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Not bad.....
Of Manners and ManorsWe begin with our man Trent arriving in town to investigate a murder. The plot is brisk, without enough clues to make it a whodunit. Trent's an established painter with a national reputation as an amateur detective and newspaper correspondent. An amateur sleuth would be incomplete without a nemesis, so we have a long-time friendly rival, Inspector Murth. The presumption of a long history and the effortlessness of the characters' interactions was drawn beautifully. All is revealed through what the characters say and do, not by long narrative descriptions. I rather wish this was only the beginning for Trent and not the end.
The birth of the Golden Age

A good introduction at an inexpensive price....These poems aren't all about the horrors of war (like Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est"), but are also about the honor and pride felt by the British soldier (Brooke's "The Soldier"). Granted, some of these poems were not meant to be recruiting devices.
Although there are some great poems in this book, the biggest plus is the price. For less than two dollars (US), you are getting a fairly good cross-section of British poets writing in WW1.
A good, inexpensive primer to WW1 poetryThis book is an excellent and inexpensive sampler of World War One-era poetry. Most of the major battlefield writers are represented, including Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves, Isaac Rosenberg, and John MacCrae. Other important writers who were inspired by the war are also included, such as Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy. Two women, Alice Meynell and May Cannan are also represented. The editor included a balanced number of patriotic works and anti-war poems.
Each writer has a mini-biography, followed by a sampling of his or her works. The quantity varies from a single poem, up to 11 works. The selections are representative of the authors, and many of the best-known titles are here, including Dulce et Decorum Est and In Flanders Fields.
This primer is hardly comprehensive nor is there much critical analysis of the poems or poets. But it is not meant to be. This book combines a well-rounded selection of poetry with an extremely low price to make it an attractive introduction to World War One-era poetry. This is not the best anthology out there, but it is a perfect introduction for those who are curious about First World War poems and don't want to pay a hefty price.
Great Poems on WarWorld War I (1914-1918) is pretty much a forgotten war today. Occasionally, you'll see a documentary containing grainy footage of men in strange helmets climbing out of trenches, usually moving at a freakishly quick pace due to the inadequacy of the early film process. WWI is further overshadowed by the mega-death body count of WWII. But WWI had its own unique horrors as the nations involved resorted to poison gas, mechanized warfare, and attrition strategies to kill off some 15 million people. The new methods of mechanized warfare failed to stifle the human element of war, and this is where these poems come into play. Some of the soldiers involved in the conflict were poets and writers, and they used these talents to document the battlefield horrors for the folks back home.
There are male and female writers here, and those who were there and those who stayed home. Those who served in the war do the best jobs with their poetry. Even May Wedderburn Cannan, a woman who served as a nurse at Rouen, writes better poetry about the war than such distinguished literary figures Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy (both of whom write from the safety of the home fires).
Keeping in line with the subject matter, most of the poems are grim and violent. Many of the poems focus on the incongruity of nature and violent acts of war. In one stanza, birds are chirping, the sun is shining, men are singing, and all seems right with the world. The next stanza is filled with sudden mutilations, violent death, and the shriek and scream of shells and bullets. Some of the poems deal with the anguish of watching someone die or killing another human being, as Wilfred Owen writes in "The Target" about a possible meeting in the afterlife with an enemy he's killed:
"Well, if they get me, first I'll find
That boy, and tell him all my mind,
And see who felt the bullet worst,
And ask his pardon, if I durst."
A few of the poets speak in favor of the war, seeing it as a call to glory or a defense against barbarism (see Rupert Brooks, John McCrae, and Rudyard Kipling). Others rail against the rulers and the senseless attrition warfare (Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, and Isaac Rosenberg best represent this viewpoint).
Regardless of ideological viewpoint or writing style, all of the poems have a beauty that comes from dealing with horrors beyond the comprehension of the individual. The overwhelming power of the poems should make the hardiest soul's eyes mist over with tears of frustration, agony, and profound sadness.


Sophocles was no amateur
Sophocles looks at the psychological dimensions of ElectraTowards that end Sophocles creates a character, Chrysothemis, another sister to both Orestes and Electra. The situation is that Orestes is assumed to be dead and the issues is whether the obligation to avenge the death of Agamemnon now falls to his daughters. There is an attendant irony here in that Clytemnestra justified the murder of her husband in part because of his sacrifice of their oldest daughter Iphigenia before sailing off to the Trojan War (the curse on the House of Atreus, which involves Aegisthus on his own accord and not simply as Clytemnestra's lover, is important but clearly secondary). The creation of Chrysothemis allows for Sophocles to write a dialogue that covers both sides of the dispute. Electra argues that the daughters must assume the burden and avenge their father while Chrysothemis takes the counter position.
Sophocles does come up with several significant twists on the Aeschylus version. For one thing, Sophocles reverses the order of the two murders and has Clytemnestra slain first, which sets up an interesting scene when Aegisthus gets to revel over what he believes to be the corpse of Orestes and makes the death of the usurper the final scene of the play. This becomes part of the most significant difference between the Sophocles version and the others. Whereas Orestes emerges from the skene distraught after the murder of his mother in "Cheophoroe" and is repentant in the Euripides version of "Electra," Sophocles has Orestes calmly declaring that all in the house is well.
Electra is not as central a character to the drama as she is in the Euripides version, mainly because she does not have a functional purpose in this tragedy. Her main purpose is to lament over the death of the father and the supposed death of her brother. She does not provide Orestes with a sense of resolve because in this version he does not consult the oracles to learn whether or not he should kill his mother but rather how he can do the deed. Still, the part of Electra has enormous potential for performance. Ironically, this "Electra" is the least interesting of the three, despite the fact Freud made it infamous: by his standards the Euripides play speaks more to the desire of a daughter to see her mother dead, but since Sophocles wrote "Oedipus the King" it probably seemed fair to point to his version of this tale as well.
A tale of revenge!

complete but black and white pictures
The Awful Problems of Turning Genius into RealityFallingwater came as a commission after one of the longest dry spells of Frank Lloyd Wright's career. Despite having no work to do, no money, and few prospects, Mr. Wright dawdled with the project while trying to sell his client, Edgar Kaufmann, as many other projects as possible. Contemporary accounts suggest that Wright only began sketching something on paper when Mr. Kaufmann was about to arrive at Taliesin in Wisconsin, where Wright did his work.
Mr. Kaufman was not an easy client. He was the head of a major department store, and was used to getting his own way. Client and architect often clashed, with bent feelings on both sides. Independent "experts" got involved who also added to the controversy, mistakes, and misunderstandings. Mr. Kaufmann deserves credit, though, for sticking with Wright as the costs soared way above the original budget for this most unique house.
Interestingly, the two were brought together by Mr. Kaufmann's son who had come to study with Wright in Taliesin. The book contains a brief introduction by Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. who ultimately gave the home to a local nature conservancy.
Even without the challenges of the human relationships, Fallingwater was a most ambitious commission. In a remote part of the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania, Fallingwater is sited on top of a waterfall. The potential for the water to undermine the house is enormous. Mr. Wright also wanted to keep as many of the original rocks and trees as possible. The site survey was often wrong, and the designs had to be adjusted to reflect the reality. The design also provided other unusual problems, and the first cantilever was built incorrectly due to changes made under Mr. Kaufmann's direction.
The book contains a wealth of maps, letters, summaries of interviews with those who worked on the project, drawings, plans, and photographs of the work in progress in black and white. This detail brings the challenges to life in a very real way.
The fascinating part of this book to me is that Fallingwater's final effects are the opposite of its creation. The home seems to float above the water, like a mirage. It seems to exude tranquility and peace. Yet, its every stage of movement toward becoming a reality was like a Sumo wrestling match with enormous heavyweight egos and ideas colliding at high speed and with little regard for the impact on the other fellow.
As much as I love Fallingwater, I love understanding more about how it was created even more. Anyone who wants to leave a mark of greatness behind should read this book.
After you finish thinking through the implications of Mr. Wright's vision and ways of implementing it, I suggest that you think about your own personal life and work. Where are you lacking in vision? Where are you lacking in the processes to implement worthwhile visions?
Turn your dreams into beautiful realities . . . for everyone!
History book on Fallingwater

Not poetry for the uninitiated....For the poetry student, the Author's Preface is essential. Here, Sprung Rhythm is explained. If you are not a serious student of poetry, this will probably be lost on you. It is not necessary to read the poetry, but to understand Hopkins' style, it is a must-read.
The poetry itself is filled with religious and classical images and allusions. If you are not well-read, like me, you may not get every thing that Hopkins is explaining to you. There are some notes in the back, but these are limited. I have no doubt that Hopkins is intelligent, but I will need to do some extra reading to fully understand all of this.
I think this is a great read. It is not a quick read by any means. This is poetry which is read again and again to get a full understanding. I would also recommend reading this aloud.
Excellent Catholic PoetryHopkins uses a variety of verse (from sprung to your run-of-the-mill iambic pentameter), which makes for an exciting read. Some of his poems, such as GOD'S GRANDEUR and PIED BEAUTY have even made it into a poetry appendix in the American translation of the Catholic breviary. These poems are wonderful starters for meditation, and they capture the thoughts of a man's heart as it aspires towards God. A wonderful read.
God's Grandeur... Hopkins shows it well.Most his work was published posthumously, as late as 1920 or so, and immediately influenced the likes of T.S. Elliot (AKA, the guy who wrote the poem "Cats" is based on and "Wasteland") and his contemporaries.
While Whitman and Wilde were exalting in themselves, and just after Emerson and Thoreau were helping us see creation, Hopkins demonstrated prowess in pointing readers to see the Creator in the creation.
Atheists won't agree with him, of course, but he says it so well, they will at least go, "Hmm... if I believed, I could see that... yeah, wow, well put." The Catholics will cheer him on, "Atta boy... yep, that guy's a Jesuit!" Not undone are the Protestants who will be so impressed in agreement they'll be happy he was a Christian.
Check out this snippet from "Pied Beauty" "Glory be to God for dappled things--/For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;/For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;/Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches wings;/Landscape plotted and pieced--fold, fallow, and plough;/And 'all tra'des, their gear and tackle and trim." Those accents are in the original.
Delicious to say aloud? You should hear the second verse. His others are as tasty.
This edition is something you want to pop in with a larger Amazon order... buy it on whimsy if you aren't sure. It is an inexpensive as book can get this side of free.
I fully recommend this book.
Anthony Trendl


Prelude to Comedy
That Which Has Never Been Written of Any WomanThe Vita Nuova, which Dante called his libello, or little book, is a remarkable work. It contains 42 brief chapters with commentaries on 25 sonnets, one ballata, and four canzoni; a fifth canzoni is left dramatically interrupted by the death of Beatrice (perhaps Bice Portinari, a woman Dante met and fell in love with in 1274 but who died in 1290). In Beatrice, Dante created one of the most celebrated women in all of literature. In keeping with the changing directions of Dante's thoughts and career, Beatrice underwent enormous changes in his hands--sanctified in the Vita Nuova, demoted in the canzoni (poems) presented again in the Convivio, only to be returned with more profound comprehension in La Divina Commedia as the woman credited with having led Dante away from the "vulgar herd" to Paradise.
The prose commentary provides the frame story, which does not emerge from the poems themselves (it is, of course, conceivable that some were actually written for occasions other than those alleged). The story, however, is simple enough and tells of Dante's first sight of Beatrice when both were nine years of age, her salutation when they were eighteen, Dante's expedients to conceal his love for her, the crisis experienced when Beatrice withholds her greeting, Dante's anguish that she is making light of him, his determination to rise above the anguish and sing only of his lady's virtues, anticipations of her death in that of a young friend, the death of Beatrice's father, and Dante's own premonitory dream, and finally, the death of Beatrice, Dante's mourning, the temptation of the sympathetic donna gentile (a young woman who temporarily replaces Beatrice), Beatrice's final triunph and apotheosis, and, in the last chapter, Dante's determination to write at some later time about Beatrice, "that which has never been written of any woman."
Yet, with all of this apparently autobiographical purpose, the Vita Nuova is strangely impersonal. The circumstances it sets down are markedly devoid of any historical facts or descriptive detail (thus making it pointless to engage in debate as to the exact historical identity of Beatrice). The language of the commentary also adheres to a high level of generality. Names are rarely used...Cavalcanti is referred to three times as Dante's "best friend," Dante's sister is referred to as "she who was joined to me by the closest proximity of blood." On the one hand, Dante suggests the most significant stages of emotional experience, but on the other, he seem to distance his descriptions from strong emotional reactions. The larger structure in which Dante arranged poems written over a ten-year period and the generality of his poetic language are indications of his early and abiding ambition to go beyond the practices of the local poets.
The Italian of the Vita Nuova is Dante's own gorgeous Tuscan dialect, a limpid, ethereal and luminous Italian that seems as though it could have been written yesterday. In chapter XXX of the Vita Nuova, Dante states that it was through Cavalcanti that he wrote his first book in Italian rather than in Latin. In fact, Dante dedicated the Vita Nuova to Cavalcanti--to his best friend (primo amico).
Anyone who can, should definitely read this beautiful book in its original Italian, but those who cannot can still enjoy the beauty of Dante in a good translation. The book isn't as difficult or intimidating as La Divina Commedia and it makes a beautiful introduction to those who love Dante but just want to enjoy a little less of him in the beginning.
mandatory for the Dante aficionado

An early English novel, with a twist.
allows for personal reflection....You must read it if you're even considering it and once you've read it, you should pass it on to someone else. Life dishes us a lot. Life dishes out some people more hardship than others and sometimes we get the opportunity to give ourselves and those we love a chance at a better life. Not only does this book tell a wonderful story of a man who found strength most of us never realize we possess, but in doing so - has proven the power of language, written and spoken. The world can be full of possobilities in even the most impossible situations - to say nothing of the horror we inflict upon each other...but that's another story.
British Slavery???

This interpretation of a young adolescents life
Five compelling tales by CatherThese stories take us to Nebraska farm country as well as to Pittsburgh, Boston, and New York City. Cather writes of Danish and Norwegian immigrants, religion, "high" culture, regret, loss, and regional legend.
The title story is a particularly fascinating character study of a boy who doesn't fit into society--you might think of him as sort of a literary ancestor of J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield. Throughout the collection Cather demonstrates a telling eye for visual detail and a keen sense of human tragedy.
Paul's "Case"

The unconscious rides again!The prior standard way of seeing these types of primitive manifestation was to see them trough the amount of dread the primitive men have against the manifestation of some praeternatural agency, to use a term used by Mr.Thorstein Veblen, a contemporary of Freud, in his magnificent book on the leisure class (The Theory of the Leisure Class). It is worthy to note that nobody can be sure on the origins of this type of tradition and that adds substance to Mr.Freud's arguments.
Sigmund Freud goes a step further to the classical view and says that totemism and taboo as animism are the manifestation of something not outside ourselves but rather inside human minds of the primitive people, where the unconscious played a good part to the forming of this kind of culture manifestation and where there is an intricate and unconscious and almost mathematical calculation in order to attribute to the priest-king, who typifies the carrier of this tradition, both the pleasures and the burden of the function. In Freud's view, both totem and taboo are traditions that have to find their origim in the unconscious of that primitive folks and not in the concurrence of fear to the dead, following the tradition of his many other books on the latent manifestations of the unconscious. The ritual and actual killing of the father by the Horde or Band of Brothers, who are in search of vital space for their development, is the real reason behind all that happens afterwards and, following Freud's hypotheses, are the groundwork of modern and ancient religion.
The concepts here explained will be fundamental to the development of the hypotheses developed latter in Moses and Monotheism.
A perfect exemplar of Freud's central argumentsThe fact is, his suppositions about parental relations (as they relate to "totem" cultures), about religion, and about sexuality are extremely relevant and have proven, over the years, to possess an extraordinary predictive power. Even if one disagrees with this literature, one should read it and know exactly what they disagree with.
Sorry Daddy, I have to cut you off

Very interesting referenceVery helpful and informative. Warning: trying to duplicate these in decorative metal today is *expensive*. Architectural salvage might be more affordable than starting from scratch.
Beautiful Work
Great for Designers