When he was 10 or 11 years old, Harold Bloom read the poetry of William Blake and Hart Crane and was profoundly moved. This led to a lifelong passion for literature and a career as one of our most distinguished and prolific literary critics. Much of that time, his influential and often controversial criticism was addressed primarily to an academic readership. More recently, his best-selling titles are mindful of what Dr. Samuel Johnson and later Virginia Woolf called “the common reader.” Bloom notes, “If there is a function for criticism at the present time, it must be to address itself to the solitary reader, who reads for himself, and not for the interests that supposedly transcend the self.” We common readers continue to be in Bloom’s debt. His new book, How to Read and Why, offers not only helpful suggestions indicated by the title but also sophisticated and stimulating analyses of noteworthy short stories, poetry, novels, and plays. Drawing on the writing of Samuel Johnson, Virginia Woolf, Francis Bacon, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bloom formulates his principles of reading. In summary, they are: “Read deeply, not to believe, not to accept, not to contradict, but to learn to share in that one nature that writes and reads.” Bloom is careful to state that the selections he has chosen to write about and quote from are “a sampling of works that best illustrate why to read.” In the short story section, for example, the samplings include works by Turgenev and Chekhov as well as Flannery O’Connor and Italo Calvino. A surprise is the story “Gogol’s Wife” by the modern Italian writer Tommaso Landolfi.

There are two chapters on novels, the first one with discussions of Cervantes’ Don Quixote, “the first and best of all novels, which nevertheless is more than a novel,” and Jane Austen’s Emma, and Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, among others. The second chapter on novels includes William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West. All of the books in this chapter Bloom includes in the “school of Melville” and his consideration of them follows an introductory section on Moby Dick. He writes there of Ahab being “American through and through, fierce in his desire to avenge himself, but always strangely free, probably because no American truly feels free unless he or she is inwardly alone.” The longest discussion of an individual work is of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. It is a highlight of the book. Bloom says that “after four centuries, Hamlet remains the most experimental drama ever staged, even in the Age of Beckett, Pirandello, and all the Absurdists.” He also comments, “Hamlet, like Shakespeare’s disciples Milton and the Romantics, wishes to assert the power of mind over a universe of death or sea of trouble, but cannot do so, because he thinks too lucidly.” The other two, quite different plays, discussed are Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.

Bloom’s passion for great literature is evident on every page. This book should be of special interest both to solitary readers and reading groups.

Roger Bishop is a regular contributor to BookPage.

How many readers of books wish to be writers of them? Some actually go on to do so; others don’t. Regardless, many of them have in common an ardor for all details of writing and publishing that fix them on book signings, writing workshops, lives of authors, etc. (Need we say book reviewing?) There is a world of biblio groupies akin to would-be Babe Ruths immersed in baseball trivia. For those so involved in books, this work of Naked Truths and Provocative Curiosities about the Writing, Selling, and Reading of Books is for them. The tongue-in-cheek style throughout keeps a devotee’s sense of proportion even decorum in these matters of love. The take-offs on book blurbs listed on the back of the book tell the tale, including I laughed my head off! credited to Marie Antoinette, and It was for this? allegedly by Johannes Gutenberg. More conveniently read in snippets rather than straight through, Hamilton’s book displays his considerable literary erudition as lightly as it does entertainingly. He cunningly notes that the bookstore in Universal City, California, actually keeps only a small cache of books. These are stashed off behind an array of movie and non-movie paraphernalia and candy. On politicians who write books ( word filling may more accurately describe the process) he is devastating. For some this book may be too breezy, but you can control the velocity by reducing the volume. Regarding Casanova as a lover, one shouldn’t forget that among his varied occupations he was a librarian (in Bohemia of all places). Who, more than those under the spell of pursuing a life among books, knows better that the best place for love in the afternoon is the library stacks? For true lovers of the book and all its trappings, Hamilton has written an encyclopedia of a valentine.

Dr. Edward Riedinger is on the faculty at Ohio State University.

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex By Nathaniel Philbrick Viking, $24.95 ISBN 0670891576 Viking Penguin Audio, $14.95, 0141802189 So many books these days are like Chinese cooking they’re a great meal, but they don’t stay with you very long. Books that endure tell us about lives we can only dream of. Austen, Dickens, and Twain all lived what they wrote about, and what they lived was radically different from what we know today.

Then there’s Herman Melville. In my humble opinion, Melville’s Moby Dick is the greatest novel ever written. As we learned in English class, Moby Dick is really about man’s struggle against death. Well, of course it is. Moby Dick is about death, but first and foremost it is about whaling. We no longer hunt whales; at least most nations don’t. This shouldn’t preclude readers from enjoying two books that are fascinating explorations into Melville’s world.

The first, In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, details the little-known incident that provided Melville with the foundation of his masterpiece. In 1820, the whaling ship Essex, out of Nantucket, was deliberately hit and sunk in the south Pacific by an enraged sperm whale. The ship’s stunned crew of 20 was forced to make their way across 3,000 miles of open ocean to the western coast of South America. It took three months, and along the way they faced death, dehydration, starvation, and ultimately, cannibalism.

Philbrick presents this horrifying tale in a direct, deliberate manner, detailing the culture of the New England whalers, how they fit into the wider world of the early 19th century, and why their fate considering what they had to do to survive was not what we in the 21st century would expect. A sailor as well as an historian, Philbrick’s richly detailed account of this tragedy stands on its own merits as a narrative; the fact that the story is the basis for one of the great novels of literature only adds to its attraction.

So, Melville had a historical basis for the sinking of the Pequod. What about Moby Dick himself? Was there a basis for this fish tale? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. Tim Severin’s forthcoming book, In Search of Moby Dick, explores the existence of a white whale from both an historical and a modern perspective. As Howard Schliemann searched for the gates of Troy by following Homer’s writings, Severin retraces the voyage of the Pequod as well as Melville’s travels through the south Pacific to get to the roots of the story. Was there a white whale? Does one exist today? He finds some surprising answers. Tropical island gods and legends lead to modern-day whale hunters who search for the great beasts much the same as their ancestors; gasoline motors attached to their outrigger canoes are their only modern innovations. Their physical daring is amazing, and their whispered stories will raise goosebumps. The vividness of Severin’s writing as well as his careless disregard for his own safety make In Search of Moby Dick compelling reading. With a major biography of Melville also on the way for summer, this promises to be a banner year for whaling or at least for the examination of it. If you are a fan of true adventure stories, snap up In Search of Moby Dick and In the Heart of the Sea.

James Neal Webb doesn’t go fishing that often, but when he does, he always throws ’em back.

A tribute to Eudora Welty on her 90th birthday From her home in inconspicuous Jackson, Mississippi, Eudora Welty has written some of the funniest and most moving stuff of this century, with solid and elegant prose rather than the pyrotechnics of a noisily experimental style. One thing that has always been remarkable about her work is the affection she has for her characters, her deep-grained habit of love for the eccentric outsiders she depicts. Readers have picked up the habit of love for Ms. Welty herself as well, as is thoroughly demonstrated by Hill Street Press’s new volume of tributes, a 90th birthday present to her.

Eudora Welty: Writers’ Reflections upon First Reading Welty brings together a roster of 22 writers, editors, scholars, and friends to describe their first encounters with Ms. Welty’s work. Tributeers range from Richard Bausch to Richard Wilbur, from Alice Munro to Reynolds Price. Several credit their encounters with Welty for the realization that the Southern vernacular could be legitimately literary. Tony Earley writes, incredibly, the voice had the same accent I did. It was the first time I had realized that literature could speak in a language I recognized as my own. Others recall the shock of finding out that a nice lady in a print dress was making work more daring and more honest than their own. Some, like William Maxwell, recall shared experiences, and others describe the pleasure of first hearing Welty read. All are unflagging in their appreciation, overflowing with praise for the first lady of Southern letters.

After these accolades, it’s a sharp pleasure to turn back to Ms. Welty’s works, in crisp new Modern Library editions. Here are the achingly accurate descriptions of grief in The Optimist’s Daughter, the charm and delicacy of Delta Wedding, the hilarity of a story like Why I Live at the P.O., and the perceptiveness and kindness that runs through every sentence she has ever written. Welty has never been fond of the idea of biography, asking that her books be allowed to stand on their own. I thought of this while re-reading the fabulous One Writer’s Beginnings, in which Ms. Welty describes her childhood understanding of books: It had been startling and disappointing to me to find out that story books had been written by people, that books were not natural wonders, coming up of themselves like grass. A fresh reading of her books, wonders all, is a fitting way to celebrate her 90th, and to get to know, once again, the writer who draws such ardent reponse from so many talented admirers.

Anne Stringfield is on the staff of the New Yorker.

You cannot help but wonder if C. S. Lewis might not have been more at home in an earlier age. In his opposition to the relativistic and materialistic philosophy of our modern times, a philosophy that he believed was sapping the magic and the mystery out of literature and life, Lewis knew that he was out of step with modernity. In fact, he once referred to himself as a cultural dinosaur. But 35 years after his death, the influence of this unassuming British scholar shows no sign of abating. His numerous books continue to sell briskly, and he has been the subject of a Broadway play and two feature films, as well as the focus of countless biographies, literary studies, and religious reflections. One could make the argument that he is also the most oft-quoted religious writer of the 20th century, his work appealing across denominational and confessional lines. Lewis is best known as a writer of stylish and memorable books exploring Christian faith and practice (Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters) and the creator of the Chronicles of Narnia (which has achieved classic status in children’s literature). Less well-known are his fiction for adults (the Space Trilogy and the remarkable Till We Have Faces) and his highly readable volumes of literary history and criticism. This year marks the hundredth anniversary of Lewis’s birth and has brought forth the expected explosion of secondary works analyzing and celebrating the mind and imagination of this highly creative thinker. None of these compares in usefulness to the newly published The C. S. Lewis Reader’s Encyclopedia. The editors of this hefty volume have sought to summarize the scope of Lewis’s achievement by gathering essays from a wide range of Lewis experts. These short essays, set up in an encyclopedic format, provide an overview of the life, work, and ideas of Lewis, focusing on his literary output: all the books, poems, essays, book reviews, prefaces to the works of others, and even never-before-discussed letters to the editor. In addition, the volume offers a concise, yet penetrating biography of Lewis’s life and entries on his family and friends, as well as his literary and theological forebears. The writing is crisp and interesting, offering insights of value to the serious student of Lewis’s writing, while at the same time being easily accessible to the reader just discovering his work. Although a few essays veer perilously close to hagiography, most show an admirable critical balance, and the comprehensive nature of the whole project is very satisfying. Reading these valuable summaries of Lewis’s work, one is reminded again of his strengths: a vivid imagination, a sparkling wit, clear common-sense thinking, a gift for memorable analogies, and an unshakable faith in the reasonableness of the Christian view of existence. That he could synthesize these in ways that appealed to children as well as academics is probably what has kept this dinosaur from becoming extinct. The manner in which he combines intelligence with a soaring imagination still serves as a challenge to contemporary writers to break free from the usual modes of religious writing and forge creative new ways of communicating timeless ideas.

Terry Glaspey is the author of five books, including Not a Tame Lion: The Spiritual Legacy of C. S. Lewis. He lives in Eugene, Oregon.

Review by Eliza R. L. McGraw Unsurprisingly, Philip Hamburger’s collection of essays from his years at the New Yorker is dedicated to Harold Ross, the curmudgeonly and astute editor who presided over the tenures of such New Yorker writers as James Thurber, E.B. White, and, of course, Hamburger.

Hamburger is in many ways a true Ross production, the kind of writer that made the New Yorker legendary. Friends Talking in the Night delightfully collects his best and most varied moments, from profiles to movie reviews.

Ever the New Yorker himself, Hamburger comments on the mayors of Gotham from the vantage point of his apartment across the street from Gracie Mansion in his 1953 essay, Some People Watch Birds. He writes that Fiorello LaGuardia was the busiest of our recent mayors and he spent, for a mayor, an inordinate amount of time at City Hall. Thanks to this perversity, I didn’t see as much of him as I would have liked. Hamburger’s comments on world affairs are equally as detailed as those on Gracie Mansion, but naturally graver. In Milan during Northern Italy’s 1945 liberation from Fascism, Hamburger stood in the Piazza Loreto as war criminals were executed: There were no roars of bloodcurdling yells; there was only silence and then, suddenly, a sigh a deep, moaning sound, seemingly expressive of release from something dark and fetid. Such serious events evoke Hamburger’s more somber tone, providing balance in the collection between his lighter work and his comments on global events.

Any student or lover of writing who leafs through Friends Talking in the Night may have a similar response to the one Hamburger had while watching Jimmy Stewart’s 1955 performance in High Noon: The mules know that no ordinary actor has hold of the reins. They know when a star has hold of the reins, and their ears go up. I’ve seen it happen a hundred times.

Eliza McGraw is a graduate student in English in Nashville, Tennessee.

Review by George Cowmeadow Bauman In 1997’s Booknotes, Brian Lamb collected a number of his interviews with writers who had appeared on his TV program of the same name. Now the man responsible for the oxymoronically named Book TV is at it again compiling irresistible reading for fans of C-SPAN’s Booknotes program, and for anyone interested in good writing and interesting lives.

Booknotes: Life Stories is being published to celebrate the program’s tenth anniversary, and it is Lamb at his finest. He’s collected 75 interviews with biographers who responded to Lamb’s questions about their subjects and the process of turning inspiration into print. Included are Susan Butler on Amelia Earhart, Taylor Branch on Martin Luther King, Jr., and Norman Mailer on Lee Harvey Oswald. Walter Cronkite, Frank McCourt, and Katharine Graham discuss their own lives, public and private. Lamb describes his interviewing style in the book’s Introduction: I’m not in that chair on behalf of intellectuals; my job is to ask questions on behalf of the average George and Jane, Cathy and Jim. In the interest of making the collection more readable, Lamb’s questions have been deleted. The biographers’ comments about their subjects are conversational.

An appendix lists all of the Booknotes interviews over the ten-year run of the program. It’s an impressive collection of the best nonfiction writers during that period.

Readers who enjoy American history will find a wealth of material here. Historical misunderstandings are corrected. For example, Paul Revere never said, The British are coming! The colonists still thought they were British. Instead, he shouted, The regulars are out! Whether Booknotes: Life Stories is read for enjoyment or is used as a reference, it will cause the reader to give thanks for the national literary treasure known as Brian Lamb.

George Cowmeadow Bauman is the co-owner of Acorn Bookshop in Columbus, Ohio.

Our foremost literary critic, Harold Bloom, is known for his influential and often controversial views, whether the subject is his theory of poetic influence or which authors and their works should comprise the Western canon. To distinguish his approach from the writings of other critics, several years ago Bloom wrote, I increasingly feel that criticism must be personal, must be experiential, must take the whole concern of men and women, including all its torments, very much into account, must offer a kind of testimony . . . [the great critics] remember always that high literature is written by suffering human beings and not by language, and is read by suffering human beings. Where do we get our present day understanding of what it is to be human? In his exhilarating new book, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Bloom illuminates our understanding of the human, or human nature, or personality as we understand those terms in a secular sense. What Shakespeare invents is ways of representing human changes, alterations not only caused by flaws and by decay, but effected by the will as well, and by the will’s temporal vulnerabilities. Bloom notes that the representation of human character and personality remain always the supreme literary value. And Shakespeare did it better than anyone else. The work of Chaucer and others influenced him, but if we compare Shakespeare’s work with writers both before or contemporary with him, his understanding of the human experience far exceeds that of everyone else. He demonstrates this through many characters but, in particular, Falstaff and Hamlet are the invention of the human, the inauguration of personality as we have come to recognize it. For Bloom, Shakespeare went beyond psychologizing us. He extensively informs the language we speak, his principle characters have become our mythology, and he, rather than his involuntary follower Freud, is our psychologist. Bloom describes his book as a personal statement, the result of a lifetime of involvement with Shakespeare’s work. He guides us through each of the 39 plays, 24 of which he regards as masterpieces, in approximate chronological order as they were written and performed. The result is a dazzling performance by a major teacher. Passionate about his subject, immensely learned, strongly opinionated, he conveys a lot of information and provides provocative commentary in a most engaging way. There are generous passages from the plays, some quite well known, others not.

This extraordinary volume will be a treasured companion for anyone who enjoys the plays of Shakespeare.

Roger Bishop is a monthly contributor to BookPage.

If you love books, you will love Literature Lover’s Book of Lists: Serious Trivia for the Bibliophile.

Judie L.H. Strouf has assembled a Brobdingnagian collection of all things literary and presented in the end-of-century format that is now so popular lists! It has serious lists to focus your reading, and it has whimsical lists to shake and stir a reader’s head.

A reference volume for bibliophiles, for teachers, for parents, this volume guides the user to best books in many fields of interest, in a format for browsing.

Literature Lover’s Book of Lists can guide your lifetime reading plan in a helpful, enjoyable, readable way.