Rating: 
Summary: Just the right amount of information
Review: Sure. You can read ULYSSES without a guide, but why? There's so much that even Joyce himself couldn't catch if he hadn't written the book. There are many forward references. I'm reminded of an advertisement Bloom finds in one of the early chapters. The address is encoded with all sorts of information that Joyce hasn't yet disclosed. Blamires explains a lot of this for you. Well, who's to say what "a lot" is when talking of ULYSSES. OK, he explains some of it.As noted in another review, one of the satisfying things about THE NEW BLOOMSDAY BOOK is that it doesn't give away all the fun stuff. Which leads me to my recommendation on how to use it. For the first half of the book, I read the episode and then read Blamires. This, I think, is the usual way. Then I tried to read Blamires first. What a difference. My fear, and maybe yours, is that reading Blamires first will be a spoiler. Well, when you a finish an episode and don't know what has happened there's really nothing to spoil. I recommend reading Blamires first. Armed with the knowledge of what to look for you can discover the ingenious ways Joyce tells the story. Again, Blamires just gives you the essentials. There will still be plenty of thrills if you read the episode after reading Blamires.
Rating: 
Summary: Understanding James Joyce's Ulysses
Review: When I started my class in Ulysses, I couldn't understand the variety of different languages and various styles that James Joyce employed in his writing. I read the Bloomsday Book after I condensed each episode in my notes and suddenly I could fathom the meaning of the book. I carefully read the original section and highlighted important sections. With the Bloomsday Book, I could understand the meaning of these highlighted sections. I especially enjoyed the clarity of the Bloomsday Book; it brought the original work to life and gave new meanings to each segment. The section that I selected to discuss was the last episode, Penelope. At the first reading, I was baffled to find no punctuation. But the word yes seemed to dominate the entire work. Molly Bloom was definitely a yes woman. And yes, I managed to decipher Molly's rolling monologue through the description of each sentence and the meaning of the 8 separate paragraphs. Even though Ulysses presented a enigmatic style of writing to interpret, I enjoyed the book thoroughly and plan to re-read the text again because through this Bloomsday guide, I could put the pieces together and discover the wonder of James Joyce's epic.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding James Joyce's Ulysses
Review: When I started my class in Ulysses, I couldn't understand the variety of different languages and various styles that James Joyce employed in his writing. I read the Bloomsday Book after I condensed each episode in my notes and suddenly I could fathom the meaning of the book. I carefully read the original section and highlighted important sections. With the Bloomsday Book, I could understand the meaning of these highlighted sections. I especially enjoyed the clarity of the Bloomsday Book; it brought the original work to life and gave new meanings to each segment. The section that I selected to discuss was the last episode, Penelope. At the first reading, I was baffled to find no punctuation. But the word yes seemed to dominate the entire work. Molly Bloom was definitely a yes woman. And yes, I managed to decipher Molly's rolling monologue through the description of each sentence and the meaning of the 8 separate paragraphs. Even though Ulysses presented a enigmatic style of writing to interpret, I enjoyed the book thoroughly and plan to re-read the text again because through this Bloomsday guide, I could put the pieces together and discover the wonder of James Joyce's epic.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely necessary for a first reading
Review: Where Joyce's Ulysses is concerned, having a prodigious vocabulary and familiarity with Homer's Oddysey isn't enough. I dare say visiting Dublin and familiarizing yourself with its layout STILL wouldn't help even the most scholarly reader plumb the depths of this abstruse novel. There are a number of guides out there; but I think this one is the best to start with. Ulysses is so inaccessable that even some of the guides are overwhelming. I agree with the last reviewer who said this guide has just enough information to be effective. What I would add is it has just enought information to get you through your FIRST reading. For most people, one reading of Ulysses is enough. But if you want to go deeper into it and still require more assistance after a second reading, then use one of the more thorough guides. Stuart Gilbert's"James Joyce's Ulysses" is a good choice.
Rating:
Summary: An Essential Map for a Great Literary Journey
Review: Would you travel to an unknown land without a guide? In James Joyce's seminal work, Ulysses, we find ourselves adrift in some very strange lands. Linguistic, cultural and literary references abound - along with a good helping of pure weirdness. Blamire's book helps us get through this jungle - and still have a good time doing so! The New Bloomsday Book follows Ulysses chapter by chapter (note that Ulysses doesn't actually have chapter headings so just this information by itself would be wonderful). At the beginning of each chapter Blamires relates the forthcoming pages to the equivalent works from Homer. Then we have the pertinent points mentioned, with discussion about important issues as they arise. Cross-references to other important parts of the text are given which is particularly useful when, as often happens, Joyce mentions something in passing that takes on greater signficance a hundred pages further on. The level of detail is about right. We don't get commentary on every single allusion or phrase but we do get the highlights - enough for us to keep our footing on this journey and get pleasure out of the trip. If I tackle Ulysses again - and it will be a while! - I may want a more detailed reference such as Gilberts, but for a first read, The New Bloomsday book is the essential choice. The book has page references to the Gabler edition, the Penguin edition and occasional references to the Oxford edition. I read this with the Penguin edition and didn't notice any discrepencies.
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