Shakespeare's Secret

Book Description

hen Hero starts sixth grade at a new school, she's less concerned about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she's sure to suffer because of it. So she has the same name as a girl in a book by a dusty old author. Hero is simply not interested in the connections. But that's just the thing; suddenly connections are cropping up all over, and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly what do fascinate Hero. There's a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious woman next door who seems to know an awful lot about it, and then, well, then there's Shakespeare. Not to mention Danny Cordova, only the most popular boy in school. Is it all in keeping with her namesake's origin-just much ado about nothing? Hero, being Hero, is determined to figure it out. In this fast-paced novel, Elise Broach weaves an intriguing literary mystery full of historical insights and discoveries.

Customer Reviews:

I loved this book!!.......2007-08-31

Hero is just like me. She deals with teasing and even has a little bit of a crush going on. I love the fact that Danny and Hero team up together to find the diamond hidden somwhere in Hero's house.
People should read this book because it grabs your attention. If you like mystery, read this! If you like action, read this! If you like romance, read this!

Is this a new detective series?.......2007-06-04

I thought this book was a great read, I think Hero is a lot like the "Sammy Keys" mysteries, I'd like to see more of Hero mysteries because our family loves Hero Netherfield.
Enjoy

Misfit and mystery.......2007-05-07

Hero has a difficult life. Her family keeps moving from one town to the other, and she finds it hard to keep making new friends, unlike her older sister, Beatrice, who seems to fit in instantly wherever she goes. It doesn't help that her father, a noted Shakespearian scholar, has gotten them both named after characters from "Much Ado About Nothing." Of course, her older sister gets a halfway sensible name, while she gets a name that, she finds this time, is the same as one of her classmate's dog.

Things get a little better, though. The elderly woman next door has some interesting tales to tell, most notably about a million-dollar diamond that may still be hidden in the house that Hero's family has just moved into. And somehow Hero befriends Danny Cordova, the most popular guy at school. To top it all off, somehow everything ties into Shakespeare.

Broach is at her best with the characters, who are very believable. We certainly can sympathize with Hero (well, I certainly can) and her woes at school. The plot, while interesting, relies on a couple of unlikely twists. And the setting, ostensibly in my neck of the words, is fairly generic suburbia. But perhaps that's just as well. It's a very comfortable read and while not outstanding, I definitely enjoyed it.

Book well written, good ideas, but Cheezy.......2007-03-22

This book was a really good read, and I liked it alot. It was fast moving, and would be a good bedtime story. I really liked how well this book was written, and I also liked the general ideas of the story. On the other hand, it was really cheezy, in that you could tell a paragraph ahead what the next character was going to say, as well as the book was a bit too predictable

A awesome Book!!!!!!!.......2007-02-11

I just finished this book! It was the bomb!! I checked it out from my school library one day and finished it the next. Then i decided to buy 3 copies of the book here on amazon. And i read it over and over again. If could i would give it 100000000000 stars!!! BUY THIS BOOK!~!~

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

Average customer rating:

Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Medieval | World | History | Subjects | Books

German | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Russian | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Chinese | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Mythology & Folklore | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Controversial Knowledge | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

History | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Celtic | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Magic & Wizards | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

History | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

Average customer rating:

Alchemy of the Symbol & Structure of the Plays

The Secret of Shakespeare
Martin Lings
Manufacturer: International Specialized Book Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Book Description

Martin Lings clarifies the essential greatness of Shakespeare by focussing our attention on the total impact his best plays make on us when acted. For this purpose he concentrates on the texts and their theatrical rendering, in such a way as to transmit to us, at the same time, a powerful impression of Shakespeare the man, such as perhaps no other book can give us. For the second edition the chapters on Macbeth and The Tempest were rewrittten to more than twice their original length; and now, for this third edition, the same has been done for the chapters of Hamlet, King Lear and The Winter's Tale, as well as for the 'Notes on Performance and Production', with additions to other chapters also. The Foreword to third edition was written by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales.

Customer Reviews:

Alchemy of the Symbol & Structure of the Plays.......1999-03-22

Academics will wince. Many will throw the book down in anger. A few may even write angry letters to the publisher demanding that the book be recalled. After all the work they've done convincing the public that Shakespeare was a Marxist, feminist, proto-Nazi, homosexual, anti- smoker, imperialist here appears (or reappears) a little book suggesting that Shakespeare was just simply an inspired artist creating inspired art suggesting that there's something higher than the fully-accredited human being. This book is a to-the-point revelation of Shakespeare's Work's; justifiably forgettable when you go back to the plays themselves (as all books on Shakespeare should be forgotten when you go back to the plays themselves) but a revelation none-the-less. By itself it's worth all the books on Shakespeare in the New York Public Library; and it's a good aquisition for those interested in the esoteric side of life (what's NOT contained in Horatio's philosophy...).

Say It Like Shakespeare: How to Give a Speech Like Hamlet, Persuade Like Henry V, and Other Secrets from the World's Greatest Communicator

Average customer rating:

A different approach to business speaking
The Bard for All Occasions
So much for Shakespeare
A Practical Guide to Communicating in the Business World
A Practical Guide to Communicating in the Business World

Say It Like Shakespeare: How to Give a Speech Like Hamlet, Persuade Like Henry V, and Other Secrets from the World's Greatest Communicator
Thomas Leech
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Communications | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Running Meetings & Presentations | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Guides | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Public Speaking | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0071373152

Book Description

Book Info A guide to better communication skills using the trademark persuasion style of famous playright, William Shakespeare. Takes examples from Shakespeare's characters and plays to illustrate the qualities and skills an excellent communicator must have, helping readers empower themselves to be more effective in front of an audience, as part of a team, or one-on-one.

Customer Reviews:

A different approach to business speaking.......2004-10-17

I picked this book because of my love of Shakespeare. I was pleasantly surprised at how the author is able to relate the wordsmithing of Shakespeare to modern business communications. He presents each topic in a thoughtful, enjoyable to read manner.

I continue to refer to this book in my work. I have recommended it to several of my staff and co-workers. I think its a valuable addition to any business communication library.

The Bard for All Occasions.......2004-01-24

Tom Leech's book, "Say It Like Shakespeare" is an absolute gem - and definitely a keeper. In the short time in which I've owned the book, I have used it in lectures, classes, and even social occasions. Surely Shakespeare himself must be delighted to know his words ring true for so many instances in this 21st century. This wonderful book shall have a place of honor among the reference books I use most often. However, this is the only one that continually amuses, confounds, and inspires. I certainly hope that Mr. Leech will soon be publishing more.

So much for Shakespeare.......2003-07-29

I read this book with much anticipation, excited to see how the author was going to link Shakespeare's works with communication skills. I must say that I was sorely disappointed.

As an active Toastmaster of 3 years and an avid reader of various communication books, I feel there is nothing new worth learning from this book.

1. Most points are obviously emulating the Toastmasters basic project manual or basically any other ordinary communications book that you can pick off a shelf in any bookstore. Points brought up mention stuff like speech organisation, sincerity, body language and vocal variety. That is fine if these points had been elaborated in more detail rather than sweepingly carried across. This makes the book feel more like a teaser on various communication techniques - just a teaser - meaning no real content, just words to trigger your interest (that is, if you are a complete novice AND not a Toastmaster).

2. I was wondering how the book would link its contents to Shakespeare. What happened was that the author simply peppered LOTS of quotes from various Shakespearean works throughout every page, and I mean a LOT. What makes it more disappointing is that the meaning behind the quotes are never really explored in detail as to how it could possibly give us some lessons in communicating well. In that retrospect, this book violates the very essence of good communication skills - Purposeful Actions. The author did the action of putting lots of quotes in, just so that this book could be hyped as the "Say it like Shakespeare" book. Unfortunately, since these quotes were not properly weaved into the content, nor were proper lessons that readers could learn from these quotes identified or highlighted adequately, these quotes tend to stuck out like a sore thumb in the book AND became part of UNPURPOSEFUL content.

3. As mentioned earlier, the content being more of a teaser, just informs but doesn't help you in any way of application. Plus you tend to question its credibility cos of its vagueness in explanation and its content being the sort of content that you can even pick off freely from any Internet site.

My conclusions are:
1. If you are a complete beginner and just want to KNOW (but not understand nor apply) what is supposed to be touted as common good communication practices, read this book.

2. If you have some experience in public speaking, and/or have read many communication mantras already, give this book a miss - you will find that you can reap nothing new in terms of knowledge for this.

3. If you are a strategist interested in seeing how Shakespeare can be a useful tool in teaching you good communication skills - just like how some people are interested in how Sun Tzu's military strategies can be applied to business - forget this book. You'll only be greeted with numerous quotes of Shakespeare WITHOUT explanations or links.

A Practical Guide to Communicating in the Business World.......2001-07-26

Mr. Leech's book is GREAT!. His writing style is so concise, practical and easy to understand. Using quotes from Shakespeare just adds to the enjoyment of reading this book. The information is very valuable for any one in any type of organization. I was VERY IMPRESSED! It is full of great ideas and tips on how to handle any communications situation in a business setting. Being a professional in the communications field, I wish I had read this material years ago.

A Practical Guide to Communicating in the Business World.......2001-07-26

Mr. Leech's book is GREAT!!!!. His writing style is so concise, practical and easy to understand. Using quotes from Shakespeare just added to the enjoyment of reading this book. The information is very valuable for any one in any type of organization. I was VERY IMPRESSED!!!! It is full of great ideas and tips on how to handle any communications situation in a business setting or actually any organization. Being a professional in the communications field, I wish I had read this material years ago.

Secrets of Acting Shakespeare: The Original Approach (A Theatre Arts Book)

Average customer rating:

Strong handbook on how Shakespeare was and aught to be done.
Makes reading Shakespeare like a John Grisham Novel
Where was this book all my life!
Shakespeare, how it was in the beginning

Secrets of Acting Shakespeare: The Original Approach (A Theatre Arts Book)
Patrick Tucker
Manufacturer: Theatre Arts Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0878300953

Book Description

Brushing up on your Shakespeare isn't enough. Shakespeare's plays require particular skills, but they are skills every actor can learn. Patrick Tucker - founder of London's Original Shakespeare Company, stage and TV director, and author of Secrets of Screen Acting - finds the keys in a revolutionary (really four-hundred-year-old) method that he has used with great success in workshops and performances around the world.
Secrets of Acting Shakespeare isn't a book that gently instructs. It's a passionate, yes-you-can designed to prove that anybody can act Shakespeare. Beyond that, it argues for care and attention to the First Folio text of Shakespeare's plays in which Patrick Tucker uncovers verbal clues that help actors, amateur and professional, to better understand what lines mean and how to say them.
By explaining how Elizabethan actors had only their own lines and not entire playscripts, Patrick Tucker shows how much these plays work by ear. Secrets of Acting Shakespeare isa book for actors trained and amateur, as well as for anyone curious about how the Elizabethan theater worked.

Customer Reviews:

Strong handbook on how Shakespeare was and aught to be done........2005-03-15

The most significant aspect of this book is Tucker's imperative respect for the First Folios. These earliest of Shakespearean texts, which feature spelling errors and a messier type set, offer and the book tries and proves over and over, the best acting/performance texts.

The distinction between acting/performance texts and scholastic/reading ones is essential, as Tucker again and again subverts the modern editions of Shakespeare, and the editors, who continually add and make scholastic/academic assumption as to the intent of the texts. These editors reduce the active nature of the texts and "regularize" over and over what the original actors had to work with.

Through the Original Shakespeare Company, which he co-founded, Tucker and his actors approach the texts as the actors who originated them did. This was by using no rehearsal time, and giving each actor only the texts they speak and the appropriate cue lines, allowing for a spontaneous and urgent playmaking which heightens the already heightened Shakespeare.

Through this approach, which originally was one of practicality, the actors tasks are enhanced. Listening becomes that much more important, as do the choices each actor must make based soley on the texts which are devoid of modern directions and edits; such as to who to speak to, whether or not a speech is an aside, particular capitalization and punctuation and stage business.

For anyone who performs Shakespeare this is a terrific book. As well for directors this may even be better. Tucker breaks down the "original approach" in the early part of the book. Then spends the largest chunk detailing the experiments he and his company made with this approach, beginning with scenes through full text performances. There is then a terrific section devoted to particular ways of finding the secrets in the text, and the associated choices one can make on stage.

While the section about the details of the company's performances is too long and sometimes repetative, the book is a revelation. Anyone willing to try this style would surely feel the difference, as an audience would too.By scrapping the modern trappings of what theatre is, to reduce it to it's leanest and most energetic, magnetic form in the use of the phenomenal texts of Shakespeare can realize the power of theatre and clarify it's immortal importance and necessity.

Makes reading Shakespeare like a John Grisham Novel.......2003-12-05

This book explains how to "read" Shakespeare easily. (Actually, it's about how to act his plays, but the ideas can equally well be used to simply read the plays with greater appreciation.) The method presented is quite easy and it makes the plays come to life. I wish I had this book 25 years ago when I studied Shakespeare in school.

I have just started this book, but already I want to read Shakespeare's plays again to see what I missed - and I missed plenty. You also begin to understand why Shakespeare was a great play-writer, why his works have stood the test of time while the other writers of his age have withered away.

Some of the interesting observerations: Thee vs. You has real significance (the former is intimitate while the latter is formal), why he writes in prose sometimes, the significance of the iambic pentameter (di-dum, etc.).

The author also dispels a myth that English spoken in Shakespeare's time was hard compared to today. Rather Shakespeare's words were always harder than the common speak of the day, yet his plays were able to be well understood because of the "clues" presented in the writing, which made the actors act the part correctly, thus making the language easier to understand. Don't worry if you did not fully this last paragraph. The book will explain all.

And, soon you'll be able to turn the pages of a Shakespeare play faster than that of a John Grisham novel.

Where was this book all my life!.......2003-04-24

I really wish my teachers had this book when I was in school. It would have made Shakespeare so much more fun to study. Going back to Shakespeare after reading Secrets of Acting Shakespeare, you can actualy see the stage directions with every word Shakespeare writes. When you know the stage directions Shakespeare wrote into his texts, Shakespeare's works become so much more fun to read. Patrick takes you through the way Shakespeare's plays were performed when Shakespeare was still alive, and leads you through the discoveries Patrick's actors made when he and his theater company started performing Shakespeare's plays the way Shakespeare wanted it done. Needless to say, this book is the best book on Shakespearian Acting I've ever read, and would recommend it to anyone who's even slightly interested in the Bard's works. I would also recommend Patrick Tucker's First Folio Monologue books for men and women. They're a crash course in the work Patrick covered in Secrets of Acting Shakespeare, and a great way to sink your teeth into Patrick's ideas.

-Christian, Improvactor.com

Shakespeare, how it was in the beginning.......2002-03-11

This is an exciting book about how Shakespeare's plays actually got on to the stage. The actors then were hardworking, often doing a different play each night, and there was no time for rehearsal as we know it today.
The actors learnt their parts from cue scripts, long scrolls showing the last few words of the previous speech and then their own. They had to be extra attentive or they might miss their entry. The Book-holder, or prompt, was the only person to have the entire text (a valuable document you didn't want anybody else to steal, no copyright in those days) was prominently on stage to see that things went right and, if a prompt was needed, it was given openly. The audience accepted this as part of the performance though anybody needing too many prompts would doubtless get some barracking.
The author, who clearly has a science background and knows how to present a logical case, shows that all the information needed is in the First Folio which is an actors' tool, not a dead piece of Eng Lit. 'you', 'thou' and 'thee' are not interchangeable but actually tell the actor where to stand in relation to others on the stage. Modern editions of Shakespeare have tidied the text up to be read by students; the First Folio had lines, half lines, capital letters in odd places, strange commas; but all actually telling the actor what to do.
The author has been working as a director for the last forty years or so and has refined his theories on the job. He has run The Original Shakespeare Company with many successful productions using his methods. He is wildly popular with his actors and the few productions he was allowed to do at The Globe, London, were sold out and enthusiastically received.
The academic world and theatre establishment are not so happy to see their entrenched theories challenged; and it must be extra annoying that he writes so well and is such a pleasure to read.

Secrets of the Sonnets: Shakespeare's Code

Average customer rating:

A Passion for Knowing
Secrets of the Sonnets: Shakespeare's Code
Finally, the sonnets are fun as well as serious
Peter Jensen SECRETS OF THE SONNETS
A layperson finally turns on to Shakespeare!

Secrets of the Sonnets: Shakespeare's Code
Peter, Jensen
Manufacturer: Lulu.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1430309237

Book Description

1. Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616-Shakespeare's Sonnets-Substitution code-1609 Quarto- 2. The Poet William Shakespeare-The Youth Henry Wriothesley-The Dark Lady Aemelia Bessano Lanyer- The Rival Poet Christopher Marlowe-Deciphering- Time and Timeline-Names and Identities.

Customer Reviews:

A Passion for Knowing.......2007-10-17

Not so long ago, scholarship was the domain explored by persons driven by a passion for knowing something about something. Scholarship was not then limited to academe, and if some exploring mind made discoveries those could be posted in some form and considered by others interested in a subject, then evaluated merely on their merits.

Peter Jensen's work on Shakespeare's sonnets deserves attention for its own merits, not for how well his insights accord with the current orthodoxy accumulated in academic scholarship. Jensen, I know full well, worked for a decade on the hints he found of coded content in the sonnets. Like any good scholar, Jensen read whatever he could find that bore on the matter. He kept meticulous records of his own analyses, carefully constructing his findings over the years, testing his views as he formed them, reading his Ms to others and inviting responses.

This work will open up new dimensions for the study of Shakespeare's sonnets. It will also serve as an instructive example to students for what scholars can find when they pursue knowledge passionately.

Secrets of the Sonnets: Shakespeare's Code.......2007-10-17

I bought this book because, as a geriatric medicine physician, I thought it was going to discuss Shakespeare's cold. I thought someone had discovered the cause of death. Well, Peter Jensen proves that his Will is what did him in. This was an entertaining and fresh look at the Sonnets. If Peter Jensen weren't so busy studing Shakespeare, he likely would be a greater writer than the Bard, at least more entertaining.

Finally, the sonnets are fun as well as serious.......2007-10-16

As a current PhD candidate in English Literature of this period, I fully appreciate Jensen's dynamic approach to the Sonnets. In happy contrast with most didactic institutional publication on the subject, Jensen's work is more about the questions, the possibilities, and the "what ifs" than in telling us what to think.

What if Amelia Lanyer is the dark lady? Where can we find her name disguised phonetically in the Sonnets?
What if Henry Wroithesley and Christopher Marlowe are directly addressed in the Sonnets?

Never pushy, yet always suggestive, the text asks you to consider, to question, to weigh the evidence for yourself; to look at "ten sonnets that MAY track venereal disease" [emphasis mine] or to compare names from the plays with code-names from the Sonnets. The reader is never told "this is the only way to read, this is the only answer," but rather is directly challenged to delve even further.

In combining contemporary history, biography, bibliography, current events, and astronomy alongside close readings of the text, Jensen continually pursues the slipperiest questions without ever forcing the reader to agree: if you consider the evidence and consider the text, you can make your own decisions. Don't deny the possibilites.

For readers of Shakespeare at any level, this book suggests that you slow down and look for the word games and personal connections that the Bard certainly intended to imbed.

Overall, the attitude, approach, and voice are engaging and refreshing. Jensen encourages us to do what we should be doing as readers of intelligent and carefull-crafted poetry: stick close to the text (line by line, sound by sound), ask questions, and open up discussion on the topics that present themselves.

Peter Jensen SECRETS OF THE SONNETS.......2007-10-15

With this book readers have the chance to re-consider Shakespeare's poetry with a great teacher as well as an insightful reader and careful scholar. Jensen really wants his readers to see these sonnets in a new way, and to participate in the investigation he skillfully leads. After years of learning about Shakespeare from "pure" scholars who lived bounded by a single disicipline, I go into this book delighted by its combination of provocative literary analysis, number puzzles, original lines of inquiry, a friendly (and funny!) teacher's companionship, and an infectious delight in plumbing the secrets of these poems. Get out your Shakespeare, open Jensen's volume, and read two books at once.

A layperson finally turns on to Shakespeare!.......2007-07-06

I am not a Shakespeare scholar. I like Shakespeare best when it stars Kenneth Branaugh and shows up on the big screen. But I love Secrets of The Sonnets Shakespeare's Code by Peter Jensen. Why the sudden change of heart? This book is funny! It is hilarious. Jensen's humor mimics that of old Will himself; sometimes wry, sometimes clever, often crude and usually sexy.

I am a big whodunnit fan and this book is one big mystery and puzzle. Jensen has finally produced a book that can be appreciated by anyone with a sense of humor. No more stuffy classroom Shakespeare. I enjoyed it and I recommend it!

Cheryl Renee Long

The New I Ching: Discover the Secrets of the Plum Blossom Oracle (Hamlyn Mind, Body, Spirit S.)

Average customer rating:

Simple - direct
Plum Blossom

The New I Ching: Discover the Secrets of the Plum Blossom Oracle (Hamlyn Mind, Body, Spirit S.)
Lillian Too
Manufacturer: Hamlyn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

I Ching | Other Eastern Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0600609170

Book Description

In the follow-up to her popular Feng Shui Life Planner, world-famous author Lillian Too reveals how to use the extraordinarily accurate Plum Blossom Oracle to interpret the I Ching. Until now, this system has remained the secret of a select group, but Too’s instructions and 120 illustrations—including plenty of charts—allow a much wider readership to penetrate this ancient form of divination. The Plum Blossom Oracle features 2 different methods, the Early Heaven and the more advanced Later Heaven, each with its own particular arrangements. See how to read the hexagrams, which contain 64 possible permutations, to find divine guidance. Interpret the symbols and signs that manifest themselves as everyday events, dreams, or unexpected encounters. You’ll gain deeper insight into your personal and professional life.

Customer Reviews:

Simple - direct.......2007-07-23

This book is an interpretation and, as such, must simply be "trusted" as one.
But as a book to be read and used - it is simple, direct and very very clear. I completely love it. The writing is concise and brief. The illustrations are interesting and supportive. Its perfect.

Plum Blossom.......2005-01-12

A sort of fortune teller's I Ching, this book is based on the very effective Plum Blossom method of Shao Yong, the Sung dynasty philosopher. The book is a typical Lillian Too visual production, not entirely to my taste, but it has interesting information some of which is original. There are other books on the Plum Blossom method and fortune teller's I Ching that compare favorably with this one, especially The Tao of I Ching by Jou Tsung Hwa, and the now out of print books by W.K.Chu and W.A.Sherrill, Anthology of I Ching and The Astrology of I Ching. There is another book that contains an effective I Ching predictive method based on Chinese astrology, Feng Shui Strategies for Business Success. Be all that as it may, this book is well worth purchasing by anyone interested in the many possibilities of working with the I Ching. I would give it 5 Stars except I don't like the pictures, sorry.

Average customer rating:

Shakespeare's Secret
Elise Broach
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0439894964

Product Description

A missing diamond. A 500-year-old necklace. A mystery dating back to the time of William Shakespeare . . .

Secret Shakespeare: Studies in Theatre, Religion and Resistance

Average customer rating:

Secret Shakespeare: Studies in Theatre, Religion and Resistance
Richard Wilson
Manufacturer: Manchester University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: 0719070244

Book Description

Shakespeare's Catholic context was the most important literary discovery of the last century. In Secret Shakespeare, Richard Wilson asks why the dramatist remained so enigmatic about his own beliefs, and so silent on the atrocities he survived. Shakespeare constructed a drama not of discovery, like his rivals, but of darkness, deferral, evasion and disguise, where, for all his hopes of a "golden time" of future toleration, "What's to come" is always unsure. Whether or not "He died a papist," it is because we can never "pluck out the heart" of his mystery that Shakespeare's plays retain their unique potential to resist. This is essential reading for all scholars of Shakespeare and Renaissance studies.

Average customer rating:

Francis Bacon and His Secret Society
Constance M. Pott
Manufacturer: Ams Pr Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0404050964

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books