Product Description
The story that never grows old...

Lord of the Flies remains as provocative today as when it was first published in 1954, igniting passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. Though critically acclaimed, it was largely ignored upon its initial publication. Yet soon it became a cult favorite among both students and literary critics who compared it to J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye in its influence on modern thought and literature.

Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse,Lord of the Flies has established itself as a true classic. And now readers can own it in a beautifully designed hardcover edition worthy of its stature.

This Christmas' meaningful gift, the 50th Anniversary Edition of the Lord of the Flies is the volume that every fan of this classic book will have to own.Amazon.com Review
William Golding's classic tale about a group of Englishschoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island is just aschilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. Atfirst, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, makeshelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts areRalph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's chubby,wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy forlighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegateresponsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim,play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules arebeing ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack,the redheaded leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away manyof the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situationdeteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away,until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy havebecome the hunted: "He forgot his words, his hunger and thirst, andbecame fear; hopeless fear on flying feet." Golding's gripping novelexplores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all onthe brutal playing field of adolescent competition. --JenniferHubert ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1408)

Always a classic!
I didn't purchase this book for myself, but for my high school son.He'll be reading it in his English class this year & I wanted him to have the opportunity to read it any time he wanted, instead of only in class with copies that cannot be checked out.He thinks it's overkill, but I'm glad I did it because now I get to read it again too!I haven't read it since I was middle school age and it still doesn't fail to fascinate and entertain.

Fun And Death In The Savage Garden
"The Lord Of The Flies" is an exciting adventure yarn that memorably delves into the problem of free will versus social order. Unlike most such literary explorations, we learn here that free will may not be all that great after all, or a confining social order all that bad.

A plane crashes in a tropical island, leaving a large but unorganized group of pre-teen boys the only survivors. A boy named Ralph takes charge by virtue of a vote, and for a while the boys work reasonably as a team to facilitate their rescue. But dark forces are at work from within and without, and soon the social order the boys came in with is displaced by brutality and murder.

A familiar subject of parody on such shows as "South Park" and "The Simpsons", "Lord Of The Flies" was itself written as something of a parody of the English children's novel "The Coral Island". In "The Coral Island", a boy named Ralph and his two friends find themselves on a desert island and display sufficiency and daring before their eventual rescue. Here there is no such sufficiency, and only a negative kind of daring. Neither boy nor nature is of a kind to play by the rules, perhaps author William Golding's point when he presented this in 1954 after having served in the Royal Navy during World War II.

Ralph may be our hero, but Golding points out he's not much of a leader. Ralph, he writes, "would treat the day's decisions as though he were playing chess. The only trouble was that he would never be a very good chess player."

Ralph's brain trust, a kid with the unfortunate nickname "Piggy", is arguably no help, full of whiny hall-monitor admonishments and rather lazy besides. Also an ally is the insightful but rather moony Simon, a bit of a lone wolf. About the only boy who really seems up to the task of taking charge here is a choir leader named Jack, a natural-born hunter who rallies the others with talk of painting their faces and having fun.

Of course, Jack's the bad guy, but after a few readings I can almost imagine this story being told by Jack in an alternate version as a sort of parable of free-living youngsters shaking off the adult wanna-bes in their midst to get in tune with their wild sides. Never mind the fact that some of them, like the sadistic Roger, are more in need of a sedative.

Though the book is dark, it is neither oppressive nor boring. High schoolers should take heart - there are much duller books you can be reading than this. If you are like me, you may even find the novel electrifying in the way it keys in upon the hardness of growing up. The beasties Ralph and the others live in fear of may be fantasy, but bullies are real, and few books depict that sad rite of passage as well as this one.

Great writing, too. Each chapter has a fully realized sense all its own, and Golding's depiction of the island and its natural, chaotic beauty make for some memorable passages: "The assembly looked with him, considered the vast stretches of water, the high sea beyond, unknown indigo of infinite possibility, heard silently the sough and whisper from the reef." The natural world does at times seem to be a menacing force as described by Golding.

"Lord Of The Flies" was a favorite of mine in high school, and remains so nearly 30 years later. It doesn't get old; it just draws you in a little deeper each time.

Good Story
The book Lord of the Flies by William Golding was very good. The title is talking about boys who get stranded on an island and find a monster named the Lord of the Flies. The setting of the novel is on an island in 1954. The protagonist of the story, and my favorite character, was definitely Piggy. He was always trying to solve problems and be nice. The antagonist can be lot of different characters, but I think it was Jack. He was always trying to take control. I didn't like him. All of the characters were very believable and very interesting. This book is about boys who get trapped on an island. They try to work together and survive, but a beast roams the island they are on. The boys have to stop the beast, but even harder than that they have to try to work together. The rising action was when they found out the beast was real. The climax was when the boys started to fight.
You found out about the boys in the story when they have their fist meeting. The writing described every little thing the boys did. The story is trying to be kind to one another is hard when also trying to run a town. The author is saying that you should not try to take control. You should let everyone have a say. I liked this book and would recommend it to lots of people. If you can get passed the blood you will love it.

The most beautifully written, tragic and provocative, very often frightening with a climax of plural terror.
This book is one of the best, sitting next toall the other William Golden books. When few boys fell on an island from an airplan that was blown up by an atom bomb, they fight their way all out the island to be saved.This book will keep you on your feet, with fights and thrilling mysteries that are sometimes not solved. This is one of the greatest book of all time that will lead pondering at all times.

Awesome! Thanks for speedy delivery
Thanks a lot for fast delivery; the book arrived 4 days from order date regardless of "estmated date." ... Read more

Product Description
"I was standing up, pressed back against the wall, trying not to breathe. I got there in the one movement my body made. My body had many hairs on legs and belly and chest and head, and each had its own life; each inherited a hundred thousand years of loathing and fear for things that scuttle or slide or crawl." from Free Fall

Sammy Mountjoy, artist, rises from poverty and an obscure birth to see his pictures hung in the Tate Gallery. Swept into World War II, he is taken as a prisoner-of-war, threatened with torture, then locked in a cell of total darkness to wait. He emerges from his cell like Lazarus from the tomb, seeing infinity in a grain of sand and eternity in an hour. Transfigured by his ordeal, he begins to realize what man can be and what he has gradually made of himself through his own choices. He determines to find the exact point at which the accumulated weight of those choices has deprived him of free will.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

General Irrational Fear
Samuel Mountjoy is an artist.Does it matter if he is a Christian, a Marxist, a rationalist?He is the narrator.Samuel doesn't know his father.His mother bets on horses and drinks.She is enormous.He doesn't dislike dirt, begins school barefoot, and his house is in the vicinity of the area called Rotten Row.It is a slum.

Sam's escort to the infant school, Evie, is more interesting than the school.(Later things change.There are housing estates and tellies.)Sammy and Johnny Spragg play at the airfield.The kids are caught and police action is threatened.They are chased from a hill where there is a general's house.The narrator carries around with him a load of memories.It seems that Johnny and Sam are bullies, but the third pal, Philip,
is not necessarily a victim.He can run fast, for one thing.

When Sam is hospitalized for a mastoid operation, his mother dies. This is a case of happenstance.Next Sam, now in foster care, is nineteen years old, attending art school, and in love with Beatrice Ifor, a model.Sam and Philip draw Beatrice.They are Communists.In the party there is generosity, martyrdom, and a sense of purpose.

Beings of awful power determine the fate of some of the characters in this interesting, Dickens-like book.

The Visionary, Inspiration, Art, Pain, Defiining Existence
The aesthetic of Free Fall is akin to painting and that is a stroke of brilliance. The lack of judgment is what prevents the madness and uncleanliness of the book from being ugly. The imperfections are treated with such care and self-love that they become beautiful.I believe that Golding was extremely good at accessing his past as a vital source of inspiration, and he here re-enters various cognitive states. As with any human, the illusion wears and a weightier sensibility takes over. Yet it is obvious that this character, like Golding, has what would now be termed a mental illness. The seriousness of such conditions shouldn't be taken lightly, and even Golding's shouldn't be seen in a glamorous light, by which I mean paying mind only to this novel as, e.g., his, most autobiographical. Darkness Visible reveals the very depths of horror, and yes Golding new such delusions and madness. He was very brave to deal with those experiences in writing. A demon is not scary for what it will do to you, but for what it means about you; thus the horror. It's implicit in Golding's writing as it is in Dostoyevsy's. However, I believe this book is extraordinary in its redemptive power. Here Golding shows something that I know very well. Suffering and madness are not a source of creativity (As the wives' tale goes), yet, when spiritual, they are often caused by true visionary experience. It is also true that some people seek the visionary and get it-get it and a heavy dose. Let's just say if it gets too intense, you can't handle or interpret it--not until the dust settles anyhow. You might get 'blinded' in the middle. Yet, on the other side, when the suffering, confusion and the overwhelming pain of light passes, the reward is the knowledge of the initiate, esoterica, and finally, the song of the muses. If the visionary experience were to die, the pain would with it, but then, the doorway to the invisible would close, too.

One of the MUST READ books
Unquestionably one of the most beautiful books even written. There is nothing else to add.

truly poetic writing
I am still under the spell of enchantment of this book. I picked it up by chance at a used-book store going out of business just because I had so enjoyed Lord of the Flies in high school.I don't think I have ever read anything that impacted me so much as the simplicity and painful beauty in Golding's use of the language. This is a book to read again and savour. I'm surprised there is not more literary criticism of it to be found on the web. I agree with the reviewer who states that the last line is the book is totally surprising. I'm not sure yet that I understand it.

Free Fall
This book doesn't need to be introduced, as well as its writer, Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, Booker Prize literature winner, one of my favorite writters. I bought this book for my son along with "Inheritors" and hope he will love them as much as I do. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Lord of the Flies -On the Open Sea

The psychological and social class undercurrents of life aboard a "Ship of the Line" at the end of the golden age of British domination of the seas is the core of this facinating trilogy. William Golding is the Nobel winning author who is best known for his first book, Lord of the Flies.His literary plunge into the depths of the age of sail during the Napoleonic wars has the same claustophobic tension of this earlier work.Told primarily in the first person, it is a voyage of self discovery of a member of the 'lower' aristocracy as he makes the long trip from England to Australia.During his voyage he is forced to question long held social, political, and personal values.Golding's ability to chart the change of his main character's pompous and self righteous view of the world to a more open and sensitive one is the internal beauty of this trilogy. I highly recommend it.

A great seafaring saga
This is a fabulous, detailed and completely engrossing tale of the sea - the ships, her men and the challenges they faced as they battled weather, currents, illness and all that time and chance threw at them.

This is written in a fairly old fashioned style, which requires some attention to the writing (this is not a quick and easy summer read), but for those who loved Hormblower and the other great sagas of the sea, this is a fabulous addition to your library.

When you read this you can taste the sea spray and feel the rocking of the boat.You will become quite engrossed with the characters and their adventures, and by the end will feel that it was indeed a satisfactory use of your time, and well worth the purchase price.

Authentic
I was completely caught up in this saga of a sorry ship and its haughty, pretty much unlikable main character.
It's unusual to somehow care about a person who for most of the story is an unsympathetic snob, yet one who makes the reader root for his redemption.Would it ever happen?The book is long, but fascinating.
I guess it helped to have seen the TV version (a totally accurate rendition of the book) as I had visual images of all the characters.

Excellent
This writer is excellent.A little difficult to read, due to "old fashioned" language used.A good insight to ocean travel in early days. Was an excellent "Masterpiece Theater" presentation on PBS!Reading the book just fills in the blanks. ... Read more

Product Description
Now reissued with a new jacket the first volume of Golding's sea trilogy, which follows the trials and fortunes of a warship captain bound for Australia. Whilst at sea he writes a journal to send back to England in which he records the mounting tensions onboard ship. From the author of LORD OF THE FLIES. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Stands on its own effortlessly . . .
It's the tail end of the Napoleonic wars and a superannuated warship makes its way very, very slowly from England to Australia. Among the passengers are Mr. Edmund Talbot, aristocrat, headed for a term as assistant to the Governor, thanks to the influence of his patron and godfather. He keeps a journal for the latter's eventual entertainment and we are treated to his stumbling attempts to understand the nautical world. Still, he's a gentleman and that smooths his way. He has various small adventures, social and amorous, all of it lighthearted to the reader. then we meet the Rev. Mr. Colley, newly frocked and headed for his first congregation, and a very different sort of personality from Talbot, not to mention the ship's officers and men. And from there the story begins a slide into a much darker place, culminating in the "rite" of Crossing the Line, when Mr. Colley is humiliated once too often, and subsequent events result in a funeral at sea. Golding has absolute control of his subject and his characters, sucking you into a consideration of the nature of Justice, and of the division between the social orders. This is not at all a "fun" book, but it's a very affecting one.

Brilliant evocation of sea journey to Australia 1800s
I can't recall another first person narrative that is so effective in giving (apparent) authentic voice to a character as that given by Mr Golding to the young aristocrat Mr Edmund Talbot and how revealing that is of the times, the class system, dress, morality, habits, and so on, on a long sea voyage.Details of the ship itself, the characters that people it, and the events that occasion it on its journey, are masterfully drawn (so that's where - some of us - came from!) I also laughed out loud as it is richly comic as well (Dickens would have laughed out loud too I bet!) not least in the circumlocutions used by the narrator.A journey for him in a number of senses.Also one of the funniest lovemaking scenes I can recall ever having read.A joy of a novel.

Critiques the class system implicitly
I have not had the opportunity to read the other parts in this trilogy, but for me this novel hangs together exceptionally well as an individual story. In brief, it is written as the journal of Edmund Talbot, composed for his godfather and patron, an English lord, during a journey from England to Australia sometime during the early 19th century. In particular, it deals with the events before, and the investigation subsequent to, the death of a parson who is also on board.

Because of the setting, characters of diverse backgrounds are thrown into closer contact than they might otherwise have had. This means that notions of class and how it impacts upon individuals play an important part in the novel. Questions of faith and the effect that it has upon actions are also crucial. Ultimately this is a very human story (much as is Golding's most famous book `Lord Of The Flies') as it deals with the way that people react when put into extreme (and not so extreme) circumstances.

This is certainly a book worth reading on its own terms. However, it has also whet my appetite to find and read the other two books, `Close Quarters' and "Fire Down Below'.

Must be read with the other 2 parts of the Trilogy
Wonderful prose, beautifully observed character study, as WG slips into the skin of an extremely priggish and snobbish early twenties aristocrat as he comes of age and begins to understand a little more of the virtues ofthe ordinary people around him. Sea journeys of that era were long,tedious, largely uneventful and extremely uncomfortable. All 3 books in thetrilogy carry this perfectly: the maritime atmosphere is conveyed asperfectly as the arrogant character of the narrator. However, the tedium ofthe journey also comes across in the virtually non-existent plot whichmakes the books drag on somewhat. It is probably, though, as brilliantdescription of the English class system at the start of the 19th century asyou will read. I believe that the books in Trilogies should be able tostand alone, if they are to be sold separately, & on that basis, thistrilogy definitely fails. I'm glad I read it as a single 750 page tome. ... Read more

Product Description
Dean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire on his cathedral. His mason anxiously advises against it, for the old cathedral was built without foundations. Nevertheless, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by pinnacle, until the stone pillars shriek and the ground beneath it swims. Its shadow falls ever darker on the world below, and on Dean Jocelin in particular. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Facinating
This is written in a "stream of consciousness" style which makes is somewhat inaccessible and difficult to follow.The book is written as the thoughts of the insane bishop building the spire.

What interested me in the book is actually visiting Salisbury cathedral in England and seeing the impossible spire myself.Golding taught at the school attached to Salisbury cathedral and this inspired his story.The hubris of building the tallest tower and stone spire in England on top of thin pillars never meant to hold the weight, themselves built on 4' deep foundations set on wet gravel is amazing.The fact this this was done in the thirteen hundreds is amazing and might inspire one to faith.

Read this classic and then go to see that cathedral that has been continually about to fall since the middle ages.

A classic of the first order
I stumbled upon this book by accident, and decided to read it due to Golding's reputation as author of the wonderful, "Lord of the Flies"."The Spire" is likewise a fairly quick read, and every bit as engaging.Even arguably superior.

Briefly, it is the story of a cleric, Dean Jocelin, who embarks on an over-ambitious building project at the cathedral he oversees.The time and the place is not important, and indeed could be 21st century America (the book seems to be set in 19th century England). The project is the addition of a 400 foot spire. Jocelin is single-minded regarding the project, as he decorously steamrolls the project along under color of devotion to God.The result is disastrous.

I respectfully differ with the several other reviewers that see the spire project as misdirected devotion to glorifying God.There is much evidence in the story that Jocelin is a megalomaniac.The structure is to be self-glorifying.To boot, he is also apparently a closet lecher.He prays, and seems to rationalize the project as an act of devotion - but I think he is really all about self-promotion.

Always woven into the storytelling is the church building itself.Golding paints a vivid picture of the old stone pillars audibly protesting under the ever increasing weight of the spire that slowly grows above them, the construction of the spire, the majesty but the tension, and the feeling of looming catastrophe.Wonderful writing.

This is a great piece of work.It is well worth the quick read and it will stay with you.Recommended.

Obsessed by a vision

Reverend Jocelin, Dean of the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, becomes obsessed with building a 400-foot spire atop the church; the builders warn him that the church's foundation is not strong enough to support the weight of such a spire, but Jocelin insists it be built because of "a vision" he has had.Jocelin loses interest in everything not connected with the spire and truly becomes a man possessed; even religious services are suspended in order for the construction to take place, and people die as it is being built. (The power of this obsession is reminiscent of Captain Ahab and his obsession with Moby Dick.)What might have been a religious inspiration for the churchgoers becomes a personal mania for Jocelin. Sure enough after the spire is completed the building collapses and Jocelin is killed, but amazingly the spire remains upright. Golding captures perfectly the madness in Jocelin's "vision," and it's my favorite of his books - and the one most accessible.

Superior Fiction
Golding constructs a fictional account around a real occurrence, the building of a tall spire at Salisbury Cathedral, near where Golding lived.

It is Golding's "Macbeth", whereas "Flies" may be seen as "Hamlet". Short, impressionistic, unrelenting, "The Spire" is writing at its best.There is a lack of physical description, leaving that to the reader's imagination, but much fine dialogue.This is why I have always thought it would make a sensational film (I have always seen Alec Guiness in the role of Jocelyn).

Characters are well drawn, there are inter and intra personal conflicts between Roger, the Master Builder, and Jocelyn, who thinks he is doing God's work and that Roger's skills are his instrument.

Jocelyn, who rose rapidly to become Dean of the Church, is resented by others who had been there longer.At the end, Roger is a drunken wreck, and Jocelyn finds out the truth about his appointment as Dean.It is a crushing revelation, which finally kills him.On his deathbed, he asks to be helped up so that he can see the Spire, which has finally been completed.It took a terrible toll in human life, but this tribute to God is still standing today and can be seen for miles on the flat Salisbury Plain.

This is a much less symbolic story than "Flies", and a lot less heavy handed, and that is why I feel it is much superior.It is a very human story of hubris, obsession, false hope, and ultimate ruination, and Golding accomplishes all this in a very short book.It is like a long epic poem, and while its writing style may take a little getting used to, it is well worth the effort.

To me, this book is a bona fide classic.Do yourself a favor and read it.You will never forget it.

An Ode to Obsession
"The Spire" manages to brush up against the successful elements of Golding's best work.Although it never reaches the heights of the brilliant "The Lord of the Flies," it does paint vivid and fragmented pictures of man come undone.

William Golding, after seeing the horrors of war firsthand, rejected the foundational thought of humanism that "man is basically good."In "The Lord of the Flies," he used concise language and haunting symbolism to validate his thoughts.And, by creating sympathetic characters, he drew us into his viewpoint.Few of his other novels create such sympathy.It is as though he bought into his own philosophy so deeply that he no longer found value in his fellow man."Pincher Martin" and "Free Fall" left me impressed with his skills, but intellectually unmoved.

In "The Spire," he moves me again.At first, his protagonist--an anti-hero in every sense--is hard to sympathize with in any fashion.The man, Dean Jocelin, is driven to the point of obsession and insanity by his need to serve God, or, ultimately his need to feel worthy in God's sight.He demands obedience and servitude from those around him, driving them to complete his vision of a 400 ft spire above his cathedral.In the process, some will die, others will lose faith, hope, and love.Only as Jocelin comes to terms with his fallibility do we begin to care about the doomed outcome of his dream.Only as he admits his own pride and stubborness do we hope for his absolution, deserved or not.

This book is an ode to all those who become obsessed by religion and love, who strive for something to the point of sacrificing everything of true value along the way.Here, finally, Golding once again finds a way to show the madness of humanity while still proferring a glimmer of hope. ... Read more

Product Description
Golding's best-known novel is the story of a group of boys who, after a plane crash, set up a fragile community on a previously uninhabited island. As memories of home recede and the blood from frenzied pig-hunts arouses them, the boys' childish fear turns into something deeper and more primitive. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Replacement
A must read for all high school students.This was to replace a worn out copy.

See it for what it is . . .
Just a note that this particular book is a work of background and criticism ABOUT "Lord of the Flies" and not the novel itself, which has over 1,200 amateur reviews on Amazon.

The Head of an Animal . . .
Well, most people in America have already read "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding, which is definitely a classic. So I'm not going to give a synopsis, just a general appraisal of the work.

The main characters (Ralph, Jack, Piggy, Roger, and many more) are very complex and very riveting. You can clearly observe their distinctive personalities with their actions and their dialogue. And you feel sorry for these characters when something goes horribly wrong.

There are many symbolisms in this book (the conch, the pigs, the flies, etc.), and they work very well here. Interpretations are open (except when it comes to the obvious ones). Tensions are high as we slowly move towards the climax. No Hollywood ending here.

Golding has created an influential work of art, as highlights in this book are many. This isn't an innocent story, and it's no cliché, either. Kudos to the author.

A+

"All we have is the rules"
Ever fantasize that you are on an island free from the restraints of society? William Golding has taken that scenario to the nth in this story of a bunch of English boys, plane wrecked on an island during WWII.

We see the fabric of society slowly and most assuredly ripping as the rules are discarded one by one. Golding is very graphic in his description of the demise of pigs and plants.

One will never look at fun and games in the same way.

... Read more

Product Description
A guide to reading "Lord of the Flies" with a critical and appreciative mind. Includes background on the author's life and times, sample tests, term paper suggestions, and a reading list. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Lord of the Flies
I read this book for my English II class and I was not impressed by it at all.It is a very confusing book with boring plots.The author does not state the information clearly which leaves your stranded with confusing clues.I do not recommend this book to anyone.

Lord of the Flies
Imagine tenty boys alone on a deserted Island without a single parent to tell them what to do.In Lord of the Flies, this situation occurs.Twenty boys are brought down to this island off the coast of South America due to a terrible plane crash that killed the Pilot(the only adult on the plane).At their first meeting one boy is chosen as the leader.Rules and important decisions are made and accepted by everyone.Young and old boys seem to be working together and it seems to be a great civilization.Then friendships begin to struggle and one boy is picked to be the outsider.A fight between Ralph, who is the representative of civilization and Jack, who becomes the leader of forces of anarchy begins on the Island.In essence, this is the struggle between good and evil.The ending of the novel concludes in a gut wrenching showdown beteween the two.

William Golding, the author, does a very good job of explaining the exprtessions and feelings that the boys, young and old have.As you can probobally can see, I thought that it was a great book and recommend it to anybody(boys or girls) who may like adventure books.

My Opinion of LOTF
I'm a teenage girl, who is studying LOTF for GCSE's.I have really enjoyed the book, and i find the themes challenging yet interesting.I think its a great book and everyone should try to read it as it would be a benefit to them.

my opinion
okay.. here's my two cent on william golding's book lord of the flies, we're reading this book in literature class and i have to admit.. this book is soooooooo boring and confusing.. and the teacher is making it even more confusng then it already is. i don't recommend this book.. but everyone has their own taste...

incredible
This novel was masterfully written.It only took a day for me to read it.If you love the battle between good and evil, this is the novel for you! ... Read more

Product Description
A group of boys are stranded on an island in the allegorical novel.

The title, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, part of Chelsea House Publishers’ Modern Critical Interpretations series, presents the most important 20th-century criticism on William Golding’s Lord of the Flies through extracts of critical essays by well-known literary critics.This collection of criticism also features a short biography on William Golding, a chronology of the author’s life, and an introductory essay written by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

survival and savagery
Somewhere over the ocean, a plane carrying British children being evacuated from a war zone crashes on a deserted island. The only survivors are several young boys of varying ages. When the boys realize that no adults survived the crash they band together to look after themselves, elected Ralph as their leader. At first they work together as a team-hunting, building shelters and making a fire so that someone might spot them and rescue them. Soon things start to go wrong as a power struggle ensues between Ralph and Jack, and the boys fear the island is haunted by a mysterious beast. The boys take sides between Jack and Ralph and soon they are fighting to survive not just the elements, but eachother.

My first thought upon meeting Ralph and seeing how he treated Piggy was wow what a little jerk this kid is! Then we meet Jack and he is even worse than Ralph. They actually seemed like a relatively normal group of boys. First they see it all as one big adventure and there is the bullying and one-uping that happens with groups of boys. Once the novelty of it all wore off and things started to move from a semblance of order to total anarchy was where the story got interesting. I couldn't believe how completely most of the boys devolved into total savagery and turned against their own. I hope that if any group of kids faced this situation in real life it wouldn't go nearly as badly as it did for these kids.

The book got a little wierd in spots. For example, the boy Simon having the conversation with the "Lord of the Flies". I couldn't really figure out what was going on there. Also the book mentions an atom bomb as the reason for the kids being evacuated from Britain in the first place but Golding kind of left that tidbit hanging out there and didn't really explain what was going on in the world. The book also doesn't give much of timeline as to when the plane crashed and when they were finally discovered on the island. I wondered if they were there for days? weeks? months? I was curious just how long it took the boys to go from normal to total monsters.

It was a simple and entertaining enough read. I just didn't like it as much as many of the other classics I've read. Also as a side note-did anyone else think that this had some kind of sci fi theme where someone turns into a fly when they first read the title? This is what I thought the first time I heard it.....

Good classic, even without symbolism understanding
Great, classic dystopia read.I'm not one to get all into the symbolism of books and behind the time period and such.I just enjoy stories for what they are.The copy that I read was a 50th anniversary edition that had some additional comments at the end about the symbolism and whatnot.They were interesting, but just that.

I won't give a synopsis of the book because I'm sure lots of people have done that before me.I think the story was well done and fairly easy to follow.Some of the dialogue was confusing at times between multiple characters, but easily figured out.This book can easily be read without knowing the background of the time period it was written in, and without understanding the symbolism woven throughout the pages.

Great story.

As The Lord of the Flies would Testify
Lord of the Flies is one of the many examples of an inside look at the darkest corner of the human labyrinth. Other examples of individuals who had actually experienced the darkness of human warfare, such as Kurt Vonnegut or Ernest Hemmingway, thankfully walked away with the good soul and talent to document parts of history and of the human psyche that must be learned from if we as a society are to ever cease repeating these deadly mistakes.

In a way, Golding's novel takes us backwards in time, in that it places the entire cast in the Stone Age. Literally the year is much more recent, but the lack of technology, agriculture, `civilization,' and so forth create a setting that is prehistoric. This serves very well to the author's many allegorical points about the inherent, ancient depravities of mankind. Things may look different now than they did 1000 years ago, but as The Lord of the Flies would testify, they only look different. Men have not adapted themselves to be harmonious with their environment or their fellow beings; out of some animal malfunction they continue attempting to adapt their environment and their fellow man to their own selfish needs. The result is the same as it was in the Stone Age, it's the same as it is in The Lord of the Flies and it's the same as it always will be.
The most important way in which the author illustrates his theme is in the casting of casting of small children to portray the barbaric genetic predisposition we are exposed to from birth. This is another way in which Golding takes us `back in time' so to speak, and again we see that things haven't changed that much.

It isn't difficult to say if the novel accurately portrays how children of such an age would survive stranded on an island (because in actuality, they most probably wouldn't.) However, latent with symbolism and very valid observations, the `outlandish' nature of the story serves only to further drive home the point. Art generally uses exaggeration to draw attention to the things that are too under exaggerated in real life to normally pay mind to.

An important thing to note would be the growth of the children throughout the novel. Even within a relatively short amount of time, the amount of mental growth the characters go through is believable considering the circumstances. The children themselves being an allegory (much like almost everything in the novel) the differences that come about as they `age' are also metaphorical. It is metaphorical of how society has grown into bigger ambitions but remained stuck in the naiveté of early childhood. The point is driven home best at the very end of the novel in which the children, who have just actively been parts to murder and guerilla warfare begin sobbing. The mask of superiority we've given to ourselves over the course of our lives and the span of all history begins to wash off from the pure realization of the inherent tragedy of it all.

Animal Instincts coming out
the author does a great job at depicting our animal instincts kicking in when is a matter of life and death......I love the fact that the characters are kids......now on to the movie!

Out of the Twilight Zone
A very interesting story of how everyone can lose their minds, turning some turn into savages and others into animals. Good suspense. Great addition to the utopia/dystopia genre. ... Read more

Product Description
The sole survivor of a torpedoed destroyer is miraculously cast up on a huge, barren rock in mid-Atlantic. Pitted against him are the sea, the sun, the night cold, and the terror of his isolation. At the core of this raging tale of physical and psychological violence lies Christopher Martin’s will to live as the sum total of his life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

To the Depths
Christopher 'Pincher' Martin is blown from the bridge of his navy ship and struggles in the tumult of the ocean for survival. The massive lashing force of the sea threatens to consume him, but he sights a spit of boulders, and clambers onto it. He comes to realise where he is - the tiny isolated rock in the North Atlantic that only appears on the weather charts. This rock is clearly based on the real islet of Rockall, which is one of the most isolated godforsaken places on earth. Miles and miles from the nearest land, with slender chance of rescue, Martin embarks on a survival mission. He drinks water from a tiny pool, eats weeds and sea anemones for sustenance, and talks to himself to keep his consciousness going. Piece by piece, he begins to construct the picture of who he is and what he has become. Martin is revealed to be an awful figure, an aggressive and selfish sexual predator who before his blast from the bridge was planning to kill a rival suitor. Golding writes Martin to be a throughly unappealing man, who nevertheless encapsulates ahard and bitter essence of our nature.

In hard packed, spare and salty prose, Pincher Martin is a supremely elegant and harsh short novel. Mingling themes of existentialism, psychology and survival, it is in the line of Robinson Crusoe literature that cuts us adrift from our self enclosed humanist bearings and forces us to inhabit a world we won't forget easily. The trick ending will surprise many, and force the reader to consider again Golding's big and portentous ideas about consciousness and human striving.

Pincher Martin

Reminiscent to a degree of Ambrose Bierce's AN OCCURRENCE AT OWL CREEK BRIDGE, Pincher Martin is cast into the sea when his ship is torpedoed, and the action of the novel takes place after his death in a purgatory-like land of myth and make-believe. It looks at first as if Martin has survived the shipwreck as he crawls up onto a barren rock in the sea. But as time goes by and the difficulties of survival mount, he begins hallucinating, reliving moments from his past (some of which are hard for the reader to figure out or follow), all in preparation for a final judgment by the Almighty. He encounters God, and when God bids Martin to give up his persistence to exist, Martin defies him. Pincher is turned into a lobster and disappears into the sea. Only in the concluding chapter is it made clear that Martin actually died very shortly after his ship was blown up. A strange novel, to say the least, and one that requires close attention by the reader. More than one reading is probably required to get the full impact of the book.

As usual, Golding ponders the dark side
I'm not complaining. I think man's dark potential is always a fascinating topic and Golding is probably the best modern explorer of this theme. Pincher Martin is not only a probing psychological study of an unrepentant man who clings to life with ferocity, it is also an examination of the nature of reality.

Golding employs an old, old narrative trick with skill, steeps the narrative in symbolism, challenges readers to see something admirable in his protagonist, and sets it all on a vividly drawn islet from hell.

An excellent read.
One star taken away only because some of the material is dated. I'm an ex sailor and was enthralled from first page to last. I felt the motion of the boat, the bite of the weather and the stark reality of the island. This book proved to me Mr. Golding is a master story teller.

Stranded on Golding's Narrative Power
Golding is an incredible wordsmith.With stark realism and deep insight, he probes one man's outer and inner struggles for survival after washing up on a rock in the mid-Atlantic.I found the psychological portrail whollybelievable, but I had a difficult time sympathizing with this character. He's a womanizer, a self-centered egotist. With near-animal drive, hecarves out meager existence on the rock.I found very little emotionalconnection with Martin, and read on primarily because of Golding'snarrative power.

Essentially, Golding seems to say that, brought to ourlowest common denominator in a fight for life, we are all self-centered,that greed takes over.I found the argument weak because we discover thatMartin was this way already.I would've liked to see a selfless person'sfight for existence and the consequences of his actions.

Or maybethat's Golding's point: Martin's self-centeredness eventually corrodes hisability to survive because the motivations run shallow.Numerous true-lifeaccounts show the struggle of men and women to rise above their base needsand extend life heroically to others. Selflessness often leads to thesurvival of the group, it seems, but in this book we have only onecharacter's survival to consider.

A second reading might reveal to memore of Golding's intentions in this story, but the fact remains: Goldingknows how to build word upon word until you are trapped within the dwellingof his character's minds.That alone lifts this book above the volumes ofso-called literature stacked on most shelves.

Based on Golding's ownstandards from his other books, I cannot highly recommend this as a greatstory, but only as a great example of powerful wordage andcharacterization.I think Golding sells us short here on the premise ofsurvival.I finished the last page with little emotional or intellectualreaction.I felt, like Martin, only blank disillusionment. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (33)

Surprisingly Disappointing
As a fan of Lord of the Flies and someone very interested in the subject matter of this novel - the interface between anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals - I was really looking forward to reading this book.Sadly, it failed to deliver either in terms of the story and writing quality I expect of Golding or as an interesting exploration of its topic.

Golding's portrayal of the Neanderthals - the main characters of the book through whose eyes we experience its events - suffers from outdated notions of these intelligent and resourceful hominins as bestial if likable buffoons.One wonders how these dunderheads survived the harshest imaginable conditions for hundreds of thousands of years.

Apart from that, I think Golding had the right idea, imagining a group of anatomically modern humans appearing as newcomers and coming into conflict with the indigenous Neanderthals.It's fertile ground for drama and Golding does not fail completely to exploit it.But as another reviewer commented, I think his ambition exceeded his grasp, and whether it's because he chose to imagine his main character as a Palaeolithic "Rain Man" or because his literary powers weren't chugging on all cylinders, Golding did not attain the clarity, coherence, or emotional impact I expected of him.Unlike fine wine, this book has not aged well.

A Worthy Follow-up to Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is of course among the toughest acts to follow, and though this second William Golding novel does not match its immortal greatness, it is excellent in itself and would be many writers' best. Fans of Lord will most likely enjoy it, as the misanthropic viewpoint is carried over, and several themes are similar. However, in the first sign of the great diversity that would characterize Golding's fiction, The Inheritors is very different in setting, characters, dialogue, and nearly everything else.

Where Lord made waves by using supposedly innocent children to illustrate evil, this focuses on an even more primitive group - the last surviving Neanderthals. Golding's skill truly comes into play here; he uses a limited narrative perspective, an extremely simple style, and broken dialogue to portray the Neanderthals' world. This is of course almost entirely speculative, but there is great verisimilitude; we see how Neanderthals' lives may have been in every aspect from speech to relationships to social functions. Golding pulls a brilliant trick by throwing us into the story with no introduction, leading many to assume primitive humans are featured. However, it eventually becomes clear that they are a prior step on evolution's ladder, which may first lead to strange surprise. Soon, though, we come to identify with them because of thoughts and feelings that, though far from civilized, are very much human; in particular, the depiction of love is one of literature's least conventional yet one of its most moving.

The novel would be interesting for this alone, but it goes further by bringing in early modern humans and vividly dramatizing the ensuing conflict. As one might expect from an author with Golding's pessimistic reputation, the results are dark. Humans recklessly destroy the Neanderthals without realizing their significance or the magnitude of what they have done. They indeed fear the Neanderthals with superstition and ignorant assumptions that they are ostensibly too advanced to make. Along with lack of empathy, these factors get to the heart of Golding's bleak view of humanity, which is put forth less powerfully but more subtly than in Lord. Those stirred by the latter will find themselves agreeing again with Golding's tragic vision, while those who did not take to it for various reasons may be newly convinced.

The unique style makes for difficult reading, especially early on, but I strongly encourage anyone having difficulty to persevere. As nearly always in such cases, it soon becomes nearly second nature, and the book is certainly great enough to be worth it. Highly emotional yet extremely thought-provoking, this is one of the rare works that can make one think as easily as it can make one cry. This combination is the key to Golding's greatness, and The Inheritors is a preeminent example.

A good idea but a frustrating read
A friend recommended this to me because I'm doing a thesis in philosophy of language and she felt I'd be interested in a book written from a Neanderthal point of view. She believed The Inheritors argued the Neanderthals were unable to compete against Cro Magnon men because their language didn't have words for cause-and-effect concepts, only static images. "Now there's a man holding a stick in his hand. Now there's a stick coming through the air at me. Now my arm hurts and is bleeding." Cro Magnon man, by contrast, would describe the same incident as "A man attacked me with a spear". This is an exciting and ingenious idea.

Unfortunately I found this book too slow, immensely difficult to follow at times and I thoroughly disliked the main character, the cowardly, boastful and ineffectual Lok. Had the brave and much smarter Fa been the main character I suspect I would've stuck with it. As it was I gave up halfway through and skipped to the last 2 chapters. I would've liked to see more from the point of view of the Cro Magnons.

I get the impression that most of the 4 and 5 star reviews are from people who approve of the misanthropic viewpoint. "Yes! humans ARE vicious, fearful, evil, always destroying the gentle and innocent". Some humans are like that, most are not.

Memorable
The Interitors is a brilliantly-themed novel, with a very daring style, but not as difficult to read as some reviewers would have it.I first read this around thirty years ago, and have never forgotten it.Less heavy-handed than Lord of the Flies, this is Golding's best work.

Imaginative retelling of a crossover period
The Inheritors is a fascinating fable of the time in history (not so long ago - only five hundred generations or so before you, valued reader), when Neanderthals co-existed with homosapiens. Golding brings all his imaginative powers to bear to imagine himself in the Neanderthal consciousness. Simple named characters such as Lok and Mal and Fa witness strange things happening in their limited world - such as the disappearance of their precious log bridge across the river. Horrificthings start happening, which shake their world view, their limited conceptions of events as 'pictures' rather than a human consciousness, comunicated in linguistic form. This is the era of the end of their people.

Golding draws the human conquerors as advanced only in the sense that they have mobilised natural resources to more sophisticated ends - such as hollowing out trees to make boats, and developing more sophisticated tools than the rudimentary Neanderthal implements. Morally, they are far more savage than the primitives they displace - a cruel, selfish species who will kill those alien to themselves, capture their young and become inheritors of the earth. The Neanderthals are an endearing, enclosed people with tender rituals of caring for each other and burying their dead. Their knowledge of things is fatally limited, and they struggle to express their horror of what is happening to them as they cannot muster up the language. They rely on their simple religion, Oa, the earth goddess who is a far more gentle and tender influence than the harsh pragmatic religion of the homosapiens with their savage stag mutilating rituals.

By the end, the last Neanderthal is hunched in a ball, gibbering with grief and bewilderment as he has witnessed the end of his people. The humans, meanwhile, sail aimlessly in their log boats on the river, struggling themselves to make sense of their aims and purpose in a world without structure or meaning.

Thirty thousand years later, are things any different? ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

"The storyteller's power of observation..."
Picked this one up at a used-book store after finishing LORD OF THE FLIES.Certainly a different voice and a very different direction - but still - a deep look at the nature of men - and how quickly roles and relationships devolve without rules.Watching Barclay's moves as he first attempts to flee and then turns and engages his tormenter & would-be biographer was great fun: "We were about as warm-hearted as scorpions."Watching his tormenter realize his complete loss of control over the situation and the final stroke of fun as the story just snaps to a stop - priceless.

Prettily written, badly structured
Golding has a way with words; there is no denying it.At his best, he can really deliver a hard blow to the mind.

He is not at his best here.

There are some lovely snips--Cry! Cry! What shall I cry?--but they are buried in a story that manages to be both pretentious and pedestrian.The novelist, who may-or-may-not be Golding-esque (I don't know the man and am not reading to guess whether or not this is autobiographical), is a stereotype of a drunken writer dithering around Europe and having a nervous breakdown.There's nothing either sympathetic or interesting about him.His surrounding circle is equally vacuous, and the plot, regarding a biographer chasing him around to get a story is... well, dreary.It's not a complex story and I understand the things Golding means to say, but all in all, he does not say them very well.

A pity--the words really are quite nice.

ON THE DOLE
This book whiled away a couple of days of a very rainy holiday in France. Normally I admire Golding more than I like him, but I greatly enjoyed this book although it's one of his lesser efforts. The hard-drinking, egotistical, talented and successful narrator (a novelist -- I have no idea whether there is any element of Golding himself in the character) is someone I found oddly sympathetic from a safe distance. Other characters in the book had every justification for taking another view of him -- other characters except one, that is, the one being his unspeakable would-be Sancho Panza Rick L. Tucker. Really Golding, like H. G. Wells, had just about every gift a novelist can have, even when he was only exercising it at half-power.

The other thing this book did for me was to introduce me to what has become one of my very favourite wines. If that aspect interests you, but not to the extent of actually reading the book, exercise your arrowy mind on the title I have given this little review.

An awful book.And I loved it.
I picked up this book (audio version) on a whim.I don't know much about W. Golding except that I had read Lord of the Flies 20 years ago in school.Each of the main characters in this book is so very detestable that yousimply wish for terrible things to happen to all of them.Fortunately,Golding does not disappoint in this respect. If you a writer who hateswriters you'll probably love this book.

One other comment...it may haveone of the best last lines of a book ever. ... Read more

Product Description
At once an enthralling adventure story about a group of schoolboys stranded on an island and a richly textured moral tale, this is also Golding's attack on Western society and its institutions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Excellent notes book (Lord of the Flies)
I find that this little book of notes is an excellent teaching resource.It is also excellent for students, and is helpful in understanding the novel which is complex. This book is easy to navigate, and is one of the best I have seen as it covers every aspect of the novel. I use this book every literature class with my students.

High school is tough enough
Lord of the flies is a tough read due to the content.The symbolism is even tougher.The Cliff Notes helped me pull out things I had not seen on my own.

It Complements The Novel, But Doesn't Substitute For It
Few students in America can get out of high school without having to read Lord Of The Flies in English class sometime during the four years that they are there.The story is fairly easy to understand on a superficial level, but the real purpose of this novel is to understand symbolism and foreshadowing.Items in the novel like Piggy's glasses and the conch shell have a "deeper" meaning that may not be obvious to every reader.If the reader is keen, he'll be able to realize that the author tells the reader what is going to happen in a subliminal way prior to actually coming out and saying it.That's called foreshadowing, and it may also be difficult for some readers to comprehend.For these reasons, these Cliffs Notes are extremely useful.The reader will gain a better understanding and appreciation of the novel by using this supplement while reading the actual novel.With these notes, the reader is given the added benefit of reading commentary written by someone who has already read the book, and is capable of breaking down the significant parts of every chapter.

One drawback to having these notes (as is the drawback to having ANY Cliffs Notes) is the temptation to substitute the notes for the actual novel.While this substitution may work for other novels, it isn't a good idea to think it unnecessary to read the book just because you've read the notes.I tried that, and it didn't work.Besides, the Cliffs Notes are just about as long as the actual book, so you might as well read the real thing.

The bottom line is that these notes are a good investment if you want to gain a good understand of the novel, and insight into what your English teacher might think is important.I recommend these notes.

Childhood Experience Relation...
I chose this book because of the many recommendations I have heard through many mouths.This novel is a very adventurous story filled with drama and action.It is based on these plane-wrecked children who get stranded on a pig population island.These boys are different from each individual and each has its own position as a team.They first try to get themselves out by trying to resucue themselves from this island.They cause many atrractions and try many times to get out but fail.So they finally except the fact that they are stranded and they doeverything they can to survive.There are leaders and failures in this bunch of boys that help this group survive through the wild.They use what they have brought with them as useful tools in surviving.From the characters, three stand out from the rest which are Jack, Piggy, and Ralph.This story is basically like the saying, "Who let the dogs out,"because the kids were savages trying to live their lives through this tropical island.Golding represents these characters as individuals that can learn how to adapt to new surroundings quickly and actually survive.If your looking for an adverturous book, I recommend this to you....

Childhood Experience Relation...
I chose this book because of the many recommendations I have heard through many mouths.This novel is a very adventurous story filled with drama and action.It is based on these plane-wrecked children who get stranded on a pig population island.These boys are different from each individual and each has its own position as a team.They first try to get themselves out by trying to resucue themselves from this island.They cause many atrractions and try many times to get out but fail.So they finally except the fact that they are stranded and they doeverything they can to survive.There are leaders and failures in this bunch of boys that help this group survive through the wild.They use what they have brought with them as useful tools in surviving.From the characters, three stand out from the rest which are Jack, Piggy, and Ralph.This story is basically like the saying, "Who let the dogs out,"because the kids were savages trying to live their lives through this tropical island.Golding represents these characters as individuals that can learn how to adapt to new surroundings quickly and actually survive.If your looking for an adverturous book, I recommend this to you.... ... Read more

Product Description
The enthralling sequel to Golding's Booker Prize-winning 1980 novel, Rites of Passage, continuing the story of the 18th-century fighting ship carrying passengers and cargo from England to Australia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Order confusion
I returned this book as I found out later it was included in "To the Ends of the Earth".

Riveting tale at sea
This is the second book in Golding's "To the Ends of the Earth" trilogy. I first got hooked on these books after watching the made-for-TV adaptation on PBS (Masterpiece Theatre). I thought it looked like it would be an interesting read, and it has been! Although the sailing details are interesting, for me the best part of the book is reading about the clashes of the levels of society back then. The narrator of the series is Edmund Talbot, who is "high society" with connections. In fact, he's partly jokingly referred to as "Lord Talbot" because of his airs. He is at times pompous, self-centered and not very likeable--which makes this book even more fun to read since everything is from his point of view.
An exciting book, and I highly recommend it!

2nd part of a trilogy, and does not stand alone
Wonderful prose, beautifully observed character study, as WG slips into the skin of an extremely priggish and snobbish early twenties aristocrat as he comes of age and begins to understand a little more of the virtues ofthe ordinary people around him. Sea journeys of that era were long,tedious, largely uneventful and extremely uncomfortable. All 3 books in thetrilogy carry this perfectly: the maritime atmosphere is conveyed asperfectly as the arrogant character of the narrator. However, the tedium ofthe journey also comes across in the virtually non-existent plot whichmakes the books drag on somewhat. It is probably, though, as brilliantdescription of the English class system at the start of the 19th century asyou will read. I believe that the books in Trilogies should be able tostand alone, if they are to be sold separately, & on that basis, thistrilogy definitely fails. I'm glad I read it as a single 750 page tome. ... Read more

Product Description
Since its first publication in 1965, this edition  has been widely hailed as the best available text  of Blake's poetry and prose. Now revised, if  includes up-to-date work on variants, chronology of  poems and critical commentary by Harold Bloom.

An  "Approved Edition" of the Center for Scholarly  Editions of the Modern Language Association. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Definitive complete Blake edition
Although this book contains no paintings, which is to say it is only half Blake, it is a unique opportunity to have all Blake in one single volume.
Excellent edition.
The paperback binding is not very solid in this massive (circa 1000 page) book. Some pages detach...

Soothing
It's amazing how soothing just reading William Blake's poetry is on the troubled soul.I always look for his work to ease my mind and lift my spirit.Everyone should treat themselves to his work.Peace be with you.

It has it all
It has all his writings: letters, anotations scribbled in the margins of other people's books, everything.Only downside: it doesn't show his illuminated printing.

Complete works of William Blake
A wonderful paperback edition, containing all the works of
William Blake, with a excellent introduction
of Harold Bloom. An priceless tool for students
and teachers

outstanding
This is an outstanding resource for anyone interested in the works of William Blake.It's well organized and easy to work with.I'm very pleased with it. ... Read more

Product Description
When the spring came the people - what was left of them - moved back by the old paths from the sea. But this year strange things were happening, terrifying things that had never happened before. There were inexplicable sounds and smells, new, unimaginable creatures half-glimpsed through the leaves: a new race of men and women. Though they did not know it yet, though they were never really to know it, the day of the people was over. It had ended a long time ago. The Inheritors is a brilliant imaginative recreation of the lost world of the Neanderthals, and of the Neanderthals' successors - the first humans ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

I heard about that whole tree thing...
Yeah, John Fout, I heard about the power line incident.Let me tell you -it was NO accident!Dewsnap, though his study guide is concise and well-articulated, is, and always has been, quite the trickster.He's got tricks.

A perfectly fine study guide
So what's up with the 4/21/02 review by John Fout?The man obviously has some sort of personal vendetta against Dewsnap that leaves him unable to write an objective review.He never says what's wrong with the book--he just tells some story about Mr. Dewsnap felling a tree over power lines.I have read the study guide and found it to be clear, well-organized, and helpful.So don't be deterred by Fout's rantings. ... Read more