This book is an excellent companion piece to Milton studies, whether one is an undergraduate reading Milton for the first time, or a Milton scholar of a quarter-century's standing. Prof. Shawcross is recognized by his peers as the premier authority for Milton biography among scholars living today, and his former teacher, William Parker, held that rank for the previous generation. Though its approach is sufficiently psychological to earn it a classification among the works of that discipline by Library of Congress, it is densely populated by matters biographical. It addresses textual issues intermingled with a reliable account of the events of Milton's life, and includes a goldmine of insights gleaned over the decades of Prof. Shawcross's own meticulous readings, making Milton's works not only more comprehensible to the novice, but enriching the experience of reading them even for an "old hand."

Prof. Shawcross's writing style is lucid and non-pedantic, and the effort is a masterful one (not surprising, to anyone who knows his previous output). Like Nicolson's _Reader's Guide_ of several decades ago, _The Self and the World_ provides the rich background modern students need to understand the relevance of Milton studies to today's world -- only it does so even more successfully, in my opinion (and I have the greatest respect for Prof. Nicolson's work).

I would recommend this book to anyone teaching or studying Milton, at any level of expertise -- without reservation.

This is an excellent history of a small Middle Eastern Kingdom still linkedin most people's memory to its remarkable King who reigned 47 years: King Hussein of Jordan. Hussein died in 1999 but his indomitable spirit lives on in his son Abdullah. Jordan still has a pivotal role in the Middle East Peace Process and this book describes how tiny little Jordan boxed above its weight in seeking to find peace in a conflict which has bedeviled the region so long. It is a book for the general reader and for the serious student of Middle Eastern politics. I really enjoyed it.

This is certainly not one of the more insightful books on the subject, and is unfortunately attuned only to those topics of influence that have been better covered elsewhere. For the beginner, esp. those who do not have access to the better studies, this book is not without value. Somewhat recommended.

Many good things can come from this book. 'Lecturas Periodísticas' compiles short yet real and informative newspaper and magazine articles from throughout the Hispanic world. If you are a teacher, this book will allow for lively discussions and might even incite serious debates. If you are a student, you will have fun exploring, thinking about and voicing your opinions on current events, ideas and problems that may or may not affect you directly. For instance, I remember that in my class, topics included race and gender descrimination, women's rights, self-identity, bilingualism and multilingualism and many more--controverisial or otherwise--throughout the semester.

For the instructor, the best part is that it comes with "comprehension checks, vocabulary exercises and guided writing activiities and questions to reinforce each article". The book, essentially, IS your weekly planner! I have also read this author's 2nd edition, and it only gets better with his 5th. So if you want to keep your Spanish class exciting, then I highly recommend 'Lecturas Periodísticas' by Professor Milton M. Azevedo (University of California, Berkeley).

This is, indeed, the most exhaustive modern biography of John Milton. The renowned critic Barbara Lewalski, as usual, offers the students and scholars of Milton an enchanting biographical masterpiece that both narrates and captures Milton's story and history from his early childhood "The childhood Strews the Man" to his last breath "Teach the every Soul". Mocking Samuel Johnson's theory on writing a biography, Lewalski, without eating, drinking, or living in social intercourse with Milton, has succeed in writing an impressive biography of Milton through, as she mockingly asserts, living in intellectual and artistic intercourse with Milton. Reading this book, to the surprise of Johnson, one will find him/herself eating, drinking, and living social intercourse with john Milton thanks to the scholarly talent of Barbara Lewlaski.

This is a book I first saw at our public library and liked it so much I decided I had to have my own copy. It gives the essence of Lincoln in a chronological and very readable form, with enough background information to let one know the reasons for giving the speech or writing the letter. This is a great book for junior high or high school students although written for adults. The woodcut illustrations are tremendous and add a great deal to the feeling of the book

This book is filled with reproducibles that are well thought out and very relevant to the curriculum. The activities, for the most part, are not just "busy work" but will supplement your regular curriculum well. I was very satisfied with this book and would recommend it to any fifth or sixth grade teacher.

Jack Walker is a kid with a healthy wariness about most things. Blessed with unusual powers of observation, Walker proceeds cautiously, and sometimes clumsily, through childhood, worrying about what might happen next. Often, his fears are justfied. As a kid, he's sent to a hell hole of a summer camp. As a teen, he's violated by a quick-draw enema artist of a school nurse. Jack survives it all, and comes through his often hilarious adventures a little wiser, and less innocent. It all makes for a wonderful read, a coming-of-age tale that unfolds as naturally and unhurriedly as a Saturday afternoon baseball game. Heller, a copy editor at the Washington Post, writes with the sensibility of a novelist and the precision of a veteran journalist. He has a gift for dead-on descriptions and small insights that evoke memories of what growing up was really like.

This book was published by Xlibris. I wonder whether the author tried the regular publishing houses first and was rejected; I would imagine so. I really enjoyed this book. However, I doubt it will gain any popularity unless it were to be energetically marketed. I think this is a pity, but I guess this is the nature of the business. The cream does not float to the top. And phenomena like Harry Potter and Stephen King, etc. depend upon niche markets and voluminous production. Thus people such as me will constantly have to search through the haystacks for needles which we really enjoy. This one was a find.

I happened to see this book on Xlibris.com. I read an excerpt and I liked the writing style - very easy. By the way it continues the same way throughout the book. Then, the subject - psychoanalytic experiences - interested me; as it turned out, that was a small part of the book. At least 2/3rds of the book is about his personal development during the 1920's, 30's, and 40's.

It's hard to really describe the contents because it is really a collection of anecdotes about interesting people the author has met. They are great fun. It is like your 93 year old grandfather telling you about his life's experiences. On page 198 he writes, "...there's not much more that's valuable than a good laugh and a happy memory." That is the essence of this author.

One chapter of this book I will never forget. It is an interview he did with a young man who murdered about 5 people. He was doing an evaluation for the court. We read about these people in the newspaper or we hear about them on TV, but how often do we get to sit down with them and ask them, "What made you do it?" This chapter does that, and I was horrified by the picture I got of this young murderer. It actually made me depressed for a while. The author wrote, "I had come as close to the essence of evil as I'd ever care to confront." That's how I felt reading it.

Most of the book consists of happy, interesting events. I hope this book attains popularity; it deserves it. I enjoyed it and felt I learned a lot.

I found Mr. Smith's memoirs insightful and interesting. A true icon among those who mastered life in both the public and private sectors, Mr. Smith left a legacy of character, pragmatic behavior and reconciliation with the apparent facts surrounding race relations in our country. Had I to attempt what he did at the time it was done, I am not certain that I could have performed as admirably as he did. It is a story that many should know.