Charles Dickens Four Complete Novels (Great Expectations, Hard Times, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities)

Book Description

Includes the major works by one of the greatest names in literature. Namely, Great Expectations, Hard Times, A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities. This Library of Literary Classics edition is bound in padded leather with luxurious gold-stamping on the front and spine, satin ribbon marker and gilded edges. Other titles in this Library of Literary Classics series include: Charlotte & Emily Bronte: The Complete Novels; Edgar Allan Poe: Selected Works; Mark Twain: Selected Works; Jane Austen: The Complete Novels: Lewis Carroll: The Complete, Fully Illustrated Works; and William Shakespeare: The Complete Works.

Customer Reviews:

Great value for the price.......2007-08-02

Let's face it, there are better editions of Dickens out there. You get what you pay for. This is not a top of the line leather edition. For the price, though, you can't beat it. It is what it is, a reasonably priced leather edition of four of his novels. At five dollars apiece, the price can not be beat.

Pretentious.......2007-06-07

Buying books because they look good on your shelf is pretentious and phony - and this book capitalizes on that. I got this as a gift and was amazed when I read it at the number of typos in it. There is simply no way this collection was proofed by an editor - that or the editing company is one of the worst in the world.

Buy these fantastic books, but not this edition, unless you just want people to think you read Dickens.

If nothing else, it looks good on your bookshelf........2007-03-13

You would do better off buying these books individually from a different publisher.
It sounds impressive, leather bound, gilded edges, but it is very cheaply done. On the plus side, it does have a ribbon book mark so you don't have to buy your own.
But this book was poorly edited, filled with needless typos, and with all four of these books available from numerous other publishers, I would suggest to just buy it from them.

Loved it,.......2006-02-12

I'm a big fan of long drawn out novles. I've always been a fan of Dickens. This book has on eof my favorite stories by his pen: Great Expectations. His style is very personal I found it a lot like Tolkien. His ability to tell a good tale is clear as the reader becomes part of the story. Very nice volume and worth the time and money in my opinion.

Lousy Binding.......2005-12-20

I've read all but "A Christmas Carol" in this edition. I've found several typos. Moreover, the binding is becoming unglued. I estimate by the time I finish "A Christmas Carol" the binding will be totally exposed. I value permanent books (otherwise I would buy paperbacks). I suggest anyone who enjoys Dickens buy a better edition.

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An acquired taste......
How does he know this stuff?
Attempts to be more than a mystery
racial turmoil in the 1960s dissected by Pelecanos
Early Derek Strange - Worth Checking Out

Hard Revolution: A Novel
George Pelecanos
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316608971

Book Description

HARD REVOLUTION is a rich, dramatic, totally engrossing story of two brothers-one a rookie police officer, one a recently returned Vietnam veteran-caught up in the chaos that engulfed D.C. in 1968, when riots followed the assassination of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Derek Strange is his family's straight arrow, but his older brother Dennis has always had a harder time.Home from the war and in several varieties of trouble, Dennis is in danger of making one bad decision too many.While Derek tries to be there for Dennis, no amount of brotherly love can save Dennis from Alvin Jones, a local drug dealer who draws him into his web. An apocalyptic gun battle and an impossible decision collide in the electrifying climax of the most powerful book yet from George Pelecanos, a novelist who 'writes with intelligence and complexity, as well as with a sober recognition of the evil at large in the world.' (Washington Post)

Customer Reviews:

An acquired taste.............2007-05-25

Pelecanos' books are an acquired taste. I read his first book because it was a murder mystery but because of his easy writing style, I decided to read more of his books. I'm now into my 3rd and 4th Pelcanos books.

Hard Revolution was the 2nd Pelecanos book I read. For sure HR is not a murder mystery. It isn't even a mystery book, more like crime drama. Pelacanos specializes in Washington DC. More than, that he specializes in "the life" for American blacks in Washington DC. I have no idea how accurate his portrayal is. (My ironic feeling was, do American blacks view his writing the same as Althea Strange (sp?) or the shoeshine man view Olga or the white man respectively?) What is Pelecanos' street cred?

Still, the portrayal of "the life" seems accurate to me. I suppose it's something every American should read, and it makes me never want to visit DC, at least, never want to wander into the wrong neighborhood by mistake.

To me, HR was part historical. It opened a window for me back to the Spring of 1968, civil rights, the death of MLK and the riots in DC (ironically again, appears no different from the Rodney King riots). I didn't get the book to read about no history, but this part of the book was a real eye opener for me, I read about things which I would normally never have thought about.

If you're looking for a pure murder mystery, this book is not for you. If you're looking for some crime drama, plus a window back in time to DC in 1968, then this book is definitely for you.

And as always, Pelecanos is a good writer and his books are always easy to read.

How does he know this stuff?.......2006-09-26

The best writer of black crime fiction is white. Pelecanos knows stuff that no other white person knows and stuff that no black would ever tell a white. How does he know this stuff? While other writers may have black characters they do not have the right voice so most don't even try. Pelecanos is different. Not only does his voice ring true, it is true. This novel introduces us to the young Derek Strange. Although technically a crime novel, there is precious little sleuthing here. Rather, Pelecanos wants us to know and feel how close this nation came to being ripped apart by Viet Nam and civil rights. This is strong stuff. Highly recommended.

Attempts to be more than a mystery.......2006-07-11

In fact, this book attempts to explore the difficult and fraught-with-taboos world of race relations and racial riots in Washington, DC. In that, it's realistic, and exceeds the boundaries of its genre, and it takes a balanced view this is difficult in such a political minefield. Despite all this, it is exceptionally linear and there is no change in our perspective from the initial to final stages of the novel, which despite all of its organic detail invests itself in christlike characters and demonic ones, but particularly thin formulations, those. I am inclined to like what the author attempted but would not read another by him.

racial turmoil in the 1960s dissected by Pelecanos.......2006-05-21

George Pelecanos is one of my favorite authors. His crime novels are always written with such passion, the characterizations superbly drawn, and his first hand knowledge of the locale (Washington, DC) makes the reader feel as if he/she has entered into a special world. However at times the author doesn't do anything special about the story. Oh, a murder here and there. But nothing memorable. This is exactly the case with 'Hard Revolution'. It's a wonderful analysis of racial unrest in the 1960s as expressed by a couple of families, black and white, living in urban D.C. The characters are very three-dimensional. But the story itself, while very readable and fairly engaging, is ultimately forgettable.

Bottom line: 'Hard Revolution' is inferior to the author's best works but better than most modern works of fiction. Recommended.

Early Derek Strange - Worth Checking Out.......2006-02-13

This my second Pelecanos novel. I enjoyed it enough that I'll certainly pick up another one before too long. I think works like this have to be taken as a total package. By that I mean it doesn't exactly rip along on every page. Really, it begins with a slow, character-driven look at Derek Strange's childhood. You get a feel for D.C. in the fifties, the music, the cars, the racial climate. You get introduced to characters who will appear in later time periods, but it's not like a whole lot of crime and drama happens early on.

But that's okay. When things eventually heat up Pelecanos really shines. The eruption of violence at a robbery gone wrong late in the book is amazing, graphic, tightly written. And then he walks us through the race riots after King's death with truly convincing detail and context. It reads like he must've researched the riots extensively.

This is solid writing. In a way it doesn't feel like it stands completely alone. It's an introduction to the early life of a character Pelecanos knows very well. I'm satisfied with it, but in a way that makes me want to read more. That's what good genre writing is about, I guess. The fact that this often pushes into thoughtful literary fiction is just an added benefit.

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Hard Times (Unabridged)
Charles Dickens
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download

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Hard Revolution: A Novel
George P.; Pelecanos, George Pelacanos
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUBPOG

The Liberty boys driven back, or, Hard luck at Guilford (The Liberty boys of "76")

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The Liberty boys driven back, or, Hard luck at Guilford (The Liberty boys of "76")
Harry Moore
Manufacturer: Harry E. Wolff
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

A Pulitzer Prize-winning ex-reporter and journalism teacher at ivy-covered Thorndyke University, Henrietta "Henrie O" Collins demands of her students the same steadfast dedication to the truth that was the cornerstone of her own illustrious career. So when beautiful, ambitious Maggie Winslow decides to investigate a trio of hitherto unresolved local crimes, Henrie O urges her to pursue the story with uncommon vigor.

But the gifted future journalist's zeal may have cost her her life. The next day Maggie's corpse is discovered in Lovers' Lane--the very site of one of the unsolved mysteries the extraordinary young woman was exploring at the time of her brutal, premature death. The police and the Thorndyke powers-that-be are rabidly against Henrie O's involvement in the case. But, for Maggie's sake, the stubborn, sixtysomething investigator is determined to dredge up a past everyone seems to want to keep buried even if it means placing herself firmly in a relentless killer's path.

Customer Reviews:

Henrie O in her element.......2006-05-30

In the first two Henrie O mysteries, you read references about Henrietta Collins having been a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, but it's in this book that you get to actually see her strut her stuff. In "Death in Lovers' Lane," Henrie O is teaching at a college in Missouri that is a thinly disguised version of the University of Missouri and its excellent journalism school. Henrie O assigns an arrogant but brilliant student named Maggie Winslow to turn up new evidence in three unsolved cases from long ago. When Maggie turns up dead the very next day, a guilt-ridden Henrie O suspects that its her assignment that led to Maggie's death, and the former journalist sets out to find out who the killer is.

In the process, the intrepid Henrie O reinvestigates the three unsolved cases. She finds out the secret to not one death, but of six. Henrie O demonstrates the grit, tenacity, intelligence, and integrity you'd expect from a world-class reporter.

I know most readers prefer the Death on Demand series. As for me, I'm sticking with Henrie O. I hope you do, too.

Intricately woven tale.......2002-04-16

Henrie O is teaching journalism in a college located in a small town in Missouri. When she encourages her students to pursue investigative reporting, one of them named Maggie Winslow decides to try to solve 3 old police cases which include 2 sets of murders and a disappearance. Maggie feels that the cases may be related and so she begins her own investigation. Soon her body is discovered near one of the previous crime scenes and Henrie O decides that Maggie must have been getting too close to the truth about the cases. Risking her own life in the process, Henrie O picks up the investigation where Maggie left off. She finds many members of the University community who had opportunity and motive for committing one or more of the murders. Intricately weaving the cases throughout the book, Carolyn Hart's main character manages to solve the mysteries in an intriguing way. This is another winner in the Henrie O Series!

Couldn't turn it off........2002-02-19

This was my first Henrie O, and I'm here looking for more. Actually, I listened to the book in the car, and I didn't want to turn the car off when I got to work (or back home, either). In fact, even though it was for "car listening" only, I snuck it inside and finished it the other evening. I fell in love with Miss Marple on the couch watching her on late night movies. I fell in love with Henrie O in the car. I want more, and you will, too.

I really enjoy the Henry O mysteries.......2001-12-16

I find that these mysteries are a bit darker and bit deeper than Ms. Hart's Death on Demand series. However, they are worth the time to read them. I have enjoyed everyone I've read. This book was no exception.

Henrie O is a strong female who has not yet let go of her old reporting attitude although now she's a college prof. She encourages one of her young students, Maggie, to dig deeper into an old mystery of three murders. Maggie begins to do that and ends up dead. Henrie O decides that maybe it was her fault, that she pushed Maggie into the killers path. So picking up the path, Henrie O tries to figure out who killed Maggie and why.

All of the Henrie O novels begin with a short introductory type of chapter but quickly develop into a great mystery. The characters are well thought out.

These Henrie O books are very different from the Death on Demand series. The mysteries are a bit deeper and a bit darker. However, that doesn't make this series any less enjoyable.

Henrie O does it again.......2001-06-27

This was my second Henrie O mystery. I read SCANDAL IN FAIR HAVEN first. I did prefer that book to this one. But this is still a very good book.

Henrie O is always a fun read. She is a 60-something widow that drives an MG. She is working on the campus of Thorndyke University. When one of her top students Maggie Winslow is killed - Henrie O feels guilty. She had prodded Maggie to get more info on 3 old unsolved cases. Now Henrie O is worried she pushed Maggie into the path of a killer.

Henrie O feels obligated to find Maggie's killer. She doesn't believe the woman arrested for the crime is guilty. So off Henrie O goes on her own little adventure.

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4 Titles By Carolyn Hart Henrie O Series (1-4) : 1. Dead Man's Island 2. Scandal in Fair Haven 3. Death in Lovers' Lane 4. Death in Paradise
Carolyn Hart
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: B000SPGGAA

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multiple books ship as one item. save on shipping/handling charges.

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Death in Lovers' Lane
Carolyn G. Hart
Manufacturer: Morrow/Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NUEA8A

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Death in Lovers' Lane

Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GLRNAI

Death in Lovers' Lane (Henrie O Mystery, 3rd)

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Death in Lovers' Lane (Henrie O Mystery, 3rd)

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 0736641688

4 Titles By Carolyn Hart Henrie O Series (1-4) : 1. Dead Man's Island 2. Scandal in Fair Haven 3. Death in Lovers' Lane 4. Death in Paradise

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4 Titles By Carolyn Hart Henrie O Series (1-4) : 1. Dead Man's Island 2. Scandal in Fair Haven 3. Death in Lovers' Lane 4. Death in Paradise
Carolyn Hart
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Death in Lovers Lane
Carolyn Hart
Manufacturer: UNSPECIFIED VENDOR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UC57W4

Death In Lovers' Lane, By Carolyn G. Hart, Unabridged 6 Audio Cassettes, Read By Kate Reading

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Death In Lovers' Lane, By Carolyn G. Hart, Unabridged 6 Audio Cassettes, Read By Kate Reading
Carolyn G. Hart
Manufacturer: Books on Tape, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: B000K52FPI

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Great fun - I'm hooked on this trilogy

Outstanding read; fast, fun and serious

Very Entertaining read!!

A good page turner.

Blue Planets is a must read!

BLUE PLANETS: BOOK I OF THE SOFAR TRILOGY
John R. Gentile
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1414036396

Customer Reviews:

Great fun - I'm hooked on this trilogy.......2006-04-16

This is a really different, fun adventure novel - science fiction and adventure rolled into one. Mr. Gentile really does a great job with the characters; you really get to like Ridley and Azrnoth-zin, yes, even the alien! And on natural history and subjects relating to the Southwest (where this adventure takes place), he is extremely knowledgeable. I liked learning things as well as having fun. Occasionally there are some technical science words I would not have known had I not had a science background, but they don't detract at all - you learn something, for example, about dolphin behavior.

Outstanding read; fast, fun and serious.......2005-04-10

Like the heavy-hitting authors of previous generations, John Gentile takes you through this book like a rockship outta hell. The characters are well developed, the locations are well designed, and the science is right on. The greatest part about the book, however, is the mystery. You're always guessing about something, sitting on the edge of your seat waiting see what happens. The book always has you wanting more, but allows you to slow down and enjoy the writing.

Very Entertaining read!!.......2004-08-19

I purchased this book in Tucson, Arizona. Sat down at a Starbucks and started reading and couldn't put the book down. Before i new it a couple hours had passed and I was totally absorbed in the story. The story line was exciting as I have been at a lot of the areas named in the book. This book with all the suspense, action, humor and knowledge that the author has regarding the oceans, animal life, UFO's, the desert and the people of Mexico made this book an exeptional find. This Book had me wishing the second part of the trilogy was on my table ready to read. I can't wait for the second book to be published. I am also sending copies to a couple of friends. Keep up the great writing John. Fun and exciting to read!!!

A good page turner........2004-08-05

This book had many good elements in it that made it worth reading. The depiction of the alien as more humanoid than is usual (you know, big heads with big black eyes) made for interesting situations throughout the novel. The connection to the dolphins is also puzzling but will most likely be revealed in the next two books. The book's bad guy will almost certainly have you hissing and booing the whole way. It's climax is both satisfying and incomplete. It really makes you want to read the next book to see what is about to happen. I also liked the connection to ancient legends from the area the book takes place in. Overall I would recommend this book to just about anyone as it is fun and easy to get through. I'm waiting for book two.

Blue Planets is a must read!.......2004-07-26

Purchased a copy of this book last month, but did not start reading it until 3 days ago. I just couldn't put it down. Holds your interest and keeps the adrenaline going. The story line contains plenty of action, suspense, mystery, and just enough humor to make the reading absolutely enjoyable. Thank you for writing this fantastic adventure, that brings to life all the diverse habitats of the Southwest. The beauty of the desert, mountains, and sea, the folklore of Indigenous People, science exploration, and ordinary folk doing the extraordinary; this book has it all! Really would like to see this as a ...movie? I have some folks in mind who will also enjoy it as a gift. I'm anxiously waiting to read what happens next in Book II, Offworlder. Please don't keep us waiting long. -Laurel Dunlap

Book Description

Historians who viewed imperial Rome in terms of a conflict between pagans and Christians have often regarded the emperor Constantine's conversion as the triumph of Christianity over paganism. But in Constantine and the Bishops, historian H. A. Drake offers a fresh and more nuanced understanding of Constantine's rule and, especially, of his relations with Christians.

Constantine, Drake suggests, was looking not only for a god in whom to believe but also a policy he could adopt. Uncovering the political motivations behind Constantine's policies, Drake shows how those policies were constructed to ensure the stability of the empire and fulfill Constantine's imperial duty in securing the favor of heaven.

Despite the emperor's conversion to Christianity, Drake concludes, Rome remained a world filled with gods and with men seeking to depose rivals from power. A book for students and scholars of ancient history and religion, Constantine and the Bishops shows how Christian belief motivated and gave shape to imperial rule.

Customer Reviews:

Massive and Multifaceted.......2007-08-20

This reappraisal of the era of Constantine the Great and the rise of Christian power provides the reader with a prodigious amount of material to digest as well as insights on a multiple of different levels. Drake takes to task the historiographical assumptions of Gibbon, Bruckhardt and Baynes and in the process shows why the assumption that Christianity is intolerant and coercive by its very nature is a false and misleading proposition. The author finds a consensus for religious toleration in the reign of Constantine both as a reaction to the persecutions of Diocletian and as a matter of Constantinian political policy. The author finds the traditional questions regarding the sincerity of Constantine's conversion and the co-option of Christianity for crass political reasons both shallow and obfuscating. Using multidisciplinary methodologies Drake tries to analyze the source material in a fashion that allows it to speak for itself.

The author refers to this work as a sketch rather than as a definitive history. In sketching various aspects of this period Drake stretches for insights and some are more persuasive that others. For example, with Christians only about ten percent of the population at the onset of Constantine's reign, the book fails to adequately explain how this small segment of the population could and did become an alternative power base. The traditional elites may have been a minute group, but they represented the values and assumptions of the other ninety percent of the population. While dramatic growth of the Christian population during the fourth century is alluded to, it is never quantified. On a positive note, impressively complete and compellingly drawn is the Eusebian connection to Constantine. In this area Drake is able to tease out masses of meaning from a close reading of the Eusebian material. Equally impressive is Drake's reading of the relationships of Constantine and the Bishops. Following up on this with a contrasting section on Ambrose of Milan and Theodosius the Great some fifty years later provides an interesting counterpoint indicating much greater Christian influence and power.

If there is a weakness to the book, it is the size of the subject which the author in no way tries to delimit. Even at that, the post Constantinian material is somewhat truncated. However, on balance, it does provide a plausible explanation for the evolution of Christian power in the direction of a more coercive and less accommodating nature over the period of time surveyed. This is a very long book and an intense read. For a specialist in Roman Imperial and or Early Church history, this book is mandatory but will raise as many questions as it answers. However, in doing so, it will point the diligent reader in the right direction. There is an amazing bibliography included and the end notes are a treasure in themselves. That they are end notes rather than footnotes makes them a nightmare to use. That they are so valuable to the serious student makes the effort to use them worthwhile. Overall, this book is a successful and persuasive refutation of a long lived historical paradigm. Despite its shortcomings this is a major revisionist history which will effect all future scholarship in this area for the foreseeable future.

Provides some interesting perspectives.......2007-01-06

A thorough analysis of Constantine's role in Church history. It is occasionally a little slow going, but it provides some interesting perspectives. One of the main thrusts is that Constantine's behavior around Christianity need to be viewed much more from a political context that from a strictly theological one.

Major topics include:

* The Emperors needed legitimacy. As the senate faded into the background, that legitimacy had come increasingly from a divine endorsement of the emperor. Diocletian's persecution had failed, which meant the empire was stuck with a large Christian minority who would not accept the traditional pagan legitimization of the emperor. So Constantine was well motivated to find a solution that could include the Christians recognizing the imperial mandate.

* Constantine's initial conversion seems to have focused on his blessing from a vague supreme heavenly father. By this time the pagan aristocracy had already largely shifted in a monotheistic direction and thus Constantine could hope to satisfy both Christians and monotheistic pagans.

* In a series of church councils, Constantine seemed extremely inconsistent on theological issues. Drake argues that this is because Constantine was much more interested in having an inclusive church than is resolving what he saw as unimportant theological niceties. (Why can't these guys just get along?) So Constantine tended to support whichever individuals or factions appeared more focused on consensus and inclusion, and to oppose those individuals and factions that seemed interested in disruption and disunity.

* As the church evolved, with new converts and many doctrinal disputes, the path to proving oneself a true convert (and to success in the church) tended to emphasize taking a hard line against "the other side". This often involved hearkening back to an imagined early church where everything was clear and simple. Initially this intolerance was mostly focused on dissidents inside the church. But particularly after the brief interlude of Julian's pagan revival, the church felt insecure against the risk of potential future pagan revivals and became increasingly intolerant of paganism.

Drake concludes with a discussion of the confrontations between Bishop Ambrose of Milan and the Emperor Theodosius, where the Emperor agreed to do penance for the massacre at Thessalonica. But again, there is more politics to this than first meets the eye and the final "confrontation" was probably carefully stage managed. The emperor now needs the bishop to confirm his divine legitimacy - but the bishop also knows not to push the emperor too far.

Fine Study on When Christianity Became a Political Power.......2002-01-15

Drake's "Constantine and the Bishops" is a fine study of the politicial, sociological and theological currents at the time when Christianity became a political power within the Roman Empire. Focusing on the reign of Constantine, but ranging from the persecution of Diocletian to the time of Theodosius, it offers a much more complicated view of both Christianity and Constantine's efforts to integrate Christianity into the structure of the Roman Empire. In particular, the book appreciates the variety of Christian practices and beliefs that existed throughout the (huge) empire and the constant struggle among many Christian groups to define Christianity along their own beliefs. We tend to see that variety only through the very colored lens of heresy and its suppresion. Constantine comes out rather well in this book; he is a far more sympathetic, complex and impressive person than represented in the writings of Eusebius, where he frequently appears as little more than a puppet of God. Where the book is weakest is in Drake's argument on how official Christianity became more intolerant. It certainly did after Constantine, but whether a Constantine could have avoided this result is not proven in the book. Where the book is strongest is in demonstrating that Constantine, while he might be considered a "Christian" emperor (he didn't receive baptism until he was on his deathbed), he still saw and ruled the Roman Empire with a keen knowledge of the Classical heritage. The book is also provides an excellent counterbalance to the impressions we might get from the writings of Eusebius and Athanasius, the winners in the Christian theological wars of that period. Overall, the book is very well-written (if in a leisurely fashion) and has superb notes and bibliography (the notes are as interesting as the text). It is not light reading, but if you are interested in the late Classical period or in the foundations of Christianity, this book is well worth reading.

An Excellent Political History of 4th Century Christianity.......2000-07-23

A book on the fourth century that cites Saul Alinsky and Richard Nixon is not a typical history! The reason is that "Constantine and the Bishops" is as much about political science as history. Using the usual traditional sources, Drake goes further and examines agendas; the people he reveals are refreshingly understandable. In fact, I kept finding myself thinking: "Of course!", and "That reminds me of [name]", and "That's the same kind of mistake I might have made", etc. Constantine comes across as a very believable person trying desperately to bring peace and order to an empire plagued by special interests and external challenges (so what else is new! ). For example, regards special interests, Drake points out that Constantine briefly transferred some legal functions to the bishops. The reason was corruption in the legal profession mirroring today's problems in the legal system (i.e. money buying favorable decisions). How contemporary! ----- In terms of history, this work excels because it offers reasonable perspectives within which events take place. Instead of a mountain of facts, Drake selects currents within which they make sense. The "Big Events" of this period were: The Great Persecution (303-313) by Emperor Diocletian , the reign of Constantine (324-337), the brief counter-revolution of Emperor Julian "the Apostate" (361-263), and the final conquest of power by the Christian bishops under Emperor Theodosius I (379-395). The history in this book is however very detailed. It reaches back to the decline of the Roman Senate under Augustus Caesar three centuries before, and looks ahead to the ratification of the Theodosian Code in 438. Even without much knowledge of the fourth century, a reader will finish with an excellent grounding in the period. Over 51 pages of footnotes, a list of 118 primary sources and 43 PAGES of secondary sources (!), are backed up by an excellent index. The enquiring reader will have no shortage of further reading to pursue! ----- One interesting thought that Drake comes back to repeatedly is that "the ancient state was built on the premise that organized human activity was needed to ensure that [divinity] remained benevolent to the community." He points out another fact that was brushed under the carpet in later times: many pagans were monotheists before the final victory of Christianity, and that Constantine may well have been a monotheist well before he accepted Christianity. Drake shows that the failure of the Great Persecution was due in part to the fact that pagan and Christian neighbors usually got along rather well, contrary to myth. Constantine had no desire to fail (as had Diocletian) by encouraging conflict; Constantine's challenge was to keep the Christian church from tearing itself apart. Within the church, a centralized bureaucracy had not yet emerged, and the bishops reined supreme. Some (not all!) were obsessed with a search for "heretics". Once Christianity "became popular" a flood of new converts, many with little religious motivation, threatened to swamp the church. For those who had suffered under Diocletion the stampede of opportunists was - at best - a mixed blessing! Constantine constantly came down against the exclusionists, favoring an inclusive approach. In fact the evolution of Christianity into an intolerant movement, Drake points out, was not inevitable: internal conflicts had more to do its intolerance (later projected outward) than anything else. Julian's brief counter-revolution just fed internal paranoia and strengthened the hand of the extremists within Christianity. (How familiar! Radicalization of a movement due to unsuccessful external persecution combined with internal "purges" of deviants!) This is an excellent volume. If I were to recommend a "first read" for those wanting to understand fourth century Christianity, this would be The Book!

Reconsidering Constantine.......2000-07-22

Drake has taken on and called into serious question some of the most deeply-entrenched notions current among scholars of late antiquity concerning not only the first Christian emperor, but also the very nature of early Christianity as a whole. Even as modern scholarship has moved away from the notion of a "life or death" struggle between pagans and Christians in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D., there has remained an assumption even among careful scholars that the religious intolerance which came to prevail in the later fourth and fifth centuries A.D. as the Roman empire became a Christian empire was in some sense native to Christianity as a faith system. It therefore follows from this dangerous assumption that outcroppings of intolerance and violence committed by members of the late antique Christian community need no further explanation than the faith of the perpetrators. Drake takes this assumption and its implications to task and argues that Christian intolerance in late antiquity has a specific historical and political basis, and that the Christianity Constantine envisioned upon his "conversion" was an inclusive one which was to have created a comparatively neutral public space with regard to religion, and which demanded only worship of a single benevolent creator, a notion very much in keeping with elite pagan religious and intellectual trends. This vision, however, was sublimated to a separate and distinct agenda advanced by such Christian hardliners as the historians and panegyrists Eusebius and Lactantius, for whom the history of the Christian community was an unceasing struggle against the "error" of paganism, and in whose eyes the defining traits of a "good Christian emperor" not only included all the traditional virtues of a Good Roman Emperor, but came to include also a militant advocacy of "orthodox Christianity," and an unwillingness to fully tolerate any other religious expression. Drake's book is an impressive pulling apart of time-worn and, as he frequently proves through careful consideration of primary source documentation, ill-founded ideological constructs upon which many modern notions of Constantine are based. Indeed, Constantine and the Bishops is a subtle, quietly profound study in subject formation and rhetorical determinacy which is nevertheless simply stated throughout and accessible to readers of every background.

Constantine and the Bishops: The Politics of Intolerance (Ancient Society and History)

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Constantine and the Bishops: The Politics of Intolerance (Ancient Society and History)
H. A. Drake
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CONSTANTINE AND THE BISHOPS: THE POLITICS OF INTOLERANCE.(Review) (book review): An article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life

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CONSTANTINE AND THE BISHOPS: THE POLITICS OF INTOLERANCE.(Review) (book review): An article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life
Robert Louis Wilken
Manufacturer: Institute on Religion and Public Life
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This digital document is an article from First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, published by Institute on Religion and Public Life on April 1, 2001. The length of the article is 4306 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.

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Title: CONSTANTINE AND THE BISHOPS: THE POLITICS OF INTOLERANCE.(Review) (book review)
Author: Robert Louis Wilken
Publication: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 2001
Publisher: Institute on Religion and Public Life
Page: 36

Article Type: Book Review

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Constantine and the Bishops: The Politics of Intolerance.(Review): An article from: Journal of Church and State

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Constantine and the Bishops: The Politics of Intolerance.(Review): An article from: Journal of Church and State
Nathan Howard
Manufacturer: J.M. Dawson Studies in Church and State
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Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Journal of Church and State, published by J.M. Dawson Studies in Church and State on March 22, 2001. The length of the article is 693 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: Constantine and the Bishops: The Politics of Intolerance.(Review)
Author: Nathan Howard
Publication: Journal of Church and State (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2001
Publisher: J.M. Dawson Studies in Church and State
Volume: 43 Issue: 2 Page: 352

Article Type: Book Review

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Constantine and the Bishops The Politics of Intolerance

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Constantine and the Bishops The Politics of Intolerance
Drake H.A.
Manufacturer: Johns Hopkins UP
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UEEK7A

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Constantine and the Bishops The Politics of Intolerance
H. A. Drake
Manufacturer: Johns Hopkins University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PRVB0G

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