Rating: 
Summary: "More Sinned Against than Sinning"
Review: "Shakespeare is very good in spite of all the people who say he is very good": Epstein thus quotes Robert Graves in her preface and notes that she wrote the book for people who are not familiar or comfortable with Shakespeare. Fortunately, this companion is delightful for longtime fans as well. Epstein discusses twenty-three of Shakespeare's thirty-six plays (unaccountably skipping `Julius Caesar' because, she says, "I don't like it and felt it was time to give the play a rest". She offers the most insights into the best-known tragedies (35 pp. on Hamlet, 24pp. on `Othello', and useful thoughts on the difficult `Tempest'), and discusses film adaptations, actors, the cult of Shakespeare, puns, sex, and the Elizabethan era. In short, she provides wonderful, readable color to enhance plays that many have read over and over and others have avoided all their lives. Divided into a series of accessible articles of a few pages each, the book need not be read in any particular order. Thumb through and you'll find something to catch your fancy. Thumb through again tomorrow, and you'll find something else. Epstein is a great place to start before seeing or reading a play, and if you don't have tickets for a nearby production, reading this book will induce you to fall in love with Shakespeare or remind you why you fell in love the first time.
Rating:
Summary: The Lady Hath Written A Most Excellent Book, Methinks!!
Review: +++++
This book's preface instructs, "Don't feel compelled to read this book from cover to cover" since it's meant for reading at a relaxed pace. Guess what? I DID read it from cover to cover!!
Why did I do this? Here are my reasons:
(1) THE AUTHOR'S WRITING STYLE. The author, Norrie Epstein, writes in a relaxed and leisurely but enthusiastic way making a somewhat difficult subject easy and enjoyable to read. She writes for the intelligent, common reader who's tired of technical, academic (and patronizing!!) jargon.
(2) THE BOOK'S ORGANIZATION. The book progresses logically with general comments on the works of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) to discussing the man himself to looking at the Elizabethan stage and then lastly discussing the plays. There is also a discussion of the Shakespearean sonnets. Finally, there is a fascinating end-discussion on the spin-offs that have resulted from Shakespeare's works (for example, music and films).
(3) DISCUSSION OF PLAYS. Not only are the popular ones discussed but the more obscure plays are also given attention. The plays discussed are as follows: eight romantic comedies, eight histories, one "problem" play, seven tragedies, and one tragicomic romance. All discussions are EASY to follow. And don't worry. There are NO boring plot summaries of the plays to read.
For many of the plays, there is a "What to Look For In" section. These informative sections highlight what is particularly significant in a play. As well, a major Shakespearean character of a particular play may be highlighted and given more detailed attention. For example, there are good, solid discussions of Shylock and Falstaff.
(4) ILLUSTRATIONS AND PHOTOGRAPHS. These are peppered throughout the book. I especially liked the black-and-white photo of Patrick Stewart ("Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise") dressed up as Shylock.
(5) SIDEBARS. These also occur throughout the book. They highlight interesting bits of information that the author wants to bring to the reader's attention. One of my favorite sidebars is an open letter a critic of the 1600s wrote to Shakespeare entitled "As I Don't Like It." He commented on why he didn't like the play "As You Like It" (one of the Bard's best plays).
(6) INTERVIEWS. These are scattered throughout the book. The author interviews people (such as actors) who have a passion for Shakespeare. Notable interviews are with Kenneth Branagh and Ted Lange (of "Love Boat" fame).
(7) TRIVIA. And lots of it!! This Shakespearean trivia occurs throughout the book. For example, what does Shakespeare's epitaph say? Or, what Shakespearean character was Orson Welles' life ambition to play?
Finally, the big question: who is this book written for? Answer: for both novices and Shakespearean scholars--in short, everybody who is interested in the Bard.
I must confess that I thought I knew a lot about Shakespeare and his works. Was I wrong!! This book opened my eyes to how much I did not know.
In conclusion, if you cannot make up your mind whether to be a reader of Shakespeare or not to be a reader of his, then that is the question this thoroughly painless guide helps you to answer in the affirmative!!
+++++.
Rating:
Summary: The Lady Hath Written A Most Excellent Book, Methinks!!
Review: =====>This book's preface instructs, "Don't feel compelled to read this book from cover to cover" since it's meant for reading at a relaxed pace. Guess what? I DID read it from cover to cover!! Why did I do this? Here are my reasons: (1) THE AUTHOR'S WRITING STYLE. The author writes in a relaxed and leisurely but enthusiastic way making a somewhat difficult subject easy and enjoyable to read. She writes for the intelligent, common reader who's tired of technical, academic (and patronizing!!) jargon. (2) THE BOOK'S ORGANIZATION. The book progresses logically with general comments on the works of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) to discussing the man himself to looking at the Elizabethan stage and then lastly discussing the plays. There is also a discussion of the Shakespearean sonnets. Finally, there is a fascinating end-discussion on the spin-offs that have resulted from Shakespeare's works (for example, music and films). (3) DISCUSSION OF PLAYS. Not only are the popular ones discussed but the more obscure plays are also given attention. The plays discussed are as follows: eight romantic comedies, eight histories, one "problem" play, seven tragedies, and one tragicomic romance. All discussions are EASY to follow. And don't worry. There are NO boring plot summaries of the plays to read. For many of the plays, there is a "What to Look For In" section. These informative sections highlight what is particularly significant in a play. As well, a major Shakespearean character of a particular play may be highlighted and given more detailed attention. For example, there are good, solid discussions of Shylock and Falstaff. (4) ILLUSTRATIONS AND PHOTOGRAPHS. These are peppered throughout the book. I especially liked the black-and-white photo of Patrick Stewart ("Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise") dressed up as Shylock. (5) SIDEBARS. These also occur throughout the book. They highlight interesting bits of information that the author wants to bring to the reader's attention. One of my favorite sidebars is an open letter a critic of the 1600s wrote to Shakespeare entitled "As I Don't Like It." He commented on why he didn't like the play "As You Like It" (one of the Bard's best plays). (6) INTERVIEWS. These are scattered throughout the book. The author interviews people (such as actors) who have a passion for Shakespeare. Notable interviews are with Kenneth Branagh and Ted Lange (of "Love Boat" fame). (7) TRIVIA. And lots of it!! This Shakespearean trivia occurs throughout the book. For example, what does Shakespeare's epitaph say? Or, what Shakespearean character was Orson Welles' life ambition to play? Finally, the big question: who is this book written for? Answer: for both novices and Shakespearean scholars--in short, everybody who is interested in the Bard. I must confess that I thought I knew a lot about Shakespeare and his works. Was I wrong!! This book opened my eyes to how much I did not know. In conclusion, if you cannot make up your mind whether to be a reader of Shakespeare or not to be a reader of his, then that is the question this thoroughly painless guide helps you to answer in the affirmative!! <=====>
Rating: 
Summary: fun, with enough serious stuff for later contemplation
Review: Although this is billed as a book about Shakespeare and his work for people who don't like it (of which I am definately not numbered), I learned a lot about the plays and the periods in which they've been performed since to make this book worthwhile. For example, I hadn't known that the sonnet sequence for the most part is from an older man to a fair young boy. This isn't the idea of some fringe group either, but accepted by most Shakespearean scholars. Knowing this fact can certainly add a different level of meaning to many of the sonnets ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"). Aside from the increased knowledge I gained of the texts, this book really helped me place the work against the time period that it was written for, and how people have viewed it since. Ms. Epstein's best analogy for aiding modern readers in grasping how Shakespeare was viewed in his day is comparing him with a writer for TV (strangely enough, a Twilight Zone episode did this as well). People who went to the Globe in 1600 went to see a "All in the Family Royal" or a "Three, Well That's Company" starring their favorite actor, Richard Burbage. The writer? Do you know who the writer of your favorite TV show is? Will "Cheers" be the "Much Ado About Nothing" of the 24th century? Or, even worse, will "Married . . . with Children"? (By the way, if you have any interest in Shakespeare, I strongly recommend Kenneth Branaugh's new version of "Much Ado." While Keanu Reeves is stilted, and Michael Keaton possesses Dogberry with the spirit of Beetlejuice, for the most part the film is a joy, especially any time that Branaugh or Emma Thompson is on the screen.) Rather than summarize the plays (which only details the plots, which quite often weren't of Shakespeare's invention), Epstein attempts to comment on the play, quoting critical and personal reactions. She also presents some small interviews with some of the most famous Shakespearean's living, about parts and plays most commonly associated with them. I was disappointed because the book was incomplete. Although I agree with her dismissal of "Julius Caesar," she only goes into detail on "The Tempest" alone among the romantic plays, and misses quite a few of my favorite comedies as well. The books is quite a brick as it is, but this is due more to the large print and often wasted space between sections rather than the amount of words contained. I read The Friendly Shakespeare from cover to cover, but it is well suited to be picked up and read from anywhere within its pages, most sections being only two pages long. For the bardolator and bard-avoider alike, Epstein's book is a lot like her subject--entertaining and fun, with enough serious matter for later contemplation.
Rating:
Summary: Unsanitizing Shakespeare
Review: How do most people come to know Shakespeare? The vast majority read a play or two in high school or college, barely understand them, and never ever have occasion to think of them again. And that's too bad. Norrie Epstein in THE FRIENDLY SHAKESPEARE reaches out to those who had been forced to swallow whole a set of plays without their ever wondering what it is they are trying to digest. For those who wish to reacquaint themselves with WS, her book is invaluable. Nearly all one volume editions of his works are written in deadly earnest prose, usually in teeny tiny print, as if to emphasize their scholarly intent. Yes, most of what a reader needs to know is there in that volume, but his chances of either finding it or of connecting a myriad of linguistic and thematic dots are nearly zip. What Epstein does is to isolate in BIG letters her points. She writes easy to understand analyses of that point. If one is preparing to read, say, 'Titus Andronicus,' one of WS's early efforts, then her discussion of the historical background and the play's use of bloody mutilation can ease one into a more technical, scholarly digression available in other texts about the play's latent anti-feminist or pro-Freudian elements. Also useful are areas that high school teachers try to avoid: the 'bawdy' elements. It would be a shame for a thoroughly bored student to miss all the phallic symbolism in 'Hamlet.' Now he won't have to.
Rating:
Summary: The perfect guide for the beginner
Review: I can't imagine a better guide to Shakespeare than this. It's like a "for dummies" book, but better. The author covers just about everything, but she never bores you. In fact, I could hardly put this book down. After a very lively introduction (about Shakespeare's life and the Globe theater), the author lists the plays in the order in which they were written. She divides them into four groups: the romantic comedies, the historical plays, the tragedies, and the romances. Then she tackles each of the four groups, writing about some of the plays. She tells you why the play is famous, she covers key characters (like Falstaff), and she explains the controversies that surround some of them. (For example, the charge of anti-Semitism about Merchant of Venice.) She makes a point of not covering every play --- if she covered them all, the reader would eventually lose interest. Instead of getting bored, you are starved for more. The book is packed with trivia and intelligent observations. The author isn't shy about the sex and violence in the plays, either, which keeps things interesting. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants an overview of Shakespeare's work. If you don't know about his plays, you probably want to, but you need a guide that was written specifically for you. This is the book.
Rating:
Summary: A good primary source
Review: I have had the hardcover version of this book all through college. Whenever I plan to write a paper, or write an article on a play it is always one of the books I grab. Although some of the plays lack deep analysis there is always some useful information. Epstein looks at the plays from a number of different perspectives including actors that have played parts, famous productions, background, history, trivia and a number of other things. I'd give you specific examples, but it one of the books that never leaves my office.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest Shakespeare reference EVER.
Review: I mean it. It really is. Norrie Epstein, who also brings you _The Friendly Dickens_, has produced an absolutely unbelievable wealth of information involving Shakespeare's life, work, and times, all in an extremely readable, interesting, and -funny- way. If you ever thought Shakespeare was unapproachable, you thought wrong. _The Friendly Shakespeare_ takes everything your high school English teacher said about Shakespeare's elegant and classy prose and throws it out the window, showing Shakespeare's work for what it really was: sex and violence - extremely graphic sex and violence, filled with the ultimate bawdy talk and most injuring insults ever to be seen in English. It takes the sentimentality out of Shakespeare, making it as unclean as it always was, explaining out-of-date references and slang that would otherwise mean nothing to the modern ear but made a great deal of sense for the Elizabethans. Epstein explores almost every possible aspect of the Shakespearean world: examining each play and its virtues and downfalls, delving into the twisted world of Elizabethan culture, discovering Shakespeare's life (and the mystery as to whether Shakespeare was who we think he was, or a pseudonym for any number of other writers, or if Shakespeare stole credit), interviewing actors and directors, the zany adaptations and unusual performances by unlikely actors, and reviewing the many film versions available on video. Nearly every page has a marginal tidbit with a quote or statistic or other little-known fact about Shakespeare's world or productions of his plays. Just from flipping randomly through the book, you could learn more about Shakespeare than you thought you ever wanted to know. Being a student, I can say that _The Friendly Shakespeare_ is the finest reference for students - whether or not they have an interest in Shakespeare. Everything is presented in a fresh, exciting manner, and for those "experienced" students who have a passion for Shakespeare, it isn't "dumbed down." This isn't _The Idiot's Guide to Shakespeare_. It provides both the basics to get those non-enthusiasts going, and some extremely thought-proviking information for the veterans. Never once is Epstein's text dry or boring or overly wordy, like people expect most Shakespeare studies to be. Nor is it childish or pathetically simple. What I love most about this book is how it really breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that most teachers have set up, making students HATE Shakespeare - they oversanitize it, making it pretty and beautiful, they oversentimentalize it, making it weak. Shakespeare's plays would not have lasted so long if they were just attractive poems about love. Certainly not. _The Friendly Shakespeare_ takes us back to the true Shakespeare, the Shakespeare that the original audiences must have seen - the gritty, dirty, audience-pleasing text, from the sexuality of _Othello_ to the extraneous gore of _Titus Andronicus_, to the often hushed-up fact that the sonnets were written to another man and not a woman. Yet Epstein never makes it just about the sex and the violence - she does not deny Shakespeare was a genius of words, as he truly was. She just makes us more -aware- of his genius, for no true genius was ever all fluff and flowers. She tells us -why- he was brilliant, not merely saying he was because popular opinion states it. And after reading this book, you'll understand why, too. And you'll think Epstein is a genius as well for bringing us such a fantastic reference. I recommend _The Friendly Shakespeare_ to everyone - students, adults, actors, directors, teachers, the veterans, the novices - it will inspire, it will enamour, it will delight, it will shock, and most importantly . . . it will make you love Mr William Shakespeare the way he -should- be loved.
Rating:
Summary: Epstein's easy style and wide research
Review: Norrie Epstein's "The Friendly Shakespeare" is written in an, easy flowing style that will draw you in and make it fairly painless to absorb the wide research she presents. Her book, a tour de force comprised from many sources, never fails to entertain as it informs. The illustrations and photos, depicting the plays as they were performed through the centuries, are wonderfully lively. Many voices speak as you read---actors, critics, other playwrights, academic authorities; these differing points of view contribute to a complete picture that will help the reader appreciate the greatest writer in the English language. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: SHAKESPEARE IS THE MAN!
Review: The bard will be your best friend after you read this aptly titled and titillating book. Ok - yeah, it's one of those reference books for the works of "he of literary genius" but WITH A TWIST!! Aside from the commnetary on over twenty plays, famous quotes, famous performances, celebrity commentary, and myriad pictures/illustrations/maps/photos, what else is there you might ask? This would be the best question because it's all the hearty extras that make this book memorable: Shakespeare's famous insults, celebrity interviews, sexual slang, quibbles or wacky word meanings gone awry, chronology, the argument over the credibility of his authorship, his signature, birthright,and education, popularity of his sonnets, was Shakespeare gay, his cryptograms, his music....END
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