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All of Frost's poems are here, plus his two dramatic Masques. When this book first appeared (in 1969) it caused a furor: the editor, it was angrily asserted, presumed too much. He dared to clarify - inserting a hyphen here, excising a comma there. That furor has since died down, as people realize that he did not do away with the sacred texts (any emendation was noted), but simply performed his job as editor. He regularized spelling and the use of single and double quotes (though not Capitalization, which can legitimately be thought of as integral to the poet's expression (think of e.e. cummings!)), and corrected other obvious errors. The notes give the published variants for each poem, so if you wish you may make your own call on some of these finicky issues.
I cannot emphasize enough: BUY THE HARDCOVER! After all, you will be reading this book for the rest of your life. It is a beautifully-built volume, of an easy size and heft for use, with understated appealing typefaces and an exemplary design. Put out by Frost's long-time publisher, this is one of the few essential books of American literature.
Robert Frost
I have to admit it! When I first met Robert Frost's poetry in Freshman English class I took an immortal wound-that I will never get over it. Perhaps the then recent memory of the white haired poet who inaugurated Camelot that cold, January day conditioned me to receive the wound. Maybe Fr. Sheridan's teaching opened these poems for me. Most of all, I think that it is the words themselves which have made the poetry of Robert Frost such an important part of my life for almost 35 years.
This complete collection complemented the high school text book to which I had so often referred over the years. Here is the source of lines which I have often quoted. Many family vacations have begun with: "I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep" (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening).
When my son tries to silence his sister's singing he is reminded that "Of course there must be something wrong In wanting to silence any song" (A Minor Bird).
Here we find philosophical reflections. "Good walls make good neighbors" counters "Something there is that doesn't like a wall" (Mending Wall).
Here "The Death of a Hired Man" challenges us to reflect upon how we value and treat others while "Christmas Trees" reminds us that not all things have prices. Here we are invited to follow the road of the poet who wrote "I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference" (The Road Not Taken).
I have writen just a sampling of the treasures to be found in this collection, but I have written enough. It is now time to indulge again with words I have never forgotten. "I shan't be gone long-You come too." (The Pasture).
We have often worked track trained searchers with dog handlers and have had good luck when they click together as a "team". This book helps work your man-trackers and dog handlers toward a search team concept that tends to be missing in todays SAR Unit.
Check it out ... I believe that Greg has lit on something that the ground SAR world needs to take a look at...
Keep your SAR Team, beating the brush and being active "team" members. Help them stay focused on the "team" concept without dividing into "my resource is better than your resource" camps. Allowing us to expose our SAR members to skills and tools that tickle their desire ... to be all that they can be, while avoiding building "empires" of these specialized SAR interests.
This book is written to maintaining your SAR "TEAM" to the benefit of the lost subject.
Reads easy and doesn't rub any raw spots (if you know what I mean ;)
This book will assist you, as a SAR member (or SAR Coordinator), from becoming too singularly focused on one SAR resource and this should be to the end advantage of more successful reunions of the lost person and their families.
Good job Greg!
The chapter on Colin Ferguson approached explanation by using Franz Fanon's theory of violence. The author does successfully incorporate the major tenets of his theory in his explanation, there were some questions I thought would be relevant to the discussion. For example, Sartre, in writing the preface to Fanon's book, concurred with Fanon in stating that the native, repressed in his hatred toward his colonizers, is apt to act more violently against his native man. I was not sure if such was the case with Ferguson. Perhaps, if there had been instances in which he did act out against "his people" it would strengthen the argument more.
Rage, anger, madness as manifestation of creativity and freeing force in the subject's double bind is a topic worthy of further exploration. I am looking forward to the author developing this idea in his further works.
I enjoyed the differing perspective on the nature of hate. By charting the macro origins of conflict, I think the book sheds insight as to the micro dimensions of hate crime as it presently finds form today.
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No matter what goes wrong, Kennedy maintains an upbeat attitude at all times. His conversations with his buddy Ty, who came to visit Kennedy three times during the walk, are truly delightful and insightful. Several times in the book I was moved to tears. And many more times I found myself laughing out loud.
Kennedy strikingly lacks the crudeness often found in other adventurers. His ineptness is also unique among adventurers, but that only endears him further.
I strongly recommend this book for readers of all ages. Kennedy's story proclaims loudly that chivalry still lives; and it also has a sense of humor.
That so many things could go wrong during a 5-month walk is almost incredible. But the book documents the events with great detail. The reader often feels he or she is right there walking alongside. Or crawling alongside, in some cases.
The bear encounter is truly gripping, due mainly to its remote and dark setting.
Buy this book, but don't expect it to be anything like any other adventure book you have ever read. This is a spiritual journey as well as a physical and romantic one.
I cannot recommend any book more highly.
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Who was Samuel Johnson? He was, in one sense, the first literary celebrity. His fabled dictionary of the English language was, a few years down the road, superceded and greatly improved upon by the dictionary written by Noah Webster. His tour of Scotland and the book that ensued from it hardly rank with the other literary giants of English. And his essays, indisputably brilliant, remain sadly that: forms of literature seldom read, and lacking the artistic force of the play, the novel, the poem.
What Boswell shows us about Johnson is that he was the sharpest conversationalist of his time in a society that cultivated the very finest of witty speakers. Living off the beneficence of friends, off a royally-provided pension, and leading what he readily acknowledged to be a life of idleness, Johnson was a sought-after personality invigorated by one of the brightest literary minds ever.
Boswell introduces the genius, his pathos, his melancholy, his piety, his warmth, and most of all his stinging wit. That he loved and respected Johnson, and sought to honor his memory, can only be doubted by an utter cynic or someone serving a lifetime of durance in academia.
"All intellectual improvement arises from leisure..." "You shall retain your superiority by my not knowing it." "Sir, they [Americans] are a parcel of convicts and ought to be thankful for anything we allow them short of hanging." "He was dull in a new way, and that made people think him great." "...it is our duty to maintain the subordination of civilized society..." "It is wonderful, when a calculation is made, how little the mind is actually employed in the discharge of any profession." Boswell: "...you are an idle set of people." Johnson: "Sir, we are a city of philosophers." "We should knock him down first, and pity him afterwards."
And best of all, and immortal to boot, is this: "No man but a blockhead writes, except for money."
Buy this book. Read it. It's humanity at its wittiest and most complex.
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The old favorites are all here; Fireflies in the Garden, The Road Not Taken, Fire and Ice, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, and a hundred more. In my opinion this is the definitive volume on Frost.
I have always been awed by the number of poems Frost wrote about the stars. A Star on a Stoneboat, The Star Spitter, Stars, Canis Major and many others. Truly Robert Frost is the astronomers poet.
Also in this volume is perhaps my favorite Frost poem, Brown's Descent.
If you love reading Frost on a crispy fall evening, then you'll love reading him when the crickets chirp. You'll need to own this book.