History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

On Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror Writers Association

Average customer rating:

Lots of good material!
Simply the Best Horror Writing Book Available
Great Handbook for the Aspiring Horror Writer
An Excellent Guide For Anyone Interested in Horror
Lots of info and inspiration

On Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror Writers Association
Horror Writers Association
Manufacturer: Writers Digest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1582974209

Book Description

The masters of horror have united to teach you the secrets of success in the scariest genre of all!

In On Writing Horror, Second Edition, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Harlan Ellison, David Morrell, Jack Ketchum, and many others tell you everything you need to know to successfully write and publish horror novels and short stories.

Edited by the Horror Writers Association (HWA), a worldwide organization of writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting dark literature, On Writing Horror includes exclusive information and guidance from 58 of the biggest names in horror writing to give you the inspiration you need to start scaring and exciting readers and editors. You'll discover comprehensive instruction such as:

• The art of crafting visceral violence, from Jack Ketchum
• Why horror classics like Dracula, The Exorcist, and Hell House are as scary as ever, from Robert Weinberg
• Tips for avoiding one of the biggest death knells in horror writing--predicable clichés--from Ramsey Campbell
• How to use character and setting to stretch the limits of credibility, from Mort Castle

With On Writing Horror, you can unlock the mystery surrounding classic horror traditions, revel in the art and craft of writing horror, and find out exactly where the genre is going next. Learn from the best, and you could be the next best-selling author keeping readers up all night long.

Customer Reviews:

Lots of good material!.......2007-07-26

After finding this book completely by accident and then buying it, I was very pleased. Most of the information is quite valuable, offering a bounty of useful tips and writing strategies. I particularly enjoyed the articles on postmodern horror and the presence of horror in different mediums such as RPGS, videogames, plays, and even radio shows.

In terms of style and construction it never feels like you are reading a reference book.

It is an excellent book, and a valuable investment for anyone interested in writing horror.

Simply the Best Horror Writing Book Available.......2007-07-12

The original hardcover edition by Mort Castle was fantastic, and this new paperback edition improves on that edition with updates for horror-writing in the 21st century. Horror is far removed from its heyday in the 1980's, and this new edition is a realistic assessment of the current state of the industry. If you're thinking about writing horror professionally, you need to read this book first.

Great Handbook for the Aspiring Horror Writer.......2007-07-04

On Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror Writers Association is a surprising treat for the still-struggling writer who is looking for good advice on how to make a horror story WORK - in order to get it published.

With contributions from such an array as e.g. Stephen King (the popular attraction, I imagine - but his words, culled from his Acceptance Speech when receiving the National Book Award in 2003, are still interesting and worth keeping in mind!), Ramsey Campbell, Mort Castle, Jeanne Cavelos, and Nancy Kilpatrick it comes as no surprise that what we get here is really only a glimpse of how to approach the genre. And, boy, is that good. As is mentioned several times throughout the book (by different authors), too often one hears that what you need for a book or story to be successful is to "include A, B, and C", when in fact the truth is rarely, if ever, so simple.

I found it refreshing that just about EVERY aspect of the genre is being covered - from classic horror, to the violent and even sexually oriented subgenres. This keeps the reader on a constant learning curve, I think. Something to fuel the imagination that lies at the dark heart of every horror writer's story.

To help the reader stay on line with the essays' diversity & suggestions, the editor, Mort Castle, has wisely arranged for them to be placed in various headlines -

"Horror, Literature, and Horror Literature" (general introductions), An Education in Horror" ("good things to know & read before you commence writing" stuff), "Developing Horror Concepts" (a personal favourite section), "Horror Crafting" (incl. advice on writing dialogue - which is useful for ANY writer of fiction!), "Horror, Art, Innovation, Excellence", "Tradition and Modern Times" (what to choose, what to choose?), `"Genre and Subgenre", "Horror, Business, Selling, Marketing, Promoting" (I think this ought to be something EVERY aspiring writer reads!).

There are of course (and wisely) no guarantees for success, if one follows the suggestions in the book, but that's not of relevance in the first place. What it offers is diverse looks at various important aspects of writing a horror story - be that in literature form or, even, as a screenplay!

The latter I probably won't ever use myself, but I found a pleasent surprise that it is there, since it is a good example of the diversity of the book - which is what makes it a good, trustworthy guideline for the aspiring writer (such as myself). And I am quite sure there is something for everybody; something you hadn't thought of yourself, and for which you will be thankful that you opted for buying the book.

As a final word I must say that I always appreciate a wellmade cover and overall quality, be that paperback or hardcover - and this book is such a book. Nice job!

An Excellent Guide For Anyone Interested in Horror.......2007-03-30

As an avid fan of horror books, movies and art- I was really excited to find this book. All of the writers are amazing and really explain proper use of the horror genre. They give examples and make it very easy to understand.

The book focuses more on writing horror novels but it is really helpful for those who want to write screenplays as well. I am a filmmaker and this book was amazing! It really helps spark some interest and gets my creativity going!

I highly recommend it!

Lots of info and inspiration.......2007-01-03

A thoughtful friend gave me this for Christmas and I read it in a couple of days. As in any lengthy reference work, especially a multi-author one, the importance and depth of the info varies greatly, but I certainly found lots of helpful points, from writing tips on dialogue, to markets I never would've thought of on my own. And there is also a high level of camaraderie and inspiration, as many of the authors give anecdotes of their own years of rejections, and it feels good to know one is not alone at one's computer, toiling away, while all the "real" authors just rap something out and get it accepted on the first try.

The Mysteries of Udolpho (Oxford World's Classics)

Average customer rating:

The Mysteries of Udolpho: real and imagined
pleasantly surprised
Radcliffe: The Magic Still Works
well written but dull, dull, dull
between the uncanny and the sublime

The Mysteries of Udolpho (Oxford World's Classics)
Ann Radcliffe
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192825232

Book Description

`Her present life appeared like the dream of a distempered imagination, or like one of those frightful fictions, in which the wild genius of the poets sometimes delighted. Rreflections brought only regret, and anticipation terror.' Such is the state of mind in which Emily St. Aubuert - the orphaned heroine of Ann Radcliffe's 1794 gothic Classic, The Mysteries of Udolpho - finds herself after Count Montoni, her evil guardian, imprisions her in his gloomy medieval fortress in the Appenines. Terror is the order of the day inside the walls of Udolpho, as Emily struggles against Montoni's rapacious schemes and the threat of her own psychological disintegration. A best-seller in its day and a potent influence on Walpole, Poe, and other writers of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Gothic horror, The Mysteries of Udolpho remains one of the most important works in the history of European fiction. As the same time, with its dream-like plot and hallucinatory rendering of its characters' psychological states, it often seems strangely modern: `permanently avant-garde' in Terry Castle's words, and a profound and fascinating challenge to contemporary readers.

Customer Reviews:

The Mysteries of Udolpho: real and imagined.......2007-04-20

On one level, this novel defies categorisation. Yes, the Gothic web of mystery and intrigue is obvious. And so too are the beautiful descriptions of nature, the struggle between good and evil, the noble acts of heroism and the ignoble acts of greed.

Anne Radcliffe has taken all of these components and distilled an imaginative creation that still, some 213 years after publication, catches the imagination of the reader. If you do choose to read this glorious novel, make sure that you are prepared for a pace which relies more on descriptive prose and less on implied actions. Set aside the time to immerse yourself in the setting and enjoy the journey.

This is not a novel to be rushed, it is a novel to be savoured.

Ann Radcliffe was 30 years old the year this novel was published. What an accomplished and imaginative young woman she must have been.

Highly recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

pleasantly surprised.......2006-11-21

I read this because of a reference in one of Jane Austen's novels. I never thought I'd like it as much as I did. The beginning does seem boring and overdrawn, but I'm glad I continued to read because this book is a gem. There is continuous action, intriguing coincidences, and a sweet love story besides. If you have any interest in Gothic novels or love stories you will like this book.

Radcliffe: The Magic Still Works.......2006-08-21

THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO by Ann Radcliffe is an important transition work between an age that prized reason over emotion and a succeeding age that believed in the reverse. Radcliffe's book is not much read today and that is a shame since the feelings of dread that it raised at the end the 18th century can still be felt by contemporary readers. This book is a Gothic thriller, the literary ancestor of Austen's NORTHANGER ABBEY, of Poe's Tales of Terror, and of today just about anything by Steven King.

When THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO was first published in 1794, the Age of Reason was slowly coming to a creaking end. An English populace that was becoming increasingly mercantile and literate was growing tired of a relentless urging to approach life with the clinical detachment of Star Trek's Mr. Spock. They began to demand a literature that in the words of Jane Austen would provide a sensibility over sense. The initial glimmerings of this discontent were met by the writers of sensibility who insisted that their heroines, usually well-born females, would swoon, cry, and weep at the drop of a hat. Radcliffe carried this to the next logical level. She was one of the first writers of the Gothic genre. Here, the female swooner of the novel of sensibility would place herself in a gloomy castle with creaking doors, clanking chains, and secret rooms of a mad monk who would hold her captive for reasons that were then only delicately hinted at as sensual but today we recognize as pretty weird psycho-sexual matters.

The plot of THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO is a hook upon which Radcliffe wrote a harrowing tale that was an instant best-seller. Young Emily St. Aubert and her mother are made prisoners in the castle of the evil Italian Montoni, who married her mother solely to inherit her money and then killed her and planned to force her to marry another. The English reading public flocked to buy this novel because of its novel use of the fear that was engendered by the very thought of a proper English lady being imprisoned in a creepy and sinister castle by a mad Italian. They were further intrigued by the lavish descriptions of natural scenery, all of which were larded with a sense of panorama that was lacking in their restricted lives. Finally, when Emily had her startling dreams, Radcliffe's readers responded to their subtle sexual symbolism that they found endlessly intriguing.

THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO has its faults that seem more egregious to modern audiences. Her style varies little from chapter to chapter. Her use of scenery as an overused prop can pall. Finally, Radcliffe has been accused with some accuracy as selling a sizzle without the steak in that at the story's end, she has contrived a perfectly natural and rational explanation for each of the book's spooky events. Still, the power of the tale to drag the reader into the deepest recesses of a dark and dank cage that is matched only by the equally grim recesses of the human mind is yet quite sufficient to raise the hackles on the back of that reader's neck. Only the best scary books can continue to do that century after century.

well written but dull, dull, dull.......2006-08-16

The Mysteries of Udolpho is beautifully written. Ann Radcliffe writes page after page, after page...of picturesque descriptions of Italy and France's countryside.
That being said, I found The Mysteries of Udolpho to be long winded and drawn out. The first two volumes are rather mind-numbing and I skimmed over much of it. I never felt a connection towards Emily and felt rather indifferent towards her well being. I found her to be rather insipid and became tired of her constant fits of weeping and fainting. Her servant, Annette, was more intriguing than Emily and her pathetic weakness.
I would personally recommend skipping The Mysteries of Udolpho to read Sheridan Le Fanu's novel Uncle Silas. Young Maud finds herself in similiar circumstances but approaches them with not only grace and sweetnss but a strength that she "finds from a place unknown" to herself. You will cheer for Maud in a way that seems impossible to do for Emily.

between the uncanny and the sublime.......2006-08-04

Emily St Aubert is a young woman of sensibility and deep love for the sublimity in nature. The chateau of the St Auberts in Southern France is a place where to take refuge from disappointment in mankind. Yet after the death of Mrs St Aubert, Emily and her father resolve to set out on a journey that takes them through the Alps, where they can further rejoyce in sublime landscapes. "These scenes", says one character, "soften the heart, like the notes of sweet music, and inspire that delicious melancholy which no person , who had felt it once, would resign for the gayest of pleasures. They waken our best and purest feelings, disposing us to benevolence, pity, and friendship."

It is from the perils of an excess of sensibility that St Aubert tries to warn his daughter on his deathbed: "Above all do not indulge in the pride of fine feeling." Emily soon learns that if we value the works of God (Nature), then it is only fit that we should love and accept the results of God's will (history and destiny). Can it be true that, as her father assured her, a mind can be trained to triumph over affliction?

Castle Udolpho does not upset our expectations: the towers are high, the walls tall and cold, the staircases marbled, and the rooms full of secrets. Between these walls, Emily must learn to conform to Montoni's ideal of womanhood: sincerity, uniformity of conduct and obedience. Yet at Udolpho Emily's susceptible femininity is made to witness and confront teh arousal of "those mysterious workings, that rouse the elements of man's nature into a tempest." Emily discovers that not all is chivalrous in intersexual relations. Yet she is resolved not to fall into error: the problem of self-reproach.

While experience has taught her that male conceptions of ideal womanhood are not always healthy, probably or safe, Emily grows up under Montoni's gaze. While she relinquishes her aunt's properties, she proves him wrong. By what further strategy will he continue to exert his usurpation of authority over her? Would it be imprudent for her to despise the will of Montoni? What is the implication of her surrendering herself to the protection of men who commit such fool deeds?

The castle is therefore the site of psychic suffering, where Emily must fortify her senses against continuous fears and adversities. In teh midst of mental turmoil there lurks innocence and hope in the future with Valancourt. Is this hope to be ultimately relinquished too? Why does the Castle seem to be mysteriously connected with her fate? Can there be hope after imprisonment and suffering? After Valancourt is truly fallen from her own steem, Emily wonders about the real merit behind the sacrifice of their separation. The Count the Villeroi advises Emily not to give way to sadness, which may lead to madness. Is the convent to prove her only ultimate refuge or can Valancourt be reinstated as a worthy human being in her own mind? After many tears, it is not the same Emily that returns to La Vallée at the end of the novel. Her soul has risen in sulphureous circles and she is now capable not only of loe and admiration, but also of compassion, of a deeper understanding of human folly and vice, and perhaps, capable of forgiveness.

Average customer rating:

This RCIA team member loves it!
a good prayerbook for beginners
A contemplative Praying Companion
One of the best Catholic prayerbooks available...
Great devotional resource

The Catholic Prayer Book

Manufacturer: Servant Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0892832835

Book Description

In a day when Catholics have less time and yet a greater need than ever for personal prayer, The Catholic Prayer Book is a much-needed resource. Filled with a wide range of prayer from the rich tradition of the church-including personal, family, and liturgical prayer, and prayer for special occasions-The Catholic Prayer Book serves as a treasury of Catholic worship from ancient times up to the present day.

Customer Reviews:

This RCIA team member loves it!.......2007-03-20

As a member of an RCIA team at my church this little book is loaded with ideas for opening and closing prayer. It touches upon all of the topics that we teach during our sessions. I keep mine tucked into the bag with my notebook and other essentials and always have it with me for any occasion.

a good prayerbook for beginners.......2005-09-17

I think this prayerbook would probably be most useful for mature teens, young adults, and fresh converts. It offers little more than the usual traditional prayers, which is why I find it so disappointing. I do enjoy the short prayers for morning and evening and the obscure devotions such as prayers to the five sacred wounds but I don't think they warrant an entire prayerbook of their own.

A contemplative Praying Companion.......2005-07-15

Breviary or Horologion?
This fine devotional prayer book got many features of the liturgy of the hours for praising The Lord, a Cathedral form of praise known in the West as The 'Divine Office' or breviary. In the East it started as a monastic office, in St. Pachom'ius' cenobitic Agpiya or Horologion, whose Basilica version was preserved in Bishop Serapion Horologion, now in the British Museum.
The Cyrillic rule of prayer, "Pray to The Father, with the name of The Son, in The Holy Spirit" by St. Cyril, the pillar of faith, a Doctor of the Catholic Church, is here expressed in the Trinitarian devotion. It starts rightly with thanksgiving reflecting the ancient Roman Alexandrian fellowship from Athanasius to Cyril. The Christian life is a vocation of continuos unceasing prayer, which this small book intends to inspire you to share in every occasion.

Prayer and prayers:
The Jesus prayer is a strong sign of the ecumenical trend of the Roman Church towards the Catholic or Universal Church, as a friend of mine insists our Lord asked to gather His mystical body, this is his message to be One. The Jesus prayer was the Lords own on the Publicans thought:" Lord have mercy on me a sinner, Kyria Elaison. St. Macarius called it "the arrow prayer", his disciple Evagrius Ponticus carried it with him, same way John Cassian, carried with him the Pachomian tradition into south France, where the Benedectine continued the way.

Introducing, 'The Western Rite':
"Sacraments and the Divine Office preserve a similar, direct, clear-cut outline. In the West as in the East, the sanctification of man's activities has been the subject of a considerable ritual development, with blessings available for all manner of things and occasions. The Western Divine Office (Horologion), like the Eucharist, is adaptable to varying degrees of solemnity from choral performance with chant to private recitation. Tidy groups of psalms together with hymns, brief Scripture lessons, versicles and prayers are assigned to each of the day hours." (the Rt. Rev'd Alexander Turner, SSB)

A Praying Companion:
Msgr. Michael Buckley,SJ Compiled a beatiful praying companion, based on daily needs of the friars of Mendicant Orders whose members carried with them, on their travels that started in the twelve century. Same tradition is diffused in the Roman and their Unite Eastern Churches of a single all purpose salvific aid. This is a life sharing devotional prayer book, being Horologion or Breviary, does not prevent it to be a quiet but forceful way to carry your prayerful longing, Reformed or Orthodox you share in one Holy Catholic Apostolic Church, a praying body.

One of the best Catholic prayerbooks available..........2004-07-21

Twelve years ago, as a new convert to Catholicism, I bought this book as a guide to Catholic prayer. I couldn't have made a better choice. This volume has the perfect blend of contemporary and ancient prayers generously interspersed with religious poetry and quotations. It contains the traditional prayers of the Church mixed with personal prayers of saints and others who are seeking God. It balances these prayers beautifully. One will find all the basics, for sure, plus others that might inspire you in a different prayer direction. I have since gone on to collect prayerbooks, Catholic and non-Catholic, with a collection now totaling over 150 volumes. This prayerbook contains a unique selection of prayers I have never seen in any other volume. Hands down, this is the prayerbook I return to again and again. Whatever mood I find myself in, or especially when I'm not sure what to pray, this is the book I go to first. Were I to select only one from my collection to recommend, this would be it.

Great devotional resource.......2000-04-28

This prayer book is excellent for personal devotion and for a glimpse into the life of the Church. It includes a variety of prayers for many different occasions. The book is divided into three parts:

1) The Christian Vocation: This part includes prayers addressed to the Trinity. It contains the Jesus Psalter, the Litany of the Sacred Heart, the Way of the Cross, and the Devotion to the Five Sacred Wounds, as well as various Psalms and other prayers.

2) The Sacraments: This section has the prayers and liturgy relating to Baptism, the Eucharist, and Reconciliation. The latter is particularly useful in personal devotion since it contains excerpts from the penitential Psalms.

3) Prayer: This is the longest section and has daily prayers (e.g. morning prayers), family prayers (e.g. grace before meals), the Jesus prayer, and prayers for special occasions (e.g. for peace, for the harvest). It also has prayers to Mary and the Saints.

Although Michael Buckley wrote some of the prayers, most have been taken from famous Christian authors. They come from many periods of Church history, ranging from the earliest days until modern times. Prayers by notable Protestants such as T.S. Eliot and William Barclay are included, but most of the writers are Roman Catholic. I would recommend this book to everyone, Catholic or non-Catholic, who wants to enrich his/her prayer life.

Average customer rating:

Great Read!

The Falcons of Montabard

Simply a Good Read

It's hard to stay away

strong early twelfth century Holy Land novel

The Falcons of Montabard
Elizabeth Chadwick
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Shadows and Strongholds: A Novel

The Greatest Knight: The Story of William Marshal

Lords of the White Castle

The Conquest

The Marsh King's Daughter

ASIN: 0312332084

Book Description

Barfleur, 1120. Sabin FitzSimon, bastard son of an earl, has acquired a reputation for wildness and trouble only matched by his abilities as a warrior. But when he is caught seducing the King's favorite mistress, not even his fighting skills can save him. Beaten by the King's soldieries and left behind in the Norman port, it seems that his notoriety has finally gotten the better of him.

Upon his eventual return to England, Sabin is given the opportunity to rebuild his career and salvage his reputation: The knight Edmund Strongfist is leaving for the Holy Land to offer his sword and services to the King of Jerusalem, and he wants Sabin to join him.

Accompanying Strongfist is his young, beautiful, convent-educated daughter Annais. Sabin, he warns, is to keep away from her. Being grateful for the chance that Strongfist has given him, Sabin does so, but not without a feeling of regret as he observes her spirit and courage, and enjoys her beautiful harp playing.

The Holy Land brings its own shares of trials for Sabin. If he succeeds in keeping his distance from Annais, he has less success with Strongfist's new wife, and the consequences prove to be painful. The land is suffering from constant warfare and following the capture of the King, Sabin is forced to take command of the fortress of Montabard and marry its recently widowed chatelaine. Now there is all to play for...and all to lose.

Customer Reviews:

Great Read!.......2006-03-23

Elizabeth Chadwick is a very talented author. This is the first of her books I have read and it will not be the last. The scenes are well written, right down to the smells -- you can picture every thing in your mind. A wonderful, exciting love story and a refreshing change to read about Outremer (Israel) during the crusades.

It was wonderful seeing Sabin grow and mature from a young hellion and womanizer into a caring, loving husband and father, while at the same time being a fierce and noble warrier. The fight between Sabin and the Arab where all Sabin had to defend himself was a wooden shield was heartstopping.

The final chapters were some of the most thrilling page turners I have ever read. An incredible rescue, and according to the author based upon true events, except that Sabin and Anais are fictional. An excellent read, I cannot recommend it enough.

The Falcons of Montabard.......2005-10-08

This is an engrossing tale with just the right balance of historical detail, action, and romance. Chadwick's characters are well rounded and her writing superb. I've never read any of Chadwick's novels before, and this was a very pleasant surprise.

Simply a Good Read.......2004-11-12

Sabin FitzSimon has a reputation for trouble, but when he seduces one of the King's mistresses not even his fighting skills can save him from the King's soldiers. When he returns to England from abroad he is given the chance to rebuild his career and salvage his reputation. The knight Edmund Strongfist is leaving for the Holy Land and Sabin leaves with him and his daughter.
Just a taste, read the rest yourself.
When I read Elizabeth Chadwick's books I always wonder as a man whether I really should be, as they could be construed as love stories. But she has such a feel for the period (twelfth century), a part of history I am particularly fond of that I cannot put them down.

It's hard to stay away.......2004-10-25

In THE FALCONS OF MONTABARD, medieval history comes alive. Sabin Fitzsimon, born the illegitimate son of an earl, developed a reputation early on for his dalliances and conquests. Caught literally with his pants down dealing with the king's favorite mistress, Sabin was beaten severely and left for dead by the king's soldiers. Later when the king's mistress is found dead, he blames himself for her death. Sabin is given a new lease on life and a chance to redeem himself when Sir Edmond Strongfist asks him to accompany them on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he intends to offer his sword and services to the king of Jerusalem. His only concern and request is that Sabin stay away from his covenant-raised daughter, Annais. It shouldn't be a problem except that Annais is very beautiful and has more spunk than most men. Annais is also intrigued by Sabin's reputation and good looks.

Once in the Holy Land, Sabin works hard to restore his reputation, but meets resistance at every turn. He agreed to stay away from Annais, but Sir Edmond's new wife, Mariamne is another story. She is not playing heed to any such instructions. She intends to have him at any cost and what results is Sabin being sent away again, but this time in service to Annais and her husband, Gerbert, as they travel to Montabard. The politics of the Holy Land will have them all caught up in the maelstrom of war and change that will bring Sabin and Annais a lot closer than Strongfist would ever have imagined.

Elizabeth Chadwick is indeed a master storyteller. She weaved an interesting love story around the medieval times that included a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. With her command of the scenery and the history, I found myself truly caught up in this story from start to finish. The character development was so good that the supporting characters were just as interesting as the primary ones. Those of you that are historical romantic buffs, this is an author worth checking out.

Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

strong early twelfth century Holy Land novel .......2004-07-28

In 1120, King Henry's men beat up Sabin FitzSimon for insulting His Royal Highness by having a tryst with Lora, the regally current favorite. Sabin's bruises are nothing compared to Lora being killed since she has no noble kin protecting her like the illegitimate Sabin has. Anticipating repercussions, his aristocratic family arranges for Sabin to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Believing he should have died instead of the innocent Lora as he caused the incident, Sabin agrees.

Reluctantly Scottish warrior Edmund Strongfist allows Sabin to join his group that includes his convent "educated" daughter Annais on a trek to Outremer (Israel). Strongfist knows of Saban's unsavory reputation with women and warns him to stay away from his daughter or die. Still feeling culpability over Lora's death, Sabin tries to stay away from the pretty innocent, but admits to himself he is very attracted to her. Annais is fascinated with Sabin's dark reputation and womanizing scandals, but both keep their wary distance until they reach their dangerous destination and begin to fall in love as they need each other to survive

This is a strong tale that brings to life the early twelfth century Holy Land though the novel also contains a powerful romantic subplot that uses historical events to further the relationship between the lead characters. The key to the story line is the secondary players with various backgrounds that enable the audience to obtain a complete vivid picture of a place almost nine centuries ago. The changing relationship between Sabin and Annais is brilliantly handled with this incredible historical panorama so historical fiction and medieval romance fans gain a terrific epic.

Harriet Klausner

The Ringed Castle (Lymond Chronicles, 5)

Average customer rating:

Lymond series No 5: Brilliant, but not for everyone
Well worth the effort
Lymond In Russia, Philippa at Court
Philippa is a great character!
Incredible Craftsmanship

The Ringed Castle (Lymond Chronicles, 5)
Dorothy Dunnett
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679777474
Release Date: 1997-09-02

Book Description

For the first time Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles are available in the United States in quality paperback editions.

Fifth in the legendary Lymond Chronicles, The Ringed Castle leaps from Mary Tudor's England to the barbaric Russia of Ivan the Terrible. Francis Crawford of Lymond moves to Muscovy, where he becomes advisor and general to the half-mad tsar. Yet even as Lymond tries to civilize a court that is still frozen in the attitudes of the Middle Ages, forces in England conspire to enlist this infinitely useful man in their own schemes.

Customer Reviews:

Lymond series No 5: Brilliant, but not for everyone.......2007-09-06

This is the fifth book in a series which you will either love or hate. It is also one of those multi-book series which must if at all possible be read in the right order, which is

1) The Game of Kings
2) Queen's Play
3) The Disorderly Knights
4) Pawn in Frankincense
5) The Ringed Castle
6) Checkmate

The Ringed Castle has one of the more memorable opening lines in historical fiction: "Not to every young girl is it given to enter the harem of the Sultan of Turkey and return to her homeland a virgin."

After the shattering events of book 4, "Pawn in Frankincense", Phillipa Somerville so returns to England while Francis Crawford of Lymond goes to Russia and takes service with Ivan the Terrible.

There are two reasons why this series, and indeed the author's similar "Niccolo" series, should be read in chronological order. The first is that the plots are incredibly complicated and if you read them out of sequence you have no chance of understanding what is going on.

The second is that many of the characters meet their deaths in ways which are exceptionally unpleasant both for themselves and for the characters who survive them. If you read the books out of sequence, advance knowledge of how characters are going to die, can have a significant impact on the pleasure you would otherwise have had in reading about the earlier events of their lives when you do get around to reading the earlier books.

Like the books, the central character, Francis Crawford of Lymond, is brilliant, violent, and extremely complicated. Unlike the books he is very flawed. Lymond is a mercenary with particular interests in Scotland and France, and gets involved in nefarious deeds all over the world as 16th century Europeans knew it. Dunnett brings the splendour, cultural ferment, and violent cruelty of the Renaissance world splendidly to life.

In this book Phillipa Somerville, who was scarcely more than a girl when she first appeared in the stories, becomes a more important viewpoint character, developing as a heroine and counterweight to Franci Crawford.

If you are at all squeamish, or do not like having to make your brain work overtime to follow a book, leave this series alone. Lymond's story is neither "chewing gum for the brain" nor a comfortable read. And even if you prefer flawed heroes to knights in shining armour, Lymond may infuriate you from time to time. But if you can put up with these features, these books will richly reward the effort you make in reading them.

There is no middle ground: you will either hate the Lymond series or recognise these books as one of the greatest works of historical fiction ever written. Or very possibly both !

Well worth the effort.......2007-02-17

Not the easiest book in the six Lymond Chronicles, but The Ringed Castle more than rewards the reader, and anyone who has made it this far in the series will undoubtedly persevere. These books are so awash in swashbuckling one is unaware of how much history one is learning. I can hardly wait to re-read them all to pick up some of what I've missed. Dunnett is a superb writer of entwined fiction and history.

Lymond In Russia, Philippa at Court.......2002-03-28

Volume IV of the Lymond Chronicles shows a marked improvement from the somewhat draggy Pawn In Frankincense, if not quite climbing the storytelling heights of the first three episodes.

Ringed Castle spins two riveting tales, Lymond's attempted remaking of Ivan the Terrible's Russia and Philippa's rise into the upper reaches of the English Royal Court. Vivid supporting characters abound: explorer Diccon Chancellor, chess afficiando Tsar Ivan, astrologer John Dee, and Margaret Lennox, Elizabethan femme fatale. The evocation of the Kremlin is gorgeously detailed, as are Lymond & company's adventures in Russia's unforgiving winter and the heartstopping voyage back to England -- Dunnett's uncanny ability to recreate the exotic past with such force you feel yourself there is in full flower. The book's first two thirds are excellent.

But as in the previous volume, Ringed Castle starts to feel like work down the backstretch. Dunnett's authorial sleight of hand in hiding much of Lymond's viewpoint until the final pages begins to frustrate in its familiarity, this ruse particulary trying given the ongoing story regarding his mysterious parentage.

One hopes for less of this in the final volume...

Philippa is a great character!.......2001-06-15

Most reviews of the Lymond series focus on Francis Crawford of Lymond, the enigmatic, often-tortured central character around whom all the other characters revolve. This isn't surprising because he is the central player on the stage. But my favorite character is Philippa, not just because she is genuinely good, but because whenever she enters a scene, it simply begins to sparkle.

Dorothy Dunnett obviously feels a great love for Philpipa because she gives her the best lines and gave her a marvelous sense of humor. She is a wonderful character, both funny and wise. But her greatest attribute is her strong moral character, her desire to do the right thing. In the prior novel, her desire to save Lymond's son caused to her to risk everything--not everyone would become a member of a harem in an effort to save a life. In Ringed Castle, her desire to reconcile Lymond with his family causes her to place herself at great risk.

With regard to Ringed Castle, I didn't find it as consistently compelling as Pawn in Frankincense, but it is still a wonderful book, particularly the haunting and tragic voyage back to England and the last 100 pages at the English court.

I have a tinge of sadness in the realization that I have only one more installment to see how it all ends, to see if Philippa can ultimately tame Lymond.

Luckily, this series is so strong on many levels I can look forward to many productive and enjoyable re-readings.

Incredible Craftsmanship.......2000-12-14

This book has less action in it than the preceeding novels in this series, but even so, more action than most. We see our hero making his way in an 15 Century Russia. As each book goes by I find that I have difficulty maintaining a liking for this man. He is extremely hard and bitter, and appears to have no loyalties to friendship while he tries to make his point. Even so, I find I still have to keep reading because these books are so powerful. In this book Lymond falls in love, but in true Lymond fashion, feels that he can't share this with anyone, let alone his lady love. I await with much trepidation the final installment in this series in order to find out if Lymond bears any human characteristics or not.

The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story (Oxford World's Classics)

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Probably better in its day
Walpole's Castle: More Historical Then Entertaining
Lovely, trashy early novel
A strangely epitomizing expression of gothic literature
Sterility, sterility! or, You Must Be Kidding

The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story (Oxford World's Classics)
Horace Walpole , and E. J. Clery
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192834401

Book Description

First published pseudonymously in 1764, The Castle of Otranto purported to be a translation of an Italian story of the time of the crusades. In it Walpole attempted, as he declared in the Preface to the second edition, `to blend the two kinds of romance: the ancient and the modern'. He gives us a series of catastrophes, ghostly interventions, revelations of identity, and exciting contests. Crammed with invention, entertainment, terror, and pathos, the novel was an immediate success and Walpole's own favourite among his numerous works. His friend, the poet Thomas Gray, wrote that he and his family, having read Otranto, were now `afraid to go to bed o'nights'. The novel is here reprinted from a text of 1798, the last that Walpole himself prepared for the press.

Customer Reviews:

Probably better in its day.......2006-12-16

This book, like Pamela for feminist literary history, is important due to the fact that it was the first gothic novel ever written. The voice is a good one for the story, deep, reverant, dramatic; the writing is of excellent breed as well. With that said, however, so much has been ripped-off from this novel, and into novels that we've already read, that the story itself comes off as a bit cliche, not to mention ridiculous. Although the hyperbole of the novel is based off sybolic intentions, the best that one can say about this piece is that it lit a torch for future great novels--not that it's so much a great novel on its own two feet. Worty of reading if you care about the history of novels in general, but if you're looking for a great gothic novel this shouldn't be a first choice.

Walpole's Castle: More Historical Then Entertaining.......2006-08-21

When Horace Walpole published THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO in 1794, his reading public was unprepared for what was to them a floodtide of unrestrained emotion. It had only been recently that the concept of "sensibility" in writing had been in vogue. In novels of this type (later popularized by Austen) the protagonist, usually a well-born female, would be subject to a non-stop series of emotional excesses like fainting, weeping, and otherwise losing all restraint. And lying behind this relatively recent vogue of sensibility lay a much longer tradition of its polar opposite: the damming of all feeling in favor of a carefully controlled harmony between man and nature. With THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO, this harmony cracked into innumerable pieces that manifested themselves into what was soon to become staples of the genre: unexplained supernatural phenomenon, dark and dank castles that hinted at the equally dark and dank recesses of the human psyche, and a series of images that exploded into a cacophony of sound and sight.

The story is slight both in plot and theme. The evil Manfred, the usurping ruler of Otranto, plans to marry his weakened son solely to ward off a prophecy that suggests that unless he has male heirs, he will be deposed. Just before the nuptuals between his son and Manfred's choice for him, Isabella, a colossal helmet comes crashing down, crusahing his son to pieces. This tragedy does not deter Manfred as he then plans to marry the lovely Isabella himself. Isabella, aided by the peasant Theodore, helps Isabella escape. Theodore is captured, but the ghost of the previous owner of Otranto, Alonso appears and incredibly blasts his own castle to pieces, leaving Isabella to marry Theodore. Even for a nonsense story, the plot does not hold water. Further, the writing style is inexplicably formal, with all events, both mundane and preternatural, narrated in a pseudo-classic manner that fits in well enough in the Augustan mode but seems ill-suited to this new genre of emotional excess. Still, THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO is significant in that for those who care to learn the where and the how of the horror genre, then Walpole's innovative surge of novelistic emotion is a good place to begin.

Lovely, trashy early novel.......2005-12-24

The Castle of Otranto isn't the best novel you'll ever read, since its characters are more like "types" than living human beings. That said, it's a breezy example of an early novel, before the Victorians got hold of the form and made the books longer and more "respectable." This is one of the books that Jane Austen's gothic-novel-obsessed character Catherine Morland (in Northanger Abbey) would have read to scare herself out of her wits. For that reason alone it's worth reading--to understand what types of books Jane Austen herself was reacting to when she wrote her books.

Also, it's worth reading simply because the story begins with a character being killed by a giant helmet. What a great, fun, gloriously trashy way to begin a book!

Horace Walpole, incidentally, was the son of the prominent 18th century politician Robert Walpole, who is satirized in John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera" and in a number of works written by Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. Perhaps fortunately, however, the father had passed away before his son wrote this book.

A strangely epitomizing expression of gothic literature.......2005-12-08

I read this book back in May, 2005, as part of my Gothic Lit. class. It's not a book I'd read again strictly for pleasure, but there is a strange quality to it that beckons me to read it again.

While a fairly absurd and not-very-frightening book (at least to modern readers), this book is worth reading as it seems to contain every element that is a staple of gothic fiction -- and why not? It's the first, after all.

After the class and a little thought, I lean toward considering the following elements to be the staples of "true" gothic stories:

1. Numinous (frightening and awe-inspiring) supernatural elements (one could say that should be drawn loosely from real-world beliefs, but I won't make that stipulation myself)

2. Excessive violence (not necessarily blood/guts/gore, but something that leaves you thinking "that wasn't called for")

3. Sexual perversion (not necessarily anything explicit, just hints at something "not right" -- this element makes things both more exciting and more menacing)

4. Madness

5. Helpless hero (necessarily useless, but overwhelmed, unable to accomplish everything and/or take an active approach to the problem)

6. Social injustice (a challenge to "life as usual")

6. Religion gone wrong (a bleaker, maybe questioning look at religion and religious beliefs)

The surprising thing is that it does this while remaining a fairly tame book. It's excessive violence is performed off-camera, as does the majority of its supernatural elements. Manfred's desire to leave his wife on the basis that their marriage is actually incestuous in order to marry his late son's fiance was sufficiently disturbing to me but far even from X-rated. Manfred is flighty and prone to a kind of mania. The hero is vastly overwhelmed, stays on the defense, and is unable to save the one thing most important to him. At the heart of the novel are pointed social and religious questions/commentary.

One of the things that has fascinated me with this book is the retellings it has inspired in The Old English Baron and The Castles of Athlin & Dunbayne. Both of those are significantly less gothic than Otranto (especially Castles, which is not gothic at all), but are better retellings of the core romance between the hero and his love.

All in all, I'd recommend this work to anyone interested in gothic literature. I'd also recommend The Old English Baron and The Castles of Athlin & Dunbayne (especially the latter) as better retellings of the romance in the book.

Sterility, sterility! or, You Must Be Kidding.......2005-08-28

If "The Castle of Otranto" were *only* a predictable-yet-ridiculous, overwrought mass of goo -- a narrative devoid of delight, pacing, or any discernible reason to care about it -- I would not be writing this review. But it is also a frigid travesty of the English language, an abomination of unnatural phrases.

I shudder to think that anyone would deem this book more than a greasy stain upon the annals of English literature, supposing its faults to be just the pitfalls of its period, the charming traits of a world whose sentiment and taste have grown alien to modern readers. No! For God's sake, man, this was the same decade that saw "Tristram Shandy," the same year as Johnson's Preface to Shakespeare! I made the mistake of coming to "Otranto" right after treating myself to an 18th century novel in French. Walpole has managed to copy from his French contemporaries many words, prepositional expressions, etc., that have no place in the English tongue, but nothing of their grace, intelligence, or ability to fashion a story and a style.

Finally, what is going on with the Oxford World's Classics? This edition thinks you want an asterisk and an endnote to inform you that "brazen" means "brass." (It is interesting to see that Oxford imagines the readers of this text -- presumably English lit grad students -- as less literate than those who might pick up the World's Classics edition of, say, "Leaves of Grass," where you wouldn't find the help you might need.)

Two stars instead of one because it's just ludicrous enough a trainwreck to be very mildly diverting, and because its occasional lapses into competent fiction seem more pleasing after wading through the muck.

"This is more than fancy, said the marquis; her terror is too natural and too strongly impressed to be the work of imagination." You wish, Horace.

Postcolonial Discourses: An Anthology (Blackwell Anthologies)

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Postcolonial Discourses: An Anthology (Blackwell Anthologies)
Gregory Castle
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0631210059

Book Description

This ground-breaking collection of postcolonial discourses takes a region-by-region approach to postcolonial theory, giving a sense of the heterogeneity of postcolonial studies.The development of postcolonial studies is inextricably tied to specific geographical, social, and historical conditions. Gregory Castle's regional approach emphasizes the separate development of different theories, but also enables students to compare different colonial problems and the various postcolonial theoretical solutions that have evolved in different regions.In order to give students a fuller sense of the themes and issues specific to different regions, the anthology includes essays in their entirety. An introductory section includes recent essays by seminal thinkers like Homi K. Bhabha, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Edward Said. Five sections follow that give coverage to post-colonial thought in South Asia, the Caribbean, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and Ireland. In each of these sections, issues central to the development of postcolonial thought and its relation to colonial discourse are featured in essays by some of the most important scholars writing today.A general introduction provides the student with an overview of the issues covered in the anthology, detailing how different regions respond to the British Empire and its legacy in the post-colonial world. Though these responses spring from different kinds of problems, they are directed toward the same source of power. The continuities between and among these responses, which are detailed in headnotes for each entry, justify the existence of the so-called postcolonial moment.

The Castle of Indolence: On Poetry, Poets, and Poetasters

Average customer rating:

Stamina is a factor in greatness
What a Disch!
Hard, but real
Mister Mean and the Poetry Machine
Good writing and straightforward opinions....

The Castle of Indolence: On Poetry, Poets, and Poetasters
Thomas M. Disch
Manufacturer: Picador USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

The Castle of Perseverance: Job Opportunities in Contemporary Poetry (Poets on Poetry)

ASIN: 0312145594

Customer Reviews:

Stamina is a factor in greatness.......2004-03-25

Poetry has lost its audience. Disch claims that poetry workshops encourage indolence. English poets learned their craft translating Latin and Greek poetry in school. The author cites the sheer lyric loveliness of the poems of Kathleen Raine. Peter Whigham's surest claim to poetic fame is as a translator of Catullus and other classical poets. Whigham was in fealty to Ezra Pound.

Kenneth Fearing wrote genre fiction. Fearing's poems are sort of proto-Pop art, but what they lack is a persona. In the beginning Fearing's critical reception was disenchantment. Many poets have exciting alternate careers. For the most part, the high productivity poet is a thing of the past. Good poets do tend to be hard workers. Disch does complain that poets have a free lunch mentality. Poetry is not a route to money. Poets, as contrasted to novelists, have artistic longevity. Poets tend to be less given to alcoholism.

Vikram Seth and James Merrill have produced long narrative poems. In modern times the form is unusual. Long poems have also been produced by Ezra Pound, Marilyn Hacker, John Berryman, and A.R. Ammons. Disch asserts that country living produces longer thoughts. THE GOLDEN GATE by Vikram Seth is set in San Francisco. Seth emulates Pushkin.

Christopher Fry was a practitioner of verse drama. Thomas Hardy wrote THE DYNASTS, T.S. Eliot, MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL. Fry wrote civic pageants, operas for children. Fry's first full-length play was THE FIRSBORN. The strengths of the play are the strengths of classic theater. Fry, as someone who pleases the actors, is on par with Wilde, Sheridan, Congreve, and Shaw. Fry's LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING still gets revived.

James Joyce urged silence, exile, cunning in the early days of modernism. poets are authorities on death. Americans are squeamish about death, but not poets. Raymond Carver's poems may be enjoyed for their anecdotal value. Charles Bukowski's work has similar appeal. A creative writing course cannot teach someone to be a first class poet. Disch believes that Albert Goldbarth is one of the most considerable poets. He uses flamboyant language, but his primary gift is visual. While Goldbarth is expansive, Philip Levine, another good poet, is not. Levine's work is terse, self-effacing. John Hollander of all living poets may be the most masterful. Hollander understands that stamina is a factor in greatness in poetry.

What a Disch!.......2002-11-22

The Castle of Indolence is criticism as it should be, not only for what it does not contain (recondite jargon, fawning flattery, faint praise in lieu of damnation, meaningless ad-copy fluff, etc.) but because it is downright entertaining. A page-turner, I read it in a couple of sittings, and lost track of how many times I laughed aloud. If there were more people like Thomas Disch around, there'd be a lot more poetry worth reading--or at least a lot less drek!

Hard, but real.......2002-10-19

Disch writes criticism that makes you wince even when you agree with what he's saying. It takes a special writer to do this and still be able to keep the quality of his work above water, and Disch does this admirably. The introduction alone is almost worth the price of the entire book, as he proceeds to rip every aspect of the contemporary poetry scene that deserves it. The book alsoo contains a number of reviews of contemporary poets and books and even when he likes something it don't come easy...and who could blame him? In this day and age when everyone can become a poet at whim, it's about time to start taking a hard look at what's coming out of people's journals and seeing what's what.

An incredible, tight bok of criticism that will engage you even if you don't know all of the poets he's talking about. A great example of how to citique invincibly.

Mister Mean and the Poetry Machine.......2001-11-05

Ho ho, this a good one. The Castle of Indolence is a collection of prolific cross-genre writer Thomas M. Disch's reviews and musings on poetry and the business of poetry, which is today mainly operated by academia (or as I like to call it, Creative Writing, Inc.) Few Americans today care much about contemporary poetry, and Disch puts the blame squarely on the university network and its policies of schmooze and positive, senseless reviews of banal writing (e.g. ". . . [this poet's] sense of her subject is like her sense of time: projection, identification, and a complete taking-on of the moment . . .") He takes a few cracks at poetlust for NEA grants, and hits it right on the head when he calls creative writing workshops places where "self-esteem" is taught--and not much else.

No, this is not a nice book. Disch is prone to making jaw-droppingly awful statements; he contends that contemporary poets exhibit a "sense of entitlement" just like "the homeless and other self-styled victims of the System." Poetry reviews are always positive because poets are "regarded as handicapped writers whose work must be treated with a tender condescension, such as one accords the athletic achievements of basketball players confined to wheelchairs." Perhaps it takes a hard-hearted person to jab at the naked emperor's flesh? If so, Disch fits the bill.

The Castle of Indolence is divided into five sections, each prefaced by essays concerning the subjects mentioned above. The remainder is given over to reviews of various books of poetry and criticism (some positive.) One may agree or disagree with Disch's stabs at the work of, say, critic Marjorie Perloff and poet Brad Leithauser. These are worth reading if only to come to the last essay, "Reviewing Poetry: A Retrospect," a hilarious little piece which shows just how juvenile the crybaby poetry world can be. Disch calls Leithauser "the Prom King of poetry," in response, Leithouser includes in his novel a child character named Tommy Disch who drowns himself in a toilet bowl. Heh heh. If only poetry could be as much fun as literary politics!

Good writing and straightforward opinions...........2001-10-14

however, I don't think I share his taste in poetry. He dismisses many well-known poets because of the anemic state of literature today. Although I agree with him about the current stagnation in poetry, I don't think I will dive into the alternatives that he suggests.

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Bittersweet and lovely
Deserves a second, closer reading
The Movie Was Better!
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LOVED IT!

I Capture the Castle
Dodie Smith
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312181108

Amazon.com

Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain wants to become a writer. Trouble is, she's the daughter of a once-famous author with a severe case of writer's block. Her family--beautiful sister Rose, brooding father James, ethereal stepmother Topaz--is barely scraping by in a crumbling English castle they leased when times were good. Now there's very little furniture, hardly any food, and just a few pages of notebook paper left to write on. Bravely making the best of things, Cassandra gets hold of a journal and begins her literary apprenticeship by refusing to face the facts. She writes, "I have just remarked to Rose that our situation is really rather romantic, two girls in this strange and lonely house. She replied that she saw nothing romantic about being shut up in a crumbling ruin surrounded by a sea of mud."

Rose longs for suitors and new tea dresses while Cassandra scorns romance: "I know all about the facts of life. And I don't think much of them." But romantic isolation comes to an end both for the family and for Cassandra's heart when the wealthy, adventurous Cotton family takes over the nearby estate. Cassandra is a witty, pensive, observant heroine, just the right voice for chronicling the perilous cusp of adulthood. Some people have compared I Capture the Castle to the novels of Jane Austen, and it's just as well-plotted and witty. But the Mortmains are more bohemian--as much like the Addams Family as like any of Austen's characters. Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dalmations, wrote this novel in 1948. And though the story is set in the 1930s, it still feels fresh, and well deserves its reputation as a modern classic. --Maria Dolan

Book Description

This enchanting novel tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her unusual family who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Cassandra’s eccentric father is a writer whose first book took the literary world by storm but he has since failed to write a single word and now spends his time reading detective fiction. Cassandra’s sister, Rose, despairs of her family’s circumstances and determines to marry their affluent American landlord. She is helped and, sometimes, hindered in this by their bohemian stepmother, an artists’ model who likes to commune with nature. Finally there is Stephen who is hopelessly in love with Cassandra. Amid this maelstrom Cassandra hones her writing skills, candidly capturing the events that take place within the castle’s walls, and her own first descent into love.

Customer Reviews:

Bittersweet and lovely .......2007-07-24

Along with the rest of the literary world, I recently rediscovered this classic after it was republished having sat in obscurity for years. And was promptly blown away. For any lovers of Pride and Prejudice, Anne of Green Gables, or even The Age of Innocence, this is a must-read. The plot is Austen's, the characters Montgomery's, and the setting and bittersweet flavor Wharton's. Written as the journal of a cynical but essentially dreamy 17-year-old, it depicts the turning point in both her life and the lives of her family, as they spiral toward decay and complete poverty, the only hope of redemption being offered by the arrival of wealthy, good-looking neighbors next door. Don't expect to find any Mr. Darcys in this book - the Cotton brothers are much more thinly sketched and truth be told despisable heroes than that famous character, but the book rides on the wistful, witty, breathtakingly clear voice and character of Cassandra Mortmain, a heroine who burns in the memory long after the book has been p