One of the worst study guides I have come across, written by one of the most unpleasant individuals I have ever had the misfortune to know. Mr. Dewsnap shows the same inconsideration towards Golding that characterizes his behavior towards so many other fine authors. Of course, what would you expect from a man who once cut off the power supply to an entire college campus, and more, by felling a tree on power lines?

This book is awful--but then, Mr. Dewsnap has done little that's productive.

So what's up with the 4/21/02 review by John Fout? The man obviously has some sort of personal vendetta against Dewsnap that leaves him unable to write an objective review. He never says what's wrong with the book--he just tells some story about Mr. Dewsnap felling a tree over power lines. I have read the study guide and found it to be clear, well-organized, and helpful. So don't be deterred by Fout's rantings.

Wonderful prose, beautifully observed character study, as WG slips into the skin of an extremely priggish and snobbish early twenties aristocrat as he comes of age and begins to understand a little more of the virtues of the ordinary people around him. Sea journeys of that era were long, tedious, largely uneventful and extremely uncomfortable. All 3 books in the trilogy carry this perfectly: the maritime atmosphere is conveyed as perfectly as the arrogant character of the narrator. However, the tedium of the journey also comes across in the virtually non-existent plot which makes the books drag on somewhat. It is probably, though, as brilliant description of the English class system at the start of the 19th century as you will read. I believe that the books in Trilogies should be able to stand alone, if they are to be sold separately, & on that basis, this trilogy definitely fails. I'm glad I read it as a single 750 page tome.

In the literary world it is perhaps blasphemy to say a bad word against Daniel Defoe's most acclaimed novel. So here goes. The fact that the book was originally titled The Life And Strange Surprising Adventures Of Robinson Crusoe illustrates the major flaw in Defoe's literary form. Put simply, this would be a far more interesting and gripping story were it not so superfluously lengthy. The author makes a habit of repeating himself, especially when it comes to the act of dispatching kittens, which seems to be more of an obsession here than octogenarian ladies are to MatronsApron. It is difficult, you may think, to keep the subject matter fresh when describing the daily tribulations of a fellow stranded on an island for thirty years, without occasionally repeating yourself. True, but perhaps a straightforward solution to this diminutive quandary would be to simply truncate the duration of the story. There are some wonderfully intriguing and suspenseful moments, and some juicy action to boot, but sadly these are gratuitously diluted by lengthy descriptions of the unremarkable everyday goings on in Crusoe's life, and rather than serving to build up the suspense, they merely obstruct the reader's relationship with the more exciting parts of the story.
However, those with more patience than my ignorant self will find in Robinson Crusoe a delightful tale, which as well as being a fictional documentary of the most unusual thirty years of Mr. Crusoe's life, also has time to ponder upon philosophical and theological ideas, in a style that makes the reader feel as if they are involved in the conflicts between the functionalist and cynical thoughts going on in Crusoe's mind. It may not be a gripping white-knuckle adventure, being rather more leisurely and acquiescent, but it is still rather easy to see why Robinson Crusoe is regarded by some as one of the greatest novels of all time.

Wonderful prose, beautifully observed character study, as WG slips into the skin of an extremely priggish and snobbish early twenties aristocrat as he comes of age and begins to understand a little more of the virtues of the ordinary people around him. Sea journeys of that era were long, tedious, largely uneventful and extremely uncomfortable. All 3 books in the trilogy carry this perfectly: the maritime atmosphere is conveyed as perfectly as the arrogant character of the narrator. However, the tedium of the journey also comes across in the virtually non-existent plot which makes the books drag on somewhat. It is probably, though, as brilliant description of the English class system at the start of the 19th century as you will read. I believe that the books in Trilogies should be able to stand alone, if they are to be sold separately, & on that basis, this trilogy definitely fails. I'm glad I read it as a single 750 page tome.

Upon reading this book, I was impressed and, at the same time, disenchanted. The author painted an interesting, easy-to-follow portrait of the two leaders. However, the book was too short to expound upon the material sufficiently. There was a definite lack of details, especially pertaining to the causes and effects of the Duvaliers' power. I will credit the book with giving a good overview of the two men, though it seems to concentrate mainly on the elder "Papa Doc". Overall, it is best suited for a reader with little or no knowledge of the Duvalier regime.

This book of modern critical views provided thought-provoking insight to many, in fact nearly all, of Chopin's literary works, including her many short stories and two novels, the most critically acclaimed being The Awakening. The book helped me to look at Chopin's work with more respect and a totally new perspective and understanding. However, since I have not read all of Chopin's works, some of the analyses were difficult to comprehend, seeing as I had no background for assimulating the information into something coherent. All in all, the novel is a worthwhile read if one is interested in the wonderful works of Kate Chopin.

I had to read this book for school, and I looked at it read the back and thought "oh my god I am never going to get through this",but the more I read the more involved I got. I can normaly tell how the book will end afer the first 50 pages but this one kept me guessing right up to the end. As an after thought if you like the show "survivors" I read somewhere that this is where they got the idea.

Usually I find Bloom's books very helpful in understanding difficult works and authors. However, in this collection, all the essays are geared toward more serious scholars of Eliot's works, rather than toward the general reader looking for more information. Yes, the editor includes some standard and well known essays about Eliot by the likes of Hugh Kenner, Northrop Frye, Richard Ellmann (Joyce's biographer) and some modern critics, but there is nothing that holds these essays together. It would have been better to organize the essays around particular works -- instead, we get a brief look at Ash Wednesday, a bit on the Wasteland, some other random poems, you get the idea. Many of these essays are outdated by now. If you are a graduate student writing your thesis on Eliot, these essays may be useful, but for the general high school student or adult who justs wants some help with understanding Eliot, try a more user-friendly series like the Twayne's Masterworks, or Norton Critical Editions.

I reviewed Bloom's 1999 Research Guide on Welty, not this 1986 Critical Views on Welty.

The idea for this collection of excerpts is commendable, as an introduction to Welty for, perhaps, high school students; but a hardback at this price is too costly for that purpose, and the scholarship is too flawed for any use. Even a quick glance reveals (1) outdated information about the Welty scholars quoted and (2) errors in the bibliography. Ruth VandeKieft (not "Kieft") is deceased, Pollack is not at Sweetbriar, Prenshaw is no longer at Southern Mississippi, nor I at Oral Roberts University. Barbara Fialkowski did not write A Still Moment but, rather, one essay in it. This collection of excerpts looks as if it were put together quickly not by Bloom, who should know better, but by someone who does not know Welty or Welty criticism. Although my own book, excerpted in the text, is not listed in "Books About Welty," ten that are listed are general works I consulted but that are not themselves about Welty at all (including Frank, Kestner, Frye, Kayser, Fleenor, Gilligan, Weisenfarth). If the editor had consulted the excerpted authors, this could have been a better book.

We had to read this book in English. The book is not at all suitable for us kids. For one, it is boring, and for two, the book has profanity, and it keeps on saying the same stuff over and over and over again.