Oscar Wilde entirely dedicates this play to the exploration of the way a woman can be saved from destruction in this society of appearances. A woman was the victim of an imbroglio in the past and abandoned her daughter. This woman comes back and the daughter ignores her relation to her. She is brought back into societry by the daughter's husband who knows the truth but does not want his wife to know it. But there is some kind of malediction that flies over the heads of these women. The daughter nearly does the same mistake as her mother but she is saved by her mother who accepts to be tainted in her daughter's place. Bus Oscar Wilde must think there is some kind of reward for a good deed and all is well that ends well, and this play has a happy ending. In spite of all the melodramatic sentimentalese atmosphere, Oscar Wilde definitely explores in this play the great disadvantage of a woman in society. Men can do nearly all they want. Women are extremely limited and have to walk a very straight and narrow line. Oscar Wilde seems to be ahead of his time as for the fate of women: he seems to aspire for real equality for them, though he shows in all possible ways that this is impossible in his society.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan

My first experience reading Oscar Wilde... and certainly not my last.

Wilde's sardonic wit and ineffable satire had me enchanted from page one. Wilde writes with devastatingly appealing witticisms, and with a style and cleverness matched by few other authors. It is said that he is one of the more oft-quoted authors in the English language, and I now understand why.

In addition to axioms and aphorisms of pure genius, the plot both captivates and surprises the reader. Lady Windermere discovers that her husband has been cheating on her, and a folly of misunderstandings and poor advice then unfolds; all the while satirizing society.

This play is very interesting to read (according to me). I saw a lot of hypocracy and snobery of people in this play. But a lot of peole said that the plays of Oscar Wilde have no satire, means, there is no factor of politics, socials,etc. I think, what he wrote in this plays and other plays had something to critize the people in that time. I want more information about Lady Winderemere's Fan, I mean what is the background of Wilde wrote yhis novel. Is there any important effects so that he wrote this first play?

I came across this book long ago while studying criminal tendencies among student and professional athletes. This is an excellent book that examines the purpose and effect of organized school sports on children and young adults from the elementary to college level. The old addage that "sports builds character" is strongly challenged here as myth after myth regarding the beneficial aspects of school sports is exploded by the authors. In the post-Columbine era, when the detrimental aspects of obsessive sports culture have been finally pushed into the spotlight, these issues regarding athletics and sports-guided adolescent development are more relevant than ever. The authors show that while sports do provide a basic outlet for physical education, the idea that sports build leaders and create better students is shown to be false. In fact, they show that what results are students who tend to be more violent and have a warped sense of morality as a result of so-called "game reasoning" indoctrination. Organized school sports also encourage standardization, conformity, and an unquestioning submissiveness to authority, while denegrating individuality, creativity, self-expression, and academic acheievement. They tend to reward violence and punish weakness. The result is that in high schools today we find athletes who have an over-developed sense of superiority and arrogance that manifests itself as violence and intimidation against those peers viewed as weaker, whether it's a nerdy bookworm or a young coed who says "no". These are issues that have been ignored for far too long and this book addresses them well. The "boys will be boys" mentality must end. As others have already said, it should be required reading by high school teachers, coaches, and students to get a better understanding of the many problems that face kids today and how school sports contibute more to the problem rather than the solution.

An excellent book that "pulls no punches," to use a sporting phrase. It has been known among those who study youth sports that especially among high school male athletes, excessive alcohol use and deviant behavior (fights, unprotected sex, etc.) have been present to a greater extent than among those not invovled in sport. Miracle and Rees clearly describe the genesis of the myth that sport builds character, and how it has been propogated by those who just want to believe. They clearly point out the problems that can occur, based on research. Competitive sport is not the same as exercise or physical education, activities that promotes health. The next time you read about coaches brawling over a youth hockey game, or parents attacking umpires after a "bad call," you might want to read Lessons of the Locker Room. It will explain to you why this is so. A must read for all parents of children who participate in sport and their coaches.

Lessons of the Locker Room

Sports build character. At least, that's what we've always heard. Why else would our schools invest so much time, effort, and money in student athletics? Andrew W. Miracle, Jr. and C. Roger Rees aren't so sure.

Historically, sports were introduced to public schools to attract students who would otherwise attend private schools. After public schools became the norm, as they are today, sports continued to be valued as an opportunity for community involvement and positive publicity for schools.

The authors suggest that sports serve other, less obvious purposes as well. Sports encourage conformity by requiring players to act as group. Sports may also promote submissiveness, in that players do as they are told, taking orders rather than making their own decisions. Sports also increase the authority of those in charge. They are the experts, and credit or blame for success or failure goes to coaches as much as or more than to players.

Research shows that, while many athletes have more positive attitudes towards school than other students, they also have decreased independence and self-control. So, what is touted as an opportunity for individual achievement may actually produce better followers than leaders.

Morality and sports is an issue as well. "Game reasoning" refers to a sense of right and wrong that changes according to the situation and a belief that the winner is morally superior to the loser. In some cases, game reasoning seems to flow over into everyday life.

Rees and Miracle propose that game reasoning accounts for many incidents of violence among athletes. Tests of moral reasoning of athletes show a willingness to believe that aggressive behavior is okay in any situation, if it serves the purpose at hand. What begins as a friendly rivalry can degenerate into violence if it is not checked by that slippery value called sportsmanship.

Miracle and Rees, while definitely on the side of classroom education over sports, present a fair assessment of school sports, presenting benefits as well as problems, and raising some interesting questions. The conclusion? Sports do not build character, they reveal it.

After fighting courageously in the Trojan War, Odysseus has been trying to get home for the past 20 years. Telemachus, the son of Odysseus can only watch as his father's estate is ruined by the evil suitors of his mother, who think Odysseuss in long dead. Hoping to learn of his father Telemachus sets on a journey guided by the goddess Athena, unaware that the wicked suitors plan to kill him. Meanwhile Odysseus has been held captive on the island of the cunning goddess, Calypso for the last seven yeaers. After the gods convince Calypso to free Odysseus, he builds a raft only to be shipwrecked on theh land of the Phaecians. Here he tells them what befell him after Troy this includes his narrow escape from the cyclops Polyhemus, the crafty goddess Circe, the land of the Lotus-eaters, Aeolus keeper of the winds, his voyage to the underworld and many other adventures. Will Odysseus and his son come home alive to punish the suitors, or will they die far from home? This book is for anyone who loves adventre and excitement, even if you never read Greek Mythology before you will love the adventures of Odysseus.The Odyssey is filled with betrayal, magic, myghical beasts, the wrath of the gods and the foolishness of human nature.

The variety of readers makes Yeats poetry come to life. If you like to chill in the car, this one is for you.

It is impossible to say who of the tremendous artists on this recording does the greatest honor to Yeats' words and intentions. Let us merely say it is the sort of contest which only the listener wins, especially if he or she has even one Emerald Isle gene in his or her make-up.

This is a wonderful collection of poetry. The readers contribute so much emotion to their reading. The listener can hear the music of Ireland in each voice. Every time I listen to this, I hear something new. Some of the poems included are: Stolen Child; The Indian to his Love; The Cloak, the Boat and the Shoes and The Sad Shepherd. This has brought many hours of relaxation and beauty to my evenings. I highly recommend this tape.

Though I have heard much praise of Jane Austen, this is the first time I've actually sat down and read one of her books. I was impressed. Though the plot would seem shallow now (it centers around marriages); then that was central to most women's hopes and desires. Besides the plot, the characters are amusing and Elizabeth is finely drawn. She is very self-confidant and will not allow others to look down on her for her ill upbringing. I don't believe men would enjoy this book, because the male figure is not drawn very realistically. I seriously doubt that all men thought or talked about were marriage and love. Walter Raleigh phrased it correctly by saying that "Austen's men wouldn't be allowed in any club in England!". I didn't find it to be at all boring, rather, a page-turner to see how everything was going to turn out (though in the end it became predictable). The formal language is confusing at times, but provides a bit more color with it's detail. Though many parts of the book are obviously contrived, and I feel as if Austen is trying a little too hard to invoke emotion within me, in many ways the book is ahead of it's time, and for that, it is commendable to be certain.

I have always loved the style and social politics of the Regency period (the time of Jane Austen.) But when I read "Sense and Sensibility" in 7th grade I found the first few chapters lifeless, dull and hard to read. Two years later I was encouraged by a friend to give "Pride and Prejudice" a try. I did and have since become a complete Janeite. I am now able to peruse joyfully through "Sense and Sensibility" with a new understanding and appreciation of Jane Austen. The reason? "Pride and Prejudice" is fresh, witty and is a great introduction to Jane Austen's writing style without the formality of some of her other novels (unlike S&S and Persuasion Austen does not give us a 10 page history of each family and their fortune.) If you have never read Jane Austen or have read her other novels and found them boring, read Pride and Prejudice. The characters, and the situations Austen presents to them, are hysterical and reveal a lot about Regency society and morality. This book perfectly compliments a great writer like Jane Austen and is essential to every reader's library. The Penguin Edition of the book is stellar and I personally recommend it not only for the in-depth and indispensable footnotes, but also for the cover that is non-suggestive of any of the characters' appearances. In summary "Pride and Prejudice" is a great book for beginner Austen readers and seasoned fans, and Penguin Classics is a great edition for fully enjoying and understanding the book.

I always have trouble reviewing my very favorite books on Amazon. It always seems as if nothing I can write does the book justice. Pride and Prejudice is one of those novels. I don't remember a time when I've enjoyed a read so much (and I read a lot).

It's a well known story. Of course, it's that Jane Austen world (which Austen pokes endlessly at) with the social artifaces, the endless gossiping, and clever schemes on how to get married, particularly to someone rich. Here, it is the Bennet sisters trying to get themselves hitched, and the central character is the spirited Elizabeth who clashes with (sometimes) arrogant, stuffy Darcy.

Pride and Prejudice is so entertaining on different levels. It is so funny! The characters (especially Mr. and Mrs. Bennet) are so eccentrically funny, and some of the situations Elizabeth gets into are hilarious. Austen's little asides about the local society are subtly cutting, too. Then, there are all of the brilliant characterizations and their changing relationships. Also, I'm always drawn to Austen's little theme of love's ability to break through the mess of a shallow society. I truly love everything about this little novel. It'll certainly alway keep a special place on my bookshelf (or by my bed).

This is a well-written spy novel concerning the Allied turning of Axis agents in England, and the deception about where the D-Day forces would land. It does well at portraying daily life in wartime London, and some of the characters have depth and complexity.
Yet all this effort at realism and character development falls short. Many people who read this book KNOW the true story of how the Allies turned the German agents in England, and the various complex and ingenious methods which deceived Germany about the planned landing point of D-Day.
And such readers KNOW that the British would not be so dumb and reckless with thousands of lives, as to give the Germans information pointing to Normandy, merely because that information MIGHT cause dissension among German intelligence analysts which MIGHT benefit the Allies.
Nor would the type of risky and pointless manipulation WITHIN the British MI5, which is part of the book's plot, be engineered by MI5, just because it MIGHT make fake information received by the Germans look more authentic -- just as it might allow the Germans to get the true information and cause D-Day to fail.
There are so many plot lines, with equal drama and tension, that could have been developed within the framework of known facts, that it seems silly for an author to go so far outside the known facts.

Veteran journalist, Daniel Silva, makes his mark as a novelist with, "The Unlikely Spy," a quality World War II espionage thriller. The story centers on Britain's top plans for the D-Day invasion and Hitler's attempt to uncover the vital secret of the war; the time and place of the Anglo-American invasion of France.

Working on behalf of Germany is the beautiful Catherine Blake, a ruthless Mata Hari type spy who will seduce, maim, and kill in order to help Nazi Germany achieve victory. Hand-picked by Winston Churchill himself is Alfred Vicary, a successful history professor. Vicary's job is to run "Operation Double Cross" for M15 England's couterespionage agency. It is known that Germany has spies stationed in England, but who they are and how to find and break them lands on the shoulders of Vicary. The war could easily be lost to Germany if vital information is leaked to Hitler. For Vicary, not only does he face the challenge of foreign enemies, but also he must deal with a few deceitful people in his own department, jealous of his designation by Churchill. The cat-and-mouse game begins to roll!

Silva's book is not entirely original, you will see shades of Follet and Higgins throughout. Nonetheless, it is entertaining and the historical facts the story is based on are accurate. I believe Silva shows a lot of promise as a future force in the world of high-spy literature. With experience he should develop a style which is uniquely his own. He is definitely worth reading.

There are definite elements of Ken Follett's "Eye of the Needle" in Daniel Silva's "The Unlikely Spy". The most obvious is that Follett's bumbling spy was named Godliman, Silva's is named Vicary. But there are differences too - and those differences make Silva's book better than Follett's.

Most of the novels of this type follow a formula - Nazi spy, planted in England, uncovers the real facts about the Normandy invasion, and the brave, muddle-headed British intelligence officer must stop the spy before s/he gives it all away. Silva's novel follows this formula fairly well, but there's a very well-written story surrounding it.

Silva's plot is extremely detailed, and there are puzzles within puzzles, and plots within plots. Alfred Vicary is the proverbial (and in some cases literal) absent-minded professor, who shows a surprising streak of ruthlessness when it really matters; Catherine Blake is the Third Reich's ultimate weapon, who would rather not do what she's been doing for the last five years, but has no choice in the matter. These are the two main characters in a very well-done WWII spy novel.

This is Silva's first novel, and if it's any indication of things to come, he has a glorious career ahead of him. I do hope he doesn't restrict himself to this genre, though - if he does his books will grow very stale very fast.

If you are looking for tragedy and a dark bloody drama then I recommend Macbeth with no reservations whatsoever. On a scale of 1-5, I fell this book deserves a 4.5. Written by the greatest literary figure of all time, Shakespeare mesmorizes the reader with suspense and irony. The Scottish Thane Macbeth is approachd by three witches who attempt and succeed at paying with his head. They tell him he will become king, which he does, alog with the aide of his ambitious wife. Macbeth's honor and integrity is destroyed with the deceit and murders he commits. As the novel progresses, Macbeth's conscience tortures him and makes him weak minded. Clearly the saying "what goes around comes around," is put to use since Macbeth's doom was similar to how he acquired his status of kingship. He kills Duncan, the king of Scottland and chops the head off the Thane of Cawdor, therefore the Thane of Fife, Macduff, does the same thing to him. I feel anyone who decides to read this extraordinary book will not be disatisfied and find himself to become an audience to Shakespearean tragedies.

William Shakespeare's tragedies are universal. We know that the tragedy will be chalk-full of blood, murder, vengeance, madness and human frailty. It is, in fact, the uncorrectable flaws of the hero that bring his death or demise. Usually, the hero's better nature is wickedly corrupted. That was the case in Hamlet, whose desire to avenge his father's death consumed him to the point of no return and ended disastrously in the deaths of nearly all the main characters. At the end of Richard III, all the characters are lying dead on the stage. In King Lear, the once wise, effective ruler goes insane through the manipulations of his younger family members. But there is something deeply dark and disturbing about Shakespeare's darkest drama- Macbeth. It is, without a question, Gothic drama. The supernatural mingles as if everyday occurence with the lives of the people, the weather is foul, the landscape is eerie and haunting, the castles are cold and the dungeons pitch-black. And then there are the three witches, who are always by a cauldron and worship the nocturnal goddess Hecate. It is these three witches who prophetize a crown on the head of Macbeth. Driven by the prophecy, and spurred on by the ambitious, egotistic and Machiavellian Lady Macbeth (Shakespeare's strongest female character), Macbeth murders the king Duncan and assumes the throne of Scotland. The roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are tour de force performances for virtuosic actors. A wicked couple, a power-hungry couple, albeit a regal, intellectual pair, who can be taken into any form- Mafia lord and Mafia princess, for example, as in the case of a recent movie with a modern re-telling of Macbeth.

Nothing and no one intimidates Macbeth. He murders all who oppose him, including Banquo, who had been a close friend. But the witches predict doom, for Macbeth, there will be no heirs and his authority over Scotland will come to an end. Slowly as the play progresses, we discover that Macbeth's time is running up. True to the classic stylings of Shakespeare tragedy, Lady Macbeth goes insane, sleepwalking at night and ranting about bloodstained hands. For Macbeth, the honor of being a king comes with a price for his murder. He sees Banquo's ghost at a dinner and breaks down in hysteria in front of his guests, he associates with three witches who broil "eye of newt and tongue of worm", and who conjure ghotsly images among them of a bloody child. Macbeth is Shakespeare's darkest drama, tinged with foreboding, mystery and Gothic suspense. But, nevertheless, it is full of great lines, among them the soliloquy of Macbeth, "Out, out, brief candle" in which he contemplates the brevity of human life, confronting his own mortality. Macbeth has been made into films, the most striking being Roman Polansky's horrific, gruesome, R-rated movie in which Lady Macbeth sleepwalks in the nude and the three witches are dried-up, grey-haired naked women, and Macbeth's head is devilishly beheaded and stuck at the end of a pole. But even more striking in the film is that at the end, the victor, Malcolm, who has defeated Macbeth, sees the witches for advise. This says something: the cycle of murder and violenc will begin again, which is what Macbeth's grim drama seems to be saying about powerhungry men who stop at nothing to get what they want.

While I was basically familiar with Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth, I have only recently actually read the bard's brilliant play. The drama is quite dark and moody, but this atmosphere serves Shakespeare's purposes well. In Macbeth, we delve deeply into the heart of a true fiend, a man who would betray the king, who showers honors upon him, in a vainglorious snatch at power. Yet Macbeth is not 100% evil, nor is he a truly brave soul. He waxes and wanes over the execution of his nefarious plans, and he thereafter finds himself haunted by the blood on his own hands and by the ethereal spirits of the innocent men he has had murdered. On his own, Macbeth is much too cowardly to act so traitorously to his kind and his country. The source of true evil in these pages is the cold and calculating Lady Macbeth; it is she who plots the ultimate betrayal, forcefully pushes her husband to perform the dreadful acts, and cleans up after him when he loses his nerve. This extraordinary woman is the lynchpin of man's eternal fascination with this drama. I find her behavior a little hard to account for in the closing act, but she looms over every single male character we meet here, be he king, loyalist, nobleman, courtier, or soldier. Lady Macbeth is one of the most complicated, fascinating, unforgettable female characters in all of literature.

The plot does not seem to move along as well as Shakespeare's other most popular dramas, but I believe this is a result of the writer's intense focus on the human heart rather than the secondary activity that surrounds the related royal events. It is fascinating if sometimes rather disjointed reading. One problem I had with this play in particular was one of keeping up with each of the many characters that appear in the tale; the English of Shakespeare's time makes it difficult for me to form lasting impressions of the secondary characters, of whom there are many. Overall, though, Macbeth has just about everything a great drama needs: evil deeds, betrayal, murder, fighting, ghosts, omens, cowardice, heroism, love, and, as a delightful bonus, mysterious witches. Very many of Shakespeare's more famous quotes are also to be found in these pages, making it an important cultural resource for literary types. The play doesn't grab your attention and absorb you into its world the way Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet does, but this voyage deep into the heart of evil, jealousy, selfishness, and pride forces you to consider the state of your own deep-seated wishes and dreams, and for that reason there are as many interpretations of the essence of the tragedy as there are readers of this Shakespearean masterpiece. No man's fall can rival that of Macbeth's, and there is a great object lesson to be found in this drama. You cannot analyze Macbeth without analyzing yourself to some degree, and that goes a long way toward accounting for the Tragedy of Macbeth's literary importance and longevity.

I am a retired high school and college instructor who taught the Iliad many times at both levels. The Rouse version was always my translation of choice, and it was enormously successful. The complaints (or halfhearted commendations here) miss the point. Most seem to think that Rouse's "plain English" version is a diminution of the original. All translations are! Rouse merely eliminated many epithets and repetitions (necessary in the meter of the poem and unnecessary in prose). But Rouse is extremely accurate within his chosen limits and the result is a brilliant achievement: a fast-moving text (as is the original) that is colloquial where appropriate, noble sithout being stuffy when nobility is called for; the result is an always ongoing, rapidly moving narrative told in vivid, sinewy prose that simply hurtles you along. It does not attempt to give the more complex reading experience that Fitzgerald and Lattimore and Fagles achieve in their superb verse translations; but these are best reserved for second . . .or 17th readings, once the complex story and relations between characters are mastered. And indeed, none of the more famous verse translations (Pope's is to be avoided: it's a beautiful Augustan poem, not Homer)--none come close to Rouse's focused and frightening rendering of Achilles' on the battlefield, once he goes into action. In short, Rouse is in spirit thoroughly "Homeric"--by turns racy and funny, savage, noble, ultimately tragic as, e.g., the dreadful Victorian versions of Butler and Lang, Leaf, & Myers are not and should be avoided). Even with the small point-size in which the text was set, Rouse's Homer is not just a bargain: it's a treasure bought at a small price.

I have been reading two translations of Homer's Iliad over the past several weeks: Robert Fagles' 1990 translation and Alexander Pope's 1743 translation. I have read the two translations in tandem, one "book" at a time. I first read Mr Fagle's translation, then the notes of Mr Pope, and finally his translation. I would call this one of the finest reading experiences of my life. I read both translations out-loud, or at least in a whisper. This winter-time reading experience has been, for me, a labor of love, a stimulating intellectual experience, a study in contrasts, and a return to the sources of Western Literature. I find Homer as fascinating as Alexander Pope claims him to be. Although his long narrative describes only a few days of the ten years war between Greece and Troy, he makes it interesting by his variety of metaphors, his close description of characters, and his attention to detail. Every man who dies is a person, with family, friends, history, and personality. Some are likeable, others are not; but in any case there are no ciphers in Homer's war. I am fascinated too by the developing theological issues of this six century BCE civilization. We might have to worship these meddlesome gods and their All-powerful Zeus, but do we always have to respect them? They seem to be all too human. In fact, the gods themselves seem to be trapped in an eternally frustrating struggle. Zeus is condemned to defend his sovereignty against a panoply of gods who must always resent his authority. Meanwhile, he is lonely, and he cannot stop himself from occasionally confiding in "that bitch" his sister and wife, Hera. She reminds me of a woman in a recent movie who said "Sometimes being a bitch is the only way a woman can save her self-respect." (Or something to that effect.) "Hera" represents that eternally angry woman who will not and cannot buckle under male domination. I find myself being grateful to this western tradition which has honored and preserved the memory of Homer and kept these ancient books in tact. I grieve at the thought of ancient celtic, african, and native american epics that have been lost or so badly mangled that they cannot be restored. I understand that there has been an enormous flurry of excitement over Mr Fagles' translation and I am certainly caught up in it as well. He tells these stories with excitement and conviction; they are as plausible and coherent today as they must have been to the privileged listeners who sat at the feet of Homer. But I am also grateful to Penguin Press who last year celebrated their 50th anniversary by republishing this magnificent translation by Alexander Pope. I only wish more of the reading public had heard about the celebration. I hate to admit that I was an indifferent student in college. I had other things on my mind. But now, in my middle years, I am glad to have the time and opportunity, to curl up with two great translations of Homer's Iliad on a winter's evening, to discover again the joy of reading superb English.

The version of the "Iliad" that I read was the prose translation by W. H. D. Rouse (those of you interested in the verse translation should see the edition provided by Robert Fagles). Agamemnon holds a Trojan captive as his concubine, Chryseis. He refuses to release the girl to her father Chryses, a priest of Apollo, for ransom. Apollo sends a plague as punishment and Agamemnon finally relents. But, he replaces her with Briseis, the concubine of Achilles, the leading Greek warrior. Achilles now refuses to fight. His closest friend, Patroclus, dons Achilles' armor and goes to battle, hoping to rally the Greeks against the Trojans. He is killed in combat by Hector, son of the ruler of Troy. Achilles is furious. He obtains new armor, is reconciled to Agamemnon, and goes to meet Hector in battle. Hector is killed and the epic ends with Hector's funeral. This is one of the great classics of literature and should be required reading for every College student. Unfortunately, it isn't.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a very special book. It is about a doctor, named Jekyll. He is known as a gentleman who works quietly in his lab. What no one knows is that Dr. Jekyll has invented a sort of medicine that changes your whole body. When the medicine is taken, your personality becomes evil and your body turns into an ugly hairy man. When Dr. Jekyll drinks the medicine he, turns into Mr. Hyde. Hyde does everything that Jekyll has ever dreamed of but hasn't had a chance to do. Suddenly things go too far. Hyde murders an old man and there is a witness at the place of the death. Now, the police want Hyde and Dr. Jekyll decides that he shall continue being Jekyll and only Jekyll. But can he really keep away? It is so tempting to live the life of Hyde.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of the best books I have read. Even though it has a very dull setting, it is amazingly exciting. You always want to know what happens next. The changing between Jekyll and Hyde is made in a very good way, when the main character is Hyde, he always lives in danger, but when he's Jekyll he can live a perfectly normal life. One of the main points in the story is that you shouldn't use drugs to achieve things that you have always dreamed of, because you can really reach them by yourself. This theme really had an impact on me and got me thinking. Almost anyone can read this book because it is a classic and has been published in so many different versions. I would recommend it to almost anyone.

Sometimes the man who does it first does it best, and in Stevenson's case I think that's true. Anyone who's ever known or been an addict will find The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde terrifyingly familiar. Stephen King called this the archetypal werewolf novel, but that description only scratches the surface. Read this book. Then look closely in the mirror, if you dare.

"I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been lead to this dreadful shipwreck: that a man is not truly one, but truly two." This book travels deep into the heart and soul of one man named Dr. Jekyll. The book will give you a full sense of personality. It not only helps you understand the characters, but it also helps you see which side, your good or your evil, is more developed. The ending will send chills up your spine. Dr. Jekyll is the basic good in the story. He has devoted his life to scientific studies and helping people. The basic villian is Edward Hyde. He is every Evil in existence put into one person. Although Dr. Jekyll is good, his curiousity drove him to unimaginable evil. He decided to explore the evil in himself. He made a potion and drank it. He changed into the horrible Edward Hyde. So you see that what separates this book from the ordinary category, is that the good and the evil exist in one.

This is an excellent reading of Samuel Butler's 1900 prose translation of The Odyssey; however, it is not unabridged, as it claims. Butler's translation runs to about 118,000 words. This 6-hour recording appears to contain a little more than half the text.

My children (8 and 12 years), as well as the adults in our family, totally enjoyed this four hour cassette version of Homer's Odyssey. Roger Rees, who performs the Odyssey, does a great job. Such a good job, in fact, that we intend to purchase the Iliad, which he also records under the New Millennium Audio label. This audio tape is certainly not a substitute for reading the book, but for children too young to read it but who are interested in ancient Greek culture, literature, and mythology, these tapes are great. In addition, these tapes are great entertainment for the whole family on the road or in other circumstances where reading the text isn't convenient.