You're right: I have no one to blame but myself. (Fool me twice, shame on me.) I'd read another book annotated by Gardner before, so I knew something about what his notes were like. Still, I thought, who better to explicate the puns, colloquialisms, and mathematical, logical, and philosophical references in _Alice_ than one of the great polymaths of our time, a connoisseur of puzzles, and an aficionado of Victorian literature? Plus, it's hard to deny that _The Definitive Edition_ is a handsome one.

Well, Gardner has really outdone himself this time. The notes go on and on and on, eclipsing the actual text in length. While Clavin might interrupt a conversation on the Bermuda Triangle to point out the little-known fact that it's really shaped like a tetrazidrhomboid, Gardner thinks that when a character uses an idiomatic expression involving ferrets it would be relevant to mention a get-together that ferret owners recently held in New York City's Central Park. Much of the inside information Gardner does provide is along the lines of telling us that this character is based on Alice Liddell's third cousin, once removed, or that that character is named after Dodgson's pet gerbil.

I think Gardner may have finally succeeded in turning me off of annotated editions for good.

The title of this book says it all--more annotations than a Richard Posner book, and as definitive an edition as one can expect. It is a bit peculiar to imagine a simple children's story dissected to pieces, but the researchers and editors behind this volume from Norton (purveyors of some of the best academic editions) bring new light to the hidden humor and brilliance behind Lewis Carroll's works. Featuring original artwork from the first edition, as well as some abandoned passages, you will not find a more complete version of Carroll's Alice tales anywhere else. A must-have for the children's lit bookshelf in your home library.

I always enjoyed the twisted logic and unique sence of humor that I found in Lewis Carroll's Alice tales, the only problem I encountered was that some of the jokes required information that was no longer common knoledge. For example: when Alice continually misquoted the old English nursery rhymes I found myself wondering what the actual versions were, information that every child in Victorian England could have easily told me but that has since been lost to obscurity. After reading through this book I found the answers to all my original questions as well as many that I never considered asking. At first I thought that the commentary would strip the original work of its character and reduce it to a lifeless shadow. I found that the commentary did exactly the opposite, in a surreal way it made the book even more entertaining to read. The incredible detail of the commentary and the wide range of topics covered made the comments themselves seem part of the insane illogic that pervades the realms of wonderland and looking glass house. This does not mean that the coments themselves are insane or illogical, on the contrary they are all intresting and many offer new insights into the books, what makes the commentary so entertaining is how the story of "exactly 7 and one half" Alice is juxtaposed with comments on how the structure of the plot relates to physic and Robert Oppenheimer. Altogether I found the Annotated Alice to be a wonderful read and a gorgeous book which I recomend to anyone who enjoyed the original tales.

I was recommended to read this book by a friend. I have to say that I was very disappointed. You'll learn that the five 'Life Priorities' are Spiritual, Physical, Relationships, Mental, and Financial. And you will get a list of recommended reading (from best-selling authors) for each Priority. With that equipment, you are supposed to get started setting personal goals for each priority and to manage your goal attainment on a long term basis.

But let's not forget the plot of the book, which is supposed to motivate you to do this. Five individuals, depicting the five Life Priorities, go through an ordeal in a Latin American country. There they come across the teacher who teaches them about the priorities, and gives them individual reading recommendations along with his wish to impose himself on them as their mentor and spiritual leader. The teaching consists of poorly understood left/right brain theory interpreted to explain more than it can account for, along with references to many likewise superficially digested theories. After the traumatic ordeal, this teaching is supposed to set the five characters free to explore life's possibilities.

If you haven't thought about setting goals for yourself, or prioritizing between different goals and activities, and if you haven't been inquiring much into life's wonders, then this book might be of some value to you. If you are happy with scratching the surface of things rather than getting to the core of the subject, that is.

There are many good books about spiritual, physical, relationship, mental, and financial issues, if you want to learn or improve in those areas. This is not one of them.

It's sad that there's a market for a book like this.

This is a unique book that helps one take an honest look at their developmental pathways. Yes, the novel could appear somewhat "cheesy" to some, but one may need to get rid of the self-righteous attitudes that afflict so many people in this world to be able to synthesize this material into practical application. It is a great story that keeps you reading until the end...not unlike many "cheesy" Hollywood stories that people pay many dollars to watch at the movie theaters. It is just as entertaining, but with much more there for those who wish to see it. When is the movie coming out? Thanks Dr. Hill!

Living At the Summit is a tremendously thought-provoking, well-written self-help book which offers solid, concrete, and simple principles for living a life of excellence and reaching one's human potential. Unlike any other self-help book I have read thus far, these principles are taught in the midst of a riveting, fast-paced, and fast-reading fiction story that grips your attention from the very first page to the last. I read this book in one sitting and could not put it down! A real nail-biter! Appropriate and entertaining for teens to seniors. Everyone can identify themselves in at least one, if not several, of the characters in the story, so it teaches in a personal way. Definitely to be read - and studied - more than once, with a bibliography included for further study, if one desires. This is a MUST READ for anyone interested in breaking out of a life of mediocrity. Kudos to Dr. Tom Hill!

Before he was known as the writer of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien was an acclaimed translator, a deeply scholarly philologist, and a professor of the same at Oxford University. His love for language and his proficiency with Old English dialects is nowhere more evident than in these translations. The beautiful prose and poetry that flows easily from the lips will intrigue and delight even the lay reader. The accuracy and brilliance with which Tolkien sets down these words will make a fan out of any scholar. All told, these aren't of the same stock as Tolkien's fantasy novels, but they are a great find for scholars, Tolkien fans, and anyone else for that matter.

J.R.R. Tolkien is best known as a fantasy writer. But his lesser-known profession was that of an professor and linguist, working at Oxford for over three decade. These three translated poems are excellent examples of his non-Middle-Earth work.

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is a relatively little-known Arthurian legend, in which the knight Sir Gawain must forfeit his life to a knight who allowed Gawain to behead him -- then picked up his head and rode out. "Pearl" is a beautifully written, though somewhat more difficult to read, poem that chronicles the death of a child (possibly allegorical). "Sir Orfeo" is a version of the classic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Tolkien's method for these works is unusually readable -- most translators sacrifice either readability or meaning; as far as I can tell, Tolkien sacrificed neither. "Sir Gawain" is probably the easiest translation I have come across; "Pearl" is haunting, laced with religious references, and very beautifully written; "Orfeo" is not so substantial as the first two, but still entertaining. It's a bit like a medieval ballad.

This book is not so much for fans of Middle-Earth, as for fans of all Tolkien's works. Beautifully written, highly recommended.

This book gets five stars because it contains "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" - not because Tolkien translated it (although that probably helps)

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is one of the masterpieces of the English language, one of those books we are asked to read in school over and over again (I personally read in in 12th grade AP English, my freshman year Arthurian legends class and Introduction to British Lit. my sophomore year). At first it is hard to read and you wonder why it is a legend.

Then I read it out loud, the words sounded better than they read. I also began looking into the mythology behind the story (why Troy is important in the first lines for instance). In the end, I have come to love this poem. To be honest, although I like this edition quite a bit, I haven't gotten around to reading the other two poems. I mean to though, any time now.

This book tries to show you how to get started writing, and avoids telling you what to write. Too many "how to" books become vehicles for conveying the authors' prejudices and preferences (I remember becoming annoyed at John Gardner's overbearing allegiance to the worn Jamesian cliches like "showing not telling", for example). I don't think Dorothea Brande cares much if you are a post-modern experimentalist or a western writer, or a budding newspaper columnist; her hope is that you become a writer, at least. Your genre, style, and subject matter are nobody's business but your readers'. If you are looking for a book that will tell you whether your characters are "too shallow" or whether your plotting technique needs improvement, this is not the book (thank goodness!). If you have ever started something great and never finished, or if you want to start but can't seem to drag yourself to do it, this could be a helpful read. Check it out!

I have to confess to being somewhat elitist. When I first grabbed this book, I thought to myself...written in the 1930's? How good can it be? I assumed that the information must be dated and would be scarcely applicable to the writing medium of today. How wrong I was. This is far and away the best book on writing that I have read. Ms. Brande obviously knew her stuff inside and out. This is not the usual dissection of grammar errors, but rather, she explores the method that one should take to writing in order to be successful. There are neither contrived pep talks that tell beginning writers exactly what they want to hear, nor does she try to break a young writer's spirit. She achieves a great balance. Her exercises for determining whether one can become a writer are sensible, and I've applied them and found them very helpful. Read this and Ms. Brande will help you find out what you're made of.

Ms. Brande was not marketing herself or her work when she wrote this book. She had something to convey, something to teach. She does so in a practical, straightforward way. After reading 'Becoming a Writer' you will not be the same: Approached with an open mind and willingess to learn, Ms. Brande's advice is quite capable to transform the way in which you think, write and live. As all the reviewers before me have pointed out, this is a must for aspiring writers. In addition, I do believe any person whose profession involve writing, will find great rewards in this book.

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking glass are two interesting stories. When I was a child, I watched the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland and enjoyed it. I've watched it again recently and find it very strange. I came across the book, "Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass" in an old library at my Grandparent's house. This was an old English version, which may have made it more difficult to read and comprehend then if it was in common dialect. The first story, Alice in Wonderland, is the better of the two. It tells of a dreamland that a seven-year old Alice is visiting. This book jumps around a lot, and it is difficult to keep track of who's who by the end. The second story, "Through the Looking Glass", was worse then the first one. It is once again in a dreamland of a world seen backwards from Alice's own world in the reflection of a mirror. When Alice enters this world, there are about two chapters before they enter the difficult analagy of telling the story through a game of chess. This is extremely hard to follow, seeing as you have to visualize the chessboard in your mind. Each seperate story takes place on a different tile while Alice is a pawn waiting to be Queened. In the end of the story, she is Queened and has tea with the other two queens, that is, the white and red queens. The dissapointing conclusion was that Alice was really in her world the whole time and her kittens were the queens in the story. I found both stories a challenging read, and was relieved when the book was finally over!

In this book you find out about a little girl named Alice who falls down big holes, eats strange mushrooms, and shakes a chess piece so hard that it turns into her kitten. Join Alice in her adventures in wonderland and through the looking glass. This book is so totaly unpredictable and exiting that you can't put it down. It also makes you wonder and wish this could happen to you. Take a walk through Alice's imagination and read this book.
(I'm so cool.)

I think this book is very imaginative and fun to read. In the first part where she's in Wonderland she goes through a world of nonsense and is trying to find a way out. In Through the Looking Glass she goes through a mirror into a backwards world. I would encourage anyone to read this book because it encourages people to use their imagination and to learn that stuff happens you just have to find the correct way to deal with it.

My favorite character was the Duchess in the first part because she was very annoying and didn't even know it also she has a very comical cook who's obsessed with pepper. My favorite part of the book was when Alice met the Mad Hatter and the March Hare at their tea party.

Though the text is occasionally bogged down by the minutiae of geologic science, it is an overall compelling account of the U.S.'s geologic history. The 5 books collected in this work are at their foundation expertly written North American geology primers, and for a non-geologist such as myself a valuable educational resource. However, where the books really take off are in McPhee's biographical sketches of the geologists he travels with, and how their styles and backgrounds affect their work (David Love, a geologist whose family is featured in Book 3: Rising from the Plains, is one of the many subjects in Ken Burns' excellent documentary "The West"). McPhee's personal, lively prose and organic layering of seemingly unrelated topics to geology make for a rich, comprehensive read worth your time.

Anyone who enjoys well written non fiction will enjoy McPhee's latest, regardless of their interest in geology. He has the amazing ability to make any subject interesting, by explaining the science in a plain style while constantly keeping the personalities involved visible. From civil engineering to lighter-than-air flight to the cultivation of oranges, every essay and every book is a joy. If you are a fan of good writing, this one is for you. BUT, if you are a McPhee fan, you might be annoyed by this one. I have over two dozen of Mr. McPhee's books on my shelves at home. Four of them are this book. "Annals of the Former World" is a omnibus edition of "Assembling California", "Rising from the Plains", "In Suspect Terrain", and "Basin and Range". The only new material is a short (36 pages), well written essay "Crossing the Craton" and a poor-to-fair narrative table of contents. That's it, maybe 45 page! s of new material in a a 695 page book. I do feel that somewhere in the publicity for the book mention should have been made of this. If you've never read any of it, get it. If you are buying for a library, get it. If you are considering getting "Annals of the Former World" because you are a fan of the best non fiction writer around today, well, you might want to forget it.

Although I'm giving this book five stars, I have some reservations.

As is well known, ANNALS collects four earlier books -- Basin and Range, In Suspect Terrain, Rising From the Plains, and Assembling California -- and adds a fifth section, "Crossing the Craton." All the books show McPhee crossing America along and near Interstate 80 on various trips with geologists. Each book focuses on a different section of I-80 and a different geologist. Together, they are supposed to constitute a more or less complete picture of contemporary geology.

Among current science writers, McPhee has no peer as a stylist. Geology is an incredibly difficult subject to convey in popular terms, and McPhee is often masterful. Numerous passages -- especially in Rising from the Plains and Assembling California --are remarkable. Academic geologists are thankful to him for popularizing their subject, and they should be.

But as a total picture of a science (or of the Earth), I'm not sure ANNALS completely works. Here are my objections.

1. In Suspect Terrain is the weak book of the four. By focusing on a geologist (Anita Harris) whose idiosyncratic views are made overly significant, McPhee confuses the total picture. In the book, Harris questions plate tectonics and repeatedly refers to the "plate-tectonics boys." McPhee subtly allows the fact that Harris is a woman to add legitimacy to her complaint, when that has nothing to do with the objection and in fact some early (and late) plate tectonics contributions were made by women, and not by "boys."

2. The road-trip conceit that shapes the book also limits it. It limits the book to land (generally) and the continental United States (specifically). Occasionally we make detours to Hawai'i, Switzerland, Indonesia, or Greece, but the idea seems to be that North American geology illustrates the whole world, not the other way round.

3. The road-trip conceit also privileges field geology over other kinds of geology (such as geophysical modelling). Even the geophysicists in the book, like Moores in Assembling California, are portrayed with a rugged, outdoorsy pedigree. Like oldsters pissed off about rock and roll, these geologists (Moores excepted) envision modelling as part of the corruption of youth. Obviously the image of the rock-mad field geologist scrambling up a roadcut with a hammer is more attractive, in popular science terms, than the geophysicist at the desk worrying over the parameters of her computer model. But McPhee sometimes allows his romantic presentation of the field geologist to affect his judgement.

4. Because the book was conceived and written over quite a long time, its picture of geology subtly changes without always indicating that it is doing so. Each moment is a snapshot of a discipline, and usually an excellent one -- but the story of how the total discipline came together is sometimes hard to grasp. There are moments when it happens: the story of hot spot theory in Rising from the Plains, for example. But there are two narratives -- one of McPhee's travels at the moment, one of the whole of geology -- that do not completely overlap. (McPhee's new front matter, including his alternate table of contents, make it possible to get such a total picture -- but you would have to do that _very_ deliberately, and probably on a second reading.)

All that said, I must insist that this book is a pleasure to read. I repeatedly got lost, in the good sense, in reading it. Sentence by sentence, it is the best book of popular science in recent memory. While I agree with some other reviewers that more pictures would have been nice, it's one of McPhee's strengths that he is confident that his writing will convey what he wants. That confidence raises the stakes for him as a writer, and he is usually able to meet the challenge he has set.

Damn, that was a good book! For being a James Bond fan I sure say that the book "Goldeneye" was better than the movie "Goldeneye"! The book had an extra story line an parts that the movie left out. My birthday was yesterday, June 7, and my dad wanted me to help him pick out a good B-Day gift so I found the "Goldeneye" book by John E. Gardner. Believe me if I had to do it all over I would pick the same book.

No,no,no no more foreplay. Finally another Bond novel that would not bore you to death. I think that the movie also perfectly compliments the book; it kept the same storyline for most of the movie and did not start to go into stuff that you never see or hear about as in almost every other Bond book. It takes from to the top of the Byelemore Dam straight into the chemical proccesing plant and the exciting runway part. that there was a big part of the book which leads into Janus as you will find out in the book. Bond is then forced into tracking down a stolen helicopter, Janus and the very beautiful Natalya Simoniva. In the path he must deal with Janus a man whom at one point in time trusted his life to. Again bond is asked the famouse question"Why are you so cold." the reply "It's what keeps me alive." and again"No, it's what keeps you alone.'' I also would reccomend Tommorow Never Dies By:Raymond Benson

Once Xenia worked for the KGB. But her new master is Janus, a powerful and ambitious Russian gang that no longer cares about ideology. Janus's ambitions are money and power; its normal business methods are theft and murder. And it has just acquired Goldeneye, a piece of high-tech space technology with the power to destroy or corrupt the West's financial markets. But Janus has understimated its most determined enemy... John Gardner has done it again. A great book to read and an cool Bond book. Buy this book!

Bogle has some very compelling points to make that would greatly simplify investment decisions and lower the stress levels of many investors. His main point--buy and hold a low-cost, tax-efficient, no-load, broadly-based U.S. market index fund for the long haul (hint: consider Vanguard)--could have been stated once or twice prominently instead of boringly dozens of times with endless charts and statistics. I also found his references to the stock market and inflation rates dating back to the 1800's to be largely irrelevant given the changes in the nature of the markets and economy since then. While Bogle makes a particularly good point about how management fees really eat into bond fund returns, he doesn't really acknowledge the long-term advantages to holding bonds outright over holding them in mutual funds at all. You can glean Bogle's key points of wisdom with a quick skim of the book; if you need to be convinced over and over and over again from different angles--and many of the same ones--then by all means consider this as good bedtime reading.

This book has some basic, common-sense and powerfull principles. It is full of technical detail that is sometimes hard to follow for the layman but nevertheless is explained simply enough to have the ring of truth about it.

It's basic principle is that for your investments to provide wealth in the long-term you must abandon the current casino-style gambing on the latest mutual fund fad and invest in solid, low-cost, no-load funds.

This book is not for the total beginner since it probably has too much detailed technical data for the few pearls of wisdom -- albeit priceless pearls. However, given the huge mutual fund industry that mostly disagree with John Bogle, the amount of technical information is probably necessary.

Unlike the four "Common Sense" pamphlets written by Thomas Paine to inspire the regular citizen to reject British imperialistic rule, this book is too technical to spark a popular uprising against the over-priced mutual fund industry of today. However the fact that Bogle practices what he preaches and has built a company 'Vanguard' on his beliefs gives his book an authority missing in much writing.

For the beginner, a book I read that really did change my life is "Personal Finance for Dummies" by Eric Tyson.

It took me years to finally figure out that "passive" investing in mutual funds is the absolute best way to build a retirement fund. Mr. Bogle has an intimate relationship with index funds because he, via Vanguard, blazed the path when all others doubted indexing. As a CPA and MBA and CFP to boot I have spent a fair amount of time and effort trying to "beat the market" only to learn that matching the market is the best strategy for the long haul. Had I simply invested according to his precepts I would have parlayed a lot more money with a lot less effort. It IS a hard book to read for those not used to technical terms. But "stay the course" as John would say, and you (and your money) will be amply rewarded.

As John Gardner's third Bond novel, Icebreaker shows an increasing understanding of the character. The novel shows a good deal of creativity as far as situations and the Neo-Nazi villains are concerned, and keeps the reader guessing as to who on Bond's team are actually on his side, especially as the book progresses. All in all, a nice adventure for Bond, and a nice time for any Bond fan.

In his 3rd book, John Gardner pits 007 with agents from the CIA, KGB and MOSSAD working against a Neo-Nazi force. Another masterpice thanks to John Gardner. Not as good as the first two, but is absolutely stunning anyway!

This is the best of the Bond books written after Fleming. Bond, and an agent from the KGB, CIA, and Mossad, must trek into the arctic to monitor a secret bunker serving as a base for a neo-nazi organization. This is fantastic story filled with double crosses and a chilling villain.

This novel is a retelling of Beowulf from the monster Grendel's point of view. In the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel is seen only as the evil monster and not the feeling and sensitive individual that he really is. We learn from John Gardner's novel that Grendel starts out as a relatively innocent being who just wants to fit in with the humans. He makes many attempts to do this, but he gets rejected every time. The humans do not even think of allowing Grendel a chance to explain himself. Grendel starts to become depressed by all these fruitless efforts and begins to believe life is pointless. Grendel doesn't want to be the monster and doesn't understand why the humans are afraid of him. He wants meaning and purpose to his life. However, he begins to feel hatred towards the humans because of all these negative emotions they are causing him to feel. This is when Grendel takes a trip to the evil dragon's lair where he receives some advice that sends him even farther in the wrong direction. The dragon tells Grendel that he should be the humans' representative of evil because he says if Grendel wasn't, then someone else would be. At this point, Grendel is very vulnerable and therefore believes the dragon's wayward advice. The dragon also puts a charm on Grendel, without Grendels knowing, that protects him from weapons. Grendel begins attacking the humans' mead halls more frequently and soon discovers the charm. He begins to feel invincible and powerful, which in turn cause his death. Gredel begins to feel as though he is better than the humans and is not afraid to take on any of them in battle. So when the legendary Beowulf crosses the sea to help defend the Danes, Grendel thinks nothing of fighting him...However, Grendel then discovers a flaw in the dragon's charm, which is that he is only invincible against weapons and not in hand to hand combat. Grendel discovers this flaw too late and is completely overpowered by the potent soldier. Grendel's death is a sad and gruesome one, and it seems as though Grendel too has mixed feelings on his departure from the world. This last scene of the book also sums up the whole novel, which is full of uncertainties on Grendel's behalf. He is never quite sure of his role or what he wants his role to be.

The main reason I liked this novel is because of the way the character Grendel relates to people in today's society. He is very life-like and because of his compassionate views, he is easy to relate to. There is a well-developed theme that is implied to show us how powerful human emotions can be and what they can cause individuals to do. Grendel is a very original novel, and I highly recommend it.

Marvelous. Written almost 30 years ago, Grendel by John Gardner has lost none of its nihilistic punch. Exposed to the novel half of those 30 years ago I had to experience it again after reading the critically lauded Seamus Heaney version of Beowulf. Greeting me once more were meditations on the dark existential void, religion, politics, and science by a creature, not too unlike us in our fears and hopes, who continued to strive to make sense of the universe and his place in it. Alternating between the sublime Orwellian double-talk of the minstrel Shaper and the cold, condescendingly bleak philosophy of the Dragon, Grendel struggles for meaning. Told that his life and energies exist only for man to define himself against, he finds small consolation. Still, Grendel throws himself on the mercy of the men in a Frankenstein's monster effort to be accepted... to no avail, deciding after that 'why should I not' destroy them . At times darkly humourous, and touching, the creature muses on the beauty of Hrothgar's placid, sacrificing wife before attempting to kill her, and plays with the fallen hero Unferth before Beowulf's arrival. As those familiar with the epic know, Beowulf in the original poem arrives from across the sea to save Hrothgar's hall by doing battle with Grendel, his mother, and eventually the Dragon. Grendel senses Beowulf's arrival and marvels at the concept of fear. Familiarity with the story makes the inevitability of the conflict all the more delicious when Grendel finally realizes his purpose and observes 'I cannot believe such monstrous energy of grief would lead to nothing' the reader is left to answer that it did not lead to nothing, it was a necessary component in an incredible story, told from the historical antagonist's point of view. Highly recommended to be read along with Beowulf.

There is little to say about this book (my second reading), which hasn't been said, except that its author's tracing of a philosophical development runs the gamut from Kant to Augustine (in the book's chronology, that is). It concerns human beings, and is based upon the Promethian premise, but at a meaningful reduction: Prometheus suffers because the gods have rejected him; Grendel suffers because humans have rejected him. The premise necessarily suggests hope for the human race, whilst the monster's nihilism protests too much. I especially loved the description of Beowulf, and that hero's visual hypnotic effect upon the monster. And the fight scene wherein Beowulf demands that the monster sing of walls. Chaos being bent to order. This is great stuff. In its own way, this is a better book than many of the other greats published in this century: it can be read at so many levels. I first read it in junior high school, and loved the story of the monster and his mother and the enigmatic hero Beowulf with shoulders rippling with horse-like muscles.