Customer Reviews

Shakespeare Book of Lists

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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Reason 1) It's got something for everyone! Shakespeare's work appeals to such diverse populations!! In his book of lists, Mike LoMonico does the same. Topics range from Shakespeare's most insulting lines, to some very interesting facts about the "authorship question."

Reason 2) The section entitled "Some Random Thoughts About Shakespeare." This chapter alone is worth the price of admission!! Here, the author has compiled comments about The Bard from some likely (and unlikely!) sources. This "list" includes comments from Al Pacino, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Ben Jonson, and Peggy O'Brien, Director of Education for the Folger Shakespeare Library, among others.

Reason 3) It's FUN. Mike LoMonico has infused this book with many clever and amusing facts and insights. The lists of "troublesome" and "weird" words are wonderful resources for teachers.... Of course...no Shakespeare resource would be complete without a tip of the hat to the "Naughty Bits."

Reason 4) It is a valuable Shakespeare resource! The opening and closing lines are a wonderful leaping-point for readers and theater-goers alike. LoMonico includes a "Play by Play" (pun intended?) synopsis of each play consisting of character lists, memorable lines, and a "great" passage from each.

Reason 5) Film/Theater buffs!!! Order this book!!! Mike LoMonico has compiled a massive list of "Shakespeare at The Movies." Including silent films dating back as far as 1899, the list goes on to include films as current as Almereyda's 2000 production of "Hamlet," starring Ethan Hawke. Equally as comprehensive is his list of "150 Great Places to See a Shakespeare Play." Wonderful!!!!!!!

Anyone who makes Shakespeare a part of the present needs to have LoMonico's book!!!!! And if you don't, by keeping him locked in a dusty old tome somewhere, then YOU need it even more!!!!

As a teacher and fan of Shakespeare I found this book to be both authoritative and entertaining. The lists are addictive! I've been giving it as a present to fellow Shakespeare fans and they love it. I periodically Xerox copies of the lists from the book and hand them out to students - they love it also. Whether you're familiar with the plays or just enjoy fascinating trivia, this book is for you.

It's not a reference - though not a careless pastiche either. I agree with other readers that it will probably make fascinating reading for people of varying experience with Shakespeare.

Even if you've looked at Shakespeare from all sides now - the opportunity to ponder curious ways the plays differ in favoring certain words ('good' or 'eyes', for example) or in use of verse-versus-prose,

Keeping in mind Hamlet's words (a prophecy about Shakespearean studies perhaps?), "believe none of us!" - don't bet the farm (or the semester grade) on "facts" from these lists. A couple cases:

**A list of the roles in which Shakespeare himself acted is necessarily ninety percent speculation, since we have decent evidence on only a couple of *possible* Shakespeare roles - and those suggested many years or decades after the purported acting.

**Misleading judgements that counter overwhelming consensus occasionally strike the reader familiar with the plays: a) putting "Titania and Bottom" at the top of a list of "Passionate Lovers" (Titania and Oberon are the item, and the Titania-Bottom exchange is played as a spell-induced infatuation); b) listing "William Shakespeare" as first among actors of his plays *is* a direct use of the 'authoritative' First Folio; no one, however, considers it likely that Will ranked anywhere near Richard Burbage in skill or popularity (the Folio is acknowledged to be bolstered with marketing-friendly "editorial fictions").

Have fun with the book - let it stimulate your imagination. Yet decline to be lulled into thinking these lists are research tools, or factual, or secure foundations for comprehending the plays or their author.

Like everything that revolves around "trivia," this book is a wide-ranging collection of information that lacks depth. It's not definitive, it's not deep, and it's not always accurate. But it *is* fun. It's especially fun for someone who simply likes to browse through Shakespeare, read tidbits, quotes and glossaries. Or play Shakespeare trivia with a loved one (doesn't everyone?).

The quotes are a bit thin and limited, but you can easily get a richer collection of quotes. The author ignores Shakespeare's poetry - even the sonnets are hardly even mentioned! There are no lists of great Shakespeare critics or editors. And the bibliography is simply a list of books in no particular order with no explanation as to why "every Shakespeare fan should own" them (there are many titles in his list I would consider peripheral and too academic for casual readers).

It really doesn't deserve its subtitle as "The Ultimate Guide to the Bard..." However, if you're not looking for research material, merely some entertainment, this is a nice addition to your library.

This is a great book, but you should know that, as far as I can tell, it is EXACTLY the same as Lomonico's Shakespeare 101 published by Gramercy Books the same year as this title. I don't know why neither of the listings here indicate this, but it's true. Don't buy it twice!

As an English major, I use this book often in my studies of Shakespeare. It has become an invaluable tool to my school work and for my personal use. As someone who enjoys Shakespeare, this book was a great find. It has wonderful information on Shakespeare, England during the time that Shakespeare lived, his plays and the thought process that Shakespeare didn't write his own plays.