Knox's fine Classical Literature really deserves four and a half stars; I just can't figure out how to put on that extra half a star. Truly, this is a superb piece of editing-- Knox has chosen wisely , including well-known classical works, Homer, Aeschylus, Euripides, as well as more obscure works. The book runs the whole gamut of Greek and Roman literature, giving a tantalizing taste of each. Often the lesser-known works are the most interesting. I was fascinated. Knox also gives details about the lives and times of the authors that are interesting and engaging. Also, I appreciated Knox's interest in providing the most reader-friendly versions of the pieces. Sometimes he alternates translators to show how different people have read the great works, and in some cases, Propertius in particular, he offers great literary translations (such as one by Ezra Pound) alongside a more faithful translation. There is so much to say for this book. You will want to read more. There is one cause for frustration though, and that is in Knox's approach to giving liner notes. He gives all notes up-front in the introduction to each piece where a footnote or endnote might have been more convenient to the reader-- they must go back to the intro if they've forgotten what something meant. Other than smoe confusion with editorial notes, this book is wonderful and well worth your time.

This anthology stands head and shoulders above the competition, such as the Portable Greek and Roman readers for a number of reasons, not the least of which are the fresh, modern translations of these very well-chosen ancient works. Others include its size (ca. 850 large pages) and high quality as a book, and, of course, its contents, which range from Homer to Augustine.

About 2/3 of the volume is devoted to Greek literature, with about 200 pages of that being Homer and Hesiod. Early poets are well represented from Sappho to the obscure. A complete translation of "Antigone" is included, as well as a generous sampling of other plays by Aechylus, Euripides, etc. Herodotus, Thucidides, Plato, Aristotle and many little known Hellenistic items appear. From Rome, Vergil, Lucretius, Marcus Aurelius, and various poetic and theatrical works.

The book does leave you wanting more. Fortunately, after reading this, you will have a much better idea about what you want more of!

A wide-ranging and cunningly chosen set of texts and translations and a generous set of elegantly written introductions make this a first-rate anthology. I am not very widely read in the classics, but I showed the book to a friend who is, and he was delighted to find many selections with which he was unfamiliar. Reading this book made we want to run out and get another whole shelf-full of complete works.

This book is an excellent resource for Catholics who want to learn more about pressing eccumenical topics. Knox is easy to read and understand, even though he's British. He refers to the Anglican Church a bit and contrasts it with the Roman Catholic Church.

I would recommend this book to all my Protestant friends simply because reading it will most definitly answer questions of the Catholic Faith.

Overall a terrific book. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars only because it is a little outdated (written in the early part of the 20th century). But the conversation in the book can never be outlived, and the same topics and issues will be around for the next century.

Great Book!!!

Tremendous source to explain the Catholic Church by one of its greatest writers who knew it from the outside as well as the inside. Msgr. Ronald A. Knox, an Anglican convert to Catholicism, influenced GK Chesterton, Bishop Fulton Sheen and countless converts among others, with his logic, historical expertise, and ability to explain Catholicism and its most challenging issues to the uninitiated and Catholics alike. Starting with the current agnosticsm (then as today), he proceeds to philosophical proof of Divine intellect and will, and then he traces the development of oral tradition from the Apostles and the early Church to the present Roman Church. With wit and incisive facts, he expertly explains the paradox of free will versus submission to an authority, Dogma versus doctrine versus ritual, and the Catholic view versus the "world view". The careful reader will gain an appreciation into both sides of the issues presented. IMHO there is no better English explanation of Catholicism in 250 pages.

Gives a chilling account of the most powerful series of earthquakes to rattle North America and warns they will come again. Told in the context of how the temblors effected contemporay people, places and events, but also offers an excellent historical perspective. Contains startling information that more people should know. A text book that reads like a good novel.

If this book doesn't shake you up, nothing will - except maybe a real earthquake, and it would have to be a strong one at that. Here is a book that has everything. History, adventure, inventions, folk lore, scientific revelations, and earthquakes of course. All of it told very well.

You would like to know about the largest U. S. earthquake in modern history, of course, or you wouldn't be looking at this review. But would you also like to know of the connection between a Roosevelt and the first river steamer? Would you like to know about the overall relationship and some particular relationships between American Indians and the settlers? Or a lot more about Thomas Jefferson? Would you like to know what life was like on the western frontier near the Mississippi? Or a lot more about the Richter scale? Or probably more about geography than you might know now? And of course more about geology? I could continue this inquiry for much longer. But why should I? Just get the book and read it to take a delightful journey through Americana while learning about earthquakes (as well as what you can do about them).

I found this collection deep in wisdom and the kind of perspective only someone who is older and mature can give. Her three stories at the end of the book of same events described in the differing voices of a grandmother, her daughter, and grandmother were extremely insightful in showing how each of us experiences an event through our own emotionally laden perspectives. Even the simplest tale here is deep in its wisdom and its multilevel insights about relationship, change, and growth.

The short stories in this book are quiet on the surface, and yet stay with one long after the book is finished. Most are set in contemporary rural areas, and but manage to be timeless in their appeal. I keep recommending this book to friends, but I won't lend out my own copy for fear of never getting it back. A writer I keep hoping to see more of!

This book contains hundreds of jokes and articles that have circulated via email over the past couple of years; however, most of them were new to me. They are organized by topic (e.g., children, men and women, history), and they are pretty entertaining to read. The editor has kept the content "family friendly," so this is a book you could give to your grandmother without worry. All-in-all, this is a fun book.

I liked the book. It's good for a laugh. The floppy disk has all of the emails so I can send the ones I like without having to type them.

As noted on earlier reviews these two, the first "The Iliad", and now "The Odyssey" have become the translations read for pure enjoyment. No longer does one `know' of the classics but never read them, now we read them too. Thankfully, Robert Fagles has produced a translation worthy of the original sense of Homer's great poem. It captures well the suffering and tragedy Odysseus went through in his journey full of trials and tribulations from the great ogre, the Cyclops, to the beautiful Calypso and finally one of his greatest tests, the suitors seeking his wife's approval after 20 years absence from his homeland.

As usual the introduction by Bernard Knox (NB my earlier mistake in the review on The Iliad) is highly informative and shows real depth of understanding of Homeric poetry, an invaluable aid in the full comprehension of the poem. In addition the extra maps of the Homeric word as well as a glossary of terms and a section detailing some of the characters in more depth provide an excellent background which may be missing in a non-classical education. Certainly this is the transaltion to use when teaching of classic poetry in schools since the child is captivated by the flow of the story and the fast pace which keeps one glued to the book, although not as pacy as The Iliad it is a different sort of story. Unlike the Iliad which is replete with battles and war, The Odyssey is the story of a journey and is of a different tune. I once tried to read an earlier translation of The Odyssey a few years ago and found it stuffy and staid, this is no longer true of Fagles work, were it only the case of other great classics. I felt throughout that Fagles kept to the aura of the original even when substituting more modern expressions for the older ones eg "holding nothing back" is obviously a modern phrase but it captures what the poem is saying and that is what is important ie capturing the poem as a whole. This has been ably achieved. An excellent book.

Fagle's translation of THE ODYSSEY in the Penguin edition is an almost perfect act of publishing. The translation itself manages to be enormously readable, highly poetic, and extremely accurate, all at the same time. The Introduction by Bernard Knox should serve as a model for all scholars who are called upon to write critical introductions for classic works of literature. And the book design is is extraordinary; this edition of Homer's classic is easily one of the most attractive paperback books in my library. I had read this once before in translation (in the old Rieu version), and then later translated much of it in a second year Greek class. But in neither instance did I enjoy it as much as reading the Fagles's translation.

Aristotle did not think that people should study philosophy too early in life, and perhaps that is also true of reading Homer. Part of me feels that we make a mistake in our education systems by making students read THE ODYSSEY before they are in a position to appreciate it. If one looks through the reviews here, a very large number of very negative reviews by a lot of high school students can be found. I find this unfortunate. In part I regret that we are forcing younger readers to read this book before they have fully matured as readers. Perhaps the book and the students themselves would be better served if we allowed them time to grow a bit more as readers before asking them to tackle Homer.

THE ODYSSEY is so enormously enjoyable (at least for this adult reader) that it is easy to forget just how very old it is. What impresses me is how readable it is, despite its age. There are very, very few widely read works older than THE ILIAD and THE ODYSSEY. And the gap between how entertaining these works are and those that come before them is gigantic. Try reading THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH or even THE HESIOD and then turning to THE ODYSSEY, and one can grasp my point. This is a very, very old work of literature, but it wears its age lightly. In the end, the greatest praise one can pay THE ODYSSEY is the fact that it can be read for fun, and not just because it is a classic.

Firstly, some of the reviews have given poor ratings to this epic poem because they did not like the story of the Odyssey and not because it was a bad translation. In fact it is the best I've ever read. Pope's translation of course is more poetic but it is not at all accessible. Fagles does a wonderful job in updating the language to modern English so that we can understand the story. Also at the back of the book are notes and a short glossary so that if you are not familiar with any of the references to Gods for example you can look it up and learn more about Greek mythology. Finally Fagles has a great introduction (with maps) that gives you background into the world of Homer.

Claimed to be the best of all Greek tragedies, OEDIPUS REX (or OEDIPUS THE KING..."REX" means "KING") by Sophocles is that classic story of the man who was doomed to kill his own father and marry his own mother. Everyone seems to know the basic plot of the story, but how much do you REALLY know?

This new translation of OEDIPUS THE KING by Berg and Clay proves to be successful...everything is understandable and rather enjoyable to read too. It's hard to believe that you're actually reading a play.

I suggest that you DO NOT read the original version of the play by Sophocles first...you might be discouraged by the difficulty of the language he uses. Instead, start with Berg and Clay's translation...it's so much easier to read, and more importantly, enjoy.

I felt that the action and plot was well-woven out, and the story tied together nicely; however, there was one flaw. The ending was too abrupt. Of course, I'm not going to spoil the ending for you now (you'll have to read it yourself) but I WILL tell you that if you're one of those people who hate endings that just leave you hanging, you might not like OEDIPUS THE KING.

I had to read OEDIPUS THE KING as an Honors English assignment (and usually what kind of books we have to read for school are good?). Nevertheless, I found the play interesting, but because of the so-abrupt ending with questions still dangling on the end, I give the book 3 stars. (By the way, in no other Greek tragedy are so many questions asked, so be prepared to have your mind boggled by this book!...Have a spiffy day! -Nick Chu

"Oedipus the King" or Oedipus Rex is the world's first great tragedy. Almost everyone knows the tale of the man who murdered his father and married his own mother. The only question is, which translation do you read? Bernard Knox makes an excellent case for his prose translation of Sophocles classic. This is a version designed for the a filmed version meant for the classroom; as such, it is remarkably smooth and easy to read. There is little poetry left in it; if that is what you seek, look elsewhere. This edition comes with a nice set of introductory essays on the background of the play, the theater, and Sophocles. All in all, a nice little edition.

The only budget series of audio books and recorded drama comes from Naxos. One of their more recent entries is a very modern version of Sophocles' in a translation by Duncan Steen. In fact, some might find it a little too modern with its use of idiomatic expressions such as "You can't pin that on me"--which might be taken as an ironic reference to the final horrible deed of the hero. But when the messenger the agonized Oedipus as calling himself a "mother f..." (although he stops at the "f") the effect is far too "modern" for comfort. You see, given a sound recording, we can only assume that the action is taking place in the nearly prehistoric past. I do not know the tone of Sophocles' Greek; but I do read that it is elegant and decorous. Therefore, I can only assume that this translator is doing his source a great injustice.

On the other hand, the dialogue MOVES. There is an excitement to this performance, although the Creon of Adam Kotz lacks some force. Michael Sheen is good in the title role, as is Nichola McAuliffe as Jocasta, Heathcote Williams as the Chorus Leader, and John Moffatt as Tiresias and the Narrator at the start of the recording. The Chorus itself is cut down to four voices, but they are handled nicely with stereo separation and are quite comprehensible. The music is meager but effectively used.

All in all, a very good if not perfect attempt at making one of the greatest Western plays accessible to a wide audience.

"Summerland" has a strong premise, four interesting characters, and an author with a lot of guts - it takes some nerve for a first-timer to deliberately court comparisons with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ford Madox Ford. Unfortunately, the gamble doesn't entirely pay off. For me, the enterprise is ultimately undone by the narrator's journalistic tone of detached amusement. It's as if he never really knew these people, never really had these experiences, and is only pretending to care. I sense no real pain in Richard's telling, no real regret, so as the story of a man whose life has been obliterated by treachery it just didn't ring true. The voice fights with itself, wamndering into anecdotes and tangential ramblings in a tone suggesting Knox might have been happier writing an essay entitled 'Reflections on the Ruling Class.' I think I would have been happier reading it. Knox clearly has a good mind and a sharp appreciation for the cant and hypocrisy of Sydney's idle rich. He's a good writer, too. But I think his talent could have made more of this material as an extended sociological essay - much like Lewis Lapham's "Money & Class In America." No one has exposed the rotten core of Sydney High Society in that way, and I reckon Knox is just the man for the job. It's still an enjoyable read. But perhaps asking for comparisons with Fitzgerald sets the wrong expectations up front.

This fantastic narrative of the very privilaged life of a cluelessly happy man, his conniving wife, and their life long friends tells you from the begining that disaster has already struck. The narrator then draggs you back to the begining of their story and takes you through their life, ever moving slowly forward to that inevitable end. I could not put down the book in suspense as to how their lives would play out. It was really really great - teasing and suspenseful without being overly so.

I just finished reading "SUMMERLAND" by Malcolm Knox this morning and I must say that after struggling through the beginning of this book that in the end I really did enjoy it. Summerland is not an action packed novel of lies and deceit, rather it is a story that is slowly unwound by a man who missed the entire thing. Richard is telling the story of the affair of his wife and his best friend.

Richard and Pup, Hugh and Helen were best friends since their teenage years, which is when Hugh and Pup actually began their affair that lasted well over a decade. The four of them had a yearly tradition of summering at Palm Beach a tradition that unbeknownst to Richard, was built on lies from the very beginning. Even Helen the beautiful wife of Hugh knew of the affair and in many ways had a hand in controlling it. Now years later after the whole story has been revealed to him by Helen, Richard attempts to recant the stories of his friendship with Hugh, his marriage to Pup, the marriage of Hugh and Helen and the affair that ultimately ruined all of them.

As I said, and I cannot emphasize this enough, I struggled through the first few chapters of this book. I thought it was over written and a bit slow but as I read on I became more engrossed in these four lives and very interested to see how, in the end, everything played out. I can honestly say that I am glad that I did not give up on this book in the beginning because I would have missed out on a really entertaining novel.

I received this book, the second edition, two months ago and I am very happy with the variety and ease of preparing the foods. While I could have done without the brief personal info of the author at the beginning of the book, her tips for dining out, and the typical grams of carb in raw foods (although not quite accurate), were very helpful.

The ingredients were easy to find at my local grocer, outside of the Atkin's Baking Mix - which I haven't tried. The average recipe is 3-4 steps and relatively easy to make with nearly any level of cooking skills.

This book is not without some minor (or if you count carbs closely, major) flaws. As I mentioned earlier, some recipes mention inaccurate carb counts. One example (however a personal favorite recipe of mine) is the Breakfast Custard Squares which appears later in the Desserts section of the book as simply Baked Custard. These are both the same recipe to the last measurement, except their serving sizes vary from 6 for the Breakfast Squares, and 4 for the dessert. According to Lauri's book, the smaller serving size Breakfast Squares claim to have more carbs per serving than the larger custard dessert of the exact same recipe! So, don't count on this book for accurate carb counting.

The only other issue I have is the number of recipes calling for artificial sweetners. I am not a fan of artificial anything, especially aspartame, and I find the number of recipes with Sweet 'N Low (saccharin) to be a little high for me. However, I use an "herbal supplement" (can't be called sweetner according to the FDA) called Stevia which can be found at health food stores (Whole Foods is where I get it) that seems to substitute well enough. Lauri mentions that she doesn't care for this herb, but this herb varies in taste wildly by manufacturer, so experiment if you choose to try it. Anyhow, my point is we're trying to wean ourselves away from sweet cravings (especially those with carb addiction), maybe reducing the amount of recipes that call for sweetners would be helpful.

In closing, despite this book's minor drawbacks, the recipes are really what I wanted to add some variety to the chicken and broccoli routine. This book satisfied my need and I highly recommend it for this purpose.

I just started Dr. Adkin's diet and I can already tell that variety is the key to staying on track. I have tried several of the recipes already and have liked every one of them. The directions are easy to follow and Lauri has a good selction of different recipes. The Custard Breakfast Squares are a wonderful alternative to fried/hard-boiled eggs. The Cheescake recipe is really good and EASY as well. I bought Dr. Adkin's Quick and Easy New Diet Revolution Cookbook at the same time I bought this book and I like this book better. The ingredients are not as "fancy" and, therefore, more affordable and easier to find in the local market. This book is really a winner!

Last year I watched a co-worker totally transform herself on the Atkins diet. So I went out and bought Dr. Atkins' book and cookbook, but didn't start the diet until the first of this year. The induction period (the first 2 weeks) were not too bad, I mostly lived on T-bone steaks, but the next 2 weeks were disasterous! To me, cooking is "throw it on the grill" or "pop it in the microwave". After the induction period, I was tired of steaks and so I gave my best shot at Dr. Atkins' recipes. Each night I sat down to what can not be called a meal. After a few bites, it usually got tossed into the trash and I would drive off to McDonald's or some other place not in keeping with the diet. Then the next morning I would vow to try again. I not only gained the 11 lbs I lost during the induction period I gained a few extra bonus pounds.

Not to be defeated, I talked to my co-worker and she told me about "Lauri's Low-Carb Cookbook" and I bought it immediately. She was right, there are plenty of simple and yummy recipes! I'm now back on track. In February, I not only lost 16 lbs but I'm also learning how to cook! Just as the cover says, Lauri's Low-Carb Cookbook is my constant companion in the kitchen. Thank you Lauri, for some simple and tasty recipes. Soon, I might even try some of the more challenging recipes.

If you too are "cooking-impaired" but want to lose weight on a low-carb diet, then this is the cookbook for you - I guarantee!

This book is Col. Charlie Beckwith's account of the formation of the Army's elite counter-terrorist unit, the Delta Force. Do not read this book to gain much of an understanding of how the unit exists today. I doubt there is such a book, since Delta operates under the strictest secrecy.
Nevertheless, Delta Force is an interesting account of one man's struggle to bring his idea to fruition in the midst of gigantic army bureaucracy and red tape.
Col. Beckwith also discusses his experiences serving with British SAS units, whom he held in the highest regard. He also talks about his years in Vietnam. These accounts are really interesting. The rest of the book deals with Operation Eagle Claw, the ambitious attempt to rescue Americans held hostage in Iran during 1979. After reading Col. Beckwith's account, I made a special trip to Arlington cemetary to pay tribute to the 8 Americans killed in that heroic, but unsuccessful effort.
After September 11th, we as Americans owe much of our safety and security to the heroes in Delta. That alone is a good reason to read this book.

Sadly, the new and current generation fail to appreciate the difficulties that Colonel Beckwith had to overcome in order to found Delta in a U.S. military where egos/roles are often intertwined. Even more sadly, the whole point of Delta was to have a specially trained and ready force to respond to terrorist incidents and NOT resort to ad hocery-which is throwing together unqualified units together---which is EXACTLY what was forced on Delta when higher authorities insisted unsuitable marine pilots and navy MINESWEEPING helicopters be used to attempt the Iran rescue mission. This book should be read in conjunction with Colonel Jim Kyle's "The Guts to Try" to get an accurate picture of the "desert one" disappointment which was caused by the failings of another service which postures as a quasi-911 force when its barely able to handle "411" directory assistance calls to evacuate U.S. citizens when the enemy permits this in order to get us out of their way of killing/rebellion. When the enemy does the opposite we need REAL hostage rescue forces from SFOD-D and ST 6 not "extremis" posturers.

If there is a fault to blame on Colonel Beckwith is that his plan itself was overly complex and reliant on rotary-wing aircraft for extreme long-range insertion/extraction when it should have been based on parachuting men from mechanically-sound fixed-wing aircraft to get the force into Iran, and then flying in the helicopters INSIDE fixed-wing aircraft to get them closer to the objective and then pull them out. This is now SOP these days with the 160th SOAR. Its too bad Colonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons (see "THE RAID" by Benjamin Schemmer and "On Wings of Eagle" by Ken Follet) was not on active duty in a mentorship role to insure a simple plan was employed but the arrogance of youth mitigates against this. In a bitter irony, years after SFOD-D had created a string of impressive victories to erase the memories of Desert One, it was the now-deceased Beckwith who was reported not welcome at the very command he spilled his guts for to create! Lesson learned is to "with wise counsel make war", ask the veterans for advice, don't assume we can field a gadget plane (V-22) to make unsound concepts "fly". Read this book, and build a monument in honor of "Charging Charlie" with your life lived to the fullest by daring greatly like he did. Its too bad Hollywood hasn't gotten around to making Colonel Beckwith's life into a film yet---American culture is often best passed on by film and his values of fighting for a vision for the common good are worth remembering and emulating.

This book was very difficult to put down once I started reading it. Beckwith has a way with words that makes it seem like he's sitting next to you telling you a story. While reading the book, I felt like I knew Charlie Beckwith and his way of thinking--that's how much personality he put into this book.

1st Special Forces Operational Detachment--Delta (SFOD-D) is the military's formal name for Delta Force. Delta is perhaps America's foremost elite counterterrorist unit along with the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and Navy SEAL Team Six. Beckwith created Delta Force after spending a year with the British Special Air Service (SAS) and seeing how the US had a void that a unit like the SAS could fill. Thus, Delta was formed with the SAS in mind.

A word of caution to people who are considering reading this book. The book tells of how Delta Force was formed...from its beginnings as a US version of the British SAS to its failed first mission freeing the hostages in the Iran. If you're looking for something on what Delta Force currently does and how its operators are currently trained or selected, this isn't the book for you. Beckwith tells us how the first Delta operators were trained and selected, but that selection process has probably changed some by now. This book is more a detailed history on the formation of the Delta Force, and not a book on its current engagements and operations (which are most likely classified anyway).

I HIGHLY recommend this book.