#2877432 in Books 1996PDF # 2 #File Name: B000MYAYPA
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Terrific Intro!By angThis book is proving to be a terrific introduction to The Great Books. David Denby's writing style is worth reading for its own value and he does an excellent job of taking you to class with him. If you attended a movie of this book you would not be as close beside and inside Denby as you are while reading this book! I highly recommend it if you are interested in the classics but arent' sure you're ready for the plunge; or if you simply want a refresher course.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Reading 101By olingerstoriesDenby's THE GREAT BOOKS reads much like his movie reviews in THE NEW YORKER--intelligent; opinionated; and slightly forced; but almost always profitable. GREAT BOOKS recalls his mid-90s attempt to mediate the debate over the Western Literature canon and its place in the academy. He does this by re-enrolling at Columbia and taking the same core courses he had taken 30 years earlier. Although admittedly a liberal; he avoids the victumization syndrome that he believes the heirs of Nietzsche at the university have ironically created on the Left. The Right; however; also err in putting too much confidence in the canon's ability to raise up culture. Having placed himself in the middle; Denby can jab sometimes at the Left (the absurd attack upon Joseph Conrad) and the Right (feminist criticism did create a place at the table for Virginia Wolff). A hidden strength is his philosophical nuggets; such as the point that Kant's goal was to establish a moral philosophy that was absolute yet did not depend on the word of God.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I really enjoyed this bookBy Sam LuskI really enjoyed this book; not only as a kind of summary of great books of the western canon; but also because of the perspective offered by Denby as a returning and intelligent student. His use of his student-peers as devices to create discussion works well. I highly recommend . . . .
