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Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D. Volume II ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

its okey
If you have don't know what is hypnosis and NLP, this book maybe good for you to go into these topic. Good to read anyway, but not worth to own one.

Challenging study but worth it.
This book is a bit loaded with linguistic jargon, but the contribution to NLP is so big it HAS to merit full marks. The concepts behind Erickson's language have been adopted in life coaching as well as NLP and hypnosis, and some brilliant guys, among them Paul McKenna and Anthony Robbins, owe much of their success to Erickson's work.

I feel the jargon and detail are essential to cover the subject properly. There is a big cross-over with English language study, and a study of grammar and syntax in particular can enable you to get more out of this book.

Awareness of the use of language in terms of Bandler and Grinder's 'Milton Model' leads to a greater understanding of how people receive your words - it's no wonder that Ross Jeffries jumped on the idea for 'speed seduction'. It can also be used to word propositions in the most amenable manner, and I use it a lot when teaching simply because I want students to feel they are working because they WANT to learn rather than because they HAVE to. The NLP presupposition, choice is better than no choice, expresses the philosophy behind this in a nutshell, Erickson took this to a higher level.

The analysis of presuppositions is useful; the most useful everyday application is that you'll be able to sniff out manipulation a mile off.

It's a tough book to study, but will give you a much better idea of how syntax affects response.

Quick update: I've just read the most amazing book on how the structure of language - as in grammar - is used in communication. Do look at Making Sense of Grammar.

Intense and helpful.
The friend for whom I purchased the book said that it is a very helpful and educational book on the topic.

Heard it was very intense and informative.
I purchased the book for a friend of mine who has started reading it. He said that it is very intense and very informative. It has helped him a great deal in understanding the topic.

The Best
This book, along with the part one of the series, form the best development of understanding of hypnosis I have ever encountered. Extremely thought-provoking and useful. For those who wish to truly explore the subject, it is a must-have. ... 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

Customer Reviews (13)

A Great Adaptation of A Great Allegorical Mythology
Synopsis:

Milton's "Paradise Lost" explores the fall of man in a semi-epic fashion chronicling the fall of the archangels, creation, Lucifer's deception of man, the original sin and man's expulsion from the Garden.

The Objective:

It has been said that Milton wrote this semi-epic poem in the desire to explain the ways of God to man. This poem does Jehovah and his drones more injustice than it justifies. Actually, by my perception, Milton displays the naiveté and gullibility of man's mind. As I read this book I could not help but to lament, with a hint of comedic relief, for society knowing that in 2010 people still ardently believe all of this actually occurred, or at least as the Bible foretells it. Which to be honest with you, Milton's version has no more factual quality than the Bible itself, as pertaining to mythological and paranormal activity, not in relation to the historically relevant parts. Nonetheless, Milton decided to venture into an abyss with naiveté himself if he thought he would be able to eloquently portray a sound omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient deity while simultaneously retaining a perceptual benevolence, magnanimity and shrewdness in the same character. Here, in this regard, neither Milton nor the author's of the Bible afford success. One of the myriad of problems is that personifying one deity as having all of the above qualities is just oxymoronic. Milton himself knew this, which is why he had to utilize the Son as a metaphoric supplement of the last three qualities to keep the other elevated on its stilts. It is difficult to fuse together the perspectives of two distinct cultural and temporal perspectives of God-in references to the Old Testament and the New Testament- these cannot be interwoven as one; there is just not continuity of character there. Personally, a more accurate representation of a sound omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient deity is manifested in the character Dr. Manhattan from the modern Alan Moore epic "Watchmen." I wonder if this character is the epitome of what man will become as a result of our consumption the forbidden fruit?!

Just as his counterparts of past and present, Milton attempts to demonize Paganism and has an overt chauvinistic sexism. The interesting quality that I have always found about Christianity, the organized religion not the Christ himself, is that it adopted Pagan customs to convert Pagans, obviously for a larger control over the European population, and ironically demonized it afterwards. Not to mention, Paganism has a very strong emphasis of goddess worship in most of its constituent cultures, but in Judeo-Christian literature the woman is subordinate and inferior, along with these qualities women are further subjected to ridicule and subjugation for committing the "original sin."

Milton makes it obvious that man can only continue to worship God in ignorance. Once man has bitten of the fruit of Knowledge his perspective changes and an indefinite INDIVIDUAL pursuit of that Essence begins. Actually, this whole "interdicted knowledge" was more than likely contrived by the powers-that-be rather than the power-that-is. Ignorance was a sure tool for suppressing a population into obedience, submission and guilt, and who were the mediators of those illiterate times? Priests, subordinate to the kings, and in later culture, kings and lords. The whole system was oriented to serfdom, vassalage, submission and control. Why do you think the Protestants presented so much of a stir in the seventeenth century? Milton says it best, "[Interdicted] with design / To keep them low, whom knowledge [will] exalt / Equal with [priests and kings]" (IV 525-527), slightly out of context but it fits the accusation.

As a work of literature Milton did an excellent job conveying vivid imagery in a poetic style, but he corroded it by bloating the book at times with Botoxic irrelevant allusions and descriptions.

Before anyone reads this particular print, which is the only one I recommend, particularly due to Gustave Dore's prolific drawings, they should make sure they have an extensive vocabulary as well as some historic reference for the time periods relating to Milton and the Bible. To me this availed my understanding and enjoyment of the book without the inhibitions of footnotes and translations, these only detract from the quality of the story.

The Subjective:

I have to commend Milton for his efforts, especially considering his condition at the time he wrote this. This work is very admirable regardless of your particular intellectual or spiritual bias. It is a work of art and I feel that we are indeed better off in the arts for having such fictional literature influenced by our most prominent mythology. While I would not compare this to Dante's "Inferno," Milton gave us his best effort and for anyone who renders art and literature from their consciousness for all of us to share should be honored and revered, as opposed to solely giving the world physical labor and dying with no other contribution.

Lastly, I cannot help but to wonder if the mythological Tree of Knowledge was a psychoactive plant of some sort which we have a symbiotic relationship with. Could this be the catalyst that removed us from the animal kingdom into eventual progression into advanced civilization? Is this story an allegory of that? Milton's rendition seems to point to this from his affinity with the collective unconscious:

"O sacred, wise, and wisdom-giving plant, / Mother of [thought]! Now I feel thy power / Within me clear; not only to discern / Things in their causes, but to trace the ways / Of highest agents, deemed however wise /...[You give us] life / To knowledge [, chaos, creativity and Novelty] (IX 279-287). Not death, but life / Augmented, opened eyes, new hopes, new joys, / Taste so divine, that what of sweet before / Hath touched my sense, flat seems to this, and harsh (IX 984-987). [A]nd shook sore / [Our] inward state of mind, calm region once, / And full of peace, now tossed and turbulent [, but oh how divine] (IX 1125-1126)."

With a few insertions to sway the context, which has minimal influence to its overall meaning, anyone who has ever had a psychedelic experience sees how ostensible this concoction of words describes the nature of that psychological event. - D.R.Thomas

great edition
This is a great edition of this book at an amazingly low price- one that you will be proud to display. This is a large book with detailed illustrations. I had originally purchased another edition of this book which was not as nice at a book store at twice the price. I returned this for a refund after discovering this book on Amazon

Paradise Lost
I am thrilled with this book. The artwork is wonderful. The book arrived in perfect condition. I am very happy.

Outstanding!!
The book stands out not only for its beautiful illustrations by Gustave Dore (unarguably one of the most cherished illustrators of all times), but also for the marvelous quality of this edition.
The book is quite big (at first I thought it was huge) - but it is not so heavy, the jacket bares a label in golden relief, the hardcover repeats the design without the relief quality, the print is fine and so is the paper, the font is well chosen so that it makes the text easy to read, each song has a short synopsis at the beginning so that one can quickly overlook the plot.
AND last but not the least - the insanely high ratio quality/price!!!!! I highly recommend this book to everyone who would love such a valuable volume that could be passed on to generations, in their library, plus it could make a wonderful present! 5 stars from me

Great Addition to Your Collection
I love this book because if includes all of the illustrations associated with the literary work. Any they look so much better on a larger scale that in the smaller print books. ... Read more

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Legal justification for the execution of King Charles I. 1649. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Highly recommended, especially for public and college library collections
Published to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Milton's birth, John Milton: A Hero of Our Time is a thoughtful biography of poet, polemicist, public servant, and legendary author John Milton, perhaps best known for his classic "Paradise Lost". A man driven by his conscience and his understanding of logic, Milton stood firm in his beliefs during a time of tremendous religious and political turmoil in England. From Milton's participation in the English civil war to his ideas about capitalism, love, and marriage that were surprisingly ahead of their time, to his views on political violence and religious terrorism, John Milton: A Hero of Our Time encapsulates the greatness of a visionary thinker and the morals of a humanitarian. Highly recommended, especially for public and college library collections.
... Read more

Product Description
Book I: In a long, twisting opening sentence mirroring the epic poetry of the Ancient Greeks, the poet invokes the "Heavenly Muse" and states his theme, the Fall of Man, and his aim, to "justify the ways of God to men." Satan, Beelzebub, and the other rebel angels are described as lying on a lake of fire, from which Satan rises up to claim Hell as his own domain and delivers a rousing speech to his followers ("Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."). The logic of Satan is introduced by: "The mind is its own place, and in itself/ Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven."
Book II: Satan and the rebel angels debate whether to wage another war on Heaven, and Beelzebub tells them of a new world being built which is to be the home of Man. Satan decides to visit this new world, passes through the Gates of hell, past the sentries Sin and Death, and journeys through the realm of Chaos. Here, Satan is described as having given birth to Sin with a burst of flame from his forehead, before he began open warfare with God — as Athena was born from the head of Zeus.
Book III: God observes Satan's journey and foretells how Satan will bring about Man's Fall. God emphasizes, that the Fall will come about as a result of Man's own free will, and excuses himself of responsibility. The Son of God offers himself as a ransom for Man's disobedience, an offer which God accepts, ordaining the Son's future incarnation and punishment. Satan arrives at the rim of the universe, disguises himself as an angel, and is directed to Earth by Uriel, Guardian of the Sun.


William Blake, Satan Watching the Caresses of Adam and Eve, 1808, Book IV: Satan journeys to the Garden of Eden, where he observes Adam and Eve discussing the forbidden Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan, observing their innocence and beauty hesitates in his task, but concludes that "reason just,/ Honour and empire" compel him to do this deed which he "should abhor." Satan tries to tempt Eve while she sleeps, but is discovered by the angels. The angel Gabriel expels Satan from the Garden.
Book V: Eve awakes and relates her dream to Adam. God sends Raphael to warn and encourage Adam: they talk of free will and predestination; Raphael tells Adam the story of how Satan inspired his angels to revolt against God.
Book VI: Raphael goes on to describe further the war in Heaven and explains how the Son of God drove Satan and his minions down to Hell.
Book VII: Raphael explains to Adam that God then decided to create another world (the Earth); he again warns Adam not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, for "in the day thou eat'st, thou diest;/ Death is the penalty imposed, beware,/ And govern well thy appetite, lest Sin/ Surprise thee, and her black attendant Death".
Book VIII: Adam tells the story of his creation from his own perspective, providing a counterpoint to Raphael's instruction in Book VI. Adam asks Raphael for knowledge concerning the stars and the angelic nature; Raphael warns "heaven is for thee too high/ To know what passes there; be lowly wise", and advises modesty and patience.
Book IX: Satan returns to Eden and enters into the body of a sleeping serpent. The serpent tempts Eve to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. She eats and takes some fruit for Adam. Adam, realizing Eve has been tricked, decides he would rather die with Eve than live without her; he eats of the fruit. At first the two become intoxicated by the fruit; they become lustful, engaging in sexual intercourse; afterward, in their loss of innocence Adam and Eve cover their nakedness and fall into despair: "They sat them down to weep, nor only tears/ Rained at their eyes, but high winds worse within/ Began to rise, high passions, anger, hate,/ Mistrust, suspicion, discord, and shook greatly/ Their inward state of mind."
Book X: God sends his Son to Eden to deliver judgment on Adam and Eve. The two are cursed to sufferin a life that ends in death. And the serpent is cursed to crawl on its belly f ... Read more

Product Description
From almost the moment of its publication in 1667,Paradise Lost was considered a classic. It is difficultnow to appreciate how audacious an undertaking the epicrepresents, and how astonishing its immediate andcontinued success was. Over the course of twelve booksJohn Milton wrote an epic poem that would "justify theways of God to men," a mission that required a complexdrama, the source of which is both historical and deeplypersonal. While the struggle for ascendancy between Godand Satan is played out across hell, heaven, and earthin the work, the consequences of the Fall are all toohumanly tragic, with pride, ambition, and aspirationbeing the motivating forces.In this new edition derived from their acclaimed Oxford Authors text, Stephen Orgel and Jonathan Goldbergdiscuss the complexity of Milton's Paradise Lost in anew introduction. They contextualize Milton and hispoem, discuss its structure and language, and provide asummary of critical responses to the poem since itsinitial publication. They also include on-page notes toexplain the poem's language and allusions. Thismodernized edition of one of the most influential worksin the English language will truly bring to lightMilton's genius for today's reader. ... 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: Macmillan and co. in 1871 in 625 pages; Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Literary; Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; Literary Criticism / Poetry; Poetry / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: History / Ancient / Greece; Poetry / Continental European; ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Looked at it, then deleted
Honestly I didn't get very far.It didn't look interesting enough to hold my attention so I deleted it.Maybe I'll come back to it later but there are so many interesting things out there for the kindle that I probably won't. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Academic libraries; Book lists; Best books; Reference / Bibliographies ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Excellent, but Kindle edition needs some work
I can't add anything to what has already been said.Milton's PL is an absolute joy, and should be read repeatedly.However, as a note to Amazon, the "sample" for the Kindle, is nothing but the introduction ... nothing of the poetry can actually be seen.VERY disappointing.It may only be $2.50, but I'm not going to pay for something that doesn't have lines noted and a table of contents.This is similar to reading the Bible, you want to be able to go to a specific verse or book ... I'm not reading a mass market paperback that i won't need or want to reference later.Hopefully, this note for improvement is taken into consideration.
All in all, I recommend buying this book, and moreover, this edition for reading Paradise Lost.Pullman's edition is also very good.

Great reading
I listened to several other readers of Paradise Lost and decided on this one. His voice fits the words and the story and is easy to follow and visualize. Great job

Rise and fall!
First off, let me say that we're not talking here about the famous Qi gong instructor named John Milton. We're talking about the famous 17th-century English poet who wrote _Paradise Lost_ and _Paradise Regained_, two of the most wonderfully overlong Christian poems in the history of Western literature.

Your English teacher will tell you that _Paradise Lost_ "narrates the story of Adam and Eve's disobedience, explains how and why it happened, and places the story within the larger context of Satan's rebellion and Jesus' resurrection." And you know that can't be far wrong, because SparkNotes says the exact same thing.

But the main reason everyone should read Milton's grand epic is that it contains certain secrets about prayer.

In PL, Milton reminds us how important it is, when we pray, to be absolutely specific. The Lord has a strange, often disturbing, sense of humour (PL, books I-XII). If you leave Him wiggle room, He will answer your prayer in a way you never intended, and then say it was your own damned fault, because your prayer contained seven types of ambiguity.

John Milton writes from experience. Example: Almost every time a good-looking woman passed within view of John Milton, he suffered an involuntary erection. Daniel of the Old Testament might well have suffered such a condition without complaining, but John Milton found it onerous. John was both a Puritan and a student of Saint Augustine. He was not happy when he suffered an erection, he hated it, and he especially resented the women who made that thing happen to him.

In a Latin letter to his friend, George Wither, John Milton reports that, in his youth, he would sometimes see a pretty woman even in his dreams at night, and suffer, not just an erection, but the whole nine yards, up to and including a nocturnal emission; which he trained himself to handle according to Scripture, thereby to purify himself (Deut. 23:10); but sometimes he was unable to wait that long before he handled it, which filled his soul full of Puritan remorse and self-reproach.

At age 33, the poet took to wife a 16-year-old lolita named Mary Powell; and you may already have guessed the reason why, which is that she gave him an erection -- more accurately, she gave him "one damned erection after another," without remission. (Giving John Milton an erection was not the girl's conscious intent, but it just happened to him, every time they met.) And since Christian marriage is Saint Paul's only approved method whereby to deal with that kind of torment, John Milton (being an honourable man) thought it best to marry the girl (1 Cor. 7:9).

Frailty, thy name is woman! After two years of marriage - after just two years of witnessing those insufferable erections that could not be beaten down, or at least, not for long - the poet's young Puritan bride ran away and skipped back home to live with her mother, Mrs. Anne Powell, who likewise gave John an erection; which is why John Milton resented his mother-in-law as well as his estranged wife.

Those were the hardest years of the poet's life - nothing but a daily struggle against involuntary erections, yet here he was, trapped in a loveless marriage to a barely pubescent teenager who lived with her entirely-too-attractive mother. Which is partly why John Milton wrote those four revolutionary Christian pamphlets, correcting Moses' and Jesus' hardline policy on divorce (Mark 10:11-12).

In his Latin correspondence, some of which is preserved in the Bodleian Library, John Milton reports that he was fine when alone in his study, or when hobnobbing with Parliamentarians, or even when having a hasty pudding, or a figgy one, over at the Inns of Court; but let just one good-looker cross his path, showing good ankle between the hem of her dress and the top of her shoe, and it was boing! - instant erection, just like a spring-loaded mechanical device; causing John to exclaim bitterly, "Oh, God, please, not again! Save me from this penal fire!"

It even happened to him once when Oliver Cromwell's wife, Elizabeth Bourchier Cromwell, bent over to pick up a handkerchief that had fallen to the floor. On that occasion there was a lamentable accident ("an hard mishap" [verbatim quote]) with John's ordinarily modest codpiece - an incident so humiliating that John never even wrote a poem about it, although he did apologise, profusely, to Oliver Cromwell, and to Mrs. Cromwell, who saw the whole thing, and then fainted. (John at the time was employed as Cromwell's Latin secretary.)

By the way: It was modesty, not arrogance, that moved John Milton, after that embarrassing incident, to wear a baggy codpiece, with plenty of wiggle room.

Which brings me back to the beginning, when I was explaining why you should give the Lord no wiggle room when you pray: John Milton took his problem to the Lord in prayer, stating in his journal, "Father, I pray Thee, let me not suffer a stiffe joynt when I see a beautifull woman."

And here's how the Lord answered that prayer, in 1651: He struck John Milton blind.

At first, John thought that his blindness was a punishment for his own bad behaviour - which is how that whole thing got going, in Anglo-American Christianity, about how, if you are a boy who does what John Milton used to do, it could make you go blind. But God revealed to John, by means of a dream, that his blindness was actually an answer to his own prayers ¬- because the poet had said, "Father, let me not suffer a stiff joint when I see a beautiful woman."

John Milton then said, "Lord, that is not what I meant, at all" - but it was too late to change the outcome, because the prayer was already answered.

The erections that John Milton suffered in the years 1651-1674, and there were many, even after the Lord answered his prayer, were not from seeing a beautiful woman, it was actually because John had a condition that modern physicians call PSAS ("Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome"). So the chronic "stiffe joynt" problem was not really the women's fault, and it never was; but John Milton never knew that. Even when he wrote Paradise Lost (by dictation, from 1652-1667), John was still under the impression that women, seen or unseen, were to blame for his condition; which is why he makes all of those snide remarks in blank verse about your mother, Eve, in Books IV-V and IX-X of Paradise Lost. Because whenever he pictured Eve in his mind's eye, it was boing! - the same old problem. And there would come no more blank verse to his head for the next twenty minutes or so, until things settled down. John Milton hated that.

But it all turned out for the best: if God had not answered John Milton's prayer in that unusual way, by blinding him, Paradise Lost might never have been completed, and sold to the publisher, Sam Simmons, in 1667, for £5 - which was a tidy sum for a religious poem during the decadent Restoration era.

It was while writing the early books of Paradise Lost that John was introduced to Katherine, a ship captain's daughter, a fat woman whom he had never seen (because he was blind); whom he nonetheless married in 1656, but not for the same old reason as before: John asked fat Kate to marry him (a.) because he needed secretarial assistance with Paradise Lost, and (b.) because Katherine did not have the same pernicious effect on him as Mary Powell and her mother Anne had done. John could dictate blank verse to Kate all night long without feeling so much as a tingle down there.

Kate's surname was Woodcock. Beelzebub made a little joke about that: he said, "The Lord finally gave John Milton just what he always wanted."

- L.

Enthralling
Unbelievably inspiring.I challenge you to compare his reading with any one else's or your own in your head.He makes it alive.Not perfect, mind you.You'll find yourself suggesting to him in certain spots that he missed the meaning by putting some emphasis or other on the wrong words.Nevertheless, you know you couldn't do better overall.A real treasure.

Review of the Buccaneer Books Library Binding edition
My review is of the library binding edition released by Buccaneer Books. It is a very plain and small volume which is wonderfully bound. It contains nothing but the poem itself (including the prose arguments) with the original spelling and punctuation. That means no notes, commentary, or introduction, so if you're looking for lots of in-text help, this isn't what you want. The Fowler, Hughes, or Norton editions are all laden with helpful material like that. But if you just want to experience Milton's masterpiece alone, this is a lovely edition. I found that the book could be purchased much more cheaply if I ordered directly from the publisher's website. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Warrior reviews Priest
This book is a fine overview of the early progressive movement and the leading lights, Rossevelt and Wilson. Those who think Roosevelt was a conservative will be shocked to find that he was as least as radical, if not more so, than Wilson. Both thought Government was the answer to social problems. Both believed the central government needed to intervene in the economy. They made modern liberalism and bear the responsibility for the results.

a good book, often a great book
I recently became interested in TR.This book brought forth the life stories of two political giants and made sense of their lives together.Though they lived a great portion of their lives in different realms, ultimately the focus of this book, presidential politics, and esspecially foreign policy, bright the two adversaries together.Cooper does a great job demonstraiting their importance to the "American presidency," and esspecially the shaping of twentieth century foreign policy.

Two presidents not compared often enough
"John Milton Cooper...blends these contrasting and kindred elements into a masterful portrait of two of our most intriguing presidents," David Kennedy in the New York Times Book Review, November 20 1983. TR and Wilson are often considered to be the same, especially in the in the domestic realm.The New Freedom was simply an extension of New Nationalism.But Cooper espouses the differences through analysis of both important domestic debates and the politics of war and internationalism. For anyone interested in studying Roosevelt, Wilson, and the Progressive era this book is an important read.

ok, but lacks depth and originality
When I picked this up, I thought:hey, why not two bios for the effort of one?Why not indeed:you can't delve deeply enough into these two substantial and complex lives in this context. THere is some useful comparisons made of their careers, but it is way way too ambitious.While you do get many of the factual basics, which were indeed interesting, neither of these past Presidents comes alive.

REcommended only for the facts.Look for flavor and pyschological depth elsewhere.

Well-reason parallel lives
This is a great work of scholarship dealing with two of the most important figures of the early 20th century. Cooper is able to bring out the differences in the approaches that both men had in setting the US political agenda in the early 20th century. Cooper is always a great treat to read. I must say that the title is somewhat interesting. When looking at Roosevelt or Wilson who is in fact the warrior and who the priest? ... Read more

Product Description
John Milton was not only the greatest English Renaissance poet but also devoted twenty years to prose writing in the advancement of religious, civil and political liberties. The height of his public career was as chief propagandist to the Commonwealth regime which came into being following the execution of King Charles I in 1649.The first of the two complete texts in this volume, The Tenure of Kings and the Magistrates, was easily the most radical justification of the regicide at the time.In the second, A Defence of the People of England, Milton undertook to vindicate the Commonwealth's cause to Europe as a whole. They are central to an understanding both of the development of Milton's political thought and the climax of the English Revolution itself.This is the first time that fully annotated versions have been published together in one volume, and incorporates a wholly new translation of the Defence. The introduction outlines the complexity of the ideological landscape which Milton had to negotiate, and in particular the points at which he departed radically from his sixteenth-century predecessors. Further aids to students include a full chronology of Milton's life and events, a select bibliography and biographies of persons mentioned in the text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Political Writings?
Admittedly, it is difficult to define what exactly constitutes Milton's political writings, as he wrote on such diverse topics as divorce, freedom of speech, and how to establish a free commonwealth. Oddly, however, none of these works are in the book that I am here reviewing. Only the "Defense of the English People" and "the Tenure of Kings and Magistrates," found their way into this edition of Milton's political writings. Despite the injudicious selection of political prose coming from the people at Cambridge University Press, the introduction by Martin Dzelzainis is particularly helpful in terms of situating the texts in their historical and ideological context. Also, the texts themselves are well footnoted to give the reader a more nuanced understanding of these two sophisticated landmarks of English republican political thought.

... Read more

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Bringing together literary criticism, historical bibliography, and religious, political, and print history, this volume offers a definitive scholarly edition of John Milton's Paradise Regain'd and Samson Agonistes.The scrupulously-edited text is based on extensive collation of the 1671 and 1680 volumes.Drawing on new archival sources and up-to-date historiography, a detailed Introduction sets out the cultural, religious, and political contexts of 1670-71, including continuing opposition to the Restoration regime and the major contribution made to that opposition by publishers and print. While the meanings of the 1671 poems have been much discussed and debated, print and publishing history has been little addressed in teaching editions or scholarship.New archival materials on Milton's publisher, John Starkey, and his printer, John Macock, open up the radical print networks in which Milton's poems were produced, published, and circulated.The Textual Introduction and Headnote also provide a thorough discussion of the contributions of the printing house to the text.Reconstruction of the octavo sheets used in printing the text shows that multiple compositors worked on the text and thus helps to explain variant spelling and address longstanding issues of dating.A discussion of Milton's bold transformation of classical epic and tragedy provides literary historical context.

This edition also breaks new ground by including materials on early owners and readers, who actively shaped the texts with corrections, annotations, and references to biblical and classical sources. As an aid for students and scholars alike, Textual Commentary provides precise OED word definitions, identifies biblical, classical, historical, and geographical references, and explains Latin, Greek, and Hebrew usages. ... Read more

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In this book a pre-eminent historian of Cromwellian England takes a fresh approach to the literary biography of the two great poets of the Puritan Revolution, John Milton and Andrew Marvell. Blair Worden reconstructs the political contexts within which Milton and Marvell wrote, and reassesses their writings against the background of volatile and dramatic changes of public mood and circumstance. Two figures are shown to have been prominent in their minds. First there is Oliver Cromwell, on whose character and decisions the future of the Puritan Revolution and of the nation rested, and whose ascent the two writers traced and assessed, in both cases with an acute ambivalence. The second is Marchamont Nedham, the pioneering journalist of the civil wars, a close friend of Milton and a man whose writings prove to be intimately linked to Marvell's. The high achievements of Milton and Marvell are shown to belong to world of pressing political debate which Nedham's ephemeral publications helped to shape. The book follows Marvell's transition from royalism to Cromwellianism. In Milton's case we explore the profound effect on his outlook brought by the execution of King Charles I in 1649; his difficult and disillusioning relationship with the successive regimes of the Interregnum; and his attempt to come to terms, in his immortal poetry of the Restoration, with the failure of Puritan rule. ... Read more

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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 worthy and intriguing read that is a must for philosophy studies collections
The works of John Milton have inspired much philosophical debate for ages after the man himself has passed. "John Milton: Reasoning Words" is a scholarly discussion from many authors discussing the works of John Milton, his works on human nature and the status on man as a creature of reason and understanding the world around him. These essays dig deep into the themes of Milton's work, including his work on nationalism, education, religion, and more. "John Milton" is a worthy and intriguing read that is a must for philosophy studies collections or those intrigued with his work. ... Read more

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Although the concept of the performative has influenced literary theory in numerous ways, this book represents one of the first full-length studies of performative language in literary texts. Creating States examines the visionary poetry of John Milton and William Blake, using a critical approach based on principles of speech-act theory as articulated by J.L. Austin, John Searle, and Emile Benveniste. Angela Esterhammer proposes a new way of understanding the relationship between these two poets, while at the same time evaluating the role of speech-act philosophy in the reading of visionary poetry and Romantic literature.

Esterhammer distinguishes between the 'sociopolitical performative,' the speech act which is defined by a societal context and derives power from institutional authority, and the `phenomenological performative,' language which is invested with the power to posit or create because of the individual will and consciousness of the speaker.

Analysing texts such as The Reason of Church-Government, Paradise Lost, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, and Jerusalem, Esterhammer traces the parallel evolution of Milton and Blake from writers of political and anti-prelatical tracts to poets who, having failed in their attempts to alter historical circumstances through a direct address to their contemporaries, reaffirm their faith in individual visionary consciousness and the creative word - while continuing to use the forms of a socially or politically performative language. ... Read more