Amazon.com
With his Daily Show appearances and his "I'm a PC" Apple ads, John Hodgman has only become more famous since the hardcover edition of his all-you-need compendium of facts, The Areas of My Expertise was released. He has also become smarter. To reflect this, the paperback edition of The Areas of My Expertise has been expanded to include 100 new hobo names and new, additional complete world knowledge. John Hodgman and his fur-hatted associate, Jonathan, have prepared an exclusive video for Amazon customers explaining the above.
Click here or on the image above to watch John Hodgman describe the only book you'll ever need. |
Book Description
In the great tradition of the American almanac, The Areas of My Expertise is a brilliant and hilarious compendium of handy reference tables, fascinating trivia, and sage wisdom on all topics large and small. Although bestsellers such as Poor Richard's Almanack and The Book of Lists were certainly valuable, they also were largely true. Here is a different kind of handy desk reference, one in which all of the historical oddities and amazing true facts are sifted through the singular, illuminating imagination of John Hodgman—which is the nice way of saying: He made it all up.
John Hodgman brings his considerable expertise to bear in answering all of the questions book buyers have been asking:
-What are the mottoes of the 51 United States?
THE ANSWER IS PROVIDED
-Who were the U.S. presidents who had hooks for hands?
THE ANSWER IS PROVIDED
-What role does the Yale secret society “Skull and Bones” play in the secret world government?
THERE IS NO SECRET WORLD GOVERNMENT
-What was the menu at the first Thanksgiving, and did it include eels?
Technically, that is two questions, but do not apologize, for John Hodgman shall answer them both . . . LATER.
-Aside from a compendium of fake trivia, what is the best kind of book to write?
A SIMPLE TABLE OF THE 55 MOST DRAMATIC LITERARY SITUATIONS PROVIDES THE ANSWER, and John Hodgman is the author of that table.
Imagine if The Book of Lists had been rewritten by Peter Cook and Jorge Luis Borges under the pseudonym of “John Hodgman” and then renamed The Areas of My Expertise, and you will only begin to have a sense of the dizzying, uproarious, sublimely weird, and strangely wise journey that is contained within this book (along with all the pages and words).
Perfect for anyone who thirsts for knowledge, and especially for collectors of books of fake trivia, The Areas of My Expertise offers through absurdity a better understanding of the world we share—and recognizes that while the truth may be stranger than fiction, it is never as strange as lies . . . or as true.
Customer Reviews:
boring and tries too hard.......2007-10-02
This is a random grouping of charts and graphs that attempt to be funny in the way of "The Onion" type humor. Unfortunately, the book fails to be even moderately funny.
Hodgman is Funny.......2007-09-19
I like Hodgman's humor and enjoyed this book quite a bit. I also would recommend Lloyd Dangle's latest book, "Troubletown Told You So: Comics That Could've Saved Us From this Mess."Troubletown Told You So: Comics that Could've Saved Us from this Mess
A must on audio.......2007-09-04
Although I imagine John Hodgman's "The Areas of My Expertise" would be both illuminating (containing, as it does, the sum of all human knowledge) and entertaining (written, as it is, by a man who has won an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, a Tony, the Pulitzer Prize and was named Miss Massachusetts 1989), it's even better when read by John Hodgman himself.
And that's even without the musical interludes by Jonathan Coulton and the 700 hobo names. The latter, incidentally, has proven invaluable in my personal life.
A must-buy for anyone who enjoys knowledge, learning, hobos or breathing.
Painful.......2007-08-12
I special ordered this book based on a glowing review from a good friend.
I have decided to ask this friend never to recommend anything to me ever again.
I didn't laugh at anything in this book. I smiled once or twice at certain parts. The author has a troubling obsession with werewolves and hobos that is tedious and fairly juvenile. The only person laughing is John Hodgman as he sleeps on a giant pile of money from people foolish enough to buy into the hype, and the publisher that was double-dog-dared to print it.
John Hodgman is why I run a PC.......2007-07-10
If you're looking for jokes of the keynote variety (this is not something I would recommend), do yourself a favor and buy a Reader's Digest.
If, however, you're a fan of humor (along the lines of Mark Twain, Andy Kaufman, Bill Cosby, Christopher Buckley, etc.), buy this book. There is a world of difference between jokes and humor. Jokes rely on a punchline; humor requires a humorist. For instance, it's impossible to "tell" a bit by any of the aforementioned people and produce laughter (except among people who are already familiar with the material).
Each has a unique voice and outlook that can be imitated but never duplicated. John Hodgman falls into this class of genuine humorists. If you find yourself understanding the distinction between jokes and humor, I would highly endorse purchasing both the paperback edition of this book--unabridged plus 100 additional hobo names--AND the audiobook, for the pleasure of hearing John Hodgman narrate in his incomparable, slightly lazy-eyed style.
Amazon.com
It should come as no surprise that The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature is the inaugural title from McSweeney's Books, the publishing arm of Dave Eggers's literary quarterly McSweeney's. There appears to be two Neal Pollacks at work in the literary world. There's the legendary award-winning writer who has covered such global crises as the Spanish Civil War and 1999's "Battle in Seattle"; who has been married multiple times and romantically linked to Lara Flynn Boyle and Zadie Smith; and who counts Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Utah Jazz's Karl Malone among his closest friends. Then there's the real Neal Pollack, the young writer responsible for this comical tribute to the hard-drinking, fistfighting, wounded White Male egos behind the banged-up typewriters of first-person journalism. The high jinks begin in the table of contents, with such bloated chapter headings as "The Burden of Internet Celebrity" and "Why Am I So Handsome?"--hinting at what's to come. There's a detailed chronology included ("1959: Goes to Hollywood. Blacklisted.") and a nifty Zelig-like collection of photographs capturing Pollack (shirtless, more often than not, in his khaki photojournalist vest and aviator shades) yachting with J.F.K.; posing with a mud-caked platoon in Vietnam; and tuxedoed, escorting Mia Farrow to Truman Capote's Black and White Ball. Highlights include a transcript of Pollack's surprise appearance during a 1996 taping of Oprah's "other favorite author," Toni Morrison, where he offers this nugget to readers: "Oprah expanded my readership like no television program ever; not even my brief stint on Laugh-In gave me such wide exposure to Ma and Pa United States." Despite the one-joke tone of this slim volume, Pollack's clever wit prevails throughout, leaving a highly entertaining satire in its wake. --Brad Thomas Parsons
Book Description
Neal Pollack has been the Greatest Living American Writer across six decades, seven continents, and ten wives. He has won the Pulitzer Prize, the Booker Prize, the PEN/Faulkner Award (twice), and the Premio Simon Bolivar for contributions to the people's struggle in Latin America. In 1985, Pollack's writing was declared "beyond our meager standards" by the Swedish Academy
With the publication of The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature, the definitive collection of his work in English, a new generation of readers is set to discover nothing less than the ultimate meaning of human existence on earth. This astonishing work of fictitious nonfiction, the funniest and most creatively styled postmodernist confection of its time, has been universally praised as the best book ever written except for maybe Don Quixote and The Shipping News. The Anthology -- now expanded, updated, and thoroughly repaginated -- answers, once and for all, the question that has plagued American society in general, and literary critics in particular, since Neal Pollack was born: "Who is Neal Pollack?" At last, we know.
Customer Reviews:
Hutzpah... Pah!!.......2007-09-25
Pollack proves that the only thing necessary to be an artist in this society is the audacity to call oneself such. I've slogged through a couple of his self-indulgent works now, and from what I can see, he's an author because he says so. Unfortunately he's not alone; the people with egos big enough to believe they are something are granted celebrity or at least book contracts just because they have the hutzpah to tell the world what every person's mama made him or her believe for a while: I'm special. Most people grow up and realize that everyone is special but nobody's really THAT special. Pollack seems to still believe that he is not one of the very folk he attempts so weakly to satirize, a pompous bag of air who should be penalized for every tree that dies in the service of his vanity. He's an average writer with average opinions and really should take a breath and realize he's OK without being "special." Then he should give the reading public a break and get a real job.
Good Comedy, Not a Good Book.......2005-06-06
If you read enough books, especially enough books of a certain sort, and enough literary criticisum, again of a certain sort, you end up with a trove of amusing observations. If you put all of your observations together in a book, though, and your readers have read many of the same sources you have, their observations may be funnier than yours. So, after a while, your book becomes very, very tedious.
Puh-lease!.......2005-02-24
This is not post-grad humor, whatever that is (I'll tell you what it is, it's an oxymoron). This is not lacerating satire, nor a vicious attack on self-indulgent journalism, nor on Great White Authors (in whose company Neal Pollack rightly counts himself), nor--least of all is it this--is it a post-modern manifesto (post-modern??? think about how stupid you sound before you indulge your egotistical ear with literary jargon--you might start forgetting that words like "post" and "modern" have real meanings which, like nerds and prom queens, don't congeal when placed side by side)... nor is it anything else you people might come up with in the dark, lonely basements of your profound intellects!!!! Let the rest of the world (those lucky ignorant souls who've seen the sun within the past year) know the truth about Pollack: he's a pretty funny guy... at least he advocates onanism, which makes him totally legit in my eyes.
Starts funny, ends embarassing..........2004-07-28
Neal can be funny. I laughed out loud the first couple of tracks. His humor relies mostly on name dropping and rattling off absurd fads we've indulged. He is fairly astute when satrizing coffeehouse pseudo-intellectuals and vacuous hipsters...but...the joke gets old.
I read a couple of reviews claiming you have to be a grad. student to appreciate his humor. You must be kidding.
The only jokes that lie outside the realm of the average TV sitcom, are references to world authors and poets.
Even then, you're not missing much.
The last CD, his LIVE poetry performance is a session of pain. I was tortured by 27 tracks of egregious poetry. Because, it was recorded live, you could feel the tension in his audience. The nervous silence, couples on the edge of their seats listening for something funny to laugh at, just to make Pollack feel better. You might be wondering why I kept listening, am I a masochist?
No. Well, except for that week I was stuck in a Motel 6 on an acid binge, with two Brazilian soccer players and a tazer. But, not usually. No, I kept listening because I bought the audio CD's purely from their glowing reviews and his affliation with Eggers and gang and all the other current literary intellgentsia. I would be a masochist.... if I listened to it again.
Meh..........2004-02-15
When I first started reading The Neal Pollack Anthology, I was really into it. I recommended it to everyone I was reading (as I sheepishly hid the fleshy cover behind my hand), laughed a bit, especially at the time line, study guide, pictures, and oher "extras," and thought it was pretty hysterical, especially "I Am Friends With a Working Class Black Woman." But after a while, I stopped laughing and recommending it to people, deciding that, on a whole, the book is pretty "meh" (say the word aloud to know what I mean) and exactly as a three star book should be: good, but inconsistant. His Heraldo-like antics are funny for a while - yeah, he sleeps with hot, ethnic women, yes, he went to Ivies, uh huh, he's really old - but after a while it gets spread really thin over 200 odd pages. I definately agree with the reviewer who compares the literary refrences to Simpsons allegories. When Pollack mentions Norman Mailer for the upteenth time, you think, "yeah, he knows a lot about books, in a smug, McSweeneys sort of way..." (and don't get me wrong, I love McS) "...but I feel like I'd really have better spent my time reading just a few stories and then abandoning the book to read some real Mailer."
Average customer rating:
- Oh, woe is me!
- Clear the air- this little (big) lady's ripping one OFF!
- The Zen koan is "What's the sound of one cheek flapping?"
- The Zen koan is "What's the sound of one cheek flapping?"
- What is the sound of both cheeks clapping?
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Zen of Farting
Reepah Gud Wan
Manufacturer: Frog, Ltd.
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ASIN: 1583940855
Release Date: 2003-09-11 |
Book Description
In 1993, a Taiwanese fisherman opened a chest that had been in his family for centuries. Inside, he found a manuscript which may be as significant as the Dead Sea scrolls—a manuscript which will revolutionize our thinking about the origins of Zen. Written on a rice paper scroll, the manuscript records the teachings of the founder of Zen, the Master Reepah Gud Wan. It makes it quite clear that Reepah, a legitimate teacher of Buddhism, was frustrated by the inability of his students to grasp the abstract concepts of the Buddha. In desperation, he decided to play a joke on them. He invented the Zen of Farting, confident that even the densest pupil would realize that he was making a joke and laugh at his excessive seriousness—not to mention his farts.
The joke went over like a stale air biscuit. Soon, the Master had thousands of students eager to learn this brave new spiritual teaching, the Zen of Farting. Thus was Zen born, not of heaven, but of the 'ethereal child of earth.'
Customer Reviews:
Oh, woe is me!.......2005-08-14
When I was wee, I never imagined that I'd become not a fart connoisseur, but a connoisseur and consumer of fart books. And this fart book is one of my faves. I also quite like "Walter the Farting Dog" and "It All Began With a Bean."
Clear the air- this little (big) lady's ripping one OFF!.......2004-07-25
I stink, therefore I am. Yes friends, I'm a husky whitey, yet to be blessed with Motherhood, the highest and holiest honor. But when I begin ripping them off- or as my friend's teen daughter calls it: going on a fart-jag- you don't want to be within 500 feet for fear of contamination (some call it the greatest nation to live in!). If you have a bit of a thing, so to speak, for your own stench then the Zen of Farting is for you.
The Zen koan is "What's the sound of one cheek flapping?".......2001-02-14
As Doctor Evil says, "Breath-taking!" Definitely, an enlightening book, especially for those of you who try the match trick. Just remember, the cosmos started in a cloud of gas, so why not fart your way to Satori.
See my list of other books on this important subject.
The Zen koan is "What's the sound of one cheek flapping?".......2001-02-14
As Doctor Evil says, "Breath-taking!" Definitely, an enlightening book, especially for those of you who try the match trick. Just remember, the cosmos started in a cloud of gas, so why not fart your way to Satori.
See my list of other books on this important subject.
What is the sound of both cheeks clapping?.......1999-12-14
Zen Master Reepah Gud Wan reveals the true meaning of the Fart Sutra. The result is absolutely breathtaking! All who read this short treatise will be sure to laugh their way to enlightenment.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful puzzles.......2007-07-29
If you can read French and if you grew up heaaring Mother Goose rhymes (in English) this book is a MUST HAVE. It presents an almost credible scholarly work about some fragments (in French) from an old civilization. If you will read those fragments aloud, you"ll be able to hear (in English) well known nursery rhymes. Truly fascinating, and soetimes challenging! (Especially if you had never known THIS rhyme in English!)
--And the "scholaraly" footnotes are great!
Great book but bad production quality.......2007-07-11
Zebu qui se regrette: there's no question about that, and I _am_ grateful that it's back in print. BUT, buyers beware: the print in this edition looks like it came out of a cheap photocopier. Van Rooten deserved better.
Mots D'Heures.......2006-07-05
This is a wonderful book - I laughed myself silly the first time I encountered it (even though my French comprehension is NOT wonderful). Will give this one to a friend to whom I know it will give hours of pleasure.
A Pinnacle -- Updated Review.......2004-01-11
Mots D'Heures: Gousses, Rames is one of the greatest literary entertainments ever written. It runs the gamut from touchingly nostalgic to raucous. Above all, it is howlingly funny. It makes me laugh so hard it hurts.
You need two things to enjoy Mots D'Heures: Gousses, Rames. You should know some French, and you should know some nursery rhymes. With that, the book will hit you from line to line with waves of jaw-dropping hilarity, endless wit, and moments of poignant reminiscence.
There is nothing more to say except: bah, six boucs! [The author apparently thinks you should pay six goats---or a sheep?]
PS -- Having unguardedly purchased a copy of the paperback edition listed above, I must agree with the most recent reviewer that the production is dreadful. A reader interested in this masterwork would do well to seek out a copy of the original 1966 edition (long out of print), even at considerable cost. But not from me, though. I wouldn't part with mine for less than tartines fortunes.
Phonetics for Fanatics - "Sounds Like....".......2000-10-14
With the spurious title "The D'Antin Manuscript", suspicions are immediately alerted. D'Antin = "downtown", maybe? More than likely.
The book purports to be a rediscovery of a mediaeval French manuscript and is presented with appropriate introduction, notes, etc., the usual machinery of scholars. However, upon reading the poems, the arcane nature of the French renders the lines meaningless. What kind of manuscript is this, anyway? You go with the flow - you chuck "meaning" out the window.
Read them phonetically, and suddenly the poems take shape in a Proustian way, as the nursery rhymes of your youth. Not only is the book great fun to return to a) for a laugh and b) to practise your French accent (you'll need the fluency for, e.g. "Un petit d'un petit" - Humpty Dumpty). It's also great to fake your friends out with this handy little tome.
Bring it back into print!
Book Description
Are you a Troop Committee Member looking for a thank-you gift for the Scoutmaster? Are you a Scout Leader looking for a book that's a tribute to the funny side of Scouting? Maybe you're a Scout that's a candidate for the coveted "Burnt Wiener Cooking Award". Have you ever been, known, or seen a Boy Scout? If you answered "Yes", saluted, or weren't listening because you're in the middle of fixing a cobbler, you've just gotta have "A Boy Scout's Handbook of Madcap Tales, Volume 1".
Follow a lost Scout searching for his troop and a bowl of cobbler through 11 madcap tales, crazy full-color illustrations, exclusive tips from Sir Nuttbucket (bet you've never heard of the Hienrick Maneuver!), and fake "Boys' Life" classified ads.
Tale titles are: The Scout Who Bought a Snipe; I Pledge Allegiance to Everything I've Ever Heard; Road Kill, Hold the Cheese; My Brother Burrnie; The Pampered Scout; The Troop Bus That Couldn't and Didn't Want To; The Granny Knot; A Scout is Also Resourceful; The Tenderfoot Who Hiked Up a Hill and Slid Down a Bad Cobbler; The Scout Who Always Got Car Sick; and Highway Adventure.
Plus there's: The Handbook Part, Extra Bonus Filler, Madcap Scouts' Classified Ads, and a Trading Post order form featuring collectable patches and postcards that go along with the book. "Burnt Wiener Cooking Award" candidates--are you paying attention!?
The author, Sir Nuttbucket (who bears a great deal of resemblance to the illustrator), has vast Scouting experience including: Webelos, Pinewood Derby winner, Senior Patrol Leader, youth escort to Green Bar Bill, yellow snow maker, Council SPL for Peterloon (a big deal in Dan Beard Council), 3 years Summer Camp staff, 2 National Jamborees, 2 Philmont Treks, Seven 50-Milers (backpacking), Eagle Scout, Vigil Honor, Scout Master, OA ceremony team, Vigil Chief, and being rescued by helicopter in the wilderness of Wyoming---oops. He understands that in the process of guiding boys to become responsible young men, madcap stuff just happens---and it's best to have a sense of humor about it.
This zany book is a tribute to the funny side of Scouting and a perfect gift for Scouts and Scouters alike.
Customer Reviews:
A bit disappointing!.......2007-01-11
I had thought this book would be great for my scouting son, but was disappointed in its content. It has some funny anecdotes, but not as much nor as amusing as what you can read in any Scouting magazine.
Save Your Money.......2006-11-15
I found no humor what so ever in this book. Erroneous Scouting information. Poorly concieved, poorly written and poorly laid out. 50 pages of nothing for $7.95. Somebody thought he had a good idea and should have kept the thought to himself. Would not even make a good campfire starter. Save your money.
I laughed my behind off!!!! Well almost off!!!.......2006-05-04
OK - I like the Three Stooges and any move scene with a good fart makes me laugh and this book falls into that genre. It's not meant to be a "serious" book about scouting (at least I don't think it's supposed to), but the little glimpses of scouting and the skits written around them are actually written quite masterfully and definitely in my opinion would deserve a scouting patch. For those who don't necessarily like childish type humor, then you probably need to look elsewhere. But if you're sitting on the can and need a good laugh to get things a goin' then this here is the book you want. :>)
The far side of scouting.......2006-04-21
Madcap Scout Tales is a fun book, especially the ads in the back. The book is colorful, cleverly put together and a quick read. The author is an Eagle Scout himself, yet has enough of a sense of humor to see the lighter side of scouting.
Horribly dissapointing.......2006-02-15
As a Woodbadge trained adult leader, I have to say I am completely dismayed by this book. There are enough real-life events on any given Scouting event to twice as many pages with humourous anecdotes. This book contained little more than humorless stories with even worse punch lines. Seriously-- a story about a kid getting carsick all the time culminating in a punchline where he took medicine for it may be funny to a first grader with a poor sense of humor, but hardly worth the effort to read the page where the story appeared. The only things remotely funny in this slim overpriced pamphlet were the fake ads in the back of the book--and they weren't all that funny.. I recommend that everyone save their money and avoid this rubbish.
Book Description
Some people are so dumb / ugly / mad / crazy that civilized adjectives cannot describe them. Is he dumber than a box of dirt? Is she three pounds of ugly in a two pound sack? Are they mad as a box of frogs? In Redneck Words of Wisdom, Jaimie Muehlhausen has respectfully collected some 500 of the best down-home, country sayings. Arranged in convenient chapters on subjects like bragging, being lazy, witches' titties, multi-genitaled animals, and more, these sayings cut to the core truths of life. When standard words fail... Redneck Words of Wisdom can save the day.
Amazon.com
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the humorist Don Marquis charmed New Yorkers with his whimsical newspaper column, which often featured the prose stylings of an opinionated cockroach named Archy. This final collection of Marquis's columns was edited by Jeff Adams, who found these gems in a long-lost trunk of the journalist's papers. Parts of that archive have already been published in the 1996 volume, Archyology: The Long Lost Tales of Archy and Mehitabel. Fans of Don Marquis, light verse, and talking vermin are likely to enjoy this book.
Archy writes by hurling himself headfirst toward the keys of a typewriter. In "archy comes out for simplified spelling," the little fellow recommends changes in standard English spelling and describes the physical hardships of his writing style:
in the small of my back theres a kink
and the rapid sukseshin of shocks
is putting my chin on the blink
In other columns, Archy makes wry observations about politics and American society. When he visits Washington, D.C., he worries that he might get tacked onto a piece of legislation because it seems like everything is being added to that particular bill. On another occasion, he gets caught up in a ticker-tape parade and is tossed around the streets of New York for two full hours.
The volume also contains several installments of The Great False Teeth Mystery, a serial novel about the international adventures of Archy and a bejeweled set of dentures. This picaresque parodies the conventions of serials but is less entertaining than Marquis's other work. Marquis is at his best when his sidekick Archy is in charge of the typewriter, giving us all a bug's-eye view of the universe. --Jill Marquis
Book Description
In this second and final volume "composed" by archy, the literary cockroach, the wonderfully whimsical insect and his fractious feline friend, mehitabel, engage in misadventures large and small and comment with quirky accuracy on the common state of humanity. Previously unpublished in book form and literally recovered from a steamer trunk by editor Jeff Adams, these stories are the product of Don Marquis, a New York columnist and raconteur who was one of America's most popular humorists during the early twentieth century. archy supposedly worked at Marquis's newsroom typewriter at night, diving headfirst onto individual keys to tap out columns; unable to use the shift key, of course, Archy settled for lower-case letters and dispensed with punctuation entirely.
Ungrammatical as they may be, Archy's wry insights are a true delight, for, as he puts it, "one advantage of being a cockroach is that i see things from the under side." From that unique perspective we follow the continuing saga of archy, the Cockroach Detective, a spoof on the gumshoe genre in which the six-legged private eye encounters a raja, his chorus-girl harem, Bolshevist twins, an Egyptologist, seven sister manicurists, and a set of bejeweled false teeth. In other episodes archy saves the US fleet from a German U-boat attack, muses with a spider about humanity's inhumanity to insects, stows away on a freighter to London, and climbs to the top of the Washington Monument.
In the Capitol building itself, archy says, "there is no attention paid to me because there are so many other insects around it gives you a great idea of the american people when you see some of the things they elect." The Ku Klux Klan, he observes elsewhere, "is going strong and the national emblem will soon be the great american kleagle." Meanwhile, mehitabel, who claims to be a reincarnation of Cleopatra, offers to hire hit-cats to clean up City Hall, not of rats but of reporters. Accompanied by the inspired drawings of cartoonist Ed Frascino, these new archy tales are, Adams writes, "classic American humor, as vivid and amusing today as they were decades ago."
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- A Review of "Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill"
- When you're tired of Mother Goose...
- Much nicer rhymes than Mother Goose!!!
- Friendly Review
- Absolutely fabulous!
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Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill: An African Mother Goose
Virginia L. Kroll
Manufacturer: Charlesbridge Publishing
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ASIN: 0881068659 |
Customer Reviews:
A Review of "Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill".......2006-02-04
I so wanted to like this book more than I do. For one thing, we are big into poetry in our family and are always on the look-out for interesting poems. And for another thing, we are doing an Africa study unit. BUT, to put it bluntly, the poetry in this book is a little uneven. Sometimes the rhyme and idea is good, and sometimes both are a little lame.
For example, the title poem.
Jaha and Jamil went down the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
They med Atu and Siwatu
And Asha with her daughter.
In my opinion (as gaged from my children's reactions-boy and girl, 4 and 6) meeting people is just not as interesting as falling down a hill and breaking your crown.
So for us this poem and others just didn't work. But some did. Take "Taleh, Taleh". My children really took to this poem which didn't sound quite so forced.
Taleh, Taleh needed water
For her thirsty little daughter.
Put it in an ostrich shell
And there she kept it very well.
Three Stars. Artwork is nice. Some poems work and some seem alittle contrived and forced. At this price it would be an affordable addition to the home shelves, but don't expect every poem to be a `winner'.
When you're tired of Mother Goose..........2004-02-03
Here are some lovely, creative and fun rhymes on an African theme based on Mother Goose rhymes. My 15-month old daughter enjoys the rhymes and the drawings--each page representing a different country. There are a few minor cultural inaccuracies, but overall, it nicely represents the diversity of Africa. I gave the book a rating of four stars instead of five primarily b/c the drawings are not especially striking or engaging. However, the pictures are colorful and depict many animals, plants as well as traditional dress of African people. A nice book to add to your child's library, and great poems to add to your repertoire!
Much nicer rhymes than Mother Goose!!!.......2003-09-16
I think this is a wonderful book. I use the rhymes in this book to replace Mother Goose rhymes with my 3-year old son. We read the book together, and he enjoys the pictures as well as the rhymes. Most of the rhymes in this book are gentle, kind, and educational. Some of my favorites are Rock-a-bye-baby, Ring Around the Sand Dune, Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill, and Bend a Wire. Since we've been learning things together about Africa in videos and other books, it's been fun to see some of them also represented here. I've given this book to several of my friends for their children. It would be fun to have more books like this with rhymes about other places in the world as well.
Friendly Review.......2002-05-29
The children's picture book, Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill: An African Mother Goose, a wonderful collection of Mother Goose nursery rhymes, can be enjoyed by anyone. These traditional stories are popular that all American readers will recognize, but the words have been Africanized. This book is also organized by country, featuring a different country on every page with an illustration that depicts that country's geographic landscape.
This book is fun for every age because most Americans grow up hearing these familiar Mother Goose nursery rhymes. When Kroll decided to alter Mother Goose's rhymes, she gave an entry way for readers to experience Africa. This book is a fun and enjoyable way to learn about the African culture. The rhymes are just as catchy as the originals. These rhymes also have native African words and pictures that sum up the vast continent. The illustrations are very vivid so it makes Africa come alive. The illustrations also give a fantastic geographical summary of each country. With these nursery rhymes and illustrations, this book will bring together the culture and spirit of Africa for all readers.
Absolutely fabulous!.......1998-12-06
This book was wonderful. I read it for a group of students and they were spell-bound to say the least. It is good to know that quality, authentic multicultural literature is being published.
Amazon.com
Some parents and educators object to the old-fashioned and sometimes stereotypical nature of traditional Mother Goose rhymes. Move over, Mother Goose--welcome to the '90s! In this more contemporary collection, Bruce Lansky offers new versions of 41 rhymes, a "kinder, gentler" approach to Mother Goose, with funny twists that will amuse both young listeners and their parents. In this collection, Little Miss Muffet is definitely not afraid of spiders, Old Mother Hubbard's dog calls out for pizza, and the old woman who lived in a shoe retires to a sandal on the beach. Roly-poly contemporary children of all races illustrate these poems in a humorous, good-natured fashion. As a follow-up to traditional Mother Goose poems or on their own, these nursery rhymes for our modern times are a satisfying alternative. (Ages 2 to 5)
Customer Reviews:
The New Adventures of Mother Goose.......2005-12-07
My kids enjoyed this book so much they have most of the poems memorized. This is a much more enjoyable version to read than the original Mother Goose. I received the book as a shower gift and have since bought three copies as gifts for other children.
Stands on its own, even when not compared to Mother Goose.......2001-07-23
My son loves this book and seemed unimpressed with the original Mother Goose when they were read to him weeks after getting this book. This book is much more entertaining for any age at any time. Warm, positive, and funny.
Wonderful update of familiar nursery rhymes.......1999-01-31
After our son was born we started really reading the old nursery rhymes we'd grown up with and were disappointed by the often harsh and callous messages. The New Adventures of Mother Goose is such a welcome relief! It full of the characters we recognize but they're so much happier than we remember them. For instance, the three KIND mice take out their cheese and cut her (the farmer's wife) a slice. How much better than getting their tails chopped off! Most importantly, it's our son's favorite book and he's starting to complete the rhymes himself. We feel good about having him repeat happy rhymes.
Amazon.com
J.D. Salinger hasn't published a word of fiction since 1965, and his silence casts a shadow over With Love and Squalor, a collection featuring 14 contemporary writers riffing on the works of the famously reclusive author. Unlike several less-than-flattering accounts of Salinger's life published in recent years, this book is more about the writing than the writer. John McNally spends some time with The Catcher in the Rye's memorable minor characters in "The Boy That Had Created the Disturbance," while in "An Unexamined Life," Benjamin Anastas is inspired to reread Salinger after being branded as Salingeresque in the jacket blurbs of his own first novel. In "The Salinger Weather," coeditor Thomas Beller confronts a Salinger-reading stranger on the subway and experiences a "random city bonding moment." A real standout, though, is Aimee Bender's "Holden Schmolden." She wonderfully captures that moment of first discovering Catcher:
Reading it made me realize that even though he had been discovered ad nauseam by the world, one of the magical feelings about reading J.D. Salinger was that you, yourself, felt like you were discovering this writer for the first time and had made him yours in the discovery. Salinger invites possessiveness, in the best way.
Salinger fans should appreciate this uneven tribute album, even though there are a few tracks worth skipping. --Brad Thomas Parsons
Book Description
Reading The Catcher in the Rye has become a rite of passage for young Americans, landing the book on bestseller lists (and banned book lists) each year, even though it was published a half century ago. What is it about J. D. Salinger and his body of work that has left such a lasting mark on American fiction? And who better to answer that question than the current generation of writers?
Here are fourteen of the most vital voices in the contemporary American fiction scene pulling no punches in response to a writer who continues to beguile, charm, fascinate, and frustrate generations of readers. Contributors Walter Kirn, Ren? Steinke, Charles D’Ambrosio, Emma Forrest, Aleksander Hemon, Lucinda Rosenfeld, Amy Sohn, John McNally, Karen E. Bender, Thomas Beller, Benjamin Anastas, Aimee Bender, Joel Stein, and Jane Mendelsohn turn themselves inside out as they discuss their personal reactions to reading Salinger classics–not only The Catcher in the Rye but also Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters, and the short stories–and explore, with begrudging gratitude, how Salinger helped to form the deepest reaches of their literary imaginations.
Download Description
Reading The Catcher in the Rye has become a rite of passage for young Americans, landing the book on bestseller lists (and banned book lists) each year, even though it was published a half century ago. What is it about J. D. Salinger and his body of work that has left such a lasting mark on American fiction? And who better to answer that question than the current generation of writers?
Here are fourteen of the most vital voices in the contemporary American fiction scene pulling no punches in response to a writer who continues to beguile, charm, fascinate, and frustrate generations of readers.
Contributors Walter Kirn, Ren Steinke, Charles D'Ambrosio, Emma Forrest, Aleksander Hemon, Lucinda Rosenfeld, Amy Sohn, John McNally, Karen E. Bender, Thomas Beller, Benjamin Anastas, Aimee Bender, Joel Stein, and Jane Mendelsohn turn themselves inside out as they discuss their personal reactions to reading Salinger classics -- not only The Catcher in the Rye but also Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters, and the short stories -- and explore, with begrudging gratitude, how Salinger helped to form the deepest reaches of their literary imaginations.
Customer Reviews:
Impossible not to love it.......2003-05-21
This is one of the best books I've read about a writer. Each of the 14 articles gives us a different point of view on old J.D., and all of them come up with great insights.
My favorite is "Salinger and Sobs", written by Charles D'Ambrosio (we're sure going to hear this name a lot). This article is very sensitive and really touching. I think the guy understood Salinger - and Holden Caulfield - very deeply.
"The Salinger Weather", by Thomas Beller, is also fascinating. Take a look at this quote: "... there is the fear I have that if you're a Salinger fan, if you are living in the Salinger Weather, you can never have a relationship with another person. I mean a developed, adult, love-type relationship." He hit the mark! And that makes us think a lot.
Well, I had a lot of fun with "Good-bye, Holden Caulfield. I Mean It. Go! Go!", by Walter Kirn.
When it comes to the "with squalor" part of the book, Emma Forrest's piece is very charming. She says that Salinger quit publishing because he sort of knew he could not be one of the greatest world's writers, because he knew he was not so good as people would expect after "Catcher". That sounded like a challenge. And it is a shame that J.D. didn't take it on.
Anyway, if you're a Salinger freak, or if you just like a great reading, this book is indispensable.
Revisting Holden & the Glass Gang.......2002-07-26
It was a pleasure to see a book published about J.D. Salinger's writing as opposed to a tell-all about the famous recluse. The editors sent the call out to young (or youngish) writers for their take on JDS.
Essays by Walter Kirn and Renee Steinke were delightful views of meeting up with Holden Caulfield from an entirely different background than the New York, prep, affluent Salinger character. Mr. Kirn hails from a small town in MN and thought of Holden as a dashing sophisticated fellow while Ms. Steinke is a preacher's daughter from Friendswood, TX and saw Holden as a fellow outsider. These were fond and enlightening essays that showed "Catcher in the Rye" was without boundaries.
Lucinda Rosenfeld's "The Trouble With Franny" takes an in-depth look at Franny Glass and how perceptions change when rereading as an adult. John McNally does an excellent job in discussing and illustrating the minor characters in JDS's work and how perfect the brevity and broad brush make even once-mentioned characters memorable. Co-editor Thomas Beller made me think about what it's like to live in "Salinger Weather," a closely reasoned, brilliant piece written with brio! Jane Mendelsohn has an achingly sensitive article, "Holden Caulfield: A Love Story," about how her first take on Holden was a romantic crush, but deepened into a bemused love as she gradually saw the tragedy and despair of Holden.
According to the Introduction, the writers were given carte blanche. Herein lies a problem. Some of the essayists took this to mean a great deal of talk about themselves with the merest nod to J. D. Salinger. One contribution was a fairish "New Yorker" type short story that had the heroine carrying a copy of "Franny & Zooey" as the sole link that I could see to the author. Another most unpleasant young lady was very proud of being young (a temporary condition at best), and allowed as to how she might give Holden a go.
As all the writers are professionals, I was unhappy with the amount of self-indulgence displayed in some (but not all) of the articles. Almost all of the writers were introduced to Salinger as required reading in the 8th or 9th grade. Perhaps that is part of the problem. Discovery by oneself is a much more powerful way to meet a new author, and your insights are your own.
The five excellent essays and a couple more I would rate as good workmanlike jobs make "With Love and Squalor" a good choice for a true Salinger lover.
Influence.......2002-04-18
This is an excellent survey of the influence(or lack there of in some cases) that J. D. Salinger has exercised over the literary world. Each essay is written by a contemporary writer who details his/her experience with Salinger and his work. All of the essays are very interesting and well done.
However, the essays in the book raise another question, the answer to which isn't found within the essays. What is the influence of Salinger on ordinary people? Is there any or has he had very little influence beyond the writing community. Has the experience of ordinary readers been similar to or totally different from the essay writers? Almost all high school and college students are required to read The Catcher in the Rye and somtimes Salinger's other works, this is where most of the essay writers became acquainted with him. Yet none of the writers attempt to really go beyond their own experience to examine that bigger question. That is too bad, the book would have been even more interesting had some attempt been made to examine this question. Maybe there needs to be a sequel that explores it.
More love than squalor.......2002-01-06
How I wish this book had been around for the many years I taught "Catcher in the Rye" and "Franny & Zooey" to my high school students. I read half of "Love and Squalor" on my feet at a bookstore; I couldn't stop reading long enough to buy it until the place was closing -- 14 gifted writers responding to their experiences with not only "Catcher" but the whole scanty Salinger cannon. How I wish there had been 28! The writings range from the good to the extraordinary -- I particularly loved Charles D'Ambrosio's beautiful piece about suicide and "crappy, broken-down families" (and can that phrase please replace "dysfunctional"?), John McNally's insightful observations on the fabulous minor characters in "Catcher" and Karen E. Bender's lovely literary 'first kiss' with Holden. Best of all, the book has introduced me to these three wonderful writers, all of them new to me. After reading "Catcher" more than thirty times over the years, thank you all for making it new to me again.
A Pleasant Read... Pity About the Urine.......2002-01-04
Let's face it. Like it or not, Salinger had a monumental impact on the way Americans read and write fiction, particularly short fiction. However, it is unfortunate that the greatest impact depicted here in "With Love and Squalor" is via tributes to "Catcher in the Rye." If you haven't read "Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenter," "Nine Stories," and Salinger's other novellas and short fiction, you haven't even come close to the tip of the iceberg.
The authors presented here (a good number of whom I've never read) establish themselves almost immediately as a) Salinger followers from the moment the fizz of puberty's effervescence first erupted, and b) naysayers to the works of non-fiction that have recently arisen regarding Salinger's private life. No fewer than five of the fourteen felt it necessary to repeat that Salinger is purported to have a less-than-palatable proclivity for drinking his own urine and spending time with young girls. These two proclamations from the authors tended to cloud what would otherwise be an excellent anthology of Salinger essays. I would advise the reader to understand that this is what you'll be up against when you first open the book, and then I would advise the reader to get over it.
An almost clinical exploration Salinger's suicidal writing (foremost in "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," but also prevalent in a surprising number of other stories) is among the most riveting reading, not only because we've become intimate with the stories in question (and love them), but also because the author of this snippet [whose name I have woefully misplaced] has been touched with suicide himself. It's a poignant and bittersweet recognition the author makes, seeing himself in Salinger's characters at a far deeper level than, happily, many of us will never have to dig.
Every story in this book is in itself a work of art. Pity about the urine, though.
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