With it's tipped in plates and beautiful end papers I think this book is a bibliophile's dream. Being a big fan of Cornell's work I was very impressed and pleased with the overall packaging, which I find to be quite lovely, and the quality of the writing. Finally I was really impressed when I found out that the editor put it all together while he was still in college. I think this is a great book for fans of Joseph Cornell's boxes.

I received this book from an old friend who I hadn't seen in nearly twenty years--she showed up unannounced, spent a few hours sitting in the sun, and then disappeared just as unexpectedly. I still don't know if she meant to leave the book behind, but I've decided that I won't give it up. Cornell's boxes have a strange beauty that seems to attract strange birds--deceptively simple, at first you barely realize how quickly you can slip into these lost, overlooked, forgotten worlds that seem hum along according to an amusingly skewed logic. Many of the stories and poems show writers who've successfully crossed over and have sent back postcards filled with the fresh and unfamiliar voices of travellers far from home.

IÂ'm a huge Joseph Cornell fan, and own every book that has anything to do with him. This is the best! Not only are the images beautiful and plentiful (and many new to me), but the stories and poems are so unbelievably entertaining and different from one another. IÂ've never seen a book quite like this one, and IÂ'm going to give a copy to everyone I know!

Good historical overview of Cleveland supplemented by photographs. Cut and dried, scholarly approach. Recommended as a starting point for historical research into what shaped the city.

The Iowa Breeding Bird Atlas presents the first detailed state-wide survey results for breeding birds. Detailed species accounts are provided for more than 150 birds known to breed in Iowa. These are accompanied by maps showing the distribution of the birds. Several introductory chapters summarize information about the vegetation, geologic origins, and history of the state. Summary statistics include tables showing the most common species, the most frequently confirmed breeding species, and correlations between species groups and the different landforms. The data in this volume includes key information on both common and rare species. This book is an excellent reference for anyone interested in birds or bird atlases. The species accounts are extremely well-written and informative. I highly recommend this book.

This is a good and basic selection of women writers from the period, though I wish the selection were more adventurous. As well, I think the book is far too expensive to use in a course since one must supplement these texts with others. But I am pleased to have this anthology. Now if only we could have an inexpensive anthology that covers the classical through the Renaissance periods.

Robert Burns was and still is the greatest Scottish poet to ever live. This book takes you deep inside the mind of the Scots and makes you feel like one yourself. A perfect selection of literature, it is sure to be among your favorite bedside books. Buy it!!!

I found that that book was a bit too simplistic to fully wrap one's mind around. Although the allegories had to be modernized, they could be more consistent with the original much as "Alice in Quantum Land" was. All-in-all a wonderful read and a great introduction to some more complex concepts of science and quantum mechanics.

We were always told in school to read the classics...and so, having embarked on an attempt to do this, I find it very uninspiring. Just as interesting as Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde novel is both unexciting and a waste of time. Maybe the modern day media has dullened my senses, maybe I have become anaesthetized to the twists and turns of this timeless classic. Then again, maybe it is hugely overrated by literature readers who get their cues from the 1940's.

Equally entertaining in it's own right, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde maintained my interest. However, since it is not the slang I am used to in speech and in text, the language was difficult for me to comprehend at first. But as the story progressed, I was able to keep up with the extensive vocabulary and sentence structures. The story line captivated me, being mysterious and well put together. Dr. Jekyll is a jolly man who is well liked and well respected, and with good reason. Initially, I was fond of this character as his lawyer, Mr. Utterson, described him throughout the book. Yet, when it is revealed what Dr. Jekyll did, my opinion of him becomes shady and unsure. This character is essential and puzzling in this story, causing one to wonder his credibility. Mr. Hyde, on the other hand, is a man who is easily dislikable. He shows no reason to be admired most notably when he does the unthinkable. Murder, mystery, missing links and possibly psychotic scientists ... and that's just the beginning. This book obviously had no trouble intriguing me.

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is assured a place in the history of horror fiction because it the literary classic that represents the archetype of the werewolf (the human with the hiding inside). Along with Mary Wollstonecraft's "Frankenstein" (the Thing Without a Name) and Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (the Vampire) Robert Louis Stevenson's novella is part of the gothic foundation of the modern horror story. All have in common the fact that they promise to tell a story that might best be left untold, which, of course, is exactly the sort of story we want to hear.

Given that Stevenson was writing when the genre of horror fiction was not recognized as such, it is surprising that "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is cast in the form of a mystery novel. Stevenson invites his readers to try and get ahead of the story, to put the clues together and come to the conclusion. Today it is nearly impossible to pick up this story and not know the "secret," but if you think back to the late 19th-century when this story was written you can get a sense for how Stevenson used the biases and limitations of his readers to his advantage in keeping them from what we might consider to be an obvious conclusion.

More importantly, Stevenson is writing several decades before the writings of Sigmund Freud revolutionized the whole idea of human psychology. Yet we can certainly find evidence of the conscious and subconscious mind of which Freud would write. Stevenson reinforces this metaphor with the block of buildings that divides this particular part of London, with one side representing the civilized world of a respected physician and the other side the squalor of the world inhabited by an inhuman creature who gives in to his every earthly desire. The novella also speaks to the topic of evolution, with Hyde being described as "ape-like," reinforcing the idea that our most human attributes remove us ever further from the category of mere animal.

Of the three classic horror novels, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is the most accessible. Not only because of its shorter length, but also because its evil is more realistic, even in terms of our imagination. We might be unable to reanimate the dead or to become the walking dead, but we can certainly relate to the idea of unleashing the beast buried with us. Even if we could not, we can recognize the "werewolf" in the real world in the form of serial killers who try to show a civilized face to us in public. This is not to say that the novella is simplistic, for Stevenson offers a sophisticated narrative. If this is one of those literary you have never read because you already know the story, then you should take out an evening to sit down and finally get around to reading it.

One would have thought that after Chubb and Moe's book we would find new insight here; but these writers are not only not economists, but are generally 'conservative' in the sense that they simply won't admit that impoverished kids are desperate for better schools. This book is somewhat closed-minded, but there are valuable lessons to be learned as well. Those who seek profit in education are the vultures who await perched upon the current debate. But things are indeed desperate, and these troublingly complacent academics are not helping things, in my opinion. Worth a read, to be sure...

This text offers valuable information in which one can become a more informed citizen on the political rhetoric over educational reform. The text is not unproblematic however. The small section on "school as a civic sphere" needed to be expanded upon as well as the way in which all of the reforms focused upon math and reading test scores. Overall, these areas remain minor in comparison the benefits of this text.

If you're looking for a book about Rush the band, this is not for you. If you are looking for insights into the inspiration behind the lyrics, this book is a step in the right direction.

Carol Selby Price comes off as well-read, with a wide range of knowledge covering philosophy, religion, literature and pop culture. She definitely is a fan of the music of Rush, but especially the lyrics of Neal Peart. Don't expect a lot of coverage on the instrumental music here, this is strictly about the lyrics.

I found that the breakdown of theme categories and selection of titles worked from the standpoint that she covered from 2112 through Presto. The book works best when clearly staying with the topic of a single song, then using some comparisons from literarture, etc. If one were to merely listen to the songs, there would be a surface meaning, but this book helps dig deeper below the surface layer, peeling through the layers of allegory and metaphor to some core visions.
For example, while "Red Barchetta" appears to be a thumbing of the nose against the powers of a dystopic society, I never thought about the adventure merely being a dream by the fireside itself. Did he actually drive the care or simply remain with his uncle by the fireside?
I liked the link of Analog Kid, Digital Man and New World Man, especially the inner/outer versions of New World Man comparing both individuals as well as the regions New World, Old World and Third World.
Criticisms: There must have been a copyright issue with reprinting the lyrics, because one would need the album/disk package at hand to review the writing. While there are plenty of quotes from other sources, the Rush songs are merely paraphrased. I also would have liked to have the entire song broken down, instead of going off on a tangent to show comparisons with Kant, Plato, Nietzsche or Ayn Rand. At times the writers appeared to be showing off their knowledge and there was some definite narrative preachiness about our society. E.T. one long commercial for Reese's Pieces? What does that have to do with Rush?
Some songs are covered briefly, such as 2112, which was then recovered in The Trees. Some editorial tightening would have helped this book, but then again, at barely 150 pages, it was not that long a read.
I would recommend this book to Rush fans who are scholars and have read works by some of those in the bibliography.

The Prices have written a book that I, myself, have considered writing... namely, a book interpreting the lyrics of Neil Peart (drummer/lyricist for the band Rush). Peart's song lyrics have kept me reading and researching quite a bit over the years, in an on-going attempt to dig DEEPER into the meaning of his complex songs. Today I consider myself to be, like Peart himself, a self-educated intellectual. I owe much of my intellect to the musical group Rush.

Look at the other criticisms of this book - "Rush fans can interpret the songs on their own! They don't need a book to do it for them!" Well.... yes and no. If you want to continue believing that "The Body Electric" is merely a futuristic song/story about a robot, or that "Limelight" is only about being famous... this book isn't for you. But if you want to go DEEPER into the songs' meanings, perhaps you should check out "Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of Rush." If fans can 'interpret the songs on their own,' then why have other fans often asked me, "What is that song ABOUT??" Not ALL fans are able to grasp the 'underlying themes' of the lyrics, and only scratch the surface in their interpretations. Nothing wrong with that; there's a lot of meaning there, too. But for those who want to look still further into the water...

Check out this book. The Prices' focus is on Philosophy and Human Psychology as it relates to the vision Peart has given us, the fans of his songs. Sometimes in the text, one gets the impression that the authors have "gone too far" - perhaps they've dug deeper than even Peart himself intended! But new insights into the songs will surely be gained from reading the book, even if only as a suplement to the reader's OWN lyrical intrepretation.

I enjoyed this book, and will hang onto it as a reference source.

Weather of not you like the music of Rush, the lyrics of Neil Peart stand on their own merit as works of genius which resonate with deep meaning and vivid pertinence. Neil's lyrics give voice to more serious and truly important issues and questions than are found in any other lyrics in the music industry in general. Neil Peart is a very meticulous person. There is very little he does or says that is without purpose. Meaningful structure is as equally prevalent in his lyrics as it is in his famously well-crafted drum parts. These structures as well as the content are categorized and examined in this wonderful book.

Carol Selby Price and Robert Price are obviously very knowledgeable about each of Neil's lyrics as well as the literature and philosophical concepts that have fed Neil's writing. Their vast knowledge of literature, ancient through modern, is used throughout this book to help explain in colorful detail the issues and images depicted in the lyrics.

The authors have put in a great deal of analysis and thought leading to an extremely poignant, interesting and insightful analysis of Neil's lyrics and the philosophies behind them. This book will help greatly deepen the reader's appreciation and understanding of the deep, thought provoking, and powerfully inspirational messages of Neil's works.