Customer Reviews (1)

We couldn't imagine visits to Grandma without it!
From the time we were five and six years old, my sister Susan and I visited our grandmother, Mary Lucy Wood, in Des Moines, Iowa every Christmas and summer.One of the first things we did upon arrival was askwhen we could visit the Franklin Street Library and look for the copy ofRalph Steadman's The Jelly Book.We would be frightfully disappointed ifit had been checked out by someone else!Our parents and grandmotherthought we were nuts, which maybe everyone is who reads and enjoys thiswonderful children's book.Its quirky prose and delightful illustrationswere addictive.Now that Susan and I are in our thirties, we each have ourown copy and try to give it to each of our friends with children. ... Read more

Product Description
A book of interviews with the foremost social commentators of our times.The fourth volume in TCJ Library's ongoing series of lavish coffee-table-book collections of interviews drawn from the Utne Award-winning magazine's archives, this volume gathers together the epic, exhaustive interviews with four of the sharpest social commentators of our times: Ralph Steadman, Jules Feiffer, Edward Sorel, and David Levine.

Steadman is the caustic illustrator of classic works like George Orwell's Animal Farm and Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. Feiffer is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the comics classics Munro, Tantrum and Sick, Sick, Sick and author of the seminal history of comics, The Great Comic Book Heroes, as well as screenplays for Carnal Knowledge, Little Murders and Popeye. Sorel is the co-founder of the world-famous Pushpin Studio and illustrator whose work has appeared regularly in publications like The Village Voice and The Atlantic and books like Moon Missing and Making the World Safe for Hypocrisy. Levine is of course the keen-eyed caricaturist whose work has lent dignity and consistency to the pages of The New York Review of Books every issue for nearly 40 years.

Each definitive conversation will boast the generous amounts of illustration that TCJ Library readers have come to expect from each volume, as well as a full-color gallery of rarely seen work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Genius's of Line
A handsome packaging of material from Jules Feiffer, David Levine, and Ralph Steadman.The volume is a visual and verbal feast, wildly entertaining and informative.Thanks be to Fantagraphics! ... Read more

Product Description
The classic political satire on the corrupting nature of power, in which the animals of Mr Jones's farm successfully overthrow their human masters and resolve to live in harmony and equality, only to find that "some are more equal than others". This is a special anniversary edition.Amazon.com Review
Since its publication in 1946, George Orwell's fable of a workers'revolution gone wrong has rivaled Hemingway's The Old Man and theSea as the Shortest Serious Novel It's OK to Write a Book Report About.(The latter is three pages longer and less fun to read.) Fueled by Orwell'sintense disillusionment with Soviet Communism, Animal Farm is anearly perfect piece of writing, both an engaging story and an allegorythat actually works. When the downtrodden beasts of Manor Farm oust theirdrunken human master and take over management of the land, all are awash incollectivist zeal. Everyone willingly works overtime, productivity soars,and for one brief, glorious season, every belly is full. The animals' SevenCommandment credo is painted in big white letters on the barn. All animalsare equal. No animal shall drink alcohol, wear clothes, sleep in a bed, orkill a fellow four-footed creature. Those that go upon four legs or wingsare friends and the two-legged are, by definition, the enemy. Too soon,however, the pigs, who have styled themselves leaders by virtue of theirintelligence, succumb to the temptations of privilege and power. "We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of the farm depend on us. Day and night, we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples." While this swinishbrotherhood sells out the revolution, cynically editing the SevenCommandments to excuse their violence and greed, the common animals areonce again left hungry and exhausted, no better off than in the days whenhumans ran the farm. Satire Animal Farm may be, but it's a stonyreader who remains unmoved when the stalwart workhorse, Boxer, having givenhis all to his comrades, is sold to the glue factory to buy booze for thepigs. Orwell's view of Communism is bleak indeed, but given the history ofthe Russian people since 1917, his pessimism has an air ofprophecy. --Joyce Thompson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1258)

Yuck! Gag Me....
To start, despite being the typical boy-crazy, fun-loving fifteen-year old girl, I still appreciate classics and good literature, and read classics for fun AS WELL AS for school. I read Memoirs of a Geisha (LOVE IT!) when I was ten, and The Da Vinci Code when I was ten, and many more classics when I was nine and older, et cetera. What I'm saying is that yes, I do read classics for fun, and ENJOY THEM, and even SOME of the ones I have had to read for school. But this crap? This was forced on me. Animal Farm is easily one of the worst books I have ever read, hands down. Thank goodness I did not buy this, and only borrowed it from school!

Animal Farm describes the slow but steady takeover of the animals (most specifically the pigs) of the farm after the abusive owners (Mr. Jones and company) are forcibly turned out after the animals are informed by Boxer about how they can have power. It goes on from there describing how the slow takeover and metaphorical sense of the pigs turning into humans in the end takes place. Good plot? Perhaps. Good book? HECK no!

First off, the setting was dull. One of the rules of mine for adding a favorite book in my collection is the setting has to be one I love. This did not do it for me. The whole book did not even leave the farm. A little uninteresting!

The characters bugged the crap out of me. Napoleon was an annoying idiot who I wanted to die by the end of the book. He was a jerk. All the pigs annoy me. In fact, I did not like ONE single character. THAT'S how bad this book was. No likable characters, no character development. Zip. Nada. None. Plus, it is unbelievable how DUMB the characters were, not to know what was happening. Even in real-life history, there are smart people who refuse to be taken over by the government and such. NOT PLAUSIBLE OR BELIEVABLE.

The writing. Too simple. Too plain. Too unadorned. In fact, if I EVER hear the phrase/word "COMRADES" one more time, I will SCREAM! That word was repeated EVERY. SINGLE. PAGE. I swear. The song "Beasts of England" and such was annoying.

The plot was UNBELIEVABLY DULL, for such an explosive concept. I groaned at several points throughout this book, per chapter. It was agony. Pure, unadulterated agony. In fact, I was seized (FREQUENTLY!) by violent urges to throw the book across the room while reading several times (again, per chapter)and throttle it.

In short, finishing this crap-fest was one of the most accomplishing and wonderful moments of my life. I do NOT recommend this book. In fact, it's like Charlotte's Web, but with Communism. And I outgrew Charlotte's Web when I was nine.


* In closing, if forced to read this, I pity you. If you love it and buy it voluntarily, frankly I don't understand. BUT I implore people to BORROW it, and NOT buy it. It was an utter travesty, from beginning to end.


*Actually GOOD classics!*

*Pride and Prejudice
*Anne of Green Gables (UNABRIDGED VERSION!)
*Little Women
*Les Miserables
*A Tale of Two Cities


And many more books, not all of them certified "classics", though. :)

Flat-out Masterpiece
Short as it is, this work represents all that Orwell had been leading to all his life. It's a satire and a fable -- and in very simple terms outlines the dangers of tyranny, the corruption of ideals. Orwell uses the Communist revolution as a template: and points out how, in the end, "some animals are more equal than others" -- that is, the essential greediness of us all. In darker, more subtle terms, it suggests, too, that we are, in essence, animals ourselves -- we cannot escape our dark primal nature. And we need to always be aware and vigilant of this. It's a chilling, sad, illuminating and very effective masterpiece. Every time I read it, it affects me more!

wonderful parable that reflects human weakness for power
This was the first political book I ever read, at age 12.I had never seen anything like it, but I knew it was about how power was used and abused, how it twisted the hearts of those who held it, pursuing a logic of its own.That reading experience was the start, I think, of my love for history and politics.I enjoyed the book so much that I gave it to my children, who have also become fascinated with the many levels you can find in it.

It was only much later that I realized the story was first about the USSR, with the dream of the old pig (Marx), and the fights between substitutes for Lenin, Trotsky/Zinoviev, and Stalin.Though many reviewers harp on this as a lesson against communism, I see that as only one level on which the book can be read:it goes much deeper than that, as a critique not just of totalitarianism but of the soul of man, how we can justify horrible behavior not only as naked self-interest, but under an ideological cloak.

Any interpretation, I think, will fail to do justice in any definitive way to what Orwell intended:to provoke discussion on our own choices and actions, on our will to make horrible compromises in our pursuit of some idea of justice or equality.

Warmly recommended.This is still a great read after 40 years from my first reading!Nothing else that he wrote comes close to this, I think, is intellectual fecundity.

Made a great gift!
This book made a great gift for my son...he really enjoyed this classic enhanced with the great illustrations...

It's Animal Farm.
It's one of the best books involving communism I've ever read.Nothing more to say. ... Read more

Product Description
Smith's work has been featured in Playboy, Spin, and The New Yorker, as well as on album covers for Dead Kennedys, Green Day, DOA, George Carlin, etc. Dinosaurs ravage suburbia while dodos frolic with Gibson girls. Guaranteed to shock and awe! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

More Cut n' Paste mastery
A man with an amazing eye and attention to detail. If you don't know who Winston Smith is, he is an amazing collage artist who juxtaposes various images from 40's/50's magazines. A great commentator in the visual form, hisprints have a great take on pop culture. In case you don't know who he is, Winston Smith has been involved the punk rock art community since the late-70's with partner in crime, Jello Biafra. He's done ALL sorts of flyers, album covers, clothing designs, logos, EVERYTHING. If you know who he is, you'll know what's in the book, great art. ... Read more

Product Description
The Poor Mouth relates the story of one Bonaparte O'Coonassa, born in a cabin in a fictitious village called Corkadoragha in western Ireland equally renowned for its beauty and the abject poverty of its residents. Potatoes constitute the basis of his family's daily fare, and they share both bed and board with the sheep and pigs. A scathing satire on the Irish, this work brought down on the author's head the full wrath of those who saw themselves as the custodians of Irish language and tradition when it was first published in Gaelic in 1941. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Much like an Irish Mark Twain, a scathing paraody of popular literautre of his day while a universal tragi-comedy
Flann O'Brien was one English language pen name for the great Irish writer Brian O'Nolan, by which name he wrote in English the proto-post-modernist work At Swim-Two-Birds (John F. Byrne Irish Literature Series), my most beloved work I cannot read, and the alluring Third Policeman, for once best heard in this Jim Norton reading, although the text is ever vital to have in hand in order to follow the faux academic references, most clearly.

O'Nolan was even better known for his work in the Gaelic tongue, published under the name: Myles na gCopaleen. An excellent and comprehensive biographical item appears at Wikipedia regarding this prolific and most often pseudonymous alarmingly great writer, little to none appears in this Dalkey Archive edition.

One surprise here is that it appears in English at all. Written originally, masterfully, even flamboyantly within the Irish tongue, we have here a translation by one Patrick Powers, for whom biographical material is also ignored. We would do well to receive some brief indication of Mr. Powers' authority for this translation, that we may trust him the better. The few sparse footnotes indicate some slight liberty taken, and matters left undone, and we hear echoing the ancient Latin proverb which calls Translation treason, this translation in itself betraying the untranslatable poetry of the Latin original, just as Powers admits of O'Nolan's original Irish mangled into English.

This tale in short works on many levels. First as legend which might be read straight, in its own right, then as Irish legend within the context of the movement which engendered it. It is a cutting satire of the Irish language movement while a brilliant expression of the same, just as James Joyce's Ulysses mocks the crippling shortcomings of English as a language of human expression, most elegantly and comprehensively.

Thus we find reference to the dictates of Irish author Father Peter O'Leary that this literature must be written in the everyday, most common Gaelic vocabulary and style. O'Nolan rips this apart from the start, placing within the mouth of a pre-verbal infant the most highly developed and academic Gaelic, the opposite of Mr. Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man (Norton Critical Edition), whose opening passages begin with diction matching closely the developmental level of the narrator.

This is of course true if we may trust the stylistic translation of Mr. Powers. But we do find a textual clue that O'Nolan meant it to be so.

We also find a mocking of those who fashionably traveled from Dublin in search of the true Gael, while wearing kilts unknown to the hometown Gael.

I cannot here hope to resume this brilliant story. Within the hilarity we find of course, this being an Irish tale, a brief moment of keenest and inexplicable tragedy, uncommented further. We find an ending truly Homeric in every sense. We find a plea of the oppressed against the imperialist which resonates deeply with the oppressed in all places and at all times. We find a true condemnation of forced imperialist education, as small boys arrive at the English language school with the mandatory sod under the arm, "Hearty and Strong" only to have that beaten out of them swiftly at the edge of an oar, and all of their identity erased.

There is here much that is over-the-top funny, and much that is between the lines tragic and true. There are interjections of brilliant storytelling. At about 125 pages, it is worth a reading, and rewards re-reading.

For "our types will never be there again" and yet live within all of us.
Look not to the externals, the pig in the house, but to the eternal.
And watch out for that sea-cat!
For this is what fire-side story telling was all about.

A Good "Bad Story"
This book is filled with loads of laugh-out-loud scenes.O'Brien is especially good at setting up a scene and then delivering a hilarious punchline.Even when the reader can predict how the joke will play out, O'Brien teases the story out in such a way to make the humor even funnier.Each chapter is episodic and stands on its own, but there's a wonderful arc to the entire book.The allusions to Irish history, literature, and folklore add to the writing, and O'Brien really captures the style of writers like Tomas O'Crohan and Peig Sayers.There also are some clever allusions to Wm Butler Yeats and John Millington Syne.I found the satire to be a good-natured, tongue-in-cheek humor that revolves around hyperbole and even surrealism.I find it curious that some fans of Gaelic literature, especially those who admire the real "poor mouth" writers, would be offended by the book.I like the writing of O'Crohan, Sayers, and others, and O'Brien's satire actually seems to complement and enhance the humor in their books, rather than cynically criticize their tomes.O'Brien's real target seems to be more focused on the misty-eyed romanticism of readers of Gaelic writing.

One Of The Funniest20th Century Short Novels
The bleak atmosphere and the beautiful, flowing prose in "The Poor Mouth" are completely at odds, which is what makes this novel so hilarious. O'Coonassa has no idea what's happening to him much of the time, but he dutifully records it as best he can, with amazingly comical results.

The concept here is much like a Buster Keaton film, in that the protagonist is presumably ignorant, but he keeps a sharp eye on events, and he's basically good-hearted (except when he has to resort to stealing a pig or a chicken or some silverware, just to stay alive).

Satire on the myth-makers
Lighten up guys. This is satire. Flan O'Brien is satirising those - like Yeats - who mythologised a Celtic and Gaelic past that never existed. The spirit is like Paddy Kananagh - but it's satire rather than gritty realism. Understand?

side-splitting
Have you ever had a laughing fit while reading on a bus? It was almost enough to have me committed.Although not personally aware of any Irish in my blood, the way this erupted in me makes it a strong chance.

It has never been better explained why so many Irish ended up in America and elsewhere abroad. A true story! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The limerick packs laughs anatomical
...Into space that is quite economical.But the good ones I've seen so seldom are clean, and the clean ones so seldom are comical (to slightly paraphrase John Letts, the compiler of this Treasury).

The literate, English-speaking world seems to be divided into two groups:those who love limericks; and those who are usually revolted by them.The compiler attempts to assign men to the former category and women to the latter, but I believe his sexism is a bit out-of-date.At any rate, I certainly enjoyed his 'Little Treasury.'

Letts splits his collection of limericks into nine categories:'A Garden of Dirty Delights;' 'The Horrible Double Ontong;''A Sort of Zoo;' 'A Question of Degree;' 'A Convocation of Curates;' 'Various Ladies (and Gentlemen);' 'Miss Weymiss and the Murderous Sioux;' 'A Gazetteer of Innocence and Infamy;' and 'All Human Life is There.'

There are some real classics in this treasury, most of them bawdy.I am going to paraphrase my favorite for you:

There was a young man of Alsace/ who had two anatomical features fashioned of brass./ When he knocked them together/ They played 'Stormy Weather'/ and lightning came out of another portion of his anatomy.

If you can figure out the above, you might find yourself like the compiler did the first time he heard about the young Alsatian--falling about on the sidewalk and laughing helplessly.If not, this collection is probably not for you.

There was a young man of Alsace...
The limerick packs laughs anatomical into space that is quite economical. But the good ones I've seen so seldom are clean, and the clean ones so seldom are comical (to slightly paraphrase John Letts, the compiler of this Treasury).

The literate, English-speaking world seems to be divided into two groups: those who love limericks; and those who are usually revolted by them. The compiler attempts to assign men to the former category and women to the latter, but I believe his sexism is a bit out-of-date. At any rate, I certainly enjoyed his 'Little Treasury.'

Letts splits his collection of limericks into nine categories: 'A Garden of Dirty Delights;' 'The Horrible Double Ontong;' 'A Sort of Zoo;' 'A Question of Degree;' 'A Convocation of Curates;' 'Various Ladies (and Gentlemen);' 'Miss Weymiss and the Murderous Sioux;' 'A Gazetteer of Innocence and Infamy;' and 'All Human Life is There.'

There are some real classics in this treasury, most of them bawdy. I am going to paraphrase my favorite for you:

There was a young man of Alsace/ who had two anatomical features fashioned of brass./ When he knocked them together/ They played 'Stormy Weather'/ and lightning came out of another portion of his anatomy.

If you can figure out the above, you might find yourself like the compiler did the first time he heard about the young Alsatian--falling about on the sidewalk and laughing helplessly. If not, this collection is probably not for you.

The limerick packs laughs anatomical
...Into space that is quite economical.But the good ones I've seen so seldom are clean, and the clean ones so seldom are comical (to slightly paraphrase John Letts, the compiler of this Treasury).

The literate, English-speaking world seems to be divided into two groups:those who love limericks; and those who are usually revolted by them.The compiler attempts to assign men to the former category and women to the latter, but I believe his sexism is a bit out-of-date.At any rate, I certainly enjoyed his 'Little Treasury.'

Letts splits his collection of limericks into nine categories:'A Garden of Dirty Delights;' 'The Horrible Double Ontong;''A Sort of Zoo;' 'A Question of Degree;' 'A Convocation of Curates;' 'Various Ladies (and Gentlemen);' 'Miss Weymiss and the Murderous Sioux;' 'A Gazetteer of Innocence and Infamy;' and 'All Human Life is There.'

There are some real classics in this treasury, most of them bawdy.I am going to paraphrase my favorite for you:

There was a young man of Alsace/ who had two anatomical features fashioned of brass./ When he knocked them together/ They played 'Stormy Weather'/ and lightning came out of another portion of his anatomy.

If you can figure out the above, you might find yourself like the compiler did the first time he heard about the young Alsatian--falling about on the sidewalk and laughing helplessly.If not, this collection is probably not for you. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The limerick packs laughs anatomical
...Into space that is quite economical.But the good ones I've seen so seldom are clean, and the clean ones so seldom are comical (to slightly paraphrase John Letts, the compiler of this Treasury).

The literate, English-speaking world seems to be divided into two groups:those who love limericks; and those who are usually revolted by them.The compiler attempts to assign men to the former category and women to the latter, but I believe his sexism is a bit out-of-date.At any rate, I certainly enjoyed his 'Little Treasury.'

Letts splits his collection of limericks into nine categories:'A Garden of Dirty Delights;' 'The Horrible Double Ontong;''A Sort of Zoo;' 'A Question of Degree;' 'A Convocation of Curates;' 'Various Ladies (and Gentlemen);' 'Miss Weymiss and the Murderous Sioux;' 'A Gazetteer of Innocence and Infamy;' and 'All Human Life is There.'

There are some real classics in this treasury, most of them bawdy.I am going to paraphrase my favorite for you:

There was a young man of Alsace/ who had two anatomical features fashioned of brass./ When he knocked them together/ They played 'Stormy Weather'/ and lightning came out of another portion of his anatomy.

If you can figure out the above, you might find yourself like the compiler did the first time he heard about the young Alsatian--falling about on the sidewalk and laughing helplessly.If not, this collection is probably not for you.

There was a young man of Alsace...
The limerick packs laughs anatomical into space that is quite economical. But the good ones I've seen so seldom are clean, and the clean ones so seldom are comical (to slightly paraphrase John Letts, the compiler of this Treasury).

The literate, English-speaking world seems to be divided into two groups: those who love limericks; and those who are usually revolted by them. The compiler attempts to assign men to the former category and women to the latter, but I believe his sexism is a bit out-of-date. At any rate, I certainly enjoyed his 'Little Treasury.'

Letts splits his collection of limericks into nine categories: 'A Garden of Dirty Delights;' 'The Horrible Double Ontong;' 'A Sort of Zoo;' 'A Question of Degree;' 'A Convocation of Curates;' 'Various Ladies (and Gentlemen);' 'Miss Weymiss and the Murderous Sioux;' 'A Gazetteer of Innocence and Infamy;' and 'All Human Life is There.'

There are some real classics in this treasury, most of them bawdy. I am going to paraphrase my favorite for you:

There was a young man of Alsace/ who had two anatomical features fashioned of brass./ When he knocked them together/ They played 'Stormy Weather'/ and lightning came out of another portion of his anatomy.

If you can figure out the above, you might find yourself like the compiler did the first time he heard about the young Alsatian--falling about on the sidewalk and laughing helplessly. If not, this collection is probably not for you.

The limerick packs laughs anatomical
...Into space that is quite economical.But the good ones I've seen so seldom are clean, and the clean ones so seldom are comical (to slightly paraphrase John Letts, the compiler of this Treasury).

The literate, English-speaking world seems to be divided into two groups:those who love limericks; and those who are usually revolted by them.The compiler attempts to assign men to the former category and women to the latter, but I believe his sexism is a bit out-of-date.At any rate, I certainly enjoyed his 'Little Treasury.'

Letts splits his collection of limericks into nine categories:'A Garden of Dirty Delights;' 'The Horrible Double Ontong;''A Sort of Zoo;' 'A Question of Degree;' 'A Convocation of Curates;' 'Various Ladies (and Gentlemen);' 'Miss Weymiss and the Murderous Sioux;' 'A Gazetteer of Innocence and Infamy;' and 'All Human Life is There.'

There are some real classics in this treasury, most of them bawdy.I am going to paraphrase my favorite for you:

There was a young man of Alsace/ who had two anatomical features fashioned of brass./ When he knocked them together/ They played 'Stormy Weather'/ and lightning came out of another portion of his anatomy.

If you can figure out the above, you might find yourself like the compiler did the first time he heard about the young Alsatian--falling about on the sidewalk and laughing helplessly.If not, this collection is probably not for you. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is an unparalleled artistic voyage into the realms of fantasy inspired by the actual facts of Sigmund Freud's life. Through a masterful interplay of text & illustration, Steadman transforms every major event in Freud's life into a "joking situation" based on the joking techniques discussed in Freud s book, "Jokes & Their Relation to the Unconscious". The result is a fantastic Freudian festival, full of visual & verbal puns, unexpected insights & sheer intellectual enjoyment. Superbly illustrated with more than 50 major drawings & 25 vignettes, this book will be a treat for all of Freud's & Steadman's fans. ... Read more

Product Description
In early 1970, artist Ralph Steadman went to America in search of work and found more than he bargained for. At the Kentucky Derby he met a former Hell's Angel, one Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson wrote later that "The rest of that day blurs into madness. The rest of that night, too. Steadman was lucky to get out of Louisville without serious injuries, and I was lucky to get out at all." Thus began a thirty-year working relationship and friendship that gave birth to what became known as Gonzo Journalism.

Few people knew Hunter S. Thompson as well as Ralph Steadman did. This no-holds-barred memoir tells of their unique collaboration that documented the turbulent years of the civil-rights movement, the Nixon years, and Watergate. When Thompson committed suicide in 2005, it was the end of a friendship that was defined by both betrayal and understanding. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent book for Dr. Thompson's long time frienship!
Ralph Steadman goes with HST like chalk with cheese. They were so different from one another but they collaborated together like a well oiled machine. Steadman speaks fondly for the good Dr. but he DOES stand up for himself because Hunter could take people for granted or could be demanding or selfish. Excellent book about two very different men that had one thing in common. They both understood the nature of *weird*. ... Read more