Customer Reviews (12)

I still wonder why the Odyssey's a classic...
I'm not gonna go into specifics as I don't want to spoil the book for anyone who wants to read it.But if you're like me, picky about what you spend your time reading, then I suggest you look elsewhere for a better book.As much as The Odyssey depicts the life of the ancient greeks I still think its a waste of time and wonder how it survived until now.Seriously, who wants to read a book of a dumb guy who weeps like a child and falls asleep in the worst possible times?Ugh!I know I don't!I suggest you guys read Animal Farm, Brave New World, Anthem, The Giver, etc. if you want a quality read.Just skip The Odyssey.Don't buy it and don't read it.You are seriously not missing anything important.

I give this book 2 stars.

"I long to be homeward bound" Simon and Garfunkle
The Trojan War is over and one of our hero kings is lost. His son (Telemachus) travels to find any information about his father's fait. His wife (Penelope) must cunningly hold off suitors that are eating them out of house and home.

If he ever makes it home Odysseus will have to detect those servants loyal from those who are not. One absent king against rows of suitors; how will he give them their just deserts? We look to Bright Eyed Pallas Athena to help prophecy come true.

Interestingly all the tales of monsters and gods on the sea voyage was told by Odysseus. Notice that no on else survives to tell the tale. So we have to rely on Odysseus' word.

Many movies took sections of The Odyssey, and expanded them to make interesting stories those selves.

Not just the story but the way in which it is told will keep you up late at night reading.

Down-to-Earth Translation of a Classic
Over the years, I've encountered several different translations of Homer's 'The Odyssey' in school textbooks. These were generally excerpts, not the work in its entirety. I had become quite familiar with it's plot, as well as its ties to Greek mythology, though I'd never read the whole work. I've made attempts at reading Robert Fitzgerald's full translation of 'The Odyssey' in the past, though I found that I couldn't get into it. A couple of months before writing this review, I came across this particular translation...After leafing through the pages, it appeared to be much more accessible than others I had seen, so I thought I'd give it a try.

One of the key differences between this translation and others is that it has been rendered in the style of a novel than like the epic poetry its been translated from. Though the literal meaning of the passages has been largely retained, I find this translation's layout to be more aesthetically appealing and, thus, easier for a casual reader to become immersed in.

'The Odyssey' is the story of the main character, Odysseus, and his return to his home in Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, had to leave both his wife Penelope and his newly born son Telemachus behind because he has to leave for Troy. 'The Odyssey' begins, chronologically, in the 'middle' of the actual sequence of events in Odysseus' story. While Odysseus has been away from Ithaca for an unusually long length of time, his patron goddess, Athena, is discussing his fate with her father, Zeus. In the meantime, Odysseus' wife, Penelope, is constantly being harassed by a large group of men collectively referred to as the 'Suitors', who wish to marry her, since it appears that there is no chance of Odysseus returning. Athena visits Telemachus, who is now around 20 years old, and is able to help him get news of his father's whereabouts. Odysseus has been held captive by the nymph Calypso for many years, though the messenger-god Hermes persuades her to free him. Odysseus builds himself a raft, though it ends up being wrecked by the enraged sea-god Poseidon. Odysseus swims to an island, where he is rescued by a young girl, Nausicaa. He is welcomed by her father, Alcinous, and mother, Arete. At this point, Odysseus tells of the trials he has had to endure since his participation in the Trojan War so long ago.

Many of these events will be familiar to anyone interested in Greek mythology; for instance, his crew's ships being wrecked on the island of the Lotus-Eaters, his encounter with a Cyclops (Poseidon's son, who Odysseus blinds by thrusting a stake through his eye; this is the reason why Poseidon is angry with Odysseus), and passing through the land of the singing Sirens. After he is finishing telling of his adventures, a group of skilled sea-men, the Phaecians, help him reach Ithaca. Odysseus is able to introduce himself to his son Telemachus, who he hasn't seen since he was a baby. In disguise, Odysseus is able to walk amongst the Suitors and Penelope, and tells them that Odysseus is going to be returning soon. Penelope tests all of the Suitors, saying that anyone able to string Odysseus' bow in an archery competition may have her hand in marriage. Odysseus, still disguised as a beggar, is the only one able to do so. Then, he reveals his identity to the Suitors, then kills them after turning his bow upon all of them. His wife, Penelope, tests Odysseus to see if he is really who he says he is by telling the maid Eurycleia to move their bed from the bedroom. Odysseus then tells of how he built that bed himself from an olive-tree and how it would be incredibly hard for anyone to move it. Thus, Penelope was convinced of his identity, and they talk of all of the events that have occurred in each of their lives during the long span of time that they haven't been able to communicate.

'The Odyssey' is one of the central works of Western literature, which is understandable based on the story's scope: mythology, adventure, an intelligent and cunning hero, and an unpredictable plot. The fairly flat, and sometimes archetypal dispositions of the characters are made up for by the complex and enjoyable nature of the tale.

An Epic Thriller
The Odyssey is an epic story about a king and his twenty year journey back home to Ithaca. The book starts off in the city of Ithaca where Odysseus is told that he has to off to Troy to fight in the Trojan War. Odysseus is the main character of this story that goes to fight in the Trojan War in which he hides inside a Horse (A gift for the Trojans) and come backs home to find that his house is overran by suitors. This epic poem could be compared to the Iliad, which tells about some aspects of the Trojan War, by Homer.
The author uses great and specific details of the killings and the in the injuries the characters endure during their adventure. I suggest this book to anybody who loves action filled epic stories.
When I read this it makes me want to read it again every time because of the action and details in this story. If you are a fan of epic adventure I recommend you read this book because of the compelling characters the specific details.

The Odyssey - once more
Impressively, there have been at least six new English translations of the Homeric epic, the Odyssey, in the last 50+ years, a clear demonstration of the fascination of the original Greek and also of the pleasure and prestige that a line-by-line modern rendition grants to the dedicated translator, whether a scholar, a poet, or (in the case of Laurence "of Arabia")a military adventurer. The work by the English classicist, E.V. Rieu, extended by his son, D.C.H. Rieu, is one of the most readable, warm and "alive". Even a modern artist, whose tapestries were exhibited at the Onassis Center in New York in 2005, used this (in combination with the Modern Odyssey by Nikos Kazantzakis) as her inspiration. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

get the Lattimore instead
Although Mandelbaum's translation of the Divine Comedy is well-done and highly recommended, I don't think too much of his translation of the Odyssey:it reads stiffly and is very dense going.

If you're gonna read it, I would recommend the Lattimore translation (0060931957), which reads much more clearly and naturally.

This ain't just me:look at the difference in the Amazon reviews.

Hear the Sirens sing.
When I was a younger lad, I bought Richard Lattimore's translation, which is a grandiose bore.Then I had the good fortune to read Mandelbaum's Aeneid, which shines.This brought me to Mandelbaum's Odyssey. And it is the ideal Odyssey for scholarship and pleasure:

-The language is simple and strong.Mandelbaum knows his job--he tells the story simply and brings the ancient genius of Homer through with vigor and clarity.Occasionally Mandelbaum goes on a stint of rhyme and that's distracting, but overall the translation is beautiful.

-There's a well-drawn map of Ancient Greece in the beginning that really sets the scene for the wild sea adventures.

-One of the complaints I often hear about epics is that the many characters are difficult to keep straight. Mandelbaum solves this by giving us a comprehensive glossary in the back of the book that explains who everyone is and lists the page numbers of where they occur in the book.

-Another thing makes this a swift read is that, at the beginning of each book, Mandelbaum gives a quick summary of what's about to happen (a fantastic feature for reference and review).

Thus, with the book summaries, the glossary, and the map, you always know where you are in the epic--so while Odysseus wanders, you are never lost.

This Applies only to the Audio CD
Another example of employing a format without considering the means by which it will likely be used.The CDs have no internal "tracking" or programs.Thus, if you listen to the book in your car and don't finish the entire disk before turning the engine off, you'd better hope that you have a newer CD player than I possess.Otherwise, the player will default to the beginning of the last track that was played--in this case skipping back to where you were when you started the 45 minute drive.Even if you have a newer player, if the book is being listened too during a commute to your children's school, they would be unable to take the CDs with them to continue the book in another car on the way home.

Aaaarrrgghhh.

Note, however, that the translation and performance struck me as being well done (at least for the first 45 minutes!).

Jacobi's Narration As Brilliant As The Epic Itself!
I first read this beautiful epic as a little girl, held captive from start to finish, and then again in my tenth grade English class,so when I discovered it on audio tape, my heart danced for joy! I am also a great fan of Derek Jacobi, so it made perfect sense to purchase this literary gem for my growing collection. Jacobi's narration is as brilliant as the epic itself, and if you listen closely, you will begin to imagine yourself having the same adventures Odysseus had, as well as spending time getting to know Penelope, his wife, and their only child, a son named Telemachus. In conclusion, just likethe works of Shakespeare, this beautiful piece of literature was meant to be enjoyed by everybody! Get thee to Amazon.com or thy nearest bookstore and buy a copy!

Prose printed to look like Verse
Unlike many readers of Homer's works, I read this for entertainment purposes only.I did not cripple my enjoyment of the story by evaluating the structure or rythm of the verse although that is one of the marvels of the original. If you are one who is required to read the Odyssey for aclass assignment, I believe you will find that this translation (althoughprinted to look like verse) is extremely readable.However, to fullyappreciate the story-line, I recommend researching the Greek and Roman godsprior to reading the Odyssey (I found 'Mythology' by Edith Hamilton to bevery concise yet comprehensive.)Furthermore, tackling the Iliad prior tothe Odyssey is also desirable in order to understand the references to theTrojan War where Odysseus spent the first 10 years of his trials away fromIthaca.

Of the three major works that can probably be described as atrilogy (Virgil's Aeneid being the third), the Odyssey is the most readabledue to its 'traveling action'.The Iliad and Aeneid action scenes areprimarily battle fields with much description of each individual spearthrust/throw.The Odyssey is much more enjoyable since Odysseus travelsall around the Mediteranean with one adventure after another.

Anothernote is about the ending of this story.I will not give anything away, butas far as the three epic poems mentioned in this review, the Odyssey has avery conclusive end whereas the Iliad and Aeneid come to an end-of-sorts,but there is still much that is left unfinished. ... Read more

Book Description

The history of Homer and his works is lost in doubtful obscurity, as is the history of many of the first minds who have done honor to humanity because they rose amidst darkness. The majestic stream of his song, blessing and fertilizing, flows like a river through many lands and nations.

The creations of genius always seem like miracles, because they are, for the most part, created far out of the reach of observation. If we were in possession of all the historical testimonies, we never could wholly explain the origin of the Iliad and the Odyssey. But it must be noted that Homer's great epic poems hold a singular place in literature.Within the knowledge of all of history that has been passed down to us, there is no known predecessor that could lay claim to be the progenitor or equal to these great works.

It was Homer who formed the character of the Greek nation. No poet has ever, as a poet, exercised a similar influence over his countrymen. Prophets, lawgivers, and sages have formed the character of other nations; it was reserved to a poet to form that of the Greeks. When lawgivers and sages appeared in Greece, the work of the poet had already been accomplished; and they paid homage to his superior genius. He held up before his nation the mirror, in which they were to behold the world of gods and heroes no less than of feeble mortals, and to behold them reflected with purity and truth.

His poems are founded on the first feeling of human nature; on the love of children, wife, and country; on that passion which outweighs all others, the love of glory. His songs were poured forth from a breast which sympathized with all the feelings of man; and therefore they enter, and will continue to enter, every breast which cherishes the same sympathies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Revisiting an old Friend
It has been years since I had a chance to get reacquainted with one of the classic writers, Homer.I've been able to do just that with this book.Mr. Ford has provided me a copy of both the Illiad and Odyssey, in one paperback.I consider this larger paperback an easier format that allows me to concentrate on the story at hand.

I don't often recommend books to my wife (an assistant librarian at our high school)but I believe she should order several for our students. Job well done!

The Iliad***** and the Odyssey***
The Iliad*****

The Iliad is a story of martial heroism and a fascinating historical document.Although the Iliad is a fictional account, it provides considerable insight into ancient Greek warfare, technology, society, and metaphysics.To someone who's not being forced to read it in high school, the Iliad offers considerable attractions.

As the story opens, the Greeks and their allies are camped near the walls of Troy, many years into the Trojan War.Achilles, a demigod and the fiercest warrior among the Greeks, is angered by the commander of the Greek forces and withdraws from the fighting.Despite the loss of their best warrior, Ulysses and Nestor persuade the Greeks to continue their war against the Trojans.Throughout the rest of the book, over a period of several days, the two forces slaughter one another with arrow, sword, and spear, greatly preferring the latter weapon.The reader learns about the armor and shields that the fighters used, and every possible way they can fail their owners.The narrative focuses on the most prominent men on each side, but the opposing armies numbered in the thousands.Homer relates the action in terms that his listeners would understand, either realistically ("Diomed struck him in the middle of his neck with his sword and cut both sinews ...") or through simile ("... as a couple of well-trained hounds press forward after a doe or hare that runs screaming in front of them, even so did the son of Tydeus and Ulysses pursue Dolon ...")

There is a great deal of appreciation of martial spirit and character in the text.At one point, Sarpedon turns to Glaucus and says:

"Glaucus, why in Lycia do we receive especial honour as regards our place at the table?Why are the choicest portions served us and our cups kept brimming, and why do men look up to us as though we were gods?Moreover we hold a large estate by the banks of the river Xanthus, fair with orchards, lawns, and wheat-growing lands; it becomes us to, therefore, to take our stand at the head of all the Lycians and bear the brunt of the fight, that one may say to another, `Our princes in Lycia eat the fat of the land and drink the best of wine, but they are fine fellows: they fight well and are ever at the front in battle.'My good friend, if, when we were once out of this fight, we could escape old age and death thenceforth and for ever, I should neither press forward myself nor bid you to do so, but death in ten thousand shapes hangs ever over our heads, and no man can elude him; therefore let us go forward and either win glory for ourselves, or yield it to another."

The men encourage one another during the fighting, and share their strength.Diomed "of the loud war-cry" agrees to spy among the Trojans at night but asks for a companion: "When two men are together, one of them may see some opportunity which the other has not caught sight of; if a man is alone he is less full of resource, and his wit is weaker."

Interludes between the fighting offer scenes of a kind of domesticity and a glimpse at societal structure.The Greek leaders eat, drink, and rest in their tents, attended by large retinues, and the common fighting men sleep on the ground, using their shields as pillows.Decisions are made in assemblies that include all.

The fortunes of the two opposing armies wax and wane, and their fortunes are attributed to the gods, who intervene to help their favorites and even fight among themselves.

I read the Iliad rather slowly, over a period of three weeks or so, mostly before going to sleep at night, and drew a considerable amount of pleasure from it.The Samuel Butler translation is superb.

The Odyssey***

This Homeric poem focuses on Ulysses, one of the Greek heroes portrayed in the Iliad.When the story opens, Ulysses has been away from home for ten years, and a great deal of the book recounts his fantastic adventures as he tries to return to Ithaca.Meanwhile, at home, a group of suitors courts his wife, Penelope, while they eat his livestock and drink his wine.When he arrives home, Ulysses prowls about in disguise to establish who has been loyal and who disloyal in his absence.This done, he unleashes an unbelievably violent revenge on the suitors and their allies among his household staff.

Ulysses' adventures are highly imaginative, and, as in the Iliad, it is interesting to see how the ancient Greeks supposed that the gods intervene in our affairs.It is interesting, too, to see how they tried to read the gods' intentions through portents and omens.The extreme violence is rather surprising to a modern reader, and the poem could possibly be criticized for its rather abrupt resolution of the conflict between Ulysses and the other townspeople.

Great Book!

Homer - The Iliad and The Odyssey is a great book. It is considered to be a classic for good reasons:it is a good read, it deals with really important matters, it is superb literature and it is a landmark in the history of civilization.

For about two thousand years, it has been on the reading list of most educated people in the Western Hemisphere.Undoubtedly, it will still be part of the curriculum at most of the world's colleges and universities two thousand years from now.You just can't consider yourself to have received a proper education without having read this great Greek classic.

While you are at it, you should also read:
Aristotle -Ethics and Politics
History of the Peloponnesian War
and
Anabasis: The March Up Country

Classics like these are not stuffy, pompous, overblown literature as some ignorant anti-intellectuals might think.They are genuine looks at life by excellent writers who had something important to say - and said it well.

A gift
This book was a gift for my son.He is enjoying reading this book

Indispensable Reading

It is hardly an exaggeration to say that Homer is to World Literature what Shakespeare is to English Literature. With the two books combined into this one volume - the scribe, scholar, genius or whatever Homer really was - made a mark on literature that stands alone.The epic siege of Troy and the adventures of Ulysses are so deeply ingrained into the consciousness of Western culture that these works are a part of us even today.

The world of literature, and culture itself, owes a debt to Homer that cannot even be estimated.To not have read (the movies are but pale imitations) the Iliad and The Odyssey is a loss beyond description.
... Read more

Book Description
This concise book is a complete and contemporary introduction to Homer and his two master-works, the Iliad and the Odyssey. It explains the “Homeric Question,” illuminating its current status, and critiques the literary qualities of the Iliad and the Odyssey, analyzing and contrasting their plotting, narrative technique, and characterization.

• Provides historical background and literary readings of The Iliad and The Odyssey
  
• New to the second edition: a section on Homer’s reception in ancient Greece; a chapter on Homer and archaeology; additional maps; an updated bibliography; a glossary of key terms; and information on the oral composition of the poems
  
• Text is updated throughout
  
• Assumes no prior knowledge of Greek

Customer Reviews (3)

The best thing going
Powell is a leading Homer scholar and this is simply the best single book to read alongside the Iliad and Odyssey and attain a round sense of the Homeric poems, Homeric scholarship, and the socio-historical milieu that produced them.It is appropriate for undergraduates and I assign it in my courses on Homer.

concise introduction
This book is a precise and concise beautiful introduction to the poetry, the text, the philological issues, the history and the 'Homer-question' of the Illiad and the Odyssey. By 'concise' I mean up to the point that satisfies a non-specialist reader without burdening too much details. This book serves the purposes of a specialist reader and an outsider as well with good bibliography. However the philological problem may not have been introduced at the beginning, on the contrary the section on "Readers' Homer" may have been the choice for the first section. However that may be the author's choice as he is an experienced professor. The classroom experience must have been the reason for this. I myself has been on the look for just this type of introduction on Homer.

Who nneds to read Homer?
hey, if you read this book, you don't have to read the boring old ilid and odyssey, cause their summarized right here, hooray! this book is good. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Inspired by Werner von Braun and his Cape Canaveral team, 14-year-old Homer Hickam decided in 1957 to build his own rockets. They were his ticket out of Coalwood, West Virginia, a mining town that everyone knew was dying--everyone except Sonny's father, the mine superintendent and a company man so dedicated that his family rarely saw him. Hickam's smart, iconoclastic mother wanted her son to become something more than a miner and, along with a female science teacher, encouraged the efforts of his grandiosely named Big Creek Missile Agency. He grew up to be a NASA engineer and his memoir of the bumpy ride toward a gold medal at the National Science Fair in 1960--an unprecedented honor for a miner's kid--is rich in humor as well as warm sentiment. Hickam vividly evokes a world of close communal ties in which a storekeeper who sold him saltpeter warned, "Listen, rocket boy. This stuff can blow you to kingdom come." Hickam is candid about the deep disagreements and tensions in his parents' marriage, even as he movingly depicts their quiet loyalty to each other. The portrait of his ultimately successful campaign to win his aloof father's respect is equally affecting. --Wendy Smith Book Description
The #1 New York Times bestselling memoir that inspired the film October Sky, Rocket Boys is a uniquely American memoir—a powerful, luminous story of coming of age at the dawn of the 1960s, of a mother's love and a father's fears, of a group of young men who dreamed of launching rockets into outer space . . . and who made those dreams come true.

With the grace of a natural storyteller, NASA engineer Homer Hickam paints a warm, vivid portrait of the harsh West Virginia mining town of his youth, evoking a time of innocence and promise, when anything was possible, even in a company town that swallowed its men alive. A story of romance and loss, of growing up and getting out, Homer Hickam's lush, lyrical memoir is a chronicle of triumph—at once exquisitely written and marvelously entertaining.

Now with 8 pages of photographs.

A number-one New York Times bestseller in mass market, brought to the screen in the acclaimed film October Sky, Homer Hickam's memoir, nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award, comes to trade paperback with an all-new photo insert.

One of the most beloved bestsellers in recent years, Rocket Boys is a uniquely American memoir. A powerful, luminous story of coming of age at the end of the 1950s, it is the story of a mother's love and a father's fears, of growing up and getting out. With the grace of a natural storyteller, Homer Hickam looks back after a distinguished NASA career to tell his own true story of growing up in a dying coal town and of how, against the odds, he made his dreams of launching rockets into outer space come true.

A story of romance and loss and a keen portrait of life at an extraordinary point in American history, Rocket Boys is a chronicle of triumph.Download Description
It was 1957, the year Sputnik raced across the Appalachian sky, and the small town of Coalwood, West Virginia, was slowly dying. Faced with an uncertain future, Homer Hickam nurtured a dream: to send rockets into outer space.

The introspective son of the mine's superintendent and a mother determined to get him out of Coalwood forever, Homer fell in with a group of misfits who learned not only how to turn scraps of metal into sophisticated rockets but how to sustain their hope in a town that swallowed its men alive.

As the boys began to light up the tarry skies with their flaming projectiles and dreams of glory, Coalwood, and the Hickams, would never be the same.

Customer Reviews (530)

A great book with perfectly timed humor and emotion.
Children in West Virginia mining towns became coal miners. They did not become rocket scientists. But it did not matter how well-known this was, for Homer "Sonny" Hickam, Jr. there was only one way out. He was the right age and had the right amount of ambition when the United States and Russia became entangled in the Space Race and as far as he was concerned, his fate was sealed.

Hickam's writing carried the comfort of conversation with an old friend. It was remarkable how easily I became nostalgic for neither a time nor a place that I had ever known. The story drips with the passion of a man who if he had to do it all over again, probably wouldn't change a thing. He understood and appreciated the importance of everything that happened to him and helped him on his way.

One thing that I found particularly fascinating was how closely this book resembled the old proverb that It takes a whole village to raise a child. And I mean no disrespect to Mr. Hickam when I point out how amazing his circumstance was in that he could not have done it alone. The stars seemingly aligned perfectly so that one boy from West Virginia could capture the hearts of so many people that he would be able to get such invaluable assistance. There was probably no way anyone else could have done what he did. And that is to his credit. (The way his path was guided by fate, or something like it, reminded me of how Ruth Reichl became a food critic in Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table.)

I loved this book for Hickam's ability to transport me from my favorite reading chair to a West Virginia high school in the late 50s. I found myself hanging on every word wondering what would happen next. There is something special about an intelligently written story about a successful man who takes no credit for himself, but rather gives it to each person who helped him make his dreams come true. Rocket Boys may now find itself among the short list of my favorite books.

What a great book......
Just finished this book at 3:00am last night and the only negative comment I have is "why did it have to end?". I saw October Sky a few years ago and it was an exceptional movie - don't make the rash judgment I almost made in thinking that the book would probably not be be better than the movie because it is much, much better. It has only been a day since I've finished it but I'm still warmed by it and would have to put in into my top 10 all time greatest books. I was born in 1949 in a small upstate NY town and lived the fear generated by Sputnik. I think Homer would agree with me that, as tough as it was growing up then, it was the closest thing to heaven on earth as one could be. Wish I could go back.

Great Choice for an All-community Read
This book is the 2008 One Siouxland/One Book selection.(That's Sioux City, IA and surroundings) and it is a briliant choice.I have always been fascinated by people who can concentrate on one thing and see it through.This is a story about that and much more. I was delightedly surprised that this is so well written.Often you can see the "seams" in amateur writing, but not in this.The book is stuffed with themes, unrequited love, father/son, brother/brother, mother/son, unrequited love, jocks/nerds, small town/big dreams, corporation/individual, union/corporation, I could go on. Yet, it never seems thin. The only problem I had with the book was that events seemed to happen in clusters.This made it read like fiction, but I doubt it happened that way in real life. This is memoir rather than autobiography and I allow the writer to take liberties. I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to discussing it with others.I doubt I would have found this book if the committee hadn't chosen it.

Now This is a Great Book
I loved this story about boys from a West Virginia coal mining town who decide to join the space race after the Russian launching of sputnik sparks their imaginations. Hickam artfully portrays a great cast of characters in the small town of Coalwood as the boys go from being the town nuisance to its pride and joy. This is not a sleepy little town, mining troubles, family drama, school issues and exploding rockets keep the interest level high throughout. Even a bus ride to school is eventful in this page turning memoir. I would also say that this is a great book for middle school and up as it shows the importance of education in achieving your dreams and makes an effortless history lesson of the 1950's as well. One of my top favorites.

Excellent book, better than the movie!
I saw the movie "October Sky" several times prior to reading the book "Rocket Boys."As much as I enjoyed the movie, I enjoyed book even more.The best thing about the book is that it allows us to see Homer Hickam's doubts during his years as a Rocket Boy.I appreciate Mr. Hickam sharing his story in this memoir. ... Read more

Book Description
Over 175 full-color photos of this beautiful china with histories, sizes, dates, and values. The primary emphasis is on the most popular dinnerware from 1900-1950. This is the first book devoted to the dinnerware of Homer Laughlin. 2000 values. AUTHORBIO: Joanne Jasper, an antique lover and Homer Laughlin fan for years, visited the Homer Laughlin plant in Newell, West Virginia with her daughter and decided to make her idea for a collector's reference a reality. She spent countless hours researching, interviewing, and taking photographs. Her book has become a bestseller. REVIEW: This book was inspired by a visit to the Homer Laughlin Factory in Newell, West Virginia, by the author. For the casual collector of Homer Laughlin China, this book will show the evolution of the Homer Laughlin designs throughout the years. For the serious collector and dealer, this book is a great reference manual which can assist in the identification of different shapes and decorative patterns. It especially assists in differentiating between shapes which closely resemble one another. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

One of the first books written on the "Homer Laughlin" fine china subject

I bought this book quite a while ago. At that time, this was about the only book on the HOMER LAUGHLIN subject.

It all started when I had inherited a beautiful set of Homer Laughlin "Georgian" fine china, and I wanted to know more (& get more pieces). Unfortunately, fifteen+ years ago, there weren't too many H.L. china collectors and/or identification books on this subject, (aside from the avid FIESTA WARE collectors).

Needless to say, I never did find more pieces to my H.L. china set, since the H.L. Georgian pattern had sooooo many various flower styles (ie: since the early production of the 1940's Georgian pattern).

However, the thing that I did find most helpful from this book was that it gave a nice history of the company. I was very excited to get any information on the early history of this china company.

But as far as finding a H.L. book with all the patterns and styles, that never came about. Even the later re-prints of this book did not have all the flower styles of many of the H.L. fine china patterns.

(By the way, REPLACEMENTS INC, has no early H.L. chinas either.Thus, the older pieces are definetly hard to find).

Anyhow,if you are interested in a Homer Laughlin book that gives a nice history of the company, then you might find this book helpful.

But if you have inherited a specific early H.L. china pattern, as I did, then you may be out of luck in finding more information about it.
The reason being that H.L. changed the flower patterns so often and also depending on the store that carried the H.L. fine china.(FIESTA was a different story though, since FIESTA was issued for many years. And plus, there are so many books issued, specific to just FIESTA, that this book only touches on the FIESTA subject).

The Book that Helped
After my aunt's demise several years ago, I was the recipient of some odd pieces of old china.I wondered as to the age of the pieces, and so I went to the Internet.What do you think I found. You're right, my china was listed in the book that I purchased through Amazon.com.
Thank you very much.

The Collector's Encyclopedia of Homer Laughlin China : Refer
DISAPPOINTED THAT THE BOOK DID NOT GO BACK TO THE EARLY HOMER LAUGHLIN. LITTLE INFO ABOUT VARIOUS MARKS. NOT COMPLETE ENOUGH FOR THE PRICE.

Find out what those old dishes are...and what ther're worth.
I recently aquired some Homer Laughlin china and was unable to identify the patterns. This book helped me tremendously! The pictures and descriptions were very useful. Also, there is alot of trivia about thecompany and some of the designers. I highly recommend this book.

An excellent reference for the collector...
This is a very well organized reference for those collectors of Homer Laughlin who enjoy the "other" HL pottery (other than Fiesta, of course). Jasper has put a great deal of effort into categorizing thevarious patterns, and includes hundreds of photos. Each pattern has alittle history that goes with it, and often the backstamp (mark) will beshown alongside. She includes an extensive history of the pottery,discusses the difficulties in identifying certain patterns, and includespages from some of the old catalogs. All in all an admirable work and wellworth the purchase price. ... Read more

Book Description
Selection from Homer's Iliad includes an introduction, notes, a short Homeric grammar, and a vocabulary by Allen Rogers Benner, Professor of Greek in Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. [1903] ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Selections from Homer's Iliad
Allan Rogers Benner provides us with a wonderfully complete book that would allow anyone with at least a moderate knowledge of Attic Greek to explore the world of Homer in the original (as of 300-or-so BC) text.
The text is set up in such a way so as for a beginner in the Homeric language to work their way through without much trouble: the book starts with an enlightening commentary on the state of the language itself as we have it in addition to contextual and historical analysis. The text itself uses a font which is more than large enough to recognize all of the accents and breathing marks as well as the iota-subscript. He has selected passages from some of the more important parts of the epic, Books I, III, IX, XVIII,and XXII are all even contained in their entirety for example, and there are also passages from numerous other books. Additionally, Homeric hapaxes (words that only appear once) are glossed on the bottom of the page. After the text, there are almost 150 pages of notes to aid in the understanding of trickier passages, and there are also Attic equavilances of archaic Homeric forms. Benner also provides a very brief overview of Homeric language both morphologically and syntactically that is ideal for reference should one encounter an unfamiliar use of an optative, for example. And lastly, and most importantly, there is a complete glossary in the back to avoid the unfortunate shuffling between books often required of beginning classicists.
Overall this book is absolutely ideal for an introductory college-level course in the Homeric dialect, and very well deserves to become the standard such text used. This book is also perfect for someone who would like to work on their own on reading the Iliad in Greek, provided of course they have at least some background in Attic forms and syntax. Benner deserves high praise for his work and efforts, as he has truly produced one of the greatest texts for Greek students at the intermediate level.

Good resource
This is a good resource for all the books of the Iliad; however, someone just beginning to read Homer or any original text may need more help than Benner provides. Consider either Iliad I by Pamela Ann Draper or Iliad I by Simon Pulleyn. Draper is better on nuts and bolts grammar and has the vocabulary on the facing page. Pulleyn has the vocabulary in the back of the book, but is better on literary and historical issues. His introduction is excellent: wide-ranging but concise; written in clear, stylish, non-academic prose. These texts cover only Book I. This is a good thing since it allows both authors to limit the vocabularies and Pulleyn to provide a complete commentary on that one book.

Superseded by Willcock's work
I have a great sentimental attachment to Benner's Selections, as it was with this textbook that I first read Homer in Greek.I loved the selections, etc.!

However, as students have later come to me with their Homer reading projects, I've placed this side-by-side with the notes in M.M. Willcock's "Iliad of Homer: Books I-XII" and "Iliad of Homer: Books XIII-XXIV," and it just doesn't measure up.Willcock's work is fresher (1978/1984 vs. 1903), and he gives better and fuller help with Homer's language.(Also, he happens to be the more sensitive reader of Homer's poetry.)

If there's a reason to stick with Benner, it's that it's cheaper and gives excellently chosen selections (grammar overview + text + notes) in one volume, as opposed to Willcock's two-volume format covering the entire Iliad.Also, you've just got to love a book (=Benner) that begins, "This edition of the Iliad includes the books commonly required for admission to American colleges..."Also, Benner has a wonderfully written and complete glossary in the back, whereas with Willcock you need also to buy a good Homer lexicon (that is, Cunliffe's "Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect," which is much better than Autenrieth's brief work IMHO).

An Excellent Intermediate-level Text
This text is probably the best choice for those who have spent a year learning the basics of Homeric (or Attic) Greek and want to experience some payoff for all the hours spent conjugating second aorists and declining endless varieties of third-declension nouns. The selections consist of long excerpts (five books of the Iliad are included in their totality) of the best parts of the Iliad. As a whole, the selections comprise a sort of "Essential Iliad" inasmuch as they convey the scope of the entire poem from the wrath of Achilles to the burial of Hector.
My only gripe with the editors' choice of what to include is with the omission of Hera's deception of Zeus.

Along with the selections is a commentary which helps elucidate those words and phrases here and there that are likely to cause the relative beginner trouble in construing the sense. In general, the commentary is quite good, though it does let the reader down from time to time. It won't, for example, explain to you what the connective particle in line 8 of Book One means even though no beginner will know what to make of it. Thus, a bit more help could have been given, particularly in the area of particles.

In addition to the commentary, there is a vocabulary comprising all the words used in the excerpts. This is a real bonus, since rifling through big lexicons can be tedious, particularly for a relative beginner. Also, all hapax legomena (words used only once) are listed at the bottom of every page of text.

All in all, then, Benner's Selections From The Iliad is a must-have for those who want to expand upon an elementary understanding of Homeric Greek.

Sine Qua Non
So, you've made it through a year of college-level classical Greek -- Attic, or perhaps one of those texts that starts out with Homeric Greek.Now you're ready to read the Iliad, the single greatest work of western literature.What you now need is a good solid school text, with vocabulary, grammatical appendices, and copious notes.This is the book for you.I used this as an undergraduate years ago and still cherish my hardcover copy.This is a new, paperback edition, presumably the same old standard-issue Benner.I know of none better.I've seen lots of school editions of the Iliad, many pre-dating and some post-dating Benner, but none compare with this edition for overall utility.Is there anything as exciting as reading the Iliad in Greek?It seems curious, perhaps even paradoxical, that a 2700 year old poem is as pure and as fresh as the morning dew, more alive and vibrant than anything that has been written since.For those who are coming to the poem for the first time, you can't do better than to have an old schoolmaster like Benner take you through the best parts of the poem with lots of helpful guidance. ... Read more

Book Description
To know a pug is to love a pug. And no pug has won more hearts than Wilson thePug.Wilson, Taoist master of The Tao of Pug, has taught his many admirerssomevery important life lessons. And he practices what he preaches. While outsearching for agood deed to do for the holidays, he encounters and befriends a lost baby pugwhom heimmediately dubs Homer. Swearing to find Homer a home for the holidays, Wilsonandhis new pal embark on an adventure that takes them along unexpected and comicalpaths.The future starts to look bleak for Homer until a chance meeting with SantaClaushimself turns everything around. Homer's holiday wish may come true afterall.

Written and photographed with the help of Wilson's human companion, NancyLevine,Homer for the Holidays is sure to be another holiday hit with pug owners,doglovers, or anyone who enjoys a funny and touching seasonal story for young andoldalike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Great Book--very sweet and funny, too
I have fallen in love with Wilson as portrayed by Nancy Levine. I think this is another great Wilson book. (If you haven't read the other 3, you must!) Great coffee table book, great gift, great to make you smile on a down day. Heart-warming tale of rescue from a puppy mill but light-hearted with a lot of humor in the photos and Wilson's editorials. Can't miss on this or any of Nancy Levine and Wilson's books!

For All Pug Lovers!
Homer for the Holidays is a cute book that pug (and Taoism) lovers will enjoy.It injects humor and Taoist wisdom into the story of a puppy who escaped from the puppy mill and Wilson the Pug's effort to find him a home.The photos are adorable.It makes a great holiday gift.

GREAT BOOK FOR ANYONE WHO LOVES PUGS
FIRST OF ALL I HAVE 2 GORGEOUS PUGS AND LIVE IN AUSTRALIA. I FIRST READ THE TAO OF PUG AND LOVED IT. I HAD TO THEN BUY HOMER FOR THE HOLIDAYS. THE PHOTOS ARE THE BEST IN BOTH BOOKS AND WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH SO HARD.HOMER FOR THE HOLIDAYS IS A STORY OF HOMER A LOST PUG WHO IS TRYING TO FIND A HOME WITH THE HELP OF WILSON.IT IS MORE OF A STORY THAN THE TAO OF PUG WHICH IS FUNNY INSIGHTS INTO THE LIFE OF WILSON. IT HAS A GOOD THEME BEHIND IT OF CARING FOR ANIMALS OVER PROFITS AND I THINK IT PERFECTLY CATCHES THE PERSONALITY OF THESE LITTLE ANIMALS.

Lovely pugs!
"Homer For The Holidays: The Further Adventures of Wilson the Pug" is a lovable book because of the lovable pugs within this magical story.As a pug lover, of course my face will soften and my spirits will rise at the sight of the pugs in the story, but non-pug adorers will still feel the joy when the read this delightful heartwarming story that can be enjoyed in and out of the holiday season.I recommend.

I LOVE this book!
When I saw there was a follow up to The Tao of Pug, starring that little cutie Wilson, I had to get it.And I sure wasn't disappointed.This little gem tells the story of Wilson, who is on a mission to to "the right thing," and finds the MOST adorable pug puppy Homer searching for a home.The photos are beautiful and funny, and the story is one of the most heartwarming I've ever read.This book is a MUST-HAVE if you love pugs, dogs, beautiful photos, hysterical humor, and a brilliantly told, heartwarming story. ... Read more

Book Description
One of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer's Iliad tells the story of the darkest episode of the Trojan War. At its center is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his conflict with his leader Agamemnon. Interwoven in the tragic sequence of events are powerfully moving descriptions of the ebb and flow of battle, the besieged city of Ilium, the feud between the gods, and the fate of mortals. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Good start on The Iliad
This is a good introduction to the Iliad. Short of reading the original Greek Richard Lattimore's translation is the best but Rieu's translation is written in straightforward, clear prose and is a good way to introduce yourself to the basic narrative and get a sense of the story. It is colloquial at times but not jarringly so. Then, move on to Lattimore and the Greek.

Excellent Value: An Interesting But A Slow and Bloody Story of Hand to Hand Combatin 1200 BC Troy, With A Good Introduction
I read Homer's Odyssey in about two days, and thought that it was an interesting and a compelling read. I read the translation by T.E. Lawrence. The Iliad is a much slower read by comparison, and it is a much more complicated book. It took me two weeks of reading on and off to make my way through this present book, and my longest stretch was just 50 pages before I would lose my concentration.

The story is over 400 pages long. It is a lengthy description of hand to hand combat by hundreds of fighters on the plains of Troy, outside the ancient town of Ilium. It is not about the whole war which lasted years, but simply the story or myth of only a few days of the fighting. The story describes wave after wave of sword fighting and spear throwing, going back and forth between the two sides, chapter after chapter. We follow every wound and every death and we read detailed descriptions of the wounds and what happens to the dead bodies.

The book is very slow to start and it is complicated by dozens of primary characters led by the Greek Achilles and the Trojan Hector. There are hundreds of secondary characters and 24 different Gods, led by Zeus. Overall, this is more of a reading experience that a simple story. It does get easier after 150 pages or so, as the reader gets into the flow of the story and learns the names of all the primary characters. In trying to understand The Iliad, It is hard to find any moral lessons here other than the weakness of hubris as a character flaw. The book is interesting since it is one of the first recorded stories or myths.

This is an excellent version of The Iliad because of the extensive introduction, analysis, list of characters, maps, and the summaries at the beginning of each chapter. Also, there are side notes on every page to give the reader a summary of the current events. The translation by Rieu is over 50 years old and it has been updated and edited twice, the most recent by Peter Jones. The commentary and analysis is essential to the understanding of the novel. You get that here for free as part of the Penguin Classic. Peter Jones and Rieu present some interesting comments on the date and the history of the Iliad manuscript, and it relation to oral traditions.

So, this is an interesting historical story, well presented with excellent notes.

Great prose translation
This is a great prose translation, updated and modernized by Peter Jones.The text crackles with energy and is much better than many verse translations (my favorite verse translations are by Lombardo and Lattimore).Many people - like myself - have an eye that is more comfortable with prose and modern English prose is very expressive.So this is probably a very good translation for most people.If you don't mind verse, try the fresh translation by Stanley Lombardo.

As for the story itself, what is there to say?It's a classic and, interestingly enough, is the first piece of written literature that introduces us to the ancient Greek gods and goddesses.But it is the story of Achilles and his anger (or rage), first at the Greek leader, Agammenon, and then at Hector and the Trojans.The latter kill Achilles' best friend, Patrokles.

I don't think anyone interested in the Iliad will find fault with this lively translation.

The Original Action book
The Iliad is perhaps the first of the action books. I read this translation because I found it to be very enjoyable and flows well.This of course is the story of Achilles, Helen, Agamemmnon, Odysseus, Hector and Paris. We have love, war, adultery, courage, family relationships, loyalty and morality all brought to the battlefield.

Most everyone has read the story (or at least seen the horrible movie staring Brad Pitt). This epic is truly epic and will not easily be forgotten. I found myself siding with both camps and my morality questioned by the story's nagging questions of what is worth fighting and dying for.

A book that is both timeless and a classic. You have not lived until you have read the Iliad.

Great Epic
I absolutley adored this book. I am reading the Odyssey now. I recommend you read both. It adds depth to the whole tale. ... Read more

Book Description
This book demonstrates how Homeric poetry manages to confer significance on persons and actions, interpreting the world and the lives of the people who inhabit it.Taking central themes like characterization, death, and the gods, the author argues that current ideas of the limitations of
"oral poetry" are unreal, and that Homer embodies a view of the world both unique and profound. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

To read it is to love it.
How this little gem has been so completely overlooked I simply do not understand.I have to confess that I am as guilty as the next person.As an inveterate reader of the Iliad in translation and of everything I can get my hands on about the Iliad, I had somehow missed this.I first saw it obliquely referenced in the New York Review of Books.I can not even remember what the book being reviewed was.But i Do recall that Griffin's book was mentioned in a footnote.

It took me a couple of weeks to read it -- though it clocks in at barely over 200 pages.Not because it it tough slogging, but because the ideas are so startling and so ingenious that you have to sit back, savour them, re-read them, and then press on.I kept my favorite translation of the Iliad to hand (Fagles) and spent hours cross-referencing Griffin and Fagles texts in their respective margins.Now when I pick up the Iliad in search of a memorable passage I have a note that takes me straight to Griffin's lucid, limip analysis.

As a society we do not understand death very well -- and we are not prepared for it.I first confronted this when my mother died.I ralized then that nothing I had learned, nothing I had ever read, prepared me properly for the event.I wish I had read Griffin on the subject before that fateful day.At one point he writes, "...the Iliad is a poem of death rather than of fighting.The subject of the poem is life and death, constrasted with the greatest possible sharpness."

He writes passionately at all times -- and, on ocassion, almost polemically.But his opinions are always founded on the most careful analysis of the text.

Here he is on the value of Greek myth:

"Greek myth is distinguished from others above all by the dominant position within it of myths about heroes....They illuminate...the potential and limitations of man in the world.In the noble speeches and tragic insights of a Sarpedon, a Hector, an Achilles, we see both the terrible and unalterable laws of life and death, and also the greatness which man can achieve in facing them.The loyalty of Penelope, the endurance of Odysseus, the self-sacrifice of Patroclus, even the tragic dignity of the guilty Helen: all show us that amid suffering and disaster human nature can remain noble and almost god-like."

Griffin also translates EVERYTHING.Many of his era, including the magisterial Syme, would hardly have deigned to do this -- assuming that even the lay reader should have a knowledge of Latin or Greek. But not Jasper Griffin.Thank you Jasper.....

If you love the Iliad, you will LOVE Griffin.I also discovered a reference to this book at the end of "Who Killed Homer".Now, depending upon your view of Hanson (I love him) that may either damn or exalt Griffin in your eyes.But for what it is worth, Hanson listed this little book as one of the ten books on antiquity that MUST be read.And he is right!! ... Read more

Book Description

George Chapman's translations of Homer are among the most famous in the English language. Keats immortalized the work of the Renaissance dramatist and poet in the sonnet "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer." Swinburne praised the translations for their "romantic and sometimes barbaric grandeur," their "freshness, strength, and inextinguishable fire." The great critic George Saintsbury (1845-1933) wrote: "For more than two centuries they were the resort of all who, unable to read Greek, wished to know what Greek was. Chapman is far nearer Homer than any modern translator in any modern language." This volume presents the original text of Chapman's translation of the Odyssey (1614-15), making only a small number of modifications to punctuation and wording where they might confuse the modern reader. The editor, Allardyce Nicoll, provides an introduction, textual notes, a glossary, and a commentary. Garry Wills's preface to the Odyssey explores how Chapman's less strained meter lets him achieve more delicate poetic effects as compared to the Iliad. Wills also examines Chapman's "fine touch" in translating "the warm and human sense of comedy" in the Odyssey.

Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold.
--John Keats

Customer Reviews (10)

Chapman walks Homer up on stage
Chapman was a poet-playwright caught in one of history's greatest creative explosions. Imagine: Chapman got to walk Homer onto the stage of Elizabethan literature.
Used to rendering scenes, getting action and nuance across by hook and by crook, yet thrilled by his poet and his task, Chapman calls on his lucky stars with every line--wild, woolly, and wonderful. Here's Achilles going berserk in the ILIAD:
"....The silver-gulfed deep
Received them with a mighty cry: the billows vast and steep
Roared at their armors, which the shores did round about resound
This way and that they swam, and shrieked, as in the gulfs they drown'd.
And as in fired fields locusts rise, as the unwearied blaze
Plies still their rising, till in swarms al lrush as in amaze
(For 'scape) into some neighbor floor: so th'Achillean stroke
Here drave the foe: their gulfy flood with men and horse did choke."

The ODYSSEY is in pentameter, at which Chapman is a great athlete. Here is Calypso, letting Odysseus go:
"O y'are a shrewd one, and so habited
In taking heed, thou knowst not what it is
To be unwary, nor use words amiss.
How hast thou charmed me, were I ne'er so sly!"

Direct, salient, brilliant--I stand charmed. Keats still applies.

Ouranos is wrong
The Chapman translation is in iambic heptameter, not pentameter. The leisurely, sprawling heptameter lines give a wonderful spirited rendition of the ancient Greek classic, which pentameter lines would have tightened uncomfortably in my opinion. A good aesthetic decision by Chapman. The other Homer epic, the Odyssey, is also available by the same editors. One thing bothers me about Chapman, he uses the Roman names of the gods, not the Greek names. Surely he knew better? That aside, the editors have done a great job of rectifying spelling variants and spurious punctuation in the original, making the new edition more readable, hence more enjoyable, that it was in its original form. Keats' laudatory sonnet on Chapman's Homer is borne out by the actual reading of this powerful translation.

Definitely the best way to experience the Iliad in English!
Chapman's rendition of the Iliad was done at a time when life was not very much different from Homer's time.The chief pleasure in reading Chapman's translation rather than a more recent rendering is its utter lack of any terms or turns of phrase that conjure up the modern world.Chapman's diction and grammar take us back to the pre-industrial world.Another great pleasure in reading Chapman's Iliad is its foundational influence on our language and thought as English speakers.What the King James Bible is to English prose, Chapman's Iliad is to English poetry.And, what marks this book off as fashionable, even today, is the fact that the tale of the Iliad is still as well know in our own time as it was in Chapman's.This is a truly great work that can only be experienced in our own language.Chapman, like every poetic translator, cannot merely translate, but rather improves upon and interprets, and as such he takes Greek warriors and turns them into 17th Century Anglo-Saxon ones.Thus, we have a poem for our enjoyment that is both Classical Greek and Classical English at once!This poem is one of our cultural icons as English speakers, and, like the works of Shakespeare will always remain at the forefront of our consciousness.

Classic Done Right
I've always wanted to read the Odyssey, but could never get into it...that's the problem with reading books in translation; if you get a bad translation, the book sucks. But Chapman does a wonderful job with Homer...this is about as beautifully poetic as you can get. The other great thing about this is that it's written in iambic pentameter, (although the Illiad is done with the fourteen syllable line,) the meter that Shakespeare used for his plays. If you're into Elizabethan writing at all, this is a great book for you.

Dear Mr. Smith
My review of the book is just to correct Kent Smith's shockingly ignorant statement. Wouldn't one's confusion over a word's meaning necessitate the turning to the glossary? Why rely on obtrusive footnotes? Why not let your ignorance of Chapman's extraordinary, polyglot, maddeningly-diverse vocabulary be the guide?

My advice is the same I'd give to a child: if you don't know a word LOOK IT UP. Advice you don't need to be "an academic num-num"--although I am an academic--to think of, nor heed. I might also suggest looking in the Oxford English Dictionary--created by academic num nums, but accessible to such enlighteded common readers as Mr. Smith--it has many of Chapman's neologisms--to save Mr. Smith the trouble of looking up this extraordinarily difficult phrase, it means "new words," from Greek NEOS "new" and LOGOS "word" (Isn't erudition, however minor, fun and useful, Mr. Smith?--and is quite exciting in the bargain.

By the way, this edition of Chapman is by far the best I have seen; Chapman's translation is also highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description
For almost 3,000 years, The Iliad and The Odyssey have thrilled people with tales of adventure in ancient Greece. The stories of Helen and Paris, the Greek gods, the Trojan War, Achilles and of Odysseus' ten years quest to return home after the war are known all over the world among all cultures. But so much about the life of Homer, responsible for the epic poems, remains a mystery. Despite the controversies surrounding him, Homer is still honored as one of civilization's greatest poets. His poems were so vivid that 19th century archeologists used descriptions in The Iliad to locate the city of Troy. ... Read more

Book Description

The Earth's human population is expected to pass eight billion by the year 2025, while rapid growth in the global economy will spur ever increasing demands for natural resources. The world will consequently face growing scarcities of such vital renewable resources as cropland, fresh water, and forests. Thomas Homer-Dixon argues in this sobering book that these environmental scarcities will have profound social consequences--contributing to insurrections, ethnic clashes, urban unrest, and other forms of civil violence, especially in the developing world.

Homer-Dixon synthesizes work from a wide range of international research projects to develop a detailed model of the sources of environmental scarcity. He refers to water shortages in China, population growth in sub-Saharan Africa, and land distribution in Mexico, for example, to show that scarcities stem from the degradation and depletion of renewable resources, the increased demand for these resources, and/or their unequal distribution. He shows that these scarcities can lead to deepened poverty, large-scale migrations, sharpened social cleavages, and weakened institutions. And he describes the kinds of violence that can result from these social effects, arguing that conflicts in Chiapas, Mexico and ongoing turmoil in many African and Asian countries, for instance, are already partly a consequence of scarcity.

Homer-Dixon is careful to point out that the effects of environmental scarcity are indirect and act in combination with other social, political, and economic stresses. He also acknowledges that human ingenuity can reduce the likelihood of conflict, particularly in countries with efficient markets, capable states, and an educated populace. But he argues that the violent consequences of scarcity should not be underestimated--especially when about half the world's population depends directly on local renewables for their day-to-day well-being. In the next decades, he writes, growing scarcities will affect billions of people with unprecedented severity and at an unparalleled scale and pace.

Clearly written and forcefully argued, this book will become the standard work on the complex relationship between environmental scarcities and human violence.

Customer Reviews (4)

Scholarly analysis
Thomas Homer-Dixon's "Environment, Scarcity and Violence" offers a scholarly analysis of the role environmental scarcity plays in spawning violent human conflicts. The author uses social science research methodology to isolate the independent variable of environmental scarcity in order to study the ways it may or may not contribute to violence. Importantly, Homer-Dixon has found that environmental scarcity, while insignificant in itself, is a significant factor in amplifying the underlying tensions that may in turn fuel a society's descent into violence.

The author goes on to argue that countries that possess sufficient quantities of ingenuity may be able to avert violence by curing their environmental crises through the application of advanced technological and managerial skills. On the other hand, nations that lack ingenuity -- or those who lose intellectual capital as the result of their deteriorating environments -- are more apt to descend into violence as these societies negatively respond to their crises by turning against themselves.

Although the book provides no easy answers to the stated problems, it does suggest that democracy and international cooperation will be badly needed in the struggle to create a peaceful and stable planet. I strongly recommended this outstanding book to policy makers and others who are interested in learning how we might secure a non-violent future for ourselves in an increasingly tumultuous world.

Thoughtful, General, Missing the Big Bang

Last year we had some exceptional works on water scarcity (de Villier), resource wars (Klare), corporate razing of the environment (Czech), among many others that I reviewed here on Amazon. This year we have two extraordinary books, this is the second of the two in my estimation (the other being Andrew Price-Smith's "The Health of Nations: Infectious Disease, Environmental Change, and Their Effects on National Security and Development"- as both authors are from the University of Toronto, one can only applaud the collection of talent this organization seems to nurture).

The author is brilliant and has a longer track record than most for being both prescient and meticulous about in the arena of environmental scarcity.

His book is effective in making the point, but very candidly, did not go the full distance that I was hoping for--he is, in a word, too general and the book lacks a single chapter that pulls it all together with very specific rankings of both the variables and the countries.

The general proposition is clear-cut: environmental scarcity has social effects that lead to violent conflict. However, the author takes a side road in exploring "human ingenuity" as an ameliorating factor, and while he makes reference to crass corporate and elitist carpet-bagging and the social structures of repression, he fails to draw out more fully and explicitly the inherent association between repressive corrupt regimes with extreme concentrations of wealth and power, scarcity, and violence.

For myself, I found two gems within this book: the first, a passing comment on the crucial role that unfettered urbanization plays in exacerbating scarcity and all that comes with it (migration, disease, crime); the second, the author's prescriptive emphasis, extremely importance, on the prevention of scarcity rather than adaptation or amelioration of scarcity.

The endnotes would have been more useful as footnotes but are quite good. The bibliography and index are four star rather than five star, and I was quite disappointed to not have a single page about the author, nor a consolidated bibliography of his many signal contribution over time in the form of articles and lectures.

A must read on the relationship of violence and scarcity...
Like most political science books, after I finished this one, I was slightly disappointed. I bought this book in hopes of a masterwork; upon turning its last page, I thought that this book was something much less than this. I thought that it begged as many questions as it sought to answer; I thought that much of what it brought forth as profound was only that in the sense of being profoundly obvious; I thought that the author opened this book with definitions that were overly broad and thus, in the end, proved nothing.

Thankfully, as time has passed, though, my opinion of this book has changed fully and completely. Many of the problems that I saw with this book stemmed from the fact that this book is essentially the first large-scale, well-publicized work of its kind. Its author puts forth a strongly written and researched work into the interrelationship between scarcity and violence on multiple levels; it is both (fairly) easy to understand while still being challenging for those who are not new to the study of conflict....

I'd recommend this book to any student of international or comparative politics-- especially those who are interested in fighting between groups of people. This is probably going to be one of the key books toward understanding what is to come in the world in the next twenty or so years; in this category (though topically somewhat unrelated) I'd suggest van Crevald's 'The Transformation of War' and 'The Rise and Decline of the State' and some of Robert Kaplan's travel books as excellent source material....

I am certain that there are going to be many who dislike what this book says-- but as to how it is written, and how it is researched, it seems to me to have been in large measure flawless. Buy this book.

Seminal thoughtpiece, masterfully written
This book offers brilliant and carefully argued insights into the nexus of relations that the title suggests.Homer-Dixon has made a case for environmental conern all the more powerful by steering away from thedogmatism that so often accompanies such work.Instead, he has presented abook that is the result of years of academic research in a way that anyonewill enjoy reading it. Homer-Dixon is a great writer who knows an enormousamount about this subject and has as a result written an incredible book. Buy it! Read it!Get your professor to put it on the core reading list ofany course about world politics, international relations, environment, andmore! ... Read more

Book Description
Annotated adaptations of the best in world literature for today's children.

In this captivating retelling of this ancient yet timeless tale of war, jealousy, loyalty, and love, author Adrian Mitchell and illustrator Stuart Robertson capture all the excitement, mystery, and sheer power of Homer's original epic. Accompanying fact boxes put the poem in clear context, with abundant information on the Trojan War, Greek mythology, and Homer's impact on world culture. Dorling Kindersley Classics presents classic works of literature, richly retold. Additional information on period, setting, and author adds depth to these retellings. The beautiful illustrations are complemented by new photography, prints, diagrams, maps, and other documents. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

the odyssey
This book was about odysseus and his ten year journey home from troy. Odysseus, a farmer , was called to war because he was the most cunning of all the Greeks. After winning the war, his journey home included a run-in with a cyclops and almost being killed by canibals. It is a short version of the real one so I would recommend this book to those who had to read it.

Excellent introduction to one of the greatest ancient works
This book, like the other DK Classics (I have King Arthur and Robin Hood as well) is top-notch.It is a wonderful introduction to one of the great masterpieces of ancient literature.The illustrations are right on for the subject matter--all in a style reminiscent of ancient greek pottery and frescoes.The prose is just right for kids this age--descriptive enough to draw them in, but at a quick enough pace that short attention spans don't wander away.

If you want to whet your child's appetite for the classics (before "the world" out there has a chance to teach them it's uncool or boring) get this book for your 5 to 8 year old.Two thumbs up!

A beautiful book
First, to be honest, I showed my 8 year old daughter the movie, starring Armand Assante.I meant the viewing of the movie as an entree only.This was my goal:To fill in the blanks Hollywood makes when they take on anything of a historic nature.

My daugther was drawn in to the story, and the explanations provided as side bars to the story itself are a great help. My daughter especially likes the pages about the various gods and goddesses.

This book is beautifully illustrated, and makes Homer's story accessible to children.

If you wish to teach your children to appreciate a classic, timeless story that has meaning to us 2,700+ years later, and want pass this story to another generation, I recommend this book.

The Sirens
"Odysseus, bravest of heroes,
Draw near to us, on our green island,
Odysseus, we'll teach you wisdom,
We'll give you love, sweeter than honey.
The songs we sing, soothe away sorrow,
And in our arms, you will be happy.
Odysseus, bravest of heroes,
The songs we sing, will bring you peace."

I've always been intrigued by the painting of Odysseus and the Sirens by Herbert James Draper. Three mermaid like creatures are singing and clinging to the ship as Odysseus is tied to the mast so he can't be lured to his doom. The crew's ears are all filled with beeswax so they can't hear the sires' seductive chant. Odysseus was the first man to ever hear the sirens' song and live. When cheated of their prey, the sirens drowned themselves in anger and frustration.

According to legend, the sires had originally been the companions of Persephone before she was abducted by Hades. Because they failed to save her, the goddess changed them into grotesque creatures as punishment. The sirens' song tells, falsely of the pleasures of the underworld. They also claimed the power of prophecy.

This story was composed by the Greek poet Homer during the second half of the 8th century BC and preserved by word of mouth for centuries before being written down. According to legend, he was born on the island of Chios around 800 BC and was blind.

The Odyssey is about the hero Odysseus who is doomed by the gods to wander for years from his home. This edition presents the story with photography and narrative illustration. It also explores the historical and geographical background to this timeless epic. There are sections on The Trojan War, Gods and Goddesses and Maps of Odysseus' Journey.

Adrian Mitchell retells this seafaring adventure filled with storms, monsters, magic spells, curses and exotic lands. It appeals to the wandering adventurous spirit in us all.

A classic journey...
Remember your absolute favorite English teacher- the one who made English Lit, or poetry, or whatever come alive, so that you understood it, enjoyed it, wanted more of it? The one who knew endless interesting things about the writer, the world they lived in, and so on? Well, DK classics are like having a master class with that teacher. Instead of hitting The Odyssey for the first time in high school english, imagine already knowing the main characters, the main story lines and quite a bit about what was going on in the writer's world.

Obviously, if you are reading a review of it you are considering buying it.And, from the heading & the stars you know that I think it's a good one.My 2nd grader loves it.My 15 year old nephew read & enjoyed it during the holidays, in preparation for starting The Odyssey at school.My husband, who never did the Odyssey in school, really enjoyed it- and liked knowing what all the fuss is about finally! It is abridged of course, and a purist will have things to pick at, but then, a real purist would read it in Greek anyway... For the rest of us, this is a great introduction to a one of the foundations of our literary heritage. ... Read more

Book Description
This volume introduces materials that are the core knowledge in the theory of computation.The book is self-contained, with a preliminary chapter describing key mathematical concepts and notations and subsequent chapters moving from the qualitative aspects of classical computability theory to the quantitative aspects of complexity theory.Dedicated chapters on undecidability, NP-completeness, and relative computability round off the work, which focuses on the limitations of computability and the distinctions between feasible and intractable.Topics and features:*Concise, focused materials cover the most fundamental concepts and results in the field of modern complexity theory, including the theory of NP-completeness, NP-hardness, the polynomial hierarchy, and complete problems for other complexity classes*Contains information that otherwise exists only in research literature and presents it in a unified, simplified manner; for example, about complements of complexity classes, search problems, and intermediate problems in NP*Provides key mathematical background information, including sections on logic and number theory and algebra*Supported by numerous exercises and supplementary problems for reinforcement and self-study purposes With its accessibility and well-devised organization, this text/reference is an excellent resource and guide for those looking to develop a solid grounding in the theory of computing.Beginning graduates, advanced undergraduates, and professionals involved in theoretical computer science, complexity theory, and computability will find the book an essential and practical learning tool. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

We always learn something from a book!
In this case, the point to take home is how to not write a book. This book does the worst job of explaining concepts in computability and complexity theory. There is no intuition given behind any of the proofs. Moreover, the language is so bad (I mean way beyond being terse) that most of the times it takes longer to read than it would take to read from another decently written undergraduate text on the same topic/proof. Most of the proofs start with "It is obvious" when it is far from it. It is really sad that such a beautiful subject is treated in such a manner. It is even more sad (and surprising) to see that it is used as the main textbook in a course on complexity theory. I would recommend reading from Sipser or Papadimitriou.

There are better introductory choices
I found this one disapointing.For example, they do a nice job very carefully and clearly distinguishing "decidable" and "acceptable" languages.Then they talk about languages Turing machines "recognize" without saying if these are acceptable or decidable or what.This kind of thing is frustrating.That said, I did learn things from this book.Many things are well covered.But if you buy one book, buy Sipser instead.

What a textbook shouldn't be
It's rather disappointing that many universities use this textbook in courses on the subject matter.While it does cover some inseresting and important things, in general the book is terribly written.The back cover states that this text assumes no prerequisites - nothing could be further from the truth.The first chapter purports to provides all prerequisites needed, but it is poorly done and insufficient.Both the first chapter and all subsequent chapters make use of mathematical and computational symbols and terminology that are not explained.Even if you're generally familiar with them, you'll still have to look up the exact definitions in another book.Most of the text in the book is written in a terribly confusing manner that requires it to be re-read multiple times.The proofs are the same way (I have seen some of these proofs written in a very clear manner elsewhere).The authors even omit some proofs because they're "obvious" (although I have been confronted with having to come up with these proofs on graduate-level exams).Possibly the most frustrating thing about this book is the fact that frequently (usually when introducting a new topic) it will give a tiny bit of background and then throw out a few homework problems.Instead of explaining what's going on, the authors decide to let these homework problems take the place of a few pages of definitions, explanations, and examples (note that there are no solutions to the hw problems in the book).Not only will you struggle with the rest of the material if you can't get those problems, but it makes it nearly impossible to merely read the book.

In fact, it is a great and concise book on the subject
This book is aimed as an introductory text book on computer science theory. The book is suited for both undergraduate and graduate studies.
I would have never expected a book of only a few pages to cover computability and complexity theory basics from introductory undergraduate to early graduate levels. This is because, the author focusses only on core concepts and strives to make them as clear and concise as possible using the power of the mathematical language. It explains the hard theory and logic by easy sentences and words. Even if you use English as foreign language you can read this book by yourself and understand its contents easily having a good background on mathematical language and mathematical thought.

Frustrating.
Couldn't they have explained just a little more? I find this book maddening as I try to deciper sometimes cryptic assertions.And once I get stuck it seems I have nowhere to turn.It's not like the local library carries texts on this subject so there's not much easily available for me to supplement this book with, so I'm left to stare at the page for 3 days until I figure it out. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (36)

Terrible Seller
The sent me a different translation than is advertised and I had to buy the book elsewhere at an increased rate!

A Masterpiece
This book was of course the favorite of Alexander the Great. He kept it under his pillow every night, and read it everynight. So I decided to check it out.

And it turned out to be great!

I personally like this book better than the Odyssey, partly because I like warfare over advantures. I found it more interesting, and by far the best poetry ever written (in my opinion).

Brings Homer to Life
This is the best translation of The Iliad I've ever read.Fluid, yet elegant in its presentation of the complex circumstances and relationships that make up this epic story.

from a student's point of view
i believe that homer's the iliad is one of the best ever written.

there are two versions available in the philippines, the dover and thrift translation and the signet. if ever you wish to buy the book, i suggest the signet because it was translated in plain english. the dover thrift version is more poetic, and to tell the truth, a big headache, especially when you have to write book report on it.

the signet version, translated by w.h.d. rouse, is much more expensive, but is definitely more worth it, for all those like me who aren't eligible for employment yet.

reading the plot summary wouldn't be the same as homer implies a lot of things between the lines, which you'd have to be very observant to pick up.

the iliad may seem very bloody, and it is, but it also tells a lot of things about the personalities, and character traits of early greeks and it tells a lot about their beliefs and delves deeper into their religion.

Not that great
Seriously.Homer wasn't all that, and I'm so thankful to Amazon.com to allow me to give it only two stars.
Homer's boring, and he's totally overrated.He's always using the same lines- "bit the dust", "rosy-fingered dawn", "the wine-dark sea", "night filled his eyes", "Achilles swift of foot"- Homer needs to be more original.And what's with the one name- "Homer"- who does he think he is, Madonna? ... Read more

Book Description
Winslow Homer (1836-1910) devoted much of his life to a study of the ocean and the people whose lives were intertwined with it. This book is the first to focus on the full range of Homer's coastal subjects, with thirty-six reproductions of his most powerful works. Carl Little's essay discusses Homer's development as a painter; quotations from writers such as Homer scholar Philip C. Beam and poet Gerard Manley Hopkins add a further dimension to the thorough and enlightening text. Third printing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I could feel his love of the sea.
What a beautiful story of one of my favorite painters.I learned so much about how to look in depth. ... Read more

Book Description
"Unequaled" Rewriting of Homer for Children. Padraic Colum's retelling of Homer's classic epics for children is still considered by many to be the finest introduction younger readers will have to Homer. Combining the broad stories of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, Colum creates an intricately woven, fast paced tale that will enthrall children and adults alike. Publishers Weekly considered his rendition of Homer 'unequalled' and thousands of readers have agreed with that assessment. This edition includes Willy Pogany's classic illustrations created for the original 1918 edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A child's introduction to Homer.
Every parent should buy this book for their 8-13 year-old children. Originally published in 1918, it avoids the the excesses of modern-day political correctness while telling these exciting stories in beautiful and simple language. As a child I was so inspired by these tales that I went on to read both many times in full and in different translations. A "Must" for every parent who wants to inspire their children. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great poet, great series
This book is the centerpiece of Penguin's wonderful and now tragically out of print Poets in Translation series, featuring selections from many translations with brief introductions.Editing a volume for Homer is to tackle a great volume of translations, many of them famous in their own right.The cut-off year is 1994, so the book doesn't include one of my favorite translations, Stanley Lombardo's, although it does have Fitzgerald and Lattimore excerpts; their texts are the other ones popular in schools these days.

While the Middle and Early Modern English selections could have used glosses, and some of the introductions are less than informative, the editors have done a fantastic job at digging up rare translations and finding examples of Homeria, Homer-inspired literature from Joyce to Keats to Walcott's OMEROS.One gets a sense not only of how Anglophone views of Homer have changed, but also how writing has changed.It demonstrates why certain translations (i.e. Chapman's, Pope's, Pound's First Canto) are justly famed.

If you like the idea of the Poets in Translation series, but not Homer, I suggest trying BAUDELAIRE IN ENGLISH or OVID IN ENGLISH, two of my favorites, and neither so overwhelmed by excess translators as this book can be.On the other hand, there will certainly be more than one Homer in this book to please even the most picky reader, and the joy of discovering another fine translation or inspiration makes this book worth 5/5 stars.Homer lives!

Samples of translations plus related writings.
Ever since I read Keats' poem "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer," I've been looking for a copy or at least a sample of his words. Chapman was a contemporary of Shakespeare and his words are wonderful.But this book is more than a compilation of snippets from various translators.It includes related writings from Keats (the above poem, of course), Shelley, Chaucer, James Joyce's description of the young Homer and other authors. For Homerphiles, it is a nice book to have and a source that points to other authors who have also been smitten with the ancient bard. ... Read more