Not the edition I have but I can't find it on Goodreads. I have a reproduction, with an introduction and commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes, published Not the edition I have but I can't find it on Goodreads. I have a reproduction, with an introduction and commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes, published in 1967 by The Orion Press, New York, in hardback, in a slipcase. The images could be larger but the color is brilliant.
I first read Blake in the early 1980s, and I have heard his voice in my head many times over the last forty years. Powerful poetry and haunting images that have stayed with me.
I'm a fan of Robert Frost, although The Road Not Taken is not my favorite of his poems, and I was intrigued by this title.
It is pretty academic and kiI'm a fan of Robert Frost, although The Road Not Taken is not my favorite of his poems, and I was intrigued by this title.
It is pretty academic and kind of dull in places but I'm glad I read it. It is divided into four sections, and I found The Poem the most interesting and strongest of the sections and The Choice the most boring. The Poet and The Chooser were somewhere in between. I think the book was at its strongest when focusing on the poem, not America or those seeking to improve themselves. One of the parts of The Poem that struck me was this observation: "a road, unlike a path, is necessarily man-made. ...yes, the traveler is alone in a forest, but whichever way he goes, he follows a course built by other people, one that will be taken, in turn, by still other people long after he has passed." (p. 73 of the ARC.)
I live in Galesburg, Illinois and am always on the lookout for new references to native son Carl Sandburg. Orr says Frost is "a genuine poet's poet, not a historical artifact like Longfellow or a folk balladeer like Carl Sandburg." (p. 9 of the ARC.) He also writes, "Poets, we assume, are not popular - at least after 1910 or so. If one becomes popular, then either he must be a second-tier talent catering to mass taste (as Sandburg is often thought to be) or there must be some kind of confusion or deception going on." (p. 10 of the ARC.) Ouch.
I had an advance reader copy of The Road Not Taken. It is worth a read if you are interested in a thorough examination of a single poem and musings about what an American poem says about American society. ...more
Edward O. Wilson knows his subject backwards and forwards, and his passion is admirable. This short work covers a lot of ground, meandering about on aEdward O. Wilson knows his subject backwards and forwards, and his passion is admirable. This short work covers a lot of ground, meandering about on a large variety of topics.
Although I agree wholeheartedly with the author’s suggestion to set aside half the planet for nature and am also passionate about the biosphere, I found the book a bit preachy and dull in parts. It was kind of like reading a really long sermon. The text was also a bit repetitive, in the way of people trying to convince others to understand their passion. I found some of the chapter transitions very abrupt. Much of the information in Half-Earth was not new to me; I'd heard or read a lot of it before. As so many environmental works are, it was also downright depressing to read.
On the plus side, Wilson quoted Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, one of my favorites, who noticed man’s movement away from the natural world over a hundred years ago. Occasional sentences jumped out at me and made me think, like “Keep in mind that every surviving species (including us) is therefore a champion in a club of champions. We are all best of the best, descendants of species that have never turned wrong in the maze, never lost. Not yet.” (p. 117 of the digital advance reader copy)
Depressing as they are, I feel it is important to read books like this one if we are ever to change the way humans treat the rest of the biosphere. Half-Earth proposes a bold idea and would be a good book for discussion. Short as it is, it would also be a good starter book for someone not already well-read on the subject.
Half-Earth is scheduled to be published March 7. I read a digital advance reader copy.
I am a huge fan of Tolkien, the Hobbit, and the Lord of the Rings. I am not particularly interested in philosophy. However, due to that first fact, I I am a huge fan of Tolkien, the Hobbit, and the Lord of the Rings. I am not particularly interested in philosophy. However, due to that first fact, I decided to give The Hobbit and Philosophy a try. I was particularly enticed by the subtitle: "For when you've lost your dwarves, your wizard, and your way."
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Some of the articles were, I confess, a bit dull for my tastes, but others were fascinating. The essays gave me something to think about, regarding life, Tolkien, and The Hobbit.
One of my favorite essays was "Pretty Fair Nonsense" by Philip Tallon. It includes a Tolkien quote I was not familiar with.
"Tolkien was similarly unconcerned with whether modernist critics would judge his fantasy writings to be nonsense. Tolkien invented and endlessly elaborated his world of Middle-earth with no sense that it could ever be anything more than a private amusement. 'I am a very serious person and cannot distinguish between private amusement and duty,' Tolkien writes, adding, 'I work only for private amusement, since I find my duties privately amusing.'"
I like that a lot - it makes me admire Tolkien even more! Another essay, "Hobbitus Ludens" by David L. O'Hara, contained a C.S. Lewis quote that caught my attention. (I'm no fan of Lewis, so I've not read much that he has said.) "The Hobbit, though very unlike Alice [in Wonderland], resembles it in being the work of a professor at play." I love Alice, and I'd never thought of Alice and the Hobbit as being connected in this way. And I enjoy the image of both authors "at play."
Another essay I especially enjoyed was "There and Back Again" by Joe Kraus, which discusses the Hobbit in context with William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
If you are a fan of the Hobbit, I think you'll find some essays to enjoy in The Hobbit and Philosophy....more
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