I started listening to the audio tape some time ago in the car, and was initially somewhat ambivalent about the program. However, within fifteen minutes, I was thoroughly engaged, and fifteen minutes after that, wiping held-back tears from the corners of my eyes, wondering if "Nathaniel" (as in Hale) would be a good name for my future son.

Our forefathers, with courage and genius, created the most immitated society the world has ever known. How proud and fortunate this audio book makes one feel. I'm committed to listening to it with my teenage nieces and nephews on a "captive" drive sometime. It'll be a great topic for discussion.

This book was a gift from my uncle, and one that I was thrilled to receive. I have a passion for learning about the Founders and the War that defined the way we live today. The author brings out the best quotes, poems, and letters from the most influential men in American history. Their level of devotion is unparalleled throughout the world. I find it most admirable that these men relied on God for their wisdom and through prayer and faith they pledged their "sacred honor" to the cause. I am only a high school student, but I understand that these values apply to everyone in every class. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for God or guidance.

Our form of government has been the most lasting, widespread innovation in modern history. As wonderful as that is, in many ways it is even more wonderful to return to the frame of mind and the values that engendered this invention.

Although (as Bill Bennett rightly points out) our founding Fathers (and Mothers) often fell far short of their own ideals and were profoundly skeptical about the potential of people to do the right thing, they also aspired to a kind of virtue on Earth that combined true nobility of spirit and deed with good relations towards others.

Bennett has put these ideals into the following categories: patriotism and courage; love and courtship; civility and friendship; education of the head and heart; industry and frugality; justice; and piety. You can dip your inquisitive toe into any of these, whenever you want. .... I suggest that in addition to buying a copy for yourself, that you plan to give this book as a gift to your children and grandchildren as they reach the age when they will begin to make important moral choices for themselves. .... In most cases, I felt like the material here was stating timeless principles that do apply today ....

Bennett does a nice job as editor in explaining the context of each passage. His love of these people, these ideals, and these words is obvious. It will move you. And hopefully inspire you to follow the good advice in those words.

Nicely done, Bill Bennett! This is a good use of history . . . to help us learn not to repeat the mistakes of the past needlessly.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare edited by David Bevington

Bevington's edition of Shakespeare's plays is a popular choice, and not without good reason. But that doesn't make an ideal choice. The introduction to this one volume edition is ample with chapters on life in Shakespeare's England, the drama before Shakespeare, Shakespeare's life and work. These are good, but they tend to rely on older scholarship and they may not be current. For example Bevington repeats Hinman's claim that there were 1200 copies of the 1623 Folio printed. However later scholars think the number was quite a bit lower, around 750. It should be said that we don't know for sure how many copies of the 1623 folio were printed and either number could be correct.

Bevington's edition prints the plays by genre. We get a section of Comedies, Histories, Tragedies, Romances and the Poems. He puts "Troilus and Cressida" with the comedies, though we know the play was slated to appear with the tragedies in the 1623 folio. The play was never meant to appear with the comedies, and all the surviving Folios that have the play have it at the beginning of the tragedies.

Let's get down to brass tacks. You are not going to buy an edition of Shakespeare's works because of good introduction. You're going to buy one because the quality of the editing of the plays. Is it reliable? Is it accurate? For the most part this edition is reliable and accurate, but that does not mean it is accurate and reliable in every instance.

Modernized editions of Shakespeare's plays and poems are norm. Since the 18th century (and even before) editors of Shakespeare have modernized and regularized Shakespeare's plays and poems. There are good reasons for this modernization. There is the reader's ease of use and the correcting misprints and mislination. I have no problem with this regularization of spelling or punctuation. But when an editor goes beyond normalizing and modernizing--when an editor interferes with the text then I have a problem.

Let me give two examples of the editorial interference that I am writing about:

King Lear 2-1-14 (p. 1184)
Bevington has:
Edmund
The Duke be here tonight? The better! Best!
This weaves itself perforce into my business.

The Folio has:
Bast. The Duke be here to night? The better best,
This weaues it selfe perforce into my businesse,

Even allowences made for modernization of punctuation and grammar would not account for Bevington's "The better! Best." Bevington glosses this to mean "so much the better; in fact the best that could happen." Nice try, but "The better best" of the folio is a double comparative, (which is a regular feature of Early Modern English) and not two separate adjectival phrases. Interestingly, the Quarto printing of Lear prints this scene in prose, and there is no punctuation between "better" and "best" in that version either.

A few lines down Lear 2-1-19 Edmund continues
Bevington has:
Brother, a word. Descend. Brother, I say!
Enter Edgar

But Bevington has reversed the order. The Folio has:
Enter Edgar.
Brother, a word, discend; Brother I say,

Bevington does not say why he changed the order, though to be fair other modern editors have done the same thing.

These two changes just a few lines apart go beyond regularization or modernization. They interfere with the text as presented in the 1623 Folio. And Bevington does not explain the changes. So next time you pick up this or any other modernized edition you should ask yourself "am I really sure what I'm reading is what Shakespeare wrote?"

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE. Updated Fourth Edition. Edited by David Bevington. 2000 pp. New York : Longman, 1997. ISBN 0-321-01254-2 (hbk.)

As complete Shakespeares go, the Bevington would seem have everything. Its book-length Introduction covers Life in Shakespeare's England; The Drama Before Shakespeare; London Theaters and Dramatic Companies; Shakespeare's Life and Work; Shakespeare's Language : His Development as Poet and Dramatist; Edition and Editors of Shakespeare; Shakespeare Criticism.

The texts follow in groups : Comedies; Histories; Tragedies; Romances (including 'The Two Noble Kinsmen'); Poems. Each play is given a separate Introduction adequate to the needs of a beginner, and the excellent and helpful brief notes at the bottom of each page, besides explaining individual words and lines, provide stage directions to help readers visualize the plays.

One extremely useful feature of the layout is that instead of being given the usual style of line numbering - 10, 20, 30, etc. - numbers occur _only_ at the end of lines which have been given footnotes - e.g., 9, 12, 16, 18, 32. Why no-one seems to have thought of doing this before I don't know, but it's a wonderful innovation that does away entirely with the tedious and time-wasting hassle of line counting, and the equally time-wasting frustration of searching through footnotes only to find that no note exists. If the line has a note you will know at once, and the notes are easy for the eye to locate as the keywords preceeding notes are in bold type.

The book - which is rounded out with three Appendices, a Royal Genealogy of England, Maps, Bibliography, Suggestions for Reading and Research, Textual Notes, Glossary of common words, and Index - also includes a 16-page section of striking color photographs.

The book is excellently printed in a semi-bold font that is exceptionally sharp, clear, and easy to read despite the show-through of its thin paper. It is a large heavy volume of full quarto size, stitched so that it opens flat, and bound, not with cloth, but with a soft decorative paper which wears out quickly at the edges and corners.

If it had been printed on a slightly better paper and bound in cloth, the Bevington would have been perfect. As it is, it's a fine piece of book-making nevertheless, and has been edited in such a way as to make the reading of Shakespeare as hassle-free and enjoyable an experience as possible. Strongly recommended for students and the general reader.

Last year for Christmas I asked my parents for some William Shakespeare's plays.Boy was I suprised!Not only does it have all of the plays,but also his Sonats,poems,and illistrations.Despite the fact that it's a large valuem and will need quite a bit off book space from you're self.You wont regret getting it.You will never need to get another book on William Shakespeare's plays and everything else ever again.It also has a list of dictonary for understanding the words better.

Daughter Anna (now 19 years old) loved this book. It was her favorite above all others. As we sorted through some old kid things for give-away purposes, we stumbled upon this old, well worn copy of "The Velveteen Rabbit." She insisted we keep the book for HER children.

This was her book that Mama (me!) had to read to her again and again and again. As soon as the last word was read on the last page, it was "Mama, please read it again!"

(how I miss those days, by the way!)

The book also has a powerful message about Love that children understand and cherish.

This is a wonderful book. No child should be without their own copy of "The Velveteen Rabbit."

It's a sweet story of a 'simple' stuffed rabbit amidst the more 'complex' modern toys in a boy's "toy collection". The rabbit starts to believe that in order to get the love of the boy, he needs to appear 'real', or be able to zoom about like the motorized toys...
(And I'm not going to tell you the end hahahahaha!!!)
It was great having that read to me, while I was hugging my stuffed animals in bed.
But -- in a way, at first glance it looks like a simple story, but it is actually a surprisingly complex story. Leave it on your child's bookshelf as he/she grows up and he/she will reread it again and again as he/she questions issues such as "who am I?", "what does it mean to be 'real'"?, "what is my role in this world?", and even "what is death"?

I seldom write reviews on children's books, although I love them with a passion. My children are now mothers and my grandchildren are past young childhood. However, I believe that somewhere deep inside each of us remains a small child that still loves fairy tales, cotton candy, and walking barefoot in the grass. This book was one of my children's favourites, along with "Charlotte's Web;" both were also my own personal favourites. When my children were six years old reading this book became a nighly adventure until I knew the words by heart. For the reviewer who rated the book with a one star due to a spelling error, my heart goes out to you; you have sadly missed something very important - the message. The book is not about spelling, editing or lack thereof; it is about encouragement and love.

The book tells the story of a toy, sawdust-filled rabbit who wishes with all his heart to become real. The message contained in this book is poignant, heart-warming and touching, and one that you will never foreget as long as you live. It is a story of beauty, wonder and love. Any child who misses out on "The Velveteen Rabbit" is missing out on one of life's greatest lessons. I cannot say enough good things about this wonderful, wonderful book and highly recommend it to children...and the grown-up child in all of us.

This book is a modern classic! The author is an excellent children's book writer. Older children really enjoy this!

Younger children can become scared of the dentist after this book. Save it for the older ones.

On Friday afternoon, I was talking to my younger sister at a Denny's restaurant, when, out of nowhere, the storyline image of this book came into mind. I am currently seventeen years old, and even though it was more than ten years ago, I was still able to vividly recall to my sister (who is thirteen) all of the wonderful images of the fox, donkey, and alligator that I had enjoyed so long ago. She also began remembering different parts of the book since I had shared it with her when we were younger, and we excitedly spoke about the clever dentist and his antics.

This is one book that has stuck out in my mind as a childhood favorite (even though I still am somewhat of a kid) and I'm sure your child will come to love and cherish this book as well.

William Stieg always has such gorgeous prose and such detailed pictures. My son loves seeing exactly how Dr. DeSoto pulls out the fox's tooth with a winch, how their are two sets of stairs for the big animals and little animals etc. The pictures of the little mouse working with his dental tools inside a cow's mouth, the fox's mouth are so funny and interesting it just draws you in. The story is very engaging, funny, creative and teaches a lesson to boot! This is one of our favorite books.

This is an interesting and fascinating memoir of one man's life who happens to love sailing and who is also a gay man living in a caring and loving relationship. You don't have to have a knowledge of sailing to enjoy this book. Although I have gone sailing a few times, I wasn't familiar with a lot of the sailing terms, but the author explains them very well. The author writes with dry wit, a questioning self-analysis, and deep passion. It was a pleasure to read his story, and it was never boring. This is a true-life story that will have broad appeal to many people.

Storandt tells in vivid detail the story of his transatlantic sailing adventure from Saybrook, Connecticut to Ireland, then on to Scotland aboard his 33-foot cutter named Clarity. He made this journey with his longtime partner Brian, and their friend Bob. It's an adventure that turns out to be exciting, unpredictable, and even life-threatening. They certainly get to test their sailing skills through rough seas, gale force winds, and a fierce storm. It's not "The Perfect Storm", but it's close. Interwoven throughout his sailing adventure we learn all about Storandt's earlier life; his marriage, being a freelance musician, living in the Vermont woods in a geodesic dome, leaving his marriage, coming out, and meeting his soon to be life partner, Brian, a Scottish doctor.

So whether you're hooked on sailing or just want to read a well-written passionate coming out story, this book is for you. I was disappointed when this adventure ended. As good a writer as he is a sailor, Storandt tells a wonderful story I couldn't put down till finished.

I bought this book because I was blown away by Storandt's first fictional novel, "The Summer They Came." However, as a straight male who does not know the first thing about sailing, I did not know what to expect from this work. My enjoyment of Storandt's effort is all the more impressive, given my lack of knowledge about the subject matter. Like all master story tellers, Storandt lets the reader enter his world by describing the situation in detail, with references to more familiar subject matter. For instance, when explaining why he cannot get out of bed during a severe storm, Storandt says that he can no more get out of bed than a potato worm can unfold in your hand ... brilliant! Storandt has 2 running stories in this book. In the foreground is his gripping account of his sailing adventure to Scotland (the homeplace of his life partner) across the Atlantic. In the background, is a discussion of his and his life partner's lives up until the time of the trip, with particular focus on how they came to realize they were gay. I highly recommend this book to even the most staunchly conservative "straights," and to the landlubbers most prone to sea-sickness!

Crossing thresholds, living dreams, staying steady and listening within! He did it! He writes it as only a person who has felt it all deeply and directly can do-it's not an "about" something book! So glad he wrote it for all of us-couldn't put thebook down!!!! Spellbound by all the possibilities it opens for each of us!

British General William Slim commanded English/Indian forces during most of the "forgotten" war in Burma from 1942 to 1945. Slim is now regarded as the finest English general of the Second World War (yes, better than "Monty"). In this book, written some time after the war ended, Slim tells the reader about the early mistakes which lead to the near total defeat of the English army in Burma in 1942. ----- Slim's efforts to rebuild his army and then take the offensive against the Japanese comprise the majority of the book and it makes for a very interesting story. Considering that the terrain over which most of the fighting occured was even worse than Vietnam, I learned a great deal. Contrasting his experiances in Burma with the U.S. war in Vietnam is a good thought experiment. ---- Of most interest to military historians and people interested in the Second World War. As to personal matters the book is almost completely devoid of details. Slim was very much the English Gentleman and all the interesting personal details of his life you will have to find elsewhere. ---- P.S. It contains an interesting side note about the father of the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner: Aung San Suu Kyi. Her father fought against the British in conjunction with the Japanese but later turned against the Japanese when he discovered that they were just going to be new imperial masters, even worse than the English. ---- Colin Glassey

William Slim is virtually unknown today - even among the history buff circles, he is a rate footnote. Yet, among those who have studied World War Two - and those few remaining who had direct experience beyond a limited theater view - Slim is regarded as one of the finest army commanders to have served on any front during the course of that war. Slim was among the few that endured defeat in the war's beginning - the agonizing, protracted withdrawal of Burma Corps over a thousand miles of jungle, mountain, swamp and river terrain in Burma and India in 1942 - and survived and had the opportunity to lead revitalized forces to victory in the end (British 14th Army). Revenge was sweet. Slim's memoirs are a treasure - full of criticism and praise in fair measure - with intelligent and honest commentary throughout. His assessments of the critical elements of a successful campaign are worthy of textbook study. Not only did Slim's men have to fight a fanatical, relentless foe in the Japanese - he had to contend with debilitating tropical disease, lack of air and land transport, non-existent infratstructure, shortages of all types of food and supplies, as well as neglect from his own country and army. Burma was in many ways the forgotten theater. Controversial figures such as the American Stilwell and the British Wingate are men that Slim knew well in Burma - and he does not shrink from giving his candid assessment of these figures - strengths and weaknesses. Above all, Slim's book is a testament to the courage, intelligence and fortitude of the fighting men - soldiers, airmen and sailors - of all nationalities (majority of the fighting on the Allied side in the Burma-India theater was by Indians). His comments on the nationalist movements of the Burmese, Indians and Chinese are also of interest, in view of post-war events in these countries, including the expulsion of British rule. Slim was a rare figure - an Army Commander bent on winning for all the right reasons - while always maintaining his touch with the front line solider. He was eager to assign glory to those that deserved it - those that did the fighting as well as those that toiled anonymously behind the lines to keep the forward troops supported. He was also rare in that he was ready and willing to admit mistakes were made, and how those mistakes were overcome. With so many critical decisions to be made in such desperate circumstances with such limited information - it is a wonder that any informed directives could be issued at the command level in that environment. His perspective on the Japanese is also worthy of further study. Slim had a distinguished war record prior to World War Two - he had served in several operations in World War One, in the Middle East between wars - he was familiar with how soldiers fought and died all over the world. His contempt for the Japanese - the atrocities they committed on a routine basis against not only captured, wounded soldiers but civilians held helpless in conquered territory, and the unconscionable treatment of prisoners by Japanese - was thoroughly justified by his experiences. His willingness to continue to fight and kill Japanese and his refusal to treat defeated Japanese with anything other than contempt (he ignored MacArthur's accommodating gestures after the surrender) were measured responses - a reading of this book communicates that point very well. Slim understood his assigned was role was not just to retake Japanese held territory, but to kill Japanese soldiers - destroy Japanese armies. He was the man for the job.

Awhile ago, I read QUARTERED SAFE OUT HERE, the wartime memoir by George MacDonald Fraser detailing his experiences as an infantryman with the 17th Division of the 14th Indian Army as the latter pursued the retreating Japanese through Burma during the closing months of WWII. He had nothing but high praise for the army commander, Field-Marshal William Slim. This prompted me to purchase and read Slim's own account of the time and place, DEFEAT INTO VICTORY. The two books are a perfect pair for anyone interested in the India-Burma Theater of the war - perspectives from both the top and bottom of the British Army's command structure.

Slim's memoirs, first published in 1956 while he was serving as Governor General of Australia, begin with his assignment to command the 1st Burma Corps during it's desperate fighting retreat from Burma into India in 1942 after the Japanese captured Rangoon. Then later, as chief of the 14th Indian Army, he oversees the regrouping and rebuilding of the force that finally decimates the Japanese invaders at Imphal in northern India, and subsequently chases the fleeing enemy back south through Burma.

One of Slim's most notable characteristics is his evident lack of an overbearing ego. Several times in his book, he makes reference to his mistakes, errors in planning or judgement, and his deficiencies as a military commander. (Imagine that other famous British Field-Marshal of the war, the prima donna Montgomery, admitting such!) Much to his credit, Slim apparently learned hard lessons as he went along, and emerged as the better man and general for it. This, combined with his great concern for his men's morale, health, training and supply, justifies the high regard in which he was held by "rankers" such as Fraser. Churchill was wrong when he remarked, "I cannot believe that a man with a name like Slim can be much good."

The author's history of the Burma war is comprehensive - perhaps excessively so for the casual reader such as myself. His narrative includes the movement of troops as far down as battalion level, which is way more than I needed to know. Because of this, I might have awarded 4 stars instead of 5 had I been less mindful of the contribution Slim's memoir makes to the history of an almost forgotten theater of the global conflict. A keener student of the Burma campaigns is certain to appreciate these details more than I did.

Finally, there is the Field-Marshal's dry British wit, which shows all too infrequently. For example, when discussing his opposite number in the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Kawabe, Slim writes:

"I did, however, manage to get a photograph alleged to be that of Kawabe. It showed what might have been a typical western caricature of a Japanese; the bullet head, the thick glasses, and prominent teeth were all there... When I needed cheering I looked at it and assured myself that, whichever of us was the cleverer general, even I was, at any rate, the better looking."

Required to read Henry for my AP English Language class, I came into the play with a bias. I honestly felt that it would be a boring political play. I was utterly wrong! A huge fan of Shakespeare, I found Henry V to be a formidable match for the Bard's more critically acclaimed plays, such as Hamlet and Macbeth. Henry has it all! Shakespeare's attitude toward Henry the King is certainly one of admiration. By communicating the fact that an effective monarch must have a complete understanding of the common subjects (Pistol and Bardolph and Quickly), Shakespeare sets up Henry to be the ideal Christian king. The controlled language of Henry's speeches, particularly his response to the Dauphin's idiotic insult, also glorifies Henry. I certainly recommend this play to anyone, fan of Shakespeare or not.

Written by Shakespeare for Queen Elizabeth I amidst a time of Irish rebellion, Henry V more than adequately serves its intended purpose of galvanizing nationalistic fervor. It proved itself to be an unwavering and unfaltering impetus of patriotism in Shakespeare's day, during WWII, and still today it continues to resonate and reverberate this provocatively telling tale of the most gloriously revered monarch in English history.

Henry V's stirring orations prior to the victorious battles of Harfleur("Once more unto the breach") and Agincourt("We few, we happy few, we band of brothers") astonish and inspire me every time I read them. Simply amazing. Having read Henry IV Parts I&II beforehand, I was surprised Shakespeare failed to live up to his word in the Epilogue of Part II in which he promised to "continue the story, with Sir John in it." The continuing follies of the conniving Bardolph, Nym, & Pistol and their ignominious thieving prove to be somewhat of a depricating underplot which nevertheless proves to act as a succinct metaphor for King Harry's "taking" of France.

Powerful and vibrant, the character of Henry V evokes passion and unadulterated admiration through his incredible valor & strength of conviction in a time of utter despondency. It is this conviction and passion which transcends time, and moreover, the very pages that Shakespeare's words are written upon. I find it impossible to overstate the absolute and impregnable puissance of Henry V, a play which I undoubtedly rate as the obligatory cream of the crop of Shakespeare's Histories. I recommend reading Henry IV I&II prior to Henry V as well as viewing Kenneth Branagh's masterpiece film subsequent to reading the equally moving work.

On D-Day British officers read Henry's famous words to their men as they approached the beach. When Churchill needed material for his famous "Few" speech, his thoughts turned to the pages of Henry V. From "once more into the breach" to "we happy few, we band of brothers" this play resonates with Shakespeare's paen to England's warrior king. Oh, you'll be a bit confused at the start if you haven't read Henry IV parts 1 and 2, but this is primarily the story of Henry V's victory at Agincourt. Whether the play glorifies war or just Henry you will have to decide. There is much food for thought here for the perceptive reader. But then Shakespeare is always provocative.

Having just finished reading it for the third time, I believe that Cancer Ward is a very fine novel, rich at many levels: in its depiction of Soviet provincial society in 1955, a poor society just emerging from Stalinism; in its portrayal of many separate characters (doctors, nurses, patients, hospital workers) in that society, many of whose lives have been permanently damaged by the terror and the GULAG, but in different ways; and, as I know from personal experience, in its depiction of the isolated world of the cancer patient, from which the rest of society is seen dimly, as though through dirty glass. In spite of all medical progress, the basics of this world have not changed much in 50 years: the core treatments are still surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, and the side effects both long and short term can still be brutal.

The ending of the book will disappoint those who want a happy ending, or just an ending with all the loose ends tied up. In real life, though, loose ends usually stay loose. My thought is that Solzhenitshyn intended the reader to understand that for the characters and the society who are so damaged by the past there can be no happy endings; the best they can hope for is to continue from day to day, grasping at whatever happiness briefly comes their way.

Cancer Ward is often overshadowed by its predecessor, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and its successor, the immense memoir, The Gulag Archipelago. While the worldly impact of those two works is perhaps greater, the aesthetic power of Cancer Ward is stronger than both of those works. The story is poignant and powerful, reaching out and probing deeply into the essential questions that are never answered by not only Soviet society, but western culture as a whole. The religious message that emerges is stunning and unique, recalling the works of Dostoyevsky. Overall, this is an excellent book, and any reader who enjoyed One Day or Gulag will be blown away by this work.

Those were the words that Dorothy used to describe Oz after waking up in the bosom of her family. The same intense feeling came over me while reading this book, a task that spanned several years, as I often put it aside for other things, always returning, drawn by the power of the author's prose in opening his world to us. The realness of Solzhenitsyn's worlds makes him perhaps the most accessible Russian novelist. As he described the village where Kostoglotov, the protagonist, lived, or in recounting how Ruasov, the villian/fellow victim ruined lives while justifying his actions, a vivid portrait fills the reader's imagination.
The human struggle to find hope and beauty in the most tragic of settings is what this novel evokes so well. Soviet medicine, cancer, a Zek fresh from the Gulag, and in a twilight turned dawn, Solzhenitsyn finds for his semi-autobiographical protagonist happiness, not only in winning victories against a malignant tumor, but in thoughts of perhaps one more summer to live, with nights sleeping under the stars, of three beech trees that stand like ancient guardians of an otherwise empty steppe horizon, a dog that shared his life there, and of a young nurse and spinster doctor, both of whom he hoped at times to love.
The picture one often got (accurately) of the Soviet Union was of greyness, gloom, uniform drabnes, and of a totalitarian police state. This book serves to remind the reader that, despite such circumstances, even desparately sick human being might still seek, and find, happiness in his own, private world. Along with that, Solzhenitsyn never lets us forget the utter corruption of the Soviet state, often in the person of Ruasov, an ailing bureaucrat who has managed to turn personnel management into an exquisite art form, as an instrument of psychological torture, slowly administered.
Of all Solzehenitsyn's works, this is my favorite. The people one encounters are vividly real, and the ending isn't what one would think (or hope), but is fitting, nonetheless.
-Lloyd A. Conway

When one of my Shimer students saw Mr. Erdman's alternate arrangement of "Auguries of Innocence" he threw his book at a bush. Some of my students think that "Auguries" is one of Blake's greatest poems and I agree with them. Its structure is a key to Blake's vast mythic system. Without that key there's little hope of passing through Jerusalem's wall to the places where heaven and earth coalesce in a cosmic orgasm of intellectual joy.

Mr. Erdman is a marvelous scholar, dedicated to Blake. Mr. Bloom is as inspiring as he is informative. But for Blake in its most pure form I prefer Sir Geoffrey Keynes' edition. He was not a professional scholar, but a learned amatuer in the finest sense of the word. When he wasn't busy with his medical practice he was lovingly creating the best complete edition of Blake's poetry and prose...

This book is marvelous! With every poem and prose work done by Blake, including letters, commentary, and textual notes, this is ~the~ book for all Blake fans. This book even shows the stages of Blake's writing in the textual notes, such as the various versions of his poems. Highly recommended!

I own several editions of the so called "Complete Poetry" editions of Blake. Well, this one just stands out on his own. Although it would have been nicer if it had included more images (it includes only 4 monochromes) I must admit that this book's achivements are its complementary notes and commentaries. Erdman is really an amazing researcher and he has helped me a lot in understanding Blake's universe. Harold Bloom does his share when commenting most of the larger poems, and to comment Jerusalem or Milton is almost as commenting Miltons' "Padarise Lost" or even the Bible. They both deliver a great deal of insight on Blake's poetry, and I'm thankful for that. I have been a fan of Blake's poetry for almost 5 years now, and I've only started to understand his larger prophetic poems.

If you're new to Blake you may not need this kind of book... Even if you are a Blake fan. Maybe Alicia Ostriker's "The Complete Poems" (ISBN 0-14-042215-3) can give you a lighter side of Blake. As a matter of fact, what I liked so much about Alicia's edition is that it has an index of proper names, so If you don't know who (or what) The Four Zoas stand for, maybe you should consider buying her book.

If you are looking for Blake's works of art, then you must get your hands on any of the wonderful DOVER editions published... They are ... and brilliantly printed.

Anyway, if you are new... Welcome.
If you are an oldie... GET THIS BOOK! or even better GET THE MANUSCRIPT FACSIMILE!