A great look at the Cathedrals' history, George Younce and Glen Payne's stories, and the gospel music business in general. A MUST read for anyone who has ever listened to gospel music!

A great book for Cathedral's fans. The lives of these two gentlemen are a true example of what being in God's service is all about. They have touched hearts and lives for decades with their music. My only complaint is that it was too short and I hope someday, the full and complete story of Glen Payne and George Younce will be told.

WOW! As a fan of the Cathedrals, I loved reading about the 2 Sr members. The Lord worked in both of their lives to bring them together to bless us all with their music and their commitment to the call on their lives. If you love the Cathedrals, you will LOVE this book!!!!!!!!!!

As practicing Yoga therapist, perhaps my best recommendation is to note that I have spiral bound my own copy and some of the pages are becoming a bit dog-eared.

This is a well written, sound introductory guide to Yoga therapy, written by two of the Western leaders in this emerging discipline. The text has an elegant simplicity, reflecting years of experience. I especially appreciate the thoughtful allopathic medical advice and wise lifestyle counseling well integrated with the Yoga practices. I also appreciate the extensive resource guide and the many academic references. The book as a whole provides much insight for students, yoga teachers and other health care practitioners wanting to explore the many possibilities for Yoga for health and wellness as well as an alternative or complementary therapy.

As a teacher attempting to work with individuals as a whole, however, I remain somewhat uncomfortable with the connotations of the title of this book. Yoga therapy is not a set of mechanical prescriptions for common ailments. That sort of cookbook assumption does a disservice to the breadth of the discipline, the role of a teacher and the many dimensions to each student. The authors, of course, know this well. Larry Payne has done much pioneering work in Yoga therapy and in bridging this discipline to the allopathic medical community.

In my view, the practices in the book are more illustrative of general principles applied to specific individuals and situations at a point in time rather than prescriptions that can be easily generalized. In that sense, this book may be more appropriate for the experienced Yoga therapist who will be familiar with various caveats, alternative approaches and broader dimensions to Yoga practice.

For example, chronic lower back pain is probably the most common complaint brought to Yoga therapists. The practice suggested in the book should be helpful to many in "typical" situations and I have used it successfully with some of my own students. Few students are typical, however. For many students that particular sequence will be too strong, or too gentle or too long, or contains a contraindicated movement, such as the twist. In real life, many students will have other important health considerations besides unspecified lower back pain, e.g., a different limiting injury, excessive stiffness or flexibility, difficulty breathing, depression, perhaps even much experience in Yoga from another tradition, etc.

Many students will have, or will soon develop, other goals for practice besides pain relief. Increased physical & psychological strength and private spiritual support are two common, but much different aspects of Yoga practice that can be woven in or stimulated from therapeutic applications.

Finally, perhaps more than a technique, students may most need a relationship with a teacher who will see them as a whole, something they might not find in the conventional health care environment.

From those perspectives, there is no substitute for working with a well-trained and experienced therapist. Finding a qualified practitioner, however, may be difficult. This is common with many emerging CAM therapies, but perhaps especially acute in Yoga. There are no standards for Yoga therapists and few in-depth training programs.

An obvious companion to this book is Yoga for Wellness by Gary Kraftsow (from the same teaching lineage). Compare, for example, the much stronger sequence for working with the lower back in that book and the emphasis on case studies. Together, these two books provide a rich, complementary perspective on Yoga therapy.

For those interested in Yoga and complementary and alternative medicine, I recommend The Yoga of Healing by T. K. V. Desikachar and Dr. Arjun Rajabopalan. Also The Best Alternative Medicine by Dr. Kenneth Pelletier. For broader and deeper perspectives on Yoga from the same lineage, see The Heart of Yoga by Desikachar and Yoga for Body Breath and Mind by A. G. Mohan. Practicing or aspiring Yoga therapists should be subscribers, or course, to the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, co-founded by Larry many years ago.

Yoga Rx is a user-friendly introduction to how Yoga Therapy adapts the practices of yoga to the needs of people with specific health problems. It is an important book for bridging the gap between yoga teachers, doctors and other health professionals. Both busy doctors and their patients will benefit tremendously from reading Yoga Rx. As a companion to this book, I recommend Yoga: the Path to Holistic Health, by B.K.S. Iyengar, which illustrates the use of props in therapeutic yoga programs.I highly recommend Yoga Rx to teachers of all traditions. 100 Sun Salutations to Larry Payne and Dr.Richard Usatine for writing this empowering book! Suza Francina, author, The New Yoga for People Over 50 and Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause.

Yoga is a perfect remedy for anxiety.The book Yoga RX gives you the tools you need to improve your bodys reaction to stress.Everything is explained in a professional but clear manner and gives you simple breathing methods that are extremely helpful.Thank you for this great resource! Lisa Marino TX

He rings the bell often for any who have ever delved into and admired philosophical Taoism, but not without a price as paid to Christianity, contemporary Judaism and Acquisitionism... Payne has obviously paid his dues in all quarters and more importantly, to erudition. A masterful work complete with episodic prose-poetry.

I, too, read this book several years ago and remember it vividly. For a long time it was almost like a bible for me. I carried it everywhere, would read parts of it to friends. I found that it engaged every emotion. I particularly enjoyed the first part, where the"orphan' boy sets out on his journey from the great canyons of China to find his father in the great canyons of Wall Street. Every scene is vivid and gripping, especially the one in which he comes upon the great panda bear - a terrifying and thrilling omen (no cuddly stereotyping here!) This is a book that is very funny and mysterious at the same time, a combination of gloppy egg foo yung and stirring oriental mysticism. (With a little deli thrown in for variety). How did he manage to do it? This writer is a magician and "Confessions" is a literary classic - your loss if you miss it.

I love his work. It is compelling and beautiful and this is his most incredible story. It is about adventure, family, love and the search for self. It is a life changing book and I wish he would hurry up with that sequel to Ruin Creek!

I agree with the earlier reviews but I'd like to provide some details about this book's strengths.
First, Payne places the people who made the Mississippi movement at the center the story. He tells the story of both the original local leaders who made it possible for the civil rights movement to happen in Mississippi and the activists who followed their lead in the 1960s.
Second, he extends the time span of the civil rights movement, showing that it would not have been possible without the "organizing tradition" referred to in the subtitle. Payne expertly traces the relationships and linkages between different generations of heroic troublemakers in Mississippi.
Third, he shows that the original radicals, and I mean those who wanted to change Mississippi from its roots, were those who had already challenged the system to achieve personal gain. "Bourgeois" blacks in Mississippi weren't uniformly complacent or fearful. Wisely, Payne does not use this fact to justify any notion of a "talented tenth" that ought to lead the masses.
Fourth, the chapter on Ella Baker is a stunning and riveting account of one heroic troublemaker who didn't receive enough recognition for her efforts.
Fifth, when Payne writes about what we typically consider the civil rights movement, he places you in the midst of the activists and makes you feel their exhileration, exhaustion, frustration, fear, and courage. Scholarly books never have this quality. At the same time, he does this in a historical context and with a critical eye which absolutely illuminate the raw material in a way that first-person and journalistic treatments rarely approach.
For these reasons, and many more, this is clearly the best of many excellent books on the civil rights movement. Some could fault Payne for placing less emphasis on the national and institutional dimensions of the freedom struggle. But, in the case of the black American struggle for freedom, Payne shows us the story begins with, and is carried by, people who tried to change their communities, not their nation.

As a history major, I have various interests. One of my favorite things to study is the civil rights movement. Of all the books that I have seen, few match the caliber of this book. It takes the state of Mississippi (which may be the book's greatest irony)and shows how powerful a grassroots movement such as the civil rights movement can be with the proper forms of leadership. I urge anyone who is interested in learning about the civil rights movement should start with this book!

Two years ago the author taught a short course at my college on the Mississippi civil rights movemement. He used this book, and I've been recommending it to people ever since. His style and content are both amazing, and I feel really lucky to have had an opportunity to read this book in a course structured around it. _I've Got the Light of Freedom_ offers a new perspective on the way history is taught and remembered. Organizing and people's history are emphasized in what happens to be one of the best movement books out there. It's everything scholarly writing should be. Kudos to Charles Payne.

This book was recommended to me by a friend. I was skeptical about the practicality of the "minimal effort = maximum weight loss" plan that is stated on the cover. But this book is not about minimal effort or maximum weight loss. It's about a practical approach to developing and maintaining a lifestyle that will result in a heathier body. Isaacson and his co-authors provide details and specific guidelines for a simple, logical plan of diet and exercise that even I have been able to follow.

This book is different from any diet book I've ever read (and I've read them all). It emphasizes small changes for slow, long-term weight loss. This isn't a quick fix. Each week you add one small change to your eating - for example, in the first week, you're to drink 16oz of water every few hours. The second week you add another small diet or activity change and so on.

What I love about this approach is that there are no forbidden foods, and you choose how much you want to lose as well as the amount of time you'd like to take. For example, I want to lose 15 lbs. At first I decided to lose it in 12 weeks, but I found that if I choose 20 weeks, I'd be able to eat a little bit more each day, which means I will be more likely to successfully follow the plan to the end. I will update this review in 20 weeks and let you know if I followed through with it.

The worksheets make it easy and fun to ensure that you're sticking to the Equation - I think this is going to work for me.

UPDATE - I've been on this program for four weeks now and have lost 7 lbs - this doesn't sound too hot, but I have actually decreased my workouts. I used to work out 5-6 times per week, now I'm down to 3-4. For me, eating less is more important for weight loss than exercise, and this book helps me to do so w/ little effort.

Great book, easy to follow, and great reasults. You will love it.

As a forced convert from Word Perfect, I was looking for a resource that would allow me to do two things: (1) learn Microsoft Word; and (2) integrate it into my practice.

Ms. Payne's book helped me with the first task and made Word a much easier program for me to utilize.

I was somewhat disappointed, however, in the second aspect. I would like to automate my litigation documents to a greater extent, but I couldn't fully realize this goal. At the end of the day, I'd like to turn out better, more polished legal documents, but, I think there are some limitations in either my own understanding or the software that prevent me from being as effective as I'd like. At more than 700 pages, Ms. Payne's book certainly contains a good deal of information and suggestions as to how Word can be used in a law firm environment, but I found it to be most helpful as a Microsoft Word resource.

I found the book easy to follow with a lot of useful information in the form of tips and cautions. I purchased the book to prepare for the Word 2002 MOUS exam (and passed). I cannot recommend it highly enough.

The legal industry pushes documentation applications to the max. I had never been a major fan of previous versions of Word as a user *and* a technical trainer. Microsoft has finally introduced a version of Word I can train users in without having to be the bearer of bad news to my students with "You can but..." WordPerfect fans can't chortle anymore. Does this version of Word knock the socks off of WordPerfect? Not exactly. Can it compete? You better believe it.

And now for the book review. It was a joy to read. How about that? This one isn't dry like the other book that will remain nameless. No hard feelings really. Kitty shredded it. Perhaps, kitty isn't as dumb as I thought.

I'm probably my worst student. I've got the attention span of gold fish. For me, it's get to the point, I'll pass on the fluff, and tell me something I don't already know. This is the strongest introduction to Word specifically for the legal industry *and,* dare I say, power users. Very few errors. Solid exercises. I highly recommend it for newbies and self-proclaimed experts alike. There's something for everyone. It's a good read and their tips & tricks are valueable. This one's a keeper from home desk to brief case to office.

Bravo/Brava Payne Consulting Group!

Before reading this book, I had read many books relating to job interview preparation but was unable to prepare myself for a succesfull interview. After reading this book, Guerilla Tactics for Job Seekers, the book is a must read for all the people who are looking for a a better and succesful job.

I was very fortunate to have read this book "Guerilla Tactics for Job Seekers", it really reveals the secrets and facts of life to face this world to how to Get the Job I wanted by overcoming objections and confidence by reading this wonderful book. Now I got a good job and my family is also happy thanks to this book by Mr. R. E. Payne MBA PH. D. I would suggest to the fresh graduates to read this book and gain the confidence to come up in this competitive world.

Young people who need help finding a job need this book. It does more than show how to write and distribute resumes, it tells you how to use the Internet and how to organize networking activities. What I liked most was the explanation on how to prepare for an interview!

This amazing treatise on human knowledge has one little fault. The editors at Open Court left out eleven words in the Tranlator's Introduction. This omission should gratify present-day philosophers in that it turns Schopenhauer's words into modern-sounding nonsense. I will surround the omitted words with parentheses. On page xx, Schopenhauer is quoted: " ...so that I cannot hope ever to find a more correct and accurate expression of that core of my philosophy (than what is there recorded. Whoever wishes to know my philosophy) thoroughly and investigate it seriously must take that chapter into consideration." You see, the occurrence of the word "philosophy" twice in close proximity utterly confused them. I notified Open Court but did not receive an acknowledgement. Other than this, I have to judge this book as one of the few life-changing writings that occur a few times every century. For laughs, read Heidegger's "Principle of Reason" and compare the two.

The Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason is a theory of cognition. It is a vision of the homo cognoscendi. Inexplicably, unjustifiably, it still remains largely unknown.

Schopenhauer first wrote it as his doctorate dissertation, improving it substantially more than thirty years later when his entire system of thought, the philosophy of the world as will and representation, was already established. It is this second edition that since 1974 was made available to the English-speaking world by his excellent translator, Eric F.J. Payne.

A true machine-gun of clear connections, thinking and giving to think in all directions, the book takes on the greatest thinkers of the western world up to its time, challenges long-established truths, religious dogmas, and sets the stage for one of the most - perhaps the most, apart from psychoanalysis - far-reaching metaphysical tours-de-force the human mind has been able to make unassistedly, that is, abandoned by the gods and fate. What we find in this little treatise is a most valuable source of insight into psychology, epistemology, physics and all present sciences.

There is a second merit in it, and this brings us to its quantum leap. The treatise does not only present a theory of cognition tout-court, but indeed a Kantian theory of cognition. Kantian in its ambition, Kantian in its method; Kantian in recognizing that outside its reference to that who knows, namely the subject of knowledge, the entire knowable, objective reality becomes a contradiction in terms, and cannot be even conceived of.

Still, its most impressive feat is its objective itself. In the less than 300 pages of the treatise, Schopenhauer does have the ambition of exhausting the entire reality and all possible objects of experience. If he succeeded in achieving this, the cohesiveness of his entire system of thought can and must be studied in its timelessness. On the other hand, even if problems and challenges are left in relation to what mankind has discovered and concluded ever since, there still remains the legacy of his method, an all-time gem, and the insight that by means of the principle of sufficient reason the entire sensible reality can be surveyed.

Now, the reader of this review may ask him or herself: but how could it be possible that someone exhausts the totality of reality and knowable objects in one single, small book? If we allow ourselves to think that the world is a sum of its facts, events, and objects, this enterprise would seem to be an utter absurdity even if we considered the knowledge mankind had in the early nineteenth century, the year of 1813 when its first version came out. But then... There is the Kantian secret, 'the world is my representation', and this insight no one can take from modernity. Content implies form, and for transcendental philosophy, this is what truly matters.

Along its eight chapters, the book is focused on the four manners in which man can, according to the author, know reality, infer causes and consequences, conditioning and conditioned, associate concepts, and ask for the whys of the world. At the same time, Schopenhauer provides a detailed account of the human powers and faculties at work: the understanding (Verstand, which in the main work is nicknamed after Indian philosophy as 'the veil of Maya'), the faculty of Reason (Vernunft), pure sensibility (here we have a most interesting restatement of Kant's transcendental aesthetic, and a critique of Euclid's axioms), and inner sensibility (the magic track on which the riddle of the world could, according to the philosopher, be solved). The Fourfold Root is a crucial book also in the discussion of pure reason, in attempting to prove the apriority of causality (against David Hume), in consolidating man's active place and role in the process of knowledge, and in answering Kant's question 'Is metaphysics possible, after all?' An additional remark, in my view, is that it also provides a most precious criterion for the demarcation of the sciences: according to the way we know objects in them.

Professors of philosophy and philosophers alike, it is high time we study Schopenhauer, in all his immodesty, in all seriousness. One may wish to dismiss the central construction of his work, his metaphysics of the will, as a theory of voluntarism, of utter irrationalism, or of unnecessary pessimism. In other works, when we see his comments on women and on theism, our first impression may well be one of rebuff. All these questions can and must be treated on their own merit; in the case of women, I judge Schopenhauer as unfair; in the case of theism, as right and noble.

But what will we do with the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason, the most thorough and ambitious investigation of 'the mother of all science' in the history of philosophy? Will anyone be able to challenge this basic claim?

I apologize to the reader if my review seems to be too promising, too euphoric and optimistic about this book. However, after having read it, I do trust that he or she will agree with me that it should be handled with the care a most unique specimen deserves. In addition to the 'Critique of the Kantian Philosophy', appended to the first volume of The World as Will and Representation, seriousness in making oneself clear in regard to foundations and connections in one's work present themselves undeniably, though still controversially in its main claims.

In the end, one wonders whether it is our time (with all the sound and fury of its technology, barions and genes) that challenges Schopenhauer's teachings or the reverse. And even if his claims seem to be unsustainable, we still get to know in a direct way, and without a shadow of a doubt, what human excellence in philosophy really is.

This work is well written, like the rest of Schopenhauer's books, and many of its arguments stand strong today. That the understanding is active in perception, that percpetion is intellectual, is a huge step beyond Kant. Furthermore, Schopenhauer's claim that causality is necessary for sense experience, though not proving the a priori nature of causality as he thought, is strong and holds true whether one is a realist or an idealist. In the case of realism, sense experience is gotten by the affectation of objects upon the body, and in the case of idealism, sense experience is the production of the individual, and thus causality is necessary either way. One may object to Schopenhauer's attempt to rationalize everything down to human action - that he makes the entire phenomenal world deterministic. But he has strong arguments for this as well which are further explained in On the Basis of Morality and On the Freedom of the Will. Schopenhauer is one of the few philosophers I still enjoy reading, and rather than finding gaps in his system... people would do well to learn from him. While this work prepares the way for his whole system, and is essential to understanding particulary Book One and the Appendix on Kant of his magnum opus, this work should make any openminded empirical realist uneasy, though it does not prove the radical kind of Berkeleian idealism to which Schopenhauer subscribed.

I bought my copy of this book several years ago. It is a wonderful basic cookbook with lots of creative recipes. It is easy to follow, with lots of pictures and step by step instructions. I gave a copy to my daughter when she got her own apartment, and now am ordering one for my new daughter in law. It makes a wonderful gift.

I love to cook and try new recipies often. I have a collection of more than 200 cookbooks, many of them from other countries. I use all of them occasionally and a few of them frequently. The Southern Living Cookbook is one of the books I use most often, for all types of foods. Even after searching other books for unusual, foreign or favorite recipies with a different flair, I find myself coming back to The Southern Living Cookbook. Recipies are easy to follow and the pictures are gorgeous. I have given this book to both my daughters, who also love to cook. Thanks for many hours of pleasure you have given me and my guests!

No cook should be without this cookbook! Absolutely one of the best cookbooks ever! All the recipes are fantastic, and easy to make! Definitely on my Top-10 list of favorite cookbooks! I loved this cookbook so much, I purchased all the other Southern Living cookbooks! This is one cookbook that I would recommend to all my friends and family!

Ten young Florentine noblemen and women escaping the Black Death in Florence in 1348 entertain themselves by each relating a story per day for ten days - 100 entertaining stories in all, mostly set in and around medieval Florence. Although famously naughty, none of these stories strikes a modern reader as more than mildly erotic. Rather, they consistently astonish by their thoroughly modern message that women are as good as men, nobility doesn't come from birth, sanctity doesn't come from the church, and - above all - true love must never be denied. Amazingly, Boccaccio often delivers this message while pretending to say the exact opposite; sometimes he presents very sympathetic characters who get away with things thought scandalous in his time, offering a mere token condemnation at the end, while other times he depicts someone actually following the accepted code and committing some horrible act of cruelty in the process. Either way - and despite his claims to be upholding convention - we always know what he really means, and apparently he didn't fool too many people in his own day either.

But one doesn't need to focus on the revolutionary aspects of the Decameron to enjoy the book; each of the stories delights the reader with a different tasty morsel, and, you can read as much or as little at a time as you please. Once you get past the introduction, (and that's probably the most serious part of the book, so be sure not to give up before you get to the first story) the stories will make you laugh, make you cringe, and make you sit on the edge of your seat. Inspiring authors from Chaucer to Shakespeare and entertaining audiences for over 700 years, the Decameron continues to delight.

I had to read a good part of "The Decameron" last quarter and I have gone back to read more stories from it even though the Fall quarter is over. This is a great book: funny, entertaining, subtly revolutionary, insightful, and superbly well-written. Approach it without fear. It is a Classic, but it will have you laughing, thinking, and learning far better than any current best-seller. Anyone with an interest in journalism and/or history will profit from Boccaccio's Introduction, at the beginning of the First Day. His description of the Plague in Florence is vivid and gripping, and this eventually provides the background for the setting of the one hundred and one tales that seven young women and three young men will narrate in a villa away from the dying city. Also, the Introduction to the Fourth Day presents the reader with an unfinished, but hilarious story about a man who has been kept away from women. This story is what my teacher called the 101st, and I have to agree with her.

Do not think that all "The Decameron" deals with is sex. The mostly illicit sexual encounters depicted are some times funny, sometimes sad, but they share a common trait with the stories from the Tenth Day, for example (these ones are mostly about sacrifice, abnegation, and servitude), or with those of the Second: Boccaccio's concern for his society and the terrible tensions that had reached a breaking point by the 14th century. The Plague, in Boccaccio's universe, acts as a catalyst of emotions, desires, and changes that had to come.

Read, then, about Alibech putting the Devil back in Hell, Lisabetta and her pot of basil, Ser Ceperello and his "saintly" life, Griselda and her incredible loyalty in spite of the suffering at the hands of a God-like husband, Tancredi and his disturbing love for his daughter, Masetto and the new kind of society he helps create with some less-than-religious nuns, and then it will be easier to understand why Boccaccio is so popular after 650 years. And although it may be skipped by most readers, do not miss the Translator's (G. M. McWilliam) introduction on the history of "The Decameron" proper, and that of its many, and mostly unfortunate, translations into English. This book is one of the wisest, most economic ways of obtaining entertainment and culture. Do not miss it.

Giovanni Boccaccio THE DECAMERON. Second Edition. Translated with an Introduction and Notes by G. H. McWilliam. cli + 909 pages. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 1995. ISBN 0-14-044629-X (Pbk).

Second-hand opinions can do a lot of harm. Most of us have been given the impression that The Decameron is a lightweight collection of bawdy tales which, though it may appeal to the salacious, sober readers would do well to avoid. The more literate will probably be aware that the book is made up of one hundred stories told on ten consecutive days in 1348 by ten charming young Florentines who have fled to an amply stocked country villa to take refuge from the plague which is ravaging Florence.

Idle tales of love and adventure, then, told merely to pass the time by a group of pampered aristocrats, and written by an author who was quite without the technical equipment of a modern story-teller such as Flannery O'Connor. But how, one wonders, could it have survived for over six hundred years if that's all there were to it? And why has it so often been censored? Why have there always been those who don't want us to read it?

A puritan has been described as someone who has an awful feeling that somebody somewhere may be enjoying themselves, and since The Decameron offers the reader many pleasures it becomes automatically suspect to such minds. In the first place it is a comic masterpiece, a collection of entertaining tales many of which are as genuinely funny as Chaucer's, and it offers us the pleasure of savoring the witty, ironic, and highly refined sensibility of a writer who was also a bit of a rogue. It also provides us with an engaging portrait of the Middle Ages, and one in which we are pleasantly surprised to find that the people of those days were every bit as human as we are, and in some ways considerably more delicate.

We are also given an ongoing hilarious and devastating portrayal of the corruption and hypocrisy of the medieval Church. Another target of Boccaccio's satire is human gullibility in matters religious, since, then as now, most folks could be trusted to believe whatever they were told by authority figures. And for those who have always found Dante to be a crushing bore, the sheer good fun of The Decameron, as Human Comedy, becomes, by implication (since Boccaccio was a personal friend of Dante), a powerful and compassionate counterblast to the solemn and cruel anti-life nonsense of The Divine Comedy.

There is a pagan exuberance to Boccaccio, a frank and wholesome celebration of the flesh; in contrast to medieval Christianity's loathing of woman we find in him what David Denby beautifully describes as "a tribute to the deep-down lovableness of women" (Denby, p.249). And today, when so many women are being taught by anti-sex radical feminists to deny their own bodies and feelings, Boccaccio's celebration of the sexual avidity of the natural woman should come as a very welcome antidote. For Denby, who has written a superb essay on The Decameron that can be strongly recommended, Boccaccio's is a scandalous book, a book that liberates, a book that returns us to "the paradise from which, long ago, we had been expelled" (Denby, p.248).

The present Penguin Classics edition, besides containing Boccaccio's complete text, also includes a 122-page Introduction, a Select Bibliography, 67 pages of Notes, four excellent Maps and two Indexes. McWilliam, who is a Boccaccio scholar, writes in a supple, refined, elegant and truly impressive English which successfully captures the highly sophisticated sensibility of Boccaccio himself. His translation reads not so much as a translation as an original work, though his Introduction (which seems to cover everything except what is most important) should definitely be supplemented by Denby's wonderfully insightful and stimulating essay, details of which follow:

Chapter 17 - 'Boccaccio,' in 'GREAT BOOKS - My Adventures with Homer, Rousseau, Woolf, and Other Indestructible Writers of the Western World'
by David Denby. pp.241-249. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 0-684-83533-9 (Pbk).