This is a slightly dated book, which came out in the late 1960s, accessing what it means to be English. I have had this work in my collection for over 40 years (got it second hand), and never read it until now. I think it gives good arguments about the topic in question, but it drags a bit in some sections. I did notice there were slightly prophetic words in respect to the UK's relationship to Europe and the Brexit response. It is a good book, but one has to be in the mindset to read it.
The 50 works of English (and American) Literature dealt with in this book are all considered classics, reverently taught in our schools, studied by researchers. The authors contend that these boring, pretentious, and/or badly written works do not deserve their critical acclaim. This book contains an essay on each of the 50 works, explaining WHY we could do without it! You might be surprised at the list. I won't reveal every title, but here is an excerpt from the essay on Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in wonderland": ...The Mad Hatter is not mad enough, the White Rabbit is too frantically…
As a cat lover, I was intrigued by this book, when I found it from another source. I wanted to try it and bought it straight away. It was a lovely story, but unfortunately, heart breaking at times, especially the end. I could not believe the tenacity of the cat character and it was amazing that the animal went unnamed throughout the piece. Still, it is a good read, but hold your breath if there is a touch of sensitivity in the reader.
I read this book as a teenager in the years it was released and I remember enjoying it very much. The story was immersive, about someone from the 1950s wanting to be a film star in Hollywood, and going out and getting her dream to come true. But there is a nasty twist, and the dream never comes to fruition. It brought back fond memories for me, and it took me a long while to find this work (as I wanted to re-read it). It is worth the effort, and good for a teenage audience. I only re-read it because it was something I'd remembered and enjoyed very much.
Sylvie isn't your average girl. When she dresses up she looks eighteen, and she's spent the last three years in foster care plotting her escape to Hollywood. But as Sylvie quickly learns on the road, zigzagging across the Midwest in a stranger's two-tone blue Pontiac, life isn't like the movies. Left broke and stranded in the middle of the country, she has no choice but to accept the help of Walter Murchison, a Bible salesman who is just a little too good at selling to be trusted.
Set in the 1950s against a backdrop of James Dean billboards and jukeboxes…
With the attack upon Earth, and alien consumption of the recycling and rubbish to use them as weapons, Humanity had to flee to the farthest corners of the universe to survive. There were no longer resources, food or shelter for anyone. However, human resistance movements had saved as much recycling as possible to create their own weapons on the distant worlds they inhabited. After over a millennia of war, it was only ended when the alien races agreed to let the humans be.
