This cookbook is great, especially for beginners. It starts out with really easy, basic and yummy recipes. Then, it builds upon the first one so that you can create more sophisticated and even yummier dishes. It's very easy to read and understand, and even the most inexperienced chef can learn to create masterpieces. There are a lot of great cookbooks out there and it can be overwhelming especially for us beginners; But, I would highly reccommend this book to everyone--from the recent college graduate to the experienced chef who's been cooking for years. I've cooked a few of them--my favorites so far are the scrambled eggs with tomato and basil and I'm starting to learn to make some MEAN mashed potatoes (almost as good as Mom's =). It's also a very beautiful book, with lots of great pictures and would be a great gift!

I am very familiar with the delicious recipes created by Mark Bittman. In this cookbook, Jean-Georges Vongerichten (New York City star chef and author of "Simple Cuisine" and"Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef") and Mark Bittman (New York Times Colomnist and author of "The Minimalist Cooks at Home," "How to Cook Everything," "Fish," and "Leafy Greens") have collaborated on a collection of sophisticated, yet easy to prepare dishes.

These recipes use basic uncomplicated ingredients to produce exceptional results. Together, Jean and Mark provide great recipes and include some time saving kitchen hints.

Their "gazpacho" was voted the best Food & Wine Magazine editors had ever tasted. It has just eight supermarket ingredients and can be easily made when you get home from work.

My father is the cook in the family -- I only follow in his humble footsteps. This book, however, is unbelievable for both the professional and amateur cook. My father and I both have copies, and while he can make the more exotic dishes, my less adventurous versions are just as good.

In "Simple to Spectacular", Vongerichten and Bittman have constructed a genius concept: take a single recipe, and show it at various levels of complexity. So, you get egg recipes that start with "the Best Scrambled Eggs" and going up to "Scrambled Eggs with Caviar and Creme Fraiche." This idea is marvelous, because it allows amateur cooks, like myself, to see how you can use a basic concept and build on it to create something sophisticated and different.

This is a perfect book for a young cook who is interested in really learning how to make good and great food. In spite of the sumptuous egg dish on the cover, this would work great for college students, or recent grads as they struggle to move beyond macaroni and cheese and pizza as staples of their diet.

Have you ever taken a frog home that you found in the woods? I bet your mom told you to put it outside immediately. Well, if you went to the Georges' household, the setting of my story, that is all you would find! Tarantulas, crows, owls, fish, frogs, you name it and you will probably find it roaming freely in the house. Jean Craighead George, the mother and protagonist, was raised to love animals and keep them as her pets, so she brought up her three children the same way. You probably can't believe that someone would keep a skunk as a lovable pet, but they did!

The only animal you wouldn't hear about in their house was a bear! The Georges even had a pond, as real as one outside, in their house built by their neighbor who worked with cement. Read this book and find out why all the fish in their pond start dying. Find out why they had to get rid of a crow as viscous as a hunting dog, or how they found a baby bird as small as a cotton ball that could fit in a teacup. It is all in the amazing and funny book The Tarantula in My Purse. I learned a lot of interesting facts from this book, and other times I couldn't stop laughing. This book was absolutely terrific and fun to read!

I thought this book was amazing! The people in my story instinctively kept wild animals as pets! Even when you had to get a special permit, they got one. I think it is hard enough having just a dog as a pet. I could hardly imagine acquiring so many wild pets and having to research exactly what they need. What amazes me is that it wasn't just their mother that did all the work and research, it was the kids too! They helped out, and researched and cleaned up after their animals. The children would never, not do something because it was too messy or they were afraid. Twig, one of those children, had an owl, Yammer, which was soft, gray, and loved television. One day Yammer was watching television stiff as a board, he fell off his perch. Immediately, Twig picked him up and cuddled with him just like he was her baby brother!

This book taught me to be a little more responsible when caring for my dog. They never complained when caring for their many wild pets. I really thought this was a good book to see how you should be responsible when caring for your pet if you want more and more!

The protagonists, a family of four, loved wild animals. One of them was a hard working mother. She was divorced when her children were young, so she had to work extremely hard to keep her children and animals happy. Before Jean Craighead George had kids she would go places and research animals. This family of Jean and her three children, Twig, Craig and Luke all researched animals over the years and knew a lot about them, just by taking them as pets. From the beginning of this story, until the end when her kids left and were now adults, the Georges had over one hundred seventy-two pets! Whether they stayed for a day or a year, whether they were a bird or a snake, Jean Craighead and her family took good care of them.

I thought the characters in my book were very different from most people I know. It would take me a lot of time to get used to living in their household. I am not used to having wild animals saunter around my house. The whole George family seemed jaunty. Although they had lots of difficulties with their wild pets, they never seemed to be very solemn or act gravely. Many times, though, I thought it would be fun to play with all the baby chicks, turtles and birds. I liked how the characters got the animals to love them and do all these funny things every time they wanted to play or eat. Finally, I enjoyed how passionate they were about their pets. You never had to tell them twice to play with their animals, because that was all they did!

So, do you think you love animals? Well, you should read this book to see how much you could really love animals and find out interesting facts. This book was terrific, it taught good morals and made you laugh, it even taught you some cool facts. I encourage you to read this book.

All of Jean Craighead George's great nature books come from experience (she spoke with wolves, had a falcon, has seen the most magnificent places in our country) but this is the one that is entirely autobiographical (she did write an autobiography but it is out of print). Stories charming, hilarious, gross, and heartwarming grace the pages of this unputdownable book. Readers can truly enjoy this book if they read related stories like THE SUMMER OF THE FALCON, THE CRY OF THE CROW, and THERE'S AN OWL IN THE SHOWER. All will smile at the true-life details that contribute to those tales. While most of the nature takes place indoors, nature lovers will still learn further about birds, mammals, and insects. This is a truly enjoyable book for any animal lover and Jean Craighead George fan.

This book is amazing! It is a true story about Jean Craighead George's life with wild pets. If you like wild animals, you'll love this book! Jean is the narrator of the book as well as the author. I think she would make a great animal caretaker. I really liked this book and I think you would, too, if you tried it!

First of all, I must say I was a bit disappointed when I got this book. I am a huge Jean Craighead George fan, but I am not so fond of the illustrations. I am much more fond of John Schoenherr and Wendell Minor, who illustrated the other Julie books. Also I don't think the same beautiful effect of the Julie novels is present in this young children's story. But overall, it's a fine addition to the Julie trilogy. Julie's story begins, of course, in the magnificent Newbery-Award winning JULIE OF THE WOLVES. Next comes the thought-provoking sequel, JULIE, and then, my personal favorite because of my love of wolves, JULIE'S WOLF PACK. It is in the latter that Nutik, the wolf pup, and his sister Uqaq are born and raised by Julie and her little brother, Amaroq (the main character in this story). The wolves try to take Nutik back, but Amaroq resists them. Nutik belongs to a human pack now, just as, for a long time, Julie, the human, belonged to a wolf pack. Or does he? I think one of the main reasons I actually appreciated this somewhat disappointing book was because it helps to extinguish cruel and misleading thoughts about wolves. Young children should grow up reading books like this instead of LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD, and older kids should read books like JULIE OF THE WOLVES, JULIE, and JULIE'S WOLF PACK. Whichever one of Ms. George's eighty or so books one reads, one always comes away with a feeling of a deeper respect and love for our natural world.

In an Eskimo village at the top of the world lives a little boy whose name is Amaroq, so named for the great wolf leader who saved the life of his big sister, Julie. One day Julie brings home a sickly wolf pup named Nutik.

When his big sister puts Nutik into Amaroq's arms, she tells her little brother to feed & tend the pup. She also warns her brother not to fall in love with Nutik as she has promised the wolf pack that when both pups are fat & well, they will be returned.

Amaroq says he is strong & sets about feeding the bedraggled pup. Together through a magical summer, pup & boy, frolic in the tundra of the land of the midnight sun.

When, at last, the sun does set & the long dark winter comes upon them & Nutik is strong & healthy, the wolf pack comes to the edge of Amaroq's village, calling Nutik home. Amaroq is not as strong as he once thought, especially when his beloved pup takes him out into the star filled night to meet his wolf family.

This is a poignant & magical look at the love between a boy & a wolf pup, at the rightness of our actions, the pain of duty & the rewards of responsibility.

Lovely, lovely read!

When she was younger and lost and starving, Julie was saved by wolves who shared their food and kept her safe and warm. Now many years later, Julie brings her brother, Amoraq, a small sickly wolfpup to feed and take care of. She tells him, "When he is fat and well, the wolves will come and get him." Amoraq looks into the golden eyes of the pup, Nutik, and it's love at first sight. "Don't fall in love, Amoraq", Julie warns him, "be strong." As time goes by and the three months of summer light begins to fade, Nutik becomes fat and healthy and soon the wolves call for him. At first, Amoraq takes Nutik and runs away. But soon, the wolves call again and Nutik knows it's time to go home where he belongs..... Jean Craighead George has written a memorable picture book introduction to her Julie and the Wolves books, a whole new generation will treasure. Her text, full of imagery and magic will capture your youngster's heart and Ted Rand's expressive illustrations of the Alaskan tundra will mesmerize children with their vivid beauty. Together, they've authored a special book of love, friendship and respect your kids will want to read again and again. And, just like her Julie books, Nutik the Wolf Pup is sure to become a classic in the years ahead.

This collection of letters by Jackson is well worth reading for several reasons. First, as several other reviewers point out, it provides a valuable (if by now slightly dated) insight into the American penal system. Second, it illustrates the tragedy of people with Jackson's potential being diverted (whether you believe by racism, socio-economic circumstances, poor judgment, or whatever) into the self-perpetuating criminal/penal complex. However, I think some of the raves are overrated. Jackson clearly was an intelligent man who could have accomplished much if his engergies were otherwise directed. But he lacks perspective; the tone is often stridently self-justifying, and he lacks any real moral insight into the magnitude of the violence and pain he inflicted on others.

This is a great collection of the prison letters of the Black Panther prison leader George Jackson. Only problem is that we don't see the letters that George jakcson is responding to, so that we may get a better context of what's going on here. It would also be interesting to see what Bill Cosby had/has to say about Jackson's criticism of him (for Cosby's role as a CIA agent in the "I Spy" show of the 60s).

A must read for people of all ages, races, nationalities, genders, classes, et. al. A masterpiece of the form. Gloriously flawed, like all of us. So much more than the sum of its parts. George and Jonathan Live.

The movie crew moves expediently to set up its shots. The director frantically worries that the power doesn't go out at a critical stage when the film is being developed. No, they aren't filming in Northern California during the rolling blackouts of 2001; it's 1945 France, still regrouping from the hardships of its Nazi occupation. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: DIARY OF A FILM is an excellent primary resource that documents the struggles of one French "crusader" to build up the momentum of its movie industry. It's a shame it's incomplete.

When Director Jean Cocteau started recording the progress of his masterpiece film, LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE, a couple of days before it started filming, not even he could have guessed the obstacles he'd have to overcome to finish it. Not only did he have to work around the frequent blackouts of the period, but health was a prevalent problem amongst the cast and crew (including himself), running overbudget was hurting his reputation with financiers, and even the weather slowed production when it failed to provide good lighting for exterior shots. This 1972 book, translated by Ronald Duncan, is a deliciously insightful account of putting a movie together from the director's point of view. It also includes photos, an introduction by George Amberg and Madame Le Prince de Beaumont's 18th century story.

As World War II ended, things were looking rosy for French cinema in the United States. Distributors were paying big bucks for rights to European movies--particularly France's. LE BELLE ET LA BÊTE was slotted as one of the five main contenders at the first International Cannes Film Festival. Journalists occasionally visited Cocteau to support his efforts with advance publicity, which he presents anecdotally.

There are some amusing moments when Cocteau confesses to being a poor director. He admits to being so caught up with the performance that he missed the cue to tell the camera to roll. It's also fun to guess the subtext of Cocteau's accounts. It seems he spends a lot of time with leading actor, Jean Marais, who he playfully nicknames Jeannot. He also does favors for his Beauty, Josette Day, but anyone with critical thinking skills can eventually figure out the true nature of Cocteau's relationship with Marais. Cocteau is fairly discreet about it, though.

George Amberg, who wrote the introduction for this edition, notes the biggest criticism of this book. Considering how few movies Cocteau directed, we never learn exactly what prompted him to choose the BEAUTY AND THE BEAST fairy tale, aside from one vague remark.

This book also overlooks the ideas of how Cocteau's ancillary creative details came about as well. Cocteau was a multi-talented artist and some of the information he withholds from his journal is disappointing. Although his documentation of the filming is rather thorough, a lot had to happen before that point. Preproduction on LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE actually began in 1943. This was when he made most of his creative decisions and it would have been endlessly fascinating for any creative person to learn what muse bit him when he decided to make those sconces human arms.

Likewise with the reception to the movie's release. The story of LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE doesn't end with its filming. When the movie was finally shown at Cannes, Cocteau met a disappointing response. Many people had expected LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE to shine as beacon for the French film industry and initial audiences repelled its uniqueness. They saw it as frivolous at a time they wanted verisimilitude. The only award it took at Cannes was for its music. Out of sheer frustration, Cocteau implored NEW YORK TIMES readers a couple of days before its American debut to understand that his movie is supposed to look different.

If Cocteau could see today's acclaim he would be more than satisfied. There are few current American movie fans who are aware of Rene Clement's LA BATAILLE DU RAIL, which won the best picture award at that first Cannes festival. AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER has deemed LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE one of the 100 best-shot films of all time and recognizes Cocteau as one of the true creative pioneers in film history.

The addition of Beaumont's story, which was the basis for Cocteau's retelling, is an intriguing touch and shows how sophisticated readers have become since its initial release in the 18th century. It provides story information instead of presenting pertinent conflict on stage. The Beast is not at maximum capacity when he tells the Merchant he is going to ruthlessly kill him, then gives the old man a three-day furlough to say goodbye to his family. The Merchant is stupid for intending to go back.

Despite its shortcomings, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: DIARY OF A FILM is a wonderful book for anyone interested in filmmaking. It's an excellent memoir of a fabulous movie, but it would've been even more fulfilling if Cocteau had started with preproduction and let us join him for the audience response.

Cocteau's diary on the making of his most famous film - "La Belle et la Bête" (1946) - recounts an almost endless series of obstacles that he encountered during its production. From illnesses (everyone involved seemed to suffer some significant ailment or injury during production) to production problems (bad film stock, unworkable cameras) to union disputes, the film was almost plagued from the start.

At times this litany of woe and frustration can be quite tedious - when Cocteau goes into a detailed discussion of his ezcema and other physical maladies, I tuned out. But it's still a fascinating look at not only how he pulled all the elements together (although his entries for the editing process are rather short) but also what filmmaking was like during a difficult time in French history. His depictions of his stars, Jean Marais and Josette Day, are quite interesting too. And the book shows perhaps better than many textbooks how the different talents on a film set contribute to the final result.

The book probably won't be enjoyable to those who haven't seen the movie (at least a few times) but for those who really admire this film, this behind-the-scenes look is a real treat.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has seen Jean Cocteau's fil version of "Beauty and the Beast" The book is the diary of the film. There are some great photos in it as well.

"Huis Clos" is one of the few books that actually illustrates a version of hell. Most people wouldn't think to write about such a touchy subject. Likewise, most people accept the typical hell full of fire and torture chambers as what it will be like. Few contemplate the possibility that it might be different, as well as refuse to think about what else it could be. This book made me think about it a little more than I imagined. What if having to be around the same two people for eternity really is hell? What if hell was based on the individual? My personal hell would be eternity on a stair-master. And the only music would be Michael Bolton...karaoke-style.

In Huit-Clos, Jean-Paul Sartre makes an analysis of human-behaviour. The scene takes place in a cell where three people are faced with each other. The reader is immediatly impregnated of different personalities and understands the fears of each one to stay eternaly together because, like Jean-Paul Sartre concludes: "The hell is others."

I am french, and Huis Clos is one of the most importants books i read when i was a teenager, looking for truth about adult behavior... It's really intellectual, but not artificial, and makes you think a lot about what is going on between people, and what you learned growing up.

I think the book is cute for children! The book made me want to know a little bit more on gray wolves, they are so pretty! I love how you write nature books, I wish you would write more books on butterflys! Gorgeous book!

i really like this book, if you are a fan of wolves, this would be your bible.

Which came first: the anti-gentile or the anti-semite?
A semite is a racial type: kinky hair, aquiline nose, olive complexion.

The Arabs and Jews both are Semites, while many converts to Judaism are blond straight-haired, pug nosed people.

Sarte's book is confusing.

.
There is an implied racist ideology in the Chosenness theme of Judaism. Chosenness is a form of ethnic (and economic) supremacy, as is clearly revealed in The Torah.

Exodus 22:25: If you lend money to any of My people (Israelites, Jews) who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, you shall not charge him interest (as you would to Gentiles).

Leviticus 25:43-46: And as for the male and female slaves whom you may have from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves . . .and they shall become your property. And you may take them as an inheritance for your childdren after you to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. BUT REGARDING YOUR BRETHREN, THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, YOU SHALL NOT RULE OVER ONE ANOTHER WITH RIGOR.

Thus, The Torah, the Jewish Law, well establishes the ethnic and economic supremancy theme of Judaism. It is the Anti-Gentilism of Judaism that has traditionally provoked mistrust of people who do not embrace Judaism.

Sartre has borrowed the concept of "authentic" and "inauthentic"
from Martin Heidegger, a German Nazi, who used the term inauthentic to describe an alienated German worker, who was exploited by capitalist industrialist-bankers.

The Nazis and the Arabs, as well as some radical Christian groups have so resented the Chosenness theme of Judaism that they have turned the tables on the Jews of Judaism and declared themselves the "chosen people."

Anti-Semitism is not created by Gentiles. It is created by the philosophy of Judaism, which designates the Jews themselves as appointed by God (as revealed to Moses) to rule the Earth. Any Jew who denies this is in my opinion guilty of what Sartre himself calls "bad faith." Bad faith is when one lies to himself about the true meaning of his own acts.

Freud used the term projection, an ego defense mechanism in which one attributes one own unacceptable impulses or attitudes to others.

Once again, it is not the Gentile that has created anti-Semitism, but the pervasive chosenness theme of Judaism, which is undeniably fascist. There is no getting around it!

One more point might be made, that it is the Arab, who is also a Semite, who is indeed one of the greatest foes of Judaism.

Sartre seemingly can't see the forest for the trees!

The so-called anti-semite is a figment of the imagination of Sartre, Freud, and others like them. The philosophy of Judaism is based on the Law of Moses, which designates the Israelites as the Chosen people, with the Moses-given right to enslave the other nations of the world, as is clearly revealed in Leviticus 25:43-45.

Today, such a philosophy endorsing ethnic supremacy (which is the real meaning of Chosenness) would very appropriately be designated fascism.

Sartre's Anti-Semite & Jew is an exercise in what I would call Jewish paranoia, which in my opinion is a mask to conceal
the Anti-Gentilism of the Jew! It is sort of an exercise in what Freud himself called "projection," an ego defense mechanism in which one attributes one's own unacceptable impulses or attitudes to others.

And as other scholars have already said, Sartre shows a blatant inability to comprehend the psychodynamics of the Jewish religion and of Jewish history. To use his own term, "bad faith," Anti-Semite & Jew is indeed an exercise in bad faith.

"Bad Faith" is when one lies to one's self about the true nature of one's actions.

Sartre borrowed the concepts of "authentic" and "inauthentic" from Martin Heidegger. Interestingly, Heidegger was both a German and a Nazi, and Heidegger used the term to describe working class German workers who were exploited by industrial-capitalists and bankers. However, Sartre use of the words is in my opinion inappropriate. In other words, the Jew's problem is that he refuses to accept the FACT that it is his identity with an implicitly fascist social-political philosophy that understandably provokes the mistrust of others.

The problem for the Jew is that he wants to have his cake and eat it to.

This fine story is another example of Jean Craighead George's close bond with nature, elegant writing, and her grandchildren. The Newbery Medal-winning author has written several picture books for her grandchildren--ARCTIC SON, a magnificent book, tells the story of her grandsons Luke and Sam who live in Alaska; DEAR REBECCA, WINTER IS HERE is written in the same format as DEAR KATIE, THE VOLCANO IS A GIRL, and that book, which I liked better, is the story of Katie's sister Rebecca asking the grandmother (Ms. George, we presume) what winter is all about. DEAR KATIE, THE VOLCANO IS A GIRL, is an intriguing tale, in which Katie and her grandmother go to Hawaii to see the great Kilauea Volcano. As the fire explodes around them, the grandmother remarks, "A volcano is a geophysical phenomenon," to which young Katie responds, "The volcano is a girl." So begins a daylong quest to find the truth behind the mysteries of Kilauea. Katie tells her grandmother the story that the native Hawaiians tell, of a fiery goddess who is mad at her sister, the tidal waves. The grandmother insists that the secrets of the volcano is explained using pure science. Following their journey, Daniel Powers's colorful illustrations go along nicely with Ms. George's writing. Young children, especially, will find the pictures exciting. In the end, the grandmother writes to Katie telling her that the legend and the scientists' story are the same. Ms. George has a gift for sharing legends and culture with her readers--in her young adult novels, the JULIE OF THE WOLVES books, she describes with great detail the lives of Inupiat Eskimos, and in SHARK BENEATH THE REEF, the story of a little-known town in seaside Mexico. If you're wondering why I gave this book only 3 stars, the reason is because I think Ms. George's other picture books are more satisfying. I wouldn't recommend this book to people who love Ms. George's nature writing--her other picture books, such as the ones mentioned above, are better. Of course, she has written almost 100 books for children, young adults, and even grown-ups, so there's an endless supply to choose from.

In reading this book, I am reminded of how often I have found that myths that explain how the world works are often merely a symbolic explanation that when cut down to bare bones are exactly the same as science claims. My belief that religion and science have no need to clash is reinforced. They are two different explanations for the same fact. Religion and science can work together, in fact. Science answers our need for an intellectual explanation and religion fulfills our spiritual nature. For me, science has never undercut my faith as it only reinforces the miracle of our world.

I also find it amazing that these ancient myths have such basis in fact. It seems to me that the workings of this world our something a human being can know inately and are not solely the knowledge of the wild animals.

We used this as a teaching story at our local Unitarian Universalist sunday school, showing that Humanist and Pagan beliefs can indeed coexist. In this story, the girl tells her grandmother about the Goddess Pele and Her sacred mountain, while the grandmother tells the girl about volcanoes and geological activity. At the end of the book, the grandmother says "I told you the scientific story, and you told me the religious story, and *they were the same*".

Beautiful illustrations and very respectful treatment of Pele and Her mountain. Highly recommended.

Written back in 1923, CANE is one of the touchstones of African-American writing. Jean Toomer, despite his rather uncertain relationship with the African side of his ancestry, must be recognized as a founder. That said, this is a pale, difficult book, wandering sadly through the tempest-tossed fortunes of African-American life in the first decades of the 20th century. CANE is not for the casual reader, nor for those who want to be fed meaning. You must reflect, add to the text from your own knowledge and experience. The characters appear in pale colors, dressed in weariness and often verging on madness. Blue saxophone tones amidst the fogs of prejudice and blind hatred for all intelligent behavior by a despised minority. What more could a gentle man, human and tender, make of such craziness ? Poetry, broken images that pass slowly, pale by smoke, pale by moonlight, whisper of yellow globes, and decline of that distant hope that someday "they" would learn. Part of this book is poetry, part is prose, and part a strange play about a man named Kabnis ("Sinbad ?) who seems an unlikely traveller on life's roads. It is not a novel in any usual sense of the word, since it is made up of completely disparate parts with no connection other than that they describe the vicissitudes of African-American life in the South and in Washington DC. Plot is absent, as is continuity. This is a volume of ashen portraits, not much flattering. This is a volume worth more for its history than for its literary merit, yet it will touch you if you let it.

Not yet published were the forthright descriptions and defiance of Wright, Ellison, Baldwin, and many others. The bold fulminations of Malcolm, the brilliant oratory of King---not even dreamt of. Toomer asks---but through a mist of poetic images, through the circuitous meanderings of the oppressed---what have we done to deserve this fate? Who am I ? No firebrand he. "Wish that I might fly out past the moon/ And curl forever in some far-off farmyard flower." This is hardly rebellion. But he wrote, he dared that. From our so-privileged vantage point of eight decades into the future shall we challenge him, shall we scorn him ? Let's praise him, for he began the trickle that turned into a mighty flood.

Written in Post-Emancipation America, Jean Toomer's novel Cane represented a strong voice within the African-American community during an era where segregation was a way of life, and lynching was (in some areas of the country) an accepted means to an end. A conglomeration of images and metaphors, Cane is honestly a difficult text to read and should not be considered merely as an "easy" set of poems, prose, and stories. There are many intricate layers of meaning within the phrasing and style of writing. The title is a double meaning in itself. Upon hearing the title, one may think that it refers to the biblical tale of Cain and Abel. This is an important aspect since some religious Christian followers interpreted the "mark" of Cain as blackness, therefore using religion as propaganda for pro-slavery agendas. In addition, readers who are more conscious minded to the dynamics of the early 1900's concerning race relations, and its history (specifically in the South) would find this text less confusing. Some sections, which stand out within the text, are "Becky", "Song of Son", and "Blood Red Harvest".

This is perhaps one of my favorite works of literature I've ever read. This piece of literature uses poetry and short stories to portray the vast experiences of Afican-Americans in America. This novel (of sorts) opens your eyes and does so subtly and beautifully through various characters and the experiences they go through or fight against. Although written over fify years ago, Toomer's work relates well to the problems/concerns of race in America today. I feel this should be a required work in studying Modern American Literature and the African-American Experience. If there is a firm "canon" ever established, this should be included.