Book Description
This third volume in The Library of America's definitive edition of Philip Roth's collected works presents three markedly different novels that together trace a crucial period in the bold evolution of one of America's indispensable novelists. Surely the funniest novel ever written about baseball, The Great American Novel (1973) turns our national pastime into unfettered picaresque farce. The cast of improbable characters includes: Gil Gamesh, the pitcher who actually tried to kill the umpire; John Baal, the ex-con first baseman, "The Babe Ruth of the Big House," who never hit a home run sober; and the House Un-American Activities Committee. My Life as a Man (1974), Roth's most blistering novel, presents the treacherous world of Strindberg nearly a century later in the story of a fierce marital tragedy of obsession and blindness and desperate need. The Professor of Desire (1977)-the novel that prompted Milan Kundera to proclaim Roth "a great historian of modern eroticism"-follows an adventurous man of intelligence and feeling into and out of the tempting wilderness of erotic possibility.
Customer Reviews:
Very highly recommended for both academic and community library American Literature collections........2007-02-03
The third volume of The Library of America's definitive edition of Philip Roth's collected works, Philip Roght Novels 1973-1977 contains "The Great American Novel" (1973), "My Life as a Man" (1974) and "The Professor of Desire" (1977) under one hardbound cover, with an inset ribbon bookmark. From the wry, farcical baseball humor in "The Great American Novel" that builds up to the intercession of the House Un-American Activities Committee, to the cruel marital tragedy and treachery of "My Life as a Man", to the intriguing story of a smart and adventurous man pushing the bounds of erotic possibility in "The Professor of Desire", each classic work explores a different facet of the subtext constantly running beneath the human condition. Very highly recommended for both academic and community library American Literature collections.
Book Description
As a student in college, David Kepesh styles himself "a rake among scholars, a scholar among rakes." Little does he realize how prophetic this motto will be—or how damning. For as Philip Roth follows Kepesh from the domesticity of childhood into the vast wilderness of erotic possibility, from a ménage à trois in London to the throes of loneliness in New York, he creates a supremely intelligent, affecting, and often hilarious novel about the dilemma of pleasure: where we seek it; why we flee it; and how we struggle to make a truce between dignity and desire.
Customer Reviews:
Coming of Sage.......2007-03-05
In his earliest works, Roth shows many of the same qualities and themes that made him a successful writer. In "The Professor of Desire", David Kepesh is a gifted young man who hits all the bumps in the road of life. While much of the focus is on Kepesh's love life, his professional and family life are entangled with his love life. At his choice, his romantic relationship become the focus.
Finding love is never easy. As is the case David's first love Helen, early instincts of love are often misguided. Fragmented by the failure of his first marriage, David then finds Claire. With his emotions no longer distracting from his professional life, David is able to be honest with himself. He tracks the life of Kafka in Eastern Europe, meeting the former [mistress] of Kafka which helps to place his own love life in perspective, only to have it confused by a returning Helen. There would seem no better way than to put one's personal crisis aside than to compare it to the great human tragedy of the Holocaust. It is not until the final pages that Roth's literary device makes sense.
In the scope of Roth's work, "The Professor of Desire" is a very raw work that shows the promise of his later career. Like many of Roth's characters, David Kepish's life is spiraling out of control. The overall storytelling and humor make this a great read. The weak ties between the conflicts leave a certain degree of doubt about the author's intent and leave a dissatisfactory payoff.
Finally, a Roth novel I like!.......2005-08-02
This is the first novel by Philip Roth that I actually like. Portnoy's Complaint was a good hundred-page novella, spread out over a three-hundred page book; the other pages were filled with the dross of his political opinions, and his kvetching about his parents. Operation Shylock was also too pre-occupied with pushing a political agenda (but just what agenda, we are never sure). This is Roth's primary fault as an author - he is too didactic. I find that I really don't care much about what Roth's political opinions are. Ironically, this is probably one of the attributes that make him a critical darling - it shows that he thinks "deep thoughts."
The Professor of Desire is blessedly free of politics. In it, Roth sticks with the subjects he knows best: sex and relationships. Young David Kepesh is a sexually frustrated young student. That changes while studying abroad in Swinging London, where he finds that what they say about Swedish girls is true. Things take a turn for the worse after the end of his disastrous marriage finds him crushed by loneliness in New York. With the help of a psychiatrist, Kepesh tries to discover if he will ever be able to commit to anyone or experience happiness.
The Professor of Desire finds Roth at a more mature place in his career. Gone is the odious kvetching about his parents that polluted so much of Portnoy's Complaint; the parents in this book are treated with sympathy. At one point, a character points out to Kepesh that there is no point in mining the workings of a Jewish family for his fiction anymore. He is also less homophobic in this novel - but not much so. There are still things about Roth's style that take getting used to; I don't think there's anything profound in his refusal to offset dialogue into separate paragraphs - it just makes it harder to keep track of who is speaking. However, The Professor of Desire is a short, lyrical novel that is the best of anything I've read of his so far.
Rambling of Thoughts.......2005-04-25
Reading `The Professor of Desire' is like trying to track down trails of rambling thoughts as one should have expected from reading Philip Roth, the pleasure one normally derives from the `effect' rather than the `cause', where the plots are generally almost non-existence in this work, instead all efforts are made to explore one individual's inner world through a series of trivial events and fragments, expand from his childhood into his adult life.
I can't say I have been successful in my attempt to fully understand the book, and neither I can claim thoroughly enjoy a good story -for there is none to begin with but if one should read carefully into the pagers, one may find Roth at his best for exploring the depths of human mind -I suppose that's where and why one is attracted to Roth in general, his strength in penetrating the deepest human side and relating such to his readers. David Kepesh, our professor of desire, has taken an odyssey of self-discovery and in pursuit for LOVE where he must overcome his own strong inner conflicts of constant longing of DESIRE, and at the end unable to find a balance between LOVE and DESIRE in term of breaching the gap. The relationship between LOVE and DESIRE may also let us draw a distinction between `WANT' and `NEED'. Life poses a series of struggles for the co existence of `WANT' and `NEED', where the `NEED' is more of a psycho-physical being predefined within us while `WANT' is what we expect ourselves to attain in life; and the quest for happiness in life lies in whether we can resort within ourselves a peaceful coexistence for the two.
I suspect in reality we must all more or less being predestined to let a bit of such human tragedy lives within us, to face choices for and between `WANT' and `NEED'. Not exactly always a personal choice to be made, like in David Kepesh's case, a person destined to fail in relationship, where fate offers no choice but the impossibility in breaching a gap between LOVE and DESIRE; any choice, one over the other, must surrender him insurmountable sacrifice while no single choice can render him any happiness. Some of us, I for one, should not find it a surprise to cope with this paradox in real life.
Philip Roth, I presume a master at his own game as his reputation warrants more credits than I can truly appreciate his talent. Either the philosophical means in this novel is too much beyond my comprehension or I am thinking way too much in term of substance this book never means to offer. To retract my earlier mentioned `cause' and `effect' about reading Roth, for I may not be the best person to pass this judgment base on having read only three of his books, first the `The Dying Animal', then `The Ghost Writer' and now this `The Professor of Desire'; given none of the three is said to best represent Roth except him being praised on achieving high quality in ALL his work.
Frankly speaking I can't find such impressiveness in any of the three books I read, and meanwhile, an inner voice keeps reminding me for reading more of him or a second-read on 'The Professor of Desire', in order to find new meaning and greatness I might have missed - can it be another case of `WANT' and `NEED' recurring into real life that I must get myself ready to do battle with Roth?
A must-read for Roth enthusiasts.......2003-04-23
David Kepesh, the aforementioned professor, towards the end of "Professor of Desire," contemplates the introductory lecture he is to deliver to his class on comparative literature:
"Indiscreet, unprofessional, unsavory as portions of these disclosures will surely strike some of you, I nonetheless would like, with your permission, to go ahead now and give an open account to you of the life I formerly led as a human being. I am devoted to fiction, and I assure you that in time I will tell you whatever I may know about it, but in truth nothing lives in me like my life."
This passage may as well be an introduction to this book, one of Roth's most potent and stirring novels from his earlier days. Through the chronicles of David Kepesh's early life, Roth examines the paradoxes of love and desire, the bridges between literature and life, and our nearly-lunatic search for identity.
In this book, we follow Roth's familiar character David Kepesh from his childhood in the Catskills hotel owned by his parents, to a post-college year of sexual freedom in Scandinavia, to a tempestuous/disastrous marriage to Helen Baird, followed by a winter of despair, and concluding with his relationship with Claire Ovington, marked by a love that is blemished by waning desire.
In the end, although more questions are posed than can ever be answered, Roth's novel can resonate with anyone who has ever grappled with the mysteries of love and self-discovery - namely, everyone. And along the way, the reader can revel in the wit, wry humor, and intellect adored by every Roth fan.
A must-read for any Roth enthusiast.......2003-04-23
David Kepesh, the aforementioned professor, towards the end of "Professor of Desire," contemplates the introductory lecture he is to deliver to his class on comparative literature:
"Indiscreet, unprofessional, unsavory as portions of these disclosures will surely strike some of you, I nonetheless would like, with your permission, to go ahead now and give an open account to you of the life I formerly led as a human being. I am devoted to fiction, and I assure you that in time I will tell you whatever I may know about it, but in truth nothing lives in me like my life."
This passage may as well be an introduction to this book, one of Roth's most potent and stirring novels from his earlier days. Through the chronicles of David Kepesh's early life, Roth examines the paradoxes of love and desire, the bridges between literature and life, and our nearly-lunatic search for identity.
In this book, we follow Roth's familiar character David Kepesh from his childhood in the Catskills hotel owned by his parents, to a post-college year of sexual freedom in Scandinavia, to a tempestuous/disastrous marriage to Helen Baird, followed by a winter of despair, and concluding with his relationship with Claire Ovington, marked by a love that is blemished by waning desire.
In the end, although more questions are posed than can ever be answered, Roth's novel can resonate with anyone who has ever grappled with the mysteries of love and self-discovery - namely, everyone. And along the way, the reader can revel in the wit, wry humor, and intellect adored by every Roth fan.
Product Description
3 Books - 1) - Portnoy's Complaint / 2) - The Professor of Desire / 3) - The Plot Against America, in either Hard or Softcover, (See Seller Condition Comments), Shipped in one package
to save on shipping costs.
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The Professor of Desire
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GZU73E |
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Professor of Desire
Philip Roth
Manufacturer: FARRAR STRAUS & * GIROUX
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UC9YD2 |
Customer Reviews:
Hot and bothered........2002-12-18
Back Cover description: IS THIS STRANGER REALLY HER HUSBAND? For a year, Samantha has been existing with no memory of her previous life. But when a dark, stunningly handsome Italian walks into her life, Sam's past is about to be revealed...When Sam sees Andre Visconte, she faints clean away. Is her body's instinctive response to him telling her that she's recognized him? However, there are further shocks in store, the first of which is Andre's insistence that hi is her husband!
Good tight story. Sam has been in an auto accident. She has lost her memory, and no one has claimed her for over a year. Then her husband finds her. There are the usual plot twists, and the sexual tension is great. I've been tracking down all of the Michelle Reid books since I read ARABIAN LOVE CHILD (catchy title!), and this is one of the better ones. Try it.
What a story.......2002-01-19
This love story really touched my heart. This poor man suffered for the time that he was without his wife. When he gets her back she does not remember him and so the story goes... I was enchanted by the deep and passionate love the male had for his wife and how he fought for this love. This author is great at letting the reader understands how the male feels and well as the female. I would recommend this book highly.
Average customer rating:
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Un Marido Inolvidable (The Unforgettable Husband) (Bianca)
Michelle Reid
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Literatura y ficción | Libros en español | Formats | Books | Autores, A-Z | Cartas y Correspondencia | Clásicos | Cuentos Cortos | Drama | Ensayos | Ficción de La Mujer | General | Género Ficción | Historia y Crítica | Libros y Lectura | Literatura Mundial | Poesía
Contemporáneo | Romance | Libros en español | Formats | Books
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ASIN: 0373336519 |
Book Description
A son's journey to understand his mother's illness also uncovers the long-hidden secrets of her past--and a little-known phenomenon called late-onset Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
On the evening of February 15, 2001, Sonia Reich, Howard Reich's mother, packed some clothes into two brown shopping bags, put on her gray winter coat, locked the door to her home in Skokie, Illinois and fled. Someone was trying to kill her, "to put a bullet in my head," Sonia told anyone who would listen.
Polish and Jewish, Sonia Reich had survived the Holocaust by staying always on the run. She and Howard's father, Robert, also a Holocaust survivor, had fled to America, moved to Chicago, and raised their young son to tell no one that they were Jewish. It was only after moving to Skokie, a town filled with Holocaust survivors, that his family would live as Jews. Still, his parents told Howard almost nothing about their past.
The First and Final Nightmare... is Reich's moving and bittersweet memoir of growing up in Skokie, discovering an odd and personal American freedom in jazz, and his riveting, revealing investigation into his family's past and the nature of his mother's illness, called late-onset Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is a poignant story of a mother and a son, a haunted past, and the irony of what may happen when that often repeated admonition to "never forget" becomes a curse.
Customer Reviews:
The Lady who survived.......2007-01-12
This book was very well written and I was enlightened from the author's perspective. I am a granddaughter of a survivor, and can appreciate reading what I have only imagined all these years. My family didn't speak of what any family member went through in Nazi Germany. My mother came over in 1937 with her mother. As I grew up, little information came out in the family, and I was still not well informed unless I read from someone else's memoirs.
The lingering psychic impact of the Holocaust.......2007-01-03
A touching memoir from the son of two Holocaust survivors, this book describes the author's childhood, setting the stage for his mother's eventual deterioration into severe PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) following the death of the author's father. Hoping to understand his mother's delusions, the author sets out to research the past that his parents only mentioned briefly on rare occasions. His search takes him to Eastern Europe and the scenes of a number of the Nazi atrocities during WWII, and leads him to a deeper appreciation for his heritage, the magnitude of the suffering in the Holocaust, and an richer appreciation for his parents' accomplishments.
Unlike most books about the Holocaust, this one doesn't focus so much on the events during the Second World War themselves, but instead is more focused on the impact these events had on those who managed to survive the terrible suffering of the period. The psychic wounds suffered by the survivors would stretch throughout their lives, often crippling them decades later, and even crossing the generational lines to impact the lives of their children born after the war. Definitely an important book for anyone interested in the long-term impact of the Holocaust on those who actually survived it.
A Powerful Memoir.......2006-08-23
"The First and Final Nightmare of Sonia Reich" by Howard Reich is a very powerful memoir. Author Howard Reich writes about his mother Sonia Reich suffering from late-onset Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
As gripping as the first part of this book is, (which talks about his background and the PTSD) I was shocked and upset when reading the second part, when Howard Reich goes to Dubno to find out what happened to his mother as a little girl growing up in the Holocaust. As a reader on books of the Holocaust, his description of the dead bodies and mass graves in Dubno was very upsetting. When he writes about Dubno, I felt as if almost I was there with him.
This was one of the best memoirs I have read in a long time, and I encourage readers of Judaica, history, etc., to go out and get a copy of this book. Put it on your reading list.
Book Description
The Robotech Masters' war against Earth has become even more desperate: the Protoculture Matrix is now degenerating, transforming into the Flower of Life, which is sure to draw the savage, merciless Invid across the galaxy.
Meanwhile, Dana Sterling, half-alien commander of an elite Hovertank unit, is waging a desperate personal war to uncover the meaning of her strange Visions, and the secrets of her alien heritage.
Humans lock in mortal combat with the Masters' clone hordes in a clash of tremendous war machines. Zor Prime, reincarnation of the discoverer of Protoculture, struggles to regain his lost memories and unlock his tormented past. As the apocalyptic war comes to the final, decisive battle, Dana Sterling realizes to her horror that . . .
EVEN VICTORY SPELLS UTTER DISASTER!!
Customer Reviews:
Wow, this book was pimp!.......1998-04-10
I liked this book a whole lot! But it leaves some questions out in the open when you read about the third generation. The end was good! I recommend this to everyone who enjoys the robotech saga.
Robotech ( The finak Nightmare.......1997-02-20
Robotech 9 , The Final Nightmare continues the adventures of the Second Generation as humantity battles the Robotech Masters for the control of Earth and of the mysterious protoculture matrix creatied by Zor. The 15th ATAC fights on as Dana Sterling , now Lieutant of the 15th struggles with her infautation with the mysterouis Zor Prime
The war heats up as the Robotech Masters become more and more desperate to control the matrix as they realize the Invid Horde is closing in. Once agian caught ine the middle is the 15 Alpha Armoured Tactical Corps whose loves , loyalties and ablities will be put to the ultimate test as The Second Robotech War comes to a final apocolyptic end.
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multiple books ship as one item. save on shipping/handling charges.
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- scenes to be read in a will-lit room
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Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (Nightmare on Elm Street)
Bob Italia ,
Wes Craven , and
Rachel Talalay
Manufacturer: Abdo Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding
Teens
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ASIN: 1562391615 |
Customer Reviews:
scenes to be read in a will-lit room.......1998-07-12
this is by far one of the best books ever written.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by Thomson Gale on September 17, 2006. The length of the article is 656 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Final ticks turn into a nightmare.(Sports)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication:
The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: September 17, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: D8
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
Dawson Trotman revolutionized the practice of evangelism and follow-up and founded The Navigators. This book will show you the convictions and passions that guided this hero of faith.
Customer Reviews:
A Man After God's Own Heart.......2002-04-21
Dawson Trotman provides an example of what God can do with consistent commitment, purposeful passion, and relentless perseverance. His simple message--profoundly reflected in this book--that memory of and meditation upon Scripture will be a catalyst to a life of significance and service in the Kingdom of God. This commitment led me to reflect more than once throughout the book that all that Daws accomplished was without many of the advantages of today (the Internet, modern communication, etc.). And yet, my conclusion is that his commitment, passion and perseverance led to his significance and that the present day is so lacking in such individuals in large part because of the distractions that come with our heightened advantages. We are but children in the use of such tools. It is like 16-year-olds being given high performance sports cars with nowhere of note to travel. This book has been a major wake-up call for me to take note of the simple message that God's Word is worthy of great personal sacrifice and obedience.
An Motivational and Impacting Biography.......2002-02-21
Reading Daws opened my eyes to one of the major purposes in God's plan for the life of his people - to reach others with his love. Daws is an extremely well written biography that takes you inside Dawson Trotman's life and experience, but also takes you into his thoughts, showing you how he changed over a lifetime to understand the mission which had captured his heart - to know God and make Him known.
Towards the end, the book grows too focused on events on not on Daws' life, but it is otherwise an impacting, convicting, and inspirational read. A very worthwhile biography for anyone seeking to know God and make Him known.
Vivid story of a pioneer of modern Christianity........1999-03-19
Betty Skinner has written a wonderful, thought provoking book about a true giant of modern Christianity - Dawson Trotman, founder and driving force of the Navigators. From his early days as a rebel and "bad boy" through his conversion and the development of his heart for others to his untimely death saving another person's life, this book challenged me to see in people great potential, but more importantly, to see in myself a call to disciple others - to help others move closer to God in their everyday life. It left me unsettled...but excited to get down to basics - pouring my life into others!
Books:
- Provinces of Night: A Novel
- Recollections of My Life
- Salt and Saffron
- Saul Bellow: Novels 1944-1953: Dangling Man, The Victim, and The Adventures of Augie March (Library of America)
- Sayonara, Gangsters
- Shakey's Loose
- Stelarc: The Monograph (Electronic Culture: History, Theory, and Practice)
- Sweet Dove Died
- Talking Funny for Money : An Introduction to the Cartoon/Character/Looping Area of Voice-Overs
- The Aesthetics of Resistance, Volume 1: A Novel (Aesthetics of Resistance)
Books Index
Books Home
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- History: Fiction or Science
- Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden And Your Neighborhood into a Community
- Crossing the Water: Eighteen Months on an Island Working with Troubled Boys-a Teacher's Memoir
- Bible Promises to Treasure for Business Professionals: Inspiring Words for Every Occasion
- Origins of Macroeconomics, Volume Six
Philip Roth: Novels 1967-1972: When She Was Good / Portnoy's Complaint / Our Gang / The Breast (Library of America)
Saul Bellow: Novels 1956-1964: Seize the Day, Henderson the Rain King, Herzog (Library of America)
Zuckerman Bound: A Trilogy and Epilogue 1979-1985: The Ghost Writer / Zuckerman Unbound / The Anatomy Lesson / The Prague Orgy (Library of America #175)
Philip Roth: Novels and Stories 1959-1962: Goodbye, Columbus & Five Short Stories / Letting Go (Library of America)
Hart Crane Complete Poems and Selected Letters (Library of America)
