No comments about The Merchant of Venice (Cambridge School Shakespeare).

No comments about Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus.

1 comments about Measure for Measure (Folger Shakespeare Library).

1. I was very satisfied with this version of William Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure." As far as Shakespeare goes, different editions of the plays can be drastically different, not generally in actual Shakespearian context, but in the quality and quantity of footnotes and helpful information. Throughout this book the footnotes are on the left-hand page while the actual play is on the right-hand page. There are also scene summaries in the footnotes at the beginning of each scene, which I found very helpful in understanding. There are also longer notes on some topics at the back of the book. As far as the footnotes go, I have been very satisfied with the amount of information and the layout of the book. My one complaint is that I purchased this book for a class and everyone else is using a different edition and for some reason the line numbers are different in my book from the ones that they are using. Mine are always higher, so I'm assuming I have some additional lines that were edited out in their version, but it causes some problems and I wonder which version is more widely accepted. Either way, I'm very satisfied with this edition and all the supplementary information it provides.

1 comments about CliffsNotes Importance of Being Earnest.

1. When I told my mom that we were reading The Importance of Being Earnest in our English class, she thought it would be a good idea to pick up the Cliff Notes for me to study. I appreciate the guesture, but it was completely unncecessary.
   
   The play itself is only about 80 pages long, just 10 pages more than the Cliff Notes. So don't expect to save any time by reading Cliff Notes instead of the play.
   
   Also, the play isn't really that confusing at all. There are only a handful of characters and the dialouge is not hard to understand (though it isn't written in a modern dialect). While reading this play (I finished it in one night), I never once was confused or lost.
   
   Cliff Notes can be useful for long, boring, confusing works such as The Scarlet Letter. But something as short and simple as The Importance of Being Earnest stands fine on it's own. Skip the Cliff Notes and just read the play. It's actually pretty funny and you'll probably enjoy it. I did.

5 comments about The Here and Now: The Photography of Sam Jones.

1. the Clooney album, too many shots of Clooney makes it too boring and creepy. Obviously Jones has a 'jones' for Clooney.



2. The photos are absolutely brilliant... I only wish there was more text explaining Jones's take on each shot -- how he came up with the setting, what his inspiration was, what happened during the shoot, etc. He does a little of this in the intro of the book where he remembers moments with Jessica Beil, Clooney, etc, but it would be so much better if each photo had something like that.



3. The images in this book are spectacular & beautiful. If you are a fan of George Clooney you're in luck as he has the most photos spread, some serious some funny.



4. fantastic book! a must have for anyone who appreciates stunning photography by a clever and talented photographer. whether jones is drawing out a subject's demure side or silly side, he lets you feel as if you are, at once, let in on the secret and the surprise of the moment. no coffee table collection is complete without this photographer's monograph.



5. I loved it.....
   buy it now....IT WILL IMPROVE YOUR SEX LIFE!
   seriously. there is nothing like some bare naked ladies...

5 comments about Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit.

1. I was afraid that this was going to be one of those hand-wringing tsk-tsk-tsk books with pretenses to sociology. Not a bit of it! It's a well-researched and pleasant history of just what we all want to read about and see at the sideshow. It is particularly uplifting to know that many of these "freaks" are equananimous about their condition, and don't consider themselves particularly ill-treated. The belief that they are sad creatures whom fate has done poorly by, is simply our own condescension.



2. I bought this book as a gift for my husband after we viewed a documentary on circus side shows. It is a very well-written book, and the people are sensitively portrayed.



3. I read this book and I will probably read it again. The subject is handled with respect - I appreciated that. Sure - it could have more pictures and maybe more "gossipy stuff - like the tall man who ran way with the fat lady behind the lion tamer's back, etc" = but I still found every page had something for me.



4. I loved every page of this book. It gave me the most in depth information on the development of the side show and the expoitation of human beings. Also was included little known personal information on some of my favorite oddities. A very intelligent read.



5. This book is a book that tells you about the ins and outs of how the freakshows started and profited. I had no idea that it was a social book. I thought that it would be a a book about "freaks". I was wrong. It is a good book though. I enjoy reading about oddities and liked learning about how they were brought about into the public eye. It's worth taking a look at.

2 comments about Plays: Maria Irene Fornes (PAJ Books).

1. Maria Irene Fornes is a terrific playwright - challenging, concrete, innovative - and this volume contains some of her best plays, among them _Conduct of Life_, the innovative greatness of which is apparent even as we read the description of the set. I've been reading Fornes for some fifteen years now, and her plays stand up to the hardest test of all, namely, frequent rereading.



2. The spectrum of her work, included in this book is amazing. Though all the plays have a similar aesthetic, each one has a singular style and tone. I have read some critiques, which suggest that, in this postmodern world, her work might be too obvious. This is laughable though. While her work, as in Mud, has the trappings of simplicity owing to the fact that it is a relatively short piece, the impact and depth of the play is found in the nuances. One must consider Mae. What is her place between a poor, illiterate mate and a pathetically snobbish boor? Both men hold a power over her by virtue of their sex. She has little alternative but to choose from among those two men. But the oppressive constructs she works within also give her an invisible weapon. As a woman, it is expected that she care for them and nurture their health. This is a place of power, if not an obvious one. This play in particular can be looked at from two faces--as allegory or as a psychological portrayal of a woman's mind. This is only a short review, so I must stop soon. But imagine. if a few lines of a review can reveal such complexity of depth then what is it that the postmodern critics find so simple and obvious? Are they that much more brilliant than the rest of us? Or, perhaps, the cynicism of postmodern analysis takes the circumstantial plot as the true thing that Fornes is aiming for. Does a plot need to be as convoluted as the one in the film Magnolia, to convey deep meaning? I enjoyed that film, but I don't feel it captured a tenth of dynamics of what occurrs in in the plays by Fornes. Perhaps that is the curse of Hollywood, however. In which case, I am glad that Fornes is not or ever will be mainstream. Postmoderns may settle for the for the flashy pyro-technic plot, in which there are 20 twists of fate that we must smirk at and a large cast of characters that we must feel sick for, but in Fornes' work there is real fire--ignited from condensed intensity. I strongly recommend this book.

4 comments about The Right to Speak: Working with the Voice.

1. Unfortunately, some of the reviews here don't do this book fair justice. Patsy Rodenburg is quite easily one of the most inspiring and brilliant teachers alive today. Her writing is concise, powerful, accessible, and practical, amongst many other things. Don't know what the "psycho-babble" review was all about, but Patsy simply teaches how to find the individual habitual tensions that we all carry day to day and how to release them so one can be the most powerful communicator possible. She lays out a perfect system for how to find the tensions and how to release them. This book is the most accessible to all people, no matter the career, and shouldn't be passed up. The book affords infinite insight, benefits, and training toward the extraordinary vocal power that everyone has at their disposal. Patsy is a brilliant teacher, in person she is a million times more amazing than her books will ever show, but her written works are certainly a fabulous place to start.



2. A lot of gobbledy gook. Sounds like the author wants to be a therapist. 3/4 of the book is psycho babble. Exercises are not helpful. A waste of money.



3. I was looking for a book which would give me several practical exercises to help improve the quality of my voice. I found the book poorly organized and the exercises do not come until 3/4 of the way through the book. It is not that clear which exercises to start with and the exercises refer back to philisophical points made in the first 180 pages. I did not want to have to wade through pages and pages of discussion about the voice and simply wanted a "how to."

   This book is good if you are very interested in the subject of voice training and want to spend a lot of time thinking and reading about the voice. The exercises make up only one chapter, and there are not diagrams, or pictures for learners who are more visually oriented.




4. I have been working in the field of voice training for nearly 4 years now. This book remains a constant companion of mine which I have read and re-read. I strongly recommend it to anyone who is interested in developing their own vocal freedom.

   Once you have read The Right To Speak you will find it very difficult to ever listen to or view speech in quite the same light again.

   If you know anyone who still believes that the only way to speak is to "speak properly", you need to buy them a copy of this book right away. The myth of the correct voice is truly exploded by Rodenburg as she "unpacks the box" in this book.

   Read this book and discover both your expressive voice and your expressive self.

5 comments about Stars in My Eyes.

1. This book showcases Bachardy drawings and his journal account of the sittings with. primarily, aging movie stars he admired as an adolescent in the late-1940s along with some later stars (Jack Nicholson, Charlotte Rampling, Mia Farrow, Maggie Smith), the official portrait of Jerry Brown for the California state capitol, and some other artists (Robert Mapplethorpe, Aaron Copland, Iris Murdoch, Julian Schnabel, James Merrill) and directors Vincente Minnelli and William Wyler. The responses of the subjects to the drawings are usually very interesting, with greater paranoia on the part of other visual artists than of the aging movie stars.

   The best stories are in the sittings with Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Jack Nicholson, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Louise Brooks. The accounts of those "stars" in whom I have no particular interest (Alice Faye, Ruby Keeler, Helmut Newton) contained insights (both from sitter and portraitist) and Bachardy's prose shows the admirable qualities of those whom I hoped would display them (Ingrid Bergman, Myrna Loy, Maggie Smith, Iris Murdoch, Louise Brooks, Henry Fonda, James Merrill, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, Alec Guiness, Laurence Olivier). The only one whom he comes to despise in the course of the interactions of drawing a portrait is Joan Fontaine. He remains a fan of most and gives even the devil (Miss Fontaine) her due.

   The drawings are never flattering and the artist does not flatter himself either, but I find it interesting to read about a professional doing his or her job professionally. The reader gets a very good idea of what it is like to try to portray honestly movie stars and other cultural icons, as well as getting the portraits. Most of his subjects are interesting (not least in their insecurities) people and I look forward to the eventual publication of his diaries from half a century at the edges of Hollywood ) encountering a stream of writers, artists, and film stars.




2. This book showcases Bachardy drawings and his journal account of the sittings with. primarily, aging movie stars he admired as an adolescent in the late-1940s along with some later stars (Jack Nicholson, Charlotte Rampling, Mia Farrow, Maggie Smith), the official portrait of Jerry Brown for the California state capitol, and some other artists (Robert Mapplethorpe, Aaron Copland, Iris Murdoch, Julian Schnabel, James Merrill) and directors Vincente Minnelli and William Wyler. The responses of the subjects to the drawings are usually very interesting, with greater paranoia on the part of other visual artists than of the aging movie stars.

   The best stories are in the sittings with Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Jack Nicholson, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Louise Brooks. The accounts of those "stars" in whom I have no particular interest (Alice Faye, Ruby Keeler, Helmut Newton) contained insights (both from sitter and portraitist) and Bachardy's prose shows the admirable qualities of those whom I hoped would display them (Ingrid Bergman, Myrna Loy, Maggie Smith, Iris Murdoch, Louise Brooks, Henry Fonda, James Merrill, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, Alec Guiness, Laurence Olivier). The only one whom he comes to despise in the course of the interactions of drawing a portrait is Joan Fontaine. He remains a fan of most and gives even the devil (Miss Fontaine) her due.

   The drawings are never flattering and the artist does not flatter himself either, but I find it interesting to read about a professional doing his or her job professionally. The reader gets a very good idea of what it is like to try to portray honestly movie stars and other cultural icons, as well as getting the portraits. Most of his subjects are interesting (not least in their insecurities) people and I look forward to the eventual publication of his diaries from half a century at the edges of Hollywood ) encountering a stream of writers, artists, and film stars.




3. Bachardy's skill as an artist is evident. The book demonstrates that with his recognizably stylish renderings of celebrities who have subjected themselves to a sitting. Most of his subjects must be very sorry they did! The portraits are never flattering although always interesting. The basis for the book is not the art, but Mr. Bachardy's tattle-tale telling of the circumstances of the sitting. He may visually nail his subjects with the portraits, but he crucifies them with the stories he tells. He may have stars in his eyes (accessible to him through his lifelong connection with Isherwood, of course), but he has poison in his pen and no love for his subjects in his heart.



4. Don Bachardy's stature as a gifted draughtsman continues to grow. And now with the current growing respect and exposure of his beloved Christopher Isherwood vis a vis the posthumous Diaries and the notes and essays recently published, Bachardy's gifts as a writer are keeping pace with his important drawings, documenting the art culture of the past century. This beautifully designed book shares the wholeness of his craft: not only do we see important drawings of important people, we also hear the secrets of the encounter that resulted in the drawings. Sitting for Don Bachardy is tough - a joy, but hard work. To read how his silent sessions are processed in his mind and subsequently in his notes written concurently with his drawings opens an important door, not only for understanding Bachardy's keen observations but for the entire genre of portrait making. This is a delightful read and visual excursion....and contains secrets about famous prople we all thought we knew well!



5. I have been familiar with the superb drawings of Don Bachardy for many years, but had no idea how well he wrote. Insightful, clear, and sometimes waspish, the various pieces accompanying the drawings deflate the pompous and offer an original and unique view of the famous made vulnerable. Reading this book is like dipping into a delicious box of chocolates.

5 comments about The Klingon Dictionary (Star Trek).

1. The author is a professional linguist, and as such he thinks he knows better than the tv series. So he's totally recreated the Klingon language to fit what HE thinks it should be. No hard K's, they are a linguistic cliche, so we have all kinds of strange Q's being used, and linguistic revisionism to tell us that they really aren't called Klingons, etc. So for someone wanting a guide to the Klingon language as shown in the original (and best) series, this is an extreme disappointment. If you want to invent your own language, fine, but don't mess with someone else's creation if you don't respect it.



2. I bought this book.. along with another klingon book, when I was stationed in Turkey and didnt have much to do. It helped pass the time and was kinda fun.



3. This book is excellent. It has everything (and I'm not exagerating here) you need to learn Klingon. The information is well organized and it's easy to learn the basics. And the dictionary is quite large, so it's easy to translate just about anything you can think of. Some English-to-Klingon phrases can get confusing sometimes because the Klingon translation isn't word for word with English. So, if you're a big fan of Star Trek, or you want to learn another language, this book is a must have.



4. This book is full of all the grammar and words you'll need to get a basic knowledge of Klingon, but it is all presented more as a reference. I've been through several languages, and while tools such as this are an indispensable aid to learning, they're not always the best way to approach a language. A textbook format learning guide would be better for a beginner, one that chops the vocabulary and grammar up into sections rather than presenting it all at once. But for what it is, it's great.



5. This is a really cool book if you want to know what certain words are in Klingon, but to actually learn the language, it will take a lot of time. This book goes into great detail about how to pronounce words and where they belong in a sentence. This is like learning any other language, and it won't be easy to learn, but it is still really fun to have and read. I'm trying to learn, but it will take a while.