Book Description
A brilliant and beautifully written novel in the tradition of Robert Graves’ I, Claudius, Augustus is a sweeping narrative that brings vividly to life a compelling cast of historical figures through their letters, dispatches, and memoirs.

A mere eighteen years of age when his uncle, Julius Caesar, is murdered, Octavius Caesar prematurely inherits rule of the Roman Republic. Surrounded by men who are jockeying for power–Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, and Mark Antony–young Octavius must work against the powerful Roman political machinations to claim his destiny as first Roman emperor. Sprung from meticulous research and the pen of a true poet, Augustus tells the story of one man’s dream to liberate a corrupt Rome from the fancy of the capriciously crooked and the wildly wealthy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

smart, intelligent, with a clever design
A meticulously written novel, Augustus uses fictional letters, memoirs, histories and recollections to piece together the life and career of Augustus Caesar.So exacting is its detail, it is difficult to believe that the source materials are the products of Williams' imagination (spruced up by historical facts).This work shows how versatile the novel can be; fluid while at the same time containing a variety of perspectives; historically accurate while simultaneously an imaginative romp.

A little slow but a good read
This is not a typical historical fiction book, I found it to be quite slow in parts. The action in this book is nonexistent,too much 3rd person telling of events that happend to others, and not enough of Augustus own words.All in all a very well written book, but this is not a book for an action fan like me.

Ranks with "I Claudius"and"Memoirs of Hadrian"
I first heard about this extraordinary novel of ancient Rome during one of the regular Wednesday afternoon "Dirda On Books" discussions conducted on the Washington Post website.I began reading the book on a long air flight to Finland and became entirely engrossed.It is easy to understand why the book won the National Book Award in 1973--it is superbly written.The novel follows Octavius Caesar from early adulthood through his battles to become Emperor Augustus, and into old age.The author does not utilize a straight narrative but instead tells the story through the use of documents such as letters, diary entries, and Senate proceedings. All of this material flows very smoothly as the story unfolds. I found it particularly interesting to compare and contrast the author's portrait of Augustus with that developed on the recent HBO "Rome" series which covers much of the same ground. As the helpful introduction by John McGahern explains, the author was not a classicist and undertook substantial reseach in order to make the novel as historically accurate (with a few exceptions) as possible.While not quite as exquisite as Yourcenar's "Memoirs of Hadrian" (also reviewed on Amazon), this fine novel comes very close to it in quality.For anyone interested in Roman history or just an outstanding read, this is a book well worth considering.

A personal look at Augustus
This book really connected me with the life and times of Octavian. I felt a very strong personal connection that I have seldom felt in other historical fiction I have read. The early part of the book describes his attempts to establish himself as more than just a curiosity(a 17 year old heir to Caesar)in Rome after returning, against his parents advice, following the assassination of Caesar and the reading of his will, which left him sole heir to Casar's fortune and power, if he can only find the will and path to pursue it. He is pitted against the likes of Antony and Cicero, major powers that have stepped into the power vacuum left after Caesar's assasination. This portion of the book conveys a very strong sense of how Octavian must have felt about his ultimately successful campaign to take what he felt was rightfully his, political power. He worked , with his small group of loyalists, very hard to be taken seriously, and was beset by doubt and fear. The uncertainty he felt, in his polical manuevering, is palpable. The end of the book is exceptionally lyrical and beatifully written, as Augustus reviews his life. It is a powerful but also quiet book that elicited within me strong feelings of fear, melancholy, sadness and, ultimately, hope. Augustus led an incredible life that he made for himself through his intellect, courage, stubbornness, and will. His life confirmed the potential that Caesar saw in their short time together in Gaul.

Many Suffered From Close Contact with Augustus - But Not Readers of this Work
John Edward Williams won the 1973 National Book Award for 'Augustus' and deservedly so. This amazing piece of literature masquerading as historical fiction (and I like historical fiction) draws the reader into the world of Gaius Octavius, later to be Augustus, first emperor of Rome.

Williams tells his tale by the unusual technique of presenting letters, journal entries, and memoirs. By this method he allows the reader to gradually enter, indeed become immersed in, the world of Augustus, his family, friends, enemies, and most important, his Rome. 'Augustus' traces his rise from the vulnerable adopted son of Julius Caesar through a steady accretion of power as he becomes first a triumvir (with Mark Antony and the nonentity Lepidus), and then settles in as emperor of the world.

The historical record for Augustus's life has gaps that challenge an author and Williams grasps the challenge deftly, just as Augustus grasped power. We see Augustus as an aloof, cold and calculating politician whose assiduous pursuit and cautious exercise of power allows him to hold that power for over four decades, but always using that power for Rome, always for Rome, his Rome.

Yet many people suffer from their close contact with this man - his equally calculating wife Livia, for one, his dear friends Maecenas and Salvidienus, to name two more, but none more so than his daughter Julia. The last third or so of the book focuses on the break between Augustus and Julia. Williams presents an interesting and shocking explanation for Julia's exile - at least an explanation that Augustus believes or claims to.

The penultimate chapter draws Augustus's life to a close with a lengthy letter to Nicolaus of Damascus in which a dying Augustus bemoans his fate and the weight of authority he has had to bear - it is really most unattractive for one of the most powerful men in history to indulge in such self-centered despair, but it also rings true because Augustus spent his life denying himself so many pleasures in order to hold on to power for the good of Rome, as he convinced himself. In the end, Augustus saw himself as the embodiment of Rome - anything that threatened his power, threatened Rome. This is so well done that one finds oneself becoming angry with Augustus, who is after all just a character in this brilliant work of historical fiction.

'Augustus' is not an easy read. Prior knowledge of the historical era certainly aids the enjoyment and comprehension of the book. Ultimately, however, this remarkable work of historical fiction and literature deserves the highest recommendation. ... Read more

Product Description
Themes from one of America's foremost composers of movie music. Titles include: Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Duel of the Fates (fromStar Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace), Theme fromE.T. (The Extra Terrestrial), Flight to Neverland (fromHook), Hymn to the Fallen (from Saving Private Ryan), The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme from The Empire Strikes Back), Theme fromJaws, Theme fromJurassic Park and many, many others. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

great book to have
i bought this for my brother who started taking piano lessons a while back, and it's got a great selection of some the most beautiful music i've ever heard (i love john williams).good if you love jurassic park, etc. & many other timeless musical scores!

Great songs
This book has all of Williams's best. The songs sound really good on the piano and are easily reconizable. I recommend it to any John Williams fan.

Wonderful!! A+++++
Boook was in GREAT shape, super super super fast shipping.Wonderful seller.Buy from this person! Thank you so much! We used one of the songs as a joke in our wedding (Indianna Jones theme song... I'm an Archaeologist) and people LOVED it!Thanks for helping to make our special day even better!
A+++++

The best piano book in the world
This is the best piano book in the world.

THE John Williams Sheet Music Book
If you are looking for a book with various themes of John Williams, look no further. This book contains many of his great hits from, like the book says, 1969-1999. It includes the themes from Born of the Fourth of July, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Jaws, JFK, Schindler's List, E.T., Close Encounters, and Superman. It also includes Duel of the Fates, The Imperial March, Luke and Leia (for all you Star Wars fans), Cadillac Of The Skies, Hymn to the Fallen, Seven Years In Tibet, Scherzo For Motorcycle and Orchestra, and many more. If you are a fan of John Williams and play the piano, this book is for you! P.S. Also look for the 2-CD set of the same name which includes all of the same songs. ... Read more

Book Description
In Vol. 1 of The Gospel of John, the great Scottish Bible interpreter William Barclay follows the formula of the Daily Study Bible Series by first giving the text for the day's study in his own translation, followed by two or three pages of commentary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Ist Volume Great but where is the rest of it??
Volume 2 of this very good work aparently is not availabe from Amazon.I'd appreciate any tip on where I can get it.

In depth analysis
If you have a need to know this is the commentary on the Gospel of John that you want to read.Every verse of scripture is broken down to the last detail diagraming the historical, cultural and spiritual aspects that are applicable to the original intended readers of this gospel and the foundational truths are brought out for the reader of today.

Barclay was and remains the best commentator-ever
Lke Caruso or Babe Ruth, Barclay is in a class by himself as a commentator. He was and remains the best in the field. His writing style is eloquent Anglo-English (he was Scotch). His erudition peerless,(he knew more about Judiasm as a religion than almost all specialists I have read in that field. Finally he had impecable intellectual intergrity. He tells you that the original Mark did not make a strong arguement for the Resurrection, that John was brillant but probably wrong about the actual day of the crucifixtion etc etc etc.

Barclay will educate you, strengthen your faith, and leave you shaking your head in regret that "they dont make them like him anymore. I have read a bunch of these guys. Barclay is the geniune article, in a class by himself, the standard by which I judge everyone else.

Barclay was and remains the best commentator-ever
Lke Caruso or Babe Ruth, Barclay is in a class by himself.As a commentator he had a combination of skills I have not found equalled by anyone else He was and remains the best in thefield.His writing style isaccessible but eloquent Anglo-English (he was Scotch). His erudition peerless,(he knew more about Judiasm as a religion than almost all specialists I have read in that field) His intellectual intergrity is breathtaking. He will acknowledge and discuss that the original Mark did not make a strongarguement for the Resurrection, that John was brillant but probably wrong about the actual day of the crucifixtion etc etc etc. His analysis of many issues (like the authorship of John's Gospel)while easy to understand, is far more sophisticated than what you will find in the Expositer's.

Barclay will educate you, strengthen your faith, and leave you shaking your head in regret that "they dont make them like him anymore. I have read a bunch of these guys. Barclay is the geniune article, in a class by himself, the standard by which I and I think you too will judge everyone else.

Excellent commentary-but beware!
The revised edition of Barclay's commentaries was issued in 1975 and was prepared not by William Barclay, but by the Rev. James Martin.Accordingto the introduction, the revised edition renews the printer's type,restyles the books, corrects some errors in the text and removes somereferences which have become outdated.In addition, Biblical quotations inthe commentaries use the Revised Standard Version instead of the King JamesVersion (however Barclay's own translation is retained at the beginning ofeach daily section).

The reality of the revised edition is quitedifferent.What the introduction fails to mention is that the 17 volumesof the revised edition of the New Testament have 12.6% fewer pages than thenow out-of-print 2nd edition.Only the 2nd edition contains all ofBarclay's commentary on the New Testament.For example, in the 2 volumeson the Gospel of John, the revised edition contains 547 pages; however the2nd edition contained 634 pages. Thus, the revised edition has 13.7% fewerpages than the 2nd edition.In the 2 volumes on Revelation, the reductionis over 20%.

I first noticed the selective deletion of portions ofBarclay's original commentary in the commentary for John 13:33-35, in whichJesus speaks of loving one another as he loved us.In the 2nd edition,Barclay so beautifully states the following: "He [Jesus] knew alltheir [his disciples] weaknesses and yet He still loved them.Those whoreally love us are the people who know us at our worst and who still loveus."However, these two sentences do not appear in Martin's revisededition.Repeatedly, key sentences and phrases are deleted from therevised edition.The revised edition is in fact a condensed and inferiorversion of the commentaries actually written by William Barclay.I dobelieve that William Barclay's commentaries are the most insightful andmeaningful commentaries that I have ever read on the New Testament, and Icannot recommend them highly enough.They have truly changed my life. However, if you want to read all of what Barclay actually said instead ofwhat Martin thought was important enough to leave in, then check with aused book store or do a used book search on the internet to get the 2ndeditions of the Gospel of John or other volumes in the Daily Study Bible. ... Read more

Book Description
The award-winning music of John Williams includes some of the most popular and well-known movie themes ever! This incredibly versatile new collection includes some of Williams' most-loved titles arranged for Level 2-3 instrumentalists. All arrangements are completely compatible with each other and can be played together or as solos. Each book contains a carefully edited part and a fully orchestrated accompaniment CD. Each song on the CD includes a demonstration track, which features a live instrumental performance, followed by a play-along track. The piano accompaniment book includes a CD that features various instrument demonstration tracks from the series. Titles are: Can You Read My Mind? (Love Theme from Superman) (Superman) * Cantina Band (Star Wars®) * Double Trouble (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) * Duel of the Fates (Star Wars®: Episode I The Phantom Menace) * Fawkes the Phoenix (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) * Harry's Wondrous World (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) * Hedwig's Theme (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) * The Imperial March (Star Wars®: The Empire Strikes Back) * May the Force Be With You (Star Wars®: The Empire Strikes Back) * Olympic Fanfare and Theme (1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles) * Star Wars (Main Title) (Star Wars®) * Theme from Superman (Superman) * A Window To the Past (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). ... Read more

Book Description
In his National Book Award–winning novel Augustus, John Williams uncovered the secrets of ancient Rome. With Butcher’s Crossing, his fiercely intelligent, beautifully written western, Williams dismantles the myths of modern America.

It is the 1870s, and Will Andrews, fired up by Emerson to seek “an original relation to nature,” drops out of Harvard and heads west. He washes up in Butcher’s Crossing, a small Kansas town on the outskirts of nowhere. Butcher’s Crossing is full of restless men looking for ways to make money and ways to waste it. Before long Andrews strikes up a friendship with one of them, a man who regales Andrews with tales of immense herds of buffalo, ready for the taking, hidden away in a beautiful valley deep in the Colorado Rockies. He convinces Andrews to join in an expedition to track the animals down. The journey out is grueling, but at the end is a place of paradisal richness. Once there, however, the three men abandon themselves to an orgy of slaughter, so caught up in killing buffalo that they lose all sense of time. Winter soon overtakes them: they are snowed in. Next spring, half-insane with cabin fever, cold, and hunger, they stagger back to Butcher’s Crossing to find a world as irremediably changed as they have been. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Amazing
One of the most beautiful and important books ever written. I loved Stoner and this novel was just as stunning if not more so. If I had it my way this would be a must read for every person who was interested in the American West.

An Unusual "Western"
The novel is set around a Harvard graduate's search for self-understanding and initiation into manhood through participation in a buffalo hunt during the 1880's.While the setting and subject matter are clearly "Western" in nature, the novel shares few other similarities with traditional stories of the West.There are no encounters with Indians or shoot-outs with rival Cowboys.Instead, Williams' story brings to life the brutal nature of the hunt, the drab and barren existence of life in a Colorado boom-town and the mix of beauty and terrible ferocity of nature with an almost naturalistic approach similar to that of Zola.

Brilliant! On a Par with McCarthy's BLOOD MERIDIAN
If such a thing as the Great American Novel can be said to exist, it would very likely encompass the country's 19th Century westward expansion. After all, it was this irresistible land grab - with its ruthless expulsion and genocide of native Americans, its hunting to exinction of buffalo, and its struggles against Nature in search of the better life - that defined America's cultural personality and self-image for the following 150 - 200 years. The rootless but ever-hopeful individualist, the lonely conqueror of Nature, the rugged Marlboro Man begat the robber barons and industrialists, the real estate, oil, and hedge fund tycoons, the Internet entrepreneurs, and even the self-righteous, Iraq-invading neoconservatives.

Amazingly, John Williams's utterly brilliant BUTCHER'S CROSSING - perhaps, indeed, THE Great American Novel - appears to have gone largely unnoticed among the general reading public. Published in 1960, five years before the author's equally impressive STONER and 25 years before Cormac McCarthy's deservedly renowned BLOOD MERIDIAN, BUTCHER'S CROSSING encapsulates many of the American West's mythologies. Yet Williams is hardly a romantic in his interpretation. He presents the opening West as harsh and brutal, populated by socially challenged obsessives who view the land and everything in it as their private domains, seized by choice and held by force of will and gun.

Williams's ostensible hero is William Andrews, fresh from three years at Harvard and seeking an adventure in the West with a childlike enthusiasm and understanding. His mind filled by a romantic, Emerson-inspired view of Nature and his pockets filled with an inheritance from his uncle, Andrews heads for the decidedly uninspired, six-building town of Butcher's Crossing, Kansas. Within a matter of days, greenhorn Will has met the local buffalo hide trader McDonald and a long-time buffalo hunter named Miller. The traditional hunting grounds in Kansas have already been depleted to the point where only small herds of a few hundred animals can be found. However, Miller had discovered a hidden mountain valley in Colorado nine years earlier teeming with buffalo and has been waiting for enough money to finance the expedition. In return for accompanying the party as an apprentice hide skinner, Andrews underwrites the hunt. Miller recruits his neurotic sidekick, the Bible-beating Charley Hoge as the wagon man and a taciturn German named Schneider as their skinner. While Miller is away purchasing the necessary supplies, Will meets a prostitute named Francine. She falls for his soft hands and not yet hardened heart, but the immature Will is frightened off by her aggressive sexuality.

The bulk of BUTCHER'S CROSSING concerns the journey to find the buffalo, Miller's rediscovery of his Shangri-la valley, the hunt itself, the life-threatening storms the group endures, and finally, the difficult return trip to Butcher's Crossing to sell their hides. Along the way, Williams's book becomes a classic coming of age story, a discourse on ecology and species survival, and the story of an irrational, Ahab-like obsession that nearly ends in the men's destruction. In the end, Williams levies his own ironic form of judgment against Miller and McDonald for their repeated violations of Nature. Despite reconciling his feelings for Francine on his return to town, Andrews's future in the West is left deliberately uncertain. Perhaps he has finally learned to live with and respect Nature and will eventually find his rightful place. Or perhaps he, too, will be punished for his sins, forever banished to wandering the wilds alone, scarred by the real-life education he so enthusiastically sought from Miller.

Throughout the book, Williams's writing is sparse and direct, unsparing in its treatment of the men's deprivations and the bloodiness of the hunt. His characters are distinctive and memorable; although we never see deeply inside them, we know them for the archetypes they are. Dialog is limited and short, as these are men of few words. The overall effect of the writing remarkably prefigures that of Cormac McCarthy without the density and compound, run-on sentences, resulting in a highly readable and deeply engaging page turner. Fans of McCarthy will certainly appreciate Williams's accomplishment here, but I believe BUTCHER'S CROSSING merits a much wider audience. This is a magnificent but regrettably under-recognized work of literature that feels timeless in its writing style and enduring in its themes.

Another amazing John Williams novel
This is the third of John Williams' major novels I have read, although it preceded his other two significant novels, "Stoner" and "Augustus."Williams is just amazing:this novel (purportedly about a buffalo hunt in Colorado in the late 19th century) is entirely different from "Stoner" (set in an academic setting in early to mid 20th century Missouri), which in turn is entirely different from "Augustus" which focuses upon the first real Roman emperor. Yet, each novel speaks with an authenticity that is truly unique.As is true with the author's other two novels, there is more at issue here than just a buffalo hunt.His carefully structured narrative raises issues of the closing of the frontier, man v. nature, loyalty and honor, and the dynamics of human interaction.His style is also different from "Stoner," which was as lean a novel as I have read; here there is much more description, dialogue, and setting the stage. This very fine New York Review of Books edition (which also published "Stoner") is well crafted and has a helpful introduction my Michelle Latiolais, a former student of Williams.Amongst other things we learn that Williams in effect smoked himself to death, dying from emphysema.What a loss.We also learn from her introduction that some consider this book "the finest western ever written."Well, I guess it is sort of a western, though the characters don't wear funny hats and carry six-shooters; I prefer to think of it as a great novel set in the west rather than necessarily a "western."A truly magnificant work of literary craftsmanship and a great reading experience.

Pas pour moi
A let down and disappointment after reading his novel "Stoner".This story is a rather boring example of "A boy's swell adventure" without much adult interest. I don't think the author was close to this subject. Some gruesome description of the slaughter of bison is not news to me but might enlighten those who still hold on to the myth of the west and its heroes.Such a contrast to "Stoner" which is brilliant and obviously an area close to William's experience and knowledge.I think "Stoner" is one of the best novels I've read in the last 60 years or so.Skip Butcher's Crossing and go directly to "Stoner". ... Read more

Book Description
This book was first printed in 1938, having been written as a Ph.D. thesis at Harvard in 1937. Our good friend, Peter Bernstein mentioned this book several times in his excellent Capital Ideas which was published in 1992. Why the book is interesting today is that it still is important and the most authoritative work on how to value financial assets. As Peter says: "Williams combined original theoretical concepts with enlightening and entertaining commentary based on his own experiences in the rough-and-tumble world of investment."Williams' discovery was to project an estimate that offers intrinsic value and it is called the 'Dividend Discount Model' which is still used today by professional investors on the institutional side of markets. Appendix, Tables, Index. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

EXCELLENT
This is an excellent copy of an investment classic.VERY happy with the seller, the shipping and packaging were superb.Thanks again!

Awesome book on classical valuation
This is probably one of the oldest, if not the first, serious academic works on valuation.The coverage is highly theoretical compared to the more practical valuation books of today (dividends are used instead of free cash flow, continuous time is used instead of discrete time, and "cookie cutter" product cycle scenarios are presented instead of more complex business forecasting).

The real value of this dissertation-turned-book though is its general insights.Although Warren Buffett doesn't tout this book as often as Graham's "Intelligent Investor", you will find that he utilizes the insights from this book almost as frequently.

Robert Stephenson-Padron
MSc student (economics & finance)
University of Navarra, Spain

An important work
The Theory of Investment Value is clearly an important work, as reflected in Benjamin Graham's citations to it and the prevalence of the dividend discount model in valuing stocks.The theories expounded in this book are of particular import to those to seek to by stock at a value less than the intrinsic value of a company as they determine it to be.

The book itself initially appears intimidating, as there are a lot of mathematical equations, but in reality, the math is nothing more than simple algebra, mostly different models related to computing dividend values going forward.

I found the book to be an interesting read, but it is highly theoretical in nature.The central theme of the book is that stocks are worth the present value of their dividends, paid in perpetuity.It does not discuss earnings manipulation, effect of dilution, securities with superior or inferior claim to payment, etc.Moreover, as Graham points out in Security Analysis, companies that have a high return on invested capital would be well advised to reinvest their profits, while less successful companies would be better off paying higher dividends (relative to book value).This would, of course, tend to make the practical application Williams' theory somewhat complicated, insofar as it makes computing future dividends more difficult.

Readers looking for a more practical guide to valuing stocks might be better served reading Securities Analysis by Benjamin Graham, or any number of more "practical" books related to stock market analysis, particularly as those analyzing financial statements to determine the intrinsic value of a company.Some readers might also find "The Aggressive Conservative Investor" by Marty Whitman and Martin Shubik to be a good read for a competing view, since the authors of that book take the position that, with respect to non-controlling shareholders, a company's stock is worth the net after-tax cash that they expect to realize in the future, whether from dividends, liquidating events, etc. However, if a reader is truly interested in obtaining an understand of how dividends affect stock prices, the book is a worthy read.

Heavy Stuff
Helpful book for a Fundamental Value Investor since it layed the groundwork on DCF methodology (1934). Helped me to understand how the DCF or Dividend Discount Model was derived but a good undderstanding of economics is required to follow the author's concept. The two case studies are a bit dry but very interesting both from a historic and Value Investing perspective.

Definately worth reading!
This truly is a fantastic book on stock and bond investing. It's one of the best investing books I've ever read. Toss out your mass-market Peter Lynch books, this one really gets down to what determines how much a stock is worth, which most ordinary investors probably don't understand at all. It shows you how to calculate intrinsic value and is full of math. Trust me, I'm no mathematician but I still loved it.

This is one of the books that influenced Warren Buffett. However, I would recommend this over Benjamin Graham's "Security Analysis" or Philip Fisher's "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits". There's a reason why "The Theory of Investment Value" is still in print almost seven decades after it was first published.

Amazon.com lists the length of this book as 240 pages, but it is really 564 pages long. ... Read more

Book Description
The award-winning music of John Williams includes some of the most popular and well-known movie themes ever! This incredibly versatile new collection includes some of Williams' most-loved titles arranged for Level 2-3 instrumentalists. All arrangements are completely compatible with each other and can be played together or as solos. Each book contains a carefully edited part and a fully orchestrated accompaniment CD. Each song on the CD includes a demonstration track, which features a live instrumental performance, followed by a play-along track. The piano accompaniment book includes a CD that features various instrument demonstration tracks from the series. Titles are: Can You Read My Mind? (Love Theme from Superman) (Superman) * Cantina Band (Star Wars®) * Double Trouble (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) * Duel of the Fates (Star Wars®: Episode I The Phantom Menace) * Fawkes the Phoenix (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) * Harry's Wondrous World (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) * Hedwig's Theme (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) * The Imperial March (Star Wars®: The Empire Strikes Back) * May the Force Be With You (Star Wars®: The Empire Strikes Back) * Olympic Fanfare and Theme (1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles) * Star Wars (Main Title) (Star Wars®) * Theme from Superman (Superman) * A Window To the Past (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

beginner's clarinet
My son started using this book 3 months after he first played the clarinet.This is his first musical instrument (he is in middle school).He may not always want to play his school music but he will easily spend 30 minutes or more with this book and even though he can't play most of the songs perfect yet, he is having fun trying. ... Read more

Book Description
Wearied by the hotly contested "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign that unseated the Democratic incumbent, Martin Van Buren, Harrison succumbed to pneumonia after only one month in office, the first chief executive to die in the White House. His death precipitated a governmental crisis, which Vice President John Tyler promptly resolved--to the consternation of his Whig Party--by claiming the office and title of president, thus setting a precedent that only later was codified in the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

Instead of the pliable Harrison, the Whigs confronted in Tyler a tenacious defender of presidential prerogative and a formidable foe of their plan to establish congressional supremacy over the executive branch. Threatened with impeachment, repeatedly exhorted to resign, banished from the Whig Party, abandoned by his cabinet, and burned in effigy, Tyler stood firm and maintained the integrity of the presidential office.

Peterson argues that the Tyler administration deserves more credit than it has received for what was accomplished--and preserved--under difficult circumstances.

This book is part of the American Presidency Series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

An important contribution
To my knowledge, this is the most recent bio on John Tyler, our tenth president. Tyler's presidential contributions are debated by scholars. This book highlights past scholarship and is quite detailed on the political events and people surrounding Tyler's presidency. It does an adequate job of setting the stage by explaining what was happening in American culturally and economically at the time of Tyler's term. John Tyler was a president without a party. He was despised and harangued throughout his term, and despite the trememdous pressures, he did some very important things. These acts and their later role on our nation, is well presented in Peterson's book. I still came away with mixed feelings about Tyler. I think this is because the views of him are so contradictory. Another book to compliment this one is Seager's and Tyler Too. Seager's book details Tyler, the man, and his married life to Julia Gardiner. Without reading both books it is tough to get a full picture. Highly recommended for a detailed and comprehensive look at Tyler's presidency. Well researched, many primary sources (letters) and a full bibliography in the back.

A Review: The Presidencies of Wm. H. Harrison and John Tyler
This book fairly and vividly relates the "accidential" presidency of John Tyler. The author conveys the unique difficulties faced by Tyler as he assumes the presidency from W. H. Harrison. In fact, Tylerwas most courageous in standing firm against Henry Clay and his Whigcohorts, who tried extremely hard to bully Tyler into submission. NormaPeterson, the author, provides credit where it is due, be it with Tyler orhis equally courageous Secretary of State, Daniel Webster. The story intotal flows extremely well, and maintains the interest of the readerthroughout. The author's stance overall is pro-Tyler, and she bases this onclear reasoning and factual analysis. In total I agree with her position,that Tyler has received far less credit for his accomplishments andstrength of presidential character than most historians have given him.

A GREAT ANALYSIS!!
THIS BOOK IS TYPICAL OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PRESS PRESIDENTIAL SERIES. GREAT INSITE OF THE GROWING UNITED STATES DURING OUR POLITCAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE UGLY SIDE OF PERSONAL POLITICS. INTRIGUE REACHED AFEVERED PITCH WITH LESSOR KNOWN INDIVIDUALS ELECTED AS PRESIDENT WHILE THEICONS, CLAY, BENTON, WEBSTER AND CALHOUN HELD OUR COUNTRY IN THE SENATE.

An exciting and scary period in history - well covered
This book reads more like a novel than the Polk book in this series (which I found to be very informative). This book is well documented.There is a sense that the author is generally sympathetic to and sometimes apologeticfor Tyler and Webster - However I am not informed enough to know if this isa bias or a valid conclusion on the part of the author.With Tylerbecoming the first VP to 'inherit' the presidency after the death ofHarrison, our country was still navigating in the dark waters of ourconstitution and a world of threats (Mexico and England).Major playerssuch as Clay, Webster, and Calhoon dominate the scene.Tyler's presidencywould make a fine fiction drama. Misplaced trust, overwhelming ambition,and the drumbeat of sectionalism.I very much enjoyed this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This unbeatable John Williams collection features 28 easy piano arrangement s by Dan Coates from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Star Wars, E.T. (The Extra-Terrestrial), Jaws, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Superman and more! Titles include: America...The Dream Goes On * Anakin's Theme (from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace) * Can You Read My Mind? (Love Theme from Superman) * Cantina Band (from Star Wars) * Harry's Wondrous World (from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) * The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) (from The Empire Strikes Back) * Olympic Fanfare and Theme (19 84 Olympic Games) * Raider's March (from Raiders of the Lost Ark) * Theme f rom E.T. (The Extra-Terrestrial) * Theme from Jurassic Park and more. ... Read more

Book Description
John Milton is, next to William Shakespeare, the most influential English poet, a writer whose work spans an incredible breadth of forms and subject matter. The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton celebrates this author’s genius in a thoughtfully assembled book that provides new modern-spelling versions of Milton’s texts, expert commentary, and a wealth of other features that will please even the most dedicated students of Milton’s canon. Edited by a trio of esteemed scholars, this volume is the definitive Milton for our time.

In these pages you will find all of Milton’s verse, from masterpieces such as Paradise Lost–widely viewed as the finest epic poem in the English language–to shorter works such as the Nativity Ode, Lycidas, A Masque, and Samson Agonistes. Milton’s non-English language sonnets, verses, and elegies are accompanied by fresh translations by Gordon Braden. Among the newly edited and authoritatively annotated prose selections are letters, pamphlets, political tracts, essays such as Of Education and Areopagitica, and a generous portion of his heretical Christian Doctrine. These works reveal Milton’s passionate advocacy of controversial positions during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth and Restoration periods.

With his deep learning and the sensual immediacy of his language, Milton creates for us a unique bridge to the cultures of classical antiquity and medieval and Renaissance Christianity. With this in mind, the editors give careful attention to preserving the vibrant energy of Milton’s verse and prose,while making the relatively unfamiliar aspects of his writing accessible to modern readers. Notes identify the old meanings and roots of English words, illuminate historical contexts–including classical and biblical allusions–and offer concise accounts of the author’s philosophical and political assumptions. This edition is a consummate work of modern literary scholarship.

Praise
“Over the coming months, [John Milton’s] 400th anniversary will be celebrated in many different ways, but it is highly unlikely that any of the tributes he receives will do as much for him as the appearance of the Modern Library edition of his collected poetry and selected prose.The edition is a model of its kind, well designed and attractively produced. There are scholarly but unintimidating footnotes and helpful introductions to the major works. Spelling and punctuation have been modernized -- a difficult decision but the right one….A great deal has been packed in, but Milton has still been left room to breathe. The whole enterprise is meant to be reader-friendly, and it succeeds.” — The Wall Street Journal

“This magnificent edition gives us everything we need to read Milton intelligently and with fresh perception. You could take it to a desert island, or just stay home and further your education in a great writer.”
–William H. Pritchard, Amherst College

“For generations of readers Milton has been the measure of both eloquence and nobility of mind. For the next generation this new Modern Library volume will be the standard: it is meticulously edited, full of tactful annotations that set the stage for his work and his times, and it brings Milton, as a poet and a thinker, vividly alive before us.”
–Robert Hass

“Years ago I began a series of poems about Milton and his daughters. Ever since, I have been combing through Milton’s poems and prose for those moments when the poet would turn and speak to the poet in me. It is in the new Kerrigan-Rumrich-Fallon edition that I now find prompt rejoinders to questions, ready clarifications of problems, and a more intimate dimension of that formidable adjective Miltonic.”
–Richard Howard

“A superb edition of the great poet, with modernized spelling, lucid introductions to each work, illuminating footnotes, and fresh prose translations of poems in Latin, Greek, and Italian. This will surely be the edition of choice for teachers, students, and general readers too.”
–Leo Damrosch, Harvard University

“The introductions alone constitute a fine new book on Milton, beautifully written, challenging and balanced, with equal care and insight given to textual, biographical, historical, literary-historical and literary-critical concerns. It is a book to last a lifetime.”
–James Earl, University of Oregon

“In this landmark edition, teachers will discover a powerful ally in bringing the excitement of Milton’s poetry and prose to new generations of students. In the clarity of its overall conception, its thoroughness, and its never-faltering attention to literary and historical detail, the Modern Library Milton serves almost as another teacher–patient, thoughtful, endlessly concerned with genuine comprehension.”
–William C. Dowling, Rutgers University

“The editors display a remarkable combination of scholarly rigor and sensitivity to literary values, expressed in prose of exemplary clarity and extraordinary grace; even the notes, concise as well as precise, approach a kind of epigrammatic brilliance. A superb edition.”
–Edward W. Tayler, Columbia University

“The editors succeed gloriously, meeting the needs of the whole spectrum, from general readers to advanced students. A modernized text, one sensitive to Milton’s poetic rhythm, illuminates both the author’s meaning and artistry. It’s a beautiful edition–a home worthy of its subject.”
–Marina Favila, James Madison University ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

By far the best edition for the undergrad
As far as "Paradise Lost" is concerned, this book has superb annotation that is not as overbearing (though useful) as the edition by Fowler; notes are clear and concise, with verse cross-refrences and citation of many commentators. As an undergrad, I can greatly appreciate such reader friendly texts that elucidate obscure or outdated words and phrases, affording a lot more time to enjoy Milton otherwise spent in a dictionary. It also has a great introduction to PL, as well as selected illustrations.

An Amazing Volume
For many of us, this is the volume of Milton for which we have been waiting.The Notes are useful without being overwhelming & the selection from his prose work is very generous.Overall, this is a significant offering to all lovers of poetry, 17th Century literature, and theology.Together with the newly published edition of Shakespeare's First Folio, this edition of Milton is the bedrock of English Literature and should not be read, but re-read for a lifetime. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (4)

too dark; poor quality
Do not purchase this art-work. I thought it was going to be a post-card book. I have a wonderful postcard art book to compare to. THis is a sheet of dark art. Also there is blurring.

Sophie

Waterhouse Classics-- color quality could be better
I love Waterhouse, and these art cards are a beautiful selection of some of his best works. My one complaint is that some of the cards have less-than-brilliant colors. Still, I find them enchanting and I've already used them as cards for friends.

Postcards J. Waterhouse
If you love art by John William Waterhouse than you definitely want these.
If you cannot afford expensive posters, books etc. then these will do it for you.You can frame them or use them in forms of art that you create.
The way that he paints and the colors he uses are evident in these post cards.He was a great artist and had a knack for choosing the best subjects for his paintings.

I received these quicking and without delay.

Rare and Well-Known Waterhouse
I was thrilled to find this art card book in the gift shop of the National Gallery here in Washington, DC.John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) is my favorite artist; I own several big prints of his paintings, and the small, frame-able art cards in THE WOMEN OF WATERHOUSE are a valuable addition to my collection.Represented here are some of the most iconic paintings of the Victorian and Edwardian eras:OPHELIA, MIRANDA, LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI, THE LADY OF SHALOTT, THE SOUL OF THE ROSE, SAINT CECILIA.But ultimately, what makes the book worth far more than the few dollars I paid for it are the relatively rare pictures, those that are hard if not impossible to find in print form; these include the early masterpiece ST. EULALIA and the later THE ANNUNCIATION, as well as WINDFLOWERS, A TALE FROM THE DECAMERON, a different OPHELIA, and the un-bowdlerized version of THE CRYSTAL BALL.The look of the rare cards is superb, too, the colors true and vivid.In fact, only SAINT CECILIA and the first LADY OF SHALOTT have problems in this regard, the one being too dark and the other too light in color.Those titles are much better reproduced in the boxed collection J.W. WATERHOUSE:MYTH AND ROMANCE, also sold by Amazon.com.So if you are a Waterhouse admirer and buy both THE WOMEN OF WATERHOUSE and MYTH AND ROMANCE, you should end up fully satisfied. ... Read more

Book Description

"This work is destined to be treated as a pioneer and a classic in its field.... It offers a highly readable, lively, and proportionate examination of the Islamic canon and its various internal currents."

—American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences

Customer Reviews (2)

Still helpful
"The Word of Islam" (1994) is a watered-down version of "Islam" also edited by J.A.Williams and published in 1963 by the Washington Square Press in New York.This version seems to have been revised not out of "fear of the Jews" but out of fear of the Moslems.What was "The Cosmic Man" in "Islam"(p.139) is "The Great Man" in "The Word of Islam"(p.125).Likewise "God" is mostly replaced by "Reality."However, the Evening Prayer of Rabi'a of Basra (d.801) is retained intact on p.114.That is possibly the most beautiful prayer that I [a Catholic] know.

Shows Islam, doesn't talk about it
Any one interested in Islam should have this book. So many books try totell you what Islam is. This anthology *shows* you Islam through classicworks from within the tradition. It has elegant translations for importantpassages from the Quran, and extensive excerpts from thehadith of theProphet (anecdotes about him that are normative for Muslims, as a kind ofscripture). There is an excellent chapter on Islamic Law displaying thelogic and content of that complex field. There is a generous and appealingsection on Sufism (Islamic mysticism). And finally, theology andminoritarian movements are both explored through wide-ranging excerpts thatdiscuss predestination, the role of dissent, and the significance of theProphet's son-in-law, Ali. Unlike the textbooks that abound, Word of Islamhelps the reader not just to understand, but to appreciate these sometimescomplex topics through careful choices of material and through lucidandsympathetic introductions. And the translations are both accurate and verysensitive.. I've given away several copies and everyone who has receivedone has loved it. It's also a wonderful classroom text, anddiscussion-group support. ... Read more

Product Description
Goethe's Faust is a classic of European literature. Based on the fable of the man who traded his soul for superhuman powers and knowledge, it became the life's work of Germany's greatest poet. Beginning with an intriguing wager between God and Satan, it charts the life of a deeply flawed individual, his struggle against the nihilism of his diabolical companion Mephistopheles. Part One presents Faust's pact with the Devil and the harrowing tragedy of his love affair with the young Gretchen. Part Two shows Faust's experience in the world of public affairs, including his encounter with Helen of Troy, the emblem of classical beauty and culture. The whole is a symbolic and panoramic commentary on the human condition and on modern European history and civilisation.This new translation of both parts of Faust preserves the poetic character of the original, its tragic pathos and hilarious comedy. In addition, John Williams has translated the Urfaust, a fascinating glimpse into the young Goethe's imagination, and a selection from the draft scenarios for the Walpurgis Night witches' sabbath - material so ribald and blasphemous that Goethe did not dare publish it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Well written novel; a story of a teacher's life
We read this book for a discussion group and everyone liked it, often for different reasons.It is superbly written and psychologically interesting.Stoner is a farm boy, a son of undemonstrative parents "of the land".At University he discovers the world of literature and becomes a teacher instead of a farmer. The book details his relationship with teaching; and also his marriage and fatherhood. One could feel that Stoner is too passive in his marriage, but the choices he had were limited considering his background and the times.His wife, Edith, is perhaps a little too "black" when some more "gray" would make her more sympathetic.
What could have been a depressing life story in other hands was instead a fascinating portrait of a man and his life.Highly recommended.

In the face of adversity
Stoner is a compelling story. In spite of a shrewish wife and malicious colleagues, Stoner continues to live and study and love his child. His affair is only a brief respite from the cramped emotional life he leads. Readers will remember him long after they close the book.

An eloquent, moving, meaningful surprise
The precise and firm prose overcomes the early distaste I felt for Stoner, a seemingly weak, lost soul whose life seems just barely lived. But Williams delves so deeply into this characterization that I came to love this flawed man with a subtlety and strength that matches the writer's insight and intelligence. Tthe austere lives of a farming family in the early first half of the 20th century, and the brutal and petty politics of the academy, form the backdrop to one man's search for meaning, and love, in a seemingly meaningless, and loveless, world. Written with internal poignancy and power, the brief glimpses of hope within this arid life become gems of humanity and passion.

Stoner
A gem--beautiful, subtle writing about a man's life. Why had I never heard of it?

"What did you expect? he asked himself."
As John McGahern writes in his Introduction to STONER, "If the novel can be said to have one central idea, it is surely that of love, the many forms love takes and all the forces that oppose it."

In this deeply affecting novel, John Williams depicts Dr. William Stoner's life with simple, beautiful prose. Stoner dies in 1956, having taught in the English department of the University of Missouri his entire career. He makes no particular mark on his colleagues or students, and he leaves behind a wife and daughter with whom he was not close. His seemingly undistinguished life doesn't readily call to mind the adjective "heroic." Yet, this withdrawn man perseveres, and that counts as a triumph.

The only son of a poor rural couple, he seizes his chance to append to academia rather than inherit the farm. His marriage disappoints both him and Edith from their wedding night on, and their daughter becomes his wife's weapon against him, but Stoner doesn't seek divorce. In middle age, he falls in love with a younger woman, but he and she relinquish their relationship when they realize running away together would force them to, as Stoner tells her, " 'become something else, something other than ourselves. We would be -- nothing.' "

Stoner's most abiding love, however, is for literature. One of his professors awakens this passion that then burns on undimmed, although sometimes "hidden as if it were illicit and dangerous." It takes about ten years in the classroom, but "he [feels] himself at last beginning to be a teacher... simply a man to whom the book is true, to whom is given a dignity of art that has little to do with his foolishness or weakness or inadequacy as a man." This newfound professional maturity won't be allowed to attain full power though due to differences between Stoner and a fellow professor, Hollis Lomax, who rises to department chair: Stoner's integrity won't permit him to pass an unprepared student whom Lomax is coaching, and this impasse results in Lomax vindictively reducing senior professor Stoner to teaching freshman composition classes again instead of graduate seminars.

In his last days, "dispassionately, reasonably, [Stoner] contemplate[s] the failure that his life must appear to be." At this point, he asks himself, "What did you expect?" He reviews his life and "a sense of his own identity [comes] upon him with a sudden force." Stoner sees beyond the disappointments. He recognizes that a life lived with courage and love is a life well lived -- even if it remains hidden from others.

Occasionally, one wishes for greater depth regarding character's motivations -- especially concerning Edith's cold rejection of her husband. But this novel explores lives lived during the early and middle twentieth century, when many personal matters just were not discussed. The silent suffering of that generation is poignantly embodied in the repressed William Stoner. One may mutter irritatedly at Stoner for passivity, but STONER is a riveting portrait of a good, committed man who confronts life to the very best of his ability. Stoner is no superhero who dramatically overcomes all adversity, but he is an American hero all the same -- one representing millions of unsung real folk.

4.5 stars. ... Read more

Book Description
This popular book shows readers how to take advantage of the iLife '08applications that to many are the coolest parts of using a Mac. Throughtutorials, tips, and techniques readers will learn how to use each ofthe powerful applications -- individually and as part of an integrated,interactive suite. Robin and John also cover the features of theimmensely popular .Mac Web Gallery, which enables you to share youriPhoto library with family and friends with just a few clicks.Friendly, practical instructions will have new and veteran Mac ownersusing all that's new in the suite in no time. They'll find everythingabout getting on the Internet and using email; using the way-cool iChatAV, which adds audio and video to instant messaging; using iTunes,including access to the iTunes Music Store; the new video libary iniMovie; new organization and editing tools in iPhoto; new animatedthemes in iDVD; and much more! ... Read more

Book Description
Generally recognized as one of the most important novels of the tumultuous 1960s, The Man Who Cried I Am vividly evokes the harsh era of segregation that presaged the expatriation of African-American intellectuals.Through the eyes of journalist Max Reddick, and with penetrating fictional portraits of Richard Wright and James Baldwin, among other historical figures, John A Williams reveals the hope, courage, and bitter disappointment of the civil-rights era. Infused with powerful artistry, searing anger, as well as insight, humanity, and vision, The Man Who Cried I Am is a classic of postwar American literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A Masterpiece
This book I happen to stumble on while looking for another book here on Amazon. Wow what a great read! Absoloutley well written and eloquent. A must read for all.

One Of The Best Books I've Read In A Great While
There is this book and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison that have proven to be one of the best examples of African American writing during the turbulent Civil Rights Era which really hasn't ended. This novel is frequently compared to Invisible Man as the main character Max Riddick goes through a journey, an evolution and recalls his life in flashbacks, goes through a expatriate American phase going to Europe in hopes of finding a better audience for his writing only to find that the same kind of racism he encountered in the States only less blatant. His motivation goes from trying to best his rival Harry Ames, to phsyical survival, to trying to find a resolution to his own issues with a society that objectives him and his experience being a black man in America.

A warning of horrors to come
I first read this book in 1968, as Cleveland burned and after a copy boy on my paper had asked me about a U.S. plan to imprison blacks in concentration camps. I told the kid he was nuts.
After reading the book, however, I realized that Williams was fictionalizing the McCarran Act, which set up the very scheme the kid was worrying about.
That law is still on the books.

A great book I only recently discovered
A neglected classic by a writer who some consider equal to Ralph Ellison in importance. One fascinating aspect is its fictionalized treatment of some of the century's famous black literary figures. It's a portrait of the post-WWII-through-mid-sixties period as seen through the eyes of a black writer as he establishes a career as a novelist, journalist, and Presidential speechwriter in New York, Paris, Washington, D.C., and Lagos, Nigeria. The main character, Max Reddick, is shaped by anger, at the crux of which is indignation at the hypocrisy and hostility that black people and writers faced during this period. It's a historical novel which provides some insight into the social and political ferment of the sixties, and has an Afrocentric perspective that's somewhat reminiscent of Walter Mosley's work. It includes an intruigingfictionalized version of a mythic encounter between Richard Wright and James Baldwin ("Marion Dawes") in a Paris café, and according to James Sallis's biography of Chester Himes, it describes the essence of Wright's expatriate experience and his relationship with Himes. Ishmael Reed has said that the cartoonist Ollie Harrington is depicted, and although I didn't recognize him, Malcolm X is unmistakable and I suspect that "Time" Curry is modelled after jazz drummer Kenny Clarke, who was living in Paris at the time. According to the author's biography of Richard Pryor, Motown explored the possibility of buying the film rights to the novel as a vehicle for its star, Marvin Gaye, until the idea was abandoned in favor of Lady Sings the Blues.

The story begins near the end as Max, who's dying of cancer, sits at an outdoor café in Amsterdam where he's come to investigate the mystery of the death of his friend, Harry Ames, "the father of black writers," a few days earlier in Paris. What he eventually discovers is mind-blowing.

Throughout the novel, Max opines on a multitude ofsubjects like: Marxism, African independence and African attitudes towards Americans, sexuality and interracial relationships (he works past some of his homophobia too), the different styles of reporters from 5 major NYC newspapers, the theory of the rich president and other political theories, the "lie" of Christmas ("the rich man's chance to dissipate the image of Scrooge"), American cars (with their "long, buttock-smooth lines"), existentialism, and Alban Berg's atonal opera, "Wozzeck" (whose climax, a child's scream, punctuates Max's argument with his woman). Max interprets bebop's message as, "we can not be contained," and modern jazz becomes the avatar of his literary aesthetic: "He wanted to do with the novel what Charlie Parker was doing to music -- tearing it up and remaking it; basing it on nasty, nasty blues and overlaying it with the deep overriding tragedy not of Dostoevsky, but an American who knew of consequences to come: Herman Melville, a super Confidence Man, a Benito Cereno saddened beyond death."

i am a black man...
and this is a great book...read this and you will see why the black man feels the way he does; why interracial relationshipsremain the enigma that no one wants tounravel and the the battles that black people fight in general...also read " one for new york,"by williams ... Read more