"The sole excuse which a man can have for writing," says Rémy de Gourmont, "is to unveil for others the sort of world which mirrors itself in his individual glass." No doubt if we cared to quibble we could point to other and lesser excuses for writing, such as are assumed by makers of directories, committee reports, and literary excitants or sedatives. What the eminent critic had in mind, however, was the kind of writing which, whatever its particular incentives and aims, reveals the accents of a man speaking to fellow men.
Bailey & Love's Short Practice of Surgery remains one of the world's pre-eminent medical textbooks, beloved by generations of surgeons, with lifetime sales in excess of one million copies. Now in its 25th edition, the content has been thoroughly revised and updated while retaining its traditional strengths. Under the stewardship of the eminent editorial team, comprising two editors with experience gained over previous editions and a third editor new to this edition, and in response to reader feedback
This monumental book was specially designed to make mathematics more accessible to the inexperienced. It comprises nontechnical essays on every aspect of the vast subject, including articles by and about scores of eminent mathematicians, as well as literary figures, economists, biologists, and many other eminent thinkers. This unique compendium includes the work of Archimedes, Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Gregor Mendel, John Maynard Keynes, Lewis Carroll, Bertrand Russell, John von Neumann, and many others.
Bill Bryson's concise biography of Shakespeare is brilliantly written, humorously insightful, and entirely delightful. The prose is a well-crafted and playful presentation of the dozen odd facts known about Shakespeare and many of the suppositions, inferences, and wild speculations about the man and his work. This Shakespeare primer can be easily understood by any high-school level reader and no prior knowledge about Shakespeare is required--Bryson even helpfully informs the reader that "William Shakespeare of Stratford was unquestionably" (p. 196) the author of Shakespeare's plays and poetry, a fact that is apparently not self-evident.
Bryson has written several books including the prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything. The book under review is provided as a volume in the "Eminent Lives" series of concise biographies by varying authors and as such conforms to an imposed restriction on length. With a candid honesty that permeates his offering, Bryson notes that the world didn't really need another Shakespeare biography but that the "Eminent Lives" series did. Bryson is straightforward in admitting that no groundbreaking research is presented, but rather the biography gathers the known facts, the supposed facts, and much pithy innuendo into a single engaging and accessible overview. Bryson's strength, then, lies not so much in his Shakespearean expertise but rather in his obvious ability to turn a phrase. Dedicated to our Poet Otherwordly I hope your sense of humour will be satisfied! - stovokor
I hope your sense of humour will be satisfied!
