Contains several writings by Ralph Waldo Emerson including Walden, Essay's 1: Art, Friendship, Self reliance Essay's 2: The Poet, Gifts, Nature, Politics, Nominalist and realist. It also contains his famous The American Scholar writing, The Trancendentalist, and the book of English Traits: Wealth, First Visit to England, Race, Manners, Charactor. Also includes info on non - conformity and several poems and society/ political protocal.

Emerson is sometimes belittled (sometimes fairly and sometimes unfairly [or, regarding the latter, sometimes even with dishonest and/or malicious motive.]) There need to be influences that can reach people all up and down the ladder. That Emerson is not Plato or Kant or [insert fashionable French philosopher...] is not an argument for not reading him. For what he is he inspires and can lead one on to ever higher influences - only Emerson's specialty is he is very good in leading one in a true, sunlit, direction which may explain some of the malice and snickering of some of his detractors and satirists. And by the way, the common criticism that Emerson had no understanding or vision of the darker side of life has never been true. That he didn't indulge in negativity may be true. It's always been a statement to make him seem a lightweight to those who have never read him said with the intent to keep those people (young people especially) from ever reading him. As another aside it's interesting when you read non-Americans writing on Emerson that it's obvious they would treasure his works as part of their national or cultural contribution to the world...

Emerson is quoted as often as any other writer or speaker. Not becausea few lines here and there are profound. Rather because he understands more about human beings and life. He is thought provoking and so deep its a joy to read the same essay several times. If people take the time to read it they will understand many things about life they can't get other places.I find it interesting we live in a period of time where civilization is far more advanced yet it appears Emerson knew many things society still doesn't get. There have probably only been a handfull of what people call Masters of life. Those people who had few equals. Without question Emerson is one of these people.If you haven't read the essay Compensation you are missing a very important classic which will speak to you like it was written today.

I read this book the first time in 1985, eighteen years ago.
The book is a historical fictional novel. The people and events that took place actually occured. The author filled in some of what may have been said, although she researched the book thoroughly on location and refered to some diaries and letters
for dialogue.
The reseach took place over many years. I spent many long days at the libraries where she did her research as a teenager. We
also visited some of the locations of the events and places in the novel. The novel is a fast paced, riveting read. It is not a book that you'll want to put down. The Battle scenes are painted vividly with words, and it is an important piece of American History that you'll not want to miss out on. Frankly, I am surprised it hasn't been made into a major motion film yet... This is definitely a unique one-of-a-kind novel you must have to add to your bookcase or library, especially at a time in our own renewal of freedom and patiotism in history. It makes you appreciate what early Americans endured to make this country what it is today. Men will like this book for the intriguing historic battles, and women will be drawn into the romance and life in early America. It's a very entertaining way to spend some time. I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I did. Happy reading!

'As you like it' is one of those Shakespearean plays that is considered 'great' by critics, but never really found true popular acclaim, perhaps due to the absence of charismatic characters (the romantic hero is particularly wet) or compelling dilemmas.

It shares many features with the great comedies - the notion of the forest as a magic or transformative space away from tyrannical society ('A Midsummer night's dream'); the theme of unrequited love and gender switching from 'Twelfth night'; the exiled Duke and his playful daughter from 'The Tempest'. But these comparisons only point to 'AYLI''s comparative failure (as a reading experience anyway) - it lacks the magical sense of play of the first; the yearning melancholy of the second; or the elegiac complexity of the third.

It starts off brilliantly with a first act dominated by tyrants: an heir who neglects his younger brother, and a Duke who resents the popularity of his exiled brother's daughter (Rosalind). there is an eccentric wrestling sequence in which a callow youth (Orlando) overthrows a giant. Then the good characters are exiled to Arden searching for relatives and loved ones.

Theoretically, this should be good fun, and you can see why post-modernist critics enjoy it, with its courtiers arriving to civilise the forest in the language of contemporary explorers, and the gender fluidity and role-play; but, in truth, plot is minimal, with tiresomely pedantic 'wit' to the fore, especially when the melancholy scholar-courtier Jacques and Fool Touchstone are around, with the latter's travesties of classical learning presumably hilarious if you're an expert on Theocritus and the like.

As an English pastoral, 'AYLI' doesn't approach Sidney's 'Arcadia' - maybe it soars on stage. (Latham's Arden edition is as frustrating as ever, with scholarly cavilling creating a stumbling read, and an introduction which characteristically neuters everything that makes Shakespeare so exciting and challenging)

Anyone with a working knowledge of Shakespeare's plays knows that As You Like It is a light, airy comedy. It is clearly not one of Shakespeare's greatest plays. As You Like It is more obscure than famous. Even amongst the comedies it comes nowhere close to the popularity of plays such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, or Twelfth Night. That said, it is a treasure in its own right. This is so, if for nothing else, because it contains one of the greatest pictures of a woman to be found in Shakespeare's works, excluding the Sonnets.

Ah, sweet Rosalind. In her are encapsulated so many ideas about the nature of woman. She is first pictured in a rather faux-Petrarchan manner. This quickly fades as an intelligent woman comes to the fore. While the intelligence remains, she is also torn by the savage winds of romantic love. Rosalind, in all her complexity and self-contradiction, is a truly modern female character.

Most of the women in Shakespeare's tragedies and historical plays are either window dressing (as in Julius Caesar) or woefully one-sided (Ophelia, Lady Macbeth). This is not the case with Rosalind. Rather than being marginalized, she is the focus of a good chunk of the play. Instead of being static and [standard], she is a complex evolving character.

When Rosalind first appears, she outwardly looks much like any other lady of the court. She is a stunning beauty. She is much praised for her virtue. Both of these elements factor in the Duke's decision to banish or [do away with] her.

Rosalind falls in love immediately upon seeing Orlando. In this way she at first seems to back up a typically courtly idea of "love at first sight." Also, she initially seems quite unattainable to Orlando. These are echoes of Petrarchan notions that proclaim love to be a painful thing. This dynamic is stood on its head following her banishment.

Rosalind begins to question the certainty of Orlando's affection. She criticizes his doggerel when she finds it nailed to a tree. Rather than wilting like some medieval flower, she puts into effect a plan. She seeks to test the validity of her pretty-boy's love. In the guise of a boy herself, she questions the deceived Orlando about his love.

Yet Rosalind is not always so assured. Her steadfastness is not cut and dried. Composed in his presence, Rosalind melts the second Orlando goes away. She starts spouting romantic drivel worthy of Judith Krantz. Even her best friend Celia seems to tire of her love talk. This hesitating, yet consuming passion is thrown into stark relief with her crystal clear dealings with the unwanted advances of the shepherdess Phebe.

Rosalind contradicts herself in taking the side of Silvius in his pursuit of Phebe. She seeks to help Silvius win the love of Phebe because of his endearing constancy. Yet the whole reason she tests Orlando is the supposed inconstancy of men's affections.

This idea of Male inconstancy has made its way down to the present day. Men are seen, in many circles, as basically incapable of fidelity. Though a contradiction to her treatment of Silvius' cause, Rosalind's knowing subscription to pessimistic views on the constancy of a man's love places her on the same playing field as many modern women.

Rosalind takes charge of her own fate. Until and even during Shakespeare's own time women largely were at the mercy of the men around them. This is satirized in Rosalind's assuming the appearance of a man. Yet she had taken charge of her life even before taking on the dress and likeness of a man. She gives her token to Orlando. She decides to go to the Forest. She makes the choice of appearing like a man to ensure her safety and the safety of Celia.

Rosalind finally finds balance and happiness when she comes to love not as a test or game, but as an equal partnership. Shakespeare is clearly critiquing the contemporary notions of love in his day. His play also condemns society's underestimation and marginalization of women. However, the Bard's main point is more profound.

As You Like It makes it clear that the world is never picture perfect, even when there are fairy-tale endings. Men and women both fail. Love is the most important thing. With love all things are possible.

"As You Like It" is bar none, one of Shakespeare's VERY best works. It is probably the most poetic of the comedies and contains perhaps as many famous quotations as any other of his plays. Rosalind is perhaps his greatest female character and this work, along with the equally (or even more) brilliant "Midsummer Night's Dream," is the best example of Shakespeare's theme of the "dream world" vs. the "real" world. This play, especially the scenes in the forest, is a celebration of language and the power of the freedom of the imagination. It consequently can be read as a criticism of the "real world," here represented by Duke Ferdinand's court. Like many of the other comedies, Shakespeare is mocking the "ideal" which many in his society would have praised. Though this play deals with some pretty dark themes (which of his plays doesn't?) it is a light-hearted and fully enjoyable read!

I couldn't wait for this book to come out, as I have loved reading Mrs. Pollifax books in the past, but this one seemed dull and uneventful compared to the others. The story never seemed to pick up and didn't have the delightful descriptions of the country that the other books have had. There were no real surprises or plot twists, and I am getting kind of sick of Farrell, even though I like the character, he's in too many of the books. I love her books set in the Middle East, but this one was basically the same geography as the last Mrs. Pollifax book (which was set in Jordan - Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled is set in Syria). Not to mention, having Mrs. Pollifax once again disguised as a native on a bus (also in The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax) was a bit weak. I was really disappointed in this book, compared to the others in the series, but since I do like the characters and the plot wasn't terrible, it was still entertaining. By the way, if anyone likes listening to audio books, Recorded Books, Inc. has brilliant recordings of all the Mrs. Pollifax novels. The narration is excellent. They have a website at recordedbooks.com or get one at your library!

Mrs. Pollifax is an unlikely candidate for a CIA spy.

Carstairs: "...Mrs. Pollifax, would you be free to leave on Sunday?

Emily Pollifax: "For Syria!" In her mind Mrs. Pollifax ran over her engagements and nodded. "I'd need only cancel Garden club on Monday, and my karate lesson on Tuesday."

In this Mrs. Pollifax book, she and Farrell are sent to Syria. A woman, who'd stopped some hijackers dead in their tracks, was missing. Mission: to bring Amanda Pym back to the United States.

Despite a beating each, Mrs. Pollifax and Farrell both got off easier than usual. This book, while still quite good, wasn't up to the standard of the other Mrs. Pollifax books. I've been reading Dorothy Gillman for over ten years, since "The Unexpected..." appeared in Reader's Digest "Condensed." While disappointed, I'm glad I read it. While I'm glad I read it, I'm also glad I borrowed it and didn't purchase it.

It was pretty good; I'll continue to read Dorothy Gillman's series.

Just when Mrs. Pollifax begins to get restless, Bishop comes to her home to offer her another adventure for the CIA. This time she and her old friend Farrell are asked to find a young girl named Amanda who rescued 200 people from being hijacked on a plane and then disappeared. There are the requisite number of chases, strange-looking people following them, adventures and misadventures for this book to join the others in the enjoyable Mrs. Pollifax series. The one thing that puzzles me is why Dorothy Gilman had her heroine marry Cyrus in one of the early books and then have him serve as background, always off on his own business when Emily does another assignment for the CIA. Perhaps she received negative feedback from readers when Cyrus accompanied her on one of her adventures, but it seems too bad to shove such a nice man into the background.

what does it take to put a book together and get an exhibition done at a regional museum, with funding from a major foundation? apparently nothing. this book does nothing to further the cause of art and artists of the south. why doesn't somebody do a good survey book on self-taught art? and why does the university of mississippi press publish every book on self-taught art? black folk art 1930-1980 was a decent book on a then emerging field, but that was done in 1981. that was almost twenty years ago. and here we are in the year 2000, and no one has done a book that is any better than that. there is great art out there by these talented artists, there must be someone out there with half a brain to do a good book. when they do, email me and i'll buy it. i wonder if because the artists are self-taught, someone out there thinks it is cute to let elementary school students write about them. much of the art is very sophisticated and cerebral, and it is time the scholarship in this field rises to the level of quality that the art deserves.