101 Famous Poems (Paperback)

by Roy J. Cook (Author) "All are architects of Fate, Working in these walls of Time; Some with massive deeds and great, Some with ornaments of rhyme..." (more)
Key Phrases: cuddle doon, barefoot boy, Born August, Born April, Born December (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A deluxe edition of the bestselling poetry anthology.

About the Author
McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide --This text refers to the Leather Bound edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (December 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809288346
• ISBN-13: 978-0809288342
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 4.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #257,802 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Anthology and Great History Lesson, February 16, 2003

By	Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: One Hundred and One Famous Poems (Leather Bound)

My 1929 edition has always looked old, the pages were yellowing, and the oval portraits of the poets seemed outdated. I have had this old favorite on my bookshelf since childhood.

Over the last month I again read all 101 poems, rediscovering poets and poetry that I had nearly forgotten. Cook's compilation is a historical snapshot, one made before the Great Depression, WWII, the Cold War, Vietnam, Civil Rights, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the US, as the only super power, faced with global terrorism.

America was still fairly youthful in 1929; the Civil War had ended only 64 years before. Possibly reflecting our confidence in our American spirit and our sense of manifest destiny, this anthology includes a remarkable number of American poets. Some are no longer familiar, but their poetry sheds light on an earlier America, one that inhabited a less complicated world.

One-third of the 'famous poems' belong to just twelve American poets - William Cullen Bryant -2 poems, Ralph Waldo Emerson -4, Eugene Field -3, Oliver Wendell Holmes -3, Vachel Lindsay -2, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -7, James Russell Lowell -2, Edwin Markham -2, Edgar Allan Poe -2, James Whitcomb Riley -2, Edward Sill -2, and John Greenleaf Whittier -3. I did not recall the names Field, Lindsay, Markham, or Sill. But I clearly remember as a young boy being fascinated by the paradox in Eugene Field's 'The Duel'.

Surprisingly, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman rated only one poem each. The then contemporary poets Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Edgar Lee Masters, and Carl Sandburg each have one poem.

Another one-third comes from 15 noted English poets (9 with multiple selections) - Elizabeth and Robert Browning, Burns, Byron, Gray, George Elliott, Leigh Hunt, Keats, Kipling, Milton, Sir Walter Scott, Shakespeare, Shelley, Tennyson, and Wordsworth.

The poets that created the final one-third 'famous poems' are fascinating in their anonymity. I simply did not recognize Lieut. Col. John McCrae, Henry Holcomb Bennett, Edmund Vance Cook, George Washington Doane, Sam Walter Foss, William Ernest Henley, Mary Howitt, Sergeant Joyce Kilmer, Winifred M. Letts, Clement Clarke Moore, Thomas Buchanan Read, and Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

Their poems, however, were not entirely strangers: But let me live by the side of the road and be a friend of man - We shall not sleep though poppies grow in Flanders Field - a poem as lovely as a tree - Laugh and the world laughs with you - I am the captain of my soul - Will you walk into my parlor?, said the spider to the fly - The Night before Christmas.

Many poems reflect the virtues of honor, commitment, respect of God, patriotism, honesty, perseverance, courage, respect for others, and loyalty. Others are playful and simply fun to read. Lay this old, outdated collection next to your favorite chair. It's great reading. You won't be disappointed.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nearing 100 Years and Going Strong - for Good Reasons , October 28, 2004

By	Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: One Hundred and One Famous Poems (Hardcover)

Roy J. Cook compiled his popular anthology in 1916, long before the Great Depression, WWII, the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Eighty Years of Bestsellers (1895-1975) by Hackett and Burke ranks Roy J. Cook's anthology among the fifty most popular books sold in the U.S. in the past century. One Hundred and One Famous Poems (or alternatively, 101 Famous Poems) has remained continuously in print.

Why is 101 Famous Poems still popular today? Cook's compilation is simply fun to read. Cook did include selections from great poets like Byron, Dickinson, Keats, Milton, Shakespeare, Shelley, Tennyson, Whitman, and Wordsworth. There are also popular poems by Frost, Kipling, Longfellow, Poe, Riley, and Whittier. However, what makes Cook's anthology special is that we find those lesser poems that we often memorized as a child and still find enjoyable years later.

I did not immediately recognize Lieut. Col. John McCrae, Henry Holcomb Bennett, Edmund Vance Cook, George Washington Doane, Eugene Field, Sam Walter Foss, William Ernest Henley, Mary Howitt, Sergeant Joyce Kilmer, Winifred M. Letts, Clement Clarke Moore, Thomas Buchanan Read, and Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

And yet, many of their poems proved not to be strangers: But let me live by the side of the road and be a friend of man - We shall not sleep though poppies grow in Flanders Field - A poem as lovely as a tree - Laugh and the world laughs with you - I am the captain of my soul - Will you walk into my parlor?, said the spider to the fly - and, of course, The Night Before Christmas. I was happy to find one of my old favorites, The Duel, a fascinating paradox by Eugene Field.

I don't really keep my old edition with its yellowing pages and old fashioned oval portraits next to my bed for nightly reading. Our family does not actually read the poems aloud before the fireplace after the evening meal. But through the years I do occasionally find myself reading once again all 101 poems, rediscovering poets and poetry that I have nearly forgotten. You won't be disappointed with Roy J. Cook's compilation.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure for anyone who cares to be informed and touched., June 19, 1999

By	[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Hundred and One Famous Poems (Leather Bound)

This book was given to me by a Mrs. Jacobs in l933 at the Irene Kaufman Settlement in Pittsburgh, Pa.when I was ll years old. I am now 77 years and this little treasure has followed me everywhere my husband and I have been, during his in the service and since. Many of the poems I have have had to memorize in school, and I did it with pleasure. Started writing poetry at a very early age, and perhaps Mrs. Jacobs recognized that in me. I will always be grateful for that lovely woman's delightful intervention in my life. I have three daughters, five grandaughters, and one grandson, and they will each have a copy of this book, but not mine, while I live. Mine is dog eared and patched, and a most valuable possession. Bully for Roy J. Cook