Rating: 
Summary: Great, with some room for improvement
Review: I used this book from about pg 200 of Ulysses onward, and I think it's just about indispensable. There should not be any embarrassment in this: unless you know Latin, German, French, Hebrew (together with a good cross-section of literature from all these languages), Catholic & Jewish culture, English literature more or less entire, and (hardest of all) Dublin slang, culture, politics, and all the knick-knacks of daily life from 1904, Ulysses presents many baffling passages. This book helps out with all these things, plus plenty of other stuff: myths, songs, internal reference cross-indexing (for those of us who can't remember that Stephen Daedalus thought of the same Latin quotation 600 pages earlier), Joyce's basic scheme for each section, and more. There are two failings, and they are minor: (1) there are still plenty of obscure words and phrases that aren't annotated (the introduction acknowledges this) and conversely (2) there are a number of things that don't need annotations that get them (particularly galling are the annotations that simply tell you that they don't know what Joyce is talking about either). Still, an essential reference, and pretty entertaining in its own right (like flipping through an encyclopedia or Brewer's Phrase & Fable).
Rating: 
Summary: Great reference, but not necessary to love Ulysses
Review: Several years ago, when I embarked on my first reading of Ulysses, I purchased this book to help me deal with the famous Joycian allusions. I was stunned by the size and careful detail of this annotation, since it rivals the size of Ulysses itself. For the first 60 pages or so of Ulysses, I religiously read every annotation for every allusion. And then I realized that I was missing out on the beauty of the book as a work of art. So I set the annotation down and continued reading Ulysses without help. Yes, there were many parts I failed to understand, but I loved the book nonetheless, and appreciated it as one of the 20th century's greatest pieces of art. The annotation should serve not as a companion during a first reading of Ulysses, but rather as a reference for future, more detailed readings. As I have read parts of Ulysses again, I have turned to the annotation to guide me and help me understand the intricate details of the book. It is a scholarly endeavor, and one must always remember that Joyce meant to be enigmatic - to enjoy his genius does not necessarily mean to understand every enigma and allusion. Savor the words of James Joyce, then savor his intellectual cavortings through this marvelous annotation. Do not use the annotation as a crutch to read Ulysses, the greatest novel of the 20th century, but trust your mind to learn his language.
Rating:
Summary: A Key to Ulysses
Review: The authors admirably provide notes to words, phrases, and names throughout Ulysses, with revealing notes on Joyce's religious, literary, and historical allusions. The authors illuminate Irish colloquialisms ("I blow him out about you;" explained here as "I make him feel proud (or vain) of our acquaintance), as well as long entangled references within inner dialogue and narrative. It expands one's appreciation of "Ulysses" (and Joyce's genius), but it can also slow down the pleasure of reading and just enjoying the sounds of it. I suggest that one use the Annotations to enhance, as opposed to impede, one's enjoyment of the book; one need not investigate every one of the twists and turns in Joyce's complex referential labyrinth. It's also fun to read the Annotations after reading a chapter of Ulysses, and compare one's prior impressions with one's (now almost encyclopedic) decoded version. Some will also enjoy just the vast amount of information contained here and read it out of sequence, or even long after reading "Ulysses." There's an introductory overview of the book and its context, and each chapter includes a comparison to the Greek "The Odyssey." However, the bulk of the book is devoted to very thorough explanations of the text. The authors note that they walk the tricky line between explanation and interpretation, I think they succeed in emphasizing the former. This book does not provide lengthy interpretations of the themes and literary devices abounding in Ulysses--that is not its intent. Rather, it is a well-written translator of the words and general structure. Annotations are keyed to the 1984 edition of Ulysses, the standard 1961 Random House edition, and the Modern Library and Vintage editions. The revised "Annotations" contains over a thousand corrections and additions to the first edition. Not indispensable, but almost so; it elucidates the seemingly ineluctable, and expands one's understanding and enjoyment of the text.
Rating:
Summary: The best
Review: The best, I wouldn't say only, tool for the Ulysses job. Explication of story line, individual lines, terms, personages, etc. It's almost all there, or is it?
Rating:
Summary: Beyond helpful
Review: THis book is the ultimate Ulysses companion, just a line by line explication of the book so one can choose what one feels they need help with and cut out the extra sentences of a more formally structured book.
Rating:
Summary: The Ulysses Bible
Review: This large book is sort of the "Ulysses Bible." Vast and aggressively comprehensive in scope, it is an astonishingly complete glossing of the text. Every name, place, event, and historical figure is given a brief explanation; and all non-standard English is defined, from foreign tongues to the Anglicized Irish slang. Poems and songs -- even those only briefly mentioned in the text -- are often printed in full, and detailed maps are provided for each section. The chapter "Oxen of the Sun" is given a full analysis, clarifying each paragraph in terms of the author and/or style that Joyce is parodying. In addition, one of the appendices analyzes "Aeolus" for its full repertoire of rhetorical devices. I also find it amusing that the book points out several of Joyce's little errors. (Excuse me -- "portals of discovery.") This is not a quick reference book for the faint of heart; but for a full study of Ulysses it is invaluable.
Rating:
Summary: A Valuable Guide.
Review: Ulysses Annotated is essential for understanding Joyce's seminal work, Ulysses. The Introduction, prefaces and notes explain how to use this book, and suggest why and how it was compiled. Each episode is preceeded by a map that helps the reader to visualize the movements of Bloom and Stephen throughout their journeys. It is somewhat difficult, even for a well-read student to understand Joyce's allusions without a reference guide book like Giffords. Also recommended: REDEFINING THE 'SELF': SELECTED ESSAYS ON SWIFT, POE, PINTER, AND JOYCE by John Condon Murray
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