Yip Harburg, the prodigiously talented lyricist best known for "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" and "Over the Rainbow", is the subject of this splendid biography. Harburg's gifts were uniquely his, but this book shows us how his (financially, but not spiritually) impoverished father cultivated Harburg's talents by taking him regularly to the Yiddish theater on the Lower East Side and reading funny stories to him in the evening. Harburg's insights into the elements of creative writing-- a sense of passion, an eye for paradox, an intelligent plan, e.t.c.-- are recounted in loving detail. Whether you read this book for insight into this wonderful man's heart, or his craft, you will be richly rewarded.

This book contains a lot of symbollism that advanced readers can comprehend. The ending is what ties the book together and has a lot of meaning to it. Heidi and Jessica

i think a lot of the people reviewing this book have missed the point. It is true that there is not much of a plot but the book is not about plot. If you want a page turner go to an airport and look at the bestseller list. Through this book Hemingway displays his views and feelings on masculinity. It has been said, and been well reported, that Hemingway is deeply macho and believes in this whole rum-drinking world. But in the old man... I feel that Hemingway shows a masculinity with a human face. In the book the old man and the boy talk of the baseball greats. When they come to John J. McGraw, they say that "he was rough and harsh-spoken and difficult when he was drinking." Here Hemingway is showing that machismo which is coarse or totally insensitive is not a worthy charectaristic. Although Dimaggio is strong and plays through a bone spur and the old man is resolute in over coming every difficulty to kil the Marlin, both these charectors are give a sensitive edge. The old man talks about humility and wonders about the consequences of having this emotion. He decides that this feeling loses no pride. Ultimately I feel that feelings and the fight that man has to go through are the over whelming messages of the book.

The old man... also has beautiful images and throws up lots of questions aboutrole models and determination. I read in one of the reviews that the reviewer wanted snatiago to let the fish go and go back to land! That is totally missing the point. We have to look at santiago and his qualities. Take the arm wrestle he didn't just 'give-up'. All of us can do with some of his determination to be resloute, fear no sacrifice and surmount every difficulty to win victory.

All in all i feel this is a fantasti book that uses some wonderful images. the language, which has caused such a chasm between the reviewers, I feel is beautiful. It is so beautifully simple that hemingway himself considered it the best he had ever and would ever write.

I would like to recommend One hundred years of solitude by gabriel garcia marquez, graham greene, a confedaracy of dunces by john kennedy toole

The Old Man and the Sea was an outstanding book in my opinion. Although short, it had some deeper meaning. One theme I found was: have courage in the face of defeat. Even though the Old man hadn't caught a fish in 72 days he kept trying. The next day geuss what, he caught a huge marlin. He fought with the fish for three days before he killed it. On the way back he had more than just worrying about keeping the fish tied to the boat. I don't want to spoil the ending but I do recommend reading it.

The A.A. Milne songs I'm looking for have nothing to do with the Disney version and are much better than the Disney tunes. Published by EP Dutton in 1961 the music is by H. Fraser-Simson, and the book contains the Hums of Pooh, the King's Breakfast, and Fourteen Songs from When We Were Very Young. Although very singable with children these songs are worthy of a spot on a lieder program. The "Cottleston Pie" and "Sing Ho for the Life of a Bear" -- well, after you have heard them you won't be able to say them, you will have to sing them.

This is first of Hemingway's most famous novels (i.e. A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea), published when he was twenty-seven years old and marked by his plain, direct diction and an overshadowing cynicism.

At the simplest level, this is a story of twenty- and thirty-something Brits and Americans existing in post-WWI Europe; it's told through the eyes of Jake Barnes, a newspaperman left impotent by a war wound. Barnes and his comrades, including the "damned good looking" Lady Brett Ashley, make their way from Paris to Pamplona and partake of the week-long bullfighting fiesta. Hemingway reveals his own passion for bullfighting in his smooth description of the matadors' artistry and in the distinguishing of those whose work is mere illusion from those who work with true grace and courage.

Throughout the story, moments of violence burst through the affected nonchalance of Jake's circle. Emotions run high as the men strive for Brett's affections, win them . . . lose them just as quickly. One of the most enticing anti-heroines in literature, Brett is an alcoholic and (possible) nymphomaniac, as much at the mercy of her whims as those around her. She is described as "Circe" because she turns the men around her to pigs; a group of Spanish dancers form a circle around her but prevent her from dancing--she must be still, worshipped as an idol. She is a remarkable character, adored and yet worthy of our pity: only an impotent man is safe with her; only a healthy man can satisfy her cravings.

A fascinating achievement in twentieth century writing, TSAR has aged in places, where much of the characters' slang is unfamiliar. Nonetheless, it reads quickly and often easily, providing a good introduction to Hemingway's work and a disturbingly vivid picture of the lost generation.

Ernest, Ernest, what the heck were you thinking when you wrote this existential treatise to the Lost Penis? Lost Generation, hell, I think Mr. Hemingway was concerned with a completely different loss, that portion of the male anatomy that seems to, ahem, stick in everyone's brain when they read this gloriously minimalist book. One of the few things I got out of college English and/or Lit classes was the observation by an otherwise pompous associate professor that Hemingway (more likely his editor) pared his prose to the point that every word was perfect and necessary, and that these words comprised equally perfect sentences and paragraphs and chapters ad nauseum. But he had a point. The only two things wrong with this book have to do with Mr. Barnes, ahem, short-coming, which seemed contrived to me, and the not so subtle racism. But the latter point is like complaining about Huckleberry Finn, The Sun Also Rises is a product of its time, like Finn was a product of Twain's, and if you don't apply today's standards and are capable of holding your unease, you'll find here some of the most elegant writing in the English language.

The Sun Also Rises is one of the few works of literature that shook me to the core, along with Remarque's Three Comrades, Gorky's autobiography, and Chekhov's The Lady With The Dog. I read a page and I was hooked. Bam, just like that. I read the thing in a day. In several hours, actually. And then I went and devoured the rest of the man's literary oeuvre. It's just that great. All the greater because when you really look at it, there's no dramatic action going on here - just some people talking, then going to Spain to see the bullfights. But don't let that fool you - boring this book ain't.

Jake Barnes, like most of the characters, is a veteran of World War I. A very unfortunate wound left physical love a complete impossibility for him, and thus he is left gnashing his teeth watching the woman he loves run around with all sorts of men. The Jewish Robert Cohn, who learned boxing in college in order to conquer his feelings of inferiority, happens to become smitten with her as well. Somehow, they and some of their friends and acquaintances end up going to Spain to experience the Fiesta, and while their experience starts the same giddy, frenzied, hedonistic way as for most people, it ends quite differently, when the book's darker undercurrents come to light. Insert scenes of cafe life, fishing, reminiscences, conversations with friends, watching the bullfights, some absolutely brutal humor, and lots and lots of liquor, and you've got yourself Hemingway's first masterpiece. Every element of every great Hemingway book can be seen here - plenty of vivid descriptions; moments of strange, elegiac melancholy; the human spirit fighting against the world; loneliness, isolation, and endurance. They're all here.

For some reason, this book seems to draw accusations of anti-Semitism. And all I've to say on that topic is: What? Anti-Semitism? Here? Please, what is this you speak of? Sure, Cohn's a Jew. And sure, the characters aren't too fond of him. And yet, Hemingway presents him in a very, very sympathetic light. Sure, we're rooting for Jake Barnes because he's smarmy and witty and cool, but when we see Cohn break down in tears in his hotel room because ..., he was naive enough to _believe_ Brett loved him, how can you possibly say Hemingway had any anti-Semitic sentiments on his mind? No, no, no, and a thousand times no. This is not a book about Jews, or Americans, or Britishers. This is a book about _people_, about young people searching for substance in a world that has none, trying to build up some sort of semblance of a normal life after having been through war. This is a book about people who feel life has passed them all by, and who have nothing to really look forward to. This book is filled with the genuine bitter loneliness of people who see nothing ahead of them. The sense of hopeless longing for something better permeates every page.

The Sun Also Rises is the sound of people trying to find a purpose for themselves in an increasingly shallow world. And lest that not convince you to read it, it happens to rock .... Rarely have I read more bitingly acerbic insults and comebacks, wry and cynical remarks, and deadly accurate observations. Actually, rarely have I ever felt so drawn in to the world of a book as much as here. I identified with Jake Barnes and Bill Gorton and that Englishman they met while fishing and with the boozing Mike and with Cohn. I understood their copious drinking and verbal barb-flinging because I was struck by the moments of absolutely believable fragile vulnerability that lay underneath the surface. The subtle gestures, the shifts in tone, the tough, terse prose all added to the various effects when necessary. When I was done, the book left an indelible stamp on my mind. And what higher recommendation could anyone possibly give a book than that?

A FAREWELL TO ARMS is one of Hemingway's earliest novels. With much of the material loosely based on his own personal experiences as an ambulance driver during World War I, the story captures in great detail the conflict in all of its horror and barbarism.

The book invites us to imagine all of the brave soldiers who went into the war in search of glory. What they found instead was the endless stalemate and hideous prospect of trench warfare. Perhaps more than any other war in the history of warfare, the first World War changed the traditional paradigms of how wars were fought and what the objectives of engagements were. Hemingway, who was there himself, serves as a perfect instrument to portray what it was really like.

The plot centers around Frederick Henry, an American ambulance driver for the Italian army (a job Hemingway performed himself). Henry is a typical masculine Hemingway male persona who falls in love with a beautiful, long-haired & impetuous British nurse named Catherine Barkley. Henry is an exemplar of the WWI soldier who gets more than he bargains for in the war; betrayal and ignominious soldiering of the Italians in the wake of defeat.

The tragic irony of this novel is what makes it so memorable. Henry, as a wounded man who withdraws from the battle, as well as the whims of the Italian Army. However, he does so only to find that life is full of tragedy whether you're in a war or not.

I would highly recommend this novel to all fans of Hemingway, American literature and World War I period historical and literary works. It is with the subtle prose of Heminway that we can be effectively transported back to that epoch of our world history.

In Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms", World War I is used as a backdrop to the tumultuous love affair between an American born, Italian ambulance driver and an English nurse. The affair between Henry or "Tenente" as his friends call him on the war front and Catherine, is vividly depicted through many events. Through the use of vivid description and a first person narrative, Hemingway is able to show the reader how a person can lose their self identity and take on the identity of someone they love. This novel could not have taken place at a different time, without having the same effect that it did. If it had not been for the war, Henry and Catherine never would have found each other. It is ironic that amid the trenches of war, two lonely people fell in love. Amongst the chaos, Henry and Catherine's lives are changed forever One may notice Hemingway's style of writing begins with an immense amount of description and then opens up into riveting narration. His unique and renowned style of writing provides the reader with essential facts for understanding the novel, while allowing some room for the reader's imagination.

Earnest Hemingway's, A Farewell to Arms, is a masterful novel based on war and love. The book was very well written as well as easy to read. The book is about an American ambulance driver who is battling in war and at the same time finds the love of his life. A Farewell to Arms presents realistic characters, problems, and practical motivations that one can easily relate to.
To summarize the book without revealing too much about the stupendous novel, is that it is about Henry, the American ambulance driver, who finds himself in true love with a nurse, Catherine. As their love grows for one another the passion to leave the war and pursue this love also grows. The two love birds battle against injury, the enemy of war, and the tough times war presents. Their love becomes so great they decide to illegally escape the war to Switzerland where they can pursue their love for one another. The book does an excellent job presenting situations and ideas the reader can truly understand and relate to.
This book is one that once you begin to read it; you refuse to put it down. I really liked and enjoyed the book because the author writes descriptive scenes of the gruesome war. He demonstrates the emotions of Henry and Catherine so well I actually felt like I was in the story. Hemingway does an excellent job in writing this novel, he shows how true love can fight and survive war, tough times, and even disease & injury. This novel is one I wasn't able to put down after I began to read it. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a story of love, war, and devotion. The book shows and demonstrates how love can surpass all and survive even the harshest of times. The novel is definitely two thumbs up and one you should read.

Ernest Hemmingway's book The Old Man and the Sea has a very good message and can be read by many people of all ages and reading levels. This book is inspirational and uplifting, however it is boring. Although this book is slow and repetitive, the story has an inspiring and uplifting message.
Throughout the book The Old Man and the Sea, there were many parts I liked and some I disliked. A part of the book I disliked was when the sharks came and started eating the marlin Santiago caught. To me this was heartbreaking and somewhat painful to read because I felt bad for Santiago. My favorite part was when Manolin wants to fish and help Santiago, even though his parents don't allow him to. It was neat to see Manolin care for the old man and his fishing as much as he did. The part most inspiring to me was when Manolin believed in Santiago even though he was unlucky. There were many parts of this story that were both uplifting and devastating.
People of all ages would like this book but mainly those who like slow, simple, uneventful books. For example, the word choice Hemmingway uses is quite simple. I like this because it makes the book flow better and doesn't make you think too hard about the words. This is also good because little kids can read and understand what is being said. I would recommend this book because it has more than words but also a good message. The message is uplifting and inspirational with all the struggles Santiago overcomes. I think by having a good message more people will read it and be touched. This book is great for people of all ages and reading levels.
Hemmingway's book was very touching and inspirational to me. It gave me a sense of hope when reading. I am now more secure with what I believe, and I know that anything is possible.

The Old Man and The Sea is a book about Santiago, an old fisherman living in a coastal fishing town. He is a poor man, but with a richness of character that is recognised and admired by his friend, a young boy named Manolin. Manolin has much faith in Santiago, which is mentioned on page 12. "He hasn't much faith." "No." the old man said. "But we have. Haven't we?" "Yes," the boy said. Santiagois down on his luck, he hasn't had a catch in 84 days, and on the 85th day Santiago decides that he will not return home without a catch, to break his losing streak. On the 85th day, alone in the boat, he manages to hook an enormous marlin, the biggest fish he's ever seen in all his life. The fish is larger and stronger than Santiago. Santiago's experienced fishing skills and his will to catch and survive push him to pursue the fish for many days, and many miles out to sea. Santiago loves this fish, he respects it for its beauty, its size, and its power. Pg. 49, "Then he began to pity the great fish he had hooked. He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is, he thought." Still Santiago must demonstrate his own power over the fish, for the sake of his pride. After an incredible and exhausting fight, the fish is his. He must now get it back to shore. After killing the fish, he ties the fish to the skiff. The marlin fish he catches is as big as the struggle he has yet to face after his catch. And so his next battle begins. Sharks appear and start to feed on the defenseless carcass of the marin fish. Santiago tries to defend the great fish, he tries to defend its beauty, its dignity, as well as his own triumph over the fish. He tries to defend his prize, his joy, and make it back to shore. Read to find out the conclusion to The Old Man and The Sea.Hemingway's language is simple and profound and he touches us, enabling us to feel Santiago's emotionts, experiences and struggles. His sentences are full of detail but at the same time are very clear. The author delves into the mind of the old man, and we experience the pain and suffering that Santiago endures through trying to catch his fish. There are four reocurring themes that the author presents in The Old Man and The Sea. The first theme that Hemingway presents is the idea that you shouldn't keep wishing you would have this thing or that, do what you can with what you have. " I wish I had a stone for the knife," the old man said after he had checked the lashing on the oar butt. "I should have brought a stone." You should have brought many things, he thought. But you did not bring them, old man. Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is." The next theme Hemingway presents is the idea that something is too good to be true, or that something is so good that you must be dreaming. Pg 97, "He could see the fish and he had only to look at his hands and feel his back against the stern to know that this had truly happened and was not a dream. At one time when he was feeling so badly toward the end, he had thought perhaps it was a dream." Then he mentions, " Now he knew there was the fish and his hands and back were no dream. Another of Hemingways many themes is the idea that man is not to be defeated. In this story, full awareness of defeat is contrasted with an unwillingness to be destroyed. Pg. 101, " But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." One of the most important and most reocurring themes in this story is the power struggle between man and nature or what we call man vs. nature. On page 66, the old man is talking about how he will show the fish what man can endure, he says, "Although it is injust, he thought. But I will show him what a man can do and what a man endures." The old man also shows respect for nature,and calls the fish his brother. The old man says, "It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers." I highly recommend this book. It is a sad but extremely beautiful book. I enjoyed reading about Santiago and his struggle with catching the big fish. It reminds me of the struggles we face in our daily life. This book is about the human spirit and the struggles we face in our lives with ourselves and nature.

The Old Man and The Sea is perhaps one of Ernest Hemingway's finest achievements. Here you will find the lean descriptive prose that made him one of the finest writer's of the twentieth century.

It tells the story of a fisherman who is down on his luck, but whose spirit is strong as the tropical winds that have tanned his skin and the sun that has made weak his eyes. He is devoted to the sea and knows all of its wildness and subtle moods. He goes out alone one day without his sidekick boy companion, because the boy's family has forbidden him to help his teacher for he has bad luck.

He hooks a Marlin, a huge mythical Marlin, the kind that fishermen only dream of catching. And the fish drags him out deeper and deeper into the ocean, farther than he's ever traveled. The battle is fierce and his hands are even bloodied as he ties himself to the rope and the fish in a struggle that is somehow symbolic of man's eternal quest to gain control over natural forces.

I would say more, however, Hemingway has done such a fine job that I suggest you read and read this wonderful tale. The ending is of course classic Hemingway. And it was for this book that Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for literature.

Be cautious ... this edited version is a research and study guide ... it is not the full text of the book!

Can it be said that there's no place like home in all instances? This group of post-war youth prove this enticing theory wrong. Home is where the comfort lies, not the heart.

Jake, Brett, Bill, Robert, and Mike form a group of friends traveling wherever their consience leads them. Growing restless when they keep themselves in one situation for too long, this mess of human regret lives for the moment. They travel to the week long Fiesta in Pamplona, where they find nights of drinking and days of somber realizations, uniquely tied hand in hand with bullfighting.

As is true with most Hemingway novels, a man and woman's relationship with one another is used as a mode of depicting his views on life. Lady Ashley (Brett, disguising herself with a title as she does with short hair and hats and various other men's traits) stars as the diva without a cause. She wanders the streets of Paris in search of a good night in bed, which is all the war has left her with. As was done to the rest of war-participating America, Brett was stripped of compassion, of desire for love, and was left with a hollow lust. This lust was never to be filled but was continually in search of completement. This is what drew Brett to Pamplona with Mike, her haughty, yet understandably grounded, fiance.

Perfectly depicting the result of Brett's search for completion, Robert Cohn follows Brett to the Fiesta and likewise follows her every move. He is a former lover whwhich cannot seem to tear himself from the idea that she was once his. By his continual snooty comments, and the fact that Brett could find pleasure in him and not Jack (sexually hindered by a war wound) every word that comes from his mouth is the subject of Jack's narrative scorn.

Easily understood is Jack's disattachment from the world which took away his "manliness," especially when this is that which would attract the one thing in life that he values, Brett. Jack's love for Brett is obbsessive and ultimatley dooming when he sacrifices his remaining link to disillusionment, bulllfighting, which is his last escape from the chaos trailing the war. In an effort to please Brett, he gives access to an able-bodied matador, the object of her lust. After losing the trust of a community held tight with respect by Jake, he is left with the same Brett, just a little more contented than she was five minutes ago.

In my careful opinion, Hemingway has reconstructs a world ignored by many, but remembered and endured to this day. In a time of confusion and distrust in the reality of human emotion, this group typifies the actions of self-indulgence and disparity which characterize this generation. Instead of merely a drunken party with some good fights, some bullfighting, and plenty of sex, the novel depicts with pity the lost generation and all their woes.

For all those opposing the seemingly endless stream of war literature, it's fair to say "Give it up, already!" With unforgetable stories like these, how can we complain about a generation willing to share their tales of dedication to one true thing, in a time of great confusion. Their sacrifices will live forever in us and our decisions. Respect this and you can understand any Hemingway novel that is thrown at you.

This is a wonderful edition of a great work. Hemingway's first novel, "The Sun Also Rises" is a beautiful, elegiac portrait of restless, unsatisfied expatriots wandering through Europe during the 1920s. In many respects, although the style and narrative differ, this is a companion piece to Fitzgerald's "Gatsby"--beneath the seemingly carefree exterior of Hemingway's characters, beneath the drinking and carousing and aimless wandering, the mood is melancholy and empty. What makes this particular edition so valuable--to the scholar as well as the average reader--is the shrewd, readable appendices. This includes criticism, a biographical vignette, and other useful supporting materials.

The book "A flag at the pole" is pretty good. Its a really cool book. At some times its exciting and at other times it gets boring. The reason i like this book is because it is weird. Its about 4 people that go to the North Pole and get really lost. they are from Britain. Their names are Jack, Maria, Joey, and Beth. They try to get home but they run into a lot of trouble. In the story they run into a polar bear that is really big but they.......... you have to read the book to find out what happens. The book has many exciting parts. I like the polar bear part the best. There are a lot of more problems than what I wrote. They run into deer, storm, and a lot of other things. THis book was pretty fun to review. I am done with the review now so take this book out at the library a.s.a.p. because it is a really great book

One of the least notable attempts to capitalize on...100th anniversary>