Simon Flexner portrays William Henry Welch as probably the biggest contributor in helping establish the backbone for medicine / pathology as we know it today. Simon Flexner was a very good friend of Welch's, and this source is one of the best secondary sources available to explore what is basically a patriotic American who helped his country in every single way (including the war) but did not get the fame or credit he deserved because to achieve all that this man had, he could not afford to concentrate on any one topic. This is a book which has enabled me to access what his most intermediate friends described him as, and not only was it a good source, but also an excellent read. If you want to know why American medicine really reached its pinnacle, this book is the answer.

James Trager has written a book chock full of what is normally left out of history classes--the facinating tidbits of real life. Best of all, this book shows that women weren't just staying at home and raising children, but were active participants in life. Well researched, thoroughly cross references, this is a book that can provide hours of browsing pleasure. For any writer, this is a must-have on the reference shelf. For any feminist, this is also a great way to realize that women haven't been invisible people in history.

henry iv is misnamed since the play isn't really about king henry but about his son, prince hal, and his enemies, especially henry percy (aka 'hotspur') who is a rival to hal. hotspur is one of the leaders of the rebellion against the king and, at a tender age, is already an accomplished soldier. his story provides the drama of the play. hal, on the other hand, has fallen out of favor with the king, and is whiling away his days in the company of dissolute company, led by sir john falstaff, one of shakespeare's great characters. his adventures with sir john provide the comic relief. fortunately for the king, hal sheds his prodigal ways in time to save his father and his crown in the battle at shrewsbury, where, coincidentally, hal meets and slays his rival, hotspur.

this is one of shakespeare's best plays. the story of the rebellion is intriguing, and the adventures of hal and falstaff are laugh-out-loud hilarious. the culmination of the two stories in the final battle scene is wonderful. this is a fitting sequel to richard ii.

note that there are some historical inaccuracies and even outright inventions in this play. foremost is the character of falstaff who is pure invention (and genius). the story of hal's adventures stems from his reputation, enhanced by legend, as a playboy. falstaff was the perfect foil for a carousing prince. the biggest inaccuracy is hotspur's age. he was actually of the generation of henry iv, and not as young as he's depicted in the play. shakespeare made him younger to enhance, maybe even create, the rivalry with hal. there are other inaccuracies here, but better for the reader to consult 'shakespeare's kings', an excellent book by saccio that explains the history of the period and the discrepancies in the play.

This is the play where the Percy rebellion begins and centers around the Achilles like Hotspur. Eventually, Hotspur (Henry Percy) and Prince Hal (Henry Monmouth - later Henry V) battle in single combat.

We also get to see the contrast between these young men in temperament and character. King Henry wishes his son were more like Hotspur. Prince Hal realizes his own weaknesses and seems to try to assure himself (and us) that when the time comes he will change and all his youthful foolishness will be forgotten. Wouldn't that be a luxury we wish we could all have afforded when we were young?

Of course, Prince Hal's guide through the world of the cutpurse and highwayman is the Lord of Misrule, the incomparable Falstaff. His wit and gut are featured in full. When Prince Hal and Poins double-cross Falstaff & company, the follow on scenes are funny, but full of consequence even into the next play.

But, you certainly don't need me to tell you anything about Shakespeare. Like millions of other folks, I am in love with the writing. However, as all of us who read Shakespeare know, it isn't a simple issue. Most of us need help in understanding the text. There are many plays on words, many words no longer current in English and, besides, Shakespeare's vocabulary is richer than almost everyone else's who ever lived. There is also the issue of historical context, and the variations of text since the plays were never published in their author's lifetime.

For those of us who need that help and want to dig a bit deeper, the Arden editions of Shakespeare are just wonderful.

-Before the text of the play we get very readable and helpful essays discussing the sources and themes and other important issues about the play.

-In the text of the play we get as authoritative a text as exists with helpful notes about textual variations in other sources. We also get many many footnotes explaining unusual words or word plays or thematic points that would likely not be known by us reading in the 21st century.

-After the text we get excerpts from likely source materials used by Shakespeare and more background material to help us enrich our understanding and enjoyment of the play.

However, these extras are only available in the individual editions. If you buy the "Complete Plays" you get text and notes, but not the before and after material which add so much! Plus, the individual editions are easier to read from and handier to carry around.

This is the play where Henry IV squashes the Percy rebellion but himself becomes ill and dies. So, Price Hal becomes King Henry V and this leads to the next play of that name.

The wonderful Falstaff is also on glorious display. This is also the play with the famous tavern scene (Act II, Scene IV) that can be read endlessly with new enjoyment.

Everyone has his or her own take on Falstaff and his treatment at the hands of Henry V, but I dislike it even though I understand it. Prince Hal and his transformation into Henry V is not someone I admire a lot. Nor is Falstaff's manner of living, but his wit is so sharp and his intelligence so vast that it is easy to still delight in him.

But, you certainly don't need me to tell you anything about Shakespeare. Like millions of other folks, I am in love with the writing. However, as all of us who read Shakespeare know, it isn't a simple issue. Most of us need help in understanding the text. There are many plays on words, many words no longer current in English and, besides, Shakespeare's vocabulary is richer than almost everyone else's who ever lived. There is also the issue of historical context, and the variations of text since the plays were never published in their author's lifetime.

For those of us who need that help and want to dig a bit deeper, the Arden editions of Shakespeare are just wonderful.

-Before the text of the play we get very readable and helpful essays discussing the sources and themes and other important issues about the play.

-In the text of the play we get as authoritative a text as exists with helpful notes about textual variations in other sources. We also get many many footnotes explaining unusual words or word plays or thematic points that would likely not be known by us reading in the 21st century.

-After the text we get excerpts from likely source materials used by Shakespeare and more background material to help us enrich our understanding and enjoyment of the play.

However, these extras are only available in the individual editions. If you buy the "Complete Plays" you get text and notes, but not the before and after material which add so much! Plus, the individual editions are easier to read from and handier to carry around.

Haven't read all of Henry Hart's biography of James Dickey yet--just got it two days ago--but it appears to a fair, factual, detailed account of the extraordinary life of an extraordinary man. Reading the introduction has made me see the connection between the title and a subject--lying--that evidently intrigued Dickey for years--I'm glad to know that the title Hart used was actually Dickey's own choice. The language Hart uses is somewhat stilted--I agree with Erica Da Costa in The New York Times that he could have applied "his own poetic imagination".

For all his faults, James Dickey was a writer of extraordinary power and gifts. He redefined nature poetry and wrote of the outdoors with savage beauty. His reputation is in partial eclipse right now, but that is surely a temporary situation. No writer of his importance can stay buried for long. That said, Dickey was, in addition to being a genius, a scoundrel. Certainly not the first literary genius to push the envelope of misbehavior, but he ranks with the best of them. This outstanding biography by Henry Hart has received some potshots from critics for focusing much attention on Dickey's scandalous side. Well, sorry, Dickey's scandalous side was immense and to downplay it would have been intellectually weak. And, sorry again, but dishonesty on the scale Dickey publicly displayed can't simply be excused as a byproduct of "creative temperament." Hart's book is spectacular in the depth of its research, and yet the writing is so strong that the book never bogs down. In the end, once the anger of Dickeyites has subsided, this biography will emerge as the standard Dickey biography, all the more valuable for its unflinching honesty. It's an outstanding portrait of a complex man.

Some reviewers have expressed their concern and dissatisfaction with Hart's concern or possible over-concern with the lies that surrounded Dickey's life. The truth is in the poems and in Dickey's own personal statements. Dickey's poems are narratives mixing both autobiographical and fantastical details; some of which Dickey appropriated from other people's lives. Dickey's public life was a collection of stories...lies. Hart puts the focus of his biography on these lies, because they were so bound up with Dickey's actual life. In his 'Self Interviews,' Dickey himself describes his fascination with lying, both in art and in life. He felt that the poet and artist had the right to lie. If Dickey had not made such a big deal about lying throughout his life, then Hart's biography might seem overkill. But, seeing as Dickey was an admitted liar, provacateur and even suggested the title for the book (which serves as a great justification for the focus of the book), I feel the biography paints a wonderful portrait of a wonderful writer. Hart does not set out to smash the image of Dickey, but to illustrate the different perspectives of the poet's life. Aside from this, the work is beautifully written and the drama of Dickey's life provides ample subject matter for the reader looking for adventure.

I would recommend this book to both Dickey's fans and detractors as a substantial work of literature.

Henry James, The Aspern Papers (Laurel, 1888)

One of James' shortest novels, and one of his least-known, The Aspern Papers is a (supposedly based on a true) story about a young biographer of famed poet Jeffrey Aspern (based, depending on to whom you talk, on either Browning or Keats) who contrives to get his hands on the love letters Aspern wrote to a mistress by presenting himself at the now-ancient mistress' Italian villa and passing himself off as a wealthy traveller and author looking for lodging. The mistress lives with her spinster niece, whose age is never given (one assumes mid-forties, a few years older than the narrator), and the two are impoverished. Things go as planned until the narrator finds himself starting to like the niece a bit more than he bargained for.

The novel runs a bit over a hundred pages, which makes it an excellent introduction to James' extremely dry wit; it's much lighter-weight than the ponderous tomes he's known for. The prose here has an agility which is absent from works such as The Bostonians or The Wings of the Dove, but still manages to convey emotion quite well with only a few words and a gesture. The novel's last pages are a triumph of minimal writing, and probably deserve closer scrutiny than the works of James' that are normally assinged in English classes around the globe.

Oddly, the one major failing of this novel is that James abandons the minimalism every once in a while, and his characters go overboard with hysterical crying and the like so common to Victorian literature. In a book that's otherwise so controlled, these episodes-- never longer than a few sentences-- seem absurd more than anything; perfectly composed people suddenly collapse into tears as if shot with pepper spray, and then within the space of a paragraph are back to their cool, collected selves once again. These intrusions are minimal, and while they detract from the scenes in which they're placed, the novel overall is still a worthy one. If you've been turned off by James through exposure to one of those million-page drawing room comedies, you may want to give him another try with this. *** 1/2

"The Aspern papers" is a surprisingly short, sexy and suspenseful novel. It will completely change your opinion of Henry James; he shows himself to be an master of suspense and well played out drama instead of the ambiguous pussyfooting plodder that most people think him to be. There is a definite touch of evil in this novella. It takes place in a stuffy interior world dominated by an old sinister woman in a green shade. The narrator's intentions are quite amoral and evil. The narration is deftly created through sure touches of insecurity and self pity. The trick of the unreliable narrator is used to great effect. And at no point does it seem anything other than a seamless and effective method of narration.

Such is his facility with the essentials of theatre - concentrated narrative action; lengthy, dramatic scenes of dialogue; vivid characterisation; pointed use of interior space, exits and entrances, and the revealing image - you wonder why James failed as a playwright.

Of course, there is a defining element of James' art that is impossible in the theatre - narration. The nameless narrator of 'The Aspern Papers' is one of the greatest monsters in James' teeming gallery of inglorious masculinity - the editor of a revered American literary poet, who tries to wheedle important documents from a celebrated lover, the now-decrepit Juliana, by installing himself as a lodger, and flattering her aging spinster niece. Like most James heroes, who treat life like a selfish game, he has no idea what emotional havoc he is wreaking on the woman.

The tale has all the drive and tantalising delay of a crime story - the hero is both detective and criminal, and the suspenseful climax suggests what a great genre writer James could have been. As with Stendhal, just as exciting are the intricate, agonising dialogues between the narrator and the niece, each wildly misunderstanding the other.

But if 'Aspern' is a crime story, than the the criminal is of the order of Freddie Montgomery in Banville's 'The Book of Evidence', a brilliant, charming, frighteningly amoral man, whose check of social scruples is dicarded with shocking ease. His seemingly over-detailed account is full of gaps, self-defence, self-pity, evasion, vagueness, misremembering, disarming honesty and wild misinterpreations of others' characters and motives. He is a man who can't see beyond his own narrow goal, behind whom we always sense an unseen, all-seeing eye.

He is the forerunner to a second modern anti-hero, 'Pale Fire''s Charles Kinbote, another literary editor whose devotion to his subject has become mad and murderous. In a Victorian age full of cant about the ennobling power of art, James asserts, disturbingly, the opposite - repeated exposure to sublime poetry (and the book is full of ironic references to religion and glorious war) has only made the narrator emotinally dead, unable to respond to the humanity of others. This 'portrait' of an aging muse, malevolent and concupiscent is a stark warning to literary idealisers, and a sad study of human decline, but should also be seen as a reflection of the narrator's own desires.

'Aspern' is incidentally THE great Venice story, its watery decay somehow seeping through the narrator's blind egotism.

Henry Morris has never been one to shy away from controversial issues, and that is reflected in the footnotes he penned in this study Bible. He has comments on passages that others often totally ignore in their editions. He frequently challenges the conventional interpretation of difficult passages (for example, his identification of the rider of the white horse in Revelation 6:2 as Jesus Christ, rather than Anti-Christ.)

Morris' notes are clearly based on the literal hermeneutic: that is, dispensationalism. In addition, he is unabashedly baptistic when it comes to church polity. And of course, he is definitely a young-earth creationist. If you are unwilling to accept this sort of perspective on the Scripture, you should probably look at a different study Bible.

Morris gives a clear and concise defense of his choice of the Authorized Version as the text. His defense indicates that he is in the mainstream of the Majority Text/Textus Receptus camp. He is *not* KJV-only.

The text provided Word does have certain shortcomings. The italics for words which are implied but not stated in the original languages are missing from this text. In addition, the concordance is essentially worthless. If you are away from home and don't have access to your Strong's or Cruden's concordances, trying to use the concordance is very frustrating.

This Bible is now my primary study Bible. It doesn't replace my Scofields (original and new editions) nor my Thompson Chain Reference Bible, but I do find it refreshing to read and study from.

This Bible is an amazing source of information about the Bible, science, and the creation that God made and said was good. I use this as a reference tool for almost all the books in the Bible. The commentary on Genesis and Revelation are worth the cost of the book alone. The rest of the New Testament commentary is truly edifying for the hungry believer. Buy it, use it, treasure it as a faithful commentary and presentation of God's Word to his church in these last days.

Henry M. Morris, a foremost Bible scholar, scientist, and scholar, has produced yet another great volume filled with Biblical truths that all Christians should read.

Dr. Morris's views on the validity of literal Bible interpretation and the infallibility of the Bible are represented eloquently throughout the more than 6000 annotations in the Defender's Study Bible. He strives to explain difficult passages in a clear and concise manner. He refuses to compromise in order to maintain the authority of true Biblical Christianity and doctrine. He applies what the Bible says to modern life, constantly comparing numerous things in the Bible to their contemporary equivalents.

One of the greatest aspects of this study Bible is its clear views on controversial matters. Where other study Bibles and other commentators will take a neutral stance, Morris presents what he believes to be the truth--what he feels the authors meant by what they said--and compassionately, lovingly, tactfully, and thoroughly defends his belief while presenting and disproving those of others.

Morris himself wrote in his introduction that the Defender's Study Bible follows a literal approach to the Bible. He says, "Based on this literal and contextual approach, the notes become what one might call Baptistic in ecclesiology, pre-millennial in eschatology, non-charismatic in pneumatology and moderately Calvinistic in soteriology." While no attempt is made in his notes to formulate formal doctrines, they do support the above-mentioned ones.

Also of interest is the eighteen appendices at the back of this Bible covering the scientific evidences proving the Bible and evolution vs. creation.

If you are interested in what the Word of God truly says, the Defender's Study Bible is for you. I highly recommend it.

I have this friend who hates Henry James. I can't understand it. The style is dated, in that people dont write that way today, but as you get into the book you begin to enjoy the style, as well as the plot, characters, and French/American dual culture shock that still goes on today. (For an update on the theme, look at Le Divorce and Le Mariage by Diane Johnson). I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen to these characters and the description of Paris in the Second Empire were fascinating. If you watch the Masterpiece Theatre version without having read the book, you will be totally confused. They moved events out of sequence all over the place and after about ten minutes I shut off the tape and picked up the book. You have to know the whole story before you watch them throw characters and events at you in the first two scenes that only appear 2/3 of the way through the novel, after a foundation has been laid as to who they are and when and why things happened.

I couldnt recommend this more for a good read. The only caution I have is for readers who have never been to France. They may get an extremely negative impression of French people from many of the characters in this book. Go to Paris and you will find the city is wonderful, and so are the French people. These characters are not typical!! They belong to a certain class, and the book does take place 150 years ago. If this book doesnt get you hooked on James, I dont know what will. Try Washington Square and dont miss that movie, with Jennifer Jason Leigh, Albert Finney and Maggie Smith.

OK so it takes half the book to get to the story. In typical Henry James fashion you are completely prepared for the action. Unlike Thomas Hardy, whose surroundings tell us of the character of the person it surrounds, James wishes you to know the depth of his characters as seen through the eyes of others. This of course brings on many minor characters that just seem to disappear, but it is a view of a person as if the reader was on the other side of the mirror watching the story unfold. Yes, James is wordy, yes this is not a quick read, but Henry James has a mastery of language and story telling that is rare.
"The American" is a wonderful love story that ends as a real life love story might end. Do not expect roses and happily ever after, it is as much a story of an ancient social system as it is of the life of "our hero." And the thing that seems to get missed is that Henry James actually wrote this as a mystery, not a love story.
This is a novel to contemplate and read between the lines. Good verses Evil, Noveau vs Old Money, Right and Wrong, can literature get any better than that?

This book is long, but only because that's how James tells the story. It's like a soup that needs to boil all day, so it's kept on low, but when it's done, it's perfect. The book stays at the pace of "our hero" the American Christopher Newman. A smart, educated, rich, yet easy going, simple, and humane veteran of the Civil War and a self made tycoon, who goes to Europe to see the "treasures and entertain" himself.

He becomes entangled in what he thinks is a simple plan for matrimony, but is really truly a great deal larger and more treacherous and terrible than that.

We spend a lot of time in Newman's mind, paragraphs of character analaysis are sprung upon us, but nothing seems plodding or slow, nothing feels useless. By the end of the book we find that we think like the character and can only agree with what he does. We react to seemingly big plot twists and events as he does, without reaction, and a logical, common sense train of thought.

But don't misunderstand that. For a book that is so polite and the essence of "slow-reaction", it is heartwrenching and tragic. You will cry, you will wonder, and you will ask yourself questions. Colorful, lifelike, and exuberant characters fight for your attention and your emotions, and we are intensely endeared to them. Emotional scenes speckle the book and are just enough. And the fact that something terrible and evil exists in this story hangs over your head from the beginning. It's hard to guess what happens because James doesn't give us many clues, and the ending may come as a surprise to some people. And without us knowing it, James is comparing American culture to European culture (of the day), and this in of itself is fulfilling.

Indeed, James uses every page he has, without wasting any on detailed landscapes and useless banter. 2 pages from the end you have a wrenching heartache, but the last paragraph and page is utterly and supremely satisfying, and you walk away the way Newman walks away, at peace.

I picked up Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" to read on the train, knowing that it would be entertaining, and I wasn't disappointed. Moving quickly but without forsaking the kinds of detailed narration that bring a story to life, Haggard's novel is an engaging treasure hunt of the Indiana Jones variety.

The book is styled as a long chronicle written by safari-leader Allan Quatermain to his son, describing a hunt for the lost diamond mines of King Solomon in the heart of Africa. Haggard peppers the tale with nods to real life that go out of their way to convince us that everything we are reading is true--editorial comments purportedly added later, for example--and the result is a compellingly detailed read. It is clear that Haggard knew Africa well, and his framing of this knowledge within a focused and nicely spun-out plot pulls you right through the book to its climactic finale, which I should probably allow you, after you've traipsed across deserts and tamed native unrest with the narrator and his companions, to discover for yourself.

So, "King Solomon's Mines" is a well-constructed read, but another of its strong points, the humor that is so central to the story, forces a look at the bigger context. Haggard takes solid jokes (like Good's pasty white legs, for which he is assumed to be a god by the natives) and, like David Letterman, returns to them at intervals in a manner that always uses them in a new way but lets the reader think that he or she is on the inside, slyly being chucked on the shoulder by the narrator.

It's this penchant for humor that gets a little uncomfortable once you think about it, because you can't help but compare Haggard's novel here to another journey to the center of Africa written two decades later, Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," which is conspicuously devoid of laughter unless it's the very evil kind. Haggard's novel is immensely entertaining--I don't want to deny that for a second--but it glosses over some very real problems that Conrad is more careful about: imperialism and its disastrous universe of consequences.

I probably shouldn't stand in judgment of Haggard for his take on and his playing to the racial politics of his day, but I'm going to do it anyway because Haggard was, in his day, one of the most widely read writers writing. Adventures like "King Solomon's Mines" set the bar for the British male for decades and, if it taught him to be a gentleman and fair-player, it also grounded this ethos in the belief that he was superior both socially and racially. Thus is it the gentlemanly westerners who manage to import due process into African law in this novel, and thus does Captain Good's native love-interest ultimately recuse herself from his affections because, as a white man, he is like the sun. And what can possibly be good enough to mate with the sun?, she asks. Disturbing, in retrospect.

This gripping adventure story gets four stars by virtue of its great plot and skillful spinning-out of that plot. It misses the fifth star because it buys wholeheartedly into the myths on which centuries of imperial violence were founded. And no matter how enjoyable this novel is, it's hard to chase those ghosts away.

It's really too bad that most children who love the adventures of Indiana Jones have probably never read (or even heard of) Allan Quatermain and KING SOLOMON'S MINES. This is where it all started! Haggard's first novel chronicles the adventures of Quatermain (okay, so maybe he's not as cool as Indiana Jones), Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John Good as they search South Africa for Sir Henry's brother, who has vanished while searching for King Solomon's treasure.

The novel is the real treasure. The story, while obviously written many years ago (1885), is still fresh and exciting. It was fun to discover this story as a 38-year old kid! Any age will enjoy it. And what a great adventure story to read to your kids instead of taking them to the latest action/adventure junker playing at your local theatre.

I formerly rated this one at only four stars since it lacks "gravitas" and is basically a pure, escapist tale. I thought that made it too light for the heady draught of five star-ism. But on reflection I think I was too harsh. The book does have staying power in my memory. So here goes.

Surely a classic, this was Haggard's first foray into the literary field -- to prove he could do it better than some of his contemporaries. Having spent time in South Africa as a minor civil servant, he drew on his experiences of that land to impart a feel for the country in this short, but by no means small, tale of treasure hunting and adventure among unknown and exotic peoples. This is the story of an over the hill "white hunter" taken into the service of two English gentlemen seeking the brother of one of them, who had disappeared years before on the edge of a great desert in vain (or perhaps not so vain) pursuit of the fabled mines of King Solomon. Along the way they are joined by an enigmatic native guide who is much more than what he seems as they stumble across previously unexplored (at least by Europeans) tracts of Africa and into a lost nation related, apparently, to the Zulus of southern Africa whom the English of that day so feared and respected. Drawn at once into the internal politics of these people and overawing them w/their European technology, they are soon in deadly peril from the cruel king of that country and the evil sorceress who conspires behind his throne.

But there's no use telling too much of a tale like this in a review -- the interested reader is urged to read it for him or herself. It's adventure in strange parts, for those with a taste to see how the great ones, like Haggard, did it.

One of the most eloquent works in Russian literature, Fathers and Sons has had a major influence on subsequent Russian writers. Turgenev weaves so much into this short novel. As the title suggests he is dealing principally with generational differences, but ultimately this is a book about finding yourself in the world. In Bazarov, we have the ultimate nihilist, someone who renounces all societal conventions, which his peers utterly fail to understand. As a young doctor he has turned his back on noble society. We see some of his old feelings briefly rise to the surface in a romance which he pursues, but Bazarov chooses to extinguish those feelings, and return to his paternal home, where he ultimately seals his fate.

Turgenev is the bridge between the Russian writers of the early 19th century and the later 19th century. In many ways, Fathers and Sons reminded me of the theme which Lermontov explored in "A Hero of Our Time," and Turgenev appears in Dostoevsky's work, even if deliberately as a caricature.

I bought this book on a whim - ... I read a few pages and liked the writing style, which seemed to me reminiscent of Dostoevsky and other writers of the period. When I finally picked it up again a few months later, though, I found myself instantly hooked, and still am.

As the other reviewers mention, there isn't much of a plot. Although there are some political/philosophical discussions, Turgenev is never heavy-handed or didactic about them. In fact, he seems almost disinterested in the arguments per se (which at the time were highly controversial and often censored), preferring instead to examine the motives and personalities of the characters who espouse them. But I think it is these very qualities that make this novel so accessible and ageless, even to readers (like myself) who know very little about Russian history.

Turgenev writes beautifully, with sharp, closely-observed details about the human condition that are timeless and often humorous. This is a novel not only about intergenerational conflict (via the two main characters' relationships with their parents), but also about the younger characters' interactions with each other. Arkady's essential optimism and Bazarov's misanthropy (despite that he's a doctor) play off each other beautifully, and give insight into their professed beliefs and even their different approaches to love.

This novel isn't a page-turner and it doesn't have the usual plot devices or moral agendas typical of its contemporaries. You won't like it if you have a short attention span. But what a payoff: Turgenev's masterful use of language, gentle affection for his characters, and unsparing depiction of complex, sometimes conflicting motivations is awe-inspiring. Indeed, in my opinion the epilogue contains one of the most moving passages ever captured in literature.

If you love great writers like Dostoevsky or Eliot, you'll be delighted to discover Turgenev. Also highly-recommended is the Everyman edition of First Love and Other Stories. (PS: It's pronounced Ter - GEN - yef; I was mispronouncing it for months!)

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev, who lived through 1818-83, is thought to be one of the finest Russian writers. He studied in Moscow, St Petersburg and Berlin, then became a strong advocate of Russia's westernization. Here we see his masterpiece "Fathers and Sons" which I personally came across through the recommendation of a close friend.

Turgenev is a master of engaging the reader through the complexities of his characters. While you may initially feel contempt for some them, the more you learn of their contrasting personalities, you will eventually love them all in the end. If not for their beliefs and actions story-wise, then for how deep and well thought-out their various histories are. You may find yourself endlessly devouring page after page, wanting to know more about these fascinating people he's created.

For me, reading this book was like opening my eyes to a world I long neglected. In the next few days, I will no doubt find myself hunting down more of his works. In "Fathers and Sons" he focuses on every character's humanity and principles, then lets it all play out with such craft and unmistakable skill. From their conflicts and influences with each other, every character develops and yet remains the same.

Every scene he creates, is depicted vividly, with descriptions of subtle details in the backgrounds bringing his world to life. From the effortless way he lets the reader see his visions, we can easily grasp the character of his creations, their moods, their thoughts, and how we can relate to their emotions. It is certainly a crime for someone who's even remotely interested in novels not to read this book. And for those who aren't, they shouldn't neglect reading this either, they might just find something they will love.

As a long-time student of magick and the occult, I have been on the lookout for this book for a very long time. Having read over excerpts downloaded from the internet, as well as material covered in other books of similar theme, I was rather amazed at how difficult of a read this book was. Its centuries old syntax and grammar make for an work that is like sojourning through the Bible. The information within, however, is solid, and extremely so. It is, indeed, one of the foundation works on the study of magick and the occult. It can be neatly used as a reference, but I wouldn't recommend actually sitting down and reading it.

Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy must rank as one of, if not the most important work ever written on the Western Occult tradition. Written in relative youth, it nevertheless has an immensely broad range of topics covering Goetia ("Black magic") and Theurgia ("White magic') while still remaining in the Christian tradition. Agrippa's work certainly provides numerous practical instructions, but always ties together a wide range of classical and traditional sources in a broad theorectical framework. As a traditional astrologer I found his exposition of astrological magic to be among the best available in English, better than Marsilio Ficino's Three Books of Life (though the Boer translation is fairly universally disliked). Much of astrological magic still remains locked up in Latin, Thabit Ibn Qurra's De Imaginibus, edited by Carmody and Picatrix, edited by Pingree being the most salient examples. I should note, however, that Brill has just published a new edition of Agrippa in the original Latin which does differ in some respects from the Freake translation that Tyson has edited in this edition. For example, Chapter 50, Book II at 403 Agrippa describes the construction of amulets for love and concord between two people. The first full paragraph in the Tyson edition ends, "...let them [the two images] be wrapped up in silk and cast away or spolied. In the Latin Brill edition the sentence states that the images should be wrapped in "fine linen cloth" and "buried". Nonetheless if I could have only one book on the Western occult tradition (perish the thought!) this would be it. Anyone with a serious interest in studying or practicing in this area should have this book

I'm normally very skeptical about anything produced by Llewellyn, but not only is this an honest reproduction of Agrippa's brilliant works (I've seen the first English translation for myself--1560, I think), but Donald Tyson's scholarship is almost comparable to Agrippa's own. The notes are extensive & do a marvelous job of fleshing out the myriad brief & passing references in the text. Quotes from Agrippa's most likely sources provide timely insights into his own mind, and Tyson in addition offers a notes on sources foreign to or later than Agrippa for comparative study. Tyson's editing does not disturb the text at all, but rather makes it that much more clear. His diagrams & seals are well produced, & his corrections (which include skilled reanalysis of the Hebrew) & major additions are saved for the back of each chapter and of the whole volume. These appendices, and the bibliographical notes as well, are intelligent, clearheaded & very useful. Agrippa's genius is well known, but Tyson's fine scholarship for this volume deserves acknowledgment as well. I recommend this book especially strongly to serious students of magic who are tired of the flood of New Age-y magical manuals & gothic garbage tossed out like so much glitter by these shallow modern writers who use "magic" as a substitute for intelligence, or as a solution to their ego problems.