WASP height, and finally to its omnipresent state in our current "egalitarian" times. Epstein makes especially good use of his popular self-deprecating humor in the first chapter, "It Takes One to Know One." The second part (chapters eleven through twenty-three) describes several prominent varieties of modern snobbery, such as college snobbery ("Jimmy goes to Rice, Jane goes to Vanderbilt"), club snobbery, intellectual snobbery, political snobbery, name-dropping, sexual and religious prejudice, celebrity hobnobbing, food and wine snobbery, and trend-following. The book is closed with a final chapter, the "Coda," where Epstein explains why he believes that snobbery, though it is a deplorable social practice, is here to stay. The mock reviews printed on the jacket's back cover (from Henry James, Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, and Noel Coward) provide some good laughs for the familiar reader.

I know that I gave a rather critical review of Epstein's earlier book, "Ambition" (c. 1980), but this new volume (though it addresses a related topic) is quite different. Epstein's writing here is very much of the current times, and his narrative never loses the reader's attention. Quotations are always brief and used to explain a point, not invoked merely for pedantic decoration. Rather than spending time on describing famous historical snobs (as was done in previous "snobographies" by Thackeray and the Duke of Bedford), Epstein concentrates more on exposing the practice of snobbery as it is seen in everyday life today, among his colleagues and acquaintances, in contemporary magazines, and (most insightfully) within his own thoughts. As he rightfully suspects, his detailed look at major types of snobbery lets very few people off the hook, and there is scarcely a reader out there who won't find his or her own pet version(s) of snobbery described within the book's pages. I have seen Epstein field questions from audience members during a book talk featured on C-SPAN2's "Book TV," and the identification of secret snobs through the Q&A session was remarkable. It truly "takes one to know one." For the reader who is observant and curious of snobbery today, and who is not ashamed to admit that s/he too may be a snob of sorts, this book is one to read soon.

Epstein gets extra points for being an equal-opportunity skewerer of snobs. Whereas the traditional view of Snobbery was that it was an upper-class WASP phenomenon, Epstein rightly points out the endemic snobbery among left-leaning intellectuals and the various self-appointed groups of Victims as well as the country-club set. This raises an interesting dilemna for Professor Epstein. The very people who purchase and read books about ideas are the ones most guilty of intellectual snobbery. Is it wise (or, in the long run, economically viable) to point out (at times in a not very complimentary fashion) the foibles of one's target audience?

Epstein writes with humor, analytic clarity, and efficient prose.

Buy this book...but first consider if you want your own snobbery exposed to such a sharp-tongued writer.