Ilias by Homer
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008Rose’s _Handbook_ is written in narrative chapters, more or less chronological and thematic, rather than in encyclopedic form. This makes it great for a newcomer to Greek literature who needs someone to explain the background and principal players.
The literary figures discussed are described in terms of their biography and also summaries of their work, in accessible and delightfully opinionated prose (Xenophon has “a mind which it would be flattery to call second-rate and a character hide-bound with convention”). Major issues (the “Homeric Question”) are touched upon, and lost works are also described and named, to the extent possible.
A good index means that the book can also comfortably be used as a reference work, to be consulted for information on a particular writer.
Zip file of the entire book 1 GB
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O’Reilly
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008Forgive me if my critique is not “pithy”
I couldn’t wait to read this book. I bought it this morning and left work early so I could read it. Why? Because Bill Oreilly fascinates me and I thought his memoir would give some real answers as to how this man, who truly is an American original, thinks.
First off, I actually had the privilege of meeting and briefly working with Bill Oreilly. After graduating college in the early nineties, I wrote to Mr. OReilly and asked him for advice on getting a job in television. I knew nothing about him, only that he was a fellow graduate of my high school (Chaminade High in Long Island) and that he was the anchorman of some show called “Inside Edition” (which I had never even watched)
To my surprise, Mr. OReilly not only responded but invited me to the studio, took me to lunch and offered me a temporary production assistant job for Inside Edition. I began a career on Wall Street shortly after my stint with Inside Edition ended, but I have always been grateful to him for helping out some kid he didn’t know. He is a man of character.
And let me tell you, the man is fearless in every way and he is not a phony. He is exactly like he is on screen (albeit more reserved). Which is why I wanted to read this. I wanted to know- what makes this man tick? How did he come to be the person that he is today?
Does this book answer these questions? – Sort of
Not really a complete life memoir(by his own admission),”Bold Piece” is a kind of “Thoughtography”-a collection a remembrances of his early life followed by essays on how they shaped his current actions.
With chapter titles like “Politics” “Fear” “Saving the World” and “Standing for something”, Mr. Oreilly intersperses stories of his early life with how they affected his later life dealings and adult philosophies.
Does it shed light on the inner life of the man? To a degree, yes.
The book has many entertaining and insightful highlights including:
1) A story about a grammar school classmate named Norma was especially touching. It will make you understand his sometimes-heated anger at injustice.
2) As a graduate of Chaminade High School, I especially enjoyed his thoughts on class warfare at the school. It is a subject rarely discussed to any effectiveness. His story about the “Levittown Sandlot- Chaminade football game” could be an entertaining Disney Movie
3) It gives a sense of the importance of his life experiences. Unlike Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, who I doubt have EVER sought to expand their horizons, Mr. Oreilly has walked the walk. He has traveled to 70 countries, received 2 graduate degrees, and even taught at an inner city high school. His stories about a student named “Miss Jones” and his exposure to Anti Americanism while studying abroad will help you further understand his self reliance and love of country view point.
4) His stories about friendship are especially touching. An expansion of his “Friendship Factor” chapter in his first book, he gives examples of why his friends are so important to him. The Joe Spencer – Peter Jennings story is especially moving. He really should write an entire book about the importance of friendship. It is his most astute chapter.
But the big question I wanted to know -why is this man so confident and fearless?- Is never quite answered. Having grown up in his native Long Island, I have known many a person like Bill OReilly. You could magically drop them onto the far side of the galaxy and they will always espouse hard work, faith, family, and the goodness of America without the slightest doubt. After reading this book, I’ve come to the conclusion that Mr. OReilly simply is one of those men and probably always will be. No matter what their experiences in life, some people are just born that way.
A few critiques-
1) I do think Mr. OReilly should fess up and admit that he took a teaching job in the early 70′s partially to avoid being drafted (he quits the job in 1973 just as the war ends) . It is clear that that was at least a strong possibility.
2) I also think he should have elaborated on what I think is his greatest dichotomy. Why does he have so a low opinion of the competence of federal government yet sincerely believes their actions in Iraq at the time of invasion were not to be questioned?
3) I think he is a little too hard on Katrina Victims. In one section, he explains that he would have “gotten in his car and left” in the same situation, never once thinking that most of the people couldn’t do that because they didn’t HAVE cars.
4) I also think he was just a little too hard on the movie “Love Story” (you have to read the book). I loved that movie!
All in all – a good enlightening read but not the “Window into the Soul” that I was hoping for.
“… me like a mongoose. â?œWilliam,â? she shouted. â?œYou are a bold, fresh piece of humanity! …”
Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008We use this book as part of our home school curriculum (Ambleside Online) and love it… the stories are short, some illustrated and have historical significance (pulled from many sources, greek and roman history, bible, great figures in American and European history etc). James Baldwin’s book are a SURE Thing when it comes to value for dollar. He write so simply, but yet, there is no “dumbing down” as it is called. He doesn’t substitute easier words for the harder ones and my children’s already large vocabulary expands every day we use any Baldwin book. Other books by him are highly recommended to help round out more “liberal” educational systems.
Zip file of the entire book 100MB
High Adventure A Narrative of Air Fighting in France by James Norman Hall
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008Zip file of the entire book 139 MB
A very well documented biography on a genuine American and French hero. Unfortunately he was born during the Jim Crow era in the south (even though the constitution which was written over 100 years before his birth mentions “all men are created equal”, this did not include any non-caucasian’s or women, did it? Did not use the word minority since it denotes less than some majority, there are more non-caucasian’s in the world anyway and what is really meant by that word is just that, non-caucasian. I find it odd that the USA was founded by European descendants like the English, French and even though the country prided itself on it’s progresive nature, it did not include equality, even though Europe itself did not practice racial discrimination). He was born the seventh child of a large family and his father always had a premonition of a very distinguished future for him and let it be known to him when he was young. Talks about his travel through the south after he left home and was told early by his father of a country (France) where all men are truly free. This had a profound effect on him because he eventually made it to France via England first.
He began his livelyhood as a theatre performer and boxer; two opposing and similar avocations. He joined the military and became the first Black American and Black Frenchman aviator and was awarded medals for his bravery, dedication and skills. Very well liked, he had a contagious personality and started working at a famous Paris club later in life and eventually became a club owner himself. He met the famous of the day like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Bricktop and many others. This biography also got me interested in Jazz age Paris to request both autobiographies of Hughes and Bricktop.
Slowly (too slowly) more is being known about this man and his acomplishments and contributions to the human race.
You won’t be able to put it down. Jack Johnson’s autobiography “In the Ring and Out” is another good bio of that era too.
Jane Eyre (version 3) by Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855)
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008There is so much to be said for this novel that it’s difficult to know where to begin. It is a superb evocation of a time and place; it is a complex, detailed character study; it has a believable and compelling plot; and, more than anything else, it is a magnificent love story.
Of course, love stories are the common denominator of human existence and have been the subject of literature since mankind first put charcoal to rock, so the fact that Jane Eyre is a love story is nothing terribly significant. No, what makes this novel so special is the thoughtfulness with which its narrator, Jane Eyre herself, documents her love affair. She is extremely intelligent, she carefully analyzes her feelings and actions, and she is scrupulously honest with both herself and her reader. This is what sets it apart: it is the depth of these thoughts and feelings that make the novel interesting. Beyond that, though, it is the character of Jane, slowly revealed, that makes the novel a delight.
The plot is Jane’s story. Orphaned, she is sent to live with her cruel aunt and cousins. At the age of ten she is sent away for good to a charity school, at which she gets her education, but which is run in such a miserly fashion that many of the students there actually die of disease and starvation. Jane survives, and at the age of eighteen, is able to secure a position as a governess to a child in a great house of England: Thornfield Hall. It is owned by Edward Rochester, the man who will become the centerpiece of her life.
How the two begin to slowly realize their affection for one another, how they then cautiously begin to act on their feelings, and how they must then surmount the obstacles in their path–both societal and self-inflicted–are what make up the bulk of the novel. There are at least a few surprises along the way. The strong-willed Jane’s moral code requires that she respond to these difficulties in certain ways. It is to the novel’s and the author’s great credit that these decisions are never simply made; Jane agonizes over them in heart-wrenching fashion. As in life, the standards one chooses to live by can be difficult to maintain.
This defining tension is what drives the novel, but that it is delivered in such a skillful and assured way is what raises it to its lofty status. The dialogue, particularly, is fantastic. It is the stuff of an actor’s dream: much of it can be interpreted in several different ways. Jane describes Rochester as being moody and tempestuous, and he often is, but at the same time–particularly after Jane agrees to marry him–he is hilariously wry and bemused. Jane comes across as being earnest and pleading, but she can be very playful and is often flirtatious. As mentioned above, these are deep, achingly human characters.
The setting is also very evocative. The English countryside, class system and moral understanding were obviously familiar to those who read the book in Ms. Bronte’s day, and probably familiar to many of us in this day and age. Nevertheless, Ms. Bronte took the time to document these things carefully. The descriptions of Rochester’s home, the lanes in front if it and its orchards and fields; the destitute and grimly cold school for girls; and the small country town where Jane makes the acquaintance of a small group of benefactors towards the end of the novel are all a testament to life as it existed at this distant time and age.
The novel is looked upon as a classic and should be. Ms. Bronte not only created a beautiful piece having to do with the nature of love–personal to her but universal in nature–but did so in such a spectacular way that she actually makes the reader feel this love, both for her creation, and for her.
Zip file of the entire book 536MB
