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

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

Product Description
Imagine if "Billboard" compiled a list of top 100 poems chosen by the people themselves. That's the concept behind this audiobook. The range of poets, subjects, and forms--from Shakespeare to Frost, from love and death to crime and punishment, from sonnets to odes--makes this an entertaining, enlightening, and indispensable aural guide to the finest verse in the English language. Simultaneous release with Columbia University Press CD-ROM. April 1998 Publication date. 4 cassettes. . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Share this audio version with your beloved
"A safe sweet and secure present for Valentine's day or any special occasion.If you cannot read poetry aloud with conviction then share this audio version with your beloved."

A great resource
I love listening to this cassette while I drive!I think the commentary is first rate, insightful and learned.I find the readers, who are generally great poets in their own right, sensitive and the readings clear and nuanced.

Readers are AWful not AWEful
Every review here is correct.The readers are amazingly inept.It's hard to believe that the publisher thought this was working.Any average, passionate, good reader would have done so much better.It's very sad.I really wanted to like this work.

Embarrassingly bad readings
In this age of sight and sound, one might hope for a renewed interest in poetry read aloud.After all, your average Ipod can store all the world's great poetry.Any such prospect will quickly be extinguished if there are many productions as bad as this one.At first I thought the readers had been chosen in accordance with some manic diversity template, without the slightest concern for whether they could actually read poetry with even minimal competence.In fact, this project was not ruined by political correctness (though that would be typical these days).Instead, the readers are poets themselves.This is a perennially tempting, and invariably bad, idea.The gift of writing poetry is utterly distinct from the gift of reading it.(Perhaps this is the one arena where the deconstructionists are right:here, the "reader" is as important as the writer.)The truths, and the feelings embodied in these poems would be far better conveyed by professional actors or readers; o for a Derek Jacoby, or a Kenneth Branagh, or a Michael York, to substitute for these awful readers.Give these discs to your child in high school if you want to ensure that he or she will never, ever want to read, or hear, another poem.

Absolute garbage
I can't believe that anyone found a good word to say about this production of poetic vandalism. It's more than bad, it's criminal,and I, for one, would certainly agree that some of the readers sound as if they might have recently escaped from some institution. How bad is it? Well, I've bought more than one set, which might sound contradictory. However, the reason that one set wasn't enough is that I keep giving my cassettes away as warnings, as jokes, and just to share what must be the absolutely worst set of readings ever recorded. This, of course, means that I have to replace them, because something this bad is precious. Anyway, to be more specific, the problem is with the reading of the poems. To be fair, the best of the of the lot reach mediocrity, but the worst....well, they bring a new meaning to "apalling." Some ot the readers do try, and some of them have a vague idea of how to read poetry, but some of them, one with a Pulitizer prize for poetry! sound like they're reading the yellow pages in a language they don't understand. Do yourself a favor. Unless you delight in the perverse, or would like to have something to contribute to the Guiness Book of Records, don't buy this set. ... Read more

Product Description
Volume: 2General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1892Original Publisher: Reeves and TurnerNotes: This is an OCR reprint of the original rare book. There may be typos or missing text and there are no illustrations.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... 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: 1; Original Published by: Chapman & Hall in 1876 in 457 pages; Subjects: Sri Lanka; Natural history; History / Asia / India & South Asia; Law / General; Nature / General; Nature / Essays; Travel / Asia / India; Travel / Asia / Southwest; ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1876 edition by Chapman & Hall, London. ... Read more