A wonderful book about a truly horrible subject, Bissinger takes us deep into the world of Ed Rendell and his fearless sidekick, David Cohen. Quite possibly the best mayor in Philadelphia's recent, spotted history, (Compare Frank "Keep the N***** Down" Rizzo and Wilson "Bombs Away" Goode), Rendell tried his best to save the city from an eroding tax base, racial politics and rampant violence.

Bissinger does a wonderful job of portraying Rendell, a deeply flawed person but expert politico. Rendell has gotten a huge amount of positive press over the years, much of it deserved, but Bissinger is willing to point out Rendell's failings and weaknesses as well. His portrait of Cohen, the Spock to Rendell's Kirk is equally compelling.

In the end though, you realize that no matter how hard Rendell tries, the effort is hopeless. He simply can't fight companies that buy out long term Philadelphia businesses and move the jobs elsewhere, a federal government that seems to actively try to destroy inner cities, a state government that goes out of it's way to humilate a company that might have brought thousands of skilled jobs to the city, and the exodus of the tax-paying middle class from the city. A sense of melancholy overlays the last few chapters as it seems that Bissinger has accepted Rendell's ultimate failure as well.

Highly recommended

In many ways, Buzz Bissinger's "A Prayer for the City" is one of the most remarkable books ever written about an American city.
In stark and sometimes shocking detail, Bissinger lays out the crises assailing the modern urban core: violence, poverty, economic development, poor public educational systems and so on. What's truly wonderful about Bissinger's book is that he leaves so many questions open. He isn't shallow or dismissive about these urban dilemmas; Bissinger doesn't give pat answers or bromides about how these problems can be solved.

And that's a remarkable achievement on the author's part, particularly given the manner in which he structures this book. Though he sketches the lives of several Philadelphia citizens, there are undeniably two central characters in this book: Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell and his Chief of Staff David Cohen. In some ways -- and I think Bissinger purposefully and effectively conveys this image - Rendell and Cohen should be seen as two sides of the same coin.

Both Rendell and Cohen possess essential characteristics that will be needed in the fight to save the city, but the skills of each are different and, as such, they need each other to do what must be done. Rendell is the affable, easy-mannered, though sometimes short-tempered old politician who is out front. Cohen is the workaholic lawyer whose ruthless attention to the minutiae and detail of public policy brings him 17-hour days and little public glory. The highly public role Rendell plays is layed out in one particularly moving section toward the beginning of the book. Bissinger details a funereal November, 1994 car ride that Rendell took to a city hospital where a police patrolman who had been shot was being treated. Bissinger describes Rendell's interaction with the policeman's family, as well as his palpable anger that a patrolman could be so senselessly cut down in the line of duty. In moving language, Bissinger shows the depth of the problem confronting Rendell and Cohen.

In addition to the generic problems besetting Philadelphia, Bissinger also details those specific to Pennsylvania's largest city. Throughout the book, Bissinger writes of Rendell's and Cohen's attempts to save the Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard from closure by the U.S. Department of the Navy. The story of the struggle for the shipyard, which means the difference between Philadelphia losing or keeping thousands of crucial jobs, provides a penetrating insight into how the municipal and federal governments often move in disparate directions, and how that can have staggering consequences for the local level.
Bissinger's tone in this book is somber, without veering into the maudlin. The author provides great detail about urban problems, but not in a voyeuristic or exploitative way. Though he is clearly rooting for Rendell, Bissinger does not become fawning or mawkish. Indeed, Bissinger's reporting is impeccable, due no doubt to the wide-open access to Rendell he was clearly granted. Primarily, "A Prayer for the City" succeeds because Bissinger set out to tell a great story, and that essential goal is something that far too many journalistic treatments miss these days.

When Ed Rendell took office, he promised that he would work overtime to saving Philadelphia. From that moment on, Buzz Bissinger was there to record his successes and failures. His new journalism prose not only tells Rendell's story, but takes the reader through the process by which this once-great American city has withered under the pressures of crime, poverty, drugs, unemployment, and population loss. Bissinger explains, in part, why people leave the city for the suburbs and how the Federal government's urban policy has favored suburban sprawl and encouraged a white flight during the past 50 years. Through the eyes of a ship-yard worker, a dedicated preacher, a city prosecutor, and a hopeful woman who moves to the city in the hope of preserving it, Bissinger adds the voices of common folks to his narrative. But, in the end, the book blends hope and despair. In spite of his efforts, Rendell's work is not enough. A mayor alone cannot save the city, so long as his ideas are held hostage by the recalcitrant forces of greedy unions and politicos who owe their careers to demagoguery and racially divisive politics. Bissinger doesn't pull any punches in this area: he talks not only about corrupt cops, but about the leaders in Philadelphia's ethnic communities who refuse to cooperate with Rendell because they'd rather reap political gain by publicly parting with him. In the end, it is clear that even though Rendell is the hardest working mayor in the city's history, even he can't do enough. It will not only take a reform-minded mayor and administration, but a willing citizenry and a serious alteration in Federal and State policy before we can revitalize the American city. But electing Ed Rendell seems like the best possible start, and a refreshing contrast to the out-of-touch political operatives who regularly grace our newsprint and televisions.

Heidi is ranked up there with, "Where the Red Fern Grows" with it's genuine love and care of the hearts of children and adults. I read this book to my children when they were in 1st and K...several times I had to stop to choke back the tears.. or laugh in exhuberance. It's a heart-warming tale of a little girl who didn't understand the "status quo" and sought to make sense of not only her own world, but those around her. Her innocense, genuine love and acceptance is so moving and so inspiring.

Heidi is very exciting. She is very outgoing and adventurous. She gets sent to the Alm Mts. with her grumpy old grandfather. She shows him how to be nice and friendly. She meets a boy named Peter and they become good friends. He then shows her his family. Heidi meets his grandmother and falls in love with her and everything that she does. She then gets sent to a weird house.She soon came home.
This book is recommended for all ages to be read to or read by you!
Why am I telling you this go read it for your self!!!

A while back when I was in my 30's (never mind how long ago that was!) I was sick with the flu, and I found a copy of HEIDI, so I crawled into a nice warm bed and re-read the book -- as an adult.

What insight into human nature! And as an adult I appreciated the dry, understated humor. I also appreciated the spiritual insights -- that God will give us what we desire, but sometims uses circumstances we don't like to teach us truths that we couldn't learn otherwise.

When I was a girl I was often turned off by what was called "good reading," but for some reason, I enjoyed Heidi and it never seemed sappy or corny.

Very much worth reading!

I am a marketing professional and was asked to read this book by a client. Needless to say, the prospect of wading through a dry, historical summary of how computer networks arrived at their current state was less than appealing. I was pleasantly surprised, however, right from the beginning. The writing is clear and while it does cover certain topics in more detail than I required I wasn't penalized for glossing over them. This book is something rare, a great introduction to the topic for laypersons and a detailed examination of how networks have evolved and where they will likely go in the future. I read it a few months back and find myself still using it as a reference since almost every term catalogued in the index is explained at several levels in the text. Simply put, this book is well written and easily read, a rarity in this field.

I think it is a comprehensive and outstanding book. It covers all I want about computer networks.So far, I think it is the best general book on computer networks.

The materials contain is quite up-to-date. Ihe content is organized in a good way. From the network foundation knowledge to internetworking, even also talk about networking security, application.

You can find more information about packet switching and internetworking in this book. I would appreciate the part of "congestion control and resource allocation". It really gives me much information about it.

It is easy to read. I think it is suitable for beginner who want a general full picture about computer networking. Although it is not a practical but theoretical book, I am still pleased to read it, at least it does not make me fall asleep.

This book should be on your shelf if you intend to study networking in the near future. It covers the fundamentals of networking real well. The bonus, of course are working examples written in C.
The book deals extensively on the design of a network. It tells us the desirable features a network should have and goes on to real world examples of the implementation of these ideas. This is another really good thing about the book. It forces you to think along the lines of a network designer and makes you realize the importance and effort put into different networks and protocols.
The working C code is also a really nice feature. This gives you a jumpstart in case you arent much into design as much as you are into coding. The good thing about the programs are that they are extesible, meaning that they can be extended to whatever levels required. Overall, its a good buy.

While my Pretty One Sleeps was a typical Mary Higgins Clark novel, filled with suspense, mystery, and murder. While it was a good book, it wasn't one of Clark's better novels. Clark is a good writer, however; While my Pretty One Sleeps isn't as good as some of her others like All Around the Town for example. The plot was well developed and the characters were believable.
Neeve Kearny is a high-class New York clothing storeowner who has a good intuition of the disappearance of one of her best customers, Ethel Lambston. Ethel is a famous gossipy author, who suddenly disappears without a trace. No one seems to notice or cares that Ethel is missing except for Neeve. After police finally realize she is missing and not out on one of her infamous get-a-ways, they find her body in a nearby park. Suspects start popping up and the police start a search for Ethel Lambston's murderer. Ethel's nephew moves into her apartment and starts inheriting her fortune. Him being her only kin he is surprisingly not disturbed by his aunt's death, which makes him a main suspect for the police. Another suspect pops up which is Ethel's ex-husband. He was the last to see Ethel alive and neighbors heard them in an enraged argument. Neeve Kearny struggles with her friendly client's death and it brings back memories of her mothers' death, which happened 2 decades before. With a twisting and mysterious ending the two deaths are intertwined with a shocking murdered.
This was my forth Mary Higgins Clark novel that I have read, even though it was good, I must say it wasn't one of the best. I like the kind of book that when I'm reading it I can't seem to put it down, with While my Pretty One Sleeps it wasn't hard for me to put it down and walk away from it. Only because the suspense wasn't there until the last few chapters. Most of the book is just setting up the characters and circumstances for the suspenseful ending.
Clark's character development was definitely good and made each character come to life and seem somewhat real. I've read other books and not really felt I knew the characters by the end of the book, but with this one I could. Neeve, the main character, was a complex character having to deal with Ethel's death and then her past with her mother's death. Clark did a good job getting into the minds of each character and why they felt how they did.
Even though she once again wrote another murder mystery book I could honestly say it was believable. The circumstances and how each person reacted to them were completely believable in the sense that the plot could easily happen. The plot of the story was well developed. Bringing the past and how Clark connected it to the climax of the book shows how well of a writer she is. One of the best things about this book was how easy it was to read. I wasn't struggling to find definitions to big words and getting lost in point of view or flashbacks the whole time.
I do recommend this book to other Mary Higgins Clark readers only because it's an OK read for one of her novels. I do not recommend this book to someone who has never read any of her books. I would suggest to start out on another novel of hers like All Around the Town or Remember Me. They are good and really get you deep into the book. Over all I rate While my Pretty One Sleeps 3 stars.

The book "While My Pretty One Sleeps" is so intersting you won't be able to put it down. If you like mysteries and murders, this is the book to read. This book is set in New York City about a author, Ethel Lambston, who writes bestselling books and is murder. Her fashion designer is stalked for knowing to much about the life and death of Ethel Lambston. Read this book and to find out what happens.Mary Higgins Clark has written many more books which are just as intesting. Some books are "Loves Music, Loves To Dance," and "All Around The Show."

I used to not enjoy reading, but after picking up While My Pretty One Sleeps, I think I've changed my mind! Unlike other mysteries that are boring and hard to follow, this book has a great plot and is very suspenseful. I admit that I had a hard time putting it down at night! You're hooked within the first chapter, when the story begins with the murder of gossip columnist Ethel Lambston. Lambston had written a column that could destroy the careers of many fashion designers, and someone was angry enough about it to kill her! There are many suspects, but you really won't know who did it until the last pages. The only person who cares about Ethel's disapperance is Neeve Kearny, owner of an expensive boutique where Lambston was a customer. When Ethel is found dead in a park, Neeve is reminded of her mother's murder. As she stuggles to find the truth, she doesn't realize that she may be the next to die... While My Pretty One Sleeps is more than just a mystery, it also has a little romance added in. The characters are very realistic, and there isn't a boring page in the whole book! I would definetly recommend this book to anyone!!

Manners, Respect and Discipline are the cornerstones of success in Ron Clark's classroom. In his first book, The Essential 55, he shares the secrets of that success. Disney Teacher of the Year, Ron Clark has the uncanny ability to instill fun and adventure into every learning opportunity. Daily he shares with his students an unbridled curiosity about the world! However at the start of their journey together, Ron conveys to the class the 55 essential expectations that he has for them. For example, he instructs them in how to give a firm handshake, look people in the eye, and eat properly using the rules of etiquette. His classes learn to respect themselves and others. Chart busting academic scores have been the result for his classes of low performing students from North Carolina to New York City. In The Essential 55 Mr. Clark provides guidelines for living both inside and outside the classroom. He exhorts young and old alike to embrace each day with heart and vigor, appreciate and encourage others and challenge themselves to achieve their potential. Read how Ron Clark convinces his students to seek lives of abundant adventure and fulfillment. I highly recommend this extraordinary book!

Manners, Respect and Discipline are the cornerstones of success in Ron Clark's classroom. In his first book, The Essential 55, he shares the secrets of that success. Disney Teacher of the Year, Ron Clark has the uncanny ability to instill fun and adventure into every learning opportunity. Daily he shares with his students an unbridled curiosity about the world! However at the start of their journey together, Ron conveys to the class the 55 essential expectations that he has for them. For example, he instructs them in how to give a firm handshake, look people in the eye, and eat properly using the rules of etiquette. His classes learn to respect themselves and others. Chart busting academic scores have been the result for his classes of low performing students from North Carolina to New York City. In The Essential 55 Mr. Clark provides guidelines for living both inside and outside the classroom. He exhorts young and old alike to embrace each day with heart and vigor, appreciate and encourage others and challenge themselves to achieve their potential. Read how Ron Clark convinces his students to seek lives of abundant adventure and fulfillment. I highly recommend this extraordinary book along with another book that I just finished reading "HE NEVER CALLED AGAIN."

Manners, Respect and Discipline are the cornerstones of success in Ron Clark's classroom. In his first book, The Essential 55, he shares the secrets of that success. Disney Teacher of the Year, Ron Clark has the uncanny ability to instill fun and adventure into every learning opportunity. Daily he shares with his students an unbridled curiosity about the world! However at the start of their journey together, Ron conveys to the class the 55 essential expectations that he has for them. For example, he instructs them in how to give a firm handshake, look people in the eye, and eat properly using the rules of etiquette. His classes learn to respect themselves and others. Chart busting academic scores have been the result for his classes of low performing students from North Carolina to New York City. In The Essential 55 Mr. Clark provides guidelines for living both inside and outside the classroom. He exhorts young and old alike to embrace each day with heart and vigor, appreciate and encourage others and challenge themselves to achieve their potential. Read how Ron Clark convinces his students to seek lives of abundant adventure and fulfillment. I highly recommend this extraordinary book! Another book that I finished reading was "HE NEVER CALLED AGAIN", a fictional book that I really enjoyed. These two books are excellent.

I always tend to take the reviews on here with a grain of salt, either people love them or hate them. And I mean hate with a capital H. There are reviews on this book like that. This books doesn't warrant that type of review. It's a fun book. The character's are interesting. It's definately worth picking up.

I picked this book up ... Let me tell you - I would have paid five times as much !!! The title really caught my eye, and the brief backpage description sold me. I fell in love with our cowboy Tucker, his horse Snort, his dog Rex, and even crusty old Dad.

Lizzie ? She ROCKED !!!!

Once I began reading, I could not put the book down. I literally read all night, and enjoyed every page and every minute. The style in which the book is written, alternating chapters written in first person by Tucker and Lizzie, is wonderful. Their unique and colorful personalities are reflected in their descriptive language. The characters are "killer" and the humor is divine.

I equally enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Tucker's childhood buddy Lenny the militia man and expert weapon creator. The plot is great and the story flow is pefect. Not once was I tempted to put this book down or skim a single page. The authors keep the reader in perpetual suspense - never knowing what to expect next.

PLEASE, oh please, let there be a sequel. If not, at least more books in the same "vein". Pun fully intended.

I've passed this book around to various friends and family members who have all loved it as much as I did .

Lizzie (Queen of the Vampires) from New York City and Tucker (real life Cowboy) from LonePine, Wyoming meet by chance and fall deeply in love. But to stay together they must deal with scores of Vampires, some good and some bad. A great cast of characters that you won't soon forget. Hey Guys... don't let the Romance scare you away from this book, it's not sappy at all. A very enjoyable read! Highly recommended!!
To the authors Clark Hays & Kathleen Mcfall... Thank you. Please give us more fun reads.

If you like the Van Patten series of grow guides then you might like this one too, which is how I found out about this guide. What I find with these series of books is that they lack overall structure and layout but do cover a reasonable amount of information somewhere in the lengthy text. I found mostly what I wanted in there somewhere and you can too if you are willing to spend the time looking for it.

As other reviewers have said it is not easy to locate and find the information that you need without having to read through a lot more than just what you want. As with other books in the Van Patten series the reader can enjoy a large and diverse coverage of cultivation information within each chapter which spans its many pages.

Although I found the guide to be enjoyable and easy to read I was left with the impression that the book did not make the information that I really wanted very accessable which is really my only gripe with it. So I guess this is not the kind of book I expected to read but I enjoyed it anyway.

The layout and editing could be a lot better. Maybe this book might be a little too narrative and essay-like in its presentation to be considered a good reference book on the subject of marijuana cultivation. If you like essays on marijuana cultivation then this is the one, make no mistake about that, but if you want a good reference guide to cultivation techniques and cannabis botany then I would suggest that you look for an alternative guide too.

This book just came off the presses in Sept. It is the absolute best book on indoor growing I have ever seen. It has everything you could possibly want to know. The author traveled all over the world to talk to the best growers everywhere. The parts I liked best include the new information on lighting and nutrients. He even has exact color photos and drawings of each nutreint problem. It is also packed with right on info about each nutrient. The info on insects and fungi is phenomonal. It solved all my problems. All the newest information on lighting too.

This fine book not only incorporates life-like color photos but great information that is equally valuable for the beginner as well as for the longterm dedicated friend of indoor cultivation. In fact it's the only book you will ever need to successfuly reach your goals in yield and plant health. It's just so easy!

I have read practically all of Mary Higgins Clark's novels, but "Stillwatch" is, by far, my favorite. I love the imagery and the character development. The weaving of the characters into each other's lives emphasizes the cliche, "It's a Small World." I actually own this novel as a part of the three-novel collection including "Weep No More My Lady," and "A Cry in the Night." I find myself pulling this book of the shelf time after time, and skipping the other two novels because I think that "Stillwatch" truly displays Clark's mastery as an excellent storyteller. To all who read the reviews before picking up the book, "Stillwatch" is a definite must, to past, present, and future Mary Higgins Clark fans. BRAVO!

Patricia Traymore is wealthy, young, and beautiful. She has a stable career in television doing programs on famous American women. Her first subject: Abigail Jennings, senoir senator from Virginia. When Pat moves to her family house in Washington DC, to research Abigail, she has breakthrough memories about her own childhood, which her sub concence has hidden from her. Her mother and father were both murdered when she was 3, and she was slammed against the fireplace and shattered her right leg. With the help of the man she loves, Sam, she digs into Abigail's past, only to find it more troubling than her own. Will her own past be revealed to her? Who killed her parents, her mother or her father? Will Abigail become vice president? What about Abigail's past, was her husband's death an accident? Find out all the answers in "Stillwatch", one of Mary H. Clark's best books. If you like mystery and suspense, you'll love this one!

Traveling from Boston to Washington, D.C., Pat Traymore has come to do a TV documentary on Senator Abigail Jennings of Virginia, the first woman expected to become Vice President of the United States. But before Pat even starts, she receives several threatening phone calls--and, later, a note--telling her not to pursue the program, and to definitely not reside in the same house she had lived in the first three years of her life. This last half of the threat is alarming to her, because very few people know about her parent's murder-suicide in that house, which is part of the reason why she had decided to stay there--so she could find out the truth about their death in private.

When she's not searching for clues about that, Pat is delving into Senator Jennings' background, though the woman is reluctant to open up about certain parts of her life, forcing Pat to investigate further. She eventually does get into trouble for that when she reveals too much about the senator's past--involving theft, infidelity, and murder.

"Stillwatch" is fairly fast-paced and an all-around good read. While partially a political mystery, it's relatively uncomplicated and free of political jargon, so the average reader can understand it. There's also a small amount of romance involving Pat and Sam Kingsley, an older congressman she had had a brief affair with a couple of years ago, but who has now become somewhat involved with the senator. I'm not much of a romance fan, but this underlying storyline was tolerable and doesn't overshadow the main story; plus I admired how Pat acted in the relationship; she wasn't the typical clingy, overly-sentimental heroine. If this book is any indication of what her others are like, then this certainly won't be my last Mary Higgins Clark book.

The author presents a personal accounting of his time as SACEUR (Supreme Allied Commander, Europe). Clark's writing style is very easy to read -- you don't need to be a military expert to understand him. This account is chronological, even sometimes hour-by-hour, and reports on how we got into a war in Kosovo, and why certain key decisions were made.

You will be amazed at the revelations Clark makes about Serbian security and intelligence capabilities, Milosovic's character (or lack thereof), tensions within NATO, and the complexities of US military operations. I could hardly put this book down.

Sometimes, however, the book reads as a personal defense. He often blames problems with negotiations or operations on higher-ups, or on inherent structrual problems with the SACEUR position. Any reader should know that many people in the military do not view Wesley Clark with high esteem, and blame many of the problems during Kosovo specifically on him. I personally found Clark's version of events generally believable, but I wait for history to pass the final judgement.

General Clark has penned a fascinating account of how the military statesman builds a coalition with world support, receives the proper authorization through a(n) multi-national organization such as NATO and gains United Nations Security Council approval for a military action. The action in question stopped the slaughter of ethnic Albanians and provided humanitarian relief in the Balkans. General Clark cut his teeth working with our allies on the Dayton Peace Accords which brought peace to Bosnia. He used this experience in crafting the necessary political /military action in Kosovo. I am convinced that General Clark may have been the only leader who could have mastered the multi lateral and vertical chains of command and human contacts necessary to accomplish this mission. This was a miracle endeavor which saved many thousands of lives and serves as a lesson for those involved in future multi-national military operations.

General (retired) Clark writes an excellent piece on both the events leading up to our entry into Kosovo and the continued decline of the American warrior spirit.

I served seven months in Kosovo with KFOR 1B on Camp Monteith. General Clark's book answers many of the questions we all had while patrolling the trash strewn streets of Kosovo, "Why the hell are we here?". General Clark gives a great lead up to the Serbian aggression in Kosovo and the Albanian provocations which we once again see in Macedonia. His thoughts are well written and easy to read. Starting with the Dayton peace accords, which he was a key player in, Clark takes us through the twisted negotiations and difficulties of the Balkans. His story shows the inherent difficulties in coalition warfare and how I (and thousands of other soldiers) eventually arrived to put "boots on the ground." The other interesting aspect of this book is to watch how the military was severely restricted, almost to the point of endangering American lives, to protect a weak and unclear political agenda. Not only did General Clark have to fight Serbs, NATO, the air power pundits and the media, he also had to fight against his leadership in SecDef Cohen. A great read and interesting story about NATOs first war. Lets hope we never have to go through an experience like the Kosovo Campaign again. Buy this book. You'll throughly enjoy it! -CPT S

'As you like it' is one of those Shakespearean plays that is considered 'great' by critics, but never really found true popular acclaim, perhaps due to the absence of charismatic characters (the romantic hero is particularly wet) or compelling dilemmas.

It shares many features with the great comedies - the notion of the forest as a magic or transformative space away from tyrannical society ('A Midsummer night's dream'); the theme of unrequited love and gender switching from 'Twelfth night'; the exiled Duke and his playful daughter from 'The Tempest'. But these comparisons only point to 'AYLI''s comparative failure (as a reading experience anyway) - it lacks the magical sense of play of the first; the yearning melancholy of the second; or the elegiac complexity of the third.

It starts off brilliantly with a first act dominated by tyrants: an heir who neglects his younger brother, and a Duke who resents the popularity of his exiled brother's daughter (Rosalind). there is an eccentric wrestling sequence in which a callow youth (Orlando) overthrows a giant. Then the good characters are exiled to Arden searching for relatives and loved ones.

Theoretically, this should be good fun, and you can see why post-modernist critics enjoy it, with its courtiers arriving to civilise the forest in the language of contemporary explorers, and the gender fluidity and role-play; but, in truth, plot is minimal, with tiresomely pedantic 'wit' to the fore, especially when the melancholy scholar-courtier Jacques and Fool Touchstone are around, with the latter's travesties of classical learning presumably hilarious if you're an expert on Theocritus and the like.

As an English pastoral, 'AYLI' doesn't approach Sidney's 'Arcadia' - maybe it soars on stage. (Latham's Arden edition is as frustrating as ever, with scholarly cavilling creating a stumbling read, and an introduction which characteristically neuters everything that makes Shakespeare so exciting and challenging)

Anyone with a working knowledge of Shakespeare's plays knows that As You Like It is a light, airy comedy. It is clearly not one of Shakespeare's greatest plays. As You Like It is more obscure than famous. Even amongst the comedies it comes nowhere close to the popularity of plays such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, or Twelfth Night. That said, it is a treasure in its own right. This is so, if for nothing else, because it contains one of the greatest pictures of a woman to be found in Shakespeare's works, excluding the Sonnets.

Ah, sweet Rosalind. In her are encapsulated so many ideas about the nature of woman. She is first pictured in a rather faux-Petrarchan manner. This quickly fades as an intelligent woman comes to the fore. While the intelligence remains, she is also torn by the savage winds of romantic love. Rosalind, in all her complexity and self-contradiction, is a truly modern female character.

Most of the women in Shakespeare's tragedies and historical plays are either window dressing (as in Julius Caesar) or woefully one-sided (Ophelia, Lady Macbeth). This is not the case with Rosalind. Rather than being marginalized, she is the focus of a good chunk of the play. Instead of being static and [standard], she is a complex evolving character.

When Rosalind first appears, she outwardly looks much like any other lady of the court. She is a stunning beauty. She is much praised for her virtue. Both of these elements factor in the Duke's decision to banish or [do away with] her.

Rosalind falls in love immediately upon seeing Orlando. In this way she at first seems to back up a typically courtly idea of "love at first sight." Also, she initially seems quite unattainable to Orlando. These are echoes of Petrarchan notions that proclaim love to be a painful thing. This dynamic is stood on its head following her banishment.

Rosalind begins to question the certainty of Orlando's affection. She criticizes his doggerel when she finds it nailed to a tree. Rather than wilting like some medieval flower, she puts into effect a plan. She seeks to test the validity of her pretty-boy's love. In the guise of a boy herself, she questions the deceived Orlando about his love.

Yet Rosalind is not always so assured. Her steadfastness is not cut and dried. Composed in his presence, Rosalind melts the second Orlando goes away. She starts spouting romantic drivel worthy of Judith Krantz. Even her best friend Celia seems to tire of her love talk. This hesitating, yet consuming passion is thrown into stark relief with her crystal clear dealings with the unwanted advances of the shepherdess Phebe.

Rosalind contradicts herself in taking the side of Silvius in his pursuit of Phebe. She seeks to help Silvius win the love of Phebe because of his endearing constancy. Yet the whole reason she tests Orlando is the supposed inconstancy of men's affections.

This idea of Male inconstancy has made its way down to the present day. Men are seen, in many circles, as basically incapable of fidelity. Though a contradiction to her treatment of Silvius' cause, Rosalind's knowing subscription to pessimistic views on the constancy of a man's love places her on the same playing field as many modern women.

Rosalind takes charge of her own fate. Until and even during Shakespeare's own time women largely were at the mercy of the men around them. This is satirized in Rosalind's assuming the appearance of a man. Yet she had taken charge of her life even before taking on the dress and likeness of a man. She gives her token to Orlando. She decides to go to the Forest. She makes the choice of appearing like a man to ensure her safety and the safety of Celia.

Rosalind finally finds balance and happiness when she comes to love not as a test or game, but as an equal partnership. Shakespeare is clearly critiquing the contemporary notions of love in his day. His play also condemns society's underestimation and marginalization of women. However, the Bard's main point is more profound.

As You Like It makes it clear that the world is never picture perfect, even when there are fairy-tale endings. Men and women both fail. Love is the most important thing. With love all things are possible.

"As You Like It" is bar none, one of Shakespeare's VERY best works. It is probably the most poetic of the comedies and contains perhaps as many famous quotations as any other of his plays. Rosalind is perhaps his greatest female character and this work, along with the equally (or even more) brilliant "Midsummer Night's Dream," is the best example of Shakespeare's theme of the "dream world" vs. the "real" world. This play, especially the scenes in the forest, is a celebration of language and the power of the freedom of the imagination. It consequently can be read as a criticism of the "real world," here represented by Duke Ferdinand's court. Like many of the other comedies, Shakespeare is mocking the "ideal" which many in his society would have praised. Though this play deals with some pretty dark themes (which of his plays doesn't?) it is a light-hearted and fully enjoyable read!