If you've read one John O'Hara short story, you've read them all. All characters are obsessed with their status in life, and if a man and a woman are alone together, you just have to wait until one will try to get the other in the sack. If you had a 95 year old grandmother in a scene with an 18 year old male high school student, you could almost expect that one would make a pass at the other. THE DOCTOR'S SON is the best O'Hara short story I've read. It is excellent. Read that one, enjoy it. But you need read no more, since everything in that story is in every other O'Hara story.

If John O'Hara isn't one of our greatest American writers, who is? O'Hara, along with writers like John Cheever and Irwin Shaw, chronicle the American suburban experience during the middle part of the twentieth century and we should not miss out on their observations. But what do you see when you go to Barnes & Noble or Borders? Racks and racks of ridiculous drivel hoisted on us by greedy publishers and other fast-buck artists. Mindless entertainment rules while O'Hara, Cheever, Shaw and their like are pushed off the book shelves and out of circulation. The tone and empathy of these Masters will forever provide an insight into our American experience that you won't get from the trash that we now seem to be preoccupied with. OK, OK, OK. I read some of this current trash, too, but I haven't forgotten the great American Triumvirate.... O'Hara, Cheever and Shaw!

George Knight relates a story in the prologue: There was an old British radio show that frequently had guests of all kinds. At one point they had a theologan on. The host asked him what 12 books of the Bible he would bring if he were stranded on a desert island. "Well, I certainly wouldn't bring Leviticus," was the theologan's reply. That is the case with many Christians. To them, many of the Old Testament books "just aren't important," but they ALL are still the word of God.

George Knight gives us a very readable and practical commentary on the book of Leviticus (a manuel for Israel's priests and a "Holiness Code"--moral commands--for the people). The book consists of a half-chapter (give or take) of Scripture followed by Knight's commentary. Knight often gives some very insightful commentary showing what this type of animal sacrifice shows about God's personality or explaining why the people could only have one type of crop in a given field.

Although Knight succeeds in making a normally dull book (especialy when compared with Genesis, Joshua, 2 Samuel, the Gospels, etc) seem exciting, there do exist some faults with the book. One chapter in Leviticus deals with rules agains homosexuality. Instead of coming right out and saying what he believes Leviticus says about the subject, Knight tip-toes and tap-dances so much, I'm still not really quite sure WHAT he believes about it. I'm not sure if he's delicately trying to say that God is wrong about gay folk or if he's just a little afraid to actually condemn homosexual practices.

There are other places in the commentary where Knight does a similar tap-dance routine, but overall, this is an extremely good commentary that really aided in my understanding of Leviticus.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of Leviticus with reflections on our times and our issues.

In many cases we read Genesis and Exodus then run right to the New Testament failing to understand Leviticus and are uncomfortable defending the Word of God as expressed in the images of a B.C. nomadic people; their rituals; and their sacrifices.

As you read each of these pages the images become clearer to us as the same images are seen in our world today and God's Word and its meaning becomes clearer.

Read this book and then move on through the Word of God without lingering doubts and know His Word truly holds the answers to our life.

Thank you George Knight for such an illuminating book.

This book has marvelous images of just some of the fine works that George Ohr created. The summaries of his life are correct to some extent but it failed to provide any deatails of his offspring or how they may have carried on the innate artist abilities, this is why I only give it four stars.

this man was a a head of his time. i have never seen anythig that has come out of the 1800's that looked any thing like this.The photography is great and the biography is good , but the pottery is the best i have ever seen he had great form and great glaze you could not ask any more from a potter

This is a remarkable look at the untamed American West of 1834-1837 through the eyes of a young naturalist. Despite its age, this account is quite readable. The smaller segments describing Townsend's visits to Hawaii, Tahiti and Chile are also enjoyable.

Since this is a diary, it does have some flat spots (not every day can be an adventure), but mostly Townsend fills his descriptions with details and color that bring his encounters alive. You can sense Townsend maturing as the journey goes on. One suggestion to the editors: If a new edition is produced, it would be nice to include a map of Townsend's travels, because in some places it's hard to tell where he is.

A tip to the reader: Skip the introduction, since it's mostly just a summary of what you'll be reading. It does, however, contain a description of what happened to Townsend after the book, so go back and read that once you finish.

hi everyone, please buy, read and cherish this book! you would not believe how much work went into this - I know because I'm the author's daughter. BUY BUY BUY! :) thanks

This book is excellent for teachers of theatre, or really for anyone who is interested in the inner workings of a playwright. Its only down-fall is that the playwrights themselves were sometimes less than forth-coming with answers we all want to know: HOW DOES THE PLAY GET ON THE PAGE??? However, it is very interesting in that we get into the heads of some very famous playwrights and shows us a personal side. I could barely put it down because I've read and taught these playwrights for years, but now have personal insight into their work and lives.

I bought this series of interviews in hopes of discovering more about these playwrights' points of view on writing. I was pleasantly startled to find that their stories were inspiring, as well. As a young playwright, I find the business of theatre rather disheartening. Egos are batted around much like cricket birdies, while fad and fashion dictate what is theatrically acceptable. These playwrights coped with the same obstacles, with great success. I found it interesting that each playwright had his/her own particular challenges to confront, and that one theme, throughout all the interviews, was constant: writing a play is akin to facing one's own soul, and a playwright has to confront the mirror dead-on and keep going.

A wonderful read.

Having read H.G. Wells' classics WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, THE TIME MACHINE, and THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, I looked forward to reading what is often claimed to be his "best" work. TONO-BUNGAY is completely different than any of his Sci-Fi classics. TONO-BUNGAY is more of a study of class structure and class struggle in England during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The story follows the life of a young man, George, and his Uncle Edward. Edward invents an elixir called TONO-BUNGAY and hires his nephew George to help build the company. As the book goes George and Edward become quite wealthy. Throughout the book George makes numerous comments on his varying places on the social ladder. It seems that no matter how wealthy George becomes, he will never be accepted in certain circles because he is newly rich and not "old money." The story is well written and is generally easy to follow. I would, however, recomm! end the World's Classics edition of this book (published by Oxford U. Press and available from Amazon.Com) because there are some instances in which Wells makes comments about European literature, art, languages, colleges and phrases that may be of little meaning to the average reader, but for the six pages of end notes provided in the World's Classics edition. The World's Classics edition also claims to be the most accurate edition of the story, taking into account all of Wells' revisions of the story, many of which were made after the book was initially published in 1909 (TONO-BUNGAY was revised by Wells and re-released in 1925).

"Tono-Bungay" is an alleged tonic with dubious medical benefits; and the story is one of the brief fortunes of someone who manages to turn the worthless substance into a formidable fortune - for a while. By the time Wells wrote this novel he had already written books which might or might not be science fiction (witness "The War in the Air") and, all in all, "Ton-Bungay" probably isn't science fiction. But I should mention a substance called "quup" which is introduced towards the end of the book. (I'm not giving anything important away.) "Quup" is the first mention I know of of what we would now call radioactive waste, except that it's naturally occurring, and ... well, perhaps I should be discrete, but I can say that the scenes involving quup have a peculiar flavour which writers would find impossible to capture nowadays.

So you get an excellent double deal with this book: the best of Wells's social fiction of the 1910s, plus a dollop the fresh science fiction he wrote the previous century.

This book (and its second volume: Military Operations since 1871) are both required texts for my Military History class. Most students claim to only rapidly skim required reading for classes, but I've managed to read everything so far (if that tells you anything). As far as material is concerned, this text is both wide-ranging and thourough, describing the invention and development of military techniques as well as discussing the society and government of the time, and how all these factors influence eachother. Highlighted areas include the Thirty Years War and the development of limited war, and the progression though the Napoleonic Wars to almost complete total war during the War Between the States. This book does an excellent job in tying all these early battles together and showing the overall development of warfare. However, if you are interested in nitty-gritty facts on Waterloo or Gettysburg, find a book specific to that battle instead of the sweeping panoramic view this book provides.

This book is the result of the collaboration of a number of the best military historians in the US today, including Mark Grimsley, George Herring, John Lynn, and many others, skilfully tied together by the editors (who are also major contributors), Professor Ira Gruber of Rice University and Colonel Robert A. Doughty of West Point. The result is an outstanding survey of modern Western military history designed for undergraduate history courses, but easily accessible to the general reader as well. The prose is exceptionally clear and the ideas lucidly presented. These two volumes are definitely focussed on the operational level of the "military art" (i.e. on the planning and conduct of campaigns), with some treatment also of strategy, tactics, and technology, but very litte material on "war and society" subjects (i.e. how wars and military developments have affected society and vice-versa). This makes it especially useful for ROTC military history classes, but it is also a very good introduction to the "sharp end" of military history for scholars or students whose main interests lie in the effects of war, rather than its conduct.

Readers should note that this site does not distinguish between the various editions of Shakespeare, so the reviews you read may be for audiotapes, modern translations, etc. I am reviewing the Kenneth Branaugh BBC Radio recording of Hamlet. It is adequate, which I consider high praise for this challenging play. Like Branaugh's movie a few years later, it includes the entire text of the play, which is a nice way to remind yourself of some issues you may have forgotten.

The performances are pretty good, and include Branaugh (of course) as Hamlet and Derek Jacobi as Claudius, giving us a hint of the performances they would later give in the movie. No one's performance really blew me away, although Jacobi was excellent.

Ultimately, the play loses quite a bit when transferred to audio only. There's a lot to be conveyed with stage placement, physican action, expression, etc. Somehow, listening to the play limited my imagination on those issues, preventing my from using my "mind's eye" to the fullest.

Hamlet is considered, by many scholars, the pinnacle of Shakespeare's dramas. If you haven't read it yet this this Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism edition would be a great place to begin.

The text notes that are included with the play are very helpful to understand some of the more difficult language nuances that are inevitable with any Shakespeare. The structure is well laid out and conclusive. It complements the complexity of Hamlet very well.

Of course Hamlet is one of the great paradoxes and mysteries every written. The search of finding yourself and what it is that fuels the human spirit. Hamlet can be a very confusing play because of the depth of substance. However, the critical essays that suppliment the reading make it very accessable.

Each of the critical essays are of different schools of literary criticism: Feminist Criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, post-structuralist (deconstuctionist) criticism, Marxist critism, and finally a New Historicist criticism. Before each critism there is clearly written introduction to explain the motives and histories of that type of criticism.

This edition of Hamlet will not only introduce the reader to more Shakespeare, but also explain the play and help to familiarize the reader with literary criticism too. It is a beautiful volume that cannot be more recommended if you are wanting to buy a copy Hamlet.

Hamlet is, by far, the most complex of Shakespeare's many plays. Many of the themes covered are love vs hate, action vs non-action, revenge, and jealousy. Hamlet discovers that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" when he encounters the ghost of his father, the King, who has recently been killed in battle. From here, Hamlet goes on a search for the discovery of what happened to his father. However, Hamlet not only uncovers secrets of the past, but also the depths of his own being.

The Folger Edition of Hamlet is a great edition to buy, especially for those who are studying this play in high school or college, because it is relatively cheap in price and is very "reader-friendly" with side notes and footnotes that accompany each page of each scene. So, even if you aren't a Shakespeare lover or if Shakespeare is just a little intimidating (we all know how this feels), this version at least allows you to get the gist of what is going on. Also, there are summaries of each scene within each act, to let you know in layman's terms what is taking place. I highly recommend this edition.

Julie of the Wolves is about a thirteen-year-old Eskimo girl named Miyax who gets lost on the Alaskan Tundra. She was running away from her dire husband, Daniel, and trying to get to Point Hope. The book is divided into three sections: Amaroq, the wolf, Miyax, the girl, and Kapugen, the hunter.
In the first section, instead of a human taking care of animals, the wolves are taking care of Miyax. When she is starving on the Tundra, the leader of the pack, Amaroq, slowly accepts her as one of the wolves and treats her as such by feeding her, and by keeping her company.
The second section talks about Miyax's father, Kapugen, presumed dead in the beginning. He raised her to be an old-fashioned Eskimo instead of a contemporary one.
Finally in the third section, hunters in an airplane shoot down the wolf Amaroq for no reason. Hunters usually kill wolves for their ears but the hunters in this case killed him for fun. After she saves Kapu, another wolf, she travels to Point Hope, only to find her father alive. He is no longer an old fashioned Eskimo, but has married a white woman, owns an airplane, and flies hunters. Miyax almost runs away again, but then realizes that the day of the Eskimo is gone and "...points her toes toward Kapugen."
I think that everybody changes over time, and the old ways can't always be kept. Miyax successfully became an old fashioned Eskimo, but at the end of her journey she had to become Julie of the town.

Julie of the Wolves is a wonderful story full of nature and excitement. It tells the story of a young Eskimo girl who runs away from an unhappy marriage. She takes off for San Francisco to stay with her pen pal. Alaska is a tough scary place, especially if you're lost! Miyax got lost, and was running out of food. She remembered the stories her father used to tell her before he got lost. Stories of how he got the wolves to help him get food. She could do that no problem, right? Wrong! He never told her how he talked to them and told them he needed help. Can Miyax learn the language of the wolves, or will she die in the wild? Read this adventure and find out for yourself.

When asked to review Julie of the Wolves, my son wrote:

When I first started Julie of the Wolves, I had no idea what to expect. I was in for a big surprise. I've read two other books by Jean Craighead George, both quite different than this book in two ways: First, Sam (of My Side of the Mountain and its sequel, The Far Side of the Mountain) chooses to leave the modern world and live in the wilderness, whereas Julie is running away from a marriage when she gets lost in the wilderness on the way to Point Hope, where her pen-pal lives. (It was news to me that Eskimos married at thirteen. I doubt anyone would even think of marrying that early these days.) Second, the protagonist of Julie of the Wolves is a girl. (Sam, of course, is a boy, although both characters are roughly the same age.) This book is realistic. Everything Miyax/Julie does to survive seems sensible and what I would do if I got lost in the wilderness. At the bookstore, don't pass by this book. Pick it up and read the back. It should spark your interest. (For more cool reads, check out the other books I've reviewed.)

This is the central question explored by Conrad in Lord Jim. Jim is ultimately a character who inspires our sympathy due to his inability to find reconcilliation for his one tragic moment of weakness. In him we find a person of tremendous potential that remains unrealized as the tragic circumstances of his abandoning his post aboard the Patna continually haunt him and the associated guilt drives him to isolation.
Conrad successfully explores the concepts of bravery, cowardice,guilt and the alternative destinies that an individual may be driven to by these qualities.
The narrative can be a bit confusing at times as Marlowe relates the tale by recalling his encounters with Jim. The book reminded very much of Somerset Maugham's THE RAZOR"S EDGE" in style. However I believe that Maugham did a much better job of incorporating the narrator into the flow of the story. Overall LORD JIM is a wonderful classic novel that I highly recommend.

This is the fifth book I have read by Conrad, and through these readings I have come to deeply appreciate his literary power and the perfection of his stories. Conrad has the skill to border about several similar subjects, without repeating himself. "Lord Jim" is truly a Shakespearean tragedy, mainly because of the Shakespearean nature of the main character. Jim is a young naval officer with high hopes of heroism and moral superiority, but when he faces his first test of courage, he miserably fails. While 800 Muslim pilgrims are asleep aboard the ship "Patna", Jim discovers that the boat is about to sink. There are not sufficient lifeboats for everybody. Should he wake them up or not? He gets paralyzed with fear and then sudenly jumps into a boat being set up by the rest of the officers. He is taken to trial and disposessed of his working licence.

Ashamed and humiliated, Jim dedicates the rest of his life to two things: escape the memory of that fateful night, and redeem himself. This agonizing quest to recover his dignity in front of his own eyes leads him to hide in a very remote point in the Malayan peninsula, where he will become the hero, the strong man, the wise protector of underdeveloped, humble and ignorant people. Jim finds not only the love of his people, but also the love of a woman who admires him and fears the day when he might leave for good. The narrator, Captain Marlow (the same of "Heart of Darkness") talks to Jim for the last time in his remote refuge, and then Jim tells him that he has redeemed himself by becoming the people's protector. Oh, but these things are never easy and Jim will face again the specter of failure.

Conrad has achieved a great thing by transforming the "novel of adventures" into the setting for profound and interesting reflections on the moral stature of Man, on courage, guilt, responsibility, and redemption.

Just as in "Heart of Darkness" the question is what kinds of beings we are stripped of cultural, moral and religious conventions; just as in "Nostromo" the trustworthiness of a supposedly honest man is tested by temptation, in "Lord Jim" the central subject is dignity and redemption after failure.

A great book by one of the best writers.

After reading this book (along with several other of Conrad's books) I am under the impression that Joseph Conrad may very well be my favorite author. Here is another masterpiece, a deeply incisive study of character of the motivation and the ultimate failure of all high-minded ideals. Granted my own personal world view falls directly in line with this realization and therefore prejudices me towards anything the man might write, but, when considering such a lofty title as 'favorite author' one must regard other aspects of the novelist's creation. As with the others, Conrad wins by the power of his stories.

Lord Jim is my least favorite of the the four books I have read by Conrad. The story is rather scattered: a righteous young man does something wrong that he holds himself far too accountable for and the public shame the action brought him exaggerates the reality of his failure and makes him believe the rumors swirling around about his so-called cowardice. He spends the remainder of his life trying to reclaim his self-regard, mostly exaggerating his own importance in matters he hardly understands. His goal is to liberate the primitive people of the jungle paradise he inadvertantly finds himself in (due to an effort to escape every particle of the world he once inhabited) and his once high-minded ideals and regard for himself lead him to allow those people to consider him almost a God.

Jim likes being a God and considers himself a just and fair one. He treats everyone equally and gives to his people the knowledge of modern science and medicine as well as the everyday archetecture and understanding of trade that those primitive folks would otherwise be years from comprehending.

Of course everything ends in failure and misery and of course Jim's restored name will be returned to its demonic status, but the whole point of the novel seems to me that one can not escape their past. Jim, for all his courage in the line of fire has tried to avoid all memory of the once shameful act of his former life and by doing so becomes destined to repeat his mistakes.

Lord Jim is far more expansive than the story it sets out to tell, ultimately giving a warning on the nature of history and general humanity that only a writer of Conrad's statue could hope to help us understand.

If there is a flaw it is not one to be taken literally. Conrad was a master of structural experimentation and with Lord Jim he starts with a standard third person narrative to relate the background and personalities of his characters and then somehow merges this into a second person narrative of a man, years from the events he is relating, telling of the legend of Jim. It is a brilliant innovation that starts off a little awkward and might lead to confusion in spots as the story verges into its most important parts under the uncertain guidence of a narrator who, for all his insight into others, seems unwilling to relate his personal relevence to the story he is relating.

Nevertheless (with a heartfelt refrain), one of the best books I have ever read.