History & Criticism Books - Page 4

The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion

Wayne G. Hammond, Christina Scull

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion internationally acclaimed scholars Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull examine Tolkien's masterpiece chapter by chapter, offering expert insights into its evolution, structure, and meaning. They discuss in close detail important literary and historical influences on the development of The Lord of the Rings, connections between that work and other writings by Tolkien, errors and inconsistencies, significant changes to the text during its fifty years of publication, archaic and unusual words used by Tolkien, and words and passages in his invented languages of Middle-earth. Thousands of notes, keyed to standard editions of The Lord of the Rings but universally accessible, reveal the richness and complexity of one of the most popular works of fiction in our time. In addition to their own expertise and that of other scholars and critics, Hammond and Scull frequently draw upon comments by Tolkien himself, made in letters to family, friends, and enthusiasts, in draft texts of The Lord of the Rings, and in works written in later years which amplify or illuminate characters and events in the story. Extensive reference is made also to writings by Tolkien not previously or widely published, including elaborate time-schemes, an unfinished manuscript index to The Lord of the Rings, and most notably, the important Nomenclature or guide to names in The Lord of the Rings prepared for the use of translators, long out of print and now newly transcribed and printed in its entirety. With these resources at hand, even the most seasoned reader of The Lord of the Rings will come to a greater enjoyment and appreciation of Tolkien's magnificent achievement.

Who Killed Albus Dumbledore?: What Really Happened in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Six Expert Harry Potter Detectives Examine the Evidence.

Joyce Odel, Wendy B. Harte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

YOUR TITLE SPOILED THE BOOK FOR ME 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 10 people found this review helpful.

I've managed to stay spoiler free for all these years, and while buying Book 6, Amazon recommends this damned book to me. Thanks.

Horrible title. 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 8 people found this review helpful.

As others have noted this book's title is ridiculous and spoiled arguably the most shocking event in the harry potter series for me. At the very least stop grouping this in with the actual novels in search results.

Editorial Review:

Six fan-theorists attempt to unravel the clues of THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. Joyce Odell of Red Hen Productions, Daniella Teo of Mugglenet, Sally M. Gallo of The Leaky Cauldron, Wendy B. Harte and the mysterious "Swythyv" - along with editor, John Granger (author of Hidden Key to Harry Potter, etc.)- provide Harry Potter readers with exciting and insightful ideas of what happened and what will happen based on their close reading of the texts ... ideas that will challenge and engage readers everywhere. Travis Prinzi, creator of THE SWORD OF GRIFFYNDOR website, writes that these essays "will stand as a monument to the kind of guesswork we were all involved in as we awaited the final Harry Potter book."

The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 8)

J.R.R. Tolkien

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In The War of the Ring Christopher Tolkien takes up the story of the writing of The Lord of the Rings with the Battle of Helm's Deep and the drowning of Isengard by the Ents. This is followed by an account of how Frodo, Sam and Gollum were finally brought to the Pass of Kirith Ungol, at which point J.R.R. Tolkien wrote at the time: 'I have got the hero into such a fix that not even an author will be able to extricate him without labour and difficulty'. Then comes the war in Gondor, and the book ends with the parley between Gandalf and the ambassador of the Dark Lord before the Black Gate of Mordor.

In describing his intentions for The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien said that 'It will probably work out very differently from this plan when it really gets written, as the thing seems to write itself once it gets going'; and in The War of the Ring totally unforeseen developmenst that would become central to the narrative are seen at the moment of their emergence: the palantir bursting into fragments on the stairs of Orthanc, its nature as unknown to the author as to those who saw it fall, or the entry of Faramir into the story ('I am sure I did not invent him, though I like him, but there he came walking into the woods of Ithilien').

The book is illustrated with plans and drawings of the changing conceptions of Orthanc, Dunharrow, Minas Tirith and the tunnels of Shelob's Lair.

The Science of Michael Crichton: An Unauthorized Exploration into the Real Science behind the Fictional Worlds of Michael Crichton (Science of Pop Culture series)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A really fun read-and it's science, too! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Dr. Crichton's books always feel like real science- get ready for multiple epiphanies about how real it is! Whether you agree or disagree with the essayists, you're sure to enjoy the thought processes. Warning: This book may lead to uber-nerd discussions.

Great book!!!! A must get for every Crichton fan!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not since the writings of H.G. Wells has one writer managed to so much to popularize the real science behind science fiction than Dr. Michael Crichton and for those like me who've either read his works or keep them proudly in their home libraries this book makes a great annotation to all the issues Crichton has raised over his impressive career.

So as not to be too much of a spoiler I'll treat just a few of the entries.

Most notable in Crichton's writing is probably is very famous Jurassic Park, the story of how ancient dinosaur DNA is reconstituted to create modern day dinosaurs on an island theme park of the same name. According to Crichton these miraculous creations are made through a series of easily explainable steps: 1) obtain samples of Jurassic amber...amber being a viscous substance that catches and sometimes preserves ancient mosquitoes so unlikely to be caught there (mosquitoes have existed in one form or another for about three hundred million years), 2) extract blood from the digestive tracts of those selfsame mosquitoes, 3) extract DNA material from that blood (on the assumption that the mosquitoes would've bitten dinosaurs therefore still have their blood), 4) make copies of that DNA, 5) fill any missing gaps in the DNA with frog DNA and finally 5) put the reconstituted DNA into other reptile eggs so they can be born in the normal means.

In my opinion this work is probably the one Crichton work probably best rooted in real science. Interestingly however, the essay on this work shows just how extraordinarily far modern science actually is from accomplishing what this book suggests. Significantly each step of the process has its now seemingly insurmountable difficulties: 1) while the amber may preserve the visible corpus of the mosquitoes it also has its destructive effects in much the same way Egyptian mummification had both its preservative and desctructive qualities, 2) while extraction may yield residual blood there's no way to be certain which creatures were originally bitten or in what combinations 3) while DNA extraction may seem theoretically possible none has been obtained from such old samples, 4) assuming DNA could be obtained copies could easily be made...this is routinely done even in criminal forensic settings...but again the sticking point is getting the usable DNA in the first place and finally 5) even the seemingly mundane task of putting alien dinosaur DNA into other reptile eggs has its difficulties because so far even using merely parts of the DNA chain to direct alien DNA has been barely accomplished.

As can be seen from this first sample, these discussions...building themselves on Crichton's own stories...are inherently fascinating not only for science buffs but even casual readers who merely enjoyed Crichton's work and more interested in the details.

Another exciting example of this is this book's treatment of Crichton's memorable Andromeda Strain. Andromeda Strain...an early work by Crichton...was the story of an attempt by scientists to master an alien virus that found its way to earth. Not surprisingly things were only barely kept in hand yet the story raised interesting questions about the extent to which an alien virus really would be a threat to life on earth.

Ultimately this question involves questions concerning the nature of the genesis of life itself. Today, there are three main theories regarding this important issue: 1) life is extremely common and has occured many times on earth, 2) life is kind of common and started only once on earth and finally 3) life is pretty rare and probably only started once and then spread to other planets. There are varying versions of this last theory that propose anything from merely an earth/mars genesis to something even more broad. The significance of the genesis question finds basis in the idea that presumably only those forms of life sharing a common origin would be able to interact in the type of way necessary to inflict either bacterial or viral damage. While I remain frankly agnostic on these questions owing to our lack of research I nonetheless am fascinated by them as again I think even casual Crichton readers would be.

As a final example, there's a great essay in this book on Crichton's more recent Timeline...the story of a group of researchers who perfect time travel. While admittedly this is one perhaps Crichton has been at his weakest in terms of the supporting science, like the other entries it raises important and thought provoking questions about whether such a device would even be theoretically possible. For those curious, recent works by no less than Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne have both decidedly NOT supported the idea that time travel is possible. For his part, Hawking even went so far as to suggest a chronology protection principle wherein the very physical forces of nature themselves preclude such phenomenon. However, there are still some holdouts such as Ron Mallett of the University of Connecticut who are still pursuing such research.

For my part the question of the possibility of time travel today is probably much like the question of flight by man over a hundred years ago. If there were entities that could do it, I would reason, then probably we could too. Since a hundred years ago we would've known birds could fly I would've therefore predicted that we someday could too...resolving the problems therein to be merely "engineering issues." Significantly today we are aware of many physical phenomenon which do exceed the speed of light and thereby, at least theoretically, make time travel possible: 1) quantum entanglement wherein vastly separated particles evoke instaneous action at a distance (Einstein's so called "spooky action at a distance"), 2) tachyons, so far theoretical faster than light particles, 3) virtual particles, which phase in and out of existence simply by operation of Heisenberg uncertainty in deep space, 4) possibly the very creation of our universe itself according to Dr. Gott (see his wonderful Time Travel in Einstein's Universe), and finally the cosmis expansion itself which far outspaces the speed of light. With so many birds in the sky, I would be amazed if we couldn't someday, somehow join them. (Although I freely concede that dealing with the technical issues in joining them would certainly give "engineering problems" a whole new meaning!)

Regardless of where you stand on these issues, I hope like me you both read this book and join in the discussion of what are perhaps the most fascinating issues in science raised by one of the best science writers ever.

Editorial Review:

As each new Michael Crichton book grazes the cutting edge of scientific technology, this innovative guide serves to expose the plausibility behind the inventions of Crichton’s thrilling fiction. This fascinating analysis puts Crichton’s novels to the test, examining shocking developments—regarding dinosaur cloning, global warming, nanotechnology, time travel, animal behavior, and human genetics—and revealing the validity of the science behind them (or lack thereof). Exposing the truth behind the miracles and nightmares Crichton describes in his work, this tell-all resource dissects the science at the heart of each of his bestselling novels.

The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre (Cornell Paperbacks)

Tzvetan Todorov

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

What Todorov Means! 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 22 people found this review helpful.

This book is a great achievement in criticism, but one should be warned that Todorov is not talking about elves and dragons when he uses the term "Fantastic." In this book Todorov advances his definition of the fantastic as a "hesitation" or inability to decide whether events in a narrative are natural or supernatural. Thus, the book deals more with straight supernatural fiction, than with what we usually think of as "fantasy" fiction. All in all, Todorov is insightful and his book is a great companion to anyone who enjoys French, English, or American supernatural fiction.

Structuralist view of 'the fantastic' 4 out of 5 stars.
18 of 19 people found this review helpful.

Those interested in the structuralist criticism of the 1960s-70s will find the most joy here, with Todorov applying the rigorous structuralist stance to one of literature's most fascinating genres. His demolition of Northrop Frye's approach to 'genre' in Chapter 1 is still cogent after thirty years (and an amusing read in its own right), but it's Todorov's chapters on the 'themes of the fantastic', and his conclusion on its role in literature generally, which are most compelling. This is not, however, an easy read. As Robert Scholes notes in his foreword, "neither structuralism itself nor poetics in general is noted for its ability to charm readers." You don't say. Fortunately, Todorov uses many examples from well known fantastic texts - such as 'The Arabian Nights' and the works of Edgar Alan Poe - and also from lesser known French works which will have you rushing out to the antiquarian bookstore to hunt them down. You can accept or reject the structuralist position - but if nothing else, this book will open up a whole new world of 'fantastic' novels for you to enjoy.

The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All (Popular Culture and Philosophy)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

I waited this long for this? 2 out of 5 stars.
32 of 37 people found this review helpful.

the most disappointing so far in the 'popular culture and philosophy' series, these essays have little to do with either LotR or Philosophy in the traditional sense, instead attempting to cover everything from environmentalism to narrative structure. As a general format, the authors state their intentions to mold Tolkien's world to their own pet ideas and quote profusely while saying little that convinces. One of the essays even admits that the Buddist parallels it's spent the last few pages proposing are clearly "superficial" - why waste the print, then? Another oddity here is a collection of quotes by various noted philosophers that have nothing to do with either the themes in LotR, or, in many cases, the topics the essays address. Extremely discouraging.

Editorial Review:

Can power be wielded for good, or must it always corrupt? Does technology destroy the truly human? Is beer essential to the good life? The Lord of the Rings raises many such searching questions, and this book attempts some answers. Divided into five sections concerned with power and the Ring, the quest for happiness, good and evil in Middle-earth, time and mortality, and the relevance of fairy tales, The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy mines Tolkien’s fantasy worlds for wisdom in areas including the menace of technology, addiction and fetishism, the vitality of tradition, the environmental implications of Tolkien's thought, Middle-earth's relationship to Buddhism and Taoism, and more.

The Maps of Tolkien's Middle-Earth

Brian Sibley, J.R.R. Tolkien

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good but not great 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Four maps are included: Wilderland, Middle-Earth, Beleriand and Numenor. Also included is a book (80 pages) with a brief background and then listings of most locations on the map with one or two sentences about each.

The maps are 28 by 28 with about 6 inches of paintings around the edges thus leaving the map itself relatively small. For example the Middle Earth map itself is only 19" x 16". Unfortunately they are also folded, thus reducing the potential value of displaying them on your wall as art.

This is definitely a very nice product, but it could have been better if the map portion was actually larger and more detail such as that available in "Atlas of Middle Earth" was used.

Editorial Review:

Best-selling Tolkien expert Brian Sibley (The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide) presents a slipcased collection of four full-color, large-format maps of Tolkien's imaginary realm illustrated by John Howe, a conceptual designer for the blockbuster films directed by Peter Jackson. The set includes a hardcover book describing in detail the importance and evolution of geography within Tolkien's epic fiction and four color maps presented with minimal folds, including two (Beleriand and Númenor) never before published in this country.

The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld

Terry Pratchett

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A Re-hash 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is just a compilation of discworld quotes, etc. Nothing original, which is fine if that's what you're looking for.

Making Money [fom the fans!] 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I should say up front that this is not a real review since I haven't actually *read* that book! All I have done is leafed through it at my local bookstore, but that was enough to form a strong opinion on it.

The quotes are nicely reprinted and they are (as of 2007...) current, since all books up to Making Money are included. I did notice (like others have pointed out already) that many "fan favorites" are missing - the omission of the "we're on a mission from Glod" quote being a glaring example. Maybe Stephen Briggs wanted to save space to include some of the lesser-known quotes? It's an interesting approach - which would aim this book at dedicated Discworld fans who already know the famous quotes by heart.

What bothers me a lot though is that MOST OF THE CONTENT OF THIS BOOK IS ALREADY IN PUBLIC DOMAIN! I am of course referring to the PQF (Pratchett Quote File) and APF (Annotated Pratchett File) available on the L-Space Web (any Discworld fan knows that URL, right? Otherwise, Google is your friend!) These files have been compiled, discussed and edited over the years by loyal Discworld readers. I didn't contribute personally to them, but I strongly feel that Stephen Briggs has literally stolen that work of love to Make Money from it. I appreciate a lot of his Discworld work (such as the awesome Mapps and the stage plays) but with this book Stephen Briggs has crossed a moral line!

So, what do I think overall of this book?

It's a great book for the CASUAL Discworld fan. It would also make a perfect gift to introduce a friend to the Pratchett sense of humor.

I would not recommend it to the SERIOUS Discworld collector though. There is just not enough substance in that book. The The New Discworld Companion (Gollancz) would be a much better choice (I'm aware that it has a completely different content, it's just an example of more thoughful Discworld by-product).

As for the FANATIC Discworldian - well, he's going to buy this book no matter what the reviews say anyway!

* 5 stars for the quotes themselves
Well, duh. The best quotes from the Master himself!

* 3 stars for content and presentation
Someone having such a direct access to Terry Pratchett himself could and should have done better - how about comments from PTerry on particular quotes? A study of the evolution of the quotes since the early books?

* 1 star for the total lack of respect to the Discworld fans.
See above.

Total using arcane fuzzy maths including "gut feeling": 2 stars.

Editorial Review:

A flat planet traveling through space carried by four elephants balancing on the back of a giant turtle; a world populated by (mostly inept) wizards, dwarfs, despots, policemen, assassins, aged barbarians, vampires, thieves, witches, and civil servants; a place where technology, per se, is nonexistent but magic works . . . except when it doesn't.

Gleaned from more than two decades' worth of Discworld tales, here is an essential compendium of insightful musings, witty commentary, and sagacious observations by New York Times bestselling author Terry Pratchett, compiled by Pratchett expert Stephen Briggs.

Lexicon Urthus, Second Edition

Michael Andre-Driussi

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Lexicon Urthus is an alphabetical dictionary for the complete Urth Cycle by Gene Wolfe: The Shadow of the Torturer; The Claw of the Conciliator; The Sword of the Lictor; The Citadel of the Autarch; the sequel Urth of the New Sun; the novella Empires of Foliage and Flower; the short stories "The Cat," "The Map," and "The Old Woman Whose Rolling Pin Is the Sun"; and Gene Wolfe's own commentaries in The Castle of the Otter. The first edition was nominated for a World Fantasy Award. This second edition includes over 1,200 entries. When the first edition was published, Science Fiction Age said: "Lexicon Urthus makes a perfect gift for any fan of [Wolfe's] work, and from the way his words sell, it appears that there are many deserving readers out there waiting." Gary K. Wolfe, in Locus, said: "A convenient and well researched glossary of names and terms. . . . It provides enough of a gloss on the novels that it almost evokes Wolfe's distant future all by itself. . . . It can provide both a useful reference and a good deal of fun." Donald Keller said, in the New York Review of Science Fiction: "A fruitful product of obsession, this is a thorough . . . dictionary of the Urth Cycle. . . . Andre-Driussi's research has been exhaustive, and he has discovered many fascinating things . . . [it is] head-spinning to confront a myriad of small and large details, some merely interesting, others jawdropping."

The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy: The Lion, the Witch, and the Worldview (Popular Culture and Philosophy)

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

An excellent companion 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.

The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy is an excellent companion and must-read for anyone who is interested in what C.S. Lewis puts at stake in his much beloved Chronicles. The essays are well written and cover topics from time to Lewis' apparent inclusivist views as shown in The Last Battle. The Philosophy portion of this book does not overwhelm and definitely adds to the magic, rather than putting a grown up squash on it.

Editorial Review:

The Chronicles of Narnia series has entertained millions of readers, both children and adults, since the appearance of the first book in 1950. Here, scholars turn the lens of philosophy on these timeless tales. Engagingly written for a lay audience, these essays consider a wealth of topics centered on the ethical, spiritual, mythic, and moral resonances in the adventures of Aslan, the Pevensie children, and the rest of the colorful cast. Do the spectacular events in Narnia give readers a simplistic view of human choice and decision making? Does Aslan offer a solution to the problem of evil? What does the character of Susan tell readers about Lewis’s view of gender? How does Lewis address the Nietzschean “master morality” embraced by most of the villains of the Chronicles? With these and a wide range of other questions, this provocative book takes a fresh view of the world of Narnia and expands readers’ experience of it.