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Title: The Everything Shakespeare Book: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding the Comedies, Tragedies and Sonnets of the Bard (Everything Series) by Peter Rubie ISBN: 1-58062-591-6 Publisher: Adams Media Corporation Pub. Date: August, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Worth the Price
Comment: Take it for what it is: a quick summary for everything about Shakespeare. Although this is not an in-depth summarization of all Shakespeare's works, The Everything Shakespeare Book gives the reader the gist of sonnets, background, and individual play summaries. For the price, this is beneficial resource for anyone who wants a little information about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan periods. For instance, there is a discussion on the significance of the sonnets and speculation about whom they were written for. There are also some generalities about travel, costumes, entertainment, theatre opposition and rivals of Shakespeare during this time period.
There are a few problems with the book.
Some of the details are a bit vague and some of the "essentials" are relatively unessential (Rubie should have called this section "tidbits" instead). There is a section on Shakespearean words and their present day definitions (aye means "yes", etc), but it would have been more effective to include tougher Shakespeare words.
The most significant part is the play summaries and character lists (from these plays). Although this section is not complete in thoroughly characterizing any one play, they are certainly useful for a reader just wanting a quick summary of the work. After each play description, there is a quick caption that discusses elements such as where and when the play was first performed and how it ranks among other plays, as well as a brief commentary about the play. Finally, the section finishes with a list of popular quotes within each drama.
Overall, this is recommended for anyone wanting to brush up on a little Shakespeare or wanting some insight into this time period.
Rating: 3
Summary: Survey of Shakespeare - for 10th graders
Comment: This is a pleasantly written introduction to Shakespeare - life, times, and works. Sort of a Shakespeare Survey for 10th graders. A somewhat oversized paperback, its 304pp are printed in large type with colored emphasis, presumably to attract the younger reader. In a relatively few words, "Everything" succeeds rather well in surveying everything and leaving a newcomer primed to explore more deeply in the mind and works of the great author. There are appendices on further readings, resources, and web sites, but these are weakly annotated, so a beginner will need additional guidance.
The "Everything" style is to highlight certain sections as "Essentials" and others as "Facts." I can't imagine that the "Essentials" often reflect what a school teacher is going to be quizzing, let alone what serious students would call a central issue. I also notice that the "Facts" are sometimes highly unfactual ("Some scholars feel the sonnets are..."). "Facts" is a daring words to employ anywhere in the realm of Shakespeare. Hamlet could have been speaking most candidly and fittingly for Shakespearean authors: "Believe none of us!" (i.e., In God we trust - for the rest we check footnotes). On the other hand, this mostly un-documented survey does at least acknowledge many of the debates that remain unfinished about the times, the man, and his works.
Overall, it's not a bad compromise between readability and honest scholarly equivocation in a book for young bard novices. If they continue on with Shakespeare they'll have time enough to be disabused of the "facts" they've learned.
Brief introductions to each play fill out the second half the book after the first has given you chapters on Shakespeare's World, The Elizabethan Stage, Did Shakespeare Write Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Rivals (nine discussed), Elizabethan English, and The Sonnets/Poems.
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Title: The Everything Classical Mythology Book: Greek and Roman Gods, Goddesses, Heroes, and Monsters from Ares to Zeus by Lesley Bolton ISBN: 158062653X Publisher: Adams Media Corporation Pub. Date: April, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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