Koncocoo

Best Comparative Literature

The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain, from Vienna 1900 to the Present
A brilliant book by Nobel Prize winner Eric R. Kandel, The Age of Insight takes us to Vienna 1900, where leaders in science, medicine, and art began a revolution that changed forever how we think about the human mind—our conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions—and how mind and brain relate to art. Kandel tells the story of how these pioneers—Freud, Schnitzler, Klimt, Kokoschka, and Schiele—inspired by the Vienna School of Medicine, in turn influenced the founders of the Vienna School of Art History to ask pivotal questions such as What does the viewer bring to a work of art? Kandel, one of the leading scientific thinkers of our time, places these five innovators in the context of today’s cutting-edge science and gives us a new understanding of the modernist art of Klimt, Kokoschka, and Schiele, as well as the school of thought of Freud and Schnitzler. Advance praise for The Age of Insight “Eric Kandel has succeeded in a brilliant synthesis that would have delighted and fascinated Freud: Using Viennese culture of the twentieth century as a lens, he examines the intersections of psychology, neuroscience, and art. No one else could have written this book—all its readers will be amply rewarded.” —Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education “Eric Kandel’s training as a psychiatrist and his vast knowledge of how the brain works enrich this thoroughly original exploration of the relationship between the birth of psychoanalysis, Austrian Expressionism, and Modernism in Vienna.” —Margaret Livingstone, Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School “This is the book that Charles Darwin would have produced, had he chosen to write about art and aesthetics. ‘I don’t render the visible,’ said Paul Klee, ‘I make visible.’ He echoed Edna St. Vincent Millay’s ‘Euclid alone looked on beauty bare.’ Eric Kandel is of that company.” —Frederic Morton “Nobel laureate Eric Kandel’s path-setting exploration of the connections between neuroscience and the painters Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka establishes a new frontier in the study of this all-important historical period. The shift toward a biological conception of self, which began in Vienna over a hundred years ago, has since decisively shaped our understanding of human nature.” — Jane Kallir, director, Galerie St. Etienne “With infectuous enthusiasm and limitless reverence for his multiple subjects, Kandel deftly steers the reader through a vast and inviting territory of science, the creative process, the mind, emotion, eroticism, empathy, feminism, and the unconscious.
Reviews
"In this richLY rewarding book, Nobel laureate Eric Kandel (2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine) attempts to draw together two widely disparate disciplines, the visual arts and brain science. Using the art world and science world of turn of the century Vienna, and focusing on the three extraordinary artists who among them forged Austrian Expressionism -Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980), and Egon Schiele (1890-1918) - asks three questions: *Does art have universal functions and features? While they add little new to our understanding of their works, Kandel's comments on why they worked are sensible and, more important yet, given the eventual aim of the book (the book's arc) they provide a bridge to the later discussion of how in fact the brain processes visual information and, briefly, a discussion of "the brain as a creativity machine." After a relatively short (40 pp) discussion of the cognitive psychology of perception, it concentrates on how the brain receives, stores and organizes information, and the implications of this for the visual arts. Discussing the dominant role of line in art, Kandel observes: "Artists have always realized that objects are defined by their shapes, which in turn derive from their edges. There are numerous color illustrations, works of art and diagrams of the brain, and black and white photographs and schematic drawings of the nervous system, etc."
"Author has masterful knowledge of neurology, and deep insight into Freud and Klimt, but I felt that the master plan of the book never quite came together."
"I read this book on loan from a friend, and decided I needed to own my own copy."
"It appears that the connection was made in private homes in Vienna near the turn of the last century, when scientists, physicians and artists who were most prominent during those years and at that place liked to get together, informally and talk about what interested them most. So, they began to change the way they painted, trying ever and ever to indicate the way humans act and think."
""The Age of Insight" gave me enormous insight into Vienna before World War I, the wonderful confluence of artists, psychologists, scientists, writers, and musicians who knew and influenced one another."
"It was very informative and well connected between the multiple disciplines of art, psychology, biology, chemistry, and science in general."
"I cannot really say where Dr. Kandel's wide-spanning mind might not seek to go."
"I bought Amazon Prime so I could get this shipped in time for Christmas."
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The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present
By presenting more than seventy-five personal essays, including influential forerunners from ancient Greece, Rome, and the Far East, masterpieces from the dawn of the personal essay in the sixteenth century, and a wealth of the finest personal essays from the last four centuries, editor Phillip Lopate, himself an acclaimed essayist, displays the tradition of the personal essay in all its historical grandeur, depth, and diversity. He devotes extensive space to Montaigne, "the patron saint of personal essayists," but we also hear from unfamiliar voices, such as a tenth-century Japanese court lady, and from special branches of the essay, such as the American humorists.
Reviews
""The Art of the Personal Essay" is a great collection of essays on a variety of topics including family, food, personal loss, illness, politics, relationships and more."
"The author gives an excellent overview of the personal essay as a genre -- how the essay is put together, why it works, what makes it so charming and interesting."
"The essay has long been a favorite form of writing, or should I say reading."
"I I think the essay format is a lovely way to teach food addict about how to recover."
"Laurie Stone, the essayist and creative writing teacher, recommended this book to me as the most essential volume on the personal essay. The editor, Philip Lopate, is one of the most well-respected authors of the personal essay and he has compiled this anthology of pieces from the classical era to the present."
"Jam-packed with fine-to-excellent American essays."
"Despite purchasing this book used, the condition was good, too."
"Big difference between essay and personal essay."
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Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature (Princeton Classics)
A brilliant display of erudition, wit, and wisdom, his exploration of how great European writers from Homer to Virginia Woolf depicted reality has taught generations how to read Western literature. Ranging over works in Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and English, Auerbach used his remarkable skills in philology and comparative literature to refute any narrow form of nationalism or chauvinism, in his own day and ours. This is true too of the originality of Mr. Auerbach's critical method which is at once encyclopedic and microscopic, combining the disciplines of philology, literary criticism, and history." "One of the most important and readable books in literary criticism of the past 15 years . Princeton's 50th anniversary edition of Mimesis has an introduction by the late literary and cultural critic Edward Said that by itself is worth the price of the book. --Guy Davenport, Los Angeles Times Book Review. I don't think a more significant or useful book of criticism has been written in the half-century since Mimesis was published. [In] producing such a rich, strong book on how to read, Auerbach composed a virtual manual on how to write, one I've referred back to again and again since the day, almost two decades ago, when I first happened upon it." "[T]he greatest single work of literary criticism of the 20th century. [S]o suggestive, so rich in understanding and insight, so useful in teaching one how to reach more deeply and appreciatively is the book that it is difficult to believe that anyone will ever again have the intellectual resources to write another book about literature anywhere near as powerful. Written while the Nazis were marching across Europe, Mimesis is a strong reminder of the glory of Western literature, and by extension of Western civilization, and of what is at stake in the battle against those who would simplify, politicize, or otherwise degrade it."
Reviews
"Little hard to get anywhere in this-maybe its a little dated, maybe this guy's to smart for me, maybe its other things."
"Not for everyone and it requires work, research and some intelligence -- but WHAT rewards!"
"a masterpiece, incomparably perceptive and knowledgeable: one's life thereafter is immeasurably enriched."
"It is the story of how we arrived at the great good of modern realism."
"the primary issues are always to get a clear picture of the language and how it is used, to situate the narrative voice and outline what it does and does not depict about the world, the reason for or rhetorical consequences of its representation of reality, the life background and aspirations of the author, and the connection of all these things to the cultural norms in which the text was created. auerbach typically starts with the simplest ordering in a text -- the dramatic scene structures of abbé prevost and voltaire, the syllogistic argument of montaigne's essay, the narrative confusion in gregory of tours -- then cracks open the deeper significance, sometimes by quoting from contrasting passages in other works."
"Not surprisingly the most accessible chapters are the first (Homer and the Old Testament) and the last (Virginia Woolf) which are not presented as translations Liberal arts education has changed radically since this book was first published (in German) over sixty years ago. Because there are very few modern readers who will have a similar level of erudition as Auerbach it would be helpful for the book to be reissued with appropriate footnotes."
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Best CLEP Test Guides

CLEP® Introductory Psychology Book + Online (CLEP Test Preparation)
Earn College Credit with REA's Test Prep for CLEP® Introductory Psychology Everything you need to pass the exam and get the college credit you deserve. Our CLEP® test preps are perfect for adults returning to college (or attending for the first time), military service members, high-school graduates looking to earn college credit, or home-schooled students with knowledge that can translate into college credit. Our test preps for CLEP® exams help you earn valuable college credit, save on tuition, and get a head start on your college degree. His current research focuses on the cognitive representation of emotion knowledge and on the social psychological processes involved in gossip.
Reviews
"The CLEP Introductory Psychology preparation book covered all the material on the practice exams but only approximately 30% of the material on the real exam."
"Took the first practice test and scored a 22."
"Dont study this book by itself, you really need the guide to get other topics not included in the book."
"**In addition to this book, I also used the official clep study guide ($10 PDF that provides test questions) through collegeboard.com and also read through the intro to psych spark notes website to make sure I had a good grasp on the material covered in the exam."
"I only had a few day to study and this is the only book I used along with the practice exams."
"Our son has successfully completed fourteen CLEP examinations for a total of 48 transferrable college credits."
"Great book."
"For those of who are taking the CLEP test soon, there are many questions abou the history of psychology, as in who said what, who thought what, who came from what background, etc."
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Best Women Author Literary Criticism

We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live: Collected Nonfiction (Everyman's Library)
Includes seven books in one volume: the full texts of. Slouching Towards Bethlehem; The White Album; Salvador; Miami; After Henry; Political Fictions; and Where I Was From. The White Album covers the revolutionary politics and the “contemporary wasteland” of the late sixties and early seventies, in pieces on the Manson family, the Black Panthers, and Hollywood. “[Didion’s is] one of the most recognizable—and brilliant—literary styles to emerge in America during the past four decades . Didion has remained a clearheaded and original writer all her long life.”. — Newsweek. They come at you, if not from ambush, then in gnomic haikus, ice pick laser beams, or waves. Even the space on the page around these sentences is more interesting than it ought to be, as if to square a sandbox for a Sphinx.”. —from the Introduction by John Leonard.
Reviews
"A wonderful collection that will leaving you feeling you are not missing out on any of the essential non-fiction of Didion."
"This is an outstanding collection of vintage and new Didion."
"I only became aware of Joan Didion after hearing about her bestseller, The Year of Magical Thinking, which I got, and found absolutely touching."
"What can I say, Didion is a great writer."
"She's one of my favorite writers and I was happy to get an anthology of her non-fiction work."
"Joan wrote her best when she wrote about California."
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Best Literary Movements & Periods

The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World
As an immigrant from Poland to England, and in travels from Malaya to Congo to the Caribbean, Conrad navigated an interconnected world, and captured it in a literary oeuvre of extraordinary depth. In a compelling blend of history, biography, and travelogue, Maya Jasanoff follows Conrad’s routes and the stories of his four greatest works— The Secret Agent , Lord Jim , Heart of Darkness , and Nostromo . “Brilliant…Jasanoff is an insightful and imaginative historian…The book comes in the form of a biography of Joseph Conrad, but in fact through Conrad she tells the story of a whole phase in world history…Boundless curiosity is also an attribute of Maya Jasanoff...[Her] travels have given her an empathy and an understanding for Conrad, and also for the victims of imperialism, that breathe on every page of this magnificent book…This is the best book on Conrad since [Ian] Watt’s. “Enlightening, compassionate, superb” —John Le Carré “With wit, nuance, and roving insight, Harvard historian Maya Jasanoff’s The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World maps the massively influential and controversial author’s life and work, finding that the themes of his time—dislocation and connection, immigration and xenophobia, power and powerlessness—uncannily mirror our own.” — Megan O’Grady, Vogue.com’s 10 Best Books of 2017 “[A] brilliant study . “[Jasanoff] Skillfully integrates details of Conrad’s life and accounts of his four greatest works, linking the challenges and forces that lie behind and within the novels to those of the 21st century…A powerful encouragement to read his books.” —. The Economist “This is an unobtrusively skillful, subtle, clear-eyed book, beautifully narrated…It is Jasanoff’s warmth towards her subject that comes through.” — Financial Times. “[Conrad’s] life story has been told many times, but Maya Jasanoff’s stands out for its vivid and imaginative writing…she provides rich background details on multiple topics…her attempts to reveal the hidden springs of Conrad’s fiction are often perceptive.” — Sunday Times (UK). “A great biography of Conrad for our times could never be just a biography of Conrad. To read it is to be a stowaway in the hull of a ship sailing from Conrad’s times to our own, as swift as the wind.” —Jill Lepore “In Dawn Watch , Maya Jasanoff has fashioned a singular craft for exploring the rapids and crosscurrents of a newly globalized era. The journey is intellectually exhilarating, and brings us to a richer understanding not only of Conrad’s world but our own.” —Kwame Anthony Appiah "Maya Jasanoff’s masterpiece....one of the most important books on colonialism to be written in our time, and by one of our most brilliant young historians." Maya Jasanoff is an eloquent historian and an erudite storyteller; she almost persuaded me to re-read Nostromo .” —Geoff Dyer “Jasanoff has done her research on sea and land as well as in the archives, and her book is often thrilling to read as it travels the world with Conrad. An admirable and profoundly meditated biography, worthy of its subject.” —Claire Tomalin “A guided tour of the underside of empire, led by the fiction of Joseph Conrad and the erudition of Maya Jasanoff, The Dawn Watch is history, biography, and adventure story.
Reviews
"This is a wonderfully written piece of excellent engaging prose."
"Really good, especially if you have any interest in Joseph Conrad and his works."
"If you have an interest in the works of Joseph Conrad or wish to learn more about how he lived his life, then this book should be read."
"She observes, “In this book I set out to explore Conrad’s world with the compass of a historian, the chart of a biographer, and the navigational sextant of a fiction reader.”. Conrad was born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski on December 3, 1857, to Polish parents in Berdichev (now Berdychiv), Ukraine, and was raised and educated primarily in Poland. The silhouette of forest scrolled past, interrupted now and then by villages of thatched huts on poles...But the jungle wasn’t closing in, there was no sense of menace, and rather than feeling alienated from my surroundings, I was embraced into a veritable floating village...I had come to Congo to find Conrad, yet he had never felt further away. Perhaps moreso today than when Korzeniowski embarked on his first voyage and retired from his last, our world is vulnerable to “the awful attribute of our nature...[one that] is not so far under the surface as we think.”. In this context, I am again reminded of an observation by Joan Didion: " “I suppose I am talking about just that: the ambiguity of belonging to a generation distrustful of political highs, the historical irrelevancy of growing up convinced that the heart of darkness lay not in some error of social organization but in man’s own blood.”. I plan to re-read once again Maya Jasanoff’s brilliant book as well as Heart of Darkness and probably Lord Jim."
"As this suggests, her range is wide and her knowledge is deep. Here are a couple of particularly lovely sentences: “Pine-scented summer veered into dank, frost-nipped autumn.” Or, a page later, “Even when you can trace the fault lines, there’s no knowing where or when an earthquake will strike.” Yes, sometimes an “off” sentence sounds, “Fog slung moist arms around the town’s shoulders.” But the next sentence redeems: “Wet, black forest scratched its back.” Jasanoff has traveled down the Congo and other Conradian places, all the better to give you a sense of what he may have experienced and seen (albeit with an eye to how things have changed) and how this author has a restless and insatiable appetite for experience, akin to Conrad’s."
"With the sweeping narrative of a great history, the perception of an insightful biography, and the eloquence of a great novel, The Dawn Watch recounts much more than the story of Polish-born British author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)."
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Best Literary Criticism & Theory

The Night Before Christmas
Our modern image of Santa Claus as a bearded, plump, jolly figure can be traced back to Moore’s famous description of St. Nick: "He had a broad face, and a little round belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly." PreS Up–Spirin's richly colored and ornate colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations opposite each page of text place this version of the classic poem in a nostalgic, 18th-century European town.
Reviews
"It is the night before Christmas, what other story is appropriate to read to my grandson."
"I didn't read the dimensions, this is a pocket size book."
"Very nice book."
"Perfect gift for infants book collection."
"The illustrations in this book are fantastic."
"Great book and beautiful pictures!"
"I cannot explain the excitement I felt being able to share "the night before Christmas" story with my only grandchild I'd never met in person."
"the book is very small in size."
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Best Regional & Cultural Literary Criticism

A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic
A delightful Christmas storybook for adults based on the action-packed Die Hard movie. All John McClane wants for Christmas is to reunite with his estranged family. Author: Doogie Horner is a comedian, author, and illustrator.
Reviews
"which is the most amazing part of this book."
"It's a must buy for Die Hard fans and an "Hmm, I'm not sure" buy for parents who want to introduce their toddlers to Die Hard."
"Written in the style of the classic "Twas the Night Before Christmas" this hilarious story sets the ongoing argument to rest, proving once and for all that Die Hard is indeed a Christmas movie."
"I bought this for my fiancé for Christmas because we both love Die Hard and I thought this would be a cute gift idea and he loved it."
"Doogie Horner is genius."
"If you love the greatest Christmas movie ever and have any sense of humor, you MUST get this book."
"Got it as a joke gift and a card for the entire family."
"Well drawn, funny, and rhymes!"
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Best Literary Genre History & Criticism

DC Comics Encyclopedia All-New Edition
Formatted in an easy-to use A-to-Z layout, this guide is packed with information and thrilling comic book art and features more than 1,100 characters including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Joker, and much more.
Reviews
"My 12 year old son got this book at our local library and then kept renewing it over and over again because he liked it so much."
"Got it as a gift for a friend and he loves it, he says the illustrations are from comics and so far every character is included, he is yet to find any character missing, and the illustrations are really nice."
"So far so good."
"Awesome encyclopedia for newcomers to DC comics or fanatics like me!"
"This book is so awesome!"
"I had no idea the history and detail of the superhero world."
"My brother received a marvel encyclopedia for his bday so I gave him this for Christmas."
"I purchased this book for my son as a birthday present."
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Best Literary History & Criticism Reference

The Outlandish Companion (Revised and Updated): Companion to Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, and Drums of Autumn
In this beautifully illustrated compendium of all things Outlandish, Gabaldon covers the first four novels of the main series, including: • full synopses of Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, and Drums of Autumn • a complete listing of the characters (fictional and historical) in the first four novels in the series, as well as family trees and genealogical notes. • a comprehensive glossary and pronunciation guide to Gaelic terms and usage. • The Gabaldon Theory of Time Travel, explained. • frequently asked questions to the author and her (sometimes surprising) answers. • an annotated bibliography. • essays about medicine and magic in the eighteenth century, researching historical fiction, creating characters, and more. • professionally cast horoscopes for Jamie and Claire. • the making of the TV series: how we got there from here, and what happened next (including “My Brief Career as a TV Actor”). • behind-the-scenes photos from the Outlander TV series set. For anyone who wants to spend more time with the Outlander characters and the world they inhabit, Diana Gabaldon here opens a door through the standing stones and offers a guided tour of what lies within. For nine years, four books, and nearly 4,000 pages, Diana Gabaldon has entranced readers with her talent for historical authenticity, dramatic plot lines, and strong characters in the Outlander series.
Reviews
"Bought this as a gift, so I really did not read it, but have read most of the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon, which I love."
"Love her books, every one, read them over and over again and still can't get enough of them."
"This book helps put all of the marvelous characters together in an easy to use edition."
"If you LOVE Diana Gabaldon's OUTLANDER books and TV series this is a MUST HAVE!!!"
"good show to Collection >> very comprehensive."
"I gave this book to my wife for an anniversary present and she squealed she was so excited."
"books of the OUTLANDER SAGA SO...if you haven't read them or even watched the 1st half of season 1 on Starz...DO NOT READ UNTIL AFTER you've done so...unless, that's what you want to do."
"review of story and how scenes were done- I am an Outlander fan - a great addition to my collection."
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Best Book History & Criticism

Remarkable Books: The World's Most Beautiful and Historic Works
A beautifully illustrated guide to more than 75 of the world's most celebrated, rare, and seminal books and handwritten manuscripts ever produced, with discussions of their purpose, features, and creators. Michael Collins is a native of Ireland and studied theology at the University College Dublin.
Reviews
"The definition of a good coffee table book, this work is almost impossible to avoid picking it up and paging through. Along with photographs of pages from the first edition which include a discussion of 16th century typesetting, is a general synopsis of the book’s subject matter, a thumbnail biography of the author, an over-view of culture during the book’s release and an In Context section which explores its impact in history which in this case is a look at the founding fathers of the U.S. Not every work in the book is covered as lavishly, for example in the final section most books, On the Road by Jack Kerouak has four or five columnar inches and a picture of the cover of the book. The inclusions cover a vast range of subjects from definitive botanical and anatomical works, ancient Egyptian Books of the Dead and the I Ching to Beatrice Potter’s Peter Rabbit along with Penguin publishers first 10 paperback books creating a thoroughly engaging volume."
"A stunning volume spanning centuries of beautiful books from all cultures."
"From earliest times, when books were laboriously written on clay tablets, papyrus, parchment, and paper, until the present, with millions of us obtaining books, magazines, and other reading matter electronically, books have been a hallmark of civilization. While doing so, you will discover a treasure trove about the Gutenberg Bible, Leonardo da Vinci's remarkable notebooks, Vesalius's studies of the human body that set "a new standard for anatomical illustration," Samuel Johnson's extraordinary dictionary, Audubon's masterpiece, "Birds of America," Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.""
"I thought not...). "Remarkable Books" is too big to sit down with and read all at once. However, it's a wonderful book to start at the beginning - 3000BCE - and goes on through the ages to modern times."
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