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Lives that Never Grow Old Part of a radical new series --edited by Richard Holmes -- that recovers the great classical tradition of English biography. Johnson's book is a biographical masterpiece, still thrilling to read and vividly alive.When he first came to London, young Samuel Johnson was befriended by the flamboyant poet, playwright and blackmailer, Richard Savage. Walking the backstreets at night, he learned Savage's extraordinary story -- supposedly persecuted by a 'cruel mother', sentenced to death for a murder in a brothel, appointed Volunteer Poet Laureate to the Queen, and finally broken and outcast.With this moving and intimate account, Johnson created a brilliant black comedy of 18th-century Grub Street which revolutionised English biography by its psychological realism. Yet Savage's destructive charm and delusions of grandeur sometimes even threatened to entangle Johnson himself. ... Read more

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As well as containing the major texts in Wimsatt's volume, Woudhuysen includes more of Johnson's annotations of individual plays and his essay "Preface to Shakespeare". It looks at Johnson's studies on Shakespeare in their 18th century context and analyzes their significance and achievement. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

fantastic
should be required reading for all politicians-if we have to listen to them trading insults,they might, at least,be witty!

Insults?Maybe, but very mild
The book is a useful guide to the way its many words were once used. I looked for an occasional surprise in the word list, but didn't find many.

Beware of 'backfriends' Amusing
This is an amusing collection of the 'snubs, sneers, slights and effronteries' by the 'Great Cham'. Lynch arranges them in alphabetical order and adds his own interesting commentary on their origins. In writing for instance of 'backfriends' that is of friends who behind the back to others speak about their friend in ways not friendly at all. He tells us the story of Boswell's resentment of Hester Thrale whom Johnson gave more time with him,and his revenge on her by filling his 'Life of Johnson' with insulting remarks about her. These led her to say that if all friends are like Johnsonone should have nofriends at all.
This is an amusing work especially for those who love the study of Language and all its unending varieties and duplicities.

Over three hundred of Samuel Johnson's nastier barbs
Over three hundred of Samuel Johnson's nastier barbs and their meanings are gathered from his various writings under one cover to appeal to modern readers seeking new ways of insulting. Quotes are often accompanied not just by definitions but insights into the source of the barb or quip, revealing further insights into Samuel Johnson's works and life as well. Samuel Johnson's Insults: A Compendium of Snubs, Sneers, Slights and Effronteries from the Eighteenth-Century Master is highly entertaining and enthusiastically recommended reading.

Classic Zingers
If you are at a loss for words when annoyed, read this.The insults are selected from Johnson's famous eighteenth century Dictionary of the English Language.Bet you never thought to call someone a jobbernowl or a moon-calf.
Actually this is great for anyone who likes reading historic romances and is curious about some words used by the characters.Example: "rakehel - a wild, worthless, dissolute, debauched, sorry fellow."The book contains over 300 of these insults. ... Read more

Product Description
A unique one-volume selection of Samuel Johnson’s writings on spiritual and moral topics provides an unusually inspiring portrait of the man and his thought.

Most readers know Dr. Johnson (1709—1784) as the formidable compiler of his famous Dictionary and as the witty conversationalist portrayed in Boswell’s Life. By contrast, this book–which draws on little-known unsigned sermons he wrote for hire for clergy friends, his private prayers and devotions, essays, poems, diaries, letters, and even key definitions from the Dictionary–offers a rare opportunity to discover Johnson’s rich insight and consoling spirituality gathered in one place. Boswell observed that "He was a sincere and zealous ChristianÉ. He was steady and inflexible in maintaining the obligations of religion and morality; both from a regard for the order of society, and from a veneration for the Great Source of all order." This Vintage Spiritual Classics Original opens a window on the moral universe of the leading English writer of the eighteenth century. ... Read more

Product Description
The Works of Samuel Johnson, Volume 06 - Reviews, Political Tracts, and Lives of Eminent Persons is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Samuel Johnson is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Samuel Johnson then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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A modern biography of Samuel Johnson that will serve as the definitive work on the legendary British man of letters

In this groundbreaking portrait of Samuel Johnson, David Nokes positions the great thinker in his rightful place as an active force in the Enlightenment, not a mere recorder or performer, and demonstrates how his interaction with life impacted his work. This is the story of how Johnson struggled to define the English language, why he embarked upon such foolhardiness, and where he found the courage to do so. Moving beyond James Boswell’s seminal narrative about the life of the preeminent eighteenth-century novelist, literary critic, biographer, editor, essayist, and lexicographer, this biography addresses his life and action through the hitherto unexplored perspectives of such major players as Johnson’s wife, Tetty; Hester Thrale, in whose household he resided for seventeen years while working on his annotated Shakespeare; and Frances Barber, the black manservant who in many ways was like a son to Johnson. An in-depth interrogation of the primary sources, particularly the letters, offer surprising insight into Johnson’s formative experiences. At last, here’s a reading of the great man that will reveal the rightful glory of an enduring work and an incomparable scholar.

Customer Reviews (4)

Unexciting
Difficult as it may be to write an uninspiring biography of Samuel Johnson, David Nokes has almost succeeded in this book, which is redeemed more by the occasional flashes of Johnson's own wit than by any great felicity of style on the part of the biographer. Even Harold Bloom, in praising Nokes' book, could find no more flattering adjective than "workmanlike" to describe Nokes' writing. One of the great pleasures of reading about a man like Johnson is to become immersed in the great man's overwhelming personality, wit, conversation, and aphorisms. Unfortunately, Nokes's biography doesn't come up to such a standard.

What the reader does get, in reading Nokes, is a workmanlike (there's that word again) account of the progression of Johnson's life; Nokes builds the structure by piling up detail and incident, with some but not a lot of generalizing and interpretation. There's nothing wrong with that approach in general, but in this particular case I found the result a bit too uninspiring to give it a strong recommendation.

Samuel Johnson
Dictionaries are important. Not only do they tell people how to spell words that they do not know, they also promote a common definition, which will not dramatically change from region to region.The person most responsible for this was Samuel Johnson, who lived in the 1700s in England.His most well-known work was publishing a definitive dictionary, bringing together the many different spellings and definitions to promote a standard version.Besides that his life is full of missed opportunities and over-promotion.He constantly thought more of himself than what he actually accomplished.

David Nokes took on the task and telling us why Samuel Johnson's life was so important.Unfortunately the work, //Samuel Johnson//, falls flat throughout.We get the standard biography, with many events happening and all of them very important, though with little analysis or digging into these events; and many events in the long run being not very important or memorable.The best analysis happens when Mr. Nokes is examining some of Johnson's couplets and poems; Mr. Nokes seems more adept at analyzing poems than living the life of a writer.Samuel Johnson's life is not very impressive and he was not that nice of a man.Besides his //Dictionary//, his life is utterly forgettable.

Reviewed by Kevin Winter

An Ordinary Biography of an Extraordinary Biographer
I bought this book after reading a lavish review of this book by Harold Bloom (titled: The Critic's Critic) in
the NY Times Book Review (Nov.8, 2009). I was disappointed with the early sections of the book, not just because of
my large expectations. In fact until it reaches a stage in Johnson's life when he becomes free from his nagging
poverty I found the book uninteresting. Following Johnson's literary success aand recognition after the publication
of the English language dictionary, the book picks up some momentum and becomes more interesting.

I thought there was far too much attention given to Johnson's deep relations with Mrs. Thrale. Far too little is
said about his servant Frank Barber to whom Johnson must have felt a special bond, having bequethed Barber most
of his wealth. One is left to wonder why so little is said about the latter relationship. Could it be because
not much material in terms of correspondence is available to shed light on this relationship? It should be observed that
the author Nokes relies heavily on correspondence (with very extensive quotes) for much of the book.

A positive feature of the book is the language partially helped by Johnson's own writings. Throughout the book I
could sense that the author is a gifted writer of the English language.

Nokes On SJ
It is to civilization's benefit that biographies of Samuel Johnson abound, especially in and near the 300th anniversary year ofhis birth.

David Nokes provides his version of the life in a straightforward text drawn mainly from the letters and other published material of the era related directly to Dr. Johnson. However, there is little help here for the common reader describing the times in which he lived. And, Professor Nokes is one who values the importance of Hester Thrale, far above that of James Boswell, to Doctor Johnson's actual life. (While the Professor is most likely correct on this point, I would much rather have spent an evening or two bending an elbow in London with Boswell than with Thrale.)

This is a good, competent biography; but I would first recommend to interested readers last year's effort by Jeffrey Meyers over the one reviewed here. And I would even more highly recommend"Selected Writings of Samuel Johnson" as edited by Peter Martin. Lastly, please read Boswell's famous work if this book lies unread in your library. (If not in your library, buy it.)


... Read more

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Preface to a Dictionary of the English Language. please visit www.valdebooks.com for a full list of titles ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Johnson is a pleasure to read
Johnson's view of language and a dictionary is definitely worth the time to read.His entertaning use of English and curmudgeonly attitude make this all worthwhile, even if he is occasionly mistaken in some detail. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Publisher: J. Burns; Publication date: 1847; Subjects: Biography ... Read more

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A fascinating biographical account of Samuel Johnson's. Mainly based on his letters, it elegantly entwines the details of his personal life with that of his career. Truly Captivating!
... Read more

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A Grammar of the English Tongue
Lives of the Poets: Addison, Savage, etc.
Lives of the Poets: Gay, Thomson, Young etc.
A Journey to the Western Isles of Scotland
Lives of the English Poets: Prior, Congreve, Blackmore, Pope
Lives of the Poets: Waller, Milton, Cowley
Johnson's Notes to Shakespeare Vol. I Comedies
Preface to Shakespeare
Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia
The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749) and Two Rambler papers (1750)
The Rambler and The Adventurer
Parlimentary Debates I
Parlimentary Debates II ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Volume: 2; Original Published by: Derby & Jackson in 1858 in 495 pages; Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Literary; History / Ancient / Rome; Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; Philosophy / Political; Political Science / Political Ideologies / Communism & Socialism; Science / Chemistry / General;Amazon.com Review
James Boswell is for some the ideal scribe, for others asycophantic toady. Edmund Wilson, for example, memorably labeled him "a vain andpushing diarist." Boswell can even be seen as someone unconsciouslyintent on undermining his idol in sonorous, balanced sentences. Earlyon in his massive Life, he puts all manner of ideas into our headswith his boobish attempts to clear the youthful Johnson of potentialimpropriety: "His juvenile attachments to the fair sex were, however,very transient; and it is certain that he formed no criminalconnection whatsoever." And while it's often tempting to ignoreBoswell's more personal intrusions and delight solely in themelancholic master's words and deeds, there are suchdelightful admissions as, "I was at this time so occupied, shall I call it? or sodissipated, by the amusements of London that our next meeting was nottill Saturday, June 25..."

Samuel Johnson was born in 1709 and died in 1784--a long life, thoughone marred by depression and fear of death. On April 20, 1764, forexample, he declared, "I would consent to have a limb amputated torecover my spirits." Many of the quotes Boswell includes are a sort ofgreatest hits: Johnson's definitions of oats and lexicographer, hislove for his cat Hodge, as well as thousands of bon, and mal,mots. ("Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel"; "Sir, awoman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hinder legs. It isnot done well; but you are surprized to find it done at all.") Butthere are also many unfamiliar pleasures--Boswell's accounts ofJohnson's literary industry, including the Dictionary, The Rambler,and Lives of the Poets; Johnson's singular loathing for Scotland andFrance; and the surprising hints of revelry.Awakened at 3 AM byfriends, he greets them with, "What, is it you, you dogs! I'll have afrisk with you." This at age 42. Johnson's final years were marked bypain and loneliness but certainly no loss of wit. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Biographical Masterpiece
James Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson is often called the greatest biography of all-time and may well be. Perhaps such a work can get no higher praise, but it is also highly notable as the first true modern biography - the first really resembling what we think of as biography today. Boswell set new standards for thoroughness, accuracy, and research, greatly expanding the very concept of what a biography could be. He was also very far ahead of his time in anticipating what was later called gonzo journalism - writers inserting themselves into real-life stories; it is of course not done in the same way as later writers, but the concept is similar. Most remarkable of all, though, is that the book is immensely readable, entertaining, and edifying over two hundred years later, which can be said of very few biographies. It is absolutely essential for anyone even remotely interested in Johnson, Boswell, or the late eighteenth century European intellectual circle.

Johnson was perhaps England's best known writer during his last several decades and one of the most famous in the world besides being widely known and renowned for lexicographical and other accomplishments. However, this book's greatness and fame are such that he has long been known primarily via it. Many read it who have read very little or none of him, showing that, unlike nearly all biographies, it has earned a life of its own. There are many reasons for this, not least the fine writing. Even more fundamental is that the book vividly brings an exciting, integral, and profoundly influential era to life. It covers the late Enlightenment when many of the most important people to ever live were prominent. In addition to Johnson, we get first-hand glimpses of such illustrious personages as Adam Smith, Oliver Goldsmith, Pasquale Paoli, David Garrick, and many, many others. Numerous other heavyweights - Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, King George III, etc. - are only slightly in the background. We also get contemporaneous accounts of major events like the American Revolution and the lead up to the French Revolution. In short, though ostensibly the biography of one person, the book is as vibrant, lifelike, and memorable an account of a supremely important era as any history book.

Yet Johnson is always the focus, shown literally from birth to death. Anyone interested in him will find a wealth of information about all aspects of his life as well as his thoughts, feelings, influences, intellectual background, and far more. There is also a great deal of information about his work. Unlike nearly all biographers, Boswell actually knew Johnson well; he was his friend for many years and spent several months annually in his company, essentially interviewing him and making voluminous notes of his conversation. This last is indeed the book's heart and by far its most famous element. Johnson was perhaps his era's most famous conversationalist, revered for wit and argument; Boswell heard many hours of his conversation and reports faithfully. His style here was again innovative. Rather than sprinkling isolated quotes anecdotally, he went to great pains to reproduce full conversations, not only describing the setting and others present but even using drama-like name headings for full verisimilitude. We thus not only see what Johnson said but where, how, and usually why he said it. Many world famous Johnson sayings that would otherwise be lost - i.e., "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" - are immortalized here, as well as some quotes by others. This alone would make the book of great value.

Much has been made of how Boswell's presence affected this; knowing he would write the biography, or at least thinking it possible, he undoubtedly orchestrated much, drawing Johnson out when he might have otherwise been silent. Much of this would have been done in any case as he clearly admired Johnson and loved his talk, but there is no denying the question's importance. Some have condemned Boswell as a shameless celebrity whore or otherwise questioned his motives and veracity, but nearly everyone will consider this nitpicking, fascinating as the question is. For nearly everyone, it makes the book better - far more personal and engaging than biographies are usually even capable of being. Also, for what it is worth, such things mean the book in many ways tells us nearly as much about Boswell as Johnson, making it a sort of hybrid biography/autobiography.

Boswell understandably focuses on the years he knew Johnson, meaning the book is greatly lopsided in favor of the later years after Johnson became famous and nearly all his major work was done. This will annoy those who want a more balanced overview, especially as Boswell makes short shrift of some important early events. Those wanting a more conventional balance should get one of several later biographies, especially as Boswell makes a few errors and, at least according to later sources, leaves out some highly interesting - if not necessarily essential - facts. He openly admits doing so at the start in order to protect Johnson's reputation, though much of what he says elsewhere is unflattering, but some of it may have been unknown to him. For most, though, this is the only Johnson biography that will ever be needed - and its greatness, influence, and importance are such that it is required for all readers with even the slightest interest in English and European literature and history and the art of biography even if they care little or nothing for Johnson or Boswell.

As for this edition, it has a wealth of supplemental material, making it ideal for serious readers. An excellent, lengthy introduction gives substantial background on Johnson, Boswell, and the book plus some critical insight. There is also a worthwhile bibliography, a chronology, and a supremely useful index. As with other Everyman hardbacks, the book itself is also very high quality - clothbound with very strong binding and even a built-in bookmark. This is one of the best versions available.

Beware: This is ABRIDGED!!!!!!
This is the abridged version! Don't get this!

I love Boswell's Life of Johnson, it is one of my favorite books in the world. (Definitely in the top five).

It has altered my outlook on life, the universe, and everything.... in a permanently positive manner.

But I absolutely hate, loath, and despise all pitiful "abridged" versions.

And I could not find anywhere on Amazon's page that this is abridged!

Now I have to send it back! What a pain!

One of the Lions of England
'No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money,' Samuel Johnson.
Sorry, it is a hobby.

Samuel Johnson the writer of the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language, which was a very big deal in his day as the elite felt the English language was in decline due to it being influenced by so many foreign influences and the marvel of Samuel Johnson's efforts and method of writing made him, according to Lord Chesterfield Lord Chesterfield's Letters (Oxford World's Classics), as someone to be deferred to as the "Caesar" of the English language. Samuel Johnson, along with his friend and former pupil David Garrick, helped place Shakespeare as the permanent king of the English language; further, Johnson was a great and singular essayist and has an eternal place as a minor poet of the English language. His dictionary shot Johnson into the inner circle of elite in English society.

Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson" is a fascinating read as Boswell traces Johnson's life story. Samuel Johnson and Edmund Burke, a friend of his, and together the center of English political and cultural life with the 'Literary Club' that they had both started were big players in forming the English reaction to the major liberal events going on in their day and could be said to be the fathers of modern conservatism. They were alive to face the genesis of modern liberalism, in the form of Jean Jacque Rousseau along with the American Revolution, theirs was the conservative response. 'What hypocrites are the drivers of negroes to be demanding liberty,' Johnson in reference to the Americans. (It is funny that Samuel Johnson was against slavery while the more liberal Boswell was for it). Although, I know Edmund Burke felt England to be in the reconcilable wrong with the American Revolution Edmund Burke's Speech on conciliation with the American colonies,: Delivered in the House of commons, March 22, 1775; ed., with notes and a study plan ... I. Crane (Twentieth century text-books) the Doctor, Samuel Johnson, did not and felt the Revolutionaries hypocritical ingrates. What is good about conservatism lays with these two fellows, Burke and Johnson. It is also amusing that Johnson's conservativism included the observation that countries should be judged by the condition in which their poor lived, disapprobation given to the worse.

Samuel Johnson came from very humble roots and his early life was spent in modest means, fortunately he was surrounded by books. His first years in London were quite a struggle, near pennyless, sometimes sleeping on the streets.The money he ended up getting for writing the dictionary wasn't much in the end, it was the fame that got him some wealth.

A marvelous read. Giving advice about the legal profession, education: his advice - just do it; habits form early and habits are hard to break... lots of interesting views from how to conduct oneself socially (Boswell seemed in constant search of this) to political commentary (one of my favorite was his advice on being weary of those that wrap themselves in the flag)...too much to write about. Boswell, when he first meets Johnson is so filled with awe and reverance but it mellows out some, he even starts playing games with the Doctor; however, he always greatly respects him but the idolitry disipates.

Although Samuel Johnson's conservativeness and strong opinions might turn people off I find it refreshing compared to the stealth tactics of politics today. Politicians don't say what they mean and that is also probably why the Doctor was discouraged from entering politics in his day by some close friends with ties in that area, somethings change only by degree. James Boswell, the author, didn't agree with the Doctor all the time but appreciated the hard, realistic way of looking at things and amusingly delivered (mostly by quirky analogies) that Samuel Johnson did.

Then Boswell is a story in himself. Boswell's Rousseau-ist fever for the notions of the 'Noble Savage, Natural Man' The Noble Savage: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1754-1762 was interesting also; his generation caught it and he had strong sentiments towards it despite Johnson's arguments against its reasoning. This fever also, at the least, lent cover to the American Revolution.

Johnson could only afford one year of college. Received an honarary Doctorate for his dictionary.

One of the books one should read before they turn 20.

The best synopsis of Rousseau and in his own words is probably 'Creed of a Priest of Savoy' The Essential Rousseau (Essentials)

Reputations die hard
If you feel obliged to wade through the canon once in a while, this won't be a waste of your time, though these days Gibbon's roughly contemporaneous history is a much better read, Boswell's extreme formality being a bit wearing over 1200 pages (in the edition I read).
On the other hand, Boswell's telling of Johnson's life is sprightly and certainly not so tedious as the writings of Johnson himself. People who choose to read the Life will not be disappointed.
On yet another hand, I can easily understand why the library copy I borrowed, though purchased in 1949, had not yet been read (the uncut pages showing me so): except to specialists, I would not recommend this book in lieu of, say, 1000 or so others.
I guess this actually is a useless review: if you have already decided to read this, you shan't have gone wrong; if you're looking for a good read, you're probably not looking here.

TRULY A WONDERFUL BOOK THAT JUST TAKES YOU TO ANOTHER TIME AND PLACE
I own the Penguins Classics edition but no matter.The story is wonderfully rich.Boswell really is a master story teller because at no point did the story become dry.I literally read and savored every single word.

All I knew of Johnson is that he wrote the first English Dictionary.But I had no idea this man was full of wit.He had a temper no doubt and definitely went through periods of what sound like moderate to severe depression followed by periods of bursting with energy, joy and wit and incredibly prolific and productive in those bursts, enough so that he surprised most people with his abilities in those bursts of creative genius.I am biased as I am a psychiatric physician but it sound like bipolar disorder to me.

Whatever the case may be, I drank this book up.I'm still reading it, have about 40 pages left and haven't put it down since I picked it up.

A must read just because of the sheer wonderful story contained within! ... Read more

Product Description
Notoriously and self-confessedly intemperate, James Boswell shared with his friend Samuel Johnson a huge appetite for 18th-century life and threw equal energy into recording its every aspect in his vivacious daily JOURNALS. The result is a masterpiece that brims with wit, anecdote and originality and still today continues to enjoy its status as a classic of the language.Amazon.com Review
James Boswell is for some the ideal scribe, for others asycophantic toady. Edmund Wilson memorably labeled him "a vainand pushing diarist." Boswell can even be seen as someoneunconsciously intent on undermining his idol in sonorous, balancedsentences. Early on in his massive Life, he puts all manner ofideas into our heads with his boobish attempts to clear the youthfulJohnson of potential impropriety: "His juvenile attachments tothe fair sex were, however, very transient; and it is certain that heformed no criminal connection whatsoever." And while it's oftentempting to ignore Boswell's more personal intrusions and delightsolely in the melancholic master's words and deeds, there aredelightful admissions as, "I was at this time so occupied, shallI call it? or so dissipated, by the amusements of London that our nextmeeting was not till Saturday, June 25..."

Samuel Johnson was born in 1709 and died in 1784--a long life, thoughone marred by depression and fear of death. On April 20, 1764, forexample, he declared, "I would consent to have a limb amputatedto recover my spirits." Many of the quotes Boswell includes are asort of greatest hits: Johnson's definitions of oats andlexicographer, his love for his cat Hodge, as well as thousands ofbon, and mal, mots. ("Patriotism is the last refuge of thescoundrel"; "Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog'swalking on his hinder legs. It is not done well; but you are surprizedto find it done at all.") But there are also many unfamiliarpleasures--Boswell's accounts of Johnson's literary industry,including the Dictionary, The Rambler and Lives ofthe Poets; Johnson's singular loathing for Scotland and France;and the surprising hints of revelry.Awakened at 3 AM by friends, hegreets them with, "What, is it you, you dogs! I'll have a friskwith you." This at age 42. Johnson's final years were marked bypain and loneliness but certainly no loss of wit. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

A Great Book, Funny and Profound
Note: I made some immature Mormon angry because of my negative reviews of books that attempted to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews almost as fast as they are posted.

I must have really burned him or her because I've deleted this review and re-posted it and within an hour, I had a "not helpful" vote. Give me a break. That person's faith must be very fragile, indeed. Oh, well.

I'm trying to be "helpful," and you can see that it took some work to put this review together.

So, your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks, and I hope you find some enjoyable quotations (below) from Boswell's wonderful book, but first a little history.

Samuel Johnson, the irascible but generous lexicographer of the eighteenth century, is mostly remembered because of Boswell, and Boswell is remembered because he wrote Johnson's biography.

At the time, Johnson was already famous for his "Dictionary of the English Language," an impressive work for the year 1755. Among many other writings, Johnson put out an edition of Shakespeare's works (1765), with valuable notes that are still referred to today.

Johnson published a "series of grave and moral discourses" in the periodical called the Rambler, but when it was translated into Italian, it came out as the ludicrous "El Vagabondo," something far from Johnson's pious intentions. And of good intentions, it was Johnson who said, "Sir, Hell is paved with good intentions."

"(Johnson's) defense of tea against Mr. Jonas Hanway's violent attack upon that elegant and popular beverage, shows how very well a man of genius can write upon the slightest subject, when he writes, as the Italians say, con amore."

Johnson despised Americans and was prejudiced against Scotland. He said, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."

Johnson was a male chauvinist. Yet, he was "a king of men." He was a "robust genius, born to grapple with whole libraries," and although "indolence and procrastination were inherent in his constitution, whenever he made an exertion he did more than any one else."

As a person who is afraid of death in the normal sense, I was surprised that in spite of being very religious, Johnson had an extreme fear of death. "'The better a man is, the more afraid he is of death, having a clearer view of infinite purity.' Said Boswell, "Johnson owned, that our being in an unhappy uncertainty as to our salvation, was mysterious; and said, 'Ah! We must wait till we are in another state of being, to have many things explained to us.' Even the powerful mind of Johnson seemed foiled by futurity."

Boswell's commentary brings to mind a story told by St. Augustine in his monumental City of God. A philosopher was abroad a ship captained by a bad man, and after a violent storm, the fearless captain jeered the philosopher for his terror. Said the philosopher, quoting from a similar incident that occurred to the pagan Aristippus, 'A rogue need not worry about losing his worthless life, but Aristippus has a duty to care for a life like his."

"Johnson knew more books than any man alive. He had a peculiar facility in seizing at once what was valuable in any book, without submitting to the labour of perusing it from beginning to end." But he also held that it was important to "read diligently the great book of mankind."

"Why, Sir, I am a man of the world. I live in the world, and I take, in some degree, the color of the world as it moves along."

Johnson was also the one who said, "When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."

"I love Blair's Sermons," Johnson said. "Though the dog is a Scotchman, and a Presbyterian, and every thing that he should not be, I was the first to praise them. Such was my candor," he said with a smile."

The Life of Samuel Johnson is a treasure trove for the quotable eighteenth century lexicographer and man of letters
The Life of Samuel Johnson is the most famous biography ever written in the English language! Its author was the Scottish lawyer James Boswell
(1740-1795). Boswell was an intemperate soul enjoying boozing it up in taverns; whoring and wenching with ladies of the night; gossiping and quarreling with his rich Dad back in Scotland. Boswell was often a widely travelled worldly man who had visited the likes of Voltaire, Rosseau and Paoli the liberator of Corsican independence. Boswell's words allow us to see what eighteenth century London must have been like for the relatively affluent. Boswell only spent around 300 total days with Johnson from the first time they met in 1763 to the death of the Great Cham in 1784.
I have read the 1300 page complete diary which I recommend. I also recommend that for rereading this Penguin Abridged Edition will do just fine. In it you will find such quotes by Johnson as "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"; "Patriotism is the last refuge of a coward.:;
"We shall receive no letters in the grave." and countless philippics against the United States of America and Scotland.
Dr. Samuel Johnson was born in Lichfield near Birmingham, England in 1709. He was best noted in his lifetime for his monumental work, "A Dictionary of the English Language." He also wrote plays, essays and newspaper columns. Among his friends were the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, authors Oliver Goldsmith and Colley Ciber and the famous Shakespearean actor David Garrick. Johnson was clubbable soul who had a cat named Hodge; had poor eyesight and was the widower of a much older woman. He had no children. Johnson was a devout Christian adherent of the Church of England, a monarchist and a rabid Tory. He had many prejudices and was not tacit in expressing them aloud.
Anyone who expects this famed biography to be a strict life following Johnson from cradle to grave will be disappointed. Instead it is poorly organized consisting of meetings between Johnson and Boswell over the years of their long friendship. It is a great book because of its quotablility and the quirky genius seen in the complex figure of Samuel Johnson. Boswell was also an author of genius whose detailed eye gives us a fascinating glimpse into a different age. This book is one of the essentials of English Literature.

nice but heavily abridged
I liked this but prefer the unabridged edition published by Oxford University Press (in their Oxford World's Classics series). If you're willing to read Boswell, spend a few dollars more for the OUP edition.

Biography as English literature.
Typically, I have a bias against abridged editions of literary works.Nevertheless, prudent editing and abridgement enhances the casual reader's appreciation of this literary tome.Undergraduates working a required reading list for English Lit classes are on their own.Anyway, Samuel Johnson was a noted author and editor of the 18th century English literary scene.Instead of an exhaustive study of Johnson's life as author and editor, biographer Boswell compiled a series of anecdotes, quotations, and correspondence that is held together by his friendship with Johnson.Boswell's purpose was to capture the essence of the man.Johnson was adept at articulating pithy remarks with surgical precision.For example, "...a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hinder legs.It is not done well; but you are surprized to find it done at all."The 18th century spellings, etc. remain intact.We have Johnson to thank for the familiar "...hell is paved with good intentions," and "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."Boswell takes care to portray Johnson as sexually moral.After the death of his wife, Johnson (according to Boswell) was apparently celibate.Johnson rebuffed "women of the town," and said he wasn't interested in their carnal delights.Johnson told David Garrick, the actor, that he would not go backstage at the theater because "the white bubbies and silk stockings of your Actresses excite my genitals."As an interesting aside, the editor's introduction speculates that Johnson's relationship with the widow Thrale may have been sexual, with bondage overtones.Who knows?The description of London coffeehouses, theaters, and gathering places are heavy with 18th century atmosphere.Bottom line, reading this book is interesting as a curiosity.Its relevance for 21st century readers may seem limited, but don't let that stop you from sampling the fare.;-)

Abridged Version
This is an abridged version.If you want an unabridged version, get the Life of Johnson (Oxford World's Classics) [UNABRIDGED. ... Read more

Product Description
Samuel Johnson and James Boswell spent the autumn of 1773 touring through the Lowlands and Highlands of Scotland as far west as the islands of Skye, Raasay, Coll, Mull, Inchkenneth and Iona. Both kept detailed notes of their impressions, and later published separate accounts of their journey. These works contain some of the finest pieces of travel writing ever produced; they are also magnificent historical documents as well as portraits of two extraordinary men of letters. Together they paint a vivid picture of a society that was still almost unknown to the Europe of the Enlightenment. Entertaining, profound, and marvelously readable, they are a valuable chronicle of a lost age and a fascinating people.

For the first time, Ronald Black's edition brings together Johnson's and Boswell's accounts of each of the six stages of the two men's journey-Lowlands, Skye, Coll, Mull and back to the mainland. Illustrated with prints by Thomas Rowlandson, it includes a critical introduction, translations of the Latin texts, and brief notes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

So wonderful to have Boswell's and Johnson's comments on the same topic side by side
It is inexpressibly lovely to read about a place in their travels (say, the isle of Mull or Coll) in the words of Johnson, and then in the words of Boswell. So you don't have to read the entire journal of the trip to the Hebrides that Boswell wrote, and then the entire journal of the trip written by Johnson, to compare their reactions to the same place, but rather you have their "takes" on each leg of the journey side by side. ... Read more

Product Description

This collection was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices. All books included in this collection feature a hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes. The collection is complimented by an author biography.

Customer Reviews (2)

Poorly organized
I'm not interested in reviewing the works of Samuel Johnson, I think they themselves are splendid. But this electronic edition is really poorly organized. The description says, "This collection was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices." That couldn't be further from the truth.This edition is drawn from an old, unidentified print edition of SJ's works, and adheres to the volume organization there, rather than taking advantage of the electronic format to organize them more properly. Secondly, the electronic table of contents is alphabetical, leading to some important non sequiturs. The title of the first volume in the set, "The Adventurer and the Idler," would lead you to think that all his Adventurer essays are within that volume. It's not until you scroll into the 'R' volumes that you realize that the first essays from his Adventurer series are in a volume titled "The Rambler and the Adventurer." There was no need to split the Adventurer essays across two volumes as they are here, nor the Ramblers into three, nor the Lives of the Poets into four volumes.

What also is missing is the Sermons he ghost wrote. They are of significant importance, and their absence suggests that the electronic edition comes from an edition published before Johnson's authorship of those sermons was known (so maybe this is an early 19th C edition?) Also missing is an extremely important poem, "London," as well as his political pamphlets from the 1770's. (There's more to list that's absent, but you get the idea.)

I'd have gladly paid ten times this edition's price for something more complete and better organized.

UPDATE: I originally gave this one star. But it's even worse than I thought.If you click on a volume of Rambler essays, you might expect a table of contents letting you navigate to each specific essay. No: it's one long stream. And without a TOC you can't tell what's there and what's missing. There are 208 Rambler essays, originally, but if nos. 1-105 are here I can't find them. And if they're missing that's half the set. Does this matter? The Ramblers are on of his greatest works.

Anthology
Works of Samuel Johnson. Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, A Grammar of the English Tongue, Preface to Shakespeare, Lives of the English Poets and more (mobi)

This is undeniably the best anthology of Johnson currently available in Kindle book format. It contains all the major works.
I read Johnson in the same way that I read Jane Austen, for the pure joy of their beautifully balanced sentences. Indeed, it's almost like playing Bach to perform these sentences as they mount into paragraphs. One walks away feeling that one's thinking apparatus has been lovingly oiled, buffed, spun and polished. In addition, there's the incredible range of this man's thinking to applaud as well.
Johnson's prose is like poetry - it can't be read through just once, but demands re-reading, and each time offers yet another prize for the effort. The more I understand Johnson and his times, his parts and his divisions, the more I am struck with wonder.




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Product Description

Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D.
DURING THE LAST
_TWENTY YEARS OF HIS LIFE_.
BY
Hesther Lynch Piozzi.


CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED
_LONDON_, _PARIS_, _NEW YORK & MELBOURNE_
1901


INTRODUCTION


Mrs. Piozzi, by her second marriage, was by her first marriage the Mrs.
Thrale in whose house at Streatham Doctor Johnson was, after the year of
his first introduction, 1765, in days of infirmity, an honoured and a
cherished friend.The year of the beginning of the friendship was the
year in which Johnson, fifty-six years old, obtained his degree of LL.D.
from Dublin, and--though he never called himself Doctor--was thenceforth
called Doctor by all his friends.

Before her marriage Mrs. Piozzi had been Miss Hesther Lynch Salusbury, a
young lady of a good Welsh family.She was born in the year 1740, and
she lived until the year 1821.She celebrated her eightieth birthday on
the 27th of January, 1820, by a concert, ball, and supper to six or seven
hundred people, and led off the dancing at the ball with an adopted son
for partner.When Johnson was first introduced to her, as Mrs. Thrale,
she was a lively, plump little lady, twenty-five years old, short of
stature, broad of build, with an animated face, touched, according to the
fashion of life in her early years, with rouge, which she continued to
use when she found that it had spoilt her complexion.Her hands were
rather coarse, but her handwriting was delicate.

Henry Thrale, whom she married, was the head of the great brewery house
now known as that of Barclay and Perkins.Henry Thrale's father had
succeeded Edmund Halsey, who began life by running away from his father,
a miller at St. Albans.Halsey was taken in as a clerk-of-all-work at
the Anchor Brewhouse in Southwark, became a house-clerk, able enough to
please Child, his master, and handsome enough to please his master's
daughter.He married the daughter and succeeded to Child's Brewery, made
much money, and had himself an only daughter, whom he married to a lord.
Henry Thrale's father was a nephew of Halseys, who had worked in the
brewery for twenty years, when, after Halsey's death, he gave security
for thirty thousand pounds as the price of the business, to which a noble
lord could not succeed.In eleven years he had paid the purchase-money,
and was making a large fortune.To this business his son, who was
Johnson's friend, Henry Thrale, succeeded; and upon Thrale's death it was
bought for 150,000 pounds by a member of the Quaker family of Barclay,
who took Thrale's old manager, Perkins, into partnership.

Johnson became, after 1765, familiar in the house of the Thrales at
Streatham.There was much company.Mrs. Thrale had a taste for literary
guests and literary guests had, on their part, a taste for her good
dinners.Johnson was the lion-in-chief.There was Dr. Johnson's room
always at his disposal; and a tidy wig kept for his special use, because
his own was apt to be singed up the middle by close contact with the
candle, which he put, being short-sighted, between his eyes and a book.
Mrs. Thrale had skill in languages, read Latin, French, Italian, and
Spanish.She read literature, could quote aptly, and put knowledge as
well as playful life into her conversation.Johnson's regard for the
Thrales was very real, and it was heartily returned, though Mrs. Thrale
had, like her friend, some weaknesses, in common with most people who
feed lions and wish to pass for wits among the witty....

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