Others have suggested the Norton is the edition for college students. I disagree. The Hughes edition is definitely worth the money. The notes are the best -- in reading criticism on Milton, there's usually plenty of references to Mr. Hughes's notations themselves. This is the standard, accepted text. This is the complete poems, with his Latin and Italian poetry appearing ajacent to an English translation. There's a generous selection of Milton's prose, too.

Spend the wad and buy the book. If you're reading this, then you're a bibliophile, no doubt. For the rest of your life wouldn't you prefer to have the best edition of Milton on your shelf, or will you be satisified with a $9 Signet Classic? (I tossed mine.)

Check out the Dore Illustrations for PL, too.

BTW, after reading Areopagitica, I believe that everything Jeffereson said was a debt to Milton.

This is still the most extensive, best-annotated, one-volume Milton set available. As the blurb above indicates, Hughes presents all the poems and prose in chronological sequence, so it is easy to trace the great poet's increasing facility, and later mastery, in both areas. We start with Milton, the fifteen-year-old student, translating Psalms from the Hebrew as well as passages from the love poems of Ovid and Properius. We then follow him to Cambridge, where he really starts assimilating all his classical studies, first fashioning imitative Latin elegies followed by his first poems of native genius, "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity," "On Shakespeare," "L'Allegro and Il Penseroso."

Hughe's edition is invaluable as a tool for students, scholars, or general readers. The notes never get in the way of the text, but will lead the reader to relevant sources should he/she desire to learn more about a given allusion or want more background. If the reader is patient, and actually reads all the material that comes before "Paradise Lost", he/she will be rewarded with a richer understanding of Milton's magnum opus. Please be advised that if you have made it that far, don't stop there. "Paradise Regained" and "Sampson Agonistes" are powerful examples of epic poetry as well. I personally feel that "Paradise Regained" has had almost as large an impact on modern fiction in particular (Dostoevsky and Flaubert are prime examples)as has "Paradise Lost."

Blake said that Milton was of Satan's party without knowing it. Actually Milton's prose does open up some interesting possibilities in that sphere. In "Areopagitica" he advocates for the necessity of evil. He was, as history has amply recorded, hardly a defender of central authority. He was emphatic about individual liberty and wouldn't be dictated to by Pope or King.

There are several short early biographies of the poet at the end of the book. All paint a portrait of an idiosyncratic genius who suffered numerous setbacks both physical and political, particularly in his last decades. He was an extraordinarily brave man, who has taken some heat from Virginia Woolf and later feminists for his "ill use" of his daughters, who, the line goes, he kept in ignorance and near slavery so that they could aid him as ameneunses after he went blind. If such detractors had actually done any wide reading on the subject (Shawcrosse is an excellent source) they would not have made such charges. Though not what could be described as a "loving father," Milton certainly never inveighed against his daughters to remain "indentured" to him, nor did he subvert any marriage plans they arranged (none were forced into "arranged marriages" either, though the practice was still common in that era). He didn't tutor them in the Languages he asked them to transcribe, per se. But this begs the question, if they were'nt taught Latin, Greek and Hebrew, how would they have been able to act as scribes in those languages in the first place?

I'm sorry to see that this volume is now almost $100. In this day of large trade paperbacks, perhaps a more affordable edition will be forthcoming.

As a Fortune 500 Market Researcher specializing in targeted/online marketing, I can't stress enough the importance of this foundational work. If we take a step back and think about the future of e-commerce more broadly, then the true significance of Cyberpolitics becomes even clearer.

The Internet is, above all else, a vehicle for information. E-commerce is often the medium through which information is provided, organized, and housed. However, before marketers can determine the most effective means of successfully accomplishing this task, we have to gain a fuller picture of the overall audience. Since political information is a primary information need for Internet users, the dynamics of this user market is something that should interest anyone involved in e-journalism, political sites, community portals, and online information sources more broadly. I look forward to follow-up studies from the authors!

This is really a very good book, and very timely as well. Too many books about the Internet, including books about politics, investing, relationships, privacy, etc., are simply pie-in-the-sky theorizing. This book, focussing on politics, actually provides evidence through what looks like lots of research to prove its assertions. I highly recommend this book to people interested in something a bit more down to earth and less breathless about politics, the Internet, and the future.

I found that I could not put the book down. Each story kept my interest and made me at times shudder. Mr. Hughes must have first hand knowledge of strange dark places.

If you like the tales of Poe and King and the mystery of Christie, then this book of thirty stories is a must. A nice mixture of ghostly tales, sci-fi, horror and mystery in the classic style of the nineteenth century "Strand-type" publications brought into modern settings. Each tale leaves you with an emotional reaction, whether tears, laughter or just plain disbelief. Here is an author who actually has the gift of putting a beginning, middle and end to a short story that does not leave the reader feeling cheated, something very few more famous writers who try this genre ever manage to achieve. From the first dark experience, to the final twist of fate I was totally enthralled and wonder why larger publishing houses have not yet caught on to the undiscovered writing talent that is out there. The opening tale, Dark Places, left me shaking my head in disbelief and I was stunned by the final line of the story that completely reversed everything I had come to believe in the previous paragraphs. From then on I was totally hooked and found it difficult to set the book aside, wishing to enter each new realm with a fervor I had almost forgotten I had when it came to reading some of the mundane literature offered on most bookstore shelves. For anyone who enjoys this style of literature, I would thoroughly recommend it and hope you get as much enjoyment from reading it as I did. I look forward to reading more of this author's work and hope it will not be too long before the publishers make his next tome available for purchase.

Rick Bass is not your typical hunter, and The Deer Pasture is not your typical hunting story. An admitted "tree hugger," Bass uses his family deer lease as the setting for a narrative essay that deals with everything from hunting ethics and wildlife conservation to family values and romantic love. His observations on Texas Hill Country society (including the dogs--especially the dogs) are thorough without sounding scientific. Bass's Mark Twain-style humor serves as comic relief to the very serious issues that he tackles. This book is destined to become a Texas literary classic.

This is a great book for all deer hunters, especially those who hunt in the Texas Hill Country. Bass goes beyond the hunt to take a light-hearted look at why we go back to deer camp year after year. The essays put into words the excitement and wonder of hunting, the Hill Country and all the small things that make deer hunting so much more than just the hunting of deer.

I first became aware of Rian a while back, but stumbled across his website and his excellent collection of fonts. Then I spotted the drawing on the front whilst walking past it in the bookshop and I couldn't resist but to get it.

It's filled with many of his excellent designs, enough to give anyone inspiration, with design commentaries on many of them establishing the reason behind them.

If you love bright bold vector based art, you'll love the book and the freebie CD!

I first became aware of Rian Hughes in the pages of a trendy independent comics magazine called ESCAPE, in 1983. The short strip I read there, NORM, is included in this book, but it's just a tiny fraction of a fraction of the broad range of Commercial Art Rian has produced during the course of the past twenty years.

Part Retro, Part Techno, Rian's Hip Fifties-influenced style remains remarkably unique and instantly identifiable. His negative space logo for the Vertigo comic book, THE INVISIBLES is just one of a thousand brilliant designs he has graciously collected together in this beautiful hardcover collection.

The book includes a CD of font samples and desktop patterns. Buy two and give one to a friend for Christmas.I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you're not familiar with his work, you can get a taste of it over at his Device website.

I discovered this book in a store in Boston. I thought I knew a good deal about contemporary Irish poetry. However this book took me by surprise. It is outstanding. I had not come across this poet before. What a pleasure his work gave me. This is an original, I have no doubt.There is a dark imagination at work here which I don't think I have seen in modern Irish poetry. I will be ordering all of John Hughes's work . Highly recommended.

One of the few books of poetry to have made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. This book has poems which use language in an evocative and mysterious way. A challenging book in terms of the intellect and imagination at work within its covers. Highly recommended.

Since April is National Poetry Month, this would be a nice gift for a child who loves poetry. Langston Hughes died the year I was born, 1967 but his writing will live on through this book of poetry.

Hughes poems express the feelings and experiences of us all. He is well known for the poetry showing the joys and pain of African-American people. His love of writing began with his love of reading. As a lonely child, he was comforted by reading. His first poem was published in Cleveland. He continued to write over 800 poems.

The Dream Keeper is a collection of poems just for kids. I love the poem entitled: The Kids in School with Me. In this poem he describes American kids from many races (Polish, Spanish, Russian, Grecian, Chinese) and how America is made up of "Every race beneath the sun, But our motto for graduation was: One for All and All for One!"

I enjoyed this poem because it shows so well that there is room for everyone, no matter what race. I think this poem promotes social harmony and has a wonderful "sing-song" type rhyme to it.

"And the kid across from me-Just American kids together-The kids in school with me."

Another book I love is called: Tides of Memory. It is a wonderful book of poems for adults which truly will make you realize how human we all are. It explores all aspects of life.

The Dream Keeper and Other Poems is essential for anybody trying to share the beauty of Langston Hughes with children. The poems in this collection rank among Hughes' finest. Pinkney's illustrations compliment the imagery of the poetry wonderfully. Children and adults will become true Langston Hughes fans after reading this introductory book.

I know a bit of the history of interactive media, but the more I learn the more I see I don't know nothing. Well this book is helpful on the historical side, because it is talking about the people who do the things. It is helpful also when the third part of the book talk about the creative process, and how to defend yourself against people like bad managers, annoying customers and other supicious bosses.. By giving you some hints on what to replay, when somebody tells you "what ? you're doing nothing but thinking for about an hour and you still have no idea ! hurry up!" And finally, I liked reading the book, because you don't have to be in front of a computer to test examples or whatever, this book is CD-free and is proper to go on vacation, or to offer a friend or to read in the bath... I forgot, but there are also lots of internet links to deeper informations on every topics discussed in the book, well if you like reading a book in front of your computer, you also can. Like the bible, it is a book that you can read more than once..

I am an art director for an ad agency, and I design web sites. I discovered this brilliant book at the perfect time. It has made me a better designer and re-awakened my passion for what I do. This small volume is not simply a great design resource: it delves remarkably deeply into the philosophical, spiritual and even political dimensions of design, showing how and why we must infuse the work we do with heart and soul. And lest I make it sound airy-fairy, it's not; It's rigorous, practical and muscular, with not a wasted sentence. And fun to read, too. Bravo.

The Ern Malley affair is still something of an embarrassment to literate Australians. Ern Malley was the creation of two poets, James McAuley and Harold Stewart, who wanted to show up what they regarded as the insufferable pretensions of an Australian literary magazine called Angry Penguins. They concocted the fictitious Ern, gave him an irresistibly romantic biography, wrote a dozen supposedly awful poems under his name, and sent off the result. To their glee, the editor Max Harris swallowed the bait and published a special issue in Ern's memory. Then the facts came out, and avant-gardists all over Australia were made to look stupid.

That would be it, except for the bewildering irony that the Ern Malley poems aren't nearly as bad and incoherent as their authors suggested. Well, not all the time. (Heyward helpfully reprints them as an appendix so you can judge for yourself.) They oscillate in the strangest way between genius and gibberish; I have one highly-educated Aussie friend who thinks that they're the most genuinely avant-garde poetry Australia has ever produced, and Heyward is inclined to agree. The Angry Penguin crowd claimed as much, saying that the authors had surpassed themselves in their attempt to turn off conscious control over their own work. They certainly contain some haunting, extraordinary lines ("I am still / The black swan of trespass on alien waters", "I have split the infinitive. Beyond is anything.") The fact that these lines were never meant seriously by their authors raises important questions about the usefulness of discussing intention in matters of literary criticism.

Heyward's story is lucidly and wittily told. There are no clear-cut villains and heroes. Max Harris comes across as appealingly open-minded and imaginative, as well as gullible. The hoaxers weren't cynical hacks but talented and serious poets in their own right. Amongst those taken in by Ern was Australia's greatest modern painter, Sidney Nolan, who (perhaps rightly) said that it didn't matter whether the poems were "authentic" or not, so long as they worked on some level.

A remarkable book, not only in its picture of mid-century Australian cultural history but also in the tricky questions it asks about sense vs. nonsense in art and the motives behind cultural battles.

A brilliantly researched and wittily written chronicle of a great literary hoax. In the nineteen forties Australia's avant-garde arts magazine ANGRY PENGUINS received a package of poems from a woman calling herself Ethel Malley, purportedly the work of her recently deceased brother Ern. The magazine's editor was so overwhelmed with the poems that he published the entire oeuvre in a special edition of the magazine. Then word began to get about that neither Ethel nor Ern Malley actually existed, and that the poems were a hoax. The hunt for the culprits was on. The is a great read: a literary detective story, an intriguing picture of the cultural landscape of postwar Australia, and a book which confronts the reader with crucial questions about the elusive nature of aesthetic judgement.

This volume reprints the original illustrated Chaos Comics comic book series Evil Ernie: Revenge #1-4 in a trade paperback, in which you discover Evil Ernie's (an undead teenaged psychopath capable of reanimating and controlling the dead) origins and background info on Ernie; see the destruction of New York City; and meet a religious zealot who is not terribly fond of Ernie. Definately not for younger readers. Highly enjoyable for fans of the horror and misfit hero comic book genre.

This comic is 3rd in the Evil Ernie series of trade paper backs. First was Youth Gone Wild, then Resurrection, and now we see the 3rd adventure. He's searching for fresh meat, hunting down suckas as he does best. As usual they try and stop them but since Darkness Dwells in Chaos! well I'll leave the ending up to you. Highly recommended for Fiends, since NonFiends won't get the message. Evil proves to be archfiend as always, sworn to the black.