Paradise Lost (Penguin Classics)

Book Description

Edited with an introduction and notes by John Leonard.

Customer Reviews:

Timeless Classic.......2007-08-09

John Milton's "Paradise Lost" is a timeless classic. It's imagery, based itself upon 1500 years of previous Christian-cultural imagery, has shaped how the Western world views Christianity, sin, the fall, life, death, heaven, and hell.

The open-minded non-Christian reader would do well to read "Paradise Lost" to become a literate student of Christian imagery. The Christian, willing to work through the descriptive poetry, will gain new insight into Creation, Fall, and Redemption. In many ways, Milton bridges eras (the Middle Ages and the Reformation), cultures (Southern Europe and Northern), and religious groups (Catholic and Protestant).

It's interesting how much "folk theology" owes itself to Milton's "Paradise Lost." Modern views of the Devil, in particular, are often unknowingly based upon the poetic images from Milton. Fortunately, Milton is at his best in describing Satan, first as the unfallen Lucifer with all his glorious, God-created brilliance, and then as the fallen False Seducer in all his distorted and tormenting deceit.

For example, Milton speaks of how revenge, dark requital, propelled Satan's monstrous motives:

To waste his whole Creation, or possess all as our own, and drive as we were driven, the puny habitants, or if not drive, seduce them to our Party, that their God may prove their foe, and with repenting hand abolish his own works. This would surpass common revenge, and interrupt his joy in our confusion and our joy upraise in his disturbance; when his darling Sons hurled headlong to partake with us, shall curse their frail Original, and faded bliss, faded so soon (Milton, Paradise Lost, p. 40).

Surpassing common revenge, Satan lives to spite the Author of life.

By Satan, and in part proposed: for whence, but from the Author of all ill could spring so deep a malice, to confound the race of mankind in one root, and Earth with Hell to mingle and involve, done all to spite the great Creator? (Milton, Paradise Lost, p. 41).

Milton's depiction of the temptation in the Garden displays psychological brilliance and biblical insight into the nature of the human personality as designed by God and depraved by sin. Perhaps only C. S. Lewis' "Screwtape Letters" matches Milton's understanding of Satanic seduction.

For instance, so whose fault their fall? Milton, imagining God's words to Christ, declares:

For man will hearken to his glozing lies, and easily transgress the sole Command, sole pledge of his obedience. So will fall he and his faithless Progeny. Whose fault? Whose but his own? Ingrate, he had of me all he could have; I made him just and right, sufficient to have stood, though free to fall (Milton, Paradise Lost, p. 63).

Well put. Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall. Made just and right and able to choose. Adam and Eve had all they could have from the generous hand of God, yet they transgressed the sole command, the sole pledge of loving, trustful obedience. Loving allegiance they chose to grant to non-god rather than to Father God.

Whatever could possess them to trade their birthright for one bite of the one forbidden fruit? When we last spied earth's Villain, he was tumbling toward hell. Having lost the battle for heaven, his hostility and hate triggers a new plan. Why a second siege on heaven's gates, when earth's shores suggest easier prey? As Milton envisioned it:

Nor will occasion want, nor shall we need with dangerous expedition to invade Heaven, whose high walls fear no assault or siege, or ambush from the Deep. What if we find some easier enterprise? There is a place (if ancient and prophetic fame in Heaven err not), another World, the happy seat of some new Race called Man, about this time to be created like to us, though less in power and excellence, but favored more of him who rules above. So was his will pronounced among the Gods, and by an oath, that shook Heaven's whole circumference, confirmed (Milton, Paradise Lost, pp. 39-40).

Readers also could benefit from his less known work, "Paradise Regained." Many have mentioned how difficult it is to write a riveting book about Heaven since the drama of evil is defeated and thus the tension is deflated. Yet Milton captures one possible vision of a future Paradise/Heaven as well as most. (Randy Alcorn's book "Heaven" is, in my opinion, the best modern book on the topic).

The Greatest Writing in the English Language.......2007-02-03

There's enough already said about why and how Milton wrote this book, so I don't have anything to say about that. It's a story most people will be familiar with, and any surprises will involve the beauty of the language or a random, surprising insight into a character's motivation. In the end, Milton deserves to be called the greatest writer in English because of the pure strength and beauty of each individual sentence.

This is undoubtedly a difficult book to read. I teach a small bit in a sophomore high school English class, and I tell them, "This will be the most complex text you will encounter this year." We have to practice unpacking sentences one at a time and stating them in our own words in order to get their meaning. It's a slow process, and one that most adults will also need to go through.

But it's all worth it! Reading Milton might or might not change your view of God and man, but absorbing him will change your love of language. The words are vivid and powerful and beg to be read aloud. If you like your poetry Great in the sense of sounding larger than life and tackling humanity's major questions, Milton is it. (And, in my opinion, he even takes out other wonderful poets that I also love, including Dante, Virgil, Homer, and Shakespeare).

A timeless classic of English literature.......2006-10-13

Justly placed at the head of the canon of Western literature behind Shakespeare and Dante by Harold Bloom, Milton stands as a towering creative genius in English literature and epic poetry.

Milton conceived of his vast epic as a way to justify the 'ways of God to man.' Strangely, the character of Satan is absolutely central to this epic more so even than Adam and the rest of humanity, and often one can't help comparing Satan and his journeys and battles against misfortune as akin to those of other great literary heroes, such as Prometheus, Odysseus or Aeneas. I feel in a way the message of Milton is more than just good Protestant Christian apologetics; if you read his passionate and brilliant defense of freedom of the press and of thought in works like Aeropagitica, I am sure Milton in a way showed the power of free choice and what heights it allows any being to soar to, even those who are damned. I always get a sense from reading Milton a great trust in the human spirit and an expectation to rise against tyranny.

While ultimately I feel Milton does not really justify the 'ways of God to man' in an intellectually satisfying way, and his vision lacks the brilliant unity of that of Dante, Milton is certainly a poet and genius of first order and probably the greatest writer in English after Shakespeare. His poetry contains great depth and beauty, not just the Paradise Epics but many other poems as well, and his learning and erudition are immense.

In Milton there is a great confidence in human reason and in the individual to prevail in the face of disaster and hardship. One can't help but admire Satan's stubborness and determination in the face of so much which goes against him, and his incredible efforts to achieve his goals. If you ever wanted an example of 'self-help' look no further than the devil in Milton; despite the most hopeless situations he never gives up. Perhaps conciously or unconciously Milton embodies in Satan and also in Samson our own present confidence in our creative abilities and our determination and intelligence to overcome any obstacles in our way, and perhaps in a world as turbulent as ours, that isn't such a bad hope to have after all.

A God Worthy of Respect, if not Praise.......2006-08-29

Sufficiency is fluid. There is nothing that in Paradise Lost that can be described as simple. But sufficiency in the eyes of God, Adam and the various obedient angels consists of doing God's will and using the gift of free will given to all his sentient creatures to extol his greatness. Before the falls, both of the rebel angels and of Adam and Eve, the relation between God and his creations is almost always one to one and direct. God makes his creatures sufficient to withstand any and all evil, but by investing all with free will gives them the choice of whether or not to embrace the evil. Suffiency lies within all sentient creatures to do God's will, but one can only be proved sufficient by doing God's will. In short, to be sufficient in God's eyes is to do his will--no matter what!

That suffiency is fluid is vaguely clear through out the poem. There is never one definition of perfectly righteous or good behavior. Satan and the rebel angels needed only to accept Messiah as God and King; Adam and Eve needed only not eat of the tree of knowledge; Michael, Gabriel, and company had to take part in that farce of fight for heaven; Enoch, Noah, Moses and Jesus showed their suffiency by standing up for God against humanly impossible odds. The lists of lesser examples in the poem are too numerous to recite and keep this essay readable, but it is more than reasonable to conclude that depending on the situation anything from indifferent obedience to militant martyrdom will be sufficient. But, constant obedience is always the rule.

The same rule of suffiency should be applied to Paradise in a slightly modified form. God is the greatest of planners because he knows all. Knowing all, he makes plans for every consequence of every action. Had Adam and Eve resisted Satan in the garden, then it would have proved sufficient for two beings who did not know good or evil. That would have proved enough of a mockery to the aims of Satan, but after the fall God ordains it necessary to show that everything Satan ever does to mankind is utterly futile and leads only to more punishment and increase of pain. The fact that he will make the supreme greatness of mankind come from evil means shows his power to be without end, and Satan's unwillingness to accept this is what will ultimately destroy him and his host of rebels at history's conclusion.

The entire question of suffiency of all virtues is the meditation of Milton from the poem's beginning to the close. What is constantly necessary to remember in this poem is the distinction between virtue, or power, and true virtue, power used to celebrate and defend good. Milton uses this distinction to turn epic virtues on their head by investing Satan with so many of them. Satan is fearless, uncompromisingly defiant, willing to fight by whatever means are provided to him and he is inspiring. We can see shades of Aeneas, Odysseus, Scaevola, the Earl of Kent from King Lear, and numerous other literary and historical figures that seethed with defiance and did everything in their power to defy and defy and defy. What all characters put forth have in common though is that they used their powers in defense of people, home, freedom, and friendship. Satan uses the power still invested in him, his "courage never to submit or yield" to try to destroy, not create. Comically, he even seems to realize that he can, at best, be a mild irritant to God this way:

...If then his Providence
Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,
Our labour must be to pervert that end,
And out of good still find means of evil,
Which oft-times may succeed, so as perhaps
Shall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturb
His inmost counsels from their destined aim. (I, 162-68)

This is power so completely abused that it barely requires further explication. Suffice it to say though, this is the same valor that we find in Adam when we are introduced to him for the first time in book IV, and that he disdains using in book IX when he chooses to follow Eve's lead by eating the forbidden fruit. Where the true virtue of the obedient angels and the classical epic heroes lies in their motivation for undertaking feats of violence, Satan's hatefulness, which grows as he further resists God, lies in the fact that he uses all his powers and intellect in the service of conquest, destruction, and wickedness. As becomes clear by the poem's end, when Michael shows Adam the tyranny of Nimrod, valor when in the service of wickedness is not a true virtue. True virtue and greatness can only come through God's favor.

Here it seems appropriate to move from suffiency in beings and their actions to the suffiency of Paradise. As Raphael points out in book VII, creation of the world and mankind took place in order show Satan and the rebel angels their superflousness by filling what they could have defined as a void when they were banished from Heaven. God loves all his creatures for the obedience and love they show him. But part of the nature of being omnipotent is that nothing is inexpendible and no thing is outside of his purview. Existence itself is by God's sufferance and for any permanence of good to come of a beings existence this must be accepted as indisputable. Milton's Satan would not be Milton's Satan if he accepted this necessity. He even had a chance to accept it in book II had he advised the Stygian council to accept the advice of Mammon--one who hates God as much as Satan:

...Let us not then pursue
By force impossible, by leave obtained
Unacceptable, though in Heav'n, our state
Of splendid vassalage, but rather seek
Our own good from ourselves, and from our own
Live to ourselves, though in this vast recess,
Free, and to none accountable, preferring
Hard liberty before the easy yoke
Of servile pomp. Our greatness will appear
Then most conspicuous, when great things of small,
Useful of hurtful, prosperous of adverse,
We can create, and in what place soe'er
Thrive under evil, and work ease out of pain
Through labour and endurance. (II, 249-262)

God's wrath is infinite when provoked, and expulsion from Heaven is the punishment for attempting to conquer Heaven. There is no reason to believe that his ire would have been raised had the rebel angels simply accepted their punishment, because the punishment and the concomitant agony that the disobedient angels suffer would have been sufficient. The further disobedience of Satan is what makes more punishment necessary, hence the periodic metamorphosis into serpents the rebels undergo after Satan's return from Earth. Again, suffiency of actions by God becomes defined solely by decisions made by his creations. By seducing Adam and Eve, Satan showed God that banishment was not sufficient to quell his pride. Also, Adam and Eve showed themselves insufficiently obedient to deserve Paradise. It became necessary for God to alter all of their conditions in order to punish Satan accordingly, further dash his pride. For Adam and Eve the punishment was death and the misery of history. They proved insufficient of Paradise, nothing in Paradise itself was imperfect, insufficient, let alone deficient, accept for them after the fall.

God is the creator of infinite possibility in all his sentient creatures. He should not be viewed as the writer of a book with a singular vision who preordains events to make a specific conclusion. That would be fate or destiny and God did not impose these upon human existence. God has total foreknowledge of all events, but he explains to Messiah that this is irrelevant because free will gives all his creations choice. They would be worthless otherwise because,

Not free, what proof could they have giv'n sincere
Of true allegiance, constant faith or love,
Where only what they needs must do, appeared,
Not what they would? What praise could they receive?
What pleasures I from such obedience paid,
When will and reason (reason also is choice)
Useless and vain, of freedom both despoiled,
Made passive both, had served necessity,
Not me. (III, 103-111)

There needs to be the constant possibility of evil arising for good to mean anything. Good is totally impotent without the contrast of evil, in fact it arguably can not exist without it. Automaton praise would not be real praise of God.

When discussion of the suffiency of Paradise comes up in any definition of suffiency we enter into very dangerous territory. Adam and Eve voice no complaints about Paradise; they do not imagine the possibility of being happier than they are prior to their fall. Disobedience to God remains a constant possibility because of the absolute existence of free will. The universe that Milton has created is one where the actions of individuals is never foreordained and one in which absolute obedience to God is the only path through which any good can ever u come to the individual. There is also never an instance where what God asks is even in modest proportion compared to what he gives. At the same time though, Milton makes absolutely clear that obedience to God does not protect either his dutiful from horrors. One need only remember the nightmare of Eve at the beginning of Book V, or the awful description by Raphael of the hollowing that he hears coming from Hell when he is dispatched there during creation. But God never exposes his creations to truly painful tests of their loyalty, not by any standard that fallen humankind. Paradise is perfectly sufficient for Adam and Eve in the state they are in just prior to their fall. Neither one truly aspires towards bettering themselves in a way that would increase their happiness and still maintain their total obedience to God. They proved insufficient to remain in Paradise, but Paradise may have proved insufficient for the beings they were to become had they not fallen.

Raphael conjectures when he meets Adam and Eve in Book V, that mankind may one day transubstantiate into a more spiritual being that will be able to cross the boundary between Paradise and Heaven.(493-503) He is not given any information by God save the fact that Satan is hanging around Paradise, so it is purely conjecture to assume that this is possibility. The same is also true of the conjectures that Michael makes about the once possible future of unfallen mankind in Book XI; the progeny of mankind would spread out of Paradise and into the world at large. Eden would have proved not large enough to hold all of mankind. I do not believe though that this is a reflection upon quality of Eden, but one upon its physical size. There is also no reason to believe that the progeny of Adam and Eve would have been just like them. They may very well have been designed to exist in a state closer to our own. Milton's God is the definition of infinite variety and it is impossible to quantify what he would have done if...

Ultimately in Paradise Lost questions of suffiency are nearly moot. Milton's initial purpose in the poem "to justify the ways of God to man," shows this better than anything else. God asks so little, but the stakes are so high for the fate of mankind that it becomes horrible to see just what happens. Since God is infinitely complicated just as he is infinitely powerful. It seems to me that Milton came to the conclusion that God could not be justified, let alone by human standards. God gives all and asks nearly nothing. When he is disobeyed, no one of his creations has the right to question the actions he takes. Through his ability to show just how simple the arrangement with God initially was, he shows how futile it is to try to justify anything he does prior to the fall.

Good Book.......2006-07-13

I ordered it. It said it would come in 1-2 weeks, but came in 2 days. Amazing.

Paradise Lost (Norton Critical Editions)

Average customer rating:

The definitive Paradise Lost resource
an Invaluable text
Great edition, except. . .
Justifying Milton's Ways
Best I've seen

Paradise Lost (Norton Critical Editions)
John Milton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393924289

Book Description

This Norton Critical Edition is designed to make Paradise Lost accessible for student readers, providing invaluable contextual and biographical information and the tools students need to think critically about this landmark epic. Gordon Teskey's freshly edited text of Milton's masterpiece is accompanied by a new introduction and substantial explanatory annotations. Spelling and punctuation have been modernized, the latter, importantly, within the limits imposed by Milton's syntax.

"Sources and Backgrounds" collects relevant passages from the Bible and Milton's prose writings, including selections from The Reason of Church Government and the full text of Areopagitica.

"Criticism" brings together classic interpretations by Andrew Marvell, John Dryden, Victor Hugo, and T. S. Eliot, among others, and the most important recent criticism and scholarship surrounding the epic, including essays by Northrop Frye, Barbara Lewalski, Christopher Ricks, and Helen Vendler.

A Glossary and Selected Bibliography are also included.

About the Series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.

Customer Reviews:

The definitive Paradise Lost resource.......2007-10-07

It is a laborious read, but John Milton's Paradise Lost is worth it. First published in 1667, Paradise Lost remains, many contend, the greatest poem ever published in English, and Milton is deemed second only to Shakespeare among the pantheon of English writers. When reading Milton, be prepared for hundreds of references to Greek and Roman mythology that few of us (myself included) are familiar with as well as works saturated in biblical references and allusions and much obscure vocabulary. Happily, this Norton Critical Edition includes hundreds of notes--footnotes, so there is no disruptive flipping back and forth! This edition also offers dozens of critical essays on Paradise Lost, some dating back to its publication, a couple of Milton's prose works and an extensive glossary. Whether reading for pleasure or for (school) credit, this NCE of Paradise Lost is a godsend.

an Invaluable text.......2007-03-27

I ordered this text to help write a paper, and it has ended up serving as my primary text for my research. The text is at least as good as any of the other editions I have looked at, the footnotes are top-notch, and the critical articles are some of the siminal works. My only gripe is that there are no visual markers in the text for the footnotes, they are simply at the bottom of the page, signified by line number. Because of this, I sometimes don't realize that there are footnotes on a particular line, but this is a minor problem.

Great edition, except. . . .......2007-03-20

I love Norton Critical Editions. Or I try to. Gordon Teskey's new edition of Paradise Lost is for the most part worthy of the praise it has received in other reviews on this site. However, it has one unpardonable flaw, which is the editor's tampering with Milton's poetic line. Teskey and the Norton editors have for some reason decided to make it "easy to read" by adding parentheses to complex syntactical passages that Milton wrote on purpose to be. . . I dunno. . . hard? This move to simplify the syntax alters not only the experience of the poem but, worse, its meaning. Take for example these famous lines of Satan's from Book I, the first words spoken in Hell:

If thou beest he but O how fall'n! how changed
From him who in the happy realms of light
Clothed with transcendent brightness didst outshine
Myriads, thought bright! if he whom mutual league,
United thoughts and counsels, equal hope. . .

The meaning of the lines is confusing because Satan himself is confused, and now speaking for the first time a fallen language. The "he" from line one gets dropped until line four, when Satan remembers what he's talking about after wandering through a few memories of his life before the fall. The reader is supposed to feel the confusion and torment of this run-on sentence. But Teskey uses parentheses to clean up the very mess Milton wanted Satan to make of the sentence:

If thou beest he (but O how fallen! how changed
From him who in the happy realms of light
Clothed with transcendent brightness didst outshine
Myriads, though bright) if he whom. . .

This effectively dumbs down the poem and drastically changes it. And there is way too much of it in this edition. It is common enough to modernize spelling and syntax in editions of early modern poetry, but this is a bit too much. Readers don't buy this book because they want an easy read; most readers, even students, don't mind if it is a little hard and confusing in parts. Mostly, I bet they want to see what Milton and not his editors wrote.

Justifying Milton's Ways.......2006-09-23

I am always glad for an occasion to tread "with wand'ring steps and slow" through the lines of "Paradise Lost" yet once more. When I found out that Gordon Teskey, to my mind the great poet's strongest reader in many years, had edited a new Norton Critical Edition, I knew it was time to travel the path again. As his predecessor Scott Elledge did for a previous generation, Professor Teskey has created an edition and charted a reading experience of enormous richness for contemporary students and general readers alike, and forged a tool of unique value for teachers at all levels. The text is well edited, as it must be, with helpful but judicious modernization of some spelling. The footnotes are measured, thorough but never gratuitously scholastic, to serve the process of active reading. This is not an easy poem and no editor can change that, but one travels through it faster, though steady at speed, with Professor Teskey at one's side. The critical apparatus is also strikingly well done, with modern essays usefully divided by topics, such as 'On Satan' and 'On Feminism', in a manner that will serve all audiences well. Along with retaining essays by past titans of Milton criticism, from Marvell to T.S. Eliot, as well as much of the canonical modern criticism present in earlier Norton editions, this volume includes some of the best critical voices of the last twenty years, among them William Flesch, Regina Schwartz, Archie Burnett, Julia Walker and Mary Ann Radzinowicz. But these new contributions have been chosen, it seems to me, with a very judicious focus on their own lasting canonical value, rather than merely on their more recent dates of publication. Whether out of deference or editorial privilege, Professor Teskey saves the last word for himself in a short selection from an essay that has since become a chapter in his new book, "Delirious Milton" (Harvard, 2006), in which he charts a history of philosophical modernity through an inspired analysis of Milton's view of creation, divine and human. Whether you are coming to "Paradise Lost" for the first or the twentieth time, make this edition your primary text and make Professor Teskey's new study the next book you read. If you do, you'll experience a very fortunate fall followed by a delirium of the happiest sort.

Best I've seen.......2006-03-15

Nice edition of this work. Has good footnotes, and contains much besides the poem itself, including information on Milton's life, and a section on sources that Milton used, and "classic" and modern criticism of the work.

Average customer rating:

Very Nice Edition of Paradise Lost
A Daring, Outstanding piece of Liturature
A misreading.
Great Edition!
Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost
John Milton
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (The Signet Classic Poetry Series)

ASIN: 019280619X

Book Description

Paradise Lost is one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. It tells the story of the Fall of Man, a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind's destiny. The struggle ranges across three worlds - heaven, hell, and earth - as Satan and his band of rebel angels plot their revenge against God. At the centre of the conflict are Adam and Eve, motivated by all too human temptations, but whose ultimate downfall is unyielding love. Milton's influence has been felt by many writers since, none more so in recent times than the novelist Philip Pullman. His acclaimed trilogy His Dark Materials takes its title from a line in the poem, and the worlds he created for Lyra and Will have entranced readers across generations. His introduction to the poem is a tribute that is both personal and full of insight; his enthusiasm for Milton's language, skill, and supreme gifts as a storyteller is infectious and instructive. He encourages readers above all to experience the poem for themselves, and surrender to its enchantment.

Customer Reviews:

Very Nice Edition of Paradise Lost.......2007-10-04

Of course Milton's poem greatness one of greatest ten classics of English Literature. This edition is wonderfully easy to read with good paper, margins, typeface. This is not collectors quality but it will serve to be my libraries copy of Paradise Lost.
Loved the essay by Pullman.

A Daring, Outstanding piece of Liturature.......2007-08-14

Paradise Lost is John Milton's epic poem about the fall of Lucifer and Adam and Eve's banishment from the Garden of Eden. The audacity of Milton opening the poem with declareing that he's going to pursue things unattempted in prose or rhyme and to justify the ways of God to men is enough to get people reading to ifinity. The succsesfull attempt to tell the orgin of Hell and the story of Adam and Eve outside of the bible is a daring mission Milton puts himself through but comes out joyusly triumphant. This poem is such a significant moment in literature that it has become mentioned in various History Channel documentaries and has been put in many prestige formats.
If you see this book on this website, BUY IT IMEDEATLY!

A misreading........2007-07-17

By making the embodiment of evil heroic Paradise Lost undermines our concept of the heroic. The poem does not represent evil as heroic. It represents the traditional virtues of the heroic as evil. Pullman has misread this completely and has framed the poem within this misreading.... "better to reign in hell than serve in heaven" is a fine line, noble, staunch, heroic, but it is also a lie as to the minions who hear it it collapses into "better to serve in hell than serve in heaven," which is facile.

Pullman's trilogy is very well written, but is, in part, a fleshed out misreading of Paradise Lost. That is fine, and I enjoyed reading it. But it is irritating when Pullman presents Milton as some kind of ally in this misreading, which Pullman does with this edition of Paradise Lost, and which Milton is not.

Great Edition!.......2007-01-12

This is "the" Paradise Lost to own... If you are new to Milton, Pullman's comments will guide you along.
What a beautiful edition. Classic illustrations; perfect fonts; Satan himself could never produce such a great volume.

Paradise Lost.......2006-04-11

Pullman has no understanding of Milton, actually he can do nothing but project his views on to Milton and Paridise Lost. This does neither he or Milton any good. I think if you want to read Milton then one should read Milton, I really think that after all these years he can stand on his own. But if you are impressed by the cover and the looks of a book, then this shallow self adualtion will do.

A Preface to Paradise Lost: Being the Ballard Matthews Lectures Delivered at University College, North Wales, 1941

Average customer rating:

Essential Lewis, Essential Criticism
A Masterful Essay on Paradise Lost
A classic of Milton criticism but...
a central brick in milton criticism
A Lucid Mind Extended by an Enchanting Pen

A Preface to Paradise Lost: Being the Ballard Matthews Lectures Delivered at University College, North Wales, 1941
C.S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195003454

Book Description

A Preface to Paradise Lost provides an interpretation of Milton's purpose in writing the epic.

Customer Reviews:

Essential Lewis, Essential Criticism.......2007-03-09

While other reviewers have already touched on many key tenets of this fabulous little book, I may be able to enumerate or elaborate a little yet.

The real stuff of this book you must read for yourself, but I can at least adumbrate some general ideas he touches on.

1) A short, lucid, and highly informative introduction to epic _qua_ epic. Style, content, form, all the essentials. What makes Homer Homer: what it means. Where Virgil deviated: why it matters. Where Milton deviates: why it matters. &c.

2) Lovely interaction with contemporary "New Criticism." I. A. Richards meets the classical scholar (Chapter VIII).

3) Quintessential societal and philosophical criticism peppered _throughout_. You wouldn't think you'd be able to quote Lewis on the fatuousness of certain "sacred cow" tenets of "progressive modernity" in a book on Milton, but it's here--and moreover, each little epigrammatic jab is perfectly felicitous and apposite. Only Clive! Each one yields great laughter and reflection.

4) Some _excellent_ and _original_ universal literary criticism. It is my opinion that many excerpts of this book should be included in Literary Theory anthologies. He treats such overarching topics as reading, poetry _qua_ poetry, criticism _qua_ criticism, authorial intent, &c. &c.

5) His criticism of Milton's Satan is pretty much the coolest thing you'll ever read. I'll leave it at that: you must read it for yourself! I've read the chapter on Satan four times it's so good.

That's enough for now. Buy and read!

A Masterful Essay on Paradise Lost.......2006-11-11

There are many approaches to criticism of Paradise Lost. None is more in the spirit of the poem as Milton wrote and intended than C. S. Lewis's Preface. Lewis's spirit is in harmony with Milton's and his Preface is a masterful explication of the greatest poem ever written. It is a delight to read and, as Lewis wished, urges one on to read the poem itself, with greater understanding.

A classic of Milton criticism but..........2006-10-20

This work is considered a classic of Milton criticism. I began the book with great expectations and must admit to being somewhat disappointed. Lewis sets out defining the 'epic' as genre, and explaining why Milton chose this form. He also traces the history of the Epic giving special emphasis on the turning point in the form made by the 'Aeneid'.He also outlines the stylistic peculiarities of Milton which helped give shape to his Epic. The latter part of the book is a discussion of the Themes of 'Paradise Loss' and considers among other things, the relation of Milton's work to the thought of Augustine, the role of Satan in the work, that of Adam and Eve. Lewis tends to the view that the Arian Milton did not attempt to force his own religious views on the Poem, but rather was concerned with the Poem's achieving its artistic and moral end.
There is an important chapter on 'Heirarchy' which shows how for Milton as for Shakespeare this is a key conception in their worlds. Lewis is a chamption of Milton's discipline, and shows how his stylistic brilliance created a continuous motion and form for the poem. The great Miltonian sentence in all its complexities is central here.
There is much to learn from this work about Milton, and also about Lewis.
I find that it did not however provide the kind of overall picture of the meaning of the Poem that I certainly thought it would.

a central brick in milton criticism.......2005-11-05

As a man who spent the entirety of his childhood avoiding the repeatedly assigned Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (i got very good at making my tests look like i'd read it, as im sure many grade school students do when its assigned year after year, i think we even did it in high school), i always associated Lweis' name with BAD. And then i discovered Milton, and his Satan, and Lewis re-entered the picture.

His preface to Paradise Lost is largely a defense, mostly against the attacks of contemporary and irreverant poets like Pound and Eliot who criticized Milton extensively, especially for his Latinate syntax. Lewis engages Eliot specifically in one chapter that reads like a very wordy rap beef. If you ask me, Eliot, certainly the better poet, is out of his element in the crit ring, and Lewis smokes him good, at times you might shout "OHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Far as his approach to the poem, he lays out the foundation for a modern understanding of Milton, namely a reverence for ritual and heritage, and an appreciation of epic and narrative poetry. His chapters on Homer Virgil and Beowulf are valuable and enjoyable reads worth the price of admission themselves. His criticism is highly intelligent but never overwhelming or tangential, it is systematic and thorough while still retaining a smooth readability. Easily one of the most valuable studies of Milton to come out of the 20th century.

A Lucid Mind Extended by an Enchanting Pen.......2005-07-06

C.S. Lewis had one great advantage for truly comprehending Milton's "Paradise Lost": he shared Milton's Christianity. It seems that many modern non-Christian critics of Milton impose concepts on the text which would have been foreign to Milton. Lewis, in contrast, belonged in his whole mindset (according to his own admission) much more to bygone ages than to the twentieth century. Thus he was able to understand bygone poets more than most people today.

Added to this advantage is of course Lewis's gift of having a lucid mind extended by an enchanting pen. His writings, including his academic ones, bristle with a liveliness lacking in most academic circles. "A Preface to Paradise Lost" is no exception in this regard.

As for the content of the "Preface," Lewis first spends eight chapters describing and defending the style of Epic Poetry, to which "Paradise Lost" belongs. He distinguishes between Primary and Secondary Epic and draws parallels to the Roman poet Virgil. The remaining eleven chapters are used to discuss the theological concepts in "Paradise Lost," making particular note of St. Augustine's influence on Milton.

The bottom line of the book is that Milton's poem, more than anything else, embodies concepts found in the Bible and the teachings of the Church, and that the supposed "revolutionary" concepts in Milton have largely been forced upon the text by later critics.

My own experience of reading Milton, for what it is worth, agrees with this view. I studied the Bible and church history quite extensively BEFORE I picked up "Paradise Lost," and I was surprised to find how very unoriginal the poem was in its portrayed concepts (which does not mean that it is a bad poem); almost everything in Milton has its source either in the Bible or in Christian traditions and teachings.

Edward Wagenknecht from "The New York Times" was right to say that in the "Preface," C.S. Lewis's "most valiant service is to protect us against the many students of Milton who have not been able to see the woods for the trees" (taken from the back cover of the book).

A superb academic work - not only for academic readers.

Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (The Signet Classic Poetry Series)

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Magnetic Poetry
the Signet edition is my favorite
Shakespeare's Successor
A Blind Man creates a Sensational Poem!!!
Satan needs a hug

Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (The Signet Classic Poetry Series)
John Milton
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451527925
Release Date: 2001-11-07

Book Description

Here in one volume are the complete texts of two of the greatest epic poems in English literature, each a profound exploration of the moral problems of God's justice. They demonstrate Milton's genius for classicism and innovation, narrative and drama-and are a grand example of what Samuel Johnson called his "peculiar power to astonish."

Edited by Christopher Ricks
With a New Introduction by Dr. Susanne Woods

Download Description

Now had the great Proclaimer, with a voice More awful than the sound of trumpet, cried Repentance, and Heaven's kingdom nigh at hand To all baptized. To his great baptism flocked With awe the regions round, and with them came From Nazareth the son of Joseph deemed --Milton.

Customer Reviews:

Magnetic Poetry.......2007-05-13

This is what illegal drugs will get you "Paradise Lost," even if it is regained!

the Signet edition is my favorite.......2007-05-06

I have maybe a half-dozen editions of "Paradise Lost."

Whenever I need to reread it quickly, I pick up the Signet Classic edition. It's got to be my favorite.

There are more thorough editions, certainly. But the thing I like about the Signet edition is that it's got this whole Goldilocks thing going on with the footnotes. Not too few, not too many.

In the text, words and phrases that are glossed at the bottom of the page have a little circle (a degree sign) next to them. You look down if you need to; if you don't, you keep reading. I like this because many editions don't indicate in the running text when something has a gloss: one must flip to the back of the book to hunt this out for oneself.

Additionally, there are not so many footnotes that they clutter up half (or more) of the page: I'm sure you're familiar with this sight.

Originally this was edited by Christopher Ricks (of Cambridge). In addition to the bibliography, chronology, and footnotes, he also wrote a short introduction. That unremarkable introduction has now been supplanted by one done by Susanne Woods, to which I am also indifferent.

The Signet edition also fits snugly in your hand, as other, meatier editions do not.

Too bad Amazon buries this edition in the back pages. I had to hunt around a while before I could find it!

Shakespeare's Successor.......2006-10-11

"Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained" really entitle John Milton to be called Shakespeare's successor. While the material may seem to be drawn out at times, we must remember that Milton is exercising his mastery of the English language. It is my opinion that you will enjoy this book the most after you have read the Bible. Basically, "Paradise Lost" is this. Satan has been defeated by the forces of God; Satan tries to cheer up what's left of his defeated forces; he contemplates another move; like a good leader, he listens to what his different allies have to say; he then journeys out of hell to find something he can use; God becomes aware of Satan's 2nd wind and fears that man will be corrupted by Satan; Jesus offers to sacrifice himself for the salvation of man; the angel Uriel sees Satan and warns the angel Gabriel of Satan's presence; Gabriel goes to Eden and explains to Adam how God's angels defeated Satan as well as the story of creation; Satan gets Eve to eat the forbidden apple; in sorrow, Adam decides to share Eve's fate; before being cast out, the angel Michael encourages Adam by telling of the coming of Christ. It is interesting how Milton was able to make Satan human and sympathetic. One really interesting thing is that Satan tricks Eve into eating the forbidden apple, but he honestly thinks it is an absurd rule God gave them: "...can it be a sin to know, / Can it be death? and do they only stand / By ignorance, is that their happy state, / The proof of their obedience and their faith?" (Book 4, Lines 517-520). If I may be permitted a slight digression, in "Bedazzled," Peter Cook as the devil hinted at how he thought this was absurd: "I'll tell you why Adam and Eve were so happy. They were pig ignorant." The most frightening thing about this book is that at times, Satan does have reason on his side. Moving on to "Paradise Regained," that is a longer and more articulate telling of Christ's temptation in the desert. While some people may find it disturbing to see a human, sympathetic, and at times very rational Satan, Milton truly deserves to be called William Shakespeare's successor.

A Blind Man creates a Sensational Poem!!!.......2005-04-19

+++++

(Note that this review is for the book "Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained" published by Signet Classic in 2001.)

"Of Man's First disobedience, and the Fruit
Of the Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste
Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat"

Thus begins some say the greatest and most controversial epic non-rhyming poem (which has two parts, some say two poems) in English literature. The first part was published in 1667 and the second part in 1671 by a then blind poet named John Milton (1608 to 1674).

"Paradise Lost" consists of twelve long chapters or "books." "Paradise Regained" is the more subdued and much simpler second part and consists of four books. The first part is centered around the biblical story of the fall of Adam and Eve and ranges from heaven to hell while the second part is the story of Satan's triple temptation of the Son of God in the wilderness.

Both parts of this poem can be read for their magnificent poetry, their powerful imagery and language, their imaginative vision and storytelling, or their complex and passionate view of human suffering.

My favorite lines from this poem are:

" The mind is its own place, and in itself,
Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n."

Besides the poem, this particular book has three main features:

(1) Introduction by Dr. Susanne Woods, a Professor of English (at Wheaton College in Massachusetts). It is excellent and provides valuable insight on Milton's poem.

(2) Notes and Footnotes by Chris Ricks, a professor of humanities (at Boston University). Each chapter or book of the poem begins with a brief "argument," a note that summarizes in modern English each book's contents. I found these an invaluable aid. As well, there are footnotes throughout that help the reader with obscure language and indicate nuances and puns.

(3) Chronology of Milton's life. When did Milton go blind? Was Milton married? Was Milton ever arrested? These are the sorts of questions that are answered instantly in this section.

This poem can be a challenging read but ultimately worth it. I recommend not rushing when reading it.

The artwork on the cover of this book is impressive. It is an image entitled "The Shepherd's Dream" (from "Paradise Lost") by artist Henry Fuseli.

Finally, to get an extraordinary visual impression of the first, longer part of this poem, I recommend "Dore's Illustrations for Paradise Lost" (1993) by Gustave Dore.

In conclusion, be sure two read this epic poem to see why it "has thrilled, challenged, and sometimes dismayed readers from the seventeenth to twenty-first century!"

(published 2001; introduction; general note on this text; a note on this edition; chronology; "Paradise Lost" in 12 books; "Paradise Regained" in 4 books; main narrative 360 pages; selected bibliography)

+++++

Satan needs a hug.......2005-03-07

The connected plot of "Paradise Lost" and its accompanying poem "Paradise Regained" contains no surprises for anyone who is even casually familiar with the Bible. Milton, however, does something remarkable the Bible doesn't do--he inflates Satan from a mere flat symbol of evil into a complex personality that enlivens his identity as the principal enemy of God, Jesus, and man. Who is Satan, where did he come from, why does he do the things he does, and, most importantly, why is he an indispensable part of the Christian myth? Milton takes the initiative of asking and answering these questions.

Divided into twelve "books," "Paradise Lost" begins with a war in Heaven instigated by the angel Lucifer who, with the help of many rebellious cohorts, tries to wrest control of the celestial kingdom from God. Like a school principal putting kids in detention for starting a food fight in the cafeteria, God deals swiftly and severely with the miscreants, hurling them "headlong flaming from the ethereal sky/With hideous ruin and combustion down/To bottomless perdition, there to dwell/In adamantine chains and penal fire." That's powerful stuff.

The rebel angels, now transformed into devils for their treachery, are imprisoned in Hell, a hot, smelly, miserable place, with Lucifer (now named Satan) their lord to dwell in a palace called Pandemonium--the place of all demons. Milton assigns names of heathen gods to the devils and allows three of them to offer advice on the proper course of action for the hell-bound. The bellicose Moloch insists on resuming war with Heaven, the rational Belial believes a peaceful acceptance of their sentence will eventually restore them to God's good graces, and the pragmatic Mammon suggests they should establish and rule Hell as their new dominion rather than return to Heaven as servants. But Satan has another idea--to travel through Chaos (the dark, lifeless void connecting the realms) to Earth to corrupt Man, the new being with whom God plans to replace the expelled angels in Heaven.

Satan would be uninteresting if he were no more than a fist-shaking, teeth-gnashing villain, but Milton endows this vilest of creatures with the most human of consciences. While on his nefarious mission, as he rapturously views the luxuriant Eden, he laments, "O sun, to tell thee how I hate thy beams/That bring to my remembrance from what state/I fell, how glorious once above thy sphere;" and the jealousy mixed with sorrow is palpable. He knows he did wrong and momentarily regrets his misbehavior, but he also knows that there can never be a reconciliation between him and God, and therefore resigns himself to be forever the king of evil and vie for man's soul. It is here that Satan eavesdrops (pun not intended) on Adam and Eve talking about the Tree of Knowledge, the fruit of which they are forbidden to eat.

Regarding the Tree of Knowledge, the poem inevitably raises the issue of entrapment. What is the purpose of the Tree? Simply that God demands obedience, and obedience can be tested only if there exists something to provide an opportunity to disobey. The material component of this opportunity is the Tree; the human component is the Tempter, who of course is Satan. Jesus, as narrated in "Paradise Regained," is the exemplary resister of Temptation, rejecting Satan's offer of world domination and his challenges to test his faith in God by turning stones to bread and casting himself from the top of the temple's spire. Through embellishment and dramatization, Milton makes ideas like these more explicit in the "Paradise Lost/Regained" poems than they are in the Bible.

Completely blind by the time he wrote these poems, John Milton was a man of strong but curious convictions--he defended the freedom of the press, but he lauded Cromwell and condoned regicide. As poems, "Paradise Lost/Regained" can be read as sacred, reflecting much of English religious thinking of the seventeenth century, or as heroic, subtly illustrating Milton's assiduous efforts to reform religion and government. But regardless of its subtext, it's no wonder that "Paradise Lost" has become one of the most celebrated accomplishments in the English language--the book of Genesis could not have been re-imagined more vividly, more terrifyingly, more beautifully.

Dore's Illustrations for "Paradise Lost" (Dover Pictorial Archives)

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A necessary companion to the Literary Masterpiece
Stunning Display of Woodcut Artistry
An exceptional gathering of his finest work!

Dore's Illustrations for "Paradise Lost" (Dover Pictorial Archives)
Gustave Dore
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486277194

Book Description

This volume presents superb royalty-free reproductions of all 50 plates Doré created for a 19th-century edition of "Paradise Lost." Among the events depicted: the expulsion of Satan from Heaven, Adam and Eve in Paradise, the nine-day fall of Lucifer's legions to Hell, the Creation, the temptation of Eve and the Flood.

Customer Reviews:

A necessary companion to the Literary Masterpiece.......2003-02-23

Dore, known perhaps best for his woodcuts of Dante's "Divine Comedy", was not only a fantastic illustrator, but a prolific one as well, producing scores of woodcuts for great literature, including "The Holy Bible" and "Orlando Furioso". Before there were movies, a person could look at these pictures for motion, excitement, and dramatic storytelling.
This is a necessary companion to "Paradise Lost", a great work in its own right. Dore's illustrations clarifies, vivifies, and expands on the reading experience. The pictures are brilliantly reproduced here at a small cost to the consumer. The book stands alone for great artwork and is worth the minimal price.

Stunning Display of Woodcut Artistry.......2001-12-30

It is amazing how such complex woodcuts could be done! Some of these are used in books. An example is the book cover illustration of the book "Raising Hell: A Concise History of the Black Arts and Those Who Dared Practice Them" (ISBN: 0399522387).

If you like to see high standard of woodcuts, get this book.

An exceptional gathering of his finest work!.......1999-02-27

This is with out a doubt the best of Gustave's biblically inspired works. His mastery is proven by creating a visually stunning and poetic world of a time long ago but not forgotten. It's hard to remember what I used to imagine when I thought of the Garden of Eden or the descension of the fallen angels must've been like prior to reading this work.

The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise

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Good Lord, how did this book get so many glowing reviews
High Adventure and Impeccable Scholarship
The non-fiction and Eastern version of the da Vinci Code
Great reading >The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise
stumbling among leeches, logs, bogs and Tibetan hermitages

The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise
Ian Baker
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0143036025

Book Description

The Heart of the World recounts an extraordinary journey into one of the most inaccessible places on earth, and a pilgrimage to the heart of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan prophecies proclaim that the greatest of beyul, or mystical sanctuaries, lies at the eastern edge of the Himalayas, veiled by a colossal waterfall in the forbidding Tsangpo gorge. After years of investigation, world-class climber and Buddhist scholar Ian Baker and his National Geographic-sponsored team made worldwide news by finding a magnificent 108-foot-high waterfall—the legendary grail of both Western explorers and Tibetan pilgrims.

Customer Reviews:

Good Lord, how did this book get so many glowing reviews.......2007-10-10

...coz when you strip out all the mystical nonsense about sages and esoteric texts and the like, it's just another bush bash into an admitteddly remote part of Tibet that's hard to travel through. But not worth the tedious descriptions of every rock and puddle and leech that the author encounters. There's nothing mystical about the Tsangpo Gorge, it's just remote, tough to get to, tough to travel through, sparsely inhabited and it has a few Tibetan monastries and villages. Whoop-de-doo. What's different to the rest of Tibet. I suspect this guy toked up a bit to much in Kathmandu. Which is admittedly a good place to do it...

Anyhow, if you like crystals, mystical navel gazing and Lopsang Rampa, this book is for you. If you're an outdoors kind of a person who enjoys travelling the wilder parts of the world in person rather than vicariously (as it appears all reviewers to date do...), then give this book a miss. The guys a poser making a big song and dance out of a fairly routine kind of a trek into a remote and admittedly hard to travel destination.

Haven't tried getting into the Tsangpo myself yet but it's on my list of places to go and having done quite a bit of trekking in the Himalaya's (and not on guided treks with porters I might add), I know something about the area and what its like. Mystical my a**. More like poor, dirty, leech-infested and physically demanding. And as for esoteric texts and sages in the mountains back of Kathmandu - I've trekked in back of Kathmandu for a couple of months - way way back of Kathmandu - and sages there ain't - poor mountain villages there are, yaks there are, illiterate villages there are in plenty, the sages may be there but it sounds to me more like this guys spinning a line....a good one mind you, but nevertheless....

Anyhow, you have been warned, If you like this kind of made-up mystical nonsense, you'll love this book. If you're into hard trekking, forget it. Although the trip down the Tsangpo is interesting if you can ignore the nonsense this guy spouts.

High Adventure and Impeccable Scholarship.......2007-09-30

Ian Baker, explorer and Buddhist scholar, narrates a sequence of incredible journeys to the Tsango Gorge in Tibet, the hidden and inaccessible Beyul Pemako.

The book can be read on many levels: as an engrossing adventure; the depiction of a man's passion, determination and endurance to achieve a goal in the face of incredible hardships; rarely described Tibetan customs; and the contrast between the spirituality of the Tibetans and the materialism of the Chinese who were penetrating the area at the same time as the author.

The thread that weaves the narrative together is the inner journey that unfolds as Baker traverses the sacred geography of the area as revealed by Buddhist texts, Tibetan lamas and the experiences of the author and his team. Backed by historical textural references and oral traditions, the author encounters the living, pulsing presence of this landscape in the form of the body of the dakini goddess Dorje Pagmo and her energy centers or chakras. He and his team successfully access the throat of the goddess, the hidden gorge with its long-sought waterfall.

After his arrival at the waterfall, his journey culminates in a visit to the sacred site of Gompe Ne on the banks of the Tsampo River where he enacted, as countless pilgrims before him have, a birth-death-resurrection using the sacred geography of the site.

I was constantly reminded of experiences in the Andes, especially Peru and the Andean Path, where the exchange of energies between man and the natural world and its sacred landscapes create spiritual alchemy and inner spiritual transformation.

The non-fiction and Eastern version of the da Vinci Code.......2007-07-02

A fantastic book for readers who are interested in learning about Tibetan Buddhism, the Tibetan culture and the Tibetan way of living, and readers who enjoy visiting and / or reading about exotic places on earth.

I picked up this book right after a trip to Tibet with my 4-year old son and truly enjoyed reading it. It took me deeper into the land that I had just visited by illuminating a bit about its history, its incredible natural beauty, its people's belief system and, most importantly, the interconnectedness of all. It is a well written book and Ian Baker has done an outstanding job of getting the reader very close to the actual experience.

Connecting with nature is certainly a powerful way to get connected in life and, once connected, the ultimate discoveries are often of the hidden secrets in one's soul.

If you are not convinced about reading this book, I highly recommend viewing the related photos on hollot's site (find the site by doing a search on "hollot + sardar" since amazon does not allow posting URL's).

Great reading >The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise.......2007-03-31

The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise takes you on a journey into canyons when no one as recorded before...breath taking..

stumbling among leeches, logs, bogs and Tibetan hermitages.......2007-03-27

The Tsangpo river cuts the eastern Himalayas to join Brahmaputra in the jungles of Assam. Intrepid British explorers have chartered most of its course during the glorious days of the Raj - leaving unexplored ~10 mile stretch of an inaccessible 'Tsangpo gorge'. Because the altitude difference between Tibet and India cannot be accounted for by the known flow of Tsangpo, the Brits hypothesized that this stretch of the river contains a large waterfall (or a series of them). This book describes several expeditions undertaken 1990-2000 by Baker and his colleague Hamid Sardar to solve this geogrpahical enigma.

Both adventurers speak Tibetan and have a working knowledge of Tibetan tantra, both completed silent meditation retreats in isolated caves and both practiced with 'tantric consorts', Tibetan & Indian women placed on special diets (consisting of rose leaves and gold) trained to help men achieve a 'union of male and female principles in order to recognize the ultimate Emptiness of all phenomena." While Baker tittilates the reader here, he never delivers real information.

Baler obtained a number of esoteric texts from lamas familiar with the Tsangpo territory - the texts detailed magical places throughout the gorge, incantation 'keys' necessary to 'open' those places, the nature of 'deities' residing in them and the value of their help to realization of the fact that 'nothing inherently exists on its own'. Heh. These texts, as well as subsequent Baker's narrative, reveal that the valley has ALWAYS been known to and lived in by Tibetans and local Monpa & Lopa tribes; it was never unknown, never had to be discovered and the rivalries driving American and Chinese expeditions to chart the river portrayed in the book seem pointless and even slightly comical. As well as poignant: expeditions (including Baker's own) were quite content leaving ailing and weak members behind to fend for themselves. Personally, I found the obsession with 'discovering' and 'exploring' a bit disconcerting. Why do we have to document, photograph, chart etc. every nook and cranny on this planet? Why can't we let it be? let local people be? What is the confusticated point?

Baker insists on describing every single leech-infested forest and swamp on their way, every impassable boulder, pass, rivulet, stone or log which, with 500 pages, merge into a general picture of hardship, malaise, effort, hunger, leaking tents and, above all, sheer survival luck. There were so many cases where the 'pilgrims' appeared to wander aimlessly, in the dark or fog, having lost their native guides only to find them at the end of the day, against all odds huddling around a fire, that one is forced to contemplate the possibility of divine guidance.

I would mention the fascinating account of 'poison cults' in local villages, and of small Tibetan monasteries and hermitages, scattered throughout the most inaccesible parts of the valley..., the gift of psychedelic mushrooms to a Tibetan hermit monk, and the touching relationship that developed between the Chinese liason officer, 'Mr. Gunn', and Occidental adventurers. Between the lines we can also read about havoc that local Monpas wreak upon local fauna (with mass-killing of rare animals such as the takin buffalo and tigers) and the much more serious Chinese depredation consisting of systematic mechanized exploitation of Tibetan natural resources and destruction of the environment (not to mention cutural genocide). Perhaps understandably, Baker wants to preserve his future access to Tibet.

The greatest weakness of the book is that we learn little about Baker's own practices and realizations. We learn a lot about leeches and orchids, but what was going on with the lama's daughter mentioned early in the book? what about the tantric consorts? what (if any) spiritual realizations and benefits did Baker and Sardar derive from obsessive backpacking along the Tsangpo...? We also don't learn who financed these expensive yearly expeditions. Why are there no photo's of the supposedly discovered waterfall? Why can't the waterfall be seen from sallites or googleEarth? The apparent fear of personal disclosure detracts from the value of the book.

Nevertheless, the book is well written and I enjoyed reading it. One cannot escape the notion that Baker and Sardar exemplify some of the best traits of 'man' - courage, resourcefulnes, commitment to spiritual growth and to having a good time.

Average customer rating:

Sorry to reach the end of it!
Very good, and yet something is missing...
Wonderful performance of this "classic"

Paradise Lost (Naxos AudioBooks)
John Milton
Manufacturer: Naxos Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Moby Dick (Naxos AudioBooks)
The Romantic Poets

ASIN: 9626343508

Customer Reviews:

Sorry to reach the end of it!.......2007-05-13

A person considering buying a recording of Paradise Lost might have two questions. First, Am I going to be able to follow the poem without notes and guidance? Second, should I buy the complete version or the abridged one?

Paradise Lost is a notoriously difficult text, full of learned references to mythology, history, and geography; the language is dense, the syntax twisted, the sense frequently obscure; and the poem is just plain long. Perhaps surprisingly, Anton Lesser's reading makes it possible to ride over all these difficulties; his intelligent and varied readings make the sense clear even when the language isn't. One hears the infinite variety of the poem, the delicate and touching parts as well as the stirring and sublime, the innocence of Paradise and the magnificent evil of Satan. I've read Paradise Lost perhaps half a dozen times over the years, always with notes; this is the first time I was sorry to reach the end of it.

But what about the abridged version? I don't recommend it; Milton builds up his climaxes on a vast scale, and a "great moments from Milton" approach weakens their effect. Also, on the abridged version, Eve is read by an actress. This seems to me a mistake; Paradise Lost is full of voices -- Satan and all the demonic throng, the allegorical figures of Sin and Death (Sin is also a woman), God, the Messiah, the angelic host, Adam and Eve -- and to single out one of the voices is to falsely highlight and distort. (Plus, the part is read with an odd accent, almost Irish; what is that about?) It must be granted that all of Lesser's skill can't make God Himself more than a cold and distant abstraction. But that is what Milton wrote, and probably what he intended.

So, my recommendation is to spend the extra and get the complete set. It's something you wouldn't want to miss!

Very good, and yet something is missing..........2006-12-28

If possible, I would have given this recording 4.5 stars. Lesser's reading is in many ways masterful; as an experienced Shakespearian actor, he has absolute command of blank verse and makes Milton's often convoluted syntax sound almost like natural speech. Throughout the poem, he reads in a slow-paced, majestic manner that adds appropriate gravitas to Milton's Biblical subject, especially with lines spoken by God and Satan that could easily become unintentionally humorous in the hands of a less skilful narrator. Unfortunately, Lesser never really varies from this style in parts of the text where he probably should - unlike other Naxos unabridged audiobooks, all the characters are read in almost exactly the same way, a potential source of confusion in scenes where there are multiple speakers. Lesser also doesn't pick up the tempo much for the more dramatic, suspenseful sequences where his ponderous tone is less appropriate. This is by far the best recording of Paradise Lost currently available, but I would personally have preferred a more "dramatic" reading that brought out Milton's plot and characterisation to a greater extent.

Wonderful performance of this "classic".......2006-04-25

Mark Twain remarked that "a classic" is a book that people praise, but don't read.

Prior to listening to this unabridged audio version, I was only dimly aware of PARADISE LOST. I knew it was an epic poem about Satan's fall from grace, and knew that it was quoted in the Star Trek episode "Space Seed." ("It is better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven.")

British thespian Anton Lesser brings the saga dramatically to life. It is a delight to hear a great actor speak great verse and tell an epic tale.

You still have to pay close attention to the proceedings. Multitasking throughout will leave you baffled and doing much rewinding. This is not for those with short attention spans. Focus is required, but you will be rewarded.

For those who revel in marvelous spoken word performances, this is highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Breathtaking
Paradise Lost, an interesting belief of Heaven, and of Adam and Eve
Wonderful Edition
The Definitive Edition

Milton's Paradise Lost
John Milton
Manufacturer: Book Sales
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1841932515

Customer Reviews:

Breathtaking.......2007-06-06

With its fine binding, large type, and beautiful paper, this large addition of Milton's Paradise Lost will make a handsome addition to any shelf. Some will say that it is not well suited for the first time reader, lacking the line notes of other annotated additions. I would beg to differ, as such commentary, while deepening ones understanding, can also detract from the majesty of Milton's words. Yes, it is true that the laymen will miss many or even most of the references woven into this, perhaps after Shakespeare's work the greatest piece of literature ever produced in English. However, once captivated by the poetry, readers can always go back and peruse thicker, commentary laced edition. First and foremost, one must dive into the language of Milton, before attempting to wring every drop of meaning from that pool's heady wine.

A note, of course, must also be given to the extraordinary illustrations of Gustave Dore included in this volume. Dore's vision, especially the inexorable dissent of Satan from angelic beauty to demonic ugliness can only add to the readers' joy. At less than $20, one cannot go wrong in acquiring this very fine edition.

Paradise Lost, an interesting belief of Heaven, and of Adam and Eve.......2007-03-09

this poetry book is very difficult to understand fully. the summaries at the beginning of each book gives you an idea of what is being said. the poems themselves can elaborate on the summaries. this is a very well written and viewed book of how Heaven split and of how life in the Garden of Eden was before Adam and Eve were forced to leave. I am very pleased with my purchase. sincerely,michael

Wonderful Edition.......2007-02-09

It's not too often that one gets to hold a really nice edition of anything. This edition of "Paradise Lost" has heft for sure, is well constucted (don't you hate it when pages fall out of a book cheaply made?)and the design and typography are first class. It also has really quality illustrations from Dore And at this price, how can you lose? I have books costing 10 times as much that are no better made than this one. A really nice piece of work. As pointed out above, there are no notes but I would expect that anyone who would be attracted to this edition already has Fowler's annotated edition already on the shelf. If you don't, ya otta.

The Definitive Edition.......2007-01-10

This edition of the book is not for the first-time reader. It's big, it's elegant, and its designed for those people that have read and studied Paradise Lost and want an edition they can be proud of (without editor remarks and helpful tidbits). It really is a beautiful copy of this book, the pictures are engravings, incredibly detailed too. A Must Buy

Average customer rating:

My Review of Paradise Lost
I couldn't put it down
Life On the Razor's Edge
Not bad for what it is.
A Bad Time for Motherhood

Paradise Lost
J.A. Jance
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Devil's Claw
Outlaw Mountain: A Joanna Brady Mystery
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Partner in Crime

ASIN: 0380804697
Release Date: 2002-07-30

Amazon.com

Joanna Brady returns in J.A. Jance's ninth adventure featuring the Arizona sheriff. Joanna and Butch, her new husband, are trying to build their dream house, adjust to their marriage, and cope with the preteen mood swings of Joanna's 12-year-old daughter, Jenny. During a Girl Scout camping trip to Cochise County, Jenny and another girl sneak out of their tents after lights out to have a cigarette and stumble on the body of a murder victim. Joanna is initially more concerned about her daughter's misbehavior than the murder at Apache Pass--after all, smoking can kill you--but then Dora Matthews, Jenny's coconspirator, is killed. Joanna's fear that her daughter might be in the killer's sights adds an extra dose of adrenaline to her efforts to find the man who left the body for Jenny and Dora to find. Add that worry to the sheriff's suspicion that Butch may be having an affair with a former girlfriend and you have the makings of a typical Joanna Brady novel: long on intelligence, empathy, and humanity and short on shootouts and suspense. Jance's other series, featuring Seattle cop J.P. Beaumont, features more intricate plotting and louder firepower. Brady's not as complex as Beaumont or as fully developed a character, but she leads with her heart, and her struggles to balance her personal and professional life bring interest. The Southwest landscape comes to life in the author's capable hands, and while the narrative's pacing is a little pokey, there's lots of lovingly evoked scenery to make it a pleasant trip. --Jane Adams

Book Description

The New York Times bestselling J.A. Jance is back! Cochise County, Arizona, and Sheriff Joanna Brady faces her most personal and dangerous case when her daughter discovers a body in the Arizona wilderness.

When Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff Joanna Brady's daughter Jenny goes off on a Memorial Day weekend girl scout camp–out in nearby Apache Pass, Joanna trusts that her 12–year–old daughter will behave. But with boy–crazy Dora Matthews as a tentmate, Jenny is seduced into taking a late night unauthorized hike into the wilderness where––instead of smoking a clandestine cigarette––she and Dora stumble upon the body of a murdered Phoenix woman. Knowing that her little girl will be traumatized by her experience, Joanna must balance concern for Jenny with the demands of her new marriage and possible bid for reelection. But when young Dora Matthews herself turns up dead two days later, Joanna's concern turns to terror. For if Constance Haskell's killer is murdering potential witnesses, Jenny may be next.

Download Description

"Once again the remarkable J.A. Jance-the New York Times bestselling author of Kiss of the Bees and Devil's Claw-returns us to a world of desolate beauty and lonely terror in an extraordinary new novel as heartbreaking and real as it is grippingly intense. Dora Matthews and Jennifer Brady, both thirteen, couldn't be less alike-yet the luck of the draw has made them tent mates at a Girl Scout Memorial Day weekend camping trip at Apache Pass. Dora is a wild child, a pregnant, fatherless waif with a missing junkie mother. Jennifer is the innocent daughter of Joanna Brady, the sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona. In the cool blackness of the high desert night, they slip away at Dora's prodding. What they find on their unauthorized hike will change their lives forever: the body of a murdered Phoenix heiress, abandoned to scavengers and the elements. Sheriff Brady fears the traumatic damage that her daughter's grim discovery may have inflicted on the frightened teenager. Right now, however Joanna's foremost concern is the job she was elected to do, and she sets out on the trial of the dead woman's lowlife husband who cleaned out their accounts before he vanished himself. The stakes get drastically higher in very short order when something happens to poor damaged and neglected Doran Matthews that hits Joanna like a runaway truck. Someone believes that the two girls who were where they shouldn't' have been two nights earlier are now loose ends that need to be tied up. And Joanna's own Jenny may very well be the next item on a killer's bloody agenda. But one killer could turn out to be two-or perhaps even three. Suddenly terror has invaded Sheriff Joanna Brady's world in a form too awful to contemplate. As the nightmares of her professional and personal lives interweave-as a disturbing cloud of suspicion darkens the joy of her on barely one-month-old marriage-she knows that there are answers out in the wilderness that must be uncovered before time runs out."

Customer Reviews:

My Review of Paradise Lost.......2007-07-03

Even though this was J A Jance's latest book in this series of Joanna Brady,Sheriff,it was not written this way. in this newest one, she had the sheriff married just 2 months,whereas in the previous book she had her married for sometime and just had a baby. As well as her teenage daughter in Paradise Lost was almost 13, but the previous book she was 16 yrs old. What gives ? hard to follow the characters, however, the story was at its best, and the ending surprising as usual.

I couldn't put it down.......2006-01-31

J.A. Jance is one of the best writers out there. This book starts out a little slow because she is telling the reading about the Sherrif & her family but once the crimes start you can not put it down. The crimes are very violent & scary. She is short staffed & she has two murders she has to solve. It all takes place in Arizona & because she is short staffed she has to go out into the field herself.

Life On the Razor's Edge.......2005-08-12

I think the secret to the compelling nature of the plotline in J.A. Jance's PARADISE LOST is the awful frightfulness of the danger that lurks in the simplest things of everyday life, and the difficulty of negotiating the twists and turns of being a mother, a daughter, a wife, and a female sheriff caught in the limelight while running a murder investigation, and how all those roles play into the potential for disaster looming in the rear-view mirror, as well as the desperate hope for renewal that appears for brief moments around every turn in the road.

Jance creates her effects by letting the reader find his or her way inside the minds and hearts of her characters, and by creating a world that is at once malicious and domestic in ways that can sometimes make it difficult to distinguish one from the other.

It seems a simple story, simply told, but it keeps you on the razor's edge.

Not bad for what it is........2005-08-04

This was my first Sheriff Brady mystery, and I would be willing to pick up another if the circumstances are right. Paradise Lost is a decently written page-turner which kept my interest much more than I expected it to do.

There are lots and lots of stones that you could throw at the book. The resolution at the end is annoyingly complete for everybody, with even the annoying mother being rehabilitated. Butch Dixon does not seem to have a flaw. Her daughter is amazingly understanding and contrite. I guess that kind of happy ending goes with the cozy territory, so I will not complain too much.

Jance seems to work less in traditional cozy whodunnit territory, and is more interested in incorporating the mystery aspects of the sheriff job with the personal ups and downs of her life. Think of it as a kind of cozy procedural and you will get the picture.

The writing is not elegant, but good enough to keep the plot moving. This would be a good book to waste a few hours or as a gift for the younger teenager who is just starting to explore the mystery genre.

A Bad Time for Motherhood.......2005-03-22

I have been a fan of J.A. Jance since I met her in a bookstore browsing through the mystery section. She convinced me to try one of her books, which I did, and loved it. She had also told me that she would soon start a new series - that was many years ago and I've been enthralled with each new book since the Joanna Brady series began. These books usually leave you turning pages as fast as you can read, but this one wasn't quite that captivating. Don't get me wrong, it was still very good, just not the excellence I've come to expect from Jance's writing.

This is the ninth novel featuring Joanna Brady, a tough Arizona sheriff who enchants her way into the reader's hearts. In the last novel, Devil's Claw we leave Joanna as she's honeymooning with her new husband Butch, after having her home destroyed by a maniac. Paradise Lost picks up shortly thereafter.

Joanna is once again caught in the struggle to maintain balance between being sheriff, being a new wife, and being a mother to a 12-year-old. While Joanna and Butch are at a sheriff's conference across the state, Joanna's daughter, Jenny, goes on a Girl Scout campout. Jenny and another girl, Dora Matthews, sneak off after lights out only to find trouble in a big way. They stumble across a dead body. Because the girls were breaking rules, they are sent back to Bisbee while the sheriff's department investigates this murder in Apache Pass.

When Dora Matthews, turns up dead the next day, Joanna is worried about Jenny's safety and the balance between the various hats she wears comes tumbling down around her. Added to this second murder, is a third murder - the body of the prime suspect in the first murder turns up. Three deaths in a matter of four days are more than Bisbee has ever seen and it's up to Joanna to help solve them.

The end of Paradise Lost is predictable and not one of the better suspenseful conclusions that Jance has created in the past. J.A. Jance has always tied up the loose ends, but this time she leaves one flapping in the gentle Arizona breeze. The subplot involving a series of carjackings is never fully developed and leaves much to be desired by the reader. She eludes to this subplot several times, but there is no meat to it and nothing ever comes of it - no tie in to the murders, no interesting side journey, just a passing mention every once in a while.

And a low point in this book was Joanna's wavering attitude towards her overbearing mother, Eleanor. She finds neutral ground and "understands" her mother. I didn't buy it - it was too passe for me. Joanna wouldn't buy into the poor, poor me bit, the martyrdom, that her mother is excellent at portraying. But this time she does and it is very anti-climatic - I wanted a good, old fashioned tongue lashing that we've come to expect when these two clash.

The one thing that is decided in this book is Joanna Brady will run for reelection as Cochise County Sheriff. I'm sure the next book in this series will encompass the campaigning and how it affects Butch and Jenny. It should be interesting.

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