I would not want to be Thomas Steinbeck. Imagine: you spend half of your time explaining who you are, the other half explaining who you aren't, and wait for the inevitable question, "Do you write, too?" Steinbeck has blazed his own path, acquiring large if quiet success as a photojournalist, cinematographer, and screenwriter. And, yes, he does write, too. And quite well.

The conundrum one encounters when approaching DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA is approaching it on its own terms without using John Steinbeck as a reference and comparison point. Steinbeck could have avoided at least a portion of the dilemma by writing in a specialized genre, such as science fiction or horror and thus rendered intergenerational comparisons moot. He instead meets the problem head on; the short fiction collected in DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA are Steinbeck's literary transcriptions of tales he grew up hearing from his father and from others who dropped by his household. Steinbeck wisely avoids disclosing to his readers who some of these "others" were, but anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of John Steinbeck's friends and contemporaries can easily guess. The settings for these stories --- Big Sur and the California coast --- were also frequently used by Steinbeck the Father. Thomas Steinbeck, however, has found his own voice, and his own words. He passes, and surpasses the "John Smith" test: if DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA was written by John Smith, it would be worth picking up, and reading.

DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA consists of seven stories; if there is a common thread it is one of men following dreams and remaining true to their internal vision, though not always wisely, not always successfully. Thus, in "The Wool Gatherer," a young John Steinbeck, retained by a rancher as a wrangler for summer work, finds his attention from the job distracted by his sighting of a giant bear, supposedly extinct. His efforts to find the bear, again, result in his wages being docked and his summer effectively wasted. Yet, there is a nobility found in the story that rings true for its time. The ending to this little tale resounds quietly but is writ large, so that it is not so much an entertainment but more a tacit lesson, not sugarcoated but nonetheless easy to swallow.

"Blind Luck," one of the two longer stories in the book, encapsulates the life of Chapel Lodge, whose childhood was so devoid of love and caring that he at one point believed his name to be "Hey you! Boy!" Possessing an innate, canny intelligence, Lodge comes to believe that his luck --- if it is to be had and utilized --- is to be found not on land, but on the sea.

"The Night Guide" is, perhaps, a tale of the supernatural, but more so it is the story of a quiet, but indestructible bond between mother and child, a fable and a history. It does not seem like much, at first, but it echoes with the reader even as the other stories herein are read and digested. The same is true of "An Unbecoming Grace," a deceptively simple little tale involving a traveling physician who plays inadvertently a most important role in the lives of three people, and in the happiness of two of them.

In "The Dark Watcher," meanwhile, an unassuming, untenured college professor sets out to make his academic mark and succeeds in a way that he did not anticipate. "The Blighted Cargo," one of the shortest tales in the book, is also the weakness, though, it is a fine enough entertainment, being a story of an ill-fated venture in the slave trade where the individual involved is, as is said in some parts, caught in his own juices.

The undisputed gem of DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA is, however, "Sing Fat and the Imperial Duchess of Woo," the final story in the book. Almost one hundred pages long, this tale of romance and traditional Chinese engagement between a young widow and a student apothecary is practically worth the price of admission in and of itself. A quick reading of Steinbeck might leave the reader with the feeling that he takes two long to get the point of his stories and then dispenses with it far too quickly. Such an impression misses the point; every building, no matter how beautiful or utilitarian, is no stronger than the foundation upon which it rests. So too, with Steinbeck's short stories, and particularly with this last one, in which we come to know young Sing Fat, and to a lesser extent his erstwhile bride and the Imperial Duchess. It is unfortunate that stories like this or so rarely written in these politically correct, supposedly liberated days; it makes the beauty of this one resonate all the more strongly.

Steinbeck is reportedly working on his first novel. It will be interesting to see what he is able to do when given the room, and the inclination, to stretch his stories out to cover a larger canvas. He will certainly, on the basis of DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA, have an audience ready, and waiting, to greet him on his own terms. Highly recommended.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

After all that is why we read. It doesn't get any better than this. I just purchased the book the day before yesterday and only read 4 of the 7 stories. "Blind Luck" was great and "An Unbecoming Grace" had me laughing out loud at the end of the story.

I wish T. Steinbeck had several voulmes like this, looking forward to his 1st novel-

Don

When I put the book down I thought, Thomas Steinbeck uses words like Monet's brush.

That Vico is largely unknown, even by the so-called experts teaching in our universitiues, while mediocrities and worse of the past half century are lauded and taught widely is yet another indication that our educational standards are dumbed down considerably. Vico is difficult to read, and we are increasingly an intellectually lazy people who prefer simplistic platitudes that sooth our postmodernist prejudices.

I give this Penguin edition only a 4 not because New Science is not itself a 5 or because the translation itself is weak, but because Vico requires copious notes. Most who read this work will do so on their own, and they need considerable help unless they are already as well read in the Classics and works of the Medieval and Renaissance eras as was Vico himself. Perhaps soon we will see an edition that meets that need, which also might encourage a few more to teach Vico, before we fall into the re-barbarism.

An eighteenth century alternative to a Cartesian hegemony of philosophic vision. Herein lies a pride of imaginative erudition and practice for the reader in allegorical and metaphorical thought--a poetic more than meets the mind. "Poetic Wisdom" offers a gamboling philological development of human institutions--all that is, explained. And this book has a chapter on "The Discovery of the True Homer." He was so much fun to look for and we are glad he's found. This edition has a detailed table of contents and an introduction by Anthony Grafton as a bonus for readers.

He hid his obscure background. He emerged into a society which was pegged for him! And he lived to tell about it -- as did his friends.

This is a collection of recollections about the inimitable Cole Porter, straight from the horses' mouths -- his family, his friends, his collaborators (which he denied having! Cole didn't see any reason not to write words AND music for everything!). It is witty and sad, frank and frivilous and fun. For insight into the life and talent of the man who gave us the songs we hum daily, we sing in the shower, and we spout lines from as if they were common knowledge, this is the source! A highly recommendable read, to be sure -- especially for those who love the music and sophisitication of the era!

The only good thing about this book is that it has no grammatical errors or typos. This is the shallowist of biographies, probably gleaned from newspaper clippings. There are lists of who wore what at each sister's wedding as well as who attended and, later, lists of who was left exactly which items when the sisters died. In between is a vast nothingness, punctuated only with the barest details of the sisters' lives. We never do find out what they themselves are like - surely the whole point of a biography.

....Granted, not a great book - but a very good one. To me - this is a fasinating look at an era that exists no longer. These women led extremely interesting lives - not only in the people they married - but the way in which they chose to live them. Try and get a copy of this book - you won't regret it. It is one of my favorites.