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Book reviews for "Snodgrass,_Mary_Ellen" sorted by average review score:

Historical Encyclopedia of Nursing
Published in Library Binding by ABC-CLIO (01 October, 1999)
Author: Mary Ellen Snodgrass
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A "must-have" reference book
This invaluable resource has everything you need to know about nursing-- and it's beautifully written. After I found the entry I needed, I couldn't put the book down; it read like a great novel. If you buy only one reference book on nursing, it should Ms. Snograss's "The Historical Encyclopedia of Nursing."

An excellent and comprehensive historical reference.
Historical Encyclopedia of Nursing deserves repeated, ongoing mention as a 'must' for any serious medical library collection: it examines the history of nurses and nursing around the world, considering the individuals, practices and acts which have influenced their careers and growth. An excellent reference.


A Multicultural Dictionary of Literary Terms
Published in Hardcover by McFarland & Company (1999)
Authors: Gary Carey and Mary Ellen Snodgrass
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Essential reference text for any bookshelf!
Experts do it best! This book has it all: complete list of terms, easy-to-read definitions, interesting examples.At the price, it can't be beat. (I'm telling all my friends to pick up some extra copies as gifts. They're great for high school and college kids.)


Religious Sites in America: A Reference Guide
Published in Library Binding by ABC-CLIO (01 October, 2000)
Author: Mary Ellen Snodgrass
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A must-have reference book
Superb book! Very interesting, most complete, and terrific information. Be sure to save a space on your bookshelf for Religious Sites in America. You'll find yourself using it over and over. And make sure your library gets a few copies because it's an essential reference text.


Who's Who in the Middle Ages
Published in Hardcover by McFarland & Company (2000)
Authors: Mary Ellen Snodgrass and Linda Campbell Franklin
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A superbly researched and presented biographical dictionary
In Who's Who In The Middle Ages, Mary Ellen Snodgrass provides the student and non-specialist general reader with a superbly researched and presented biographical dictionary of the men and women who distinguished the European Middle Ages as a bridge between the classical world and the Renaissance. This was an era of both beauty and barbarism, of advances and dead-ends. The entries are alphabetical and the historical range is from the fifth century to the fifteenth. Each entry provides the names (and alternate names) for the person, as well as personal and historical details. References are included with each entry, and a detailed bibliography is provided. Who's Who In The Middle Ages is enhanced as an outstanding academic and community library reference with appendices covering the colleges and universities that educated many of these people; the period's noteworth events; major manasteries, abbeys and convents (including their founders and dates); invidiuals listed by occupation or contribution; as well as popes, emperors, and monarachs. Fully indexed, Who's Who In The Middle Ages is an indispensable, core reference title and an invaluable contribution to Mediveal Studies supplement reading lists and reference resources.


Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno (Cliffs Notes)
Published in Paperback by Cliffs Notes (1992)
Authors: Herman Melville and Mary Ellen Snodgrass
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Symbolic tale remains a bore...
Like the reader from Berkeley, I cringed throughout "Bartleby." It is easy to understand why this talented author was unappreciated during his post-Moby Dick period. Although rich in symbolism, the story hardly captivates the reader. Instead of a tale, "Bartleby" comes across as an assignment. I read the story once in high school and I'm devasted to discover I must re-read it for college. Honestly, I prefer not to...

Imagine yourself in the Dead Letter Office
The story of Bartleby is simply about a man loosing his will to live. It is intended to show the reader a dark side in all of us when the meaning of our existence is allowed to be challenged. The chilling image of Bartleby in his previous job at the Dead Letter Office leaves my imagination running wild, wondering about the contents of the letters and how Bartleby must have gone from concern to sadness to indifference about his own mortality as he read the messages written to those who can no longer receive them. I'm glad Melville left Bartleby's reason for being (or not being) a mystery. This way, any reader can relate to the story by drawing on their own experience.

Seemingly simple story about the choices we make daily
Herman Melville wrote this story in 1853, two years after Moby Dick had been published and his writing career was beginning to lose its luster. Subtitled, "A Story of Wall Street", it is a seemingly simple story about a lawyer who hires a gentleman named Bartleby as a scrivener in his office. This was way back in the days before photocopy machines and scriveners performed the necessary tasks of tediously hand copying documents over and over. Bartleby was good at the copying part of his job, but when asked to proofread aloud one day he simply replied, "I prefer not to." From that moment forward, he used the phrase "I prefer not to" for every task requested of him, eventually "preferring not to" do any work whatsoever. The lawyer, who is astounded by Bartleby's attitude, tells the story in the first person.

The story is rich in language and yet spare in actual action. The reader is forced to think, and think seriously about the choices we make daily. Bartleby chose to rebel and become an anti-hero. But the real protagonist of the story is the lawyer, who is drawn into Bartleby's power and grows to admire him. The conclusion is sad, but inevitable. Recommended.


Our Town (Cliff Notes)
Published in Digital by Hungry Minds ()
Authors: Mary Ellen Snodgrass, M. A. Mary E. Snodgrass, and Thornton Wilder
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Getting better and better
Our Town is not just a usual play, it's a play in a play! The stage manager leads us through the performance by giving us information about the little village of Grover's Corner and its inhabitants. Even if I found his speeches and monologues a bit too long, I can say that I liked the book as a whole. Reading it gave me new points of view of our life. I would say it's a play dedicated to life. We should appreciate every moment of it and care for our family and friends, that's the message Thornton Wilder wants to give us. I can recommend it to anybody who doesn't stop reading a book if he doesn't find it thrilling after the first few pages! It's one of the books that are getting better and better the longer you keep on reading. So read it!

Clean and spare
Our Town is, i would guess, the most produced stage play in america. You need no props,no singing,no dancing.It introduced of place,Grovers Corners,N.H. into the lexicon. The play though first produced in the late 1930's takes place in the early part of the 20th century. It tells the tale of two families, the Gibbs and the webbs,in love life and death{Wilder never skirted the issue of death in his writings>}Its timlessness lies in the essence of wilders writings: how the simple ,the mundane taken together make us who we are, and how important the quotidian chores of daily existence are. The heartfelt exclamtion near the end of the play asking if human beings ever realize thier lives before it ends? followed by the wise narrator's some saints and poets has stayed with me since childhood. An easy read, though not a simple one.Is this the great american play? Who knows.It is certainly great and good,and stands up very well almost 70 years later. Essential reading,on anyones list.

A simple story with a big message
Through the use of small town characters and the element of simplicity, Thornton Wilder creates universal themes about the cycle of life that reign eternal even today. The play Our Town tells the story of two simple families, the Gibbs and the Webbs, living in the town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. In three acts, Wider journeys through the cycle of life, from the birth of a new life, all way up to the inevitable. Throughout the play, the reader experiences the great milestones in life that they can relate to, such as new life, first love, long lasting love and the effect of death. The last act holds a special significance. In the last act, Wilder uses the theme of death to show the reader how humans fail to "realize life while they live it." Our Town's simplicity also helps it appeal to a multitude of audiences, whether young or old, past or present. From the characters, to the diction, to the set design, Wilder simplifies everything to help the reader better relate to the story. When writing the dialect for the play, Wilder uses typical country vernacular and has the Stage Manager speak directly to the audience, which makes the reader feel apart of the story. Wilder's sets, or lack there of, allow the reader to use their imagination, but not focus so much on scenery that they miss the message. All in all, Our Town by Thornton Wilder is an exceptional play. With this play, Thornton Wilder tries to get us in general not to live life in a blur and to stop and smell the roses. Anyone can appreciate the contents and themes in this play, no mater what age, race, or gender. It is ideal for easy reading and will leave you with a newfound respect for life.


Encyclopedia of Frontier Literature
Published in Paperback by Oxford University Press (2000)
Author: Mary Ellen Snodgrass
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A usefull encyclopedia for Western lovers
Who wrote about Western Frontier ? Who are their Heroes ? This books helps to answer these questions. Let us remark the notion of FRONTIER is very open here, for we may find entries about authors like Mark TWAIN but not about others like James Warner BELLAH or Allan LeMAY ! In the same way, we don't find a notice about the LEWIS & CLARK expedition although not only both leaders but all their men wrote their diary (this means a vast whole of valuable texts about the Missouri regions in the beginning of the 19th-Century). This book is the first one to guide us in Western literature, its writers, its works and its subjects (including searchers like AUDUBON or PARKMAN); but there are very unfortunate blanks. So, it contains a "Timeline of Frontier Literature", from 1532 to 1996 (a good choise, but no complete list), an alphabetic list of "Major works", another list by authors (both incomplete in the same way). The final Bibliography is very interesting for its opens on further researches. This Encyclopedia is certainly usefull, but must be followed by a new one more elaborate. The subject is immense and needs a publication who really helps the readers (and the searchers like me, a historian) to seize all its aspects. This is a first step, very helpfull indeed, but only a step. (I'm a usual french writer; please excuse my bad english)

a masterpiece!
I couldn't put this book down! I just picked it up to look up a few facts for a paper I was writing, but "Encyclopedia of Frontier Literature" is so interesting that I kept reading it like a movel. You'll love it!


CliffsNotes Brontes Jane Eyre
Published in Digital by Hungry Minds ()
Authors: Karin Jacobsen and Mary Ellen Snodgrass
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Almost the best
I think that Jane Eyre was almost the best book. The only problem was the ending. All her life Jane has gotten the short end of the stick. Why for once can't this go her way? Why can't she have a normal husband? Why can't she have a break for once?


Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front (Cliffs Notes)
Published in Paperback by Cliffs Notes (1995)
Authors: Rollin O. Glaser, Mary Ellen Snodgrass, Gary Carey, and James L. Roberts
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Don't like war--it touches every part of the human body!
This book was outstanding. Though I don't get into Historical Fiction, it was worth the time to read it. It really shows how much you depend on life and friends when it comes down to a war of blood, hopelessness, and depression! Read on! this book is GOOD!

review of Cliffs Notes on All Quiet on the Western Front
I have to admit that I read the Cliff Notes after I read the book twice and saw all three movies. However, the notes are still helped with understanding points that were not previously stresses. The notes include:

. Life and Background of the Author

. Genera; Plot summary

. Remarque's Introductory Note

. Critical Commentaries

. Remarque's Style

. Remarque as a Social Critic

. Character Analyses

. Questions for Review

The False Hopes
I think that this book provides us with great notions about how the war crushed an entire generation of people; people who were hopeful, ambitous, and progressive. The story is about more than one man; it is about an entire generation


Cliffsnotes the Light in the Forest
Published in Paperback by Cliffs Notes (1999)
Authors: Mary Ellen Snodgrass, Conrad Richter, and Cliffs Notes
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A surprising choice for Middle School students!
This short novel begins with a 1764 setting in the forests of central Ohio (near present-day Coshocton, Ohio) at the junction of the Muskingum, the Tuscarawas, and the Waldhoning Rivers. The book presents a somewhat romanticized picture of the American Indian at that time. The central character is John Cameron Butler, known as True Son in the Delaware tribe with which he has lived since he was four years old. He is now fifteen and his life is being uprooted once again. The Indians have signed a treaty in which they have to return all white captives to their original families, even those who don't wish to go. All John knows is his life as an Indian and now he has to return to the family (in Paxton, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River) he hasn't seen for eleven years. But, he doesn't fit in there and he finds himself caught between two cultures. Although very well written, it appears that Richter is suggesting that Indian/colonists interactions were doomed from the very beginning. One culture had to win and one had to lose. He presents the case where neither culture appeared willing to tolerate nor to understand the other. And, in more general terms, in my opinion Richter seems to hint that all such cultural conflicts are fated to fail. This is a rather sad commentary on man. I certainly hope it is not true and that there are good chances for Serb/Albanian, Irish/English, Indian/Pakistani, etc., interactions. This book is often used in reading assignments for students ranging from ages eleven through fourteen. I find it also a depressing thought that such a dark vision of man's capacity for tolerance and understanding is being presented to young, impressionable minds. I would have hoped that teachers in the 1990s would have found literary sources with a less negative outlook. It would appear that some of the negative reviews provided by earlier, and much younger, readers have some validity.

A Great Read for a History Buff
'The Light in The Forest' is a book about a young White boy from 18th century America who was born as a "frontier child" but was then stolen by Indians when very young and brought up as an Indian for ten years. His Indian name is True Son, and his white name is John Butler. When he is about 15 years old, he is forced to go back and live with his real White family. He is devastated because he was brought up to hate the Whites, and now he is being forced to live with them and to practice their culture. At first True Son refuses to comply at all with the Whites and tries to escape. After a while, and after spending much time with the Whites though, it seems that True Son is beginning to accept and become used to their culture, and is starting to lose his Indian ways. It looks as if all of the Indian in him has been run over and destroyed, when one night, he finds his old Indian friend / cousin and escapes with him from the Whites to a long journey back home to his old Indian town. It seems now that all the Indian he left behind has been renewed to him and most of what the whites forced into his head is gone when, with little warning, True Son must make a life-altering decision that will decide his fate, and that will decide what culture he is to live with.

I really enjoyed this book; it showed the conflict between whites and Indians in 18th century America very well. It was filled with action and adventure, and although short, it still developed the characters and the plot so that you had a broad understanding of what kind of decisions this young man had to make, how it must have been like being bounced from culture to culture (especially in that day), and how hard things must have been in general. This understanding of the character is what keeps you reading and keeps you itching to find out where fate will put John Butler/ True Son. I would recommend this book because of these reasons, and because of the way the author attacked the overlying conflict between Whites and Indians: he spoke of it from both the White's and the Indian's sides. Because of this the reader can understand the conflict from both sides, and can not easily pick a side to support, which made things interesting. Lastly, in my opinion, this book is quite unpredictable, and you can't tell how it will complete itself until the very end, which made the book more fun to read. If you enjoy history, and adventure you will probably enjoy this book.

Book Review of A Light in the Forest for Social Studies
A Light In The Forest centers around a fifteen-year-old boy named True Son, who lived with the Lenni Lenape for eleven years, ever since the Indians had captured him during an attack on a farm. He was adopted by Cuyloga and Quaquenga, a family of the Lenni Lenape, and became one of them.
One day, his village learns that all white prisoners must be returned to their birth families, and his father takes him to the camp of soldiers that will take True Son to Pennsylvania. True Son's experiences in an English town and his desire to return to his village are the storyline of the book. This book is appropriate for eight graders, though the author, Conrad Richter, portrays some scenes almost too vividly. Children who have been in a divorce situation can relate to True Son and his feelings of abandonment. The book does an excellent job of informing readers of how the English and the Indians viewed each other, and gives the reader the unique viewpoint of True Son. For entertainment, the book falls a little short, occasionally losing your attention by attempting to summarize events without going into any detail. Overall, the book is not a bad read, and would be especially enjoyable if you like historic novels from this period.


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