Rating: 
Summary: Science versus politics
Review: "An Enemy of the People," by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, has been published as part of the Dover Thrift Edition series (that's the version I read for purposes of this review). The Dover edition is a republication of an anonymous translation. The back cover data notes that the play was first staged in 1883."Enemy" tells the story of Dr. Thomas Stockmann, a medical officer for his town's public baths. When he discovers that the baths are contaminated and pose a health hazard, he is led into conflict with his brother Peter, who is the town's mayor. The tension increases as the drama moves towards its conclusion. "Enemy" is an intriguing piece of literature. While reading it I was struck by how similar the story is to that of the classic film "Jaws": in both stories, a political leader is at odds with an idealistic public servant who is concerned about a danger involving public waters! The play contains much thought-provoking dialogue. Ibsen looks at the interrelationships among politicians, the press, science, and the general public. His characters question issues of truth, authority, and majority rule. Dr. Stockmann begins as a noble character, but I thought he becomes too over-the-top and in some scenes is reduced to a shrill, dogmatic cartoon (especially when he delivers a bizarre rant about poodles and hens). I honestly wasn't sure what Ibsen was trying to accomplish in some of the doctor's more outrageous dialogue. Still, "Enemy" remains a compelling piece of art. For an intriguing companion text, try "Inherit the Wind," by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, which has some similar themes and motifs.
Rating:
Summary: I Cannot Lie - I Didn't Understand It...
Review: Have you ever watched a movie or play, and at the end of it you say, "I don't get it"? ---> But everyone around you says it was the greatest thing they have ever seen... well, I will not pretend to be a pseudo-intellectual. Ibsen was way over my head with this book. Superficially the book was extremely interesting from the standpoint of: will one man be willing to stand up to a city when he knows what is right? In our story, the protagonist has discovered that the Norwegian baths are filled with a poisonous organism. However, when he voices this, the entire town goes against him because it will cost them economically, and they put the pressure on him to refute that which he knows is correct. From that standpoint - the book is excellent... and we are held to find the outcome. Where it lost me personally was when Ibsen went on his political diatribe. He further alienated me via his pages of discussion on liberalism in a manner that seemed conservative to me. Nevertheless, I enjoyed these speeches as well, and they admittedly felt more contemporary Republican than Liberal Democrat. In the end, I would have to recommend this book, but say "Feel free to not understand." It is okay to embrace that not everything is clear, and at times his points are lost on minds as dull as mine. Embrace your ignorance, and enjoy it for what it is
Rating:
Summary: I Cannot Lie - I Didn't Understand It...
Review: Have you ever watched a movie or play, and at the end of it you say, "I don't get it"? ---> But everyone around you says it was the greatest thing they have ever seen... well, I will not pretend to be a pseudo-intellectual. Ibsen was way over my head with this book. Superficially the book was extremely interesting from the standpoint of: will one man be willing to stand up to a city when he knows what is right? In our story, the protagonist has discovered that the Norwegian baths are filled with a poisonous organism. However, when he voices this, the entire town goes against him because it will cost them economically, and they put the pressure on him to refute that which he knows is correct. From that standpoint - the book is excellent... and we are held to find the outcome. Where it lost me personally was when Ibsen went on his political diatribe. He further alienated me via his pages of discussion on liberalism in a manner that seemed conservative to me. Nevertheless, I enjoyed these speeches as well, and they admittedly felt more contemporary Republican than Liberal Democrat. In the end, I would have to recommend this book, but say "Feel free to not understand." It is okay to embrace that not everything is clear, and at times his points are lost on minds as dull as mine. Embrace your ignorance, and enjoy it for what it is
Rating: 
Summary: "Never Mind that the Water Is Poisoned!"
Review: Henrik Ibsen wrote An Enemy of the People in fury, after how the critics treated his previous play Ghosts. He had expected the so called Liberal press to receive Ghosts with a some what greater understanding. Instead he found himself "fighting at the outposts of thought", while the Liberal press were slaves of their subscribers' opinions and following them instead of leading them. An Enemy of the People were written with satirical intention, but became one of his most brilliantly crafted social dramas. I have read it several times and admire every page of it. Ibsen was ahead of his time then, and in many respects still ahead of our time. A solid five stars!
Rating:
Summary: Truth vs. Right
Review: Ibsen's play, An Enemy of the People is a classic example of the decision that must be made between telling the truth and doing what is right. Dr. Stockmann faces an extreme moral delema. It really made you wonder; what would I do in this situation? Would you be able to trade everything (your position, money, house, and reputation) just to be able to tell the truth? Even though by not letting it out you could become very popluar. This situation is applicable to many situations in real life ranging from events happening at a high school to things in the government. Even though it was written 150 years ago, Ibsen's characters' problems are still reflected all over the world, making this play a must read for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: His greatest
Review: Maybe. A very potent play of one fighting for moral correctness while the masses attempt to drown out the individual for political, monetary, and social reasons. One of, if not the, best by the genuis of the stage.
Rating:
Summary: Realism VS Idealism
Review: One of Ibsen's main themes throughout his works is the conflict between the realist and the idealist. Once again in this play Ibsen sets his conflict up beautifully. His main character Dr. Stockmann is realistically created, and opposed ironically by his brother the mayor. The fun truly begins when we get to watch the two brothers fight-one on the side of the public good, the other on the side of personal morality. Throughout the entire book, you question what makes each character tick, and the reading was really an enjoyable experience.
Rating: 
Summary: "L'individualisme intransigeant"
Review: The action centres around a feud between two brothers -- Dr. Stockmann and his brother, the mayor of a small town in the northern part of Norway. The issue is the contamination of the local baths by bacilli supposed to cause typhoid fever. The Mayor -- (who is an impossible dolt, whose like can hardly be conceived to be a mayor in any European town) -- argues for piecemeal improvements in the bathing facility. Stockmann, whose name is roughly translated into "The Chastiser", urges the drastic closure of the premisses. The disagreement escalates into a violent altercation, in which the angry townspeople, in support of their mayor, unite and denounce the self-willed Stockmann as "an enemy of the people". Stockmann is presented by Ibsen as a fiery, stubborn, brutally honest egoist who would "rather ruin his community than see it thrive on lies and fraud" -- an embattled individual who sees himself as a champion of truth in opposition to the stupidity of the herd of cattle. The last act is a highly tense illustration of the follies and indignities to which anyone can be subject for daring to oppose the social norm. Ibsen has Stockmann eventually succeed in discovering that "the strongest man is mightiest alone", though this is a naively Romantic notion, the consolation of the defeated in the light of the colossal ignorance of one's fellow beings. Overall, an interesting dramatisation of an individual's case against public opinion.
Rating:
Summary: A book for thought
Review: This book is definitely not the most exciting book in the world. Enemy of the People has a specific point, a message it is trying to reveal. Dr. Stockmann loses the support of his entire town after finding out that the local baths are contaminated. Just to make things worse, his brother, Peter, is mayor and actually manipulates the situation to turn the press against him. This play shows how the majority is often wrong and, more importantly, that the strongest man is the one who can stand alone. What made this book lose a star is that, in fact, the first act takes a lot to finish because it appears to be so boring. I may have put this book away if I didn't have to read it. However the book quickly improves and, although it is never exciting, it is interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A book for thought
Review: This book is definitely not the most exciting book in the world. Enemy of the People has a specific point, a message it is trying to reveal. Dr. Stockmann loses the support of his entire town after finding out that the local baths are contaminated. Just to make things worse, his brother, Peter, is mayor and actually manipulates the situation to turn the press against him. This play shows how the majority is often wrong and, more importantly, that the strongest man is the one who can stand alone. What made this book lose a star is that, in fact, the first act takes a lot to finish because it appears to be so boring. I may have put this book away if I didn't have to read it. However the book quickly improves and, although it is never exciting, it is interesting.
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