The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them

Book Description

With the goal of promoting literacy (and with proceeds going to the Read to Grow Foundation), here are 65 spirited testaments to the transformative power of reading from 65 distinguished contributors, as compiled by bookseller Roxanne Coady and editor Joy Johannessen.

Books change lives, and if you have any doubts on that score, you need only dip into this joyous celebration of reading by 65 people who have distinguished themselves in various fields, from sports, to cooking, to journalism and the arts. In brief and lively essays, the contributors— wrestlers, actors, singers, monks, Nobel Prize winners, chefs, politicians, writers—tell about the single book that changed the way they see themselves and the world around them.

A sampling of contributors includes: Elizabeth Berg on The Catcher in the Rye; Harold Bloom on Little, Big; Steven Brill on The Making of the President, 1960; Da Chen on The Count of Monte Cristo; Maureen Corrigan on David Copperfield; Nelson DeMille on Atlas Shrugged; Tomie dePaola on Kristin Lavransdatter; Anita Diamant on A Room of One's Own; Linda Fairstein on The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; Sebastian Junger on Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee; Wally Lamb on To Kill a Mockingbird; John McCain on For Whom the Bell Tolls; Lisa Scottoline on Angela's Ashes; Susan Vreeland on To Kill a Mockingbird; and many more. . . .

Customer Reviews:

A Window Onto Other Lives.......2007-06-17

In this book, 71 notable people, most of whom are themselves authors, write brief essays telling what books have had the biggest influence on them. Since each essay ends with a thumbnail biography of its writer, you get a double list of leads for further reading here. You get the 71+ books cited as being life-changing, and you get the works of the 71 people who did the citing.

Actually, you get even further lists of recommended reading from this book. That's because its editors post their own favorites lists on the last pages.

Quite a few of the essays here have a breezy, quickly-jotted quality, perhaps showing their origins as forms filled out in response to the editors' mailed requests to, "Tell us what book changed your life." However several of the essays, such as Da Cheng's recollection of "The Count of Monte Cristo" releasing him from his childhood oppressions in China - are perfect, polished little pieces in and of themselves.

The books that people said mattered to them cover a startling range, and are often unexpected choices. You will find everything from Frank McCourt's appreciation of the "jewels-in-your-mouth" words of Shakespeare's "Henry VIII," to Claire Cook's gratitude for the Nancy Drew Mysteries and Jeff Benedict's mention of "The Little Engine That Could."

There are a few striking qualities that these influential books hold in common though. I notice that almost none of them were required reading in school. Rather, these were books that their readers came upon privately, by almost magical serendipity, and often even in contexts that made them illicit pleasures.

Then too, almost all the books mentioned were fiction. No tracts of deeply political/economic philosophy turned up, of the kind that so many people in the past might have claimed decided their paths. There was no mention of Karl Marx or Adam Smith, or "The Federalist Papers." What people seemed to gravitate towards were other lives, lived in different, freer circumstances.

This book, with its short chapters, makes for easy bedside reading. In fact, you might want to make a point of taking this book in small doses. When I was a little girl, I remember reading one of Bennett Cerf's joke books. Occasionally, a little policeman would appear at the bottom of a page. My mother and I would laugh at this fierce little fellow, scowling and holding up his hand, warning us to "Stop!" He was telling us not to gobble too many jokes in one sitting, because they might become sating rather than side-splitting. It's possible that just such a little policeman should have appeared occasionally in this book in order to get you to pause to digest each contributor's recommendation and wisdom.

well worth the read.......2007-05-17

a joyous book. very enlightning. the variability of books is marvelous. this is a book to always keep coming back to.

Warning! This Book Leads to Buying More Books!.......2007-01-10

They should have a warning on the cover of this innocent-looking little tome that it leads to more book buying. After reading this book, you will most definitely run to your local bookstore (fortunately, I was sitting in Barnes & Noble as I read this book and ended up buying the two books that changed Anne Lamott's life along with this book).

Many of the authors' favorite books were predictable: "Catcher in the Rye", "The Lord of the Rings", and "Jane Eyre" to name a few. The most interesting part of these 71 little essays was discovering how the authors discovered these books and why they had such a profound effect on their lives.

If you love books about books, then this treasure is a must-own. It's on my "Do Not Ever Loan Out" list, it's that good!

Inspiring Book Talk.......2007-01-07

I love to read books about people talking about the books they love. -It gives me a good reason to read something I haven't read already, -and to see if/how it might change me, it's also a great way to come in contact with a new book. This is a great for all of that.

71 writers share here, and I really enjoyed reading about it. Written in short essay style with 2-3 pages per contributor. Some I've heard of, some I haven't, and there's a brief paragraph after each essay that tells you a little about the author and what they've wrote and are well known for. The book ends with a 'reading list of the books selected by the contributors' Which I thought was nice. Then, there are two more reading lists by the co-editors of the book. Also, there's information about the "read to grow" program, to which proceeds from the sales of the book will go toward buying a book for a child. -Another really great reason to buy this book!

There are always some writings/authors that will resonate with you and others that just don't. Regardless, of whether a certain writing 'speaks' to you, I found, with this, that it's still interesting to read what they all had to contribute to the 'celebration of books that matter most to them'.

Read, enjoy and contribute towards a meaningful cause.

Celebrate A Passion for Reading.......2006-11-11

The contributors were each writers who had appeared at R. J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut. This book celebrates 15 years of business for this bookseller and Roxanne J. Coady asked these writers to tell a story about a book that changed their lives as a celebration--and reminder about the power of books to change lives.

The introduction explains the royalty for The Book That Changed My Life goes to buy new books for a program Coady began called Read to Grow,which provides books for parents to share with their children. The individual stories are fascinating even if the writer was unfamiliar to me and/or I didn't know the book that was selected. The writer's choice for a book was interesting--such as Senator Joseph Lieberman (remember it's a Connecticut bookstore) who selected the Bible or another Senator John McCain selected Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.

The story which I want to highlight in this review isn't from one of those writers--but it's from the editor of the book in her introduction. Bookseller Roxanne J. Coady explains how from a young age reading was her passion. And when she opened R. J. Julia Booksellers, "my dream was that the store would be a place where words mattered, where people would gather, where writer could meet reader, and where our staff would work hard to put the right book in the right hand. Dreams can come true. R. J. Julia has now been welcoming readers and writes for sixteen years. Every day in the store we see how books change lives, in big ways and small, from the simple desire to spend a few quiet hours in a comfy chair, swept away by a story, to the profound realization that the reader is not alone in the world, that there is someone else like him or her, someone who has faced the same fears, the same confusions, the same grief, the same joys. Reading is a way to live more lives, to experience more worlds, to meet people we care about and want to know more about, to understand others and develop a compassion for what they confront and endure. It is a way to learn how to knit or build a house or solve an equation, a way to be moved to laughter and wonder and learn how to live."

I loved reading this volume and recommend it.

The Mystic of Tunja: The Writings of Madre Castillo, 1671-1742

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The Mystic of Tunja: The Writings of Madre Castillo, 1671-1742
Kathryn Joy McKnight
Manufacturer: University of Massachusetts Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1558490744

The Cambridge Companion to Native American Literature (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

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The Cambridge Companion to Native American Literature (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521529794

Book Description

This Companion provides an informative and wide-ranging overview of a relatively new field of literary-cultural studies: literature of many genres in English by American Indians from the 1770s to the present day. In addition to the seventeen chapters written by respected experts--Native and non-Native; American, British and European scholars--it includes bio-bibliographies of forty authors, maps, suggestions for further reading, and a timeline which details major works of Native American and mainstream American literature, as well as significant social, cultural and historical events.

Letters to a New Teacher: A Month-by-Month Guide to the Year Ahead

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Jim's deepest book yet
Keep This At Your Side
A Fountain of Encouragement
Strength for the journey

Letters to a New Teacher: A Month-by-Month Guide to the Year Ahead
Jim Burke , and Joy Krajicek
Manufacturer: Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0325009236

Book Description

Every new teacher needs a mentor, someone smart, experienced, compassionate, and reliable to give advice, share strategies, and lend a supportive ear. What if every new English teacher could have one the nation's most-recognized master teachers as their mentor?

Now they can.

Letters to a New Teacher is the chance of a professional lifetime, an opportunity to read the letters and emails Jim Burke exchanged with novice teacher Joy Krajicek - letters in which Jim opens his practice, his mind, and his heart to guide Joy through her first year in the classroom. Jim fields the whole gamut of questions - from typical classroom-management matters to challenging instructional situations to sensitive topics like the boundaries of studentteacher relationships. His answers open the classroom experience up for novices to understand how to organize their space and time, how to plan instruction yet maintain flexibility, how to communicate effectively with the two-hundred personalities they encounter each day, and how to maintain professionalism under pressure.

As gentle, humorous, and supportive as they are practical, Jim's responses to Joy's questions are immediately useful and are presented in chronological order. From August through June, you'll watch as her questions become increasingly complex and see how Jim's answers build upon one another to create a considered, consistent, and disciplined way of thinking about the teaching of English.

Start a your career the right way. Read Letters to a New Teacher and put the thoughts of a master mentor to work in your classroom. Or give Letters to a New Teacher to a novice so they can discover a wellspring of ideas, a source for emotional sustenance, and a buoy for their spirits during difficult moments.

Customer Reviews:

Jim's deepest book yet.......2006-02-28

I just finished "Letters" and I gotta say, what a tremendous book!! It is a different text than ones previously written by Jim and truthfully, I was exceptionally impressed by the intimacy. Mr. Burke reveals so much of his true self -- both as a person and as a classroom educator -- that I now feel like I know him as a friend now that I have read this book. In certain places, it's literally like a stealing a wonderful glimpse into a man's soul -- really good stuff!!!

Obviously, Jim has a gift for words. The voice of the book is strong, distinct and nakedly honest-which I absolutely loved. If there is one element which might have been my favorite, it's the fact that Jim never skirts away from the confusion, the lack of surety and the imprecision of our profession. (NOTE: I am a teacher as well.) What we do is so much more art than science and in this world of standardized tests which only measure us in a scientific manner, Jim unabashedly address the "grey" in an NCLB universe that only evaluates the black and white. To be so brave about this admission, the conceit that, "Hey, there are times when I am simply going on faith here and there I times I fall flat on my face," is bold. Especially because society's impression of what an educator should be is so unrealistic.

The misperception about educators is that they are professionals who should know exactly what they are doing at all times and know exactly how to do it in an effective manner which can be statistically quantified by evaluations and measurements. And Jim spends quality time saying, "Hey Joy, it's cool to flub it up. That's how you learn to become better in a job where you never stop either striving to become better or learning." But society doesn't want to hear that. Not when Joy's students are the ones who will ostensibly suffer. No parent wants their kids to be taught by a teacher who is inexperienced and lacks educational mastery. Yet, Jim so honestly admits that even he, the author of 13 books, an award winning veteran of the classroom, a dedicated professional (which, BTW, Jim Burke's commitment to education is the HIGHEST I have ever seen - it makes me feel like a complete and total slacker), blah, blah, blah... even Jim Burke still finds himself "flubbing it up" now and then. This book is just so human.

In my estimation, Mr. Jim Burke is to be saluted for giving voice to the paradox that is teaching. We strive to be great but we are set up by the public education system at large to be mediocre at best, with too little time, too many students and not enough resources. Yet still, we forge on.

And this book inspired me to keep doing so.

Read this book -- you will be a better person for it!!!

Keep This At Your Side.......2006-02-13

I met Jim Burke five years ago when I purchased his book The English Teacher's Companion. It remains an invaluable source in my practice. Since then, I have added each one of Mr. Burke's books to my collection and have always found relevant and concrete information that I can take into my classroom the next day or use over the course of a unit. Jim Burke's Letters to a New Teacher is the next best thing to having Jim Burke in the room next door.

In the book, coauthored with Joy Krajicek, Mr. Burke allays the fears of a first year teacher who seeks advice on a range of topics-from classroom discipline to teaching writing to creating a unit. Each response, written in a convivial style, offers concrete solutions to Joy's problems and has already proved beneficial to me in the middle of my sixth year teaching. When creating a unit, for example, Burke offers several specific suggestions that will allow the teacher to create steps that assure student success. When teaching writing, this book has helped me to see that not only is learning to write is a process, but also learning to teach writing is as much of a process. Perhaps the most valuable lesson I learned from this book is that it helped to reaffirm for me that accepting the calling of being a teacher means accepting an eternal process of learning. There never will be an end, per se, only a deepening.

Burke includes several poems in his responses to Joy. Each one helped me to rethink what ideas I have about the teaching profession, about my students and about the ideas I have for my classroom. I strongly recommend teachers add this title to their collection. The letters in it will only help to reach for the excellence in ourselves that we demand of our students.

A Fountain of Encouragement.......2006-02-08

Jim Burke is one of those rare people who, when you ask him a question, turns and looks you full in the face before he gives you a reply. You get the sense that he is really listening-ruminating over his own appreciation for the question as well as his desire to genuinely answer. In his new book Letters To A New Teacher, Jim does just that. He doesn't rest on his accomplishments as an award-winning teacher--dispensing golden sound bites of truth and then walking away. Rather, he invites the reader into a conversation. A conversation initiated by Joy Krajicek. He shares the uncertainty, the failures, and the discoveries of the life of a teacher. He hears the yearning of Joy, who like many of us who teach, long to grow in our understanding of the relationship between teaching and life. For Jim teaching is not merely about a subject as much as it is about a lifestyle--a lifestyle of learning how to listen, how to recognize our own gifts, how to challenge ourselves to excellence, and how to grow our students. This is a book to be shared with every teacher, whether novice or veteran. What emerges is a fountain that brims over with encouragement.

Strength for the journey.......2006-02-07

Jim Burke is an inspirational teacher; his books have long been a source of support and wisdom. What is so wonderful about "Letters" is the insight Jim and Joy give into the very real questions, struggles, and satisfaction we all experience as teachers. It is refreshing to read such a honest portrayal of the hearts of two teachers. I came away from the book hopeful, knowing that there are others asking the same questions I ask, even in my fifth year in the profession. Reflective teachers will relate to this book and be helped by it, no matter how long they've been at the job.

September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond

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Passion and Experience Unlike Any Other
September 11 2001 American Writers Respond Book Review
American Writers Respond- A Place to Turn
Let the writers speak for US
An Emotional Journey through Catastrophe

September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond

Manufacturer: Etruscan Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0971822808

Customer Reviews:

Passion and Experience Unlike Any Other.......2003-05-09

September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond is a collection of voices of well-known authors along with lesser-known authors who are just as effective. The authors, including award-winning poets, teachers, professors, war veterans, and Pulitzer Prize winners, try to express themselves to help readers deal with the events of September 11th. It is an assortment of powerful poetry and prose mixed with gripping letters and short essays.
The book, arranged in alphabetical order by author, is a candid set of thoughts and feelings that the authors experienced during the days following September 11th. The various backgrounds of the one hundred plus authors are evident by their written thoughts and expressions about the September 11th tragedy.
The best pieces in the book are the one's where the authors decided to express themselves through poetry. There are two poems that stand out to me. The first poem is "Monday Sundown" and is part of a collection by Lucille Clifton titled "9/11/01 - 9/17/01.
"i bear witness no thing
is more human than hate

i bear witness no thing
is more human than love"
It deals with the two major emotions felt during the tragedy-love and hate. Those emotions are exactly what every American was dealing with after September 11th. We hated the people responsible for the attacks, but loved everyone who passed away or was lending a helping hand. The second poem in the collection that moves me is Lucien Stryk's "Quiet, Please!" It contained a verse that September 11th survivors could understand and quite possibly, help put their thoughts into words.
"down the stairs. Survival
heaps dead flowers into sleep.
Keep still. I think I'm dreaming."
The piece in the book that is both my favorite and most personal is coincidentally is not a poem. It is Karl Elder's short essay titled "The Silence." I must make a note that Karl Elder is a professor of mine at Lakeland College, but I have no bias as Elder's piece deals with the exact same experience I had. He writes about a Green Bay Packer's football game played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin just 13 days after September 11th. He describes how his Iranian friend, now a United States citizen and also a professor at Lakeland, is treated as he enters the famed stadium. He illustrated his feelings as the game wore on. The funny thing about the piece is that I enjoyed it without having to completely read it. I attempted to read it five times before I could make it through without daydreaming of that night. Elder's piece took me back to that game on September 24th.
The piece transported me to when I was standing in the long lines before the game and how I actually asked God to protect us that night. I thought of how I took my Green Bay Packer hat off during the Star Spangled Banner because I wanted to show respect for the nation and not just because it was routine. It recaptured the eerie feeling I had about halfway through the second quarter when I realized that an important football game was nothing more than a distraction for the events in New York. It brought the chill back to my neck as I remembered when Chris Gizzi, a reserve linebacker for the Packers and an Air Force reservist, led the green and gold from the locker room under a banner of red, white, and blue. It reminded me of the time when the crowd chanted "USA, USA!" and I finally realized what patriotism felt like. And lastly, "The Silence" took me back to the drive home when my brother-in-law (a volunteer firefighter) and I had an hour-long talk and not once brought up the Packers.
The book is being used in my class at Lakeland College, but it is unlike any textbook I have ever read. September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond is not facts and figures, but a book that brings back many of the same feelings that were felt on September 11th-fear, sadness, confusion, and disillusionment. The stories of September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond, told through the words of the book's brilliant contributors, are not meant to inform or entertain, but as Elder's "The Silence" took me back, the pieces evoke one's own remembrance of September 11th. Through the works in this book, I began to understand the feelings I felt after September 11th.
Every reader that reads this book will be transported back to September 11th. Whether the reader was watching the events unfold on television or from a New York rooftop, September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond will cause the reader to remember how they felt. That is why Americans should buy the book and the personal remembrance of September 11th is the only reason necessary to buy it. After reading September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond readers will place it on a shelf or a coffee table, but they should never leave the stories far from their conscience.

September 11 2001 American Writers Respond Book Review.......2003-05-01

The events that occurred on September 11, 2001, changed the history of the United States forever. No longer are Americans fearless of other world powers, no matter how large or small, but now Americans are to some degree living in fear. Terrorist attacks can happen again today, tomorrow, a month from now or a year from now. There is no way to plan for the unexpected, even though cautionary levels are through the roof. The outcome of that fateful day changed American attitudes. The hatred felt toward the U.S. was overwhelming. I believe that if it would have been possible, there would not be a single American man, woman or child alive to tell the frightening tale. The history of the U.S. changed that day, and luckily, there is people left to tell about it and share stories and emotions.
Following Spetember 11, 2001, there has been numerous literary works that have popped up about the issue. One of these works is by William Heyen and is called September 11, 2001 American Writers Respond. This literary work is an anthology of 127 American writers that responded to the tragedy. The anthology is a collection of fiction writings, essays, and poetry and prose. What is amazing to me is that these writers were able to respond at all. Following the events, there was numbness throughout the U.S. Mass confusion and hysteria was going on. No one knew for sure who was involved, who was killed, or what the meaning behind the event was. It was as if, for Americans, the world had stopped moving for days at a time while they watched over and over again the planes crashing and the towers falling.
For months afterwards, news headlines and magazine covers were filled with pictures and stories of people's experiences and thoughts. This is what September 11, 2001 American Writers Respond is all about-experiences and thoughts. The stories and prose included in the anthology are by various writers throughout the U.S. and vary in length, depth, and character. This may be the only downfall of the anthology. If there was some uniformity to the pieces, I believe, the anthology would be much stronger. Nonetheless, the fact that the writers were able to capture their thoughts and emotions during this chaotic and emotionally charged time is all that matters, because these thoughts and emotions are exactly what everyone in the U.S. wanted, and in some ways needed.
Americans couldn't get enough of others thoughts and were also eager to share their own. Most of the pieces in the anthology explore the meaning behind the events, such as what does this say about humanity, what does this say about everyone's sense of well-being and why is the U.S. so hated. Some explore what should be done as a counterattack, and other simplier pieces, recollect what a particular writer was doing at the time of the incident. The reaction of the people to this tragedy is similar to when Kennedy was shot or when the U.S. first landed on the moon. Everyone talks about what they were doing. Curiosity is great but it is more than simple curiosity. A uniting of the nation came to pass, and the people want to feel as though they belong, as though they all shared a common experience and grew as a result of that experience. This also is what the anthology does for the reader.
One piece that particularly grabbed my attention was by Antler, and was taken from Skyscraper Apocalypse. The lines that made me grasp the events in a different light go as follows:

Have the winds blown enough
that by now all of us have breathed
particles of the burned-up corpese?
Sooner of later all of us will inhale
invisible remains of the incinerated victims...

I had never thought of the events in this light. Living in Wisconsin, and not knowing any victims, made me disengage myself from the tragedy in some ways. My life wasn't changed in a drastic manner so I didn't think about it constantly. However, when I read these lines, and I think that at this very moment I could be breathing someone's remains, makes me look and remember the tragedy in an altered way. This is also a major part of the anthology, looking at others perspectives and making them part of the larger picture. The people that lost their lives were live human beings, and even if I didn't know them, their death does make a difference in my life.
Overall the anthology was well put together. The writers all had something intellectual to contribute and did so in a meaningful manner. It is a mixture of works that makes the reader feel the tragedy all over again yet, at the end there is hope, even though nothing has been resolved at the time the anthology was published. The anthology's greater purpose, I believe, is to console and also to share thoughts and emotions, which at a time like this, as any psychologist would say, is very crucial.

American Writers Respond- A Place to Turn.......2003-04-30

September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond is a carefully put together anthology dealing with the attacks on the World Trade Center. This compilation contains pieces written by over 100 different authors and its diverse contents allow it to appeal to a variety of people.
Stylistically it is difficult to describe September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond because the genre is so widespread. The anthology includes poems, essays, short stories, fictional stories, non-fictional stories, letters, and poems-the list could continue. Each author has their own style yet the pieces have a way of fitting together and creating an amazing collection of artist's reactions to the events on September 11th. Authors like Daniela Gioseffi makes the reader laugh because she writes about an entertaining (and touching) conversation she has with a nine year old girl while authors like Fred Moramarco makes the reader cry because the contents of his poem include the final conversations of September 11th victim's lives. The different authors attempt to affect the reader in different ways creating an extremely effective anthology.
The pieces in the compilation of writings are arranged in alphabetical order by the author's last name. This unoriginal organization is actually a very effective technique used by the editor, William Heyen, because it leaves the reader in anticipation of what is left to come. Heyen could have organized the anthology by grouping similar pieces together but this option is undoubtedly inferior to his choice of arrangement. Because every author has a different point of view and style, the reader has no idea what to expect when they begin the next piece in the anthology. The reader may find two poems similar in content back to back, or an essay followed by a memoir with contents differing from one extreme to the next. The anticipation that builds within the reader regarding the content of the upcoming pieces makes September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond a book that people do not want to set down.
It is impossible to read September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond without questioning your own view on the attacks. The anthology represents an abundance of different points of view. From Muslims to Christians, Middle Eastern people to American people, presidential supporters to presidential protestors; every view is represented. One of the most amazing things about this collection of writings is the wide range of feelings it produces. There are pieces like "the window, at the moment of flame", by Alicia Ostriker, that produce feelings of anger and disbelief in many readers because it blames the Americans for the tragedy. There are also pieces like Richard Wilbur's "Letter" that produce nationalistic feelings and recreate a true sense of love and pride for America. A person's opinion of the nation and the attacks prior to reading September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond will definitely be challenged because of this book. Pieces such as "America United", by Ishmael Reed, force even the strongest supporter of the government to reevaluate the strength of our leaders and, consequently, take a second look at their own view on the matter. Initially some of the pieces included in the anthology may produce feelings of rage because the point of view of the reader and the author differ greatly. One of the things that make this anthology as effective as it is, however, is that the differing opinions (regardless of who the reader is) will be retaliated by another piece somewhere in the book. The anthology contains such a large variety of pieces that it is impossible for a person to not be able to identify and agree with at least one of the pieces.
It is inevitable that the attacks on September 11th had an affect on every American, but what is not as certain is the effects that it had on people other than Americans. September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond helps prove that the attacks were not simply an American tragedy, but rather a world tragedy. The anthology contains non-fictional stories such as "Sisters", by Karen Blomain, in which two American sisters are spending an ordinary day shopping in a flea market when the attacks occur. In this story the tragedy brings the American sisters together to mourn with Russians, Koreans, Latinos, and Indians. Many of the authors that are included in the anthology come from different cultures. The ability of this one book to cross cultures and force any reader to see the impact the tragedy had on people other than Americans is simply amazing. After reading this book it is impossible for a person to see the attacks as affecting only Americans, but instead the book forces readers to have feelings of empathy and respect for other cultures.
September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond is one of the most moving and motivational anthologies of today. Although the attacks on the World Trade Center occurred almost two years ago, it is still hard for people to cope with the tragedy. Books like this one help people (both Americans and non-Americans) deal with the truths of the attacks and come to the realization that they are not alone in whatever they are feeling. The amazing thing about September 11, 2001: American Writer's Respond is that it has the capabilities of touching every single person's life because of its diverse content. In a time period as dangerous emotional as this, people need to find a place to turn when they feel that there is nowhere left to go. Thankfully this book can be that place for anyone.

Let the writers speak for US.......2003-04-30

We all know where we were on September 11th, 2001. Some of us were headed to work, others to school, some were with families and some were alone. We all know the thoughts that struck our minds as those airplanes struck those towers. Many of us would like to express the pain and emotion that we felt but are unable to find the words. That is why this book comes in handy.

At about 435 pages, September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond is an anthology featuring 120 writers. Loaded with first hand impressions penned only months within the attack on America, the book is a balanced mix of political response, personal reflection and artistic vision of the day that changed the world forever.

The anthology is Editor, William Heyen's effort to reflect the opinions and experiences of the world's people. It is a balanced representation of ideas, but hardly covers a fraction of the opinions and questions of all affected by the attack. And although it will never answer "why?" What it will do is let us express, empathize and identify with one another, not only as writers, not only as Americans, but as human beings.

An Emotional Journey through Catastrophe.......2003-04-29

This compilation, by a huge array of authors, unites each and every one of us in grief. Although each piece is written by a different person-different in gender, race, nationality, age, etc-it shows the true emotions that lie within each author. It bonds us all together. The authors of this book deserve respect and admiration for openly putting themselves out there for all of us to witness their feelings, fears, and hopes. And although a reader may not walk away from this book with a smile, it is a way to feel connected to others. It is a way to cope with the tragedy, and a way to ensure that we will never forget.

Reinventing the Enemy's Language: Contemporary Native American Women's Writings of North America

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Spellbinding Women's Literature
exceptional range of work

Reinventing the Enemy's Language: Contemporary Native American Women's Writings of North America
Joy Harjo
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0393318281

Book Description

This long-awaited anthology celebrates the experience of Native American women and is at once an important contribution to our literature and an historical document. It is the most comprehensive anthology of its kind to collect poetry, fiction, prayer, and memoir from Native American women. Over eighty writers are represented from nearly fifty nations, including such nationally known writers as Louise Erdrich, Linda Hogan, Leslie Marmon Silko, Lee Maracle, Janet Campbell Hale, and Luci Tapahonso; others-Wilma Mankiller, Winona LaDuke, and Bea Medicine-who are known primarily for their contributions to tribal communities; and some who are published here for the first time in this landmark volume.

Customer Reviews:

Spellbinding Women's Literature.......2000-05-26

I bought this book out of my interest in Indian literature, but found that it resonated as deeply with my non-Indian womaness. Simple and clear, the writings take you all over the place and bring you back to yourself. Thanks to my Indian sisters.

exceptional range of work.......1999-11-05

I teach Native American literature. Since the publication of this book I have been unable to exclude it from my syllabus. Students almost unanimously have endorsed this choice, even when they had to shell out the money for the hardcover. Now that it is in paperback, no one should exclude it.

Book Description

From English classes to book clubs, Amy Tan's bestseller The Joy Luck Club has become a staple of contemporary American fiction. Its heartrending and powerful stories speak volumes about the trials both of the immigrant experience in America and of mother-daughter relationships in any family. The Companion takes you inside this favorite:
* What are the Joy Luck Club daughters expected to do with the stories their mothers tell them?
* How autobiographical is Tan's novel? Which daughter did she base on herself?
* What role does the past play in the lives of immigrants and their children?

Customer Reviews:

A unforgettable Book.......2000-05-07

This book is wonderful. It is the best book I've ever read. It is about a relationship with a mother and daugter. It is so realistic. I love this book. YOu have to read it. There is also a movie on this book which is fantastic.

Socialist Joy in the Writing of Langston Hughes

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Socialist Joy in the Writing of Langston Hughes
Jonathan Scott
Manufacturer: University of Missouri Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0826216773

The Angela Y. Davis Reader (Blackwell Readers)

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Angela
Great Introduction to Davis

The Angela Y. Davis Reader (Blackwell Readers)

Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0631203613

Book Description

For three decades, Angela Y. Davis has written on liberation theory and democratic praxis. Challenging the foundations of mainstream discourse, her analyses of culture, gender, capital, and race have profoundly influenced democratic theory, antiracist feminism, critical studies and political struggles.Even for readers who primarily know her as a revolutionary of the late 1960s and early 1970s (or as a political icon for militant activism) she has greatly expanded the scope and range of social philosophy and political theory. Expanding critical theory, contemporary progressive theorists - engaged in justice struggles - will find their thought influenced by the liberation praxis of Angela Y. Davis.The Angela Y. Davis Reader presents eighteen essays from her writings and interviews which have appeared in If They Come in the Morning, Women, Race, and Class, Women, Culture, and Politics, and Black Women and the Blues as well as articles published in women's, ethnic/black studies and communist journals, and cultural studies anthologies. In four parts - Prisons, Repression, and Resistance, Marxism, Anti-Racism, and Feminism, Aesthetics and Culture, and recent interviews - Davis examines revolutionary politics and intellectualism. Davis's discourse chronicles progressive political movements and social philosophy. It is essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary political philosophy, critical race theory, social theory, ethnic studies, American studies, African American studies, cultural theory, feminist philosophy, gender studies.

Customer Reviews:

Angela.......2002-08-21

Without a doubt the most influentialblack woman of this decade.The writings in this book expose peopleto the knowledge and beauty of thispowerful woman. She held fast toher principles despite the fact thatit cost her her job at UCLA.I admireher strength and courage. When itcomes to Richard Nixon and RonaldReagan who would you believe. I willstick with Angela.her

Great Introduction to Davis.......2000-06-29

Angela Davis is without question an American national treasure. From her involvement with Black Power in the 1960s to her humanitarian pursuit of prison reform, Davis has always been remarkable for what she does. This reader introduces a new generation of readers to what she says about what she does. Those who have never read her before will be sure to grab other collections (and, of course, the autobiography). The selection of essays and excerpts is quite pleasing, but only to whet the appetite for those new to Davis.

Dante's Divine Comedy: Purgatory: Journey to Joy, Part 2

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Dante Musa Style
Bit of a slog after Hell.
A Thoroughly Annotated Translation
Working Our Way Up
UNEARTHLY BEAUTY

Dante's Divine Comedy: Purgatory: Journey to Joy, Part 2
Kathryn Lindskoog , and Alighieri Dante
Manufacturer: Mercer University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: 0865545839

Book Description

_The Divine Comedy_ is perhaps the greatest Christian classic ever written, and probably the greatest adveture story ever told. Dante wrote it to entertain, guide, and enrich ordinary readers, not just the intellectual elite. This clear new version with unique aids makes the fascinating story accessible to such readers today.

Those who love Dante best as a storyteller and teacher will find in this book what they have been waiting for...the freshest, clearest, most exact, and most readable Divine Comedy in the English language, with full-page illustrations and original notes.

Customer Reviews:

Dante Musa Style.......2005-07-29

Mark Musa has produced an extremely readable translation of a text that at times can be next to inaccessible. As a non-Dante scholar, I have struggled with other translations. The notes accompanying each canto also are well done: thorough and very illuminating. Musa's deft pen has turned Purgatory into a pleasure.

Bit of a slog after Hell........2001-06-14

By its very title, 'The Divine comedy' announces its theological purpose. For those not so inclined, the 'Inferno' offered many subsidiary pleasures - compelling narrative drive (both in the adventure of two men descinding into hell, and in the stories of the people they meet); an overpowering visual sense, both in the grand design of Hell's geography and the plan of its punishments, and in the individual details of the sinner's torments; and the endearing characterisation of the heroes, Virgil the stern, noble guide, and Dante, the clumsy, gossipy Everyman.

'Purgatory' has fewer of these delights. Here, it is impossible to avoid the doctrine. Every vast visual set-piece (the Angel fighting off the snake in the Valley of the Princes; the Holy Pageant that stuns the Pilgrim in Eden, complete with griffin-drawn chariot; the masque involving violence to said chariot by eagles, foxes, seven-headed monsters and giants) are all so allegorically pre-determined, each feature a religious symbol, that they lack the dramatic force that would have made their images truly poetic.

The plan of Purgatory - the AntePurgatory where those who left repentance to the last moment must wait; the mountain itself, where seven terraces represent the Deadly Sins to be purged; the crowning Earthly Paradise, or Eden, the gateway to Heaven - bears no real comparison, for the reader, to Hell: one's sympathy naturally inclines towards the eternally damned, and one almost resents the complaints of the saved complaining of their discomforture. The stories told the Pilgrim are also of a lesser order - perhaps proving pure evil to be more (aesthetically) attractive than contrition.

There are some moments when genuine terror intrudes - the visions of violation and tempting lust dreamt by the Pilgrim; the baptism of fire he must pass before entering Eden; the show-trial with Beatrice; while tortuous similes and evocations of nature are framed in poetry of intricate beauty (see Borges remarkable essay on the infinite metaphor in Canto 1).

Mark Musa, like most American annotators, has not heeded the lessons of Charles Kinbote, and his commentary to 'Purgatory' is almost loopily overwritten. He is an amiable, enthusiastic and informative guide, and if his translating choices are sometimes questionable, he has the grace to offer other alternatives. His explanation of the purpose of each image or scene makes it easier to follow the poem with greater understanding (if not necessarily enjoyment). But because he concentrates on every line with such minute detail, he frequently misses the wider design, and so, when he is puzzled by lines that don't fit his view of the Comedy, he has a tendency to blame Dante rather than himself.

A Thoroughly Annotated Translation.......2001-04-21

This is the second volume of Alighieri Dante's classic Divine Comedy. It tells the tale of Dante's journey through Purgatory, led by his guide, Virgil. Having passed through the depths of Hell (the Inferno) in the first volume, Dante and Virgil ascend the mountain of Purgatory, passing its many allegorical characters and observing the penances they must fulfill. The Divine Comedy is a beautiful, epic poem that takes the reader through a wide emotional spectrum and many vivid, picturesque scenes from Dante's fictional afterlife.

This translation was wonderful. Each of the 33 Cantos (Chapters) is set up in this sequence: 1) a short summation by the translator, 2) the poem, and 3) notes on names, characters, and items referenced by Dante. The translator, Mark Musa, even explains in his notes when he has a differing interpretation of a word or phrase than other translators' have had.

Dante used so many references to Greek mythology and events that were common knowledge to educated people of the 13th-14th Century that this poem, without notes, is entirely esoteric and fully appreciated only by the most erudite modern-day readers. Mark Musa brings every reader up to par with his thorough, easily-read notes; thereby making this classic poem a very entertaining and profound experience.

Working Our Way Up.......2000-07-20

Inferno is the most famous of the trio of volumes of Dante's Divine Comedy. But don't stop there. Purgatory is a beautiful work, illustrating the rise of the human soul through Purgatory's nine ledges. I found it beautiful how the souls were not hurrying. They waited patiently, yet eagerly.

Musa's translation makes all the difference. The language is accessible, but not irreverent or vulgar. A routine I found helpful was to read the introduction to each canto, read the canto, then read all the notes, checking back to reinforce meanings or double check a name or place.

The Pilgrim's journey through this volume is heavily illustrative of God's grace, and yet the idea of each person's responsibilities to God are clear.

Don't stop reading after Inferno. These stirring translations by Musa make it possible to read, understand and love the whole Divine Comedy.

UNEARTHLY BEAUTY.......1999-05-08

Dante's DIVINE COMEDY: JOURNEY TO JOY, by Kathryn Lindskoog, is a delight to read. This is definitely a reader-friendly retelling of Dante's Christian classic. The original DIVINE COMEDY was written in terza rima, a closely rhymed form of Italian poetry. This version is written in clear and flowing modern English prose, which at times is suggestive of poetry. The reader is given easy-to-follow footnotes, providing historical background and interpretation that make the book readily understandable and enjoyable.

The story can be understood on more than one level. On the literal level, this spiritual adventure first describes Dante's journey, led by the Roman poet Virgil, down through the nine circles of INFERNO, then up the mountain of PURGATORY. There, on PURGATORY's nine ledges, penitent souls move eagerly through repentance and penance, purifying themselves in the joyful knowledge that Paradise awaits them. As an allegory of the Christian experience, PURGATORY relates the pilgrimage of the human soul, homesick for heaven, struggling to be free of an unworthy past, and longing for fulfillment in God.

Dante envisions PURGATORY as a place of unearthly beauty, and here Kathryn Lindskoog's pleasing choice of language makes this book a delight for the reader. Her descriptive passages include such lovely phrases as: "a cliff so steep that nimble legs were useless," ... "a mountain mist...through which you could see only as moles do..." "...gold and fine silver, crimson cloth, ... freshly cracked emeralds - all these colors would look dull next to the grass and flowers in that valley, just as less is always overcome by more." The true glory of Purgatory lies in the sense of eagerness, hope, and anticipation that Dante discovers in the souls he encounters on his journey of spiritual preparation. The book closes with the words, "now I was pure and prepared to rise to the stars."

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