The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully readable, rich work of reference
Review: Here's a book about Shakespeare that isn't written as if the only people who had ever cared about him were graduate students -- not that graduate students won't use it all the time, or that it isn't written by the top Shakespeare experts in the world (the contributors include the likes of Stephen Orgel and Helen Vendler), but unforced, unpretentious enthusiasm for Shakespeare and all sorts of things done in his name breathes from every page. It's beautifully illustrated and what's more the research is all fresh -- there's lots of stuff in here that has never been in a Shakespeare reference book before (eg some of the images, lots of stuff about Shakespeare on recent film and TV and radio and in popular culture, newest finds in textual studies and biography). You can read it from A to Z and it's a good read. Fabulous present for anyone studying Shakespeare at any level and especially for anyone who just likes reading the stuff or seeing it acted. It'll help you fall in love with Shakespeare all over again.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and informative, authoritative and playful
Review: Like Shakespeare, this book is as strong on comedy as it is on the serious stuff, and like Shakespeare it's very rarely dull. The American Library Association have awarded it a prize as one of the best reference books of the year, and you can see why -- it's very up to date, very handsome, very easy to use and has lots and lots of really unusual and enlightening pictures. It's particularly good on Shakespeare movies, and is really international -- lively North American scholars cover Shakespeare's presence in Canada and the US beautifully, and it's really bright and surprising about Russia and China and about everywhere else. It's a book that will help explain to high school students why Shakespeare matters and that actually shows how much fun can be had around the plays and poems in so many different ways -- quite apart from telling college students all sorts of things that their professors had better be up on too. I didn't agree with everything it said about the shows at the rebuilt Globe, sure, but then I like seeing guys in tights.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and informative, authoritative and playful
Review: This guide is beautifully illustrated and carefully written by many of the finest Shakespeare scholars alive (there are entries by Helen Vendler, Park Honan, Jonathan Bate, Stephen Orgel, and many others). It is a joy to simply open it to a random page and read. There is an admitted and fairly strong bias toward British Shakespearians and productions, but this helps focus the book and give it a depth many similar guides lack. That doesn't mean it's a provincial book, however, for there are numerous entries surveying Shakespeare across the world and in a variety of contexts. One of the most helpful aspects of the book is an outline of categories and entries at the beginning, a remarkably useful aid when terminology or names slip your mind. It is helpful, but not necessary, to have a copy of the Oxford Shakespeare to refer to, since titles, chronologies, and line references are all keyed to it.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful and authoritative guide
Review: This guide is beautifully illustrated and carefully written by many of the finest Shakespeare scholars alive (there are entries by Helen Vendler, Park Honan, Jonathan Bate, Stephen Orgel, and many others). It is a joy to simply open it to a random page and read. There is an admitted and fairly strong bias toward British Shakespearians and productions, but this helps focus the book and give it a depth many similar guides lack. That doesn't mean it's a provincial book, however, for there are numerous entries surveying Shakespeare across the world and in a variety of contexts. One of the most helpful aspects of the book is an outline of categories and entries at the beginning, a remarkably useful aid when terminology or names slip your mind. It is helpful, but not necessary, to have a copy of the Oxford Shakespeare to refer to, since titles, chronologies, and line references are all keyed to it.