- Paperback: 492 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books; Touchstone ed edition (29 Sep 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0684835339
- ISBN-13: 978-0684835334
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.5 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
93,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #46 in Books > History > Reference > Encyclopaedias
- #80 in Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > History & Criticism > History of Books > Books & Reading
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Jane Smiley"Chicago Tribune Books"He sustains a variety of tone, subject matter and approach that keeps "Great Books" alluring and readable throughout...I was torn between getting out a copy of the book he had just discussed and reading it and going on with Denby. In every case. I went on with Denby.
Product Description
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER
At the age of forty-eight, writer and film critic David Denby returned to Columbia University and re-enrolled in two core courses in Western civilization to confront the literary and philosophical masterpieces -- the "great books" -- that are now at the heart of the culture wars. In "Great Books, " he leads us on a glorious tour, a rediscovery and celebration of such authors as Homer and Boccaccio, Locke and Nietzsche. Conrad and Woolf. The resulting personal odyssey is an engaging blend of self-discovery, cultural commentary, reporting, criticism, and autobiography -- an inspiration for anyone in love with the written word.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have to admit I approached this book with some trepidation. I learned from the jacket liner that Denby was a film critic for New York Magazine (I vaguely remember reading some of his reviews) who had returned to the same Lit classes at Columbia he had attended in the late sixties.
What was a film critic going to tell me about the classics that I didn't already know? I've read every classic I could get my hands on since I was 13. I expected something along the lines of Adler or Van Doren (brief accounts of the hundred or so "greatest books of all time").
I'm glad now that I gave Denby the benefit of the doubt. Like Denby, I returned to college as an older student and felt a blend of exhiliration and disorientation similar to his. He's particularly adroit in conveying how politics have changed the nature of classroom discourse. There's no need here to get into a debate over the neo-relativist, agenda-driven camp on one side of academia, vs. the liberal, canonical "traditionalists," although much of the book revolves around these arguements.
What I'd like to comment on primarily is Denby's authentic love of literature and the power that it holds to shape lives. This is an old saw, but is still relevant and is eloquently expressed and demonstrated by the author.
Denby argues that "great" literature is not primarily aimed at making us feel good about ourselves. On the contrary, growth usually comes about only after a period of some discomfort and anxiety. The message of great fiction is not that we or our society or culture are superior to other peoples or societies or cultures. In fact, the message is usually the opposite.
I have to admit that I found some of Denby's recounting of his private life digressive and not especially engaging. His reading of King Lear, juxtaposed with his memories of his mother's final years, was heartfelt, but didn't quite come off in the final analysis. It seemed that the parallels he drew (friction between generations, the weakening of the intellect as one grows older, etc.) didn't seem particularly relevant or insightful.
The chapter on Conrad was, for me, the crowning moment of the book. Denby covers a lot of ground in this chapter, particularly in light of what just proceeded in the chapter on deBeauvoir. He nails down the essence of the scholarly debate, while at the same time giving us a vivid picture of the response a highly-charged piece of fiction can provoke in dispirate readers. As I lover of "the classics" myself, I might be biased as to which side of the debate I stand on, but I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read and think at the same time.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a former classics major, I have followed the debate over the western canon with a great deal of interest. But after slogging through Harold Bloom's "The Western Canon" for over a year and a half, this book was an absolute delight. David Denby reminds us just why these books are so important--they make you strugle to build a self, which is (or should be, anyway) the true purpose of education. I am also fascinated by how much his perspective has changed in the thirty years since he read many of the books in college. And in the chapter on Shakespeare--focusing on the parallels between King Lear and Denby's own relationship with his mother--the essay itself actually brought me to tears. I have been recommending this book to everyone I know, and now I'll recommend it to everyone I don't know...read it! It's amazing!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
David Denby tells us that our everyday assumptions are arbitrary. He says power justifies itself by pointing to powerlessness as proof of incapacity. Gems of wisdom like these appear throughout this book. "Being examined is one of the things you become an adult to avoid," he writes. "Once you pass twenty-five, you learn how to cover your weaknesses and ignorance and lead with your strengths. Every adult, by definition, is a corner-cutting phony; experience teaches you what to attend to and what to slough off, when to rest and when to go all out." One of my criteria for a great book is finding I dread being finished reading with it. Such was the case with this one. Denby's work is truly inspirational for those who wish to uphold the sanctity of ideas. Highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A very readable and intelligent piece of writing.
AN APPRECIATION OF THE GREAT BOOKS.
Enjoy this gentle introduction to some great books. Great books are dangerous, powerful and they are addictive. Read more
Published on 22 Jun 1999
Part Novel, Part Lit. Criticiscm, Part AutoBiography
I can't tell you how great this book is. It made me want to go enroll in a Classics class myself. Denby has a great perspective on the works he reads. Read more
Published on 13 May 1999
Education "lite" -- inspired me to read the classics again.
I loved this book. It changed my life. Like Denby, I was tired of reading bestsellers and seeing bad movies and yet couldn't seem to find time to read difficult books, including... Read more
Published on 5 Mar 1999
Magnificent, inspiring, life-changing. Read it!
I won't echo what other have said - just a couple of personal reactions: I've always read more books than anybody I know, but Denby humbled me. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 1998
Great introduction to the classics
My new year's resolution a few years ago was to strive to be well read. Basically, I would browse the classics section or look through the Cliffnotes rack until I found... Read more
Published on 16 Oct 1998
Denby's "Great Books" excites, as all Great Books should
Having just completed Denby's "Great Books", I am both awed and excited. He manages to convey an excitement about reading and about what is being read that is too... Read more
Published on 7 Oct 1998
Excellent writing style and content with great insights
This text is an excellent compilation of classic texts, written from the unique perspective of a college classroom. Read more
Published on 25 Jun 1998
Life, the University and Everything
To represent this book as being merely (!) about the debate over the literary canon would be to do it a grave injustice. Read more
Published on 4 Jun 1998
A Great Book about Great books!
I am currently a returning college student (33 yrs old) who is not majoring in Literature therefore was never required to read many of the classic works of literature. Read more
Published on 20 April 1998
Book Lovers Take Notice!
David Denby, a writer for the New Yorker , among other things, decided to enroll in the Columbia University Great Books program and
re-read all those old masters that he had... Read more
re-read all those old masters that he had... Read more
Published on 27 Dec 1997
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