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The audio version of Even the Stars Look Lonesome, a collection of unabridged essays read by Maya Angelou, plays as if you are spending an evening with the author herself. You'll feel as if, by some stroke of luck, Angelou had settled down for a pleasant chat over dinner and a glass of wine, telling stories about her family and sharing her powerfully stated opinions about the African American experience, sex versus sensuality, and the ins and outs of growing old. Her reading is lively and intelligent, her words at once lyrical and powerful, blurring the line between memoir and poetry. Don't be surprised if you find yourself repeatedly hitting rewind, just to savor again Angelou's wonderful word play and mighty matriarch's voice. (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Book Description
This wise book is the wonderful continuation of the bestselling
Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now.
Even the Stars Look Lonesome is Maya Angelou talking of the things she cares about most. In her unique, spellbinding way, she re-creates intimate personal experiences and gives us her wisdom on a wide variety of subjects. She tells us how a house can both hurt its occupants and heal them. She talks about Africa. She gives us a profile of Oprah. She enlightens us about age and sexuality. She confesses to the problems fame brings and shares with us the indelible lessons she has learned about rage and violence. And she sings the praises of sensuality.
Even the Stars Look Lonesome imparts the lessons of a lifetime.
Customer Reviews:
Read this!.......2004-03-13
it talks about essays of aspects in life and what kind of journey that people are planning to have in their experiences and I think its a very interesting book
Best Book
the spoken truth.......2002-10-31
maya angelou's even the stars look lonesome is an outburst to the african american society. it gives so much hope. her words express a lyrical emotion. her usage of intelligent voice structure titilates the mind.
Even The Stars Look Lonesome.......2001-10-18
The deep and compelling thoughts of life and how to endear every emotion, experience, and disappointment that comes with growing older day by day, were wonderfully displayed in Maya Angelou's Even the Stars Look Lonesome. This book was an intelligent continuation of her best selling book Wouldn't Take Anything from my Journey Now. Taking life one day at a time, and learning from each experience is what this book is all about. The recreating of each memorable happening from love and intimacy to rage and violence, not discounting her remarkable outlook on age, fame, and perhaps the most impotent, the comfort and security you find in a home and a family. The experiences would relate more to elder women looking for advice and insight on common life issues.
In this novel, Maya Angelou has combined a wonderful collection of life experiences that have formed and made her the person she is today. Each chapter reflects an important stepping-stone of her life. The book consists of twenty chapters that are mumbled together and yet stayed in order of the way they took place.
The plot is always changing each chapter is like a different book. Towards the beginning of the novel, love and divorce where the experience of choice and she soon moves in to her times in Africa, and how challenging it is to be an African American Women earning her well deserved respect. Maya Angelou's novel also voices her opinion on age, denial, and anger to an older age group of African American women, using emotionally over powering stories. The chapters are short and moderately easy to get through, if you're good at combing facts and clues to complete the final picture.
Coming to a conclusion of the eye opening novel Even the Star Look Lonesome we feel as though the experiences displayed in this book would better relate to women between the ages of 20 and 80. The reason for that relation is due to the fact not many people have experienced the things talked about until theses ages have been reached. Also the group felt the book was directed towards African Americans and the troubles that race encounters.
Maya Angelou's Voice Is One To Be Embraced.......2000-12-14
When Maya Angelou was a young woman -- "in the crisp days of my youth," she says -- she carried with her a secret conviction that she wouldn't live past the age of 28. Raped by her mother's boyfriend at 8 and a mother herself since she graduated from high school, she supported herself and her son, Guy, through a series of careers and buoyed by an implacable ambition to escape what might have been a half-lived, ground-down life of poverty and despair. "For it is hateful to be young, bright, ambitious and poor," Angelou observes. "The added insult is to be aware of one's poverty." In "Even the Stars Look Lonesome," a collection of reflective autobiographical essays, Angelou gives no further explanation for her "profound belief" that she would die young.
"I was thirty-six before I realized that I had lived years beyond my deadline and needed to revise my thinking about an early death," she recalls. "With that realization life waxed sweeter. Old acquaintances became friendships, and new clever acquaintances showed themselves more interesting. Old loves burdened with memories of disappointments and betrayals packed up and left town, leaving no forwarding address, and new loves came calling."
Angelou, looking at tailights of her 20's, is the nearest thing America has to a sacred institution, a high priestess of culture and love in the tradition of such distaff luminaries (all of them, hitherto, white) as Isadora Duncan and Pearl S. Buck, with a bit of Eleanor Roosevelt and Aimée Semple MacPherson thrown into the mix.
"She was born poor and powerless in a land where/power is money and money is adored," the poet Angelou writes in tribute to another astonishing black woman of our time, Oprah Winfrey. "Born black in a land where might is white/and white is adored./Born female in a land where decisions are masculine/and masculinity controls." Angelou's lifelong effort to escape and expose the "national, racial and historical hallucinations" that have burdened black women in America and replace them with a shining exemplar of power, achievement and generosity of spirit is as miraculous as she says it is, even if one suspects that in "real life" Angelou must be a little hard to take.
"I would have my ears filled with the world's music," she writes, "the grunts of hewers of wood, the cackle of old folks sitting in the last sunlight and the whir of busy bees in the early morning ... All sounds of life and living, death and dying are welcome to my ears." At times Angelou seems more like a blast from Olympus than a woman of flesh and blood.
Reading these essays, I found myself longing somewhat guiltily for evidence of smallness on her part, of pettiness, even -- some sign that even an icon as monumental as she is might occasionally allow herself an irritated moment, a lapse into cynicism, or humor that wasn't so resolutely seasoned and wise.
On the other hand, smallness isn't what Maya Angelou stands for. Ordinary is not what she does. Only a cynic, a smaller mind than Angelou's, could fail to welcome the gifts she offers.
Awesome.......1999-12-17
What a Voice! What an inspiration, and great enunciation. The Lady is her usual awesome self in this wise and eloquent sharing of some of her more intimate life experiences. It's impossible to adequately praise Angelou's ability to speak to the heart and soul, whether through her written work or recorded truth. You'll listen to this over and over again, and will be renewed, and renewed. Enjoy!
Average customer rating:
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Even the Stars Look Lonsome
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Angelou, Maya
| African American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000FK81AG |
Average customer rating:
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Even The Stars Look Lonesome
Maya Angelou
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Angelou, Maya
| African American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000NUKQFQ |
Average customer rating:
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Even the Stars Look Lonesome
Maya Angelou
Manufacturer: VIRAGO (LITT)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Angelou, Maya
| African American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0754034526 |
Average customer rating:
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Even the stars look lonesome
Maya Angelou
Manufacturer: Random House, c1997.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Angelou, Maya
| African American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000UCEYXW |
Average customer rating:
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Even the Stars Look Lonesome
Maya Angelou
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Angelou, Maya
| African American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000NQI55S |
Book Description
With The Fifth Sorceress and The Gates of Dawn, the two previous volumes of the masterful epic The Chronicles of Blood and Stone, Robert Newcomb surged to the forefront of fantasy, proving himself the peer of Goodkind, Jordan, and Martin. Now, in The Scrolls of the Ancients, he takes his spellbinding saga of magic and adventure to harrowing new heights as Prince Tristan and his twin sister, Shailiha, face an ancient evil that threatens to bring death—or a corruption worse than death—to all that lives. . . .
THE SCROLLS OF THE ANCIENTS
Volume III of The Chronicles of Blood and Stone
Tristan and Shailiha are the Chosen Ones, prophesied to unite the opposing magics of the dark Vagaries and the benevolent Vigors. With the destruction of the Gates of Dawn, it seems that the wounded kingdom of Eutracia will at last have the chance to heal—and the Chosen Ones, under the tutelage of wizards Wigg and Faegan, can fulfill their rightful destiny.
Alas, such is not to be. For there is another who unknowingly possesses magic in his blood—great magic that, in the wrong hands, could unleash unspeakable evil. To find this unsuspecting soul, the Chosen Ones and their allies embark on a dangerous quest that will lead from the mysterious Chambers of Penitence to the sacred Isle of Sanctuary. A quest that will change everything Tristan and Shailiha think they know about themselves and their purpose.
But they are not the only ones searching. Krassus, a devoted servant of the Vagaries, has dispatched ships of demonic slavers to scour the coasts of Eutracia, capturing men and women and bringing them in chains across the monster-filled Sea of Whispers to the impregnable island fortress of the Citadel, where evil dreams take the form of living nightmares.
Aided by Tyranny, a pirate as fierce as she is beautiful, Tristan and Shailiha struggle to destroy the wicked demonslaver fleet. Meanwhile, the ill-fated pawn of magic is being held by Krassus at the Citadel. It is there that Krassus seeks to awaken the magic in his blood, imbuing him with dark enchantments from the mystic Scrolls of the Ancients—and transforming him into a weapon of evil such as the world has never known . . . and will not long survive.
Customer Reviews:
The Evil Returns.......2007-02-16
The Scrolls of the Ancients (2005) is the third Fantasy novel in The Chronicles of Blood and Stone, following The Gates of Dawn. In the previous volume, Nicholas died during his attempt to open the Gates to the Heretics. Even as his fourth and final convulsion began, Tristan was snatched off the crumbling Gate and then given the antidote. Later he was attacked by Scrounge, but managed to save himself. And First Alternate Krassus discovered the Scroll of Vagaries in its hiding place, but the Scroll of Vigors had disappeared.
In this novel, Krassus is searching for the Scroll of Vigors and for Wulfgar, the illegitimate son of Morgana. Wulfgar was given to the wizard's orphanage three years prior to Morganna marrying Nicholas. Yet he is still the half-brother of Tristan and Shailiha, with much the same endowments and Forestallments.
Krassus raids the house of Abbey, the herbmistress, for supplies to locate the missing scroll. Then he slips into the palace to pull information from the minds of Wigg and Faegan concerning the location of the Scroll and Wulfgar. Although he is their enemy and has them helpless, Krassus does little harm to the wizards or the others in the palace, saving their deaths for later.
Meanwhile, Wulfgar has been taken by demonslavers in Far Point, branded with R'Talis -- endowed -- on his left shoulder, and is now on a slaveship sailing to the Citadel. After arrival, his blood signature is carefully examined and then he is separated from the others. Apparently he has been long expected.
Since Krassus had mentioned Far Point, Tristan, Shailiha, and Faegan travel there to discover the nature of the threat. They find that demonslavers have been raiding the city and that most of the younger adult population has been taken into slavery. They are spying on Krassus when three demonslavers attack them on the roof of the inn.
Shailiha and Faegan escape from the demonslavers, but Tristan is taken and forced to row the slaveship toward the Citadel. He is confronted by Krassus and the partial adept, but is then transferred to another vessel. Later he discovers a slip of parchment within his boot that probably came from the Scroll of Vagaries.
Since Krassus mentioned his visit to Abbey's cottage, Wigg takes Celeste with him to check on the herbmistress. Landing nearby, they encounter a wild honeybee nest as they walk toward the cottage and Wigg offers Celeste a taste. But then two saberbears appear and attack them.
When the beasts charge, Wigg kills the male with his azure power beams, but the female is already in the air. Yet Celeste saves him with power blasts of her own. Still, the abrupt flowering of the Forestallment puts her is a coma, so Wigg carries her on to the herbmistress for treatment.
In this story, Tristan and his friends find themselves reacting to the ploys initiated by Krassus. Their every action seems to have been anticipated by the former first alternate. Tristan is very tired of dancing to Krassus's tune, but he has little choice.
One of the problems with this series is the short, episodic nature of the action; a threat appears out of nowhere and is countered in a few pages. Also, all too often the heroes are saved at the last minute by some fortunate coincidence. Moreover, the author seems to have been too impressed by screen plays, stressing the scenery and actions, but omitting the intentions and planning.
The reader is often told that there is a plan, but only learns of the details after the fact. So the reader does not become involved in the execution of the plans, but only sits passively -- like a couch potato -- as the actions flash across the mind. The author needs to create a greater sense of participation in the reader.
This novel is not the end of the series. At least another trilogy is to come. When will it all end?
Suggested for Newcomb fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high adventure, exotic magic and endless plots.
-Arthur W. Jordin
A Grim and Incomplete World.......2006-08-24
This novel is filled with grim scenes of cruel slavery, sadistic torture, and killing, which I found a bit tedious. The characters' lives are predetermined by their "blood signature" characteristics and no one can stand before the power of the Craft.
Though this world is developed enough to have medieval weapons, sailing ships, and a highly developed arcana of magic lore, yet most of the world is "unknown" on the map, with only a handful of cities. Where do all these hundreds of ships sail to? It's hard to believe that a whole civilization rises to this level of sophistication with only two or three cities.
It seems to me that the author's use of "forestallments" became an overused "Deux ex Machina" plot device whereby some character would develop some new ability or something new would happen out of the blue. Whenever something happens, it just so happens that the characters suddenly realize the significance of another obscure prophecy from the Scrolls of the Ancients. There are things within the system which do not seem consistent. For example, why doesn't Faegan, with his power of "Consummate Recollection," (which evidently does not include the power of consummate comprehension, since he must recite the text again before understanding its application to the situation,) simply read the scroll from end to end, then they don't need to keep studying it, nor do they need to worry if it is destroyed? Questions like this are the downfall of a plot that is too convoluted for its own good.
However, as light reading I did like this book enough to finish it, and curious enough to seek out the next book in the series just to see what happens next.
Even though it's cliched and drawn-out, it has enough strong points to save it........2006-04-23
This review is based on my reading of the entire series.
It seems that there are 2 types of fantasy readers. Ones who look for deep plots, multi-dimensional characters, and a fantasy world that feels real. Then there is the other type, people who read for insane action, cool characters, and can ignore literary flaws if the book is exciting enough to read. This series is, without a doubt, meant for the latter.
First, the negatives. Much of the content is familiar. There are many scenes that are pages of magic garble that do get boring. The characters are not very deep. It is very easy to see that this is Mr. Newcomb's first series. For my so-called "Type 2" readers, this will not bother them very much, as the stories have enough action and "Whoa! I did NOT see that coming!" moments to make the read through worthwhile.
Now for the good. As previously stated, this series has enough suprises to keep you interested. Many times I ran the potential resolutions of the situation through my mind, and only once was I right, and it was a minor scene as well. Mr. Newcomb comes up with some VERY clever solutions to situations that seemed impossible. This is why I finished reading the series.
I would recommend this series to new fantasy readers looking for action, excitement, and guilty pleasure. Try not to get offended by some of the content, it's just a book.
Don't be fooled - Newcomb is awful.......2005-10-06
The man simply can't write. Fifth Sorceress had a lot of potential, but its been all downhill from there. Objectively, here are the problems with this series:
1) It's extremely formulaic. In each of the first 3 books, the villain comes back from "but I thought they were dead/out of the way." In the first book, it's Failee, the head of the sorceress' coven, who was banished hundreds of years earlier. In the second book, it's Nicholas, Tristan's stillborn son, revived from the dead and turned into a master of evil magic. In the third book it's Wulfgar, Tristan's half brother who was thought out of the way.
2) Tristan kills family: In the first book, he's forced to kill his dad. In the second, he has to fight his revived son. He was out of family for the third, so Newcomb falls back on hackneyed soap-opera techniques, and poof, a long-lost half brother. Don't be surprised if someone gets amnesia in the latest book, or Tristan's evil twin schemes to take over JR's business.
3) Free will doesn't exist: Newcomb's system of magic has opposing forces - the good vigors, the bad vagaries. In the first book, this was fine. Then he screws himself up by making it more and more complex. See, it turns out that you are drawn to good or evil by your "blood signature", which you are born with. If your blood signature leans left you are irresistably drawn to practice the evil vagaries, if it leans to the right you are irresistably drawn to practice the good vigors. In other words, characters' actions are driven by genetics, not free will. An interesting philosophical point, but it makes for horribly dull characters. Worse, the blood signature of a character can be changed by magic, so a good character can become bad or (theoretically, it hasn't happened yet) a bad character good by manipulating their blood signature (keeps Newcomb from having to worry about messy things like character development). Wulfgar is actually a decent guy for half of this book, then "poof" the evil wizards flip his blood signature and he becomes the embodiment of evil. Yawn.
4) Forestallments: the worst part of Newcomb's magical system. Magical abilities are gained by having them granted to you through "forestallments." Like the blood signature changes, its Newcomb's no fuss, no muss, no character development way of having villains become all-powerful (or "all-powerful-except-for-the-small-flaw-the-forces-of-good-can-use-to-defeat-them-for-yea-verily-evil-shall-not-profit-in-the-end")
5) Newcomb's writing: The guy who quoted out "whump, whump, whump" had it right. to overcome all these flaws Newcomb would need to have Jordan's ability to turn a phrase, and he doesn't. He's on the Goodkind level of skill. Anyway, I'm getting faklempt just thinking about it. Talk amongst yourselves - I'll give you a topic. The goodkind level of skill is neither good nor kind to his readers. Discuss.
Horrendous.......2005-07-31
I can't believe this man was allowed to publish 2 miserable sequels to the train-wreck that was The Fifth Sorceress. Every word this man is allowed to put into print is an affront to the Fantasy literary tradition. Thank goodness it's finally over.
Average customer rating:
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They'd Rather Be Right
Manufacturer: Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GSXHKQ |
Product Description
In 1955, They'd Rather Be Right became the second novel ever to win the Hugo Award. Joe Carter, Jonathan Billings and Duane Hoskins are the most unlikely fugitives from the law imaginable. Billings is Dean of Psychosomatic Medicine at Hoxworth University, one of the nation's most prestigious institutions. Hoskins is a physicist, Doctor of Cybernetics at Hoxworth. And Joe is their lab assistant on their project to create the world's first synthetic brain. Their problem is that they succeeded. They built Bossy, the super-computer into which all facts known to science--and only facts, no unproven theories or assumptions--were programmed. Now word has gotten out that Bossy exists, and the masses are terrified. Incited by a controlling government, the public is convinced that Bossy is dangerous, even though they have no idea what Bossy is. And so the professors and Joe have been indicted and are on the run. All of this is as Joe expected. Though everyone assumes he is just an ordinary graduate student-assistant, Joe is Bossy's real creator. A telepath--the only telepath in the world, as far as he knows--Joe can project thoughts as well as receive them. By breaking down the ego-walls that would normally prevent scientific cooperation between departments, Joe orchestrated the Bossy project for his own purpose. Alone of all humanity, Joe has spent his life knowing the selfishness and closemindedness, the lusts and prejudices that every human harbors inside. With Bossy, Joe hopes to break through that barrier, for Bossy acts to remake and rejuvenate all mental and physical cells, removing prejudice and replacing it with true knowledge...Bossy promises immortality, but only to those who can open themselves to change. Hunted by federal agents, Joe and the professors hole up in the skid row basement of ex-prostitute her friend, an ex-carnival mentalist. There, they prepare Bossy for its first test, the test that will prove to the world that it can fulfill its dreams...
Customer Reviews:
Not as good as Heinlein, but close........2006-04-07
They'd Rather Be Right is a "soft" science fiction novel that won the Hugo award for best science fiction novel of the year (1955). Most of the action is in the nature of political maneuvering and intrigue, a bit like some of the novels of the era by Robert Heinlein (Double Star) or C.M. Kornbluth (The Syndic). In my opinion it's not quite as good as either of those author's works, but very nearly so.
The beginning is the most intrigueing, with two professors and a telepath on the lamb from oppressive authorities in near-future San Francisco. This part reminded me a bit of the beginning of "Slan" by A.E. van Vogt, and it hooked me into reading the rest of the book, though the suspense gradually declined. The plot is about a cybernetic brain, nick-named "Bossy," developed by the two professors and other scientists, not knowing they were being manipulated by the telepath, Joe, who has his own uses for Bossy. They believe Bossy can perform psychosomatic therapy successfully, whereas no human doctor could avoid contaminating a patient with his/her own prejudices. They try Bossy's treatment on a volunteer, while still hiding out to evade the police, and the results are even more spectacular than they hoped - the volunteer is physically rejuvenated. Word gets out, and political factions want Bossy at any cost.
At some points the writing seemed a tad un-polished, repetitive, with certain words over-used. However, the narrative works in insightful, but cynical, indictments of physchology, the scientific method, politics, etc., and kept me interested to find out how it would turn out. The title refers to the prerequisites for Bossy's treatment, primarily that the patient give up all prejudices, preconceived notions, biases and attitudes; and that most people would rather hang on to their convictions than submit to the rejuvenation. There is a clever resolution at the end.
Average customer rating:
- Over 50 years later, still a thought provoking entertainment
- Not as good as Heinlein, but close.
- A Parable of Correctness
- Classic SF
- Not worth the bother.
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They'd Rather Be Right (Starblaze Editions)
Mark Clifton , and
Frank Riley
Manufacturer: Walsworth Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Clifton, Mark
| ( C )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
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ASIN: 0898651654 |
Customer Reviews:
Over 50 years later, still a thought provoking entertainment.......2007-01-29
Far ago and long away Mark Clifton and Frank Riley wrote a book called "They'd Rather Be Right" that won the Hugo award for best science fiction novel of the year (1955).
Clifton and Riley built their story around the concept of an experimental cybernetic device, nicknamed "Bossy," which has been loaded with every available bit of factual human knowledge that could be encoded. Bossy is capable of cross referencing, checking, and rejecting anything that does not have a solid basis in fact. Bossy can answer any question - IF Bossy has sufficient information - and the answer will be correct.
The technology is a bit dated, of course, but it's largely irrelevant to the larger idea: What if mankind A) had the equivalent of an oracle that knew everything that was known, B) would always give the right answers based on that knowledge when questioned, and C) would also know when there was not enough information to give a correct answer.
Clifton and Riley threw in a further gimmick: the research team that built Bossy was able to succeed because they had the secret help of a telepath who could, however imperfectly, 'see' when biases were going to be incorporated into Bossy and kept them out. He also enabled the members of the team to overcome their own mental limitations in cooperating on the project. The telepath is vital to the story because he allows Clifton and Riley to comment on what is going on in people's minds, and make observations about how human rationality does and does not work.
Of course, Bossy immediately becomes the ultimate prize for those who want power. Want to know how to build a WMD with stuff around the house, swing an election, become rich, or any other fantasy? Whether or not Bossy could answer those questions becomes less important than the risk to the powerful that Bossy MIGHT be able to - and be doing it for someone besides them. To put it another way , "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot" - A. Einstein. Bossy, by definition, has all the answers to be had. Real answers.
One of the questions put to Bossy is: Can a human being be made young again? The answer is yes - Bossy can do it by using a mechanical therapy where it can connect directly to the patient's mind. According to Bossy, aging is the result of a lifetime of accumulated tensions extending down to cellular memory levels, tensions arising from conflicts between what the patient believes, and what is actually true about the world around them.
Bossy's therapy works by showing the patient's mind where what it believes to be true conflicts with what Bossy's database knows to be true. If the patient can accept it, the tensions are removed and the body rejuvenates itself. And that's the catch; the book is called They'd Rather Be Right because most people are so invested in their personal understanding of the world, they refuse to give it up or admit they are wrong.
The book is as timely now as it ever was. It can be used to throw light on discussions about authoritarianism, police states, bigotry and prejudice, politics, marketing, and so on. A lot of the book has meta-conversations about the larger issues. Some may not find it to their taste, or agree with the authors views. As an incitement to think though, this book is a good read - and a nice change of pace for those of us who keep reading to explore as well as escape from the world around.
Not as good as Heinlein, but close........2006-04-07
They'd Rather Be Right is a "soft" science fiction novel that won the Hugo award for best science fiction novel of the year (1955). Most of the action is in the nature of political maneuvering and intrigue, a bit like some of the novels of the era by Robert Heinlein (Double Star) or C.M. Kornbluth (The Syndic). In my opinion it's not quite as good as either of those author's works, but very nearly so.
The beginning is the most intrigueing, with two professors and a telepath on the lamb from oppressive authorities in near-future San Francisco. This part reminded me a bit of the beginning of "Slan" by A.E. van Vogt, and it hooked me into reading the rest of the book, though the suspense gradually declined. The plot is about a cybernetic brain, nick-named "Bossy," developed by the two professors and other scientists, not knowing they were being manipulated by the telepath, Joe, who has his own uses for Bossy. They believe Bossy can perform psychosomatic therapy successfully, whereas no human doctor could avoid contaminating a patient with his/her own prejudices. They try Bossy's treatment on a volunteer, while still hiding out to evade the police, and the results are even more spectacular than they hoped - the volunteer is physically rejuvenated. Word gets out, and political factions want Bossy at any cost.
At some points the writing seemed a tad un-polished, repetitive, with certain words over-used. However, the narrative works in insightful, but cynical, indictments of physchology, the scientific method, politics, etc., and kept me interested to find out how it would turn out. The title refers to the prerequites for Bossy's treatment, primarily that the patient give up all prejudices, preconceived notions, biases and attitudes; and that most people would rather hang on to their convictions than submit to the rejuvenation. There is a clever resolution at the end.
A Parable of Correctness.......2003-08-14
They'd Rather Be Right is a science fiction novel about Bossy, a cybernetic marvel, and the men who insist on building her. Professors Billings and Hoskins are academics who have designed a synthetic brain. If provided with the correct facts about a problem, Bossy produces the optimal solution, without fear or favor. To the horror and confusion of the professors, they find themselves hounded and hated by every kind of fanatic and even the man on the street. Now they are on the most wanted list, the Feds are after them, and only Joe Carter stands between them and prison.
Joe is a telepath. He can read minds and, with some effort, can even slightly influence the thinking of other minds, but he pays a somatic price for using his talents. He has helped the fugitives to elude the Feds on several occasions, but now they need to find a long-term hideout to rebuild Bossy. Joe selects the house of a former prostitute, Mabel Monohan, in the sleazy section of town. They settle in and, with a little larcenous help from Doc Carney, a former practicing mentalist, they acquire the necessary materiel.
Originally published in Astounding in 1954, much of the writing appears dated as compared to contemporary works. The technology is typical of SF stories of that time, less than ten years prior to the invention of the transistor; thus, the computers were based on soon to be obsolete technology ... just like today. Don't let the vacuum tubes, switches and delay lines turn you off, however, for this story is not about technology at all. It is about the nature of people, a subject that doesn't seem to change much across the eons.
It seems Bossy can make people young again. The subject is attached to the machine with numerous wires, sensors and emitters, then the synthetic brain interacts with the human brain to eliminate incorrect thinking. By some type of psychosomatic effect, the rectified brain causes the body to rejuvenate from the cells on up. After Mabel, the first subject, is treated and rejuvenated, the professors find themselves wanted in a different way. However, everybody soon discovers that there is a price to pay for restored youth.
This novel produced a sensation among SF fandom, not for its writing style or characterization, but for what it had to say. As with Heinlein, people read the senior author for ideas as well as plot, characters, and other technical issues. The author has had a disportionate influence on the field considering his small quantity of works. However, such ideas soon become part of the canon and thus are now considered obvious and trivial.
Clifton has produced two other SF novels in addition to various shorter works; the other novels are also morality tales of sorts. Insofar as I am aware, Riley has not written any other SF novels, but has written shorter works.
Highly recommended for Clifton fans and anyone else who enjoys parables of human foibles.
Classic SF.......2000-02-19
This is classic SF from the winner of the 1st Hugo Award. Written in 1962 it may sometimes seem dated and sophomoric, but it is thoughtful, introspective sf at its best. One of my favorites.
Not worth the bother........1999-03-18
Just what I like, being told that myself and the world is full of one-track minded people that can only achieve immortality by completely throwing away who we are and becoming undirected hippie-like goobers. The only good part is the end and I mean the last few pages that deal with an insightful comparison between religion and science. The rest of the book is horrid.
Average customer rating:
|
They'd Rather Be Right
Caine
Manufacturer: The Macmillan Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JCKF4A |
Customer Reviews:
Not as good as Heinlein, but close........2006-04-07
They'd Rather Be Right is a "soft" science fiction novel that won the Hugo award for best science fiction novel of the year (1955). Most of the action is in the nature of political maneuvering and intrigue, a bit like some of the novels of the era by Robert Heinlein (Double Star) or C.M. Kornbluth (The Syndic). In my opinion it's not quite as good as either of those author's works, but very nearly so.
The beginning is the most intrigueing, with two professors and a telepath on the lamb from oppressive authorities in near-future San Francisco. This part reminded me a bit of the beginning of "Slan" by A.E. van Vogt, and it hooked me into reading the rest of the book, though the suspense gradually declined. The plot is about a cybernetic brain, nick-named "Bossy," developed by the two professors and other scientists, not knowing they were being manipulated by the telepath, Joe, who has his own uses for Bossy. They believe Bossy can perform psychosomatic therapy successfully, whereas no human doctor could avoid contaminating a patient with his/her own prejudices. They try Bossy's treatment on a volunteer, while still hiding out to evade the police, and the results are even more spectacular than they hoped - the volunteer is physically rejuvenated. Word gets out, and political factions want Bossy at any cost.
At some points the writing seemed a tad un-polished, repetitive, with certain words over-used. However, the narrative works in insightful, but cynical, indictments of physchology, the scientific method, politics, etc., and kept me interested to find out how it would turn out. The title refers to the prerequites for Bossy's treatment, primarily that the patient give up all prejudices, preconceived notions, biases and attitudes; and that most people would rather hang on to their convictions than submit to the rejuvenation. There is a clever resolution at the end.
Product Description
This book is a searching, urbane exploration of American youth's response to 'Birchers (John Birch Society Members)', to William Buckley's New Conservatives, and to all the remarkable variety of personalities, doctrines, causes, and movements spawned by America's renascent conservatism. Professor Cain begins with the ideological roots of the movement with the thirties' National Society of Scabbard and Blade to the fifties' Senator McCarthy. He provides a full scale portrait of the collegiate conservative today (1963) from what he is reading, whom he admires, what he is fighting and what he means for our country's future, the good as the bad.
Book Description
Patrick O'Connell, owner and chef of the award-winning Inn at Little Washington, defines a new way of American cooking #151; homegrown in the United States, approachable for the home cook, yet as delicious and refined as the finest French and Italian cuisine.
Customer Reviews:
Patrick O'Connell's Refined American Cuisine: The Inn at Little Washington .......2007-01-18
Very interesting and great recipes
No Disappointment Here!.......2007-01-18
This beautifully photographed book was a vivid reminder of the unique dining experience we had at the Inn. Recipes are easy to follow and results have been great. I especially liked the "pantry" section at the back of the book. Thank You!
fantastic special occasion cookbook.......2006-11-25
Every recipe I've tried from this cookbook has gotten raves, and considering the source, many of these recipes are terrifically easy (no specialized knowledge or equipment required). O'Connell has no fear of cream, butter, and salt, so this isn't everyday fare, but for special occasions, holidays, birthdays, and nights when you really want to impress, this book is indispensable. The Amazon price is excellent too, and the book's worth every penny. Definitely destined to become one of my favorite cookbooks (it's coffee-table pretty, but my copy is already smeared with butter and dusted with flour).
Try all off them...... it's impossible to choose just one!.......2006-07-07
I've bought this book a few weeks ago. Prior to start selecting the recipes I usually read any cooking book like any other book. I just found out that I was putting marks in all of the pages, so I stopped doing it and instead, I started cooking each one of the recipes, choosing whether I wanted fish or meat.
Even if you replace or adjust some of the ingredients, the result it's absolutely amazing.
Try the recipe that has a picture in the cover, and you will see what you get from your family, friends, or even for your self. Don't skip the decoration, it's easy to prepare and looks stunning.
This book was for sure a very important addition to my small library of cooking books. I have slightly more than 200 cooking books.
MT-Japan
How do you say d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s????.......2006-05-25
Not only gorgeous, but absolutley oen of the mouth taste titillating cookbooks I've ever seen (along with their first book, Inn at Little Washington Cookbook)... and everything is do-able!!
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- Freedom's Ransom
- Growing Up in the South: An Anthology of Modern Southern Literature
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- House of the Solitary Maggot
- How I Come by This Cryin' Song
- I Am Madame X: Library Edition
- I'm Telling : A Novel
- I Right the Wrongs: A Misdemeanor Man Mystery
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