Book Description
An unrivalled collection of literary gossip and intimate sidelights on the lives of the authors The dictionary defines an anecdote as 'a short account of an entertaining or interesting incident', and the anecdotes in this collection more than live up to that description. Many of them are funny, often explosively so. Others are touching, outrageous, sinister, inspiring, or downright weird. They show writers in the English-speaking world from Chaucer to the present acting both unpredictably, and deeply in character. The range is wide - this is a book which finds room for Milton and Margaret Atwood, George Eliot and P. G. Wodehouse, Chinua Achebe and Ian Fleming, Brendan Behan and Wittgenstein. It is also a book in which you can find out which great historian's face was once mistaken for a baby's bottom, which film star left a haunting account of Virginia Woolf not long before her death, and what Agatha Christie really thought of Hercule Poirot - a book not just for lovers of literature, but for anyone with a taste for the curiosities of human nature.
Customer Reviews:
For being writers ..........2007-06-05
I paid roughly half price for this book and thought it a complete waste of money ... and if time is money, I also have to admit I spent too much time trying to glean something interesting in it. However, at $6 I'm admittedly more apt to rationalize 'why not' and forgo my next cup o' (high end) crappuccino. ... O.K. there were a few 'good' retorts (whatever), but (trust me) you get infinitely more from The Author's writings. ... I'm beginning to think any book blessed with Oxford or Cambridge in the title is going to be a sefl-fullfilling prophesy of Disappointment. Personally, I'm convinced if you want a piece of a writer, read their writing.
The New Oxford Book of Literary Anecdotes.......2006-11-05
This book is more a reference book then something readable but it does have its moments. If you have a few minutes to kill and are looking for something a little light and amusing this book may fit the bill.
We're in the room as literary history is made.......2006-07-17
Civilians like to imagine that writers talk about writing when they get together. I'm sure, in all of literary history, that has happened several times. But it is not a favorite subject. Sex is. As is Food. Travel. Money. The perfidy of rivals. And did I say money?
Those are ordinary topics. But that doesn't mean we have nothing to gain from hearing what writers have to say about them. These are writers, remember? They're at the most clever when they're envious, scornful or otherwise out of sorts.
John Gross, editor of this anthology, is a particularly witty example of the breed. I stood by him at a party once, and, though I am said to be not entirely dull, I remained mute for a good twenty minutes. Gross spoke in epigrams. He could go lofty or vulgar. He was wise and wicked, and, most of all, funny. No surprise that he has edited a book with those same qualities.
Anecdotes are compressed stories, the more compressed the better. Like this one, about the dictionary-maker and moralist Samuel Johnson: "A young fellow, lamenting one day that he had lost all his Greek --- Johnson retorted, 'I believe it happened at the same time that I lost my large estate in Yorkshire.'"
I was amused to read about William Blake and his wife, sitting in their summer house, naked: "Come in," cried Blake. "It's only Adam and Eve, you know!"
And here's a trivia question. What lines did William Wordsworth write before forking manure into his garden? The opening stanza of the Immortality Ode:
There was a time when meadow, grove and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Appareled in celestial light
The glory and the freshness of a dream...
Do you know Jane Austen's last words? "I want nothing but death."
Here we look over the shoulder of John Keats as he coughs up the first drop of blood --- and knows exactly what it means. We hear Ralph Waldo Emerson dismiss Edgar Allen Poe as "the jingle man." We watch Anthony Trollope chow down and explain that he doesn't have a good appetite, he's just "very greedy."
Oscar Wilde pays a visit to Walt Whitman. Wilkie Collins confesses a drug habit. Emily Dickinson exhausts a visitor. Lewis Carroll plays dumb. At a party given by a Duchess, Henry James describes himself as a hermit. Arthur Conan Doyle demonstrates how to make a holy man jealous. George Bernard Shaw reveals the source of his skepticism. A drama critic falls asleep --- and on his face. Another poet pours a beer over Robert Frost's head. Sinclair Lewis brags about his new book.
As we reach the Twentieth Century, the anecdotes turn more political. Ludwig Wittgenstein gives his money away to his rich relatives, on the theory that they can't be further corrupted by it. Vladimir Nabokov has a violent reaction to anti-Semitism. A Communist sympathizer tells George Orwell: "You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs," causing Orwell to reply, "Where's the omelette?" Samuel Beckett gives his jacket to a tramp --- without emptying the pockets. W.H. Auden contemplates the death penalty for Brecht.
There are more Brits than Americans, which seems just. It also makes the book a better gift for English majors than for civilian readers. On the other hand, the last anecdote in the book is about J.K. Rowling --- scholarly this ain't.
The idea reader of this book: the lover of books with snooty friends. Read this, pen in hand, and you'll have more than enough ammo to dazzle your listeners at high-minded parties. Any writer quoted in these pages would understand that motive.
Book Description
'Two things alone I long for: first, that when I die I may leave the Roman people free...and second, that each person's fate may reflect the way he has behaved towards his country.' Cicero (106-43 BC) was the greatest orator of the ancient world and a leading politician of the closing era of the Roman republic. This book presents nine speeches which reflect the development, variety, and drama of his political career,among them two speeches from his prosecution of Verres, a corrupt and cruel governor of Sicily; four speeches against the conspirator Catiline; and the Second Philippic, the famous denunciation of Mark Antony which cost Cicero his life. Also included are On the Command of Gnaeus Pompeius, in which he praises the military successes of Pompey, and For Marcellus, a panegyric in praise of the dictator Julius Caesar. These new translations preserve Cicero's rhetorical brilliance and achieve new standards of accuracy. A general introduction outlines Cicero's public career, and separate introductions explain the political significance of each of the speeches. Together with its companion volume, Defence Speeches, this edition provides an unparalleled sampling of Cicero's oratorical achievements.
Book Description
'The pen would smoothly write the things it knew But when it came to love it split in two, A donkey stuck in mud is logic's fate - Love's nature only love can demonstrate.' Rumi's Masnavi is widely recognized as the greatest Sufi poem ever written, and has been called 'the Koran in Persian'. The thirteenth-century Muslim mystic Rumi composed his work for the benefit of his disciples in the Sufi order named after him, better known as the whirling dervishes. In order to convey his message of divine love and unity he threaded together entertaining stories and penetrating homilies. Drawing from folk tales as well as sacred history, Rumi's poem is often funny as well as spiritually profound. Jawid Mojaddedi's sparkling new verse translation of Book One is consistent with the aims of the original work in presenting Rumi's most mature mystical teachings in simple and attractive rhyming couplets.
Customer Reviews:
True to the original in both spirit and form.......2006-01-31
Though excited about this fresh translation of the first book of the Masnavi in a rhymed and metered format, I must admit I was a bit skeptical at first about its faithfulness to the original. Recently, though, I had the chance to go over portions of the translation with my father, who is very well versed in Farsi and in Rumi's works, and we were positively surprised by how much this rendering is loyal to Rumi's masterpiece in both spirit and form. May Mr. Mojaddedi be inspired and energized to carry out the monumental task of making the Light of all six of the Masnavi's books available to the English-speaking public in its original and delightful rhymed couplet form.
This is a major and much-needed translation of Rumi.......2005-06-11
If you visit Konya, and see Rumi's tomb, with his father and son and other family members buried nearby, in a gorgeously illuminated mauseleum-mosque, with its supernal light and its electric energy of peace and vastness, you see Rumi is no pop-figure but drenched in traditions of Islamic Sufism that brings out its deepest and most original heart, the Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) true teaching... compassion, love, and adherence to God's world above and beyond this one through right action and sincerity, wild daring, discipline and spiritual transformation.
Rumi's Masnavi is a true companion on this Path, and Rumi a true indicator of this Path, and for those without Persian, we've relied on the Victorian (though unrhymed and much interpolated) masterpiece of Nicholson (and later revisions by Arberry) and the rather haphazard fragments either "translated" or "rendered" in new, modern versions by contemporary poet-scholars.
With this new translation by Jawid Mojaddedi we have a sensational new take on Rumi, whose original (as indicated by its title) is in rhymed couplets (Masnavi means "rhymed couplets"), and which ranges from praise-poetry to stories, both high and low, to long stretches of ecstatic gnostic realization and "revelation" filled with light. This new translation keeps it all, and in a flowing smoothness that is truly remarkable, drenched (as in the original) in remembrance of Allah (the same One God of us all).
It's eminently readable, and you feel you're getting closer (by the fidelity and sincerity of the translator, direct from Persian this time!) to Rumi's actual tone and intention.
I'm a cheerleader for this translation (and have no qualms calling it this, since it is), it's a sweet gift to us, and attests to Rumi's saintliness after all these centuries. He's reached us in our mire, and now in a voice that sings in poetic tune to lift us from it (from mineral to plant, from plant to animal, from animal to angel)!
May our intrepid and courageous translator be given strength and inspiration to continue until all six books of this world treasure, this rare compendium of spiritual truths, are as superbly translated and made available.
Fresh breath for a master.......2004-12-28
This is a superb translation by a true expert. So many of the "translations" of Rumi are actually rewordings of the old Brits' English translations - done no doubt with the best of intentions and enjoyable to read - and should not be called translations at all. So much time has elapsed since Coleman Barks began his love affair with Mevlana; why on earth hasn't he used that time to learn Persian and Arabic? Then his translations could be true and poetic.
So, this one is really precious. May Mojaddedi the translator live long and keep putting out more and more of the Mesnevi. Why does amazon put this new translation, the most important Rumi publishing event of the last half century, way down the list when you search under "Rumi"? If I were marooned on a desert island, this is the book I would want with me.
Average customer rating:
- great gift, reference, and coffee table book
- Excellent for learning about food plants from all over.
|
New Oxford Book Of Food Plants: A GUIDE TO THE FRUIT, VEGETABLES, HERBS AND SPICES OF THE WORLD
J. G. Vaughan , and
C. Geissler
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
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ASIN: 0198548257 |
Amazon.com
Not enough tables of contents are enhanced by drawings of nuts, herbs, and root vegetables, but the table of contents in The New Oxford Book of Food Plants is, setting the tone for a book that clearly delights in the glories of the world's bounty. Each chapter, including grain crops and fruits, spices and seaweed, legumes and mushrooms among its 19 topics, is a cornucopia of information and beautiful, educational illustrations. Take the chapter on oil crops, for example. Covering olives, sesame, peanuts, soy beans, sunflowers, and the rape plant, the prose describes where they grow and what the fruits look like, what kind of oil is produced and what it's used for, how it's made and how else the fruits may be used. Color drawings of the plants and their fruits are on the facing page. Put together by writers who respect each plant and give them the attention and detail that spell quality, this is a beautiful book and a charming resource. --Stephanie Gold
Book Description
This book is a revised and updated version of the very popular Oxford Book of Food Plants which first appeared in 1969. The authors have added plants that have come into common use since then, and have rewritten the text to reflect current knowledge, especially about nutrition. The original full-colour illustrations by Barbara Nicholson are reprinted in full, together with new paintings especially commissioned for this book. This is a comprehensive and enjoyable reference work about the many edible plants we grow in our gardens, buy in our shops, and consume cooked or raw, either on their own or as part of a recipe. All plants are illustrated in colour with emphasis on the edible parts, while the text entries give reliable information about each plant, its historical and current uses, and its nutritional value. An excellent addition to the library of any cook, gardener, naturalist, and all those interested in healthy eating styles.
Customer Reviews:
great gift, reference, and coffee table book.......2000-11-05
The original edition of this book was out of print for some years and it is delightful to see it out again, and expanded no less. It combines 2 great virtues: highly readable and informative text with illustrations of a quality that are "suitable for framing." It is a great book for anyone who takes an interest in botany, cooking, or gardening and you couldn't go wrong giving it as a gift to one of these types. It's also great for reference. If you're getting it as a gift I suggest ordering 2, because you'll want one for yourself when you see it.
Excellent for learning about food plants from all over........1999-10-15
This book is great for learning to identify food plants from all over the world. The illustrations are realistic and each plant is described. I use it to help my 4-H horticulture judging team prepare for the national judging contest. The plants and illustrations in this new edition are the same as in the original book, however the 1998 edition has an excellent section on phytonutrients.
Book Description
The essay is one of the richest of literary forms. Its most obvious characteristics are freedom, informality, and the personal touch - though it can also find room for poetry, satire, fantasy, and sustained argument. All these qualities, and many others, are on display in 'The Oxford Book of Essays'. The most wide-ranging collection of its kind to appear for many years, it includes 140 essays by 120 writers: classics, curiosities, meditations, diversions, old favourites, recent examples that deserve to be better known. A particularly welcome feature is the amount of space allotted to American essayists, from Benjamin Franklin to John Updike and beyond. This is an anthology that opens with wise words about the nature of truth, and closes with a consideration of the novels of Judith Krantz. Some of the other topics discussed in its pages are anger, pleasure, Gandhi, Beau Brummell, wasps, party-going, gangsters, plumbers, Beethoven, potato crisps, the importance of being the right size, and the demolition of Westminster Abbey. It contains some of the most eloquent writing in English, and some of the most entertaining.
Customer Reviews:
Fine selection of great pieces........2000-02-11
Gross was faced with a tough task when asked to edit this volume: how to cram the history of a form that is so flexible, and so widely used, into a compact volume? Essays have been selected from the seventeenth century on, and Gross has included writers from the USA as well as Britain. Almost his only concession has been the exclusion of any writer born after WW2. Plagued by so much choice, he has done a great job. Of course, there are omissions. Several writers from 'The New Yorker' have their say, but there was no room for its two best essayists, A. J. Liebling and Joseph Mitchell. And the abscence of Kenneth Tynan is lamentable: his essay on the folly of the Lord Chamberlin, the Censor of Plays in Britain, is far better than that of Joseph Conrad, a brilliant novelist but an undistiunguished essayist, which is included here. But everyone will find a few favourites missing in any book of this kind. In fact, Gross has sometimes tried to be too representative, to include too many discrete essays, with the result that he seems to have plumped for very short pieces. Perhaps half a dozen writers seem to have been included simply because they are or were great writers, and not because they wrote great essays. Others are represented by inferior pieces, largely for reasons of space -- space often taken up by lesser writers. E.B. White, for instance, gets just over two pages for a pretty run-of-the-mill essay, where he would be better served by 'Death of a Pig' or 'Farewell, my lovely!', both of which are far better than, say, anything by Joseph Epstein. And John Updike's 'The Bankrupt Man' hardly gives an idea of what he's capable of. But these are minor quibbles. Anyone who enjoys reading essays will find countless hours of enjoyment in this book: essays by Samuel Johnson, Walter Bagehot, G. K. Chesterton, Max Beerbohm, John Jay Chapman, and many others, are classics that repay many re-readings.
Fine selection of great pieces........2000-02-11
Gross was faced with a tough task when asked to edit this volume: how to cram the history of a form that is so flexible, and so widely used, into a compact volume? Essays have been selected from the seventeenth century on, and Gross has included writers from the USA as well as Britain. Almost his only concession has been the exclusion of any writer born after WW2. Plagued by so much choice, he has done a great job. Of course, there are omissions. Several writers from 'The New Yorker' have their say, but there was no room for its two best essayists, A. J. Liebling and Joseph Mitchell. And the abscence of Kenneth Tynan is lamentable: his essay on the folly of the Lord Chamberlin, the Censor of Pays in Britain, is far better than that of Joseph Conrad, a brilliant novelist but an undistiunguished essayist, which is included here. But everyone will find a few favourites missing in any book of this kind. In fact, Gross has sometimes tried to be too representative, to include too many discrete essays, with the result that he seems to have plumped for very short pieces. Perhaps half a dozen writers seem to have been included simply because they are or were great writers, and not because they wrote great essays. Others are represented by inferior pieces, largely for reasons of space -- space often taken up by lesser writers. E.B. White, for instance, gets just over two pages for a pretty run-of-the-mill essay, where he would be better served by 'Death of a Pig' or 'Farewell, my lovely!', both of which are far better than, say, anything by Joseph Epstein. And John Updike's 'The Bankrupt Man' hardly gives an idea of what he's capable of. But these are minor quibbles. Anyone who enjoys reading essays will find countless hours of enjoyment in this book: essays by Samuel Johnson, Walter Bagehot, G. K. Chesterton, Max Beerbohm, John Jay Chapman, and many others, are classics that repay many re-readings.
Book Description
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum is one of the most important sources for the history of Normandy and England in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and contains the earliest prose account of the Norman Conquest. It was written by a succession of authors, the first of whom was William of Jumieges, who wrote for William the Conqueror. Later writers, such as Orderic Vitalis (d. c.1142) and Robert of Torigni (d. 1186), interpolated and extended the chronicle as far as King Henry I (1100-1135). The later accretions reveal much not only about changing attitudes towards the Norman invasion of England, but also about views of the early Viking foundation of Normandy. Elisabeth van Houts's two-volume edition is based on a study of all forty-seven extant manuscripts of the Gesta, including the earliest surviving copy of c. 1100, hitherto unknown. The full original text of William of Jumieges is supplied, as well as the integral text of the subsequent revisions and additions. Volume I contains Dr van Houts's introduction to the whole work, together with the text and translation of books i-iv. Books v-viii will appear in Volume II. The edition forms an important contribution to our understanding of Anglo-Norman politics.
Customer Reviews:
Good Reference for Texas and Louisiana.......2006-06-07
This is a good book on wildflowers, vines, shrubs, trees of Texas and adjoining parts of Louisiana. Pictures are generally very good and are grouped by color and in a section by themselves. Each picture has a number reference and looking up the number gives you plant ID information and a range map. My biggest criticism of the book is that it just doesn't cover enough species - for what it does cover, it is excellent.
More than just a great little field guide...........2001-06-15
I own several field guides to Texas wildflowers, and I find this one to be the best among them. There are books with bigger and better photographs, but none come close to having the nearly 400 color photos this one has. This one also has maps of growing areas for each plant identified and very clear descriptions of each plant. It even has sections on Texas' endangered species and landscaping with native plants.
The book divides the plants into five sections for easy use. The wildflowers are further divided into colors to help find and identify them quickly. The five sections are (1) herbaceous wildflowers, (2) vines, (3) trees and shrubs, (4) cacti, agaves, yuccas and other succulents, and (5) miscellaneous plants, weeds and growths on trees. These are followed by appendices on how to identify common plant families and "plant watching" as a hobby (collecting plants, how to make a plant press and save your specimens, and a sample wildflower documentation sheet). Finally, there are three glossaries and an index.
While some might complain that the plant photographs are not printed with the specimen entries (they are grouped together in the center of the book), this is really quite handy. Each photo is numbered identically with the entries, so matching the photo with the description is really very simple. Indeed, it is quite easy to find the flower by its photo and then look up the corresponding plant description by the photo number.
All in all, this is the only wildflower field guide Texans will need. If you want a desk reference, that's another matter.
Book Description
'Thus, gentle Reader, I have given thee a faithful History of my Travels for Sixteen Years, and above Seven Months; wherein I have not been so studious of Ornament as of Truth.' In these words Gulliver represents himself as a reliable reporter of the fantastic adventures he has just set down; but how far can we rely on a narrator whose identity is elusive and whoses inventiveness is self-evident? Gulliver's Travels purports to be a travel book, and describes Gulliver's encounters with the inhabitants of four extraordinary places: Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the country of the Houyhnhnms. A consummately skilful blend of fantasy and realism makes Gulliver's Travels by turns hilarious, frightening, and profound. Swift plays tricks on us, and delivers one of the world's most disturbing satires of the human condition. This new edition includes the changing frontispiece portraits of Gulliver that appeared in successive early editions.
Book Description
This anthology demonstrates to the full just how rewarding an art form the aphorism can be, and just how brilliantly the aphorist can illuminate the hidden truth, or lay bare the ironies of existence. Specific sections including 'Religion', 'Money and Rank', 'Men, Women, Marriage' and 'Politics', cover the whole range of aphoristic literature. This book brings together the most diverse figures-the classic aphorists, like La Rochefoucauld; the philosophers, from the Greeks to Samuel Johnson to Virginia Woolf-as well as statesmen, scientists, boulevardiers, Olympians, and gadflies. John Gross draws on their wisdom and wit to produce an anthology that will be referred to time and time again.
Customer Reviews:
One last aphorism.......2007-02-25
Those are the bitter pills of civilization. Like other bitter pills, they have great healing power. As a matter of fact, if the World took more notice of those pearls of wisdom, produced by outstanding minds, from Heraclitus to the Huxleys, policies might be less absurd and mass actions less disastrous than they actually are.
Brilliant, Brittle, and Erudite.......2007-02-08
The book is dark verging on sardonic, reflecting the dark, sardonic nature of the best epigrams of our age. I was inspired to respond in the margins to a number of them, and I can't think of a better response to epigrams in general, than for them to get under your prickly skin to the extent that you might write your own ironic counterstatements. Bloodshed begets bloodshed, and so we might say (ironically) that this sort of bitterness begets bitterness. But it may very well be the most brilliant bitterness you've known.
Some of my favorite quotes with my responses--representative in the extreme:
"Where they burn books they will also in the end burn human bodies"--Heine,
<
>, 1823
"Where they burn human beings, they will also, in the end, burn the wrong book"--Eucaleh Terrapin
"A secret may sometimes be best kept by keeping the secret of its being a secret"--Sir Henry Taylor,
<
>, 1823
"Thus the wisest proverb is common sense"--Eucaleh Terrapin
"Freedom produces jokes, and jokes produce freedom"--Jean Paul Richter, Introduction to Aesthetics, 1823
"But to be witty is to be serious about other comedians"--Eucaleh Terrapin
Only Missing Wittgenstein.......2006-11-01
John Gross has compliled an excellent collection of the best aphorisms into a nicely accessible framework. The book is arranged by chapters reflecting everything from "Nature" to "The Afterlife." This arrangement works well as a path to pursue the great thoughts that philosophers, psychologists, and aphorists have written about the areas that most commonly provoke interest. The book has an outstanding index and an insightful introduction from Gross in which he expresses his regret about not having beem able to obtain permission to include the observations of Wittgenstein. As Vauvenargues wrote in 1746, "Men's maxims reveal their characters," and one of the great values in this collection is that it juxtaposes what others have said by subject area, juxtaposing what the famous thinkers here included remarked on the same subjects. The cover of this volume displays an explosive rocket, appropriately enough. The anti-religious elements are especially entertaining, as it is always fun to see the response to the groveling aspects of Christian orthodoxy. Highly recommended.
An excellent collection .......2004-11-02
Like most collections of aphorisms this one is rich in helpful thoughts. These thoughts inspire and give birth to new thoughts. 1) Aphorisms of others ideally inspire aphorisms of our own.
2) Aphorisms help make our minds more interesting.
3) It is senseless to read too many aphorisms at once
4) A little here a little there, aphoristic pleasure everywhere.
5) A good aphorism is one you want to tell someone else.
Serve up some wisdom on your coffee table.......2003-11-18
This is an ideal book for the coffee table, guest bedroom, or bathroom, but also one that will stand proudly on the bookshelf next to Bartlett's Famous Quotations and other prestigious literary reference books. The entries are witty, entertaining, often quite profound, and well organized throughout. The sources are varied but nearly all of the names are widely recognizable.
An aphorism is defined as "a short, pithy statement containing a truth of general import." In the introduction to this volume John Gross offers several distinguishing characteristics of the aphorism. Though the term `maxim' is often used as its synonym, an aphorism is considered more speculative, and sometimes more subversive than a maxim. While aphorisms offer insights and wisdom, they differ from proverbs in that they are not apocryphal. And while they are universal, they also generally bear the personal mark of the author.
Goethe, Nietzsche, Chekhov, Voltaire, Spinoza, Wilde, Yeats, James...but a few of the authors included in this book.
To give a flavor of the kinds of entries, consider these from the chapter on religion.
"Probably no invention came more easily to man than Heaven."
"Heathen, n. A benighted creature who has the folly to worship something that he can see and feel."
"If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated."
And if you don't like those, there are fifty other chapters to choose from.
Average customer rating:
- The Second Half of the Iliad in Greek
- Homer's masterpiece
|
The Odyssey, Books 1-12 (Oxford Classical Texts: Homeri Opera, Vol. 3)
Homer
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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The Odyssey, Books 13-24 (Oxford Classical Texts: Homeri Opera, Vol. 4)
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Iliad, Books 13-24 (Oxford Classical Texts: Homeri Opera, Vol. 2)
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Iliad, Books 1-12 (Oxford Classical Texts: Homeri Opera, Vol. 1)
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Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect
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Theogonia, Opera et Dies, Scutum, Fragmenta Selecta (Oxford Classical Texts)
ASIN: 0198145314 |
Customer Reviews:
The Second Half of the Iliad in Greek.......2000-05-30
The companion to Monro's first volume, Iliad I-XII, this is classical scholarship at its best and most essential. Monro produced in the 19th century an edition of Homer's great epic in Greek that is still used by scholars around the world who read and work with the poem's original Greek text. This book is not for beginning readers of ancient Greek, since it follows the usual format of Oxford Classical Texts and lacks any commentary. But for those who can read the Greek, this volume offers some of the best moments of the epic: the death of the hero Achilles' great friend, Patroklos and his funeral games; the savage return to battle by Achilles and his victory over Hector; the final ransom of Hector's body by his aged father Priam from his mortal enemy. No one who can should miss the chance to read the Iliad in its original beauty.
Homer's masterpiece.......2000-03-29
This edition, in the original Greek, contains half of the Iliad and is followed by several other volumes, which contain the second half of the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Homeric Hymns.
The Iliad centers around the anger of the warrior Achilles when Agammenon unjustly takes his concubine. Achilles subsequently refuses to fight, and, because his divine strength makes him indispensible to the Greek war effort, the Greeks are nearly driven from the Trojan shores.
Reading this book in the original language makes a big difference. Homer is a master of both sound and sense and to read him in translation deprives the reader of the former.
The lack of commentary and vocabulary in this edition does not make it the best choice for beginners in Greek.
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