Miller, Arthur Books

The Crucible (Penguin Classics)

Arthur Miller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 48 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Devil is Precise 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 9 people found this review helpful.

On my walk through the LoA edition of Arthur Miller plays I bypass The Enemy of the People, the Ibsen adaptation, which I think is a waste of everyone's time, and go straight to the Crucible, which I had never read, nor watched on stage or screen. Very odd. It is a truly gripping piece of modern classic stage writing.
Of course AM needed to educate us always, so this story is not just a story about the witch trials of Salem, when perfectly harmless people, including some citizens of standing in the community, got identified as witches and hanged for it. (Which somehow looks like progress over the burnings in Europe.)
No, this is generally about fundamentalism and totalitarianism and theocracy, and more specifically about McCarthy and I wouldn't be surprised if it was also about the Ayatollah Khomeini, whatever you may say regarding anachronisms, and the Taliban. Let's not forget the Cultural Revolution of China.
If I seem to mock the play just a little bit, I haven't made up my mind yet, not quite. There is something strangely wrong in the tone of the dialogues. Can't quite nail it. Anachronistic for sure; is that all? Have to think about it.
The message that AM put into his morality tale is that power and property interests are behind the maddest manifestations of disinterestedness and righteousness. That was sure true in the other historical witch hunts that we know about. Whether it is an accurate reflection of the Salem case, I do not know. (I will definitely look for the DVD and give DDL a chance for redemption in my eyes.)

Editorial Review:

Based on historical people and real events, Arthur Miller's play uses the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence unleashed by the rumors of witchcraft as a powerful parable about McCarthyism.

Introduction by Christopher Bigsby

Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays)

Arthur Miller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 202 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Arthur Miller's 1949 Death of a Salesman has sold 11 million copies, and Willy Loman didn't make all those sales on a smile and a shoeshine. This play is the genuine article--it's got the goods on the human condition, all packed into a day in the life of one self-deluded, self-promoting, self-defeating soul. It's a sturdy bridge between kitchen-sink realism and spectral abstraction, the facts of particular hard times and universal themes. As Christopher Bigsby's mildly interesting afterword in this 50th-anniversary edition points out (as does Miller in his memoir, Timebends), Willy is closely based on the playwright's sad, absurd salesman uncle, Manny. But of course Miller made Manny into Everyman, and gave him the name of the crime commissioner Lohmann in Fritz Lang's angst-ridden 1932 Nazi parable, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.

The tragedy of Loman the all-American dreamer and loser works eternally, on the page as on the stage. A lot of plays made history around 1949, but none have stepped out of history into the classic canon as Salesman has. Great as it was, Tennessee Williams's work can't be revived as vividly as this play still is, all over the world. (This edition has edifying pictures of Lee J. Cobb's 1949 and Brian Dennehy's 1999 performances.) It connects Aristotle, The Great Gatsby, On the Waterfront, David Mamet, and the archetypal American movie antihero. It even transcends its author's tragic flaw of pious preachiness (which undoes his snoozy The Crucible, unfortunately his most-produced play).

No doubt you've seen Willy Loman's story at least once. It's still worth reading. --Tim Appelo

A Streetcar Named Desire

Tennessee Williams

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 110 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Pulitzer Prize and Drama Critics Circle Award winning play—reissued with an introduction by Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman and The Crucible), and Williams' essay "The World I Live In."

It is a very short list of 20th-century American plays that continue to have the same power and impact as when they first appeared—57 years after its Broadway premiere, Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire is one of those plays. The story famously recounts how the faded and promiscuous Blanche DuBois is pushed over the edge by her sexy and brutal brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Streetcar launched the careers of Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden, and solidified the position of Tennessee Williams as one of the most important young playwrights of his generation, as well as that of Elia Kazan as the greatest American stage director of the '40s and '50s.

Who better than America's elder statesman of the theater, Williams' contemporary Arthur Miller, to write as a witness to the lightning that struck American culture in the form of A Streetcar Named Desire? Miller's rich perspective on Williams' singular style of poetic dialogue, sensitive characters, and dramatic violence makes this a unique and valuable new edition of A Streetcar Named Desire. This definitive new edition will also include Williams' essay "The World I Live In," and a brief chronology of the author's life.

The Crucible (Penguin Plays)

Arthur Miller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 190 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A+ 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This will remain, in my opinoin, one of the best pieces of literature ever written.

Absolutely AMAZING work of art! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Crucible is my absolute FAVORITE piece of literature. It definitely is one of the best pieces of literature ever written. It's moving and beautiful in every way.

Clear and Effective but Dull 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Arthur Miller's Crucible is an eloquent rebuttal of the Red Scare and the McCarthyism of the time period in which this work was written. But it does not bear the mark of brilliance. Straightforward and simple in both its story and language, The Crucible is an effective albeit unremarkable work on the Salem witch trials.

Both the plot and the characters perform the necessary tasks, but are also basic. Trying to describe the plot and characters, my mind immediately wanders to some more curious topic. The story is typical. Evil is in the form of those prosecuting innocent men and women, falsely accusing others in the hope of acquiring land. Good comes in the form of those who resist. John Proctor plays a protagonist, with supporting protagonists, Abigail a sort of seductress, and the court fills in the role of of villain. People hang others, people resist those doing the hanging. Paranoia dominates. Miller succeeds in critiquing the hysteria over communism during the 1950s. But the story is plain and unmoving.

In Miller's case, style mimics the plot and characters. The play's style is also plain, reminiscent of the King James Bible. Miller's diction is simple and unaffected, and in light of many other books, this is an asset. However, in the light of great books, The Crucible is lacking.

Though it makes its point, Arthur Miller's Crucible is an unremarkable work.

Editorial Review:

A drama based on the witch trials in Salem Village.

Death of a Salesman (Viking Critical Library)

Arthur Miller

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

The best version I've seen 4 out of 5 stars.
18 of 20 people found this review helpful.

When you get down to it, really, the only reasons for buying one version of a play are 1) price, 2) readability (i.e., the font, size of print, etc.), and 3) accompanying analysis/essays. As for myself, the third reason is the most important. This version is the best I've seen for accompanying analysis. It has a number of essays and an interview by Arthur Miller himself and reviews of the play by others. The works written by Miler were of the most interest to me, but there is plenty here. Admittedly, if price is most important to you, there are cheaper versions out there, but you won't get what this version offers. To me, though, this version is worth the money.

And do I need to mention this is a damn good play? But, as I said, you'll get the same play regardless of which version you pick up (at least, I would hope...).

If you're going to buy a copy 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 12 people found this review helpful.

of "Death of a Salesman", this is the one to get. In addition to the play itself and some introductory remarks, this version includes a good variety of reviews, criticism, and essays concerning "Death of a Salesman". Of particular interest (in my view, anyway) is the essay "Tragedy and the Common Man" written by Arthur Miller himself (there are other writings by Arthur Miller and part of the transcripts of an interview with Arthur Miller, too). It's true that this version is a little more expensive than others (clocking in at about $13), but, if you like to read what others (and even the playwright himself) have had to say about a particular work, I strongly suggest that you buy this version in favor of a cheaper version with less criticism.

Editorial Review:

The tragedy of a typical American--a salesman who at the age of sixty-three is faced with what he cannot face; defeat and disillusionment.

The Crucible (L.A. Theatre Works Audio Theatre Collection)

Arthur Miller, Stacy Keach, Richard Dreyfuss

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A great read of the play by professionals 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The L.A. Theatre Works' rendition of Miller's _The Crucible_ is an excellent demonstration of the actor's craft, as the tenor, pitch and emotive power of the play bring the characters to life. On the recommendation of Amazon reviewers, I used this for my English class (in addition to the Daniel Day-Lewis / Winona Rider DVD and a class read-around) to get a feel for the play and the various theatrical interpretations of the work.

As a previous reviewer noted, there are some differences between the audio version and Miller's script, but they are minor, and if one is not using the entire CD, a moot point. The performances are fantastic, and, as others have mentioned, it certainly gives life to the written word. Outside of a classroom, I couldn't recommend it, but as a teaching tool, it is first-rate.

Editorial Review:

Arthur Miller's classic play about the with-hunts and trials in 17th century Salem is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. In the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town's most basic fears and suspicions. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially-sanctioned violence. Written in 1952, The Crucible famously mirrors the anti-communist hysteria that held the United States in its grip. Directed by Martin Jenkins.

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Stacy Keach, Irene Arranga, Rene Auberjonois, Ed Begley, Jr, Georgia Brown, Jack Coleman, Bud Cort, Judyann Elder, Hector Elizondo, Fionnula Flanagan, Ann Hearn, Carol Kane, Anna Sophie Loewenberg, Marian Mercer, Franklyn Seales, Madolyn Smith, Joe Spano, and Michael York

All My Sons (Penguin Classics)

Arthur Miller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Accounts and accountability 4 out of 5 stars.
10 of 12 people found this review helpful.

The story line of this family tragedy centres on an entrepreneur's/ manager's bad decision under heavy pressure: deliver a faulty product even when you know it can cause serious problems to the customer? Try to hide the product flaws? Or risk the ruin of the enterprise? And once started on the wrong trajectory, do you accept accountability or do you put the blame on a weaker link in the chain?
This basic dilemma is known to everybody from politics to business life.
Miller wrote this play after WW2, and his example of the problem are faulty cylinder heads delivered to the airforce under time pressure.
The man who did it compounded his crime by dodging truth and letting another man go to jail.
The families of both men are heavily interrelated and as it turns out, the damage is unreparable. Not just to the crashed pilots, but also to sons and daughters.
Reading the play now gives me a feeling of meeting a stereotype, but then, was the theme really as well explored at the time as it seems now? Quite possibly Miller was a pioneer in it, I don't know. I give only 4 stars because the play is a bit over-didactic.
I have not researched this, but I seem to remember that Miller got some flack from the McCarthy-committee for this play. Must have looked awfully un-American apparently, to explore questions of accountability. Certainly not a tradition in presidential circles.
P.S. I read an old interview with Miller where he says that he got 'invited' to the committee only because the guys were hoping for a photo shooting with Marilyn.

Editorial Review:

Joe Keller and Herbert Deever, partners in a machine shop during the war, turned out defective airplane parts, causing the deaths of many men. Deever was sent to prison while Keller escaped punishment and went on to make a lot of money. In a work of tremendous power, a love affair between Keller's son, Chris, and Ann Deever, Herbert's daughter, the bitterness of George Keller, who returns from the war to find his father in prison and his father's partner free, and the reaction of a son to his father's guilt escalate toward a climax of electrifying intensity.

Winner of the Drama Critics' Award for Best New Play in 1947, All My Sons established Arthur Miller as a leading voice in the American theater. All My Sons introduced, themes that thread through Miller's work as a whole: the relationships between fathers and sons and the conflict between business and personal ethics.

Arthur Miller: Collected Plays 1944-1961 (Library of America)

Arthur Miller

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

Editorial Review:

In the inaugural volume of its collected edition of Miller's plays, The Library of America gathers the works from the 1940s and 1950s that electrified theatergoers and established Miller as one of the indispensable voices of the postwar era. Among the plays included are All My Sons, the story of an industrialist confronted with his moral lapses during World War II; Death of a Salesman, the wrenching tragedy of Willy Loman's demise; The Crucible, at once a riveting reconstruction of the Salem witch trials and a parable of McCarthyism; and A View from the Bridge, Miller's tale of betrayal among Italian immigrants in Brooklyn, presented here in both the original one-act and revised two-act versions.

This volume also contains the intriguing early drama The Man Who Had All the Luck, the first of Miller's plays to be produced on Broadway, along with his adaptation of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People, the autobiographical one-act A Memory of Two Mondays, and Miller's novella The Misfits, based on the screenplay he wrote for Marilyn Monroe.

The Portable Arthur Miller (Penguin Classics)

Arthur Miller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Good Compendium of Miller's works 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I wanted to read Death of a Salesman. While searching I found this book which has 5 of Miller's plays (including his famous ones, Death of a Salesman and The Crucible) and a few other little works of his. This is a great bargain, considering that a single play by Miller is about $9.00 and this is $12.00. A pretty good deal, if you ask me!

Editorial Review:

This classic collection-the only one-volume selection of Arthur Miller's work available-presents a rich cross section of writing from one of our most influential and humane playwrights, containing in full his masterpieces The Crucible and Death of a Salesman. This essential collection also includes the complete texts of After the Fall, The American Clock, The Last Yankee, and Broken Glass, winner of the Olivier Award for Best Play of 1995, as well as excerpts from Miller's memoir Timebends. An essay by Harold Clurman and Christopher Bigsby's introduction discuss Miller's standing as one of the greatest American playwrights of all time and his importance to twentieth-century literature.

Introduction by Harold Clurman.
Edited by Christopher Bigsby

The Crucible (Viking Critical Library)

Arthur Miller

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

it's great. 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I have finished reading the Crucible - it is simply great. The text is wonderful, full of ironies and dramatic scenes - for example, the scene where Elizabeth lies for the first time in her life to save Proctor's reputation, only to realise that her good intentions have unwittingly helped Abigail. Land wars, revenge and a host of other reasons show us the repressed state Salem was in in those days. The relationships between the main characters : Proctor, Parris, Abigail, etc, were understandable and one could actually feel himself or herself praying that a particular character would survive the madness, or feel sympathy for even the villains. The Crucible was a great experience for me, and I hope that via this review many of you out there will go and buy this book to see what I mean.

Editorial Review:

Based on historical people and real events, Miller's classic play about the witch hunts and trials in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts, is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror which Miller uses to reflect the anti-Communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witch-hunts" in the U.S.