Customer Reviews:
A Decent Reference Work.......2007-06-21
I bought this because it was the required text book for one of my college classes, and I probably wouldn't have bought it otherwise. That being said, this has excerpts from many famous works from around the world and I liked it enough to keep it instead of selling back at the end of the semester. I wish that some of the works were more complete, some of them are so common that they didn't need to be included at all, and some of the translations of foreign works are questionable, in my opinion. Nitpicking aside, this is a pretty decent reference work for world literature.
Wrong Book.......2005-09-24
I wanted the volume 1 of the Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. I ended up getting the book that put volume one and two together. I got this book because I needed it for English, well it took out about half the stories I need to read for this particular class. It makes it a lot harder to get the stories from other places, when I payed 60 dollars and got a different book then I was expecting. It was a faulty listing
A Real Masterpiece.......2002-05-13
Great reading on those quiet Sunday evenings. The historical perspectives and timelines are the best part; really helps you understand the progression of lieterature as we know it. The Norton series was used often in highschool for me, but I had quite narrow historical perspectives back then; this book has helped change that. The book is quite heavy, hard to lug around and seems to get damaged easily (paperback), but the content is well worth it. I think they should have removed the Odyssey and included the Illiad. I would also recommend Glimpes of World History by J. Nehru. Though it can be at times tedious, it is good accompaniment to this Norton anthology.
A Real Masterpiece.......2002-05-13
Great reading on those quiet Sunday evenings. The historical perspectives and timelines are the best part; really helps you understand the progression of literature as we know it. The Norton series (western literature) was used often in highschool for me, but I had quite narrow historical perspectives back then; this book has helped change that. I would also recommend Glimpes of World History by J. Nehru. Though it can be at times tedious, it is good accompaniment to this Norton anthology.
World Literarture!.......2000-06-06
This book is very fascinating to read if you're insterested in early Greek and Roman culture. The many stories and translations make the reading easy and fun. I would recommend this book to anyone!
Book Description
For more than a decade, Koigu Wool Designs has been a revered source for top-quality handpainted merino yarn and exquisite patterns. Its wools feature a unique and rich palette that’s as gorgeous as a painter’s. Now, the many needleworkers who are positively obsessive about Koigu can make 25 of the company’s best designs and learn more about how owners Maie and Taiu Landru achieve their amazing technicolor results. Over 100 photographs, many shot on location at the Koigu farm, showcase the special wool-dyeing process and fashionable garments, while a special essay discusses the family’s background, Maie’s influences, and Koigu’s day-to-day workings.
Customer Reviews:
A Koigu Must.......2007-06-12
I love Koigu KPPPM. I have made the Charlotte's Web Shawl a number of times and each time I love the enjoyment of the project. I must admit there are a few patterns that I wouldn't dare to make but there are more patterns that I would love to do. The only problem is that KPPPM is not cheap but it is oh so beautiful.
Big Disappointment.......2007-03-19
I was disappointed that on some items the photography doesn't show the color(s) of the item. All the yarns listed in the patterns are identified by numbers so there isn't any way to tell what color family they refer to. There is no description, nor pictures, of the yarns in the back of the book to help out with the deciphering. One shawl looks golden because it was photographed from below against the sun. I saw that shawl at a yarn store and they said they used the colors listed in the pattern and the colors were nothing close to the ones in the picture (and they were appalling). There are some innovative designs in the book, but I can't imagine anyone wearing them (do you wear knitted form-fit multi-colored slacks?).
I don't think this book shows off Koigu yarns very well. The yarns are actually quite lovely. If it weren't for the Oriental Jacket I would have returned the book to Amazon.
Favorites and new patterns included.......2007-03-19
For the past ten years, knitters have delighted in knitting with the yarns produced by the Canadian company, Koigu Wool Designs. Founder and designer Maie Landra is an artist who found her perfect medium--each skein is a miniature work of art. Every batch of Landra's beautiful yarns produces slightly different results due to the hand-painting process, meaning no projects will ever be identical. She believes that "the perfect dyelot must be alive with highlights and depth, not dead and lifeless," and to date has created more than 300 colorways. The designs in Knits from a Painter's Palette: modular masterpieces in handpainted yarn celebrate the beauty of Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino, known as KPPPM.
Landra is known for her use of modular or domino knitting and the majority of the patterns in Knits from a Painter's Palette utilize this technique. This collection contains many favorites from the past ten years, including the famous Charlotte's Web Shawl and Landra's first design, the Oriental Jacket. Beginners will find projects such as Basic Squares Scarf, to assist in learning modular knitting techniques, and the Knit Yarn-Over Scarf. Experienced knitters may be inspired by the Magique Cloak, or the Spirit Skirt, which raised quite a stir when originally published in the Fall 2005 Vogue Knitting magazine.
While the majority of the patterns included are oversized, some pieces are quite form-fitting such as the Groovy Dress, Jazz Cardigan or the Patchwork Pants. Several patterns are also provided in children's sizing.
Koigu designs are very colorful and require a certain panache to carry off for everyday wear. At $13/skein, the larger projects requiring upwards of 40 skeins must be viewed as investment pieces, ones which are saved up for or purchased a few skeins at a time.
Armchair Interview says: Knits from a Painter's Palette is sure to please Koigu fanatics and neophytes alike.
Mystical Koigu.......2007-02-19
"Knits From a Painter's Palette: Modular Masterpieces in Hand Painted Yarn" is what I expected from the title of the book, pictures I had seen of it and the reviews I read. I am not one bit sorry I bought it. But I wish it was so much more than it is. Having knit with Painter's Palette, I can attest that the yarn is close to magical, a magic the book does not get across at all.
Charlotte's Web, for example, why would anybody photograph this beauty with the light behind it, focusing on the pattern which is not what the shawl is about at all? I suggest that anyone who wants to understand Charlotte's Web in Painter's Palette google it to see what it really looks like.
Probably the photos of the Butterfly Poncho best convey the beauty of the yarn, but in general, neither the photography nor the modular knitted items do Painter's Palette justice. I realize Maie Landra is an artist and expert knitter, but modular knitting is not new and the results actually appear more restricted than innovative so it's puzzling that she would find it particularly interesting.
Koigu is wonderful, I am grateful to Landra for it, I would never not have bought this book, but can't we have a second one with a few more garments ordinary knitters like me could dream about making or maybe even actually make? And please, please, different art directors, photographers, etc.--in fact, how about a different publisher altogether as this one clearly wasn't up to the job.
Rainbows of color.......2007-02-12
The Koigu wool designs in this book are extraordinary. The komono coat went on my "wish I could afford to make it" list. It requires about 35 skeins of yarn and at the retail yarn price it would cost over $400 to make. Other patterns require much less yarn and the patterns are probably for the advanced beginner to intermediate knitter. I loaned the book to a friend and she keeps it on her desk to show that coat to everyone. If I could only have one pattern book, this wouldn't be it, but the patterns are gorgeous--and maybe next year I'll be able to make that coat.
Average customer rating:
- Best Bang for the Buck
- Contains some of the best short stories I have ever read.
- Great book
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ASIN: 0440204232
Release Date: 1989-04-02 |
Customer Reviews:
Best Bang for the Buck.......2004-05-11
Perhaps I am biased by nostalgia since this was the text used way back in my high school creative writing class, but this sublime anthology is pound for pound the best collection of short fiction around. There are other excellent collections -- Scribner's Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction comes to mind -- but ASS masterpieces (as we called it back then) has a splendid mix of short story classics in addition to an absurd number of gems. On the all-time classic side, there is "Sonny's Blues," "Rock Springs," "Where are you Going, Where Have you Been?", "A Good Man is Hard to Find," "The Conversion of the Jews," and "The Liar" just to name a few. It's already a terrific list; how many other collections have all these under one roof? But then there are a whole host of lesser-known stories that push this sucker over the top. "1/3, 1/3, 1/3," "A Poetics for Bullies," "The Ledge," "The Heavenly Animal" ... all first-rate stories. And it's only $8.00! Forget Best American Short Stories of the Century. Forget the Norton Anthology. If you can only have one fiction anthology on your shelf, this should be the one.
Contains some of the best short stories I have ever read........2003-05-22
I read "Midair" standing up in the bookstore. This book contains some true classics in short story writing.
Great book.......2000-05-05
This book will boggle your mind. The words used to describe the situations in the short stories. There are more that many excellent stories in this book. I find it more enjoyable that a single novel. Advanced school programs use this as a learning experience. It is a 4 star book.
Customer Reviews:
Echoing first reviewer.......2005-12-02
For starters, it's a mix of "very short stories" and "very short excerpts" from longer works (such as "Winesburg, Ohio"). Personally I find that when you get samplings of long works served to you in this way, you lose the larger context that surrounds the piece.
The exercises are disappointing - it's just a list of single sentences prompts for writing about common life events. "Write about an argument," "write about going to college, either deciding to go or not go."
Most of the stories feature commentary at the end of each one, but it's not doled out evenly for each story. It's a mixed bag of literary cricism and/or author insight that may be a little or a lot, depending on the story.
The stories themselves are laid out alphabetically by author with a second table of contents where they're grouped by things like voice, point of view, etc.
I was looking for very short stories with more discussion on techniques and concepts specific to short-shorts. It's more like a literary sampler with a side of literary criticism and a dash of instruction.
A pleasant surprise........2005-07-24
This was a required text for a college course. It has been like visiting old friends. The "classic" authors and others I'd never heard of provide a very good read, and the insights into writing by some of the authors is helpful.
More than Expected.......2004-11-11
While looking for an anthology of short stories, I came across this "textbook" and the most diverse assortment of short story writers I have ever seen. For those who appreciate the poetry of judicious prose this is a find.
Also liked the sections categorizing voice, point-of-view, and setting. Great technical examples that show rather than tell you the differences. Bought it, kept it, still using it, and now even recommending it. Respectful creative writing that will help keep the genre thriving.
Save your money.......2004-10-17
If you are looking for tips to improve your writing, look elsewhere.
The 'instructions' could all fit on one page and consist of such helpful hints as "choose your voice, point of view, and setting...the choice is entirely up to you". "Write a rough draft..." "Edit your draft for logic, clarity, and plausibility." "Continually read excellent fiction."
The section of exercises is simply a list of 20 topics with this instruction: "Write a very short story about one of the following:"
The glossary is less than two pages long and has no examples.
I was expecting each story to have an introduction that told me why it is a masterpiece and what to look for. There is an index of stories by voice, point of view and setting. Those are fairly obvious.
Another sad lesson in not judging a book by its cover.
Book Description
Combining and updating the renowned Rigger's Apprentice and Rigger's Locker,
The Complete Rigger's Apprentice is also a free-roaming collection of useful ideas and tips on everything from supplementing winches with block and tackle, to rigging snubbers at anchor, to using pantyhose for an emergency fanbelt. In short, it's the definitive book on the art of rigging, written by its most entertaining practitioner.
Customer Reviews:
The Complete Rigger's Apprentice: Tools and Techniques for Modern and Traditional Rigging.......2006-11-10
to basic ok for sailboats not much for other rigging
Good book but missing key information.......2006-02-21
This book has LOTS of really good information. But it is missing some significant stuff, Brion. PLEASE PLEASE do another addition and include SOME information about the following:
1. Chainplates. Nothing. How is a proper chainplate shaped, mounted, doubled, etc? Where do they go? What should you consider when changing from single boomking backstay to double backstays?
2. Bowsprits. Hardly a word. How is a proper bowsprit mounted? What kind of materials are appropriate for a bobstay? etc.
3. Stemheads. Hardly a word. Come on, what good is a rig if it isn't mounted to something????
4. Mast steps. The rig seems to float in air with this book, and no proper consideration is given to how it MOUNTS TO THE BOAT.
Other than that, it is a great book. Lots of good info, formulas, etc. Lots of great knots, lots of funny quips, good explanation of how single and double spreader rigs are stayed and shrouded.
But most of us also have boats to go along with our rigs, and it would be nice to have a WHOLE CHAPTER on how the rig connects to the boat, because many of us need to maintain, repair, and improve that part of the rig as well.
Good book, but it is incomplete as currently published.
The Thoughts of a REAL RIGGER.......2004-06-19
As a rigger myself, i thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it most informative and useful for my trade. However, there was little or no mention of brews OR 3 leets - surely this is an integral part of being a RIGGER? Also, there is only one rigger.
Me!
Oh, and Ryan Jendoubi.
The only thing like it for traditional craft.......2003-12-04
Brion Toss has become "da man" in modern rigging in many ways, and a lot of that is attributable to this great book. It's a big, thick thing, loaded with information, not all of it easily absorbed on the first read. It's meant to give you a firm grounding in what rigging is, what it does, and how to inspect and maintain your own rig, how to adjust it, how to replace worn sections. Will it tell you everything you need to know to design a rig from the ground up on a serious racing yacht? Heck, no. It isn't meant to. What this book does is give you the tools you need to approach your own rig without fear and trembling - to realize that, after all, it's just a bunch of parts, and that you can comprehend and work with those parts, understand their roles, and get the most from your boat. Will you be forever independant of professional riggers? Probably not. But it goes a long way toward making that a realizable goal, if you apply yourself. And it should be known that this book is especially strong on traditional rigs, the more traditional the better. You'll learn how to worm, parcel, and serve, how to lace deadeyes, and why galvanized is great and stainless isn't stainless. And if that last sentence frightens you, you're probably not in the intended demographic. Rod rigging and carbon fiber masts are mentioned, at best, in passing, and largely for comic relief. Keep that in mind. Makes an absolutely perfect companion to Marino's "Sailmaker's Apprentice."
A Simple Compilation of Rigging technique.......2002-08-24
THE COMPLETE RIGGER'S APPRENTICE by Mr. Brion Toss is a no-brainer simple compilation of standard rigging technique. Most of which can be found by reading past editions of old rigging manuals and from the writings of the International Guild of Knot Tyers, or from company product manuals. Nothing new or original has been done in this work; and the 'Compilation' of any subject matter has always been considered a cheap way of getting published.
Book Description
Since the 19th century, the women of Gee’s Bend in southern Alabama have created stunning, vibrant quilts. Beautifully illustrated with 110 color illustrations, The Quilts of Gee’s Bend includes a historical overview of the two hundred years of extraordinary quilt-making in this African-American community, its people, and their art-making tradition. This book is being·released in conjunction with a national exhibition tour including The Museum of Fine Art, Houston, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Customer Reviews:
exceptional.......2007-03-30
I remember the first time I saw photographs of the quilts of Gee's Bend in a magazine about seven years ago. I couldn't wait to learn about the amazing artists whose vision the quilts portray. This book is more outstanding than I imagined it could be. It is powerful, beautiful, sensitive, and historically accurate. I recommend The Quilts of Gee's Bend to anyone with an eye for artistic genius and a love for discovering a community of women willing to express themselves outside the box of convention. How refreshing and inspiring! Simply Exceptional!!
.........a superb keepsake of a memorable trip. .......2007-03-08
Who is more qualified to help provide us with a book about the quilts of Gee's Bend, but Mr. Bill Arnett who has championed the makers of these quilts and their works since 'discovering' them years ago in the tiny community of Gee's Bend about thirty miles southwest of Selma, Alabama?
The quilts first went on tour in 2002 and have been touring ever since. I learned of the ladies of Gee's Bend and their quilts from a PBS documentary first aired in 2003 and have anxiously hoped they would one day come to my part of the country. When, earlier this year, I found the quilts would indeed be coming to the Orlando Museum of Art, I purchased, The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place, documenting the quilts, and the lives of their various makers, with beautiful, full-color illustrations of the quilts.
In February, 2007, when I was finally able to enjoy the quilts in person, I was happy to discover the book had accurately depicted the quilts, and their makers, paralleling an exhibition that should be seen and appreciated by all.
I purchased a copy of The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place, for the art teacher of my children's school. This beautiful book encouraged her to take her middle and high school art students to the exhibition. The book helped the students to first see and read about what they were going to view and then became a superb keepsake of a most memorable trip.
The Quilts of Gee's Bend.......2007-03-08
This is a beautiful book about both the women and the quilts of Gee's Bend. The photos make me feel as if I am back at the Gee's Bend Quilt Show.
Memories which must be kept 'real'.......2007-03-08
This book is already a treasure and one I can love and then bequeath to another art and tradition and people lover...
At the end of October in 2003, I was in Milwaukee to see this Quilt exhibition. Friends of Art from Indiana University drove to Chicago and then on to the marvelous museum in Milwaukee to experience the Quilts. What an awakening! That day I bought a Video. Since that time I have purchased the DVD and (when I found it online) the hardback book The Quilts of Gee's Bend! What a treasure! I am overjoyed to have this book and to have had the viewing experience! [I also use the USPS stamps and the book of postcards!] --Sarah K. Robinson
The Heart and Souls...........2007-01-27
The heart and souls of women are exposed in this poignant book of quilts, along with their "stories" past and present---of slavery on through the civil rights era, and now, life as it is in rural Alabama. The quilts, made out of necessity for their warmth, have become acclaimed Objects d' Art throughout the Art World. Having seen the documentary on television and the Quilt exhibit in San Francisco, I was compelled to purchase this beautiful book containing a compilation of these quilts and self-expressed comments from the community of women who have kept their quilt-making alive. I have purchased this book for myself and several others as gifts.
Book Description
More than three centuries after its creation, calculus remains a dazzling intellectual achievement and the gateway into higher mathematics. This book charts its growth and development by sampling from the work of some of its foremost practitioners, beginning with Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in the late seventeenth century and continuing to Henri Lebesgue at the dawn of the twentieth. William Dunham lucidly presents the definitions, theorems, and proofs. "Students of literature read Shakespeare; students of music listen to Bach," he writes. But this tradition of studying the major works of the "masters" is, if not wholly absent, certainly uncommon in mathematics. This book seeks to redress that situation.
Like a great museum, The Calculus Gallery is filled with masterpieces, among which are Bernoulli's early attack upon the harmonic series (1689), Euler's brilliant approximation of pi (1779), Cauchy's classic proof of the fundamental theorem of calculus (1823), Weierstrass's mind-boggling counterexample (1872), and Baire's original "category theorem" (1899). Collectively, these selections document the evolution of calculus from a powerful but logically chaotic subject into one whose foundations are thorough, rigorous, and unflinching--a story of genius triumphing over some of the toughest, most subtle problems imaginable.
Anyone who has studied and enjoyed calculus will discover in these pages the sheer excitement each mathematician must have felt when pushing into the unknown. In touring The Calculus Gallery, we can see how it all came to be.
Customer Reviews:
stresses the important aspects........2007-07-06
wonderful book, adds mathematical context to the ideas developed. good to read along a textbook on analysis.
Great Read.......2007-06-26
If you are up on your math it almost reads like a novel. I can't say anything about it that hasn't already been said, but just affirm all the positive comments. If you like math you will love this book.
Very Good IF you have a solid background.......2007-02-12
And by "solid background", I mean a good understanding of honors-level algebra (high school senior variety) AND a reasonably thorough understanding of basic calculus notions such as limits, integration, and differentiation. Even if your background is not quite this strong, I feel you will understand parts of the Newton Leibnitz Euler chapters, but you may start to struggle a touch after that. And, as was pointed out in an earlier review, this book is NOT for the General Reader. Very far from it, in spite of professor Dunham's substantial skill as a science/math writer. (A pleasure to read the gentleman!)
In fine: I studied applied math at UCLA some 55 years ago, and I have not done any serious math since about 1970, so I may be overstating the requirements necessary to enjoy this work, given my own very dim memory of some key elements of mathematics and of the mathematical proof. But for those who feel qualified, this is yet another wonderful piece of work by a truly gifted author.
Naf February 2007; Los Altos CA
Great side reader for a calculus course.......2006-04-19
I wish this book had been around when I was taking calculus a few decades ago. It is extremenly well written and explains all the reasons why mathematicians had to introduce all the concepts and definitions you encounter in a calculus course. Reading this book on the side will tell you exactly why you're doing what you're doing, and where you are going. All students of calculus will benefit from this book.
A Great Book For Math Fans.......2005-09-30
If you like math, I guarantee you'll like this book! The author starts out with some very nice infinite sums from 17th and 18th century mathematics (Newton, Leibniz, the Bernoullis, and Euler's Gamma function). He continues into the 19th century with Riemann and Lebesque integrals, Weierstrass' pathological functions, Cantor's set theory, and winds up with Baire's category theorem.
Reading this book is like taking a guided tour through Real Analysis (= calculus of one real variable) with the math prof you always wished you had. Its only prerequisite is a working knowledge of calculus; the main points are explained very clearly, so the reader can skip through the book or fill in the details, and will learn a lot, either way. The book is very well written, and a great pleasure to read; I highly recommend it, for students, fans, and teachers!
Book Description
Offering a splendid collection of literary masterpieces in the best available translations, The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces is a literal library of Western literature in two portable volumes. Most major works, from Homer's Odyssey to Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, are offered complete or in substantial, readable excerpts. New authors and works abound, including pieces by Plautus, Lucian, Ariosto, de Vega, Shakespeare, Joyce, O'Connor, Munro, and Silko, and new sections of Medieval lyrics and tales, Romantic poetry in translation, and Dada-Surrealist poetry. Informative period introductions and author headnotes guide readers through the cultural and historical contexts surrounding the literature.
Customer Reviews:
'salright.......2005-10-03
exactly what to be expected from an anthology. good introductions to the pieces, authors, etc. 'salright.
Worldly, well made and well written.......2005-09-05
Overall, this book provides an excellent survey of world literature from the Age of Reason to Post-Modernism.
The translations were very well done for all languages. I especially enjoyed the German works written by Goethe, Freud, Rilke, and Kafka. The footnotes served as a great tool in explaining that certain words chosen may not have been the exact equivalent, and definitions and examples are sometimes included to give the reader a better understanding of the messages conveyed by authors.
Unfortunately, I see some overlap in this book and in Norton's American Literature II and British Literature II. Also, the pronunciation guides in the beginning some stories such as Achebe's Things Fall Apart are quite limited.
The durability of the pages and covers of Norton's books have greatly improved. The type, font, kerning and spacing is fairly easy to read without too much eye strain, especially since the character size is so small.
Worldly, well made and well written.......2005-05-11
Overall, this book provides an excellent survey of world literature from the Age of Reason to Post-Modernism.
The translations were very well done for all languages. I especially enjoyed the German works written by Goethe, Freud, Rilke, and Kafka. The footnotes served as a great tool in explaining that certain words chosen may not have been the exact equivalent, and definitions and examples are sometimes included to give the reader a better understanding of the messages conveyed by authors.
Unfortunately, I see some overlap in this book and in Norton's American Literature II and British Literature II. Also, the pronunciation guides in the beginning some stories such as Achebe's Things Fall Apart are quite limited.
The durability of the pages and covers of Norton's books have greatly improved. The type, font, kerning and spacing is fairly easy to read without too much eye strain, especially since the character size is so small.
Avoid the Introductions.......2000-09-07
As its name describes, this book contains many known works of famous writers from Europe, Asia, and a few from Latin America. I was to read Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert and I found in the introduction that the editors of this book gave away the ending in an attempt to summarize the plot. Thus I read over 200 pages knowing exactly what was the destiny of the main character!!! I do understand that many people do know the story, from beginning to end, but I also know that there are many others like me that have never read Madame Bovary. From now on I will avoid the introductions completely. It was cruel that editors from well known universities commit such atrocities. It clearly shows their lack of common sense and that even in the best universities people don't learn the basics.
Book Description
Offering a splendid collection of literary masterpieces in the best available translations, The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces is a literal library of Western literature in two portable volumes. Most major works, from Homer's Odyssey to Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, are offered complete or in substantial, readable excerpts. New authors and works abound, including pieces by Plautus, Lucian, Ariosto, de Vega, Shakespeare, Joyce, O'Connor, Munro, and Silko, and new sections of Medieval lyrics and tales, Romantic poetry in translation, and Dada-Surrealist poetry. Informative period introductions and author headnotes guide readers through the cultural and historical contexts surrounding the literature.
Customer Reviews:
Norton's Anthology of World Masterpieces, a review.......2005-09-12
This seventh edition has left out the poetry of John Donne, the great metaphysical poet. Big mistake. I was disappointed in the translation of Gilgamesh, considering Stephen Mitchell's version to be superior. I was also disappointed in the Bible excerpts - particularly Genesis, where there is no indication that the redactor of the selections picked and chose between J, E and P texts, with no indication of the lacunae, making it seem as if there were only one version, for instance, of the Creation or the Flood, while any biblical scholar knows that there are at least two. My overall impression, however, is that this offers a fair introduction to Western world literature to the mid-seventeenth century.
Not the best, but not THAT bad..........2005-04-26
A couple of reviewers have complained about the quality of this book, and there are a few problems with it, but overall, it is a fairly good book. Most of the translations are solid (except for the translation of Lysistrata, which should be avoided like the plague), and there is a fairly good selection of works. The editors have also tried to help anyone reading the works by providing extensive footnotes for anything that is unclear (which are a bit cluttered at times, but are mostly good). The only complaints I have concern the translation of Lysistra, which I already discussed, and the style and size of the book. The pages are extremely thin and are thus hard to turn, making it hard to read any work from page to page continuously; this anthology is also the size of a Bible (literally!), so don't expect it to be portable. Otherwise, for a book I had to have for a college class, it's pretty good.
Strange Choices.......2003-11-24
My own education was in the Great Books and I am familiar with both the literature and how to teach it. I used this book for the first time in the current semester because it is virtually standard where I teach.
I was puzzled by the many obscure selections in this anthology such as Thorstein the Staff-Struck and Marguerite de Navarre. I was frustrated by the selection of relatively unreadable translations like the Jowett "Socrates' Apology" and the apparently untranslated "Morte Darthur." This book is intended for contemporary college students who have had little experience reading classical experience and these choices were simply inappropriate to them.
Shakespeare is represented only by "Othello." Why not also one of the comedies or histories? Why not any other example of Elizabethan drama?
The editors left out important works such as More's "Utopia," anything by Aquinas, any of Aristotle except for a brief excerpt from "The Poetics," and anything by Martin Luther. The selections from the New Testament were also deficient.
They chose, correctly I believe, to include some Jewish and Muslim literature but did not choose well. Aside from the Old Testament the Jewish literature was limited to a few Medieval verses and not the best of them. Aside from a few selections from the Koran, they saw fit to include a tiny selection of verse and a little of "The Thousand and One Nights." The lack of possible choices that either affected or were affected by Western literature (Philo, Maimonides, Al-Gazzali, Ibn-Khaldoun) are an indication of timidity or ignorance on the part of the editors.
I detect an attempt at the kind of political correctness that wants to include authors aside from "dead, white, European males." That is not an unworthy aim, but they did it badly.
Finally the introductions, which were in almost unreadably small print, were filled with inaccurate information. These were not carefully written.
It's a shame that this anthology dominates the search engines at Amazon and at other online services. The reason would seem to be a matter of economics rather than quality. I'm already searching for a better anthology to use next semester.
World Masterpiece.......2000-06-06
Wide collection of works and translations. I really enjoyed the translation of Homer in the Iliad. Norton's Anthology has help transform literature from being boring to being fun.
Amazon.com
In 1992 a young art student uncovered a clue in an obscure Italian archive that led to the discovery of Caravaggio's original The Taking of the Christ, a painting that had been presumed lost for over 200 years. How this clue--a single entry in an old listing of family possessions--led to a residence in Ireland and the subsequent restoration of this Italian Baroque masterpiece is the subject of this brisk and enthralling detective story. The Lost Painting reads more like a historical novel than art history, as Harr smoothly weaves several narratives together to bring the story alive. Though he does not provide an in-depth examination of the painting itself--the book is not aimed specifically at art experts--Harr does include many details for lay readers about restoration, the various methods used to track artwork through history, how originals are distinguished from copies, and an inside view of the art world, past and present. He also discusses various forensic approaches, including X ray, infrared reflectography, chemical analysis of the paints and canvas, and other modern techniques. But most of the book is focused on more primitive methods, including dogged research through dusty archives and meticulous attention to detail.
This entertaining book boasts an engaging cast of characters, all of whom are inflicted with the "Caravaggio disease," including some of the foremost Caravaggio scholars in the world, persistent students, obsessive restorers, and most of all, the artist himself. Mercurial, supremely gifted, and prone to violence, Caravaggio lived like an outlaw and a pauper most of his troubled life. Yet even when he attained wealth and fame--and briefly, respectability--he was still hounded by the law (for murder) and numerous vengeful enemies. Harr does an admirable job of bringing the man alive in these pages while keeping his long-lost painting at the center of the action. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
An Italian village on a hilltop near the Adriatic coast, a decaying palazzo facing the sea, and in the basement, cobwebbed and dusty, lit by a single bulb, an archive unknown to scholars. Here, a young graduate student from Rome, Francesca Cappelletti, makes a discovery that inspires a search for a work of art of incalculable value, a painting lost for almost two centuries.
The artist was Caravaggio, a master of the Italian Baroque. He was a genius, a revolutionary painter, and a man beset by personal demons. Four hundred years ago, he drank and brawled in the taverns and streets of Rome, moving from one rooming house to another, constantly in and out of jail, all the while painting works of transcendent emotional and visual power. He rose from obscurity to fame and wealth, but success didn’t alter his violent temperament. His rage finally led him to commit murder, forcing him to flee Rome a hunted man. He died young, alone, and under strange circumstances.
Caravaggio scholars estimate that between sixty and eighty of his works are in existence today. Many others–no one knows the precise number–have been lost to time. Somewhere, surely, a masterpiece lies forgotten in a storeroom, or in a small parish church, or hanging above a fireplace, mistaken for a mere copy.
Prizewinning author Jonathan Harr embarks on an spellbinding journey to discover the long-lost painting known as The Taking of Christ–its mysterious fate and the circumstances of its disappearance have captivated Caravaggio devotees for years. After Francesca Cappelletti stumbles across a clue in that dusty archive, she tracks the painting across a continent and hundreds of years of history. But it is not until she meets Sergio Benedetti, an art restorer working in Ireland, that she finally manages to assemble all the pieces of the puzzle.
Told with consummate skill by the writer of the bestselling, award-winning A Civil Action,
The Lost Painting is a remarkable synthesis of history and detective story. The fascinating details of Caravaggio’s strange, turbulent career and the astonishing beauty of his work come to life in these pages. Harr’s account is not unlike a Caravaggio painting: vivid, deftly wrought, and enthralling.
". . . Jonathan Harr has gone to the trouble of writing what will probably be a bestseller . . . rich and wonderful. . .in truth, the book reads better than a thriller because, unlike a lot of best-selling nonfiction authors who write in a more or less novelistic vein (Harr's previous book, A Civil Action, was made into a John Travolta movie), Harr doesn't plump up hi tale. He almost never foreshadows, doesn't implausibly reconstruct entire conversations and rarely throws in litanies of clearly conjectured or imagined details just for color's sake. . .if you're a sucker for Rome, and for dusk. . .[you'll] enjoy Harr's more clearly reported details about life in the city, as when--one of my favorite moments in the whole book--Francesca and another young colleague try to calm their nerves before a crucial meeting with a forbidding professor by eating gelato. And who wouldn't in Italy? The pleasures of travelogue here are incidental but not inconsiderable." --The New York Times Book Review
"Jonathan Harr has taken the story of the lost painting, and woven from it a deeply moving narrative about history, art and taste--and about the greed, envy, covetousness and professional jealousy of people who fall prey to obsession. It is as perfect a work of narrative nonfiction as you could ever hope to read." --The Economist
Customer Reviews:
Intriguing Art Mystery.......2007-08-25
As an earlier reviewer noted, many scholars acknowledge that there probably are several missing Caravaggio masterpieces lying about forgotten and neglected.
And, indeed, just as I began reading this book, a November 2006 news report announced that a painting owned by Queen Elizabeth II had been revealed to be a lost work by the Italian master Caravaggio.
The picture, which has been in the Royal Family's possession for about 400 years, had been dismissed as a copy, being obscured by varnish and dirt. It had been left in a storeroom at Hampton Court for decades until experts from the Royal Collection set about restoring the piece. After they spent six years studying the painting, they announced that is "The Calling Of Saints Peter and Andrew", a genuine Caravaggio and one of only 50 surviving canvases by the 17th century artist.
Reports estimated the painting, which was first bought by Charles I, sold and then reacquired by Charles II, could be worth more than £50 million --$100 million at current exchange rates!
Reads like a mystery........2007-07-04
I wasn't sure if this was fact or fiction. It reads like a mystery story. It grabs you, and keeps you intrigued throughout. It's a kick to learn that it's all true! Great read!
interesting and mysterious.......2007-01-09
I love historical fiction and this book was just marvelous. Mr. Harr does an excellent job of describing the landscapes of Italy and Great Britain, plus he seemelessly weaves art history instruction into the story. A must read for art fans!
Should have been good, but it wasn't........2007-01-03
This was a disappointment. The hunt for a lost Caravaggio, the digging about in archives, the scientific test to see "is it really?", should be fascinating. But it's not. And I cannot stand non-fiction writers who think they have to make their books read like fiction. Where is the critical analysis? Where is the index? Where are the footnotes? Non-fiction needs references. You cannot expect me to believe what you are writing unless you tell me where you got the information. A bibliography and acknowledgements don't cut it.
I'm seeing this more and more in non-fiction and it drives me right up the wall.
And who the heck had the idea of publishing a book about a Caravaggio painting with NO, I repeat NO, illustrations?
Art History made interesting.......2006-12-13
I admit that I am no art history scholar nor am I interested in becoming one. Before reading this book I had no idea who Caravaggio was and why I should care about him. This book opened up the exciting world of art history for me. It follows various scholars, and art restorers in the search for a lost painting by Caravaggio.
It is a fascinating look at how art historians follow the trails of paintings, how they study them and the world in which they live. It also gives you an inside look at art restoration and how difficult and consuming it can be. The book is an excellent snapshot of the art history world and if you would like a taste of it I think this is the book for you. The book jumps around a lot but it is a quick and entertaining read.
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