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Complete Tales & Poems

Complete Tales & Poems

List Price: $16.00
Your Price: $10.88
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Well, not ALL of them...
Review: ...Like the poems "Mysterious Star" and "To Octavia". It also doesn't have Poe's book on the universe "Eureka". The the dates of publication for the stories and poems are not included.

Yet overall, it's a good book for non-scholars (or obsessed Poe fans who need to devour all the knowledgeable material about him like me)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Poe Starter Kit
Review: Any young student of Poe might do well to own this book. Granted, bigger volumes can be found, but this brings to print some of his major works. Start with this one, then buy "Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe..." and learn something about the person he was. Read about first as a poet and author here, avoiding all the fluff about horror in his life. "The Raven" is a love story, not a scary poem. The poet is lamenting a love lost to death, not creating a creepy tale about a talking bird. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is about the foolishness of crime and criminals, not a murder mystery. Read the best of Poe, and then buy a full set of his poems, stories, letters and criticisms. Fascinating stuff.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: for claustrophobia fans only
Review: Cramped, prissy, claustrophobic, and undistinguished

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A good, though not exactly "complete" collection ...
Review: Edgar A. Poe (he never used Allan in print) has yet to be served by a collection worthy of a writer of his stature. This one certainly does a good job of collecting a great deal of material, including rarities as well as all the stories and poems you already know and love and even his only novel, "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym." But the sequence of the works is random (not chronological, as I had hoped) and no notes are provided. Plus, the book's size makes it hard to read without some sort of physical support. Still, it's one of the more complete Poe collections around, and the price is reasonable for a book of this size.

For greater understanding of the short and tumultuous life that produced such astounding works of the imagination, I suggest reading "Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-Ending Rememberance" by Kenneth Silverman in conjunction with this volume. I found it very enlightening to read a couple of chapters of Silverman's entertaining and informative biography, then read only the works produced during that particular period of Poe's life. Aside from the advantage of following his development as a writer and gaining a better understanding of the inspriration behind his work, you get a better cross-section of Poe's extraordinary range -- from comic satirist to journalist to detective fiction writer to, of course, the supreme creator of the horror and science fiction story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful collection of Poe's work
Review: For anyone who likes Poe, or wants to be introduced to his work, this is the book. The book does an excellent job of picking Poe's writings to show the breadth and depth of his ability and imagination. This book demonstrates that Poe is one of the greatest authors of all time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: good
Review: goo

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: There is a World Here
Review: I am not saying that you have to believe everything that is contained in this book. Some people might find certain things too frightening to believe however historically accurate an account might be, and Poe has been charged with a number of hoaxes which presented literature in a magazine that had pretenses of reporting on actual events. My normal method of study is with a concordance, so that I can see how an author uses particular terms, and I would have no idea where to look to see if Poe ever used the word "horsefeathers." Nevertheless, in the field of thought which is most interesting to me, best summarized as ways of being deadly, Poe is the American intellectual figure who towers above all the rest. Hardly anyone else should even dare to recite a line from an outstanding poem, "Ulalume~A Ballad" which simply says, "Our talk had been serious and sober." Poetic science begins with the ability to find that line in this book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Worthy Addition to Any Serious Library
Review: I bought a copy of this Vintage edition, with exactly the same cover art, new in 1975 - folks that's 29 years ago. It's a massive compendium of virtually all, if not all, of anything that Poe wrote of literary consequence, including short stories (a/k/a the "tales"), poetry, and his only novel (*The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym*). Although Poe's work in this edition is not organized in exactly the most scholarly order, and, yes, is a tad short on literary criticism -- who cares? If you're looking for criticism, biography or interpretation, there are dozens of books about Poe to satisfy that need. But if you're looking for a comprehensive "one-stop" source of Poe's works at a great price, this is it.

I have acquired and tossed hundreds of books in the past 29 years, but I have hung onto this volume. The inclusion of the complete *Narrative of A. Gordon Pym* alone is worth the price of the book. In addition to the more commonly anthologized stories like "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Black Cat," "The Tell-tale Heart," and "The Cask of Amontillado," you'll find lesser known gems like the nightmarish "William Wilson," one of the best "doppelganger" stories ever written. If you've never read Poe before, his style is distinctly 19th century and may pose an impediment to some readers. Old fashioned or not, he remains the master of this genre. This particular edition offers all the proof you'll ever need and many hours of reading pleasure.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a groovy compendium
Review: i can't vouch for whether it's complete or not, but it's sure jam-packed. the tripped-out cover art is completely incongruous with the misery-riddled oeuvre of Poe, but the book itself is a marvelous resource. if you've ever despaired of ever having a complete collection of this GREAT American writer, here's just about everything. it gives one a sense of satisfaction.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must for any fan of Poe or short stories!
Review: I have no understanding for people who claim that this volume leaves out some of Poe's most important work; it does not do that at all! On the contrary, this is a complete collection of his short stories and poems, and also includes a biographical introduction, "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket," and various critical writings of Poe. Every Poe-fan should have this comprehensive edition!


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