The book is a clear and compelling guide to Joyce's main works. Tindall's enthusiasm is contagious.

"...Ulysses offers something of value to someone. What part of this is received depends upon the capacity, experience, and taste of the receiver. Homeric similie: as a radio station of great power broadcasts in vain unless a receiver is there with the power on and all the tubes in order; as the power and quality of the receiver are the success of the broadcast; so with Ulysses and the reader."

"For me the significance of the form Joyce made and I all but apprehend is a humane and charitable understanding of mankind that makes me glad to be alive and part of it. Charity, for me, is the radiance of this great whole, this intricate harmony."

Buy this one, and also seek out his "Reader's Guide to 'Finnegans Wake'". Pretty much essential, I'd say. Well written, informative, and strangely fun. Wish I could've met Tindall! "In risu veritas."

Tindell is one of the foremost Joyce critics and this in-depth analysis of FW is well worth the money. In the text the author discusses the historical, literary, and philosophical framework of FW while maintaining an less-than-monotonous tone. Any and all of Tindell's Joyce studies are recommended.

This book meant a lot to me years ago when I first began reading "Finnegans Wake." I felt paralyzed before each new chapter of "FW" if I didn't read Tindall first. Now I just plough on through Joyce, and I haven't read Tindall in years, but it's still close to me heart. (Allen's review is on the money.) Also, check out Tindall's "A Reader's Guide to James Joyce."

Guides to "Finnegans Wake" seem to be a dime a dozen now a days, but rarely are they so insightfull and easy to use. Although perhaps it is not as good as Bishop's or Campbell's Guides, but it is shorter and easier to read, so it is good for the beginer. It also acomplishes this condensation without significantly marginalizing any of the great themes of Joyce criticism. Thus, perhaps this deserves four stars for the material covered, but it still does so in such an easy way that I give it five for readability.