[This review relates to the wondrous Penguin Classics
edition of THE AENEID, "Tranlated into English Prose with
an Introduction by W.F.Jackson Knight."]

If Virgil could lead the poet Dante through the wasteland
and Inferno at the end of the Middle Ages, perhaps the poet
Virgil, aided by the skill and inspiration of the translator
W.F.Jackson Knight, might perform the same needed function for
us, here at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st
centuries.
W.F.Jackson Knight, in his very interesting and insightful
"Introduction," makes the argument that "the AENEID of Virigl
is a gateway between the pagan and the Christian centuries."
That much, itself, might serve as the basis for some excellent
essays of analysis and interpretation. But Knight has his own
path to tread. So we should let him.
-------------
"In the beginning, Rome had been a tiny settlement
surrounded by enemies -- and it had needed a strong will:
proud,disciplined, and sustained -- to survive at all.
Rome did survive and was led on by successive hard-won
victories to world dominion.
The early history is obscure, but the process seems
to have taken at least five centuries of almost continuous
warfare, and during that period the Romans achieved
unparalleled success, apparently through unique merits
of their own, combined with a special share of divine
favor and good fortune [a nice touch of Pagan sentiment,
there, to counter-balance the perhaps over-emphasis on
the Christian tie at the beginning]. This spectacular rise
of Rome was a matter for wonder and a certain reverence
to the Romans themselves, especially when, in the
later years of the republican period, new chances of peace
and prosperity, AND A NEW ACCESS OF SKEPTICISM threatened
THE OLD HABITS OF LOYALTY, INTEGRITY, and SELF-SACRIFICE"
[capitals are mine].
---------
Knight continues with his excellent "Introduction" and talks
of Publius Vergilius Maro [usually denoted as "Virgil"], the
excellent, visionary poet and artist who created the epic
poem for Roman patriotic pride, values teaching, and national
identity -- THE AENEID.
I especially like Knight's discussion of the influences on
Virgil as he wrote the epic.
--------
"The AENEID is the third, last, and longest of Virgil's
poems. It is a legendary narrative, a story about the
imagined origin of the Roman nation in times long before the
foundation of Rome itself. * * * The AENEID, as any epic should
be, is an exciting story extremely well told and full of
incident; it can be read as a story and nothing more. However,
besides being a story, it is a kind of moving picture --
carrying allusive, and in a sense, symbolic meanings. * * *
In the poem [the gods and goddesses]communicate with mortal men
either directly or through dreams, visions, omens, and the
words of prophets and clairvoyants. Virgil had no doubt that
the affairs of the earthly world are subject to the powers of
another world, a world which is normally, but by no means
always, invisible, but no less real for that....
* * * The great poets have a way of making what is seen
reveal the unseen; and they seem to do this better if they
collect an enormous quantity of observations on life, their
own and other people's, and then condense it under strong
pressure so that even a few words have a great power of
suggestion and persuasion. No doubt they are all the time

choosing with precise accuracy what is most important. The
result is an allusive and partly symbolic kind of language
able to communicate not merely single happenings but the
universal truth behind them.
These greater poets also reach back across past time, and
represent a view of the world which belongs not to one man
or one generation of men but to the men of many succeeding
generations or even a whole civilization. The experience
which is distilled may be the experience of many centuries;
and it may be condensed and focused by a single genius in
a single poetic statement. That is what Virgil did to the
experience of the Greeks and Romans in the AENEID."
["Introduction." W.F. Jackson Knight. AENEID. Penguin
Classics.]
-----------------
In talking of the other literary influences which helped
inspire Virgil and which he distilled into his own poetic
process with the helps of the fires of creative energy
and intuition, Knight mentions (of course) the fact of Homer
and his two major epics, the ILIAD and the ODYSSEY.
He also mentions the influence of Lucretius. But he says:
"Virgil knew his [Lucretius] work well and made free use
of many hundreds of his phrases in the AENEID, and let them
suggest ideas. But since HE VIOLENTLY DISAGREED WITH
THE MATERIALISTIC PHILOSOPHY of LUCRETIUS, he could not
adopt his thought. Indeed, he apparently delighted in turning
it upside down, and expressing something far more like the

idealistic philosophy of PLATO, even when the phrases of
Lucretius were influencing him."
I very much prefer Knight's "prose" English version of the
AENEID over most of the other ones which I have encountered.
His English prose flows like poetry, and is eminently readable
as well as instantly understood. One encounters that famous
opening, translated so well into intuitive, inspired English
prose: "This is a tale of arms and of a man. Fated to be
an exile, he was the first to sail from the land of Troy
and reach Italy, at its Lavinian shore. He met many
tribulations on his way both by land and on the ocean; high
Heaven willed it, for Juno was ruthless and could not forget
her anger. And he had also to endure great suffering in
warfare."
Inspiring and instructive, for Romans, for Dante, and
for us!

The Aeneid, one of the most famous and widely translated books of all time, was written during Rome's 'golden era' by Publius Vergilius, an unassuming scholar in acquaintance with the Emperor Augustus. Fragmented history informs us that this long Latin poem came into being in part to give the empire a creation-mythos, in part to honor the sagas of Greece from which the bulk of the Roman belief-paradigm originated: scheming Gods, inflexible Fates, the monsters and melodrama human beings can't seem to get enough of...highbrow entertainment of the bygone era; a homage to and subtle critique of the Homeric ideal.

And with hindsight, The Aeneid easily surpasses its source material in terms of scope and sheer writing. The book begins shortly after the devastation of Troy, and the first half chronicles the search of the refugee Trojans for a new home. The task is not an easy one: Aeneas the True and his compatriots are plagued by bad weather and the hallmarks of myth (the Cyclopes from the Odyssey make a brief cameo), while the Gods above, vindictive and conspiring, seek to either halt or hurry along their progress. The second half of the book dictates the arrival of the Trojans to Latium (Italy), the resistance they meet from the natives, and the establishment of Rome proper. The last quarter of the book is a montage of bloody battles, swords and sorrow taking their claim for the greater good of a future empire.

I do not speak the 'dead' language of Latin and thus cannot comment on the translation itself; regardless, W.F. Jackson's prose is delight to read - certain passages contain beautiful rhyming schemes; the dialogue and description are extremely well done, retaining an 'old world' tone without becoming stilted or faux-archaic. And throughout the epic adventures and the blood-drenched battles, Virgil's theme - that of Rome's foundation and its preconceived glory - shines through abundantly clear, without ever drowning the reader in heavy-handed sermonizing or extreme sentimentality.

An essential text for the student of myth & history. Five stars.

This is probably one of the most often reproduced, translated and published books on earth, and with good reason. The mythical foundation of Rome is laid out in this book, with its epic characters and plot, it is a must-read for anyone interested in the classics.

Saw this book for the first time at the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland during a cross-country trip (side note: an interesting place to visit. Check out Jerry's guitars: Rosebud, Lightning Bolt, Wolf and 2 he ordered but never played). Bought it on the spot! If you think you have seen all the pictures of the Boyz, think again. This is an impressive collection, perfect for the "Deadhead who has everything". I just bought a 2nd copy, 'cause I know I am going to wear out the first one I bought!

This book is required reading for all fans of the Grateful Dead. Wonderful photographs and commentary. It brings back so many memories from years past that I find myself not being able to put it down. I will most likely buy a second copy, just to have it for future enjoyment when I wear this one out. Great job Jay!

The photographs in this book evoke a community and a culture that was a huge part of my own life during the Grateful Dead touring years. Looking through these photographs brought back so many great memories, and finding photos of familiar faces and places was both nostalgic and sentimental and at the same time incredibly satisfying. Thank you Jay!

This book is great. It covers all the main points with money saving tips. This book has it all and it explains it in a very easy no fuss way with hundreds of diagrams.

When I decided I wanted to learn a little bit more about what makes my car tick, and perhaps find out on my own what that annoying (and fairly bad sounding) whir was, I decided to check online for a few introductive books. This was the best one I found. It explained everything in a very intuitive and helpful manner. I recommend it to anyone curious about what their amazing automobile really is, and why it took so long for them to come about. Yes, they're pretty complicated, but a whole lot of fun when you figure them out.

Reading this extremely helpful and sage guide to automotive understanding, I wondered: Is there any machine in our lives on which we depend more, and about which we know less? My relation with cars has long been superficial: the key, the radio dial, the window, the seat belt. Jackson's humorous and knowledgeable book gives us non-mechanical types a look under the hood. Ingeniously, she develops the analogy of the human body; cars, like our bodies, require regular maintenance, fluids, are sensitive to environment, etc. Buy this book: your car (and your checking account) will thank you.

This book sumarizes the things I have been trying to teach to our children. I bought one copy for each of our four children upon their H.S. graduation.

These are the tips you have acknowledged and learned, but never thought to write down. I am glad someone did.

Bravo!

Wonderfully simple, realisitc, and character-enriching admonitions for anyone wishing to be their best.

I enjoy picking up this book now and then and browsing through some of the wonderful advice by Mr. Brown. I found my book was missing a couple of weeks ago and discovered it up in my teenager's room. Imagine that! I think I'll just leave it there.

Read it cover to cover Christmas day-and over and over since

This is a good book for divers. It lists all the pertinent info about each site (i.e. water temp, sites to see, best time to visit, etc). I would definitely recommend buying this book. The pictures are awesome!

A really good book with great pictures. A source of inspiration if you're planning a diving trip. Obviously written by someone who really enjoys diving and knows what he's talking about. A lot of practical advice too. A must for divers!

My book discussion group read Guilty Pleasures this month. It was the first non-fiction book we ever selected. The book is a lot of fun, but it has serious parts, too, so it made for a good discussion.

I love to read in the same way that some people love eating chocolates. Just as they disregard warnings as to caloric intake in making their selections and opt for the largest, darkest,or prettiest piece in the box, so, too, I disregard the admonition not to judge a book by its cover and often select a book by its size, heft, and cover. Guilty Pleasures meets all of my superficial criteria: it has a pleasing fit to the hand, a weight perfect for horizontally-inclined literati such as I, and an eye-catching cover filled with colorful shoes such that one's eye is drawn to the authorship on the suspicion (unfounded) that this is Immelda Marcos' work. Of course, as my chocoholic friends might say, "the proof is in the pudding" and the quality of a book is in the reading. Just as a square of fudge delights as it melts and clings to the palate, Guilty Pleasures delights the mind. Eight women writers unrepentantly share the joys they find in ordinary and not so ordinary pleasures running a quixotic gamut from taking antidepressants to applying toenail polish, from crossword fanaticism to extorting money from one's parents. The writing is refreshingly witty, wicked, and wise. Although these small gems of essays are assembled of necessity in an order, I recommend reading them haphazardly. After all, what chocolate lover would adhere to the map on the candy box, eating all the creams first before proceeding to the nuts? There are enough strictures in life! Just open the book and enjoy at random. And, yes, the next time you need to tote a small gift somewhere, you might forego the candy and bring along a copy of Guilty Pleasures. Think of it as a book lover's fudge!

These authors have tapped into a huge vein (keg?) of human experience. Each essay details a different furtive joy, and I could feel their pleasure even in the ones I couldn't identify with myself.
There are no morals given; no helpfull hints; just honest enjoyment of many things that may not fit our public personas or enhance our professional images. Before I even finished the book, I found myself mentally starting to examine my own guilty pleasures. It's so nice to know that I'm not alone in admitting that I do get a thrill out of a few somewhat dubious activities.
My daughter keeps dipping into this book, too. Obviously, it's appeal is multi-generational.

Tom Jackson tells us the life is not fair or nice or just or safe or pretty but it is drenched through and through in Grace.
This ever present and radically surprising Grace manifests in and through the broken wounded sinful lives of ordinary human beings many of whom would not be welcome in church. This book is the stories of the Grace drenching that is always closer to us than we are to ourselves.....just like the Gospel tells us it is. Dare you..!!!!!

I picked up "In Any Given Moment" on a weekend and cancelled all other plans until I had finished reading it. Although this book is about one man's experience and viewpoint, I found my own story, my own lessons, my own heartbreaks, and my own fears in each chapter. What is the book about? It's about all of us. Will you like it? If you're looking for a book that will help you feel comfortable, then no. But if you're looking for a story that will help you wake up to the grace that is alive in any given moment, then what are you waiting for?

Living deep in the Bible Belt where so many "talk the talk" while simultaneously building higher walls of exclusivity, it is a breath of fresh air to read about Fr. Tom and his community's day-in and day-out commitment to "walk the walk." With his stubborn unwillingness to tone down his frustrations at the hypocrisy he encounters, Fr. Tom's narrative will offend some but inspire many. Readily admitting his own imperfections, he describes his and the community's struggles to create positive change in the lives of many on society's fringe. Whether purposely or not, this book will challenge its readers to reflect upon their own lives and to what degree their daily actions are a reflection of their professed faith.

This book is a near-vegan treatise on southern cooking, and the dishes are truly authentic. Jackson's style is friendly and easy to follow, and she and I share the same cooking philosophy -- that every dish is an experiment and every recipe is just a launching pad.

The recipe for Greens is a testament to its merits. Somehow Jackson manages to recreate the rich taste of salt pork that is normally used in traditional Southern greens recipes. Other standout recipes are Flawless Cornbread, Wild Woman's Bar-Be-Que Sauce and Big Bubba's Tofu. Another treat that makes the book worthwhile is the section on household hints, from how to season a cast-iron pan to how to ripen an avocado.

I was excited to come across this cookbook and am very glad to have bought it. Lots of comfort foods, and all really really tasty. Haven't made a bad one yet. Fried okra is just like my dad used to make (minus the bacon fat)

we use this one alot... the greens and the cornbread are perfect, if you want good ole southern food. Also love the trailer trash recipes, and the descriptions of picnics and summer nights. Good tips for using leftovers, and last nite's leavings.

"The Hunting of the Snark" is a brilliant nonsense-poem. Yet Gardner has seen fit to put pretentious, geeky, ...pedantic annotations all over it. Now I like nonsense, but the vulgarly rational "sense" of some of these annotations irritates me. Do we really need to know that the word "BOMB" begins and ends with B (thereby relating it to the Boojum) and that OM is the Hindu name of God??? Do we really need to know of a political cartoon in which Kruschev says "BOO", and does Gardner have to tell us that he was trying to say Boojum??

Annotations should be done in the manner of Gardner's own annotations of Alice in Wonderland. Now those were annotations that made *sense*. Annotations that simply explained out of date concepts, gave relevant details from Carroll's own life, or obscure humour. That's all! That is what annotations should be like.

The pedantic geekery of these annotations remind me of the...games of Star Trek fanatics (or Sherlock Holmes fanatics).

The poem is brilliant, though; and the illustrations were funny, before the annotations over-analysed them.

Lewis Carroll is brilliant in this piece. First of all the poetical music is perfect, absolutely perfect, and yet the words don't mean much. Many of these words are not even to be found in any dictionary. Be it only for the music, this piece is astonishingly good. But the piece has a meaning. I will not enter the numerical value of the numbers used in the poem : 3, 42, 6, 7, 20, 10, 992, 8, and I am inclined to say etc because some are more or less hidden here and there in the lines. Hunting for these numbers is like hunting for the snark, an illusion. But the general meaning of the poem is a great allegory to social and political life. A society, any society gives itself an aim, a target, a purpose and everyone is running after it without even knowing what it is. What is important in society is not what you are running after or striving for, but only the running and the striving. Lewis Carroll is thus extremely modern in this total lack of illusions about society, social life and politics : just wave a flag of any kind, or anything that can be used as a flag and can be waved, in front of the noses of people and they will run after it or run in the direction it indicates. They love roadsigns and social life is a set of roadsigns telling you where to go. Everyone goes there, except of course the roadsigns themselves who never go in the direction they indicate. Lewis Carroll is thus the first post-modern poet of the twenty-first century. He just lived a little bit too early.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

I am a fan of Lewis Carroll, but somehow was unaware of the existence of an edition of "The Hunting of the Snark" with annotations. As someone who tremendously enjoys Martin Gardner's "Annotated Alice," I heartily recommend this book to like-minded readers. Gardner's annotations and introduction set the stage for the reader, putting the composition of the poem in its proper context in Victorian England, and in Lewis Carroll's life. And as with "Annotated Alice" the annotations are fascinating and amusing in their own right. "The Hunting of the Snark" is one of Carroll's lesser-appreciated (or at least lesser-known) works, and this paperback is an excellent introduction.

I noticed some confusion in the Amazon listings for this book, so let me clarify that the edition with Gardner's annotations is the paperback, and for illustrations it contains reproductions of Henry Holiday's original woodcuts from the 1800's. There are only eight pictures, and these are in old-fashioned style which may turn off some modern readers. This edition does not contain the illustrations - listed in the review of the hardcover editions - by Jonathan Dixon, nor the illustrations by Mervyn Peake also listed as available in hardcover from Amazon.

To Snark fans, though, I would unhesitatingly recommend both those editions as well. Dixon's is little-known, but excellent, the most profusely illustrated Snark, with pictures on every page in lush, gorgeously detailed and humorous pen and ink. It may still be available through the website of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America, who published it in a small edition. Peake's drawings are also in beautiful black and white, and capture his own rather dark, quirky "Gormenghast" take on the poem. (A good companion, too, to the recently released editions of "Alice" with Peake's drawings.)

This game is the best. The only problem I have is that every page you read falls out after you turn the page. Spiral binding would be great for this game because the game master has to use the book often if he is following any of the preplaned adventures. I would give it 5 stars if the binding were better.

This is a great game for anyone who has ever wanted to be a chartoon character. Or just for anyone who loves cartoons. Like the best board games (Balderdash, Malarky), the important thing is having fun and making the other players laugh. ...

Toon: The Cartoon Role-playing Game was published by Steve Jackson Games in the mid-1980s, and many copies of the sourcebooks are still available with a little effort. This RPG primarily focuses upon American-style cartoons where truly anything goes!!! The entire focus of Toon is to be funny and to do and say things which are funny... and many anime characters and series fit quite well into this worldview: Debutante Detective Corps, Project A-ko, Otaku no Video, Galaxy Fraulein Yuna, Idol Project, the Slayers saga, City Hunter, D4 Princess, Mezzo Forte, etc.

One of the most popular Toon campaigns is the Toon Olympics. Those familiar with the Hanna-Barbara Laff-a-Lympics series already have an idea of the premise of Toon Olympics: Bring together many animated characters from various series/genres and have them compete in a number of sporting events. When I first played the Toon Olympics, one player created his own cursed medieval knight character with a sentient sword which didn't always do as he commanded (which he later played in a Sailor Moon RPG campaign I was then running), someone else played a unicorn (who eventually had to drive a car), another played as Lara Croft, and I personally played as A-ko - truly an eclectic bunch!!!

However, anime fans should NOT overlook Toon as a role-playing option. Granted, Toon is not as adaptable to a wide variety of campaigns (for campaign genre/character adaptability, see the Big Eyes Small Mouth second edition sourcebook); however, for a change of pace, Toon can be used to give almost any anime character (pre-existing or original) a chance to be a comedian. For example, when I played in another Toon Olympics as A-ko, I called upon B-ko to fight a Pokémon in my place, with the promise of conceding C-ko to her if she should win (that was funny enough to earn me an extra Plot Point)!!!