~I think that this book was a good one. It really caught your attention at the beginning with The Tell Tale Heart and each story had its each special effect. I guess you can say that, because it was just so interesting the way he used his description with the stories. For example once Poe used a set up in the story where he told you about every sense and you could really imagine it, and then there's when you have no idea where it takes place or what it exactly looks like, but both ways he uses is intriguing and really sparks a tingle in your body. The only thing that I think really wasn't that great was I would kind of wander off when reading it only because he uses things that we aren't really focused on and basically scared of, but it does all really make sense if you can think of the time period that was taking place during Poe's years. I have to clap my hands for Poe, he really is a talented writer!

In these 3 short story, Poe introduces to the world for the first time the way of logical deduction, and applies it to an actual ambiguous case.

He seems to place much importance in mathematics as being the best exercise for analytic reasoning. Similar thing is seen in Doyle's Holmes, for Doyle asserts that Moriarty, the arch enemy of Sherlock Holmes, is in fact a mathematician.

Well aside from that he places much importance on meditation, a habit that is very unfamiliar in most of the world.

In the course of the first story, "The Murders of Rue Morgue," the French detective, Dupin, surprises his companion by interfering in his thoughts, an act that was criticized by Holmes in the novel "A Study in Scarlet," and that was practiced by him in some other short story of his.

The mystery, on the other hand, was a new one, not a simple one, and the deductions of Dupin were very logical and intriguing.

In the second story, "The Mystery of Marie Roget," Poe reconstructs a real crime by merely building up from the newspaper clips he collected over the span of time. He finally solves the mystery in the person of his detective Dupin. Close analysis had showed that the answer provided by Poe was actually the write one.

In the third story, "The Purloined Letter," Dupin solves a very easy mystery that puzzled the police force of paris.

This book is not at the same level of Doyle's writing, it is a little simpler, but is a nice read, though. That might be true because Doyle had based his detective, Holmes, on Dupin, and had actually attained the fame that forced him to dedicate some of his time for his mysteries.

Irwin's award winning book is a stimulating application of now traditional 'new' literary criticism/analysis and more recent and trendy (read: quasi-post-modern) devices. The result is a frequently absorbing study of the labyrinthine minds of Poe and Borges, as seen principally through their related six detective pieces. Unfortunately the sutures as well as the strivings-for-effect from Irwin's foundational lectures stand too proud, making for greater appeal to academics than to even highly motivated general readers. Irwin's work would find and deserve more cover-to-cover readers, rather than citation researchers, if a second edition were edited for repetitiveness and prolixity.

"Poe" by William Bittner

What more can be said about Edgar Allan Poe? With such a broad audience, and such a well-known tale, you would think that the Edgar biography could be told in no more detail. "Poe" by William Bittner is just the appropriate length and amount of information to withhold your interest while capturing the main facts of his life. Although an interesting read, this story is not for everyone. There are many events, which are sometimes hard to follow.
Born in 1809, Poe was an intelligent young many who quickly showed talent for writing. Living with his successful stepfamily, he attended the finest of schools. In 1826, Poe registered at the University of Virginia. His extravagant lifestyle at the University cost him his already poor relationship with his stepfather, Allen, and put him deeply in debt. Money would greatly influence Poe's future. Poe did not last at the University for long. Discouraged and ashamed he returned home with Allen. Searching for a new place of income, Edgar joined the army. This adventure also did not last long. After the army, Poe returned to Baltimore to find his family. He would later fall in love with his little sister and marry her. The rest of his life would be rocky...
"-in the dawn of a most stormy life- was drawn From ev'ry depth of good and ill The mystery which binds me still- From the thunder, and the storm- And the cloud that took the form (when the rest of Heaven was blue) Of a demon in my view." ("Alone" by Poe page 59)
Allen died in 1834, leaving not a penny to his son. Desperately needing money, Poe worked tirelessly on reviews, poems, and stores, trying to provide for his wife and grandmother. He contributed to many magazines, which attained instant fame. Many times he was underpaid and under credited On January 30th, 1847, Poe's beloved Virginia died. He mourned dearly for his wife; from then on things were never the same.
William Bittner develops the characters in the book as they come into play with Poe's life. Each person is described, as Poe would have felt about him or her. This is effective throughout the book. The setting of the book is everywhere from New York to Charleston all the way to Europe. Poe had traveled greatly in his life.
Poe had a huge influence on the United States and the whole world. He is seen as a hero in the eyes of many. His legacy remains untouched and challenges writers to greater themselves.
I would suggest reading this book to anyone who plans on reading Edgar Allan's poetry or stories. His life and his work are so closely connected that you cannot understand one without the other.

In earning his second doctorate, Arthur Lerner explores these three poets. Dr. Lerner's writing (essays, poems, and even personal letters) are marked by efficient phrasing and deep scholarship. Those in the adjunctive therapies of biblio- or poetry therapy must add this to their research library. A note: Dr. Lerner passed away from a stroke in April, 1998.

In the Purloined Letters, the Prefect of the Parisian police comes to Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin with a problem to which he has no solution. An unscrupulous governmental minister has stolen an embarrassing letter from a member of the royal family, and is using it for blackmail. The Prefect has made every effort to retrieve the letter, but cannot find it. Now it appears that only the mind of Monsieur Dupin can deduce where the letter is hidden.

In the Murders in the Rue Morgue we are introduced to the character of Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin, a Parisian gentleman with a sharpened mind that allows him to deduce information unavailable to the casual observer. When a pair of ghastly murders are committed in the Rue Morgue, Dupin applies his intellect and powers of observation to solve the seemingly inexplicable deaths.

First published in 1841, these stories mark the introduction of the mystery and the private investigator. I found these stories short, and yet quite interesting. They are interesting for their historical value and just for their own selves. I recommend them.

There have been more well known academic studies of Poe's work (such as Daniel Hoffman's " Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe") but this is one of the best ones and deserves to be better known. Poe is still one of America's most avant garde writers and as Gore Vidal wittily wrote "the primal fount of American literature." Ketterer's book is not a complete success (his analysis of "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Ligeia" is flawed); however his insights into Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Black Cat," and "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym," are excellent and never resort to pseudo-freudian criticism to explain the author's psyche. David Ketterer's book provides a firm understanding of Poe and his mysterious work. I recommend to all students or lovers of literature.

I used to loathe Poe's style, whose involutions seemed to drain his work of all their professed horror, while admiring the way he smuggled hugely complex ideas into popular modes - no wonder Hitchcock adored him. Now, as I grow older, I begin to value Poe more, recognise his obsessions and fears in myself, while marvelling at a style that manages to convey hothouse exoticism with remarkable, chilling precision.

Of the three stories I read recently in this volume, Morella is the least successful, a rehash of Leonora (a dead wife is reincarnated in her daughter), but there a brilliance in Poe's dramatising of an idea that is admirable.

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar is truly disgusting and horrifying. A hynotist experiments on a dying man to see if he can prolong life after death. The cool analytic style lead contemporaries to confuse it with a medical testcase (it was published in a scientific journal), but what is most memorable is the anguish of the dead man who cannot rest.

Best of all though is the immortal Black Cat. Violent and unconsionable, the brutalities in this story are among the most grotesque in literature, both to animals and to people. Poe's style is at his most poetically sustained as he describes the most vile barbarities with his character's objectionable self-pity. What is most sublime, though, is the note of black comedy that is laced throughout, which would be foregrounded in Roger Corman's hilarious version in Tales Of Terror.

Van Leer's introduction is informative enough, but there is a note of begrudgery and a refusal to take Poe altogether seriously, that is aggravating.

Edgar Allen Poe was one of the best writers of his time, and this book proves it. The writings are exceptional, I'm not going to go in to much detail, because this book doesn't need it. If you are a fan of good writing, and short stories, this book is for you!

Christopher Lee does an excellent job of "voicing" Poe's extraordinary works. His recitation of THE RAVEN is the best to date (would've been even better if they used the special effects used with Walken's - weaker - rendition). HOPFROG, THE TELL-TALE HEART, and THE MURDERS OF THE RUE MORGUE are some of the masterpieces included in this creepfest.