This book chronicles the 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet starring Richard Burton and directed by Sir John Gielgud. The author played Guildenstern in the production.

Frank Rich (for 10 years the Drama Critic at the New York Times) called this his favorite book on an actor's perspective on mounting a play.

I agree with Mr. Rich on this one. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars was to avoid overdoing my enthusiasm. (I'm worried people will notice that I am the author's son. Shush, don't tell anyone.)

It got rave reviews at the time it came out and has pleased readers for over 30 years. It is both instructive and hilariously funny.

Please request it at book stores, on line and write to Proscenium Publishing requesting another release.

Thank you

Adam Redfield

I can do nothing more than echo the praise of the other reviewers. This very personal account of the rehearsal process and out-of-town tryout of the 1964 Broadway production of "Hamlet" that starred Richard Burton and was directed by John Gielgud is truly fascinating. William Redfield was a superb actor who could also write well, even though there are a handful of passages that perhaps should have been edited out.

I don't know of any book that gives you a better feeling of what it's like to be in rehearsal and trying to piece together a performance as everyone around you is trying to do the same. Redfield's account of a group of major actors--apart from Redfield and Burton, the cast included Alfred Drake, Hume Cronyn, Eileen Herlie, John Cullum, George Rose, George Voskovec, and Barnard Hughes--working under a director of undoubted genius who is somehow not really helping anyone much definitely makes you feel what it must have been like to be part of that.

If you're an actor, a director, or just love theatre, you will probably find this book fascinating.

I read this book in the La Salle College library in 1965 or 1966, when I was supposed to be in class. I made the right choice. The memory of the description of Richard Burton being booed still brings a smile to my face. Mr. Redfield's witt is a source of constant pleasure throughout. I fondly remember William Redfield as a superbly entertaining guest on many talk shows, during that golden era of talk shows that was the 1960's.

John Stuart Mill was one of the leading thinkers of the beginning of the 19th century in almost all fields of scientific interest. Closely educated by his father James Mill he acquires an astounding knowledge of philosophy, economy, psychology and whatever one calls education at that time. As he says in the book, he was far ahead (25 years) of people his age. In all of his modesty (he thought he was only average in matter of intelectual powers)he lists that he began to learn Greek by 3, Latin by 7 and so on. The result for the Sociological Sciences was the work done in many fields and most notably in Economy and Philosophy. But, what was the outcome of all this to the man John Stuart Mill? Did he enjoy himself doing what he did? Did he find his father had educated right?
Just read the book and find for yourself.

In my estimation, John Stuart Mill is one of the great great geniuses in history. He is in that top echelon (from what I've read) right up there with Aristotle, David Hume, and Ayn Rand. There is alot to learn from reading his writing, both in terms of content, and most importantly, method. His approach is to see all sides, be open to new evidence, and honestly search after truth.

In this concise 205 page autobiography, Mill gives us a mainly intellectual autobiography of his intellectual development and his writings, as well as the tremendous influence of his father, James Mill, and his wife and most intimate friend, Harriet Taylor. What I got it from it was a picture of a man constantly growing, constantly open to learning, honest, searching, willing to be fallible, and desiring to know the truth. I don't agree with some of Mill's conclusions concerning socialism and probably some others, but I have the utmost respect for the his reasoning ability and intellectual honesty. This book touched me far deeper than did Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography because while Franklin just seems to relate his own life and events, there seems to be more relection and insight in Mill. As someone who has only read "On Liberty" and "Utilitarianism", this is also a great introduction to Mill's thought because he discusess all his writings and he gives alot of background in terms of what was going on his life, in the times, etc... Brand Blanshard wrote a book entitled "Four Reasonable Men" and John Stuart Mill was one of them; I couldn't agree more.

Greg Feirman...

Rivels the great philosophical autobiographies of all time: namely, Rousseau, Ben Franklin, Sartre, Russell. The book is a fascinating inspiration; responsible for my decision to change my college major to philosophy, politics, and economics. To criticize the work is to not understand it.

I received the book and read it in one day. The book was well researched and acurate but for only a couple of indescrepencies that did not effect the outcome. The author described the victim very well considering he never met him. I should know, the victim is my stepson whom I love and miss dearly. I read the book with tears in my eyes as I relived the hellish account of the murder and trial we went through. I could see each character and events vividly in my mind. Now when our friends ask many questions that arise, we simply tell them to read the book for all the answers. The reality of it is shocking to our family, friends, us and especially the greatest victims of all-our grandchildren. The first murder in Sevierville, Tenn. in 33 years. Hopefully the last - anywhere!!

I RECEIVED THE BOOK AND READ IT ALL IN ONE DAY. I FOUND IT VERY INTERESTING AND FACTUAL EXCEPT FOR A COUPLE OF INDESCREPENCIES THAT DIDN'T EFFECT THE OUTCOME. IT WAS WELL WRITTEN AND WELL RESEARCHED. I ALSO FOUND THAT THE AUTHOR GAVE A EXTREMELY GOOD DESCRIPTION OF THE VICTIM CONSIDERING HE NEVER MET HIM. I SHOULD KNOW --- THE VICTIM IS MY STEPSON WHOM I LOVED DEARLY AND THE OTHER VICTIMS- OUR GRANDCHILDREN !! THE DESCRIPTION OF SHAYNE IS QUITE ACURATE AS WELL AS THE FACTS OF THE TRIAL. OUR FAMILY RELIVED THAT HELLISH EVENT ALL OVER. NOW WHEN OUR FRIENDS ASK DETAILS WHICH ARE HARD TO TALK ABOUT, WE JUST ADDRESS THEM TO READ THE STORY. IT HAS ALL THE HORRIBLE TRUTHS WE LIVED THROUGH.

Mr. Reynolds keeps you right there to the end. Even if I was not from Sevier County, I couldn't put this book down. The Rae family moved in across the street from me in the 80's. I quickly became friends with Lana, Brett's sister. They were a very nice family and I enjoyed spending time with them. This book gave me a better understanding of one of the most tragic stories my hometown has ever known, possibly since the tragic "Tattoo Eddie" murders. I will read this authors other books and would love to talk with him!

If you are looking for a book suitable for a review of voting rights in a readable and accessible way, then this book may be for you. This is the sort of book that is useful for undergraduate courses in particular.

This is the best overview of all redistricting issues. Easy to read. I wrote a book on redistricting in Slovenian language and this was one of main sources since it does not go too deep into issues, lists all other interesting literature, explains all the unknown terms. The best one for the begginers in these issues.

The editor of this collection states that when read together, the four essays contained in this Oxford World's Classics edition reveal Mill to be an organized thinker on par with Marx. I'm not quite so sure of that, but I will say the collections feels thematically consistant and well thought out. Readers should not be scared off because Mill is considered a "classic" text. The tone of these essays, with the possible exception of "Utilitarianism" is pretty light, and Mill even occassionally makes an effort to crack a joke. In "On Liberty" and "Utilitarianism" we see an abstract breakdown of his belief structure where he tries to answer questions like, "When is it justified for government to interfere in individuals lives?" and "What is the overarching goal of society?" After he attempts to answer these questions he gets more specific by applying the principles to how government should operate in "Representative Government" and in "The Subjection of Women". Some concepts now outdated, but on the whole, still a relativly strong argument. It is particularly frustrating to see Mill talking about proportional representation in "Represenative Government" and knowing that the logic of that argument has still not made much headway here in the United States well over a hundred years later. Mill's systematic thinking makes this collection worth owning.

John Stuart Mill's chief concern is how individual liberty, which he held to be paramount, can be reconciled with public utility or, in other words, in delineating the tensions that arise between the public and private sphere in modern society. He expounds, with much clarity and insight, the feasability, as well as the desirability, of state intervention in the affairs of individuals. He defines freedom, above all, to be the freedom to think and act as one sees right (provided that this does not encroach on the rights of others). His essay "Utilitarianism", is an incisive explication of the philosophy of utilitarianism developed by Mill's father, James Mill and the jurist and philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, which holds "the greatest happiness for the greatest number" as the chief aim of social organisation. "On Representative Government", which should not be mistaken for direct democracy (rule of the people by the people) he covers the mechanisms of state action. "On the Subjection of Women" reveals Mill to have been one of the pioneering feminists, as his arguments for the emancipation of women continue to be adduced by leading feminist philosophers today. Admittedly, one cannot agree with Mill on everything. This is because the "liberalism" of the nineteenth century, with its stress on work, discipline and duty, is almost totally opposed to the "open-minded" liberalism of today. Furthermore, Mill's theories are filled with flaws. Nevertheless, these essays are documents of profound importance and relevance and repay close study.

If confronted with the question: "To what extent, if any, and probably for what purpose can society as a body, interfere with the liberty of the individual?" The answer is probably, never. Oh well, one clear answer to this infinitely incomprehensible question was provided in the 19th century by John Stuart Mill in this classic writing On Liberty. JSM is the grand papa of what is modern Liberalism. We may not agree with Mill, but if we are to agree or disagree, it is best to first go back to the source. In a sense, Mill comes from the position that restraints always tend to stifle individuality. Freedom is the default, to stifle the abberation. If there is a call to interfere, there had better be a real good reason. Mill, however, does not have his head in the clouds but he does have a blanket statement that could use some complexity. Mill is of the reasoning that society is in the right to interfere with individual liberty only if harm is done or threatened to others. This is, of course, an over simplification. Mill further elaborates with a sense of paternalism and what seems like a progressive attitude about the rights of all people and the disutility of unfair treatment. It is not an easy read but it is a lucid one. In Mill's view, Harm, or the threat of harm, only brings conduct into public realm by (relating back to Plato) a prima facie condition to intervene. A foundational piece and a staple for the Humanities. To engage in the discourse of Mill is to step in the realm of Public contra Private.

Miguel Llora

As a child of 8 or so, I read this book to myself. At first read, I thought it a rather strange book. It was only after three more reads later in my life that I finally understood the plot. This book is well worth the money simply because of the beautiful images that made me cry as an 8 year old, but save your dollars until your child is old enough to sort through the images to find the plot.

I loved RAINBOW GARDEN as a little girl. As an adult, I still re-read it every couple of years. In my opinion, this beautiful story should be considered a Christian classic. Both well-written and touching, RAINBOW GARDEN is a story about how a lonely little girl finds fulness of joy. Patricia M. St. John paints wonderful pictures of happy childhood and those little incidents that have such great meaning and excitement.

This is the story of a little girl who feels lost in the world, as her mother is too busy with her own life to care for her. Her father is dead and now her mother is taking a new job in a different country, requiring lots of travelling, without Elaine. Elaine must go live with a family of six children. Through the time she spends with them, she finds Jesus and learns to love others more than herself. An excellent protrayal of real life situations, not glossed over, but told with propiety. I read this story to my four children ages 3 to 9 and they loved it.

If it was not for the fact that this book was assigned for the course, I would have thrown it onto the wall in utter frustration for the periodic-style prose in which it was written. Yet in that moments of painful reading I never let my intellect be neglectful of the realization that what lies before my eyes belongs to the highest canon of ethical philosophizing. Mill's ornate style of writing most probably was appropriate for his time, but to the modern reader it sometimes takes several readings to understand a difficult passage.

I agree with the reviewer who noted that Chapter IV, unlike the rest of the book, is singularly almost intelligible, not only for its long paragraphs, but also for its rambling diversions. Nevertheless, Mill's Utilitarianism should be a required reading for anyone with pretension for interests in issues of morality and social policy.

Now that Amazon has changed the product description and recognized that it is soft cover, I can, perhaps, give a decent review.

The text is, as are all Mill's writings, quite good. Regardless as to your agreement or disagreement, it cannot be argued that Mill does not present his points clearly, logically, and understandably. The editor's introduction is nice, though short. It is also nice that Mill's speech regarding capitial punishment was included as an appendix.

The actual binding is rather flimsy, but for this low price, I'll not complain too loudly.

As usual, Oxford put out another great edited classic work. J. S. Mill's Utilitarianism can be sometimes confusing, and as Roger Crisp notes, even scholars disagree on what Mill thought. Nevertheless, this book gives you a good introduction to Mill's thought prior to reading the actual text, Utilitarianism.

For example, I was able to converse with friends in the philosophy program about Mill's ethical theory without even reading his text; but I did read Crisp's edited notes about it. So I applaud Crisp for doing a good job on that. He also includes a summary of each paragraph for every chapter in outline form (located before the text). This was extremely helpful to me.

Located in the back of the work, like other Oxford editions, were text references that clarified persons who Mill spoke of, referred to, etc. It also clarified difficult passages (most of them anyways).

About Mill's ethical theory, you will have to read him yourself to come to a conclusion. I think the guy was totally wrong, but I'm not criticizing him; I'm reviewing this book :) But I should add that Crisp tries to deal with most of the criticisms (some of which are good responses) so that you can read Mill as charitable as possible.

Because of the work put into clarifying Mill, I highly recommend this book.

John Stuart Mill, author of On Liberty, defines the nature of civil liberty, and most importantly, the harm principl. He aims to give readers a better understanding of the nature and limits of power that can be exercised by society over individuals. The purpose of this book is to inform interested individuals about the rights of individuals and the limitations of the government. This book of philosophy was written almost 150 years ago. By reading the book, the reader is able to apply Mill's message and examples to our lives in America today. The ahead-of-the-times ideas that are in On Liberty can be related to our world because it discusses controversies that are still seen in our courtrooms today. Mill is able to accomplish his purpose because he uses many examples, thoughts, and theories about individual and social rights. He works through each of his ideas, looking at both sides of the issue to enable the reader to make their own informed decision about each matter. This book has a practical meaning because it allows the reader to develop and reason ideas about government power and when that power should be exercised over the people. Unfortunately, this book does have one draw back. Mill was a very educated man and wrote very well for his time. Yet today, our style and writing techniques are not the same as they were in the nineteenth century. This makes On Liberty a difficult book to read. His book is very decriptive, yet his wording is not easily understadable and some paragraphs have to be read two or three times to fully understand what he is writing about. Aside from his writing style, John Stuart Mill has put together an essay full of educated ideas about society and individuals. John Stuart Mill wrote an informative book geared towards an educated audience. He has achieved his purpose for the essay through the use of situations and examples that can be applied to real life cases still today. He managed to keep the readers interested and I look forward to reading other books he has written.

It was not Socialism itself that is an evil, but the way it was implemented in some countries, in response to white-anglo-whatever's totally value-less review. Mill's book about liberty was of vast importance in freeing the individual from the tyranny of communal opinion. Someone may dislike homosexuals, but has no right to harass them or pass ethical judgements on them for what is their choice, of no harm to anyone else. Those are opinions of an indeterminate validity. Socal intervention may only be used to protect someone from restriction of their liberties. What Mill lacks in rigour, he makes up for in persuasiveness. He has some great lines in defense of liberty, a pre-dominant value of human life. Although, it is to be noted that the book can be somewhat tedious in areas which it is repetitive. This book also illustrates what can be seen as a fault in utilitarianism. Utilitarianism takes no notice of other values, or of a conflict of values, such as liberty of existence over the majorities happiness, in which ethics slides into absurdity.

J.S. Mill has written the best promulgation of classical liberalism in his book "On Liberty" (OL). Although a socialist himself, many of the ideas in OL are actually tenets of modern libertarianism (also called classical liberalism). Mill states that the only reason that force can be used on any man is to prevent harm to others. I consider "focre" to be either social or economic. Mill saw it as only social, which explains his socialism.

Not to detract from Mill or OL, the book is a resounding defense of civil-liberties. OL completes modern democratic theory as promulgated by John Locke in his "Two Treatises of Government." While Locke argues for some kind of democracy reminiscent of Athens, Mill qualifies Locke's point by protecting the minority from the majority. This book should be read by Americans who want to know more about freedom, and by our elected officials.

Sadly, it's our elected oficials who probably won't get it.

Important... Please note that this book has been rewritten for a very young audience by Christine Rose. This is not the book as it originally appeared!

This book is incorrectly listed as a book for babies. It is written for adults (young adults, and not so young!).

I LOVED The Snow Goose as a teenage girl. My son does not like to read, so I'm buying it for him because I think he will enjoy it. The Snow Goose is touching and inspirational, but it has enough war stuff to keep boys interested. I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 because I haven't yet read the other stories. I'm anxious to read them, and to re-read the classic Snow Goose myself.

It's difficult to find good books for boys who would rather not read, so I'm pleased to find this book available!

Not that Mill was ever obscure or inaccessible, but while Prof Schneewind's Introduction adds little value, the notes and annotations by Dale E Miller certainly renders this compendium transparent, even to folks like me who have been dumbed down by years of television debates as primary intellectual nourishment. He enlightens each of Mill's chapters with a short and easily assimilated introductory overview. Complementing this with text annotations, collected at the back of the book. The annotations appear to be very well selected, as they are never too numerous to make flipping to the back of the book tedious, yet they manage to illuminate every aspect or item I might have found even remotely confusing, ambiguous or otherwise incomprehensible in the modern idiom.

This text is an excellent starting point for reading JS Mill, and is very well suited to the armchair philosopher who wishes to get into the material with ease and without encumbrance. However, there may be too little in the annotations in terms of external references, or cross references to Mill's other writings, or background information to satisfy the more academically inclined.

Of course anyone with even a nominal interest in what liberty is... NEEDS to read JS Mill. But then, you wouldn't be here if you didn't know that, right?