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Chapters: Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, Willie Wilde, Max Adrian, Nigel Dodds, Neil Hannon, Andrew Clarke, Harry West, James Kilfedder, William Hearn, Edward Jones, Edward Cooney, Portora Royal School, Dickie Lloyd, Henry Francis Lyte, John Gorman, Nial Fulton, Denis Parsons Burkitt, Billy Mccomb, Edward Warburton Jones, David Robinson, Ernest Charles Nelson, James Gamble, Michael Jackson, John Winthrop Crozier, Vivian Mercier. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 148. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 30 November 1900) was an Irish writer, poet, and prominent aesthete. His parents were successful Dublin intellectuals, and from an early age he was tutored at home, where he showed his intelligence, becoming fluent in French and German. He attended boarding school for six years, then matriculated to university at seventeen years old. Reading Greats, Wilde proved himself to be an outstanding classicist, first at Dublin, then at Oxford. After university, Wilde moved around trying his hand at various literary activities: he published a book of poems and toured America lecturing extensively on aestheticism. He then returned to London, where he worked prolifically as a journalist for four years. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress, and glittering conversation, Wilde was one of the most well-known personalities of his day. He next produced a series of dialogues and essays that developed his ideas about the supremacy of art. However, it was his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray still widely read that brought him more lasting recognition. He became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London with a series of social satires which continue to be performed, especially his masterpiece The Importance of Bein...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=22614 ... Read more

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Chapters: Van Morrison, Gary Lightbody, Duke Special, Neil Hannon, Bap Kennedy, David Mcwilliams, Wesley Burrowes, Jules Maxwell, John Farry, Peter Cunnah, Juliet Turner, Dan Donnelly, Kieran Goss, George Jones, Brian Houston, Seamus Robinson, Anthony John Clarke, Alex Trimble. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 114. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Van Morrison, OBE (born George Ivan Morrison; 31 August 1945) is a critically acclaimed Northern Irish singer and songwriter with a reputation for being stubborn and idiosyncratic. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely viewed as among the greatest ever made. Known as "Van the Man" to his fans, Morrison started his professional career when, as a young teenager in the late 1950s, he played a variety of instruments including guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone in a range of Irish showbands who covered the popular hits of the day before rising to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the gritty Northern Irish R ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Pop Singers From Northern Ireland, Gary Lightbody, Neil Hannon, Sinéad Quinn, Ruby Murray, Luke O'reilly, Stuart 'pinkie' Bates. Excerpt: Gary Lightbody (born 15 June 1976 in Bangor, Northern Ireland) is a musician and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. Gary Lightbody attended Rockport School and Campbell College as a youngster. He left home for Scotland in 1994 to study English literature and English language at the University of Dundee. Growing up, he listened to artists like Super Furry Animals, Quincy Jones, Kool ... Read more

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Chapters: Van Morrison, Gary Lightbody, Eoghan Quigg, Neil Hannon, Bap Kennedy, Feargal Sharkey, David Mcwilliams, Paul Brady, the Priests, Ronnie Carroll, Josef Locke, Luke O'reilly, Peter Cunnah, Iain Archer, Jamie Dornan, Lee Rogers, Tim Wheeler, Noel Burke, Ricky Warwick, Foy Vance, Daryl Simpson, Peter Corry, Anthony John Clarke, Alex Trimble. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 126. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Van Morrison, OBE (born George Ivan Morrison; 31 August 1945) is a critically acclaimed Northern Irish singer and songwriter with a reputation for being stubborn and idiosyncratic. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely viewed as among the greatest ever made. Known as "Van the Man" to his fans, Morrison started his professional career when, as a young teenager in the late 1950s, he played a variety of instruments including guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone in a range of Irish showbands who covered the popular hits of the day before rising to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the gritty Northern Irish R ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Neil Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter, best known as the creator (in 1989) and frontman of the orchestral pop group The Divine Comedy. The band's official website even goes so far as to say, "The Divine Comedy is Neil Hannon," and Hannon is quoted in an interview as saying, "The Divine Comedy will always be my band because... I thought of it first!" Hannon was born in Derry in Northern Ireland, the son of Brian Hannon (born 1936), a Church of Ireland clergyman who was Bishop of Clogher from 1986 to 2001. He moved with his family to Enniskillen, in County Fermanagh, in 1982. While there he attended Portora Royal School. In 2000, he and Joby Talbot contributed 4 tracks for Ute Lemper's collaboration album, Punishing Kiss. Also involved in this album was Scott Walker, a singer whom Hannon has often acknowledged as an influence. In 2004, he played alongside the Ulster Orchestra for the opening event of the Belfast Festival at Queen's. In 2005 he contributed vocals to his long-time collaborator, Joby Talbot's, soundtrack for the movie version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In 2006, it was announced that Hannon was to lend his vocal ability to the Doctor Who soundtrack CD release, recording two songs "Love Don't Roam" for the 2006 Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride", and a new version of "Song For Ten", originally used in 2005's "The Christmas Invasion". On 12 January 2007, The Guardian website's "Media Monkey" diary column reported that Doctor Who fans from the discussion forum on the fan website Outpost Gallifrey were attempting to organise mass downloads of the Hannon-sung "Love Don't Roam", which was available as a single release on the UK iTunes store. This was in order to at... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=179874 ... Read more

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Chapters: The Divine Comedy Albums, the Divine Comedy Members, the Divine Comedy Songs, Neil Hannon, Casanova, Promenade, a Secret History... the Best of the Divine Comedy, Joby Talbot, Victory for the Comic Muse, Liberation, Absent Friends, the Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count, Simon Little, Regeneration, a Short Album About Love, Generation Sex, Fanfare for the Comic Muse, National Express, Diva Lady, Fin de Siècle, the Gentleman Who Fell, to Die a Virgin, Stuart 'pinkie' Bates, Grant Gordon. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 72. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Divine Comedy are a chamber pop band from Northern Ireland, fronted by Neil Hannon. Formed in 1989, Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation bar drums. To date, ten studio albums have been released under the Divine Comedy name. The group achieved their greatest commercial success in the years 1996-99, during which they had nine singles that made the UK Top 40, including the top ten hit National Express. The tenth Divine Comedy album, Bang Goes the Knighthood, was released on 31 May 2010. Neil Hannon has been the only ever-present member of the band, being its founder in 1989 when he was joined by John McCullagh and Kevin Traynor. Their first album, the heavily R.E.M.-influenced and now-deleted Fanfare for the Comic Muse, enjoyed little success. A couple of equally unsuccessful EPs - Timewatch (1991); Europop (1992) - were to follow, with newly-recruited member John Allen handling lead vocals on some tracks. After the commercial failure of the Europop EP, this line-up soon fell apart. Hannon, however, was not deterred in his efforts and re-appeared in 1993 with Liberation. Featuring a fairly diverse musical outlook that goes from th...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=507931 ... Read more

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Commentary (music and lyrics not included).Chapters: The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count, Generation Sex, National Express, Diva Lady, the Gentleman Who Fell. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 17. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" is a song by The Divine Comedy. It was originally recorded for the Liberation album. A rerecorded version was released as the first single from A Secret History... The Best of The Divine Comedy. The single peaked at #17 in the UK singles chart. Setanta Records / SETCDA070 Setanta Records / SETCDB070 Setanta Records / SETMC070 ...http://booksllc.net/?id=13296200 ... Read more

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Chapters: Dave Fanning, Gerry Ryan, Tommy Tiernan, Jenny Huston, Neil Hannon, Cormac Battle, Larry Gogan, Hector Ó Heochagáin, Dan Hegarty, Nikki Hayes, Rick O'shea, Thomas Walsh, Colm ... Read more

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Chapters: Neil Hannon, Martin O'hagan, Eamonn Mccann, Billy Hutchinson, Luke O'reilly. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 27. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Neil Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter, best known as the creator (in 1989) and frontman of the orchestral pop group The Divine Comedy. The band's official website even goes so far as to say, "The Divine Comedy is Neil Hannon," and Hannon is quoted in an interview as saying, "The Divine Comedy will always be my band because... I thought of it first!" Hannon was born in Derry in Northern Ireland, the son of Brian Hannon (born 1936), a Church of Ireland clergyman who was Bishop of Clogher from 1986 to 2001. He moved with his family to Enniskillen, in County Fermanagh, in 1982. While there he attended Portora Royal School. In 2000, he and Joby Talbot contributed 4 tracks for Ute Lemper's collaboration album, Punishing Kiss. Also involved in this album was Scott Walker, a singer whom Hannon has often acknowledged as an influence. In 2004, he played alongside the Ulster Orchestra for the opening event of the Belfast Festival at Queen's. In 2005 he contributed vocals to his long-time collaborator, Joby Talbot's, soundtrack for the movie version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In 2006, it was announced that Hannon was to lend his vocal ability to the Doctor Who soundtrack CD release, recording two songs "Love Don't Roam" for the 2006 Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride", and a new version of "Song For Ten", originally used in 2005's "The Christmas Invasion". On 12 January 2007, The Guardian website's "Media Monkey" diary column reported that Doctor Who fans from the discussion forum on the fan website Outpost Gallifrey were attempting to organise mass downloads of the Hannon-sung "Love ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=179874 ... Read more

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This is a NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A501093. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: This thesis analyzes the Russian Federation's conventional arms transfers since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Russia looks to the sale of conventional arms as a promising source of capital income and a viable method to maintain its state defense industry. Due to a substantial decrease in sales volume, the international conventional arms market has become extremely competitive over the last decade. This competitiveness has driven exporters including Russia, to offer latest technologies employed in such advanced weapons as supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, acoustically quiet submarines, and fourth generation fighter aircraft. The continued worldwide proliferation of advanced Russian conventional arms will remain a major concern for the United States Navy in the foreseeable future. Navies throughout the world, in particular China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN),%, are aggressively purchasing Russian advanced naval equipment and related technologies to improve their maritime capabilities. The United States Navy, accordingly, will increasingly encounter and possibly be engaged by advanced Russian conventional arms within the decade. Initiatives which curtail proliferation and minimize the impact of these weapons on regional stability should be implemented, thereby, reducing the potential threat to forward-deployed naval forces. The United States needs to strengthen current policies including the Wassenaar Arrangement arms control agreement, continue U.S. ... Read more

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THE hue, which coward dread on my pale cheeks Imprinted, when I saw my guide turn back, Chas'd that from his which newly they had worn, And inwardly restrain'd it. He, as one Who listens, stood attentive: for his eye Not far could lead him through the sable air, And the thick-gath'ring cloud. "It yet behooves We win this fight"--thus he began--"if not-- Such aid to us is offer'd.--Oh, how long Me seems it, ere the promis'd help arrive!" ... Read more

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IN the midway of this our mortal life, I found me in a gloomy wood, astray Gone from the path direct: and e'en to tell It were no easy task, how savage wild That forest, how robust and rough its growth, Which to remember only, my dismay Renews, in bitterness not far from death. Yet to discourse of what there good befell, All else will I relate discover'd there. How first I enter'd it I scarce can say, Such sleepy dullness in that instant weigh'd My senses down, when the true path I left, But when a mountain's foot I reach'd, where clos'd The valley, that had pierc'd my heart with dread, I look'd aloft, and saw his shoulders broad Already vested with that planet's beam, Who leads all wanderers safe through every way. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Medieval vision of the afterlife
This was required reading for a graduate course in medieval history.Norton edition has great articles to help explain the work and is a great translation."The Divine Comedy" describes Dante's journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso), guided first by the Roman epic poet Virgil and then by Beatrice, the subject of his love and another of his works, "La Vita Nuova." While the vision of Hell, the Inferno, is vivid for modern readers, the theological niceties presented in the other books require a certain amount of patience and scholarship to understand.Purgatorio, the most lyrical and human of the three, also has the most poets in it; Paradiso, the most heavily theological, has the most beautiful and ecstatic mystic passages in which Dante tries to describe what he confesses he is unable to convey (e.g., when Dante looks into the face of God: "all'alta fantasia qui mancò possa" - "at this high moment, ability failed my capacity to describe," Paradiso, XXXIII, 142).

Dante wrote the Comedy in his regional dialect.By creating a poem of epic structure and philosophic purpose, he established that the Italian language was suitable for the highest sort of expression, and simultaneously established the Tuscan dialect as the standard for Italian. In French, Italian is nicknamed la langue de Dante.Publishing in the vernacular language marked Dante as one of the first (among others such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio) to break from standards of publishing in only Latin or Greek (the languages of Church and antiquity).This break allowed more literature to be published for a wider audience - setting the stage for greater levels of literacy in the future.

Readers often cannot understand how such a serious work may be called a "comedy".In Dante's time, all serious scholarly works were written in Latin (a tradition that would persist for several hundred years more, until the waning years of the Enlightenment) and works written in any other language were assumed to be comedic in nature.Furthermore, the word "comedy," in the classical sense, refers to works which reflect belief in an ordered universe, in which events not only tended towards a happy or "amusing" ending, but an ending influenced by a Providential will that orders all things to an ultimate good.By this meaning of the word, the progression of Dante's pilgrim from Hell to Paradise is the paradigmatic expression of comedy, since the work begins with the pilgrim's moral confusion and ends with the vision of God.

The Divine Comedy can be described simply as an allegory: Each canto, and the episodes therein, can contain many alternate meanings.Dante's allegory, however, is more complex, and, in explaining how to read the poem (see the "Letter to Can Grande della Scala"), he outlines other levels of meaning besides the allegory (the historical, the moral, the literal, and the anagogical).The structure of the poem, likewise, is quite complex, with mathematical and numerological patterns arching throughout the work, particularly threes and nines.The poem is often lauded for its particularly human qualities: Dante's skillful delineation of the characters he encounters in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise; his bitter denunciations of Florentine and Italian politics; and his powerful poetic imagination.Dante's use of real characters, according to Dorothy Sayers in her introduction to her translation of "L'Inferno", allows Dante the freedom of not having to involve the reader in description, and allows him to "[make] room in his poem for the discussion of a great many subjects of the utmost importance, thus widening its range and increasing its variety."

Dante called the poem "Comedy" (the adjective "Divine" added later in the 16th century) because poems in the ancient world were classified as High ("Tragedy") or Low ("Comedy"). Low poems had happy endings and were of everyday or vulgar subjects, while High poems were for more serious matters. Dante was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write of a serious subject, the Redemption of man, in the low and vulgar Italian language and not the Latin language as one might expect for such a serious topic.

Paradiso
After an initial ascension (Canto I), Beatrice guides Dante through the nine spheres of Heaven. These are concentric and spherical, similar to Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology.Dante admits that the vision of heaven he receives is the one that his human eyes permit him to see. Thus, the vision of heaven found in the Cantos is Dante's own personal vision, ambiguous in its true construction.The addition of a moral dimension means that a soul that has reached Paradise stops at the level applicable to it.Souls are allotted to the point of heaven that fits with their human ability to love God.Thus, there is a heavenly hierarchy. All parts of heaven are accessible to the heavenly soul.That is to say all experience God but there is a hierarchy in the sense that some souls are more spiritually developed than others.This is not determined by time or learning as such but by their proximity to God (how much they allow themselves to experience him above other things).It must be remembered in Dante's schema that all souls in Heaven are on some level always in contact with God.

Recommended reading for anyone interested in literature and medieval history.

Fine for me
Despite the previous comment, I thought I'd have a go - appeared on my Kindle DX in a few seconds and readable immediately.

Kindle version sucks
When I opened this file, there were instructions on how to download it because it's so big. It said to download a zip file and create a directory on a PC. I didn't bother to do it because Kindle books should be Kindle-ready and easy to read, not something I need to download, extract, transfer, etc. ... Read more