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Book reviews for "Williams,_Kenneth" sorted by average review score:

Relationship Styles & Patterns
Published in Paperback by William Pub (1999)
Authors: Kenneth, Ph.D. Garett and William, Ph.D. Rose
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Good but a little vague
If your looking a relationship survival guide, this is not it. It's exactly what is says it is. It simply defines styles. It was a little vague and didn't offer any in depth solutions. But it made sense in it's simple way, and was definitely good reading and interesting though.

Stimulating...Thought Provoking.....Useful Tool....
This book is exactly what I've been searching for. I've been a Hollywood producer, writer and editor for a major television network, for the last 21 years. Needless to say, I've encountered many different types of personalities. This book has been very useful in my understanding of various individuals. In a business of communication, this is of the utmost importance.I strongly recommend reading this book. I wish you the luck I've recieved after applying the knowledge I've consumed from this literature....

A most enlightening and enjoyable read!
This book gave me exceptional insight and understanding. After 45 years in two marriages I now finally understand what makes relationships work. I highly recommend this book to anyone who seeks answers to difficult questions about their own relationships. This is a wonderful and easy to read book!


Tennessee Williams: Plays 1937-1955 (Library of America)
Published in Hardcover by Library of America (2000)
Authors: Tennessee Williams, Kenneth Holdich, Mel Gussow, and Kenneth Holditch
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The plays are great, but a misleading description
The plays contained in this volume are wonderful and interesting (especially in terms of his development) to any fan of Tennessee Williams... but I purchased the book believing it was the COMPLETE collected plays 1937-1955, which it is not. It is a group of "selected" plays. I bought it hoping to get more of the one-acts and historical oddities. It contains some of these, but mostly consists of his the more well-known plays, which anyone who would buy this book likely already has (e.g. Cat. Streetcar, Menagerie). Perhaps Amazon.com might want to place a line of explanatory commentary to that effect on the product description.

A Wonderful Book to Own, to Treasure
The new Library of America volume "Tennessee Williams: Plays, 1937-1955" is the first of two volumes. (The second volume covers the plays from 1957 to 1980.) This is a magnificent book, beautifully printed and bound. It is comprehensive (over 1000 pages) and has extensive notes and a complete chronology of Williams's life. Several of the plays are printed with commentaries by Tennessee Williams himself, essays that are very informative. This book belongs in the library of any fan of American theater.

If you have only seen the several movies made in the 1950's from his plays, reading these will prove a revelation for you. Because of the restrictions put on movies in the 50's, most of his works were deeply expurgated, especially any overt references to homosexuality. So reading the original plays here often reveals underlying previously obscure motivations/conflicts of some of the characters: why, for example, Blanche DuBois had fallen from being a privileged Southern Belle to the pathetic wretch who appeared on Stanley and Stella's doorstep.

Unlike many playwrights, Tennessee Williams tended to give long, detailed stage directions. This gives the reader of the plays a novel-like narrative, making them wonderful experiences for readers who do not ordinarily enjoy reading plays. The sensuous atmosphere, the classical -- almost Greek sense of tragedy that looms in almost all of these plays, and the exquisite use of language make this a unique reading experience. The writers who had influence over Williams's style are never named but seem apparent, at least to this reader. For example, when reading "The Rose Tattoo" I was reminded of the great Spanish poet/playwright Garcia Lorca's "House of Bernarda Alba." The cackling, vicious, vindictive neighbors, like some Greek Chorus, echoed many of the women in Lorca's work.

This volume even includes the play "Not About Nightingales", a play never performed in Williams's lifetime, but which was recently brought to Broadway in a Tony-winning run. "Not About Nightingales" is a stark prison drama that is quite different from the style he eventually developed. Among the "great" plays included here are "The Glass Menagerie", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Summer and Smoke", and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Like all volumes in the Library of America series, this book has been given first-class treatment. Beautiful bindings, ribboned marker, and fine acid-free paper for permanence. It is meant to be owned and treasured forever. You will love this book....

Plays exploring human passion
Tennessee Williams wrote plays exploring human passion with an unflinching and iconoclastic candor, shattering conventional proprieties and transforming the American stage of his day. This outstanding, two-volume series from The Library Of America showcases Williams' extraordinary range and achievement as a playwright with 32 of his works, including recently rediscovered plays of his early career (Spring Storm; Not About Nightingales). All of his works from the years 1937 through 1980 are here, including his world renowned plays The Glass Menagerie; A Streetcar Named Desire; Orpheus Descending; Suddenly Last Summer; Sweet Bird Of Youth; The Night Of The Iguana; and his Pulitzer- Prizing winning Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. This two volume collection is further enhanced with a chronology of Williams' life, explanatory notes, an essay on the tests of the plays, and cast lists of many of the original productions. Tennesse Williams: Plays, Volumes 1 & 2 is an essential addition to personal, scholarly, and theatrical history collections.


The Labor Relations Process
Published in Paperback by International Thomson Publishing (1988)
Authors: William H. Holley and Kenneth M. Jennings
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Managed to stay Awake....
Well, I must admit I thought that this book would be BORING, but it was actually pretty interesting. I was surprised. It had a lot of information about unions, and I was able to form a non-biased opinion about them from this book. It is worth the read if you want to know more about the Labor Relations Process.

Excellent review of labor relations
Mind you - I am a bit prejudiced because William Holley was largely responsible for my interest in Human Resources while at Auburn UniverSity. This book is an exceptional review of the whole Labor Ralations history and processes. It is a great reference book for HR professionals covering all of the legal aspects of labor relations.


When Mourning Comes: A Book of Comfort for the Grieving
Published in Paperback by Jason Aronson (1993)
Authors: William Silverman and Kenneth Cinnamon
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Excellent book I recommend it to parents who are in greif.
I found this book to be very helpful in my time of need and greif. I truly enjoyed the way the authors told stories, about peoples lives and how they all went through of understanding God, life and death.

A compassionate work that offers hope for the grieving
I found this book to be very different from others I've read for those grieving the loss of a loved one. This book offers hope for the future. It is a compassionate work that weaves the knowledge of God's love and help in our time of loss.

Couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel...
I highly recommend "When Mourning Comes" to anyone who can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. That's how I felt, engulfed in my grief over the loss of my mother. This book helped me make the change from being angry over my loss to treasuring the time that I had with her. To see what her goals were and to try to fulfill them for her. I loved all the wonderful stories in this book, especially the ones about "This too shall pass" and the scratch turned into a rose. Thanks so much for this book.


Hamlet: By William Shakespeare
Published in Paperback by W.W. Norton & Company (1996)
Authors: Kenneth Branagh, William Shakespeare, Russell Jackson, Rolf Konow, and Peter Mountain
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Book is lightweight in comparison to the film
Relatively, the screenplay is 173 pages and the film diary by Russell Jackson (not Branagh) is 34 pages. Branagh does furnish a short introduction. In addition there are about 30 pages of absolutely beautiful stills from the film and the filming. There are certainly better reading versions of Hamlet available, the screenplay is the full Shakespeare play so there's not much to analyze as regards to editing, the diary is not from a prominent member of the cast or crew (a filmographer I think but I am not sure of his role in this specific film), the color photographs included are spectacular and leave me wanting more but they generally are on the small side. Maybe it is handy to mark lines or scenes that are of particular interest... Mostly, I like it more for the memory of the movie (spectacular!!!) than for the book itself so unless you are an equally avid fan the book may disappoint.

Hamlet the best Shakespeare
Hamlet is arguably the best play that Shakespeare ever wrote. This play has intrigue and misery and death everything that makes it Shakespeare but not only that it is more interesting not only in plot but in language than all the other plays. If you are not use to reading Shakespeare then you may have trouble understanding everything that is going on in this play.

The character of Hamlet is so interesting because his misery can be interpreted in so many different forms. Hamlet's misery can be construed as his frustration over his father's death or his love for Ophelia, or just adolescent misery in general. The fact that it can be all of these things just makes it more interesting because in each way the play can be read in different ways.

Hamlet seems so noble in his efforts to expose his uncle as a murderer but he is also a murderer because he murders Polonias. This event in turn makes Ophelia mad and she then commits suicide and therefore her brother blames Hamlet so there is double guilt for Hamlet.

In the end of the play I believe that Hamlet is so tortured not only with his own guilt but also his misery of all of the other factors such as his mother that he actually wants to die. But he had to kill Claudius in order to feel ready to die because then he would have done his duty and avenged his father's death.
My favorite part in the play is where Hamlet devises the play to his own benefit to confirm that Claudius is really the killer and that the ghost was really his father and not the devil.

This play is great fun to read and play out in your mind. If you want to see a good video version of this play rent the version that stars Mel Gibson. This is my favorite Shakespeare play and always will be.

Loads of fun to read!
This version of "Hamlet", brought to the screen (and page) by Branagh, is great fun to read, owing to the humorous "inner monologues" inserted by the author into the text. Although they do sound "twentieth century-ish", they fit perfectly between the lines. In this case, "reading between the lines" was most enjoyable!


Hamlet (Bbc Radio Presents)
Published in Audio Cassette by Bantam Books-Audio (1993)
Authors: William Shakespeare and Kenneth Branagh
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To Be Or Not To Be: This Is The Hamlet To Own
The Folger Library series are your best Shakespeare source. They specialize in Shakespeares' greatest plays and are quality books that are perfect companion and translator to Shakespeare. It is loaded with page after page of translation from the Old English expressions that are no longer in use to our modern talk, and pictures as well as historic background information on th Elizabethan era and Shakespeares' life. Hamlet is without question Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, remaining in our theatrical culture to this very day. It has become a conversation piece for English professors, dramatists and screen actors (Mel Gibson tackled the role in 1991) and even psychologists, who claim that Hamlet had the Oedipal complex, especially when they read the scene in which Hamlet is in his mother's bedroom. What makes Hamlet so great ? Why does this old play still come alive when performed on the stage in the hands of the right actors ?

Shakespeare, believe it or not, was a people's person and knew about the human condition perhaps more than anyone in his day. Hamlet deals principally with obscession for revenge. Hamlet is a prince whose father has been murdered under the evil conspiracy from his uncle Claudius and even the support of his mother, Queen Gertrude. Depressed, wearing black all the time, and very much as solitary as any "Goth" would be in our day, Hamlet laments his situation, until his father's ghost appears and urges him to avenge his death. The mystery still remains, is this ghost real ? Is it, as many in Elizabetheans thought, a demon in disguise ? Or is it simply a figment of Hamlet's own emotions and desire for revenge. At any rate, Hamlet's father appears twice and Hamlet spends most of the play planning his revenge. His most striking line that reveals this consuming need is "The play's the thing, wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king!".

Pretending to be mad, he scorns even the love of the woman he genuinely loves, Ophelia, whose mind is shattered and heart is broken and who has an impressive mad scene. The deaths of Hamlet's friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, are also in Hamle'ts hands and a consequence of his revenge. The famous soliloquy in the play, is of course, "To be or not to be", taken on by such great actors as Lawrence Olivier and Orson Welles. Hamlet muses on the brevity of life and the suffering which can only cease through death, as he holds a skull and is evidently suicidal. Finally, the last scenes are the most dramatic. Hamlet duels with Laertes, Ophelia's brother, and with Claudius himself. The deaths of the main cast, including the Queen, goes to show how tragic the human desire for greed and revenge is.

This is Shakespeare's finest tragedy, and quality drama, best seen in a live stage performance, but that also works as a film. As for this book, as I said before, this is the Hamlet to have. You will become more acquianted with Hamlet and Shakespeare even more than taking a year's course with a teacher. This book itself is the teacher.

Shakespeare's Finest
A tragedy by William Shakespeare, written around 1599-1601. Before the play opens, the king of Denmark has been murdered by his brother, Claudius, who has taken the throne and married the queen, Gertrude. The ghost of the dead king visits his son, Prince Hamlet, and urges him to avenge the murder. Hamlet, tormented by this revelation, appears to be mad and cruelly rejects Ophelia whom he loved. Using a troupe of visiting players to act out his father's death, the prince prompts Claudius to expose his own guilt. Hamlet then kills Ophelia's father Polonius in mistake for Claudius, and Claudius tries but fails to have Hamlet killed. Ophelia drowns herself in grief, and her brother Laertes fights a duel with Hamlet.

Hamlet's dilemma is often seen as typical of those whose thoughtful nature prevents quick and decisive action.

Hamlet contains several fine examples of soliloquy, such as " To be or not to be" and Hamlet's earlier speech lamenting his mother's hasty remarriage and Claudius' reign which opens "O! that this too too solid flesh would melt". Much quoted lined "Neither a borrower nor a lender be", "Something is rotten in the stste of Denmark", "Brevity is the soul of wit", "To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;" The lady doth protest too much, methinks," and "Alas, poor Yorick". Arguably Shakespeare's finest play and one that can be read again and again.

Hamlet: Timeless Classic
If you could read only one thing in your lifetime Hamlet should be that one thing. It is Shakespeare's best work by far, and within its pages is more meaning than you could find within the pages of an entire library full of books, or plays as the case may be. A mere review, a couple words, cannot do Hamlet justice. At times I realize that the language of Shakespeare can be difficult that is why I recommend the Folger version because it helps to make the images expressed by Shakespeare's characters clear to the reader, and allows them to get their own deep personal meaning from Hamlet, Shakespeare's greatest work, with out being bogged down in trying to decipher and interpret his antiquarian English. Don't just listen to what I say, or read what I write, read the play on your own outside the cumbersome restraints of a classroom and see for yourself what I mean.


Shakespeare in Charge: The Bard's Guide to Leading and Succeeding on the Business Stage
Published in Hardcover by Hyperion (1999)
Authors: Norman R. Augustine and Kenneth L. Adelman
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Shakespeare in Charge
Norman Augustine and Kenneth Adelman hop on the Bard's very crowded coattails with this attempt to translate soliloquies into sales. Give them points for timing. 1999's Shakespeare in Love garnered seven Oscars. Now that everyone thinks Shakespeare looked like Joseph Fiennes, Will is hotter than ever. But do men in tights using words like "anon" and "whilst" really have anything to teach middle management? Perhaps. Shakespeare's genius was his ability to plumb the human psyche, dissect the motivations of his characters, and make even taking out the garbage sound like poetry. To the extent that business success is often determined not by who makes the best widget, but who understands the complexities of person-to-person relationships, the premise of this book is on target. Yet stuffing Hamlet and Henry IV into three-piece suits is a stretch, to say the least. Each chapter is a quick study of a different Shakespearian play; for instance, Julius Ceasar as a model of poor succession planning within an organization, or The Merchant of Venice as a lesson in risk management. The parallels drawn between these plays and modern case studies flow naturally and well. The authors, however, cram so many Shakespeare quotations into their little book, even in the opening credits, it is very nearly swamped. Many of these quotes are strained, discombobulating, and downright annoying. This reaches a laughable low when a case study opens with Victoria's Secret's sales going flat: "Leslie H. Wexner, the chairman of Intimate Brands, decided on a strategy posed by Posthumus in Cymbeline, who says, 'I will begin the fashion - less without and more within' and so changed the company by offering the best bras on the market." Taking snippets of Shakespeare out of context and hammering them sideways into a business case study does not make them wise proverbs for the CEO, they remain poorly packaged gimmicks for selling a book. In the Historical Figures as Business Gurus genre, read Donald T. Phillips' Lincoln on Leadership for truly useful advice. As for Shakespeare in Charge, you can get the same effect for much less money by reading the Wall Street Journal while watching a video of Hamlet.

What I Learned from the Shakespeare's Five Plays
If you want how many books about Shakespeare already released, please press index this site. Then you may surprise after this. Literary category for Shakespeare has been overflowed compare to others'. But you think about "What on earth is he talking about in the field of business and management?". Let's take a look at book with interest. This book consists of five parts the same as Shakespeare's five famous play. Mr. Norman insists us to read between the line from Shakespeare's various characters and picks their strong and advantage points up from them as follows.

1. Preparation in advance 2. Risk turns opportunity to challenge 3. Successful turn-over 4. Acceptance of risk 5. Useful information managing

The writer emphasized that both of outstanding CEO and second-rate manager should have strong risk management to be chance to new area. Namely, the important points of business administration of all industries are arrangement, risk acceptance, effective information management, Concentration with confidence. These factors can be able to more competitive among the various companies, in spite of temporary difficulties. That means this is the safest way to improve company benefit over a long period.

Timeless Wisdom for Business Success
This slim easily-read volume organises and extrapolates Shakespeare's wisdom on modern business matters, particularly with regard to situational leadership, change, operations, risk and crisis management- all through managing people. Even several MBA programmes, a gauge of current business thinking, include 'Shakespeare management' courses.

The engaging, insightful and informative contents include:

* Act I- on leadership- relating to Henry V's intuitive inspirational leadership in beating the vastly larger French forces at Agincourt, with lessons for today including: be poised and ready to exploit opportunities, have courage and determination, have clear vision and goals, closely examine details, encourage straight talking and listen clearly, be competent in company's field of activity, and set example caring for team.

* Act II- confronting change- relating to Petruchio's search for fortune by taming the rich shrew Kate following personal tragedy- turn misfortune into opportunity, set a few clear goals and pursue heartily, don't diversify too far beyond core competencies and change one thing at time, establish change as normal, implement change quickly and boldly, and have a broad flexible plan to cope with future uncertainties.

* Act III- organising operations- relating to the assassination of Julius Caeser- recruit the best for key positions (determined by personal attributes, job skills, motivation, teamwork) avoiding boastful job-churning "assistant to, consultant or advisors", succession planning, manage complexity of a "thousand actions" towards goals, effective use of communications (know topic, preparation, be concise, avoid "no comment" or "off the record", go hi-tech, prepare for leaks), attention to detail and management of people.

* Act IV- risk management- relating to Portia's management of husband-created severe risk in Merchant of Venice- risk is necessary for success, analyse in light of alternative options, seek facts and be wary of validity, act toughly, do not risk all, and understand & manage consequences.

* Act V- crisis management- relating to Claudius and Hamlet- always be prepared for a crisis, assess customer verdict (good or bad), have crisis team in place in advance, report promptly appropriate information to the public, have a crisis centre, practice crisis plans, be quick, include an outsider in team, maintain operations during crisis without distraction, and let intuition & honour guide you.

* Epilogue- for life and corporate management- recognise and manage existing assets, assume responsibility, guard credibility, build strong and flexible mergers, select friends and colleagues carefully, recognise frailties and encourage development, prepare for crises and recover quickly, be fiscally responsible, and finally prize reputation.

The few weaknesses include the occasional typos and grammatical errors, and the lack of bibliography assisting further exploration of this concept. It could also be said that the lessons already exist in management texts, and that business often looks in the past for inspiration and guidance- but not so interestingly and ably illustrated. Possibly those who have already invested effort in trying to understand the many levels of Shakespeare's work will find this book easier to read.

The significant strengths include: the light-hearted, energetic, attractive writing style intertwining quotes from Shakespeare with global contemporary examples (e.g. Aerospace, Pharmaceuticals, and even dot.coms); solid contents with relevance to business with various "acting lessons" (many summarised above); and the credibility and experience of authors as senior global executives. A recommended refreshing look at business success for all levels within business.


Vathek: With the Episodes of Vather (Broadview Literary Texts)
Published in Paperback by Broadview Press (2001)
Authors: Williams Beckford, Frank T. Marzials, and Kenneth W. Graham
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HOW COME YOU DO SO MUCH WRONG VATHEK?
Vathek is another work in an endless series with the Faust myth as its backbone. Except here, instead of being set in Germany, the setting is the ancient middle east in which genies and devils inhabit the land.

Vathek is a caliph who is loved but also feared by his people. In fact, if he really loses his temper, just the sight of his gaze can cause death. His court makes The Satyricon look like a sunday school with its voluptuousness and excess. There are even five wings of his palace, with each one dedicated to a sense with names such as "The Delight of the Eyes" and "The Palace of Perfumes". Oh, the decadence! Of course someone as attached to physical gratification as Vathek is sure to stomp on the moral and religious boundaries of Allah and get in trouble.

Much like God and Yahweh in the Book of Job, Allah allows Vathek to be tempted and tried by demons as a bizarre test of his faith. Actually, maybe in both cases it was a test of God's faith in man. The faith that man will do the right thing in the end. That he will turn away from evil. That he will have an epiphany which will redeem him. Vathek isn't so lucky.

An evil being in the disguise of a man, called the Gaiour, comes to Vathek's court with all sorts of magical artifacts which seem to give their bearer otherworldy powers. Vathek becomes entranced by the thought of having powers over spirits and other men and begins to follow a direct line to eternal hell. In order to court evil spirits, Vathek becomes a mass murderer, a blasphemer, a betrayer, a killer of his own people. He is helped in this by his mother, Carathis, who hasn't even heard the word goodness. She constructs a tower much like the Tower of Babel, in order to reach to the gods and to serve as storage for her arcane items.

The book, much like Dante's Inferno, becomes a little much at times. I mean, how many deeds of evil can we experience before we go, "ok, he's going to Hell now!" Sometimes you sense that some of this is intentional and tongue in cheek. At other times, you're horrified at the evil that most of the characters do. Any characters that are good are trampled upon by the evil. The last couple of pages are truly disturbing. I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone that keeps an open mind about fantasy or who is interested in the question of how much knowledge is too much knowledge.

FANTASY / GOTHIC / ARABIAN NIGHTS
Those are the three categories that I've seen this story put in. Vathek tells the tale about a man with an exceedingly high tower. This man named Vathek is very greedy. The reading can be a little rough at times, which is why I took off one star, but there are some very memorable scenes. Two that really stick out in my mind are: When the stranger in the dungeon escapes. And when Vathek ascends his tall tower, thinking how tall he stands over his minions--then he looks up at the stars and grimaces, because the stars are still the same distance away. Both of these scenes are towards the beginning, which I think is the best part of the book. The middle details Vathek's journey to some far off place. But then it picks up again towards the end. I don't normally read Gothics--if this IS a Gothic, opinions vary--but it is a very good book and definitely one I plan on adding to my permanent collection. Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges gave enthusiastic mention to this book in one of his works.

An exotic dark fantasy
Leaving aside the question of whether this book is a 'gothic' novel or not, it is a dark fantasy. It shares with its more conventionally gothic brethren a tale of dark deeds in an exotic setting, where an alien and exciting religion is practised.

In the standard Gothic tale, allusions to Roman Catholicism, thought of by respectable Englishmen as a dark, oppressive, and half-pagan faith, were part of the conventional apparatus. Beckford chose instead to imagine the world of Islam, an even more exotic milieu that added some flashes of bright colours to the dark and sorcerous background of his book. His choice of an even more exotic setting allowed him greater freedom in portraying characters who defied social convention and fell into exotic habits of mind.

My understanding is that it is a matter of some debate to what extent the English text of -Vathek- is a translation from the French, or an original English composition. I do not have the French text in front of me, but it has been represented to me that Beckford's "original" French is rather like the French of Oscar Wilde's -Salome-, and needed extensive editing to be acceptable to a French readership.

At any rate, -Vathek- is a prime example of early dark fantasy. The description, of course, will be richer than you are used to, but Beckford's prose actually seems to move quite quickly. Fans of H. P. Lovecraft or Clark Ashton Smith will find that it is quite easy to slip into. And the tale is indeed a vivid one, right up to the exceptional ending when Vathek and Carathis are damned to the halls of Eblis, their hearts seared with unquenchable fire.

This is a good edition of the story, and the notes and maps are helpful.


The Merchant of Venice
Published in Mass Market Paperback by New American Library (1993)
Authors: William Shakespeare and Kenneth Myrick
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Ouch!
This play can be read as anti-semitic. In fact, it's pretty hard to defend it from such charges. Shylock is a pretty rotten character and the fact that he is jewish is difficult to overlook (particularly since the other characters mention it on pretty much EVERY page). However, I think it is important to mention that the "heroes" of this play do not necessarily have to be interpreted as heroes. They are by no means perfect and there are many subtle (and some not-so-subtle) instances within the text in which their biases against ANYONE unlike them is illustrated. If one reads the play this way, then Shylock becomes more of a tragic figure rather than an absolutely heartless villain. I don't know. My feelings about this are mixed. There are a few funny parts of this play and the language is, as always, beautiful. The theme of putting a price on human beings is one which has been explored numerous times since. Overall, it is enjoyable, but perhaps not so much so as some of the other comedies. Do not read this play without having read a few others by Shakespeare first. It is an excellent play, but not his best and not his most enjoyable either.

Shakespeare- anti-semitic, or trying to prove a point?
After reading most of the other reviews here, I am fully aware that most of the reviewers didn't read carefully enough (or watch carefully enough if they saw the play.) Now, I'm not saying its not open for different interpretations, but there is one thing I would really like to get straight.

I read MoV for a Bar Mitzvah project on Anti-Semitism. Naturally, my sympathies went to Shylock. However, even if i were Christian, i still would've favored Shylock. What many people believe is that Shylock is a cold hearted ruthless person and only wanted to get back at Antonio because Antonio was a Christian.

Not true. Shylock specifically says something along the lines off, "Why should I lend money to you? You spit on me, and call me a Jewish dog!" I'm not saying that Shylock was a good guy, but I am saying that he is not the villain.

In fact, the "Merchant of Venice," in this story is actually Shylock, not Antonio, contrary to popular belief. My thoughts on the story was that Shylock requested a pound of Antonio's flesh because he did not trust Antonio. Who would trust someone that spat on him? The fact is, Antonio doesn't pay him back in the end.

Now, there's always something else we have to put into consideration. Would the judge had given the "spill one ounce of Christian blood" verdict at the end if Shylock were not a Jew?

This is the mark of a great play. A play that really gets you thinking. But I encourage you, I beg of you, that when you read it or see it, please do not hold Shylock up to being a cold hearted villain. Hold Antonio up to that image. (joking, of course, Antonio's not a bad guy, he's just not a good guy.)

Warm, Witty, Morality Play
This is a wonderful play - and unless you have seen it or read it you don't know it at all. That's because everything the popular culture tells us about this play is false (for example; how many of you think this play is about a merchant named Shylock? ;-)

The Merchant of Venice is a lively and happy morality tale. Good triumphs over bad - charity over greed - love over hate.
There is fine comedy. Portia is one of Shakespeare's greatest women (and he ennobled women more than any playwright in history). There are moments of empathy and pain with all the major characters. There is great humanity and earthiness in this play. These things are what elevate Shakespeare over any other playwright in English history.

Plays should be seen - not read. I recommend you see this play (if you can find a theater with the courage and skill to do it). But if it is not playing in your area this season - buy the book and read it.


A Different Gospel: A Historical and Biblical Analysis of the Modern Faith Movement
Published in Paperback by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. (1993)
Author: Dan R. McConnell
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You can't win against us.
God is on the side of those who believe the Bible. The Faith Movement is still growing faster than all of you. We have money, healing, miracles, and above all utmost commitment to God. All we do is laugh at your Doubt Movement. You have nothing. Go buy "E.W. Kenyon and His Message of Faith". You will see how dishonest McConnell is in the way he quotes people.

A good volume which speaks out. . .
. . .against one of the more insidious heresies of modern American Protestantism. (Ever notice how the hyper-faith movement doesn't seem to work outside the United States?)

McConnell, using the very words of the practitioners of these teachings against them, demonstrates the "quasi-Christian" origins of much of the hyper-faith movement, points out significant heresies endemic to the movement -- and confronts one of its major leaders with serious evidence of blatant and flagrant plagerism.

For additional valuable analysis of the hyper-faith movement, the interested reader might be interested in "From the Pinnacle of the Temple" by Dr. Charles Farah.

A good, rational and critical study of the Faith movement
(...)McConnell's study gives an excellent background on the origins of this teaching and other Faith movement teachings. It shows how the practice of the Faith system is eastern mysticism merely covered up with "Christian" trappings. (...)A lot of books have been written about the Faith movement, but none goes as in-depth as this on origins and theological perspectives. And it makes curt evaluations, too.


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