Customer Reviews (3)

Gorgeous book!
This is a beautiful book for anyone to look through but especially those who love the artwork by Robert Duncan.

Each page also contains poetry or prose that is appropriate but the paints are still the star of the show.

One thing I liked about this book was the size.While it can be a coffee table book by a great artist, it is small enough that children who love art could comfortably read it.

Where Love Is--Duncan
The artwork is so lovely and gives a warm and wonderful expression of earlier times.The thoughts on each page are all meaningful and worth remembering.I LOVE this book!!

Where Love Is
This is a wonderful "coffee table" book that looks not only stunning due to Robert Duncan's beautiful artwork but is full of memorable samples of poetry, essays, and literature. Duncan connects writing and paintings beautifully, and the result is a touching and inspiring collection. ... Read more

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new expanded edition of Duncan's selected ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Perfect (for what it is)
While a bit disappointing and limited (as all "Selected Poems" will be), this volume succeeds as an introduction to Robert Duncan's impressive body of work.Particularly of interest are the excerpts from early volumes (pre- "The Opening of the Field" and presumably out of print) which evidence Duncan's evolution.Along with Jack Spicer and Robin Blaser, Robert Duncan revolutionized American poetry during the Berkeley renaissance; their triumvirate of influence, more so than any combination of Beat writers, defined homosexual poetics in the twentieth century.The addition of Kenneth Rexroth and Weldon Kees to the list of great Californian poets of that period makes a good case for it being the most underrated generation of American poets.Sadly, unlike the other four, Duncan has never had a "Collected Poems" assembled for him.Let's hope that someday soon, that will be rectified.

Unsung American Bard
"How will we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" cries the Psalmist. Robert Duncan was an orphan, a modernist and lyticist. With HD and her contemporaries, he sang in a deep and devout voice from the American wilderness.

No "selected" collection does any poet justice, and Duncan is best read complete. But this volume contains favorites and is large enough to cover both the holy and secular grounds that Duncan mapped.

As always, read inwardly and aloud.You will find wonder and treasure here.

Disappointing
Fine as an introduction to Duncan, but not for serious study. At best, this is a "Greatest Hits" record--though that said, it's a bit like buying Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits. It's good in that it touches every portion of his career, but since Duncan worked so fiercely in the poetics of the series and the idea of "the book of poetry," ultimately it leaves the reader wanting. ... Read more

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poetry, incl the first 30 poems of series PASSAGES ... Read more

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great 1960 book beginning the poet's mature work ... Read more

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The best of the young Robert Duncan
This volume contains the very fine poem "Often I Am Permitted to Return to a Meadow." ... Read more

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his second major book of poetry ... Read more

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The 2011 "Simple Things" wall calendars showcase the beautiful artwork of Robert Duncan. Each calendar is printed on quality paper and features 12 richly colored reproductions of original country and family artwork, matched with inspiring quotes. ... Read more

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This magisterial work, long awaited and long the subject of passionate speculation, is an unprecedented exploration of modern poetry and poetics by one of America's most acclaimed and influential postwar poets. What began in 1959 as a simple homage to the modernist poet H.D. developed into an expansive and unique quest to arrive at a poetics that would fuel Duncan's great work in the 1970s A meditation on both the roots of modernism and its manifestation in the work of H.D., Ezra Pound, D.H. Lawrence, William Carlos Williams, Edith Sitwell, and many others, Duncan's wide-ranging book is especially notable for its illumination of the role women played in creation of literary modernism. Until now, The H.D. Book existed only in mostly out-of-print little magazines in which its chapters first appeared. Now, for the first time published in its entirety, as its author intended, this monumental work--at once an encyclopedia of modernism, a reinterpretation of its key players and texts, and a record of Duncan's quest toward a new poetics--is at last complete and available to a wide audience. ... Read more

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Volume 2 details the CIA's practices of interrogation and cybernetic mind control in their pursuit to weaponize neuropsychology. It covers the art of bio-communication war. Human beings are complex machines but their inner workings have been deciphered. Mind control and brainwashing have been perfected in the last 60 years. Hacking computers and hacking into individual minds are similar. The 21st century will be known as the age of spiritual machines and soulless men. ... Read more

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The 2011 "Simple Things" wall calendars showcase the beautiful artwork of Robert Duncan. Each calendar is printed on quality paper and features 12 richly colored reproductions of original country and family artwork, matched with inspiring quotes. ... Read more

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Robert Duncan's Groundwork, the American poet's unparalleled final masterpiece, is now available in a single volume.

I am speaking now of the Dream in which America sleeps, the New World, moaning, floundering, in three hundred years of invasions, our own history out of Europe and enslaved Africa.—Robert Duncan, from Groundwork

Robert Duncan has been widely venerated as one of America's most essential poets: Allen Ginsberg described his poetry as "rapturous wonderings of inspiration," Gwendolyn Brooks called it "a subtle spice," and Susan Howe pointed to Duncan as "my precursor father," Lawrence Ferlinghetti said he "had the finest ear this side of Dante," and Robert Creeley called him "the magister, the singular Master of the Dance."

Now Duncan's magnum opus, Groundwork, is available in one groundbreaking edition. The first volume, Groundwork I: Before the War, was published in 1984, after a fifteen-year publishing silence, and received immediate acclaim: it was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award and won the first National Poetry Award for Duncan's "lifetime devotion to the art of poetry and his grand achievement...." The second volume, Groundwork II: In the Dark, was published in February 1988, the month of Duncan's death. The internationally renowned poet Michael Palmer has written a marvelous introduction for this new edition, where "the singlemindedness of [Duncan's] life's work shows itself in the confident energy of every line" (Voice Literary Supplement). ... Read more

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The works in Wild Gardens reflect Kushner's longtime appreciation of Japanese art and culture combined with the use of composer and visual artist John Cage's "chance operation" system of composition. Several years ago, Kushner began incorporating elements of Cage's theories of chance composition as a major component in his own painting. Kushner and Cage met on an artists' retreat in the South Seas in 1980 and became friends, sharing interests in art, life, and flowers.Multiple layers of randomness echo throughout the paintings in this book--starting with the sheer accident of the physical survival of the individual antique screens and doors and their arrival in Kushner's New York studio and culminating in the compositions themselves: rows of similar leaves or flowers are repeated, with the selection of color or form indicated by chance operation, and with the use of counting and placement systems that yield strangely unexpected but surprisingly naturalistic results. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A 'must have'
New York painter Robert Kushner is known for his floral paintings and has achieved international acclaim: now a wider audience can enjoy these works with the appearance of WILD GARDENS, featuring the extent of works, many of which are painted directly on antique Japanese screens and sliding doors. An essay by Kushner explains his philosophy and love of nontraditional surfaces, while historical background is supplied by Michael Duncan, contributing editor to Art in America Magazine. It's a 'must have' for any art library featuring modern artists in general and floral artists in particular.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch ... Read more

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The 2011 "Life Outdoors" wall calendars showcase the beautiful artwork of Robert Duncan. Each calendar is printed on quality paper featuring 12 richly colored reproductions of original artwork depicting life outdoors, matched with inspiring quotes. ... Read more

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Important Volume
As Denise Levertov is one of my most favorite poets; and as her work was of major importance during her lifetime, the political in it being no small reason for that; and because the question at the core -- "Do poetry and politics mix?" -- is perennial, central, and ultimately unanswerable to the conclusive satisfaction of either side of the debate, this is an important book.("The Letters of Robert Duncan and Denise Levertov," by the same editors, to which this can serve as introduction, is an epic intimacy, wholly unselfconscious, and for that reason a treasure of insights not only into the individual letter writers but also into their shared and separate aesthetics.)

The essays themselves are something of a mixed bag, in my view, as is often the case with collections of essays.In several instances, as example, a writer of an essay is so self-involved, and so enraptured with name-dropping and self-rpomotion, that during the reading of such one forgets it is intended to be not about the writer, but about Duncan and Levertov.

Over all, as well, it suffers the usual problem that afflicts literary criticism: Often in the reading it one shrugs and asks, "Who cares?" then returns to reading (in this instance) Levertov's poetry.Yet no harm done, for the occasional biographical information (there is a biography of Levertov in the works), and if one can keep one's patience with that which -- literary criticism -- is by-and-large beside the point.

I enjoyed most of it; and will keep it with my Levertov.But at this point I'd rather the forthcoming biography.
... Read more

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Here, entirely updated, is the latest edition of the most complete, authoritative cruising guide to the northeastern coast. The bible for Eastern sailors and powerboaters for more than half a century has been thoroughly overhauled and expertly refitted. For the preparation of the twelfth edition, the authors visited nearly all the harbors, talked with harbormasters and marina owners, and reevaluated earlier judgments. The Guide tells you how to dodge bad currents and edge around shoal water, and where to anchor and find essential services, including pump-out stations, fuel docks, and a hot shower. It notes channels and harbors that have been dredged or shoaled up; recently replaced buoys; and changes in marinas, boatyards, and other facilities. This guide is far more than a traditional cruising guide, providing valuable information on weather, tides, coastal geography and geology, fog, marine birds, animals, sea conditions, and even places of historical interest ashore. The authors—who know these great cruising grounds as old friends—relate the histories of the towns, ports, vessels, lighthouses, and even rocks you'll encounter. Black-and-white photographs and maps throughout. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

I've been using this guide for 30 years
I wouldn't cruise Maine without it. It shouldn't be your only guide as names of stores and such are dated -- but the really great parts are timeless - the same strange current runs past Mt Desert rock and the old fisherman's story about Siasconset Nantucket sinking is still just as wonderful. Read it for the history, the stories, and the character of these special waters.

Disappointed with this guide
The Cruising Guide to the New England Coast: Including the Hudson River, Long Island Sound, and the Coast of New Brunswick, Twelfth Edition

I was really disappointed when we received this book. I'm sure we could have returned it to Amazon, but as we are currently in the Caribbean, returning it would have cost more than the book. So it goes...

This book was originally written in 1937. It is in it's twelfth edition where it says in 1999 they wrote sections on the Hudson River and Cape Cod and some sections of Maine. The few black & white photos in the book look dated.

Sentences like "The latest miracle machine is GPS. If it does what it is said to do, it is a great source of comfort to the navigator" makes me wonder about the other info in this book which, at its best, is 11 years old.

We'll take it with us, but I hope to find something else. I would NOT recommend this book, sorry.

Not what it used to be
Thirty years ago we swore by The Cruising Guide to the New England Coast when we cruised in our Tartan 41. However, technology has increased the ability to receive the latest data. It would be good if the folks who bring us this Cruising Guide would have a web site to give us the latest information on the dredging of channels, great places to buy fish, etc. The book is outdated. However, it was a good read.

all black and white
Maptech is a better quick reference guide and more useful for navigation

Out of Date
While the cover for this book says 'Updated' and is labeled 12th edition, it appears to be a 2002 printing of a 1990 copyrighted texted. It describes the use of GPS briefly and refers to 'when it works, it is okay'. Obviously the comment predates the bombing raids on Bagdad. The description of harbors is little changed from a 1978 printing but having visited some of these harbors in 2004, I found the names, phone numbers and parts of the onshore facilities' descriptions totally out of date. I returned mine...hope you find a more up-to-date reference. ... Read more

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Michael Rumaker centers his memoir in 1957 San Francisco, where many fellow Black Mountain students are migrating since the College has closed. Allen Ginsberg, after the notorious readings of his poem "Howl" in 1956, has departed for Tangier, but the young Beats are invading North Beach and a dope scene is blooming. "The Place" is where the poets and painters hang out and Jack Spicer directs "Blabbermouth nights."

This is the summer of the famous "Howl" trial, where Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Shigeyoshi Murao of City Lights are prosecuted for selling Allen Ginsberg's book. Meanwhile the police are stepping up their hassling of hippies on upper Grant Avenue and arresting gays on Polk Street.

Rumaker positions his in-depth, eloquent portrait of Robert Duncan against this turbulent city background, and contrasts Robert's open gay life as a poet with his own painful covert sexuality. ... Read more

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Robert Duncan and San Francisco before Gay Rights
This is an outstanding account both of Robert Duncan's role in the San Francisco "renaissance" of the 1950s, which intersects with (but is not limited to nor primarily of) the Beatnik movement in San Francisco and the rise of the gay subculture, and of Rumaker's personal odyssey as a gay man in a city still dominated by Irish cops and forces explicitly hostile to an implicit gay city.

One shakes with Rumaker's account of being accosted and arrested for walking down Polk Street, an incident which commonly results in publication of one's name in the newspaper and typical ouster from one's employ.

In a city transformed by art and gay rights since those times, it's invaluable to note and fix in one's mind the personal heroism that made San Francisco the most obvious of gay meccas.

Of course, those familiar with Robert Duncan also know that he is one of America's greatest poets and the author of the best gay love poem ever, "Passages 18: The Torso," among many other notable works. ... Read more

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essays, incl "The Homosexual In Society" (1944) ... Read more

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Absolutely a Book for a Poet to Treasure!
Have you ever read any books by or about poet Robert Duncan? The man died some few years ago..totally brilliant man...I just learnt of him a couple months ago, and couldn't beleive that I hadn't encountered his writing earlier...Un-REAL! what a great thinker and writer...he was raised by a family of theosophists, having been an orphan...realized in high school that he wanted to be a poet, tried to conform to society but failed, was gay, married but marriage failed in a few months..brilliant brilliant BRILLIANT man. Unbelievably brilliant and insightful. I'm out of superlatives, but I havent'exaggerated as to my opinion of him. I'd give my left (choose a piece of anatomy)if he was still alive, to be able to talk about poetry, life, and these times with him, to have him read one or two of my poems. And aside from a few people interested in poetry, nobody's heard of him ! His name should be a household word, they should make a commemorative stamp of him! He's up there in the firmament of the heavens with Whitman, Thoreau, Emerson, and the lesser angels (which he exceeds in brilliance) like Kerouac and Ginsberg. BUY THIS BOOK!!! And buy an extra copy to loan to friends, 'cause you ain't gonna want to part with yours!!! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (6)

Fictional Memoir by the Page of Robert the Bruce
The Great Scot by Duncan A. Bruce is a fun read and helps see the story of Robert the Bruce as if you were there.Duncan Bruce tells the tale of Robert the Bruce through the eyes of the fictional David Crawford.David happens to be in Dumfries on the day Bruce murders the Red Comyn.He becomes page to Robert the Bruce and from there on is swept up on the Bruce's trail to the Throne of Scotland, battling England and the 3 Edwards, getting recognition from the Pope and ultimately trying to keep Scotland free.David just happens to be in all the right places to give a first hand account of what happened in the historical events critical to the Bruces success, from the battle at Methven, the Spider's Cave, Bannockburn, the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath and the death of Robert himself.
The book is definitely a hero worship tale about Robert, but it is suppose to be the long lost tale of David Crawford so that is believable to a point.A few times though it seemed very cliché but this tries to include all the legends.Robert the Bruce was a great man and did an amazing thing for Scotland, but he was still a man and had his faults of the times.This book hints at them but glorifies his strengths for sure.
I enjoyed The Great Scot and would recommend it to anyone who reads and loves Scottish history and the Wars of Independence, not for the historical value but as entertainment to live the legends rather then learn the history.

Great story, wanted more
Just finished this book on a long plane ride from Europe.I agree with all the critical assessments above.Not greatly written, did not reveal a lot of insight about the Bruce, etc.But I could not put it down.I was interested in "Page Crawford's" story and his outside view of what happened with the Bruce and historical events.
I mostly would have preferred to start the story sooner.In my historical readings and such, I already know most of the events from 1306 on.I am still looking for a good novel on what happened before - what created Robert the Bruce and his quest.
All and all a good read, not a masterpiece, but if you are interested in Scottish history or more directly, Robert the Bruce, you will enjoy and it is a quick read.

Flat Retelling Not Worthy of its Subject
Duncan Bruce's "The Great Scot" gets five stars for its selection of a protagonist -- Robert the Bruce.While historical fiction is generally dominated by novels surrounding the largest figures in history (Julius Caesar, Hannibal of Carthage, Elizabeth I, Cleopatra, etc.), some of the greatest joys in the genre can be found in stories about lesser-known-but-worthy figures.Robert the Bruce is such a character.Inheriting a noble struggle for freedom against tyranny from the immortal William Wallace (of "Braveheart" fame), Robert the Bruce succeeded where his forebears failed, and he did so in grand style.

But "The Great Scot" does not carry the day.The narrator of the piece is a young man (David) who, as a lad, becomes the Bruce's page. Inexplicably, the Bruce places a huge amount of trust in the boy, who rises to become one of the Bruce's most indispensable men -- although this rise is explained more by the boy's mere presence and devout loyalty than through any great accomplishment on David's part.So far, so-so.But the style of the narration is flat, methodical, and without much insight.In general, the story is a series of "And then this happened . . ." followed by, "the Bruce said this," and "we were all swayed by the Bruce," and "she smiled at the Bruce."It gets tedious -- even the famous battle of Bannockburn, where the Scots wiped out a much larger English force, is told with little more than a rote recitation of events.David is also not around for many of the key events in the novel, which are told to him by folks who are as incapable of spinning a yarn as our narrator.

When comparing this novel to other recent works of historical fiction -- see, for example, David Anthony Durham's "Pride of Carthage," or Bernard Cornwell's "The Last Kingdom" -- "The Great Scot" becomes more of a tedious slog to the finish rather than an enjoyable trek through a bygone era.

There is little to learn about the Bruce, as well, other than he's a good swordsman, a champion with the ladies, prone to the occasional illness, and a firm believer in freedom.None of these traits are surprising, and the Bruce appears to be much more of a cardboard cut-out of a hero than a true man of greatness (he does not compare favorably to Durham's Hannibal, for example, or with Sharon Kay Penman's Henry Curtmantle, or with the Julius Caesar of Conn Iggulden's "Gates of Rome" series -- or any character written by Colleen McCullouch).

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh with this review, but I had high hopes for "The Great Scot."And these were not met.For fans of historical fiction set in the British Isles, there are many other more worthy selections.

If you like a good story, you'll like this book!
FINALLY a novel about Robert Bruce, one of the most, if not THE most, influential figures in Scottish history.
Fascinated by the life of Robert Bruce since my Scottish grandfather related the the legend of "Robert the Bruce and the Spider" to me as a child, I have been waiting for someone to tell this story.It was worth the wait!If you are a fan of adventure and heroism combined with a bit of intrigue and treachery, this book is for you.
Beginning with Bruce's murder of the "Red" Comyn, a bitter rival for the Scottish throne, the tale only gets better. Narrated by Davie Crawford, a long time aid and confidant, the reader learns of Bruce's early defeats, his decision to wage guerilla warfare against the superior English forces which began to turn the tide, and culminates with his ultimate victory over the English at Bannockburn.
With the immediate threat eradicated, "Guid King Robert" still has to face the danger of more invasions while trying to unite Scotland under his rule.Before his death in 1329 he lives to see peace between England and Scotland, final recognition of Scotland as an independent nation, and Papal recognition of his title as "King of Scots".
I really enjoyed this book.

Too much left untold
If you let the first 5 chapters influence you - you won't finish this book.They were bad.After that the story finally picked up and the characters becames interesting enough to finish.I think that this is a first look at Robert the Bruce --and agree with the other reviewer that the man has been unjustly over-shadowed by William Wallace thanks to the movie Braveheart.However, that probably happened because there wasn't a story exciting enough about Robert the Bruce to turn it into a movie...this one isn't either.

What's good about it - the character holds an interesting place in history.There are battle references, there is court intrigue, there are murders and kidnappings and mysterious illnesses and all of the things that keep the story interesting so you plod on.It is a fast read and a simple read.

What didn't I like?Robert suffers from a strange malady that appears from time to time and threatens his life.However, the author discusses it almost as though it were unimportant.You never do find out what it might have been.Also - he paints Edward Bruce as much more of a military tactician and the battles are less than vividly portrayed. He also makes it very clear that Robert the Bruce was a womanizer who had mistresses slug out all over Scotland and was more than ready to use them for food, money and protection ...along with other things...when and ONLY when it was convenient to him.He supposedly loved only one woman in his life....yeah right.If anything this makes him less than valiant and noble in my opinion and the book would have been better with fewer women falling into his bed at every turn -- history certainly remembers him for deeds far more interesting.

Lastly, the author obviously has a good grasp on languages.However, he uses it sporadically and his timing is bad.The characters can go on for pages with all of their conversations recounted in English for the reader.Then suddenly when a very important speech is made the author writes it in some phonetic form of Scots and it stops ALL of the momentum he has built to that moment.You slow down and try to figure out what the speech even was and then suddenly everyone is speaking English again and the story goes on.However, the author does this not only in Scots, but French and Latin as well.There is no rhyme or reason as to which lines of which conversations must suddenly appear in another language - but I think it was a bad attempt to show off his linguistic skills and that it was NOT an enhancement for the story.

I understand it is his first work of fiction.It's not terrible but it's certainly not a 5 star book. I won't keep my copy - it's in the library donation box now.I also wouldn't recommend it to anyone.If you like the subject matter - give it a whirl but wait for the paperback price. If you don't - this probably won't make you want to read more about Robert Bruce.It's been suggested I try works by Nigel Tranter instead and that's what I intend to do. ... Read more