Classics for Pleasure (Harvest Book) - Softcover

Michael Dirda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0156033852 ISBN 13: 9780156033855

Publisher: Harcourt Publishers,U.S., 2008

Synopsis

In these essays, Dirda introduces nearly 90 of the world's most entertaining books. Writing with affection and authority, he covers masterpieces of fantasy and science fiction, horror and adventure, as well as epics, history, essay and children's literature.

About this title

Review:

PRAISE FOR CLASSICS FOR PLEASURE

"[Dirda's] impeccable standards, unbridled enthusiasm and intelligent joy at recounting elements of character, scene, author and society will attract anyone with a genuine interest in literate discoveries."--San Francisco Chronicle

"Dirda is a master of the light touch--his tone is invariably cordial and measured . . . His expansiveness, his love of genre fiction like detective novels, gives his writing an approachability lacking in so much literary criticism."--The Boston Globe

From the Back Cover:

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR CLASSICS FOR PLEASURE
"It is hard to think of another writer who loves books so passionately, who has such broad tastes and impeccably high standards and who writes about literature with such intelligence, generosity, and enthusiasm. Michael Dirda is a cultural treasure." Francine Prose
"Michael Dirda's honest and careful perceptions have been crafted for people who read. He has the wonderful ability to make us feel as intelligent as he is." Guy Davenport
"This book is full of short, sharp loving Shocks ofAppreciation, cunningly arranged in sequences we wouldhave never dreamed up--I doubt George Meredith, C P Cavafy, Georgette Heyer and Anna Akhmatova have ever been juxtaposed before--but which add up to a vision far greater than the sum of its parts.."--John Clute
"Michael Dirda is the best-read person in America. But he doesn t rub it in."--Michael Kinsley, Time columnist and former editor of Slate"

About this edition

• Publisher: Harcourt Publishers,U.S.
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0156033852
• ISBN 13: 9780156033855
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352