What more can I say? Anders is awesome, as are Rockwell, Rodriguez, and of course, Quentin Tarantino. This is a marvelous screenplay, definitely one of my faves. I'm so glad they produced this screenplay!

I'm also a big Tim Roth fan, so I decided to pick up a copy of the play when I saw it being auctioned. I'm so glad I did! There's some great storyboards as well as some black and white pictures of the film.

It's a great bargain! If you loved the movie as much as I did, you'll love this! A+!

The idea was conceptually unoriginal but the actual screenplay turned out to be a magical thing that could not, with all our trying, become what it was in the text; An imaginative piece where all involved brought something worthy to the table. The film which it subsequently became is not even on par with what we could call a "movie". A mess is more the truth. Rodriguez' segment is the only worth viewing and then Quentin's second only because this was still when he was hot and feeling like the character he portrayed. 'Jackie Brown' humbled him. I know it did. The screenplay is a stand-alone and should be approached as such. Do not view the film once done. This diminishes all previous effort.

I, too, have only ever seen this produced, and never found it in print... but it's just brilliant. And FUNNY. How do you build a farce around the idea that "bad faith makes the world go 'round?" Well, Sartre manages it... I'll stop before this turns into an essay, and just recommend that anyone who has a chance to see this performed by a cast of any distinction at all should jump at it.

My first trip to England in the early 70's was the highpoint of my theater-going experiences. I was lucky enough to see Alec Guiness in "Voyage Round My Father," the Peter Brook production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and a young Ian McClellan playing the lead in "Kean." All were unforgettable, but this play still sticks in my mind as being among the negelected masterpieces of 20th century playwrighting. Sartre understood theater history and he understood role-playing, appearance vs. reality and all the other critical saws that are discussed in high-school English classes. Yet in this play these tired themes are perfectly expressed and therefor renewed and made infinitely interesting by the manner in which the playwright unfolds them. There is a gradual peeling away of pretense and bravado on the part of the protagonist (the play might as well be a monologue), and the audience comes to understand that behind all the masks, what Sartre finally wants to show us is humanity stripped of its skin. He exposes the viscera, the protruding bones, the raw psychic flesh that we are all heir to. Kean, by play's conclusion, has degenerated into a knd of erstwhile Truman Capote, having sacrificed his soul in the process of gaining notoriety. He also shares Capote's substance abuse weaknesses, though his alcoholism is merely a symptom of his inner malaise. Sartre is saying a great deal about art, about the effect of fame and about the human condition in this work. It is a play that should be revived every fifth year either on the West End or on Broadway, in my opinion. It is apparently hard to come by. I can't even swear that it reads as well as it plays (I've seen two productions, but haven't been able to find it in print myself). If you ever have the opportunity to see the play, by all means avail yourself of a rare theatrical treat.

Un libro clasico de aventuras sin Igual, Esta gran Obra publicada en La francia del Siglo XIX por Alexandre Dumas fue originalmente vendida en fasciculos al publico parisense e inmediatamente logro ser un total exito.
Hoy en dia hemos oido mucho sobre los tres mosqueteros tanto en el Cine como en T.V pero ninguna obra sera tan buena como el libro, esos pequeños detalles que ningun director a podido plasmar en la pantalla grande y que solo podran ser recreados en la mente del lector.
Hacer un resumen o comentario de esta novela es muy dificil pero desde mi humilde opinion creo que es una de las mejores novelas de aventuras historicas que resaltan el Honor y el valor como ninguna otra, la imagen del Cardenal Richeliu que para muchos despues de leer la novela lo creo un Villano como ningun otro pero en la realidad los Franceses le deben mucho, este es solo un pequeño ejemplo como la novela influye muchas veces mas que un buen libro de historia.
Nuestra aventura comiensa cuando un joven valiente provinciano decide entregarse al servicio del Rey Luis XIII y poco a poco se ve entrelasado con tres mosqueteros de la guardia personal del Rey que con gran valor y con algunos buenos lanses de espada lograr descubrir un complot contra la Reina por el mismo Cardenal Richeliu.
Es un libro que vale la pena leer y una de las mejores inversiones sino lo han leido,influyo al escritor español Arturo Perez Reverte para escribir su famosa serie tambien ambientada en la Europa del Siglo XVII "Las aventuras del El Capitan Alatriste" el cual les recomiendo si les gusta la novela de Dumas.

Un libro excelente. La narrativa definitivamente es rica y se disfruta por su sencillez durante toda la lectura. Compañerismo, lealtad y ética son valores que durante toda su obra menciona. Vale la pena tenerlo.

The writer of the above review has done a great job of conveying the basic arguments and value of Strauss's translation of the Hiero and his discussion with Kojeve. I think that there is yet more to be said. Strauss as a political philosopher argued the case that with Machiavelli modern political thought begins. One cannot help when reading the Hiero to begin to see further, it was already convincingly argued in Thoughts on Machiavelli, how Machiavelli's famous treatise The Prince is in many ways a response to this dialogue from Xenophon. The discussion of tyranny and the "joys" and "protections" that stem from such a life are questioned in the Hiero because of the ramifications of tyrannic rule. Strauss, in typical fashion, articulates and expands on the argument presented in the Hiero. The responses from Kojeve bring the classical into conflict with the most progressive of modern thought, the concept of the universal state. Particularly valuable in this edition is the collection of the correspondence of the two respondents which clarify, and present a more honest argument, the public discourse extant in the formal essays. Read this book as a companion to "The Prince" or studies of Hegel to see the dialogue between "Classical" and "Modern" or even "Post-modern" thought.

This astounding book, On Tyranny, pits Leo Strauss against Alexander Kojeve in the never ending battle of the Ancients against the Moderns. The book begins with the text of Xenophon's Hiero, followed by Strauss's in depth discussion of the Hiero. Then the fireworks start!

Kojeve, in his discussion of Strauss's comments, will elucidate his peculiar mixture of Hegelian, Marxist, and Heideggerian philosophies in order to defend the unity of 'Tyranny and Wisdom' at the end of history, with some amusing asides on Strauss's tendency to build a philosophical cult. Modern tyranny (Stalinism) is rational, or wise, because it leads to the universal, homogenous state. The state in which everyone -- people, politicians, and philosophers -- will be fulfilled. This state, where the people will be safe, politicians renowned, and philosophers enthralled by the rationality of it all, will happen as a result of historical action, or work. We will be living in a world that we made with our own hands. And, as the conflicts of history weed out ever more irrationalities, we come to feel more and more at home in this fabricated, technological world. This leads to less conflict and more fulfillment. Which means, as Kojeve said elsewhere, "History is the history of the working slave." This leaves some of us, Strauss included, wondering if the only thing more wretched than being a slave would be living as a contented one.

Strauss comments on all this in a reply that briefly starts out with a discussion of Eric Voegelin but then turns to the main event. Strauss wants to know how anyone will want to live in this world where everyone thinks the same, feels the same, wants the same. A world in which anyone who thinks/feels/wants differently, as Nietzsche said, goes voluntarily to the madhouse. A world that as Reason is woven into it, Humanity is pushed out of it. His prescription is a return to the ancients, who, as the Hiero shows us, knew that philosophy both could not and should not be realized in time. Otherwise, Humanity will end up engulfed by its own artifacts. Or, as Ernst Juenger remarked, "History is the replacement of men by things.

This book was my son's (age 7) introduction to the "classics". We read it together, a few pages a night. He really got hooked, and is now eager to read more books like it. I highly recommend it. The content is written in a way that a young bright child can follow it, but is not too babyish for an older child. It has a black and white drawing on the right side of each written page, which helps keep the child interested. We loved it!!!

The Three Musketeers is a unique book. History and political events are woven into the plot of this clever book. I find the characters fasinating and feel like I already know these noble men. The loyalty of them is overwhemling. I am in the middle of Dumas's next book, "Twenty Years Later" and am enjoying it too.I have read many books, and this is one of my personal favorites.

Aptly translated into English by Frank J. Morlock, The Man In The Iron Mask: A Drama In Five Acts by the combined and collaborate efforts of Alexandre Dumas, Narcisse Fournier, and Auguste Arnould is an impressive stage play based upon historical records of a mysterious masked prisoner. Author Alexandre Dumas was so fascinated by speculations of the prisoner's identity that he transformed the enigma first into a stage play, and later into the final novel of his Musketeers series. Exciting and involving, The Man In The Iron Mask is an absolute "must" for fans of Dumas and his work!

Dumas doesn't pull any punches with this (recently discovered) play. This story is bleak, and has many elements of Greek tragedy. This is tragedy in the classic sense -- circumstances occur that do not cause an immediate problem (the birth of twin Princes to the Queen) -- but which clearly will lead to some sort of anguish (potential civil war, one child potentially losing his freedom, etc) -- and the reader/audience is watches this tragedy play itself out. The (first ever) translation is direct, and dramatic. The volume also includes an essay Dumas wrote, exploring the many theories about the real identity of the masked prisoner from the Bastille -- powerfull and fascinating stuff.

Alexander Kuprin dedicated this book to the motherhood and the youth. And even though it deals with unspeakable horrors of people living and acting worse than any beasts imaginable, it's at its heart about friendship, love, and devotion. These virtues, most often absent in the world of the riches, are found in what seems to be the deepest pit (yama) of social injustice.
I read this book in high school, lured in by Kuprin's other famous stories, such as "The Duel" (his first success, just as impressive as the later ones), "Gambrinus" or "The Bracelet of Garnets." Back then the emotional punch of "The Pit" pushed me to become a strong believer in women's rights, and helped me to form a solid idea of what a true man is as opposed to the dispeakable "men" portrayed by Kuprin's stinging prose.
Now, as an adult, I firmly believe that this book is a must read for any growing man, so that he learns how to be human in the highest sense of the word, as opposed to "respectable" and heartless "consumers" like so many showcased in this story.
NB: why do the words "a novel of prostitution" appear in the title? It's not in the original and absolutely unnecessary. What should appear instead is "a novel of real life".

How many well-known and not so well-known writers of the world tried to describe the life of the prostitute, the life in the bottomless pit? All of these writers tried to understand the mentality of the prostitute, the reasons to become one, and the pain of her existance. The pit... It describes it all. One word says it all. The deep hole and there is not exit, there is no way out. Every new day takes you deeper and deeper. Once you are in, you stay there. You stay there for life. And, when you are old (not really old but fairly used up), you are out and you have no means to survive. No one needs you and no one wants you any longer. You were better off in the pit.

"A Masked Ball" contains five short stories, all of which are unique. They range from a tale related by "The Cabriolet Driver" to a heart-breaking story of a Russian duel titled "Marianna". Perhaps the best of the five stories is the one for which the book is titled, "A Masked Ball". At only six pages long, it is an incredibly gripping story. As soon as you finish it, you will want to read it again.

Some people may have heard that Alexandre Dumas had a tendancy to be long-winded with some of his books (The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, etc.). Those people should be sure to check out "A Masked Ball". They will find out what many of us already know: When it comes to great books, Alexandre Dumas was in a class by himself.

A Masked Ball is a very very short story, but a GREAT story! Right from the second paragraph it got me so interested and caught-up I swore I'll never do anything else before I finish it. Well! It's short, so I finished it in 5 minutes, but I read it again, and again and again for 3 times, THEN I put it down! Dumas definately have his way to capture the reader's attention, even with only 5 pages of story he can make you breath-less, caught-up, and totally amazed! Just try this work and you'll never be disappointed!!!!!!

childhood aphsi

This is a must for Dumas fans. Joseph Balsamo is the first book in a series that capture the history of the French revolution in a novel that is truly of epic proportins.
Love, war, fantasy and politics are delicately woven into the fabric of the story. Highly recommended.