The Strange World of Quantum Mechanics
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Somewhat brief
  • Great Book
  • A no-nonsense, qualitative primer
The Strange World of Quantum Mechanics
Daniel F. Styer
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521667801

Book Description

This is an exceptionally accessible, accurate, and nontechnical introduction to quantum mechanics. After briefly summarizing the differences between classical and quantum behavior, this engaging account considers the Stern-Gerlach experiment and its implications, treats the concepts of probability, and then discusses the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox and Bell's theorem. Coverage introduces the quantal interference and the concept of amplitudes, and also reveals the link between probabilities and the interference of amplitudes. Final chapters explore exciting new developments in quantum computation and cryptography, discover the unexpected behavior of a quantal bouncing-ball, and tackle the challenge of describing a particle with no position. Thought-provoking problems and suggestions for further reading are included. Suitable for use as a course text, The Strange World of Quantum Mechanics enables students to develop a genuine understanding of the domain of the very small. It will also appeal to general readers seeking intellectual adventure.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Somewhat brief.......2001-05-18

I was somewhat disappointed with this book; anyone thinking of buying it should realize it seems to be an almost verbatim transcription of lectures for undergraduates and thus has a great deal of extra talkativeness as well as student problems that pad out the information. Really nothing too philosophical or even novel is presented here that hasn't been written well or better in the past at greater length. It's true he spends a great deal of time discussing the E-P-R paradox and the Aspect experiment but the 'metaphysical' so to speak consequences, or even just the weirdness resulting from nonlocal behavior, are just barely discussed.

In short, he present some basic quantum strangness, i.e., nonlocality and wave-particle duality, through simplistic experiments, but avoids the implications completely. Anyone with preexisting knowledge of quantum mechanics will find this very disappointing, since it's 'old hat.' Most disappointing of all is the omission of further discussion of the popular superstring or M-theory; it is only mentioned in passing very briefly.

So if you're not familiar at all with the strange world of quantum mechanics, this may be of interest, although you'll feel a little let down that the truly weird implications are not further elaborated on [e.g. the many worlds interpretation].

5 out of 5 stars Great Book.......2000-12-29

This little book explains the EPR-Paradox in perhaps the clearest presentation I have ever seen! It's a fun read, too... It makes a good companion to Feynman's "QED". I recommend it.

5 out of 5 stars A no-nonsense, qualitative primer.......2000-07-11

Imagine being raised all your life in an environment without gravity and then suddenly finding yourself on a planet with a strong gravitational field. Things would be really strange. Your intuition would be confused and confounded. Take the simple act of tossing a ball, for example. Your intuition tells you that the ball will go straight, but in this strange world the ball curves. To toss the ball to someone you must toss it up, so that it arcs over. Otherwise, if you toss it straight (like your intuition tells you to) it curves downward and hits the ground.

Strangeness, obviously, depends on our sense of intuition, and our sense of intuition depends upon the rules of engagement in the world in which we live. Most of us live in a world dominated by classical physics where objects have a definite position, velocity, mass, energy, etc. It is because of our intimate personal experience with this classical world that non-classical environments like the very fast and the very tiny seem counter intuitive.

Styer's book aims to help the reader understand the experiences of the quantum world. Though real quantum intuition cannot come from a book, Styer helps the reader gain a measure of intuition regarding what happens at the quantum level. Styer's book is one of the best I've seen for explaining quantum mechanics in a rigorously qualitative manner that's understandable by virtually anyone with the intellectual discipline to learn new ideas. [The other book I recommend in this area, and from which Styer uses as a frequent reference, is "QED, The Strange Theory of Light and Matter," by Richard Feynman. For someone just starting out in his or her study of quantum mechanics, I recommend Feynman's book followed by Styer's. Both are qualitative and have little mathematics. For an introduction to the mathematics of quantum mechanics (using mathematics at the freshman college level) I suggest Sam Treiman's "The Odd Quantum." These three books form an excellent basis for a course in study that tackles quantum physics at the quantitative level.]

The book has 15 chapters, but is only 150 pages long, so each chapter is rather short. The chapters are organized nicely, however, and each has a specific goal for the reader, with good illustrations throughout and thought-provoking questions at the end (numeric answers are in the back of the book, though many questions do not have a numeric answer). Unlike the questions found in some textbooks, Styer's questions are formulated specifically to build insight into the main issues presented in the chapters, and to extend upon them. I strongly suggest answering each question in detail, as it will greatly enrich the experience of reading this book.

Styer is a master at explaining the central concepts of quantum mechanics in an intuitive and visual manner (his style of presentation is similar to Feynman's). Unlike many other authors, Styer does not introduce quantum mechanics by using the double-slit experiment. Instead, Styer bases almost all his arguments on an idealized (portable and configurable) Stern-Gerlach analyzer, which measures the magnetic spin of quantum particles (he later uses a modified form to introduce quantum interference). Styer does all this, and masterfully, by using non-technical language that nevertheless maintains the integrity of the ideas embodied in quantum mechanics.

A brief introduction, some stuff on how classical magnetic needles behave in a magnetic field, a description of the Stern-Gerlach experiment, and the "conundrum of projections," or the quantization of quantum spin, take up the first four chapters. Chapter 5 is a primer on simple concepts in statistics and lays the groundwork for later chapters. Chapters 6 and 7 deal with the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen experiments, which I found to be among the simplest and most illuminating that I've found in an introductory text. Typical of Styer's book throughout, he shows that the "paradox" arises from false assumptions in which we try to project our intuition from the classical world into the quantum world.

Styer describes the double-slit experiment, but he saves it till chapters 8 and 9 and explains it not just in terms of photons but also in terms of atoms as well. The discussion of quantal interference leads naturally to a further expansion of the concept of amplitudes and probability in quantum mechanics. The book ends with a chapter on quantum cryptography, a chapter on the quantum-mechanical behavior of a quantum ball, and a chapter that has a brief introduction of wavefunction.

There are also three excellent apprentices (these should be read with the same commitment as reading all the chapters in the book) and an adequate index. Styer also has a very nice list of other reading material on quantum mechanics, as well as some biting editorial statements about errors in popular books on the subject. Styer's approach is no nonsense. Rather than waxing philosophical about the dual particle-wave nature of matter, Styer correctly helps the reader realize that to understand quantum mechanics we must do so by understanding the behavior of quanta and not try to force our classical perceptions. As Styer says: "In fact an atom is no more a small hard marble [or a classical wave] than an atom's magnetic needle is a pointy stick. These classical ideas are simply wrong when applied to very small objects."

Very well written in an engaging, no-nonsense style that cuts straight to the heart of the issue, this is simply one of the best introductory (qualitative and without mathematics) books I've read on the subject. Whether you are reading about quantum mechanics for the very first time, or simply trying to increase your intuitive feel for the subject, I highly recommend it.

Joseph Andrews/Shamela (Penguin Classics)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Joseph Andrews is a picaresque/humorous eighteenth century novel which will delight the reader
  • One of the funniest books I've ever read!
  • Joseph Andrews--Like Kerouac--Goes On The Road
  • Great Classic Humorous Novel
  • Joseph Andrews and Shamela
Joseph Andrews/Shamela (Penguin Classics)
Henry Fielding , and Judith Hawley
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140433864

Book Description

In Joseph Andrews (1742), Fielding's first novel, footboy Joseph loses his place when he rejects Lady Booby's advances, commencing a comic odyssey of robbery, poverty, and sexual viciousness. Also included is Shamela (1741), a shorter work, which extends the parody of Samuel Richardson's immensely successful Pamela (1740) begun in Joseph Andrews.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Joseph Andrews is a picaresque/humorous eighteenth century novel which will delight the reader.......2007-03-29

Henry Fielding (1707-1754) was a man of the world. Though Fielding became a jurist in the last years of his short life he knew the corrupt, sexy and violent England of the reign of George II. In "Joseph Andrews" and his later, longer novel "Tom Jones" we join a hero on a romp through merry olde England!
Joseph Andrews is the reputed brother of Pamela Andrews being employed as a footman in the home of Lady Booby the widow of Sir Booby (the names are hilarious in this novel-for instance there is "Peter Pounce"!)When Lady Booby dismisses him after her failed seduction of the innocent lad he is forced to leave her employ.
Joseph is befriended by the poor curate Abraham Adams who is going to London to sell a book of his sermons. Adams is a Sancho Panza figure who has six children and a wife back at home. He is involved in countless battles, misunderstandings and hilarious situations in inns and before judges! Adams is like an innocent Adam prior to the Fall of Man. He is a good old soul who seeks to help Joseph and the latter's illiterate love
Fanny Goodwill.
All comes out well in the end as Joseph and Fanny are wed and we learn the history of their infancy. We learn many surprises about them which I won't share with anyone who is reading this review prior to perusing the novel for the first time!
Fielding is adept at humor, sexual situations and violent Keystone Kops varieties of mock battles! He was a fan of Cervantes and Andrews resembles an English Don Quioxote. Fielding enjoyed being the omniscent narrator often interjecting his thoughts on everything from marriage, the British social structure, warfare, human nature and the joys of true love.
Fielding's novel is a comment on Samuel Richardson's "Pamela" epistlatory novel of 1740 in which the pious servant Pamela writes home to her parents about her abduction, rape and eventual marriage to a Lord B. Fielding thought the virtuous Pamela to be a bit sickening and so satirized that lady in his "Shamela" and Joseph Andrews.
Joseph is the supposed brother of Pamela who appears in the Fielding novel. What did Richardson think of this "stealing" by Fielding of his famous heroine?
The characters are typecast showing no growth or development as would be the case in later novels. Dickens was greatly influenced by Fielding
whose careful descriptions of characters was a lesson well learned by the great Victorian writer.
Joseph Andrews will take the reader back to the days of English inns and ale houses, rural roads and great country estates. It says much to our age about human nature which never changes.
Henry Fielding is a great early English novelist and his Joseph Andrews will always remain as a classic of the novelist's difficult art

5 out of 5 stars One of the funniest books I've ever read!.......2007-01-04

This fast-paced comic novel was written as a parody of another 18th century classic, the immensely popular Pamela. Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, was a best selling novel by Fielding's comtemporary, Samuel Richardson. (Please see my other reviews for more about this). Although the language and social customs have changed in the 200 plus years since this book was written, there is enough universality to the comedy that modern readers won't mind missing a few of the jokes.

Although having read Pamela first will help you get some of the inside humor, Joseph Andrews can be read on its own as well. Fielding uses Richardson's more serious morality tale as a jumping-off point for a pretended sequel, in which Pamela has a brother who encounters many of the same situations as his more famous sister. While Pamela was pursued by an amorous and unscrupulous landowner, Joseph is chased by lecherous females who can't believe that he is serious about saving himself for marriage to his childhood sweetheart. The humor comes from the gender reversal, and from Fielding's no-holds-barred spoof of the manners (and lack thereof) of the fashionable upper classes. Joseph is a clear-headed, intelligent young man of the servant class, whose social superiors just can't stop being ridiculous at every opportunity. I won't go into plot details-they are mostly of the standard farce variety anyway. But the scenes and dialog are often so hilarious that it doesn't matter what the pretext is, you just have to suspend all critical judgement and laugh.

P.S. Shamela is included in this edition. It's a shorter spoof of Pamela, written as a bawdy series of letters in which the supposedly chaste and innocent heroine reveals her darker side. Not on a par with Joseph Andrews, but still pretty funny.

5 out of 5 stars Joseph Andrews--Like Kerouac--Goes On The Road.......2006-08-17

When readers come to JOSEPH ANDREWS--at least outside of a class on the 18th century novel, they usually have heard that this novel by Henry Fielding is funny, sort of an early Keruoac's On The Road. And while it is funny--a closer analogy might be to Hope and Crosby's On the Road films--its less obvious humor lies in its sharp satire, an understanding of which requires a bit of understanding how to place this book in its proper historical and cultural milieu.

To begin with, Fielding wrote JOSEPH ANDREWS when novel writing was still very nearly a brand new genre. The only models he had were from classical antiquity and a few more recent innovators like Swift and Samuel Richardson. Fielding felt that his efforts were so new that he had to justify them, which he did in the often overlooked and unread "Preface" to the book. Reading this preface sheds some much needed light on the genesis of his novel. Fielding notes here that he wrote JOSEPH ANDREWS according to what he saw as the models first used by the classic ancient poetry writers. They wrote mostly poems and epic poems. What Fielding was writing was a genre unknown to them: prose fiction. Fielding thus tries to draw an analogy between what he was writing and what these ancients had written: "Now, a comic romance is a comic epic-poem in prose." Since Fielding clearly saw JOSEPH ANDREWS as a comic romance, it made sense to him that he should follow the strict unities of time and place that the ancients followed in their epic poems. But one often overlooked irony is that this stern self-reminder from his own preface he then abandoned wildly, often, and at the drop of a hat. Thus, for his contemporary audience who had more than a passing acquaintance with classical training, Fielding gets his JOSEPH ANDREWS off with a satirical bang.

The book's plot itself defies explanation. It involves lost heirs, children stolen at birth, secret birthmarks, beatings that somehow leave no bruises: and all these occur fairly early on. The events are so convoluted and over the top that it is difficult to read them or remember them in their listed sequence. Yet, Fielding had good reason to believe that these wildly unbelievable events were precisely what his audiences wanted, since both Swift and Pope were still living and their respective satires much read and appreciated. Fielding chose to write on the book's title page that JOSEPH ANDREWS was "written in imitation of the manner of Cervantes, author of Don Quixote." With that subtle hint, Fielding feels free to allow his hero to go off tilting at every object in his path but windmills. This tilting results in the kind of slapstick humor that most readers mean when they talk about how "funny" the book is. Yet, Fielding knew that humor could and should have a more serious aspect, which he saw as sober satire. For him, as for Swift, satire meant holding society up to a crooked mirror--sort of the kind that one sees at fun houses--and exposing by crooked exaggeration the misdeeds of that society. This concept of sober satire is hinted at in the person of Parson Adams, who also figures prominently right there on the title page with that little note about Cervantes. Parson Adams is Don Quixote reborn. He does ridiculous things for which the reader rightfully laughs at for that. Yet, Parson Adams has a more reflective side too. Though he is betrayed, he forgives. Though he is injured, he holds on to his innocence. And though he is hurt, he laughs. Compare his actions to the half dozen other parsons and what emerges is that these other parsons are licentuous, venal, and downright corrupt. Fielding was concerned with the same worry of every writer from Chaucer to himself: what can the ordinary man hope for when his supposed exemplars of virtue--the clergy--are unvirtuous? Well, in the satirical world of JOSEPH ANDREWS there was a little bit of an otherwise evil world that was evil free. When Fielding's readers laughed at the foibles of Andrews and Adams, their laughter was tempered by the realization that their funny universe was only a hairsbreath away from one was that tragic too.

4 out of 5 stars Great Classic Humorous Novel.......2005-11-30

My sense of humor might be a bit off from the norm (my kids' opinion) so you may not find this mid-eighteenth century novel as funny as I do. I think it's just about the funniest book I've ever read. Not only is it funny but Fielding points a sharply satirical finger at just about everyone living in England at the time. One of the things that I love about the older books is their insight into history: though it's an obvious satire (much like the work of Cervantes) there's so much history here. Yet you see yourself and your neighbors here as well. We're still surrounded by people who are petty, pompous, flirtatious, morose - what have you - while we remain paragons of virtue. In a sense this is Joseph's problem: he's a good kid trying to make it in a crazy world (still a modern story). He's simple and kind and believes others around him to be the same. He's continually amazed when they prove otherwise. Really a good book.

4 out of 5 stars Joseph Andrews and Shamela.......2000-04-08

Romping good fun and sharply satirical. Fielding has none of the puritanical prejudices of his contemporary and rival Samuel Richardson.Rather he gives a graphic, humourous and insightful glimpse of eighteenth century rural shannanigans. Both stories are to some extent a response to Richardson's goodie goodie novel Pamela or Virtue Rewarded, Shamela in fact so much so- mimicking then epistulatory narrative and burlesquing the characters and style of the original novel- that you'll miss most of the jokes unless you've read Richardson first. Jospeh Andrews is far more substantial and rewarding containing the full range both of Fielding's humour and social concerns. Vividly presenting the self-serving cynicism of English society his particular speciality lies in puncturing pomposity by comically abrupt opposistions between what his characters preach and practise. Detached, sarcastic and well-read Fielding somehow manages to mix slapstick with Homer, blend eupheimism with innuendo and mangle anyone that he has a grudge against. A novel of the road- if you liked this, you'll love Tom Jones.
Cliffsnotes Joseph Andrews (Cliffs Notes)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Joseph Andrews Notes
Cliffsnotes Joseph Andrews (Cliffs Notes)
Michael B. Mavor
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0822006820

Book Description

Ordinarily a moralist writer, in this novel Fielding creates a comedy of romance, by superimposing the positive act of the imagination on the raw material of the real world. It is ultimately both instructive and entertaining. Here Fielding parodies his own previous novels in this story of a young man resisting the many attempts to seduce him.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Joseph Andrews Notes.......2000-04-06

Cliff Notes have always been a useful study tool. While this book lacks the details that make Joseph Andrews humorous, it does give a brief background as to the events and characters interactions in each chapter. While I would not recommend this book as a replacement to reading the actual novel, it is an excellent study guide.
Joseph Andrews With Shamela and Related Writings (Norton Critical Editions)
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • English Lit
Joseph Andrews With Shamela and Related Writings (Norton Critical Editions)
Henry Fielding , and Homer Goldberg
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393955559

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars English Lit.......2006-06-28

I had to read this book for a college fiction class. I thought it wouldnt get any worse then this. However to my surprise this book was quite enjoyable in a classical kind of way! My professor said that this is supposed to be one of the first novels ever written and I was surprised that it had all the basics of a great modern read. Love,Sex,and Betrayel.

If you have to read this book dont be discourgaged its not all that bad. (smile)
Joseph Andrews
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • unreservedly recommended
Joseph Andrews
Henry Fielding
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0192503340

Book Description

'I beg as soon as you get Fielding's Joseph Andrews, I fear in Ridicule of your Pamela and of Virtue in the Notion of Don Quixote's Manner, you would send it to me by the very first Coach.' (George Cheyne in a letter to Samuel Richardson, February 1742) Both Joseph Andrews (1742) and Shamela (1741) were prompted by the success of Richardson's Pamela (1740), of which Shamela is a splendidly bawdy parody. But in Shamela Fielding also demonstrates his concern for the corruption of contemporary society, politics, religion, morality, and taste. The same themes - together with a presentation of love as charity, as friendship, and in its sexual taste - are present in Joseph Andrews, Fielding's first novel. It is a work of considerable literary sophistication and satirical verve, but its appeal lies also in its spirit of comic affirmation, epitomized in the celebrated character of Parson Adams. This revised and expanded edition follows the text of Joseph Andrews established by Martin C. Battestin for the definitive Wesleyan Edition of Fielding's works. The text of Shamela is based on the first edition, and two substantial appendices reprint the preliminary matter from Conyers Middleton's Life of Cicero and the second edition of Richardson's Pamela (both closely parodied in Shamela). A new introduction by Thomas Keymer situates Fielding's works in their critical and historical contexts.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars unreservedly recommended.......2000-10-01

So I was getting ready to reread Don Quijote (1605)(Miguel de Cervantes 1547-1616) in the excellent Burton Raffel translation and as I was looking for information about the book and author, saw repeated references to Fielding's Joseph Andrews. I'd read his Tom Jones a couple of years ago and found it kind of tough sledding, but when I stumbled upon this one at a library book sale for a quarter, it seemed a stroke of destiny.

The parallels with Don Quijote are readily apparent. First of all, the book consists of a series of humorous travel adventures; second, the travellers involved seem too innocent to survive in the harsh world that confronts them. When Joseph Andrews, the naive footman of Lady Booby, deflects the amorous advances of both her Ladyship and Slipslop, the Lady's servant, he is sent packing. Upon his dismissal, Joseph, along with his friend and mentor Parson Adams, an idealistic and good-hearted rural clergyman, who essentially takes the physical role of Sancho Panza but the moral role of Quijote, sets out to find his beloved but chaste enamorata, Fanny Goodwill, who had earlier been dismissed from Lady Booby's service as a result of Slipslop's jealousy. In their travels they are set upon repeatedly by robbers, continually run out of funds and Adams gets in numerous arguments, theological and otherwise. Meanwhile, Fanny, whom they meet up with along the way, is nearly raped any number of times and is eventually discovered to be Joseph's sister, or maybe not.. The whole thing concludes with a farcical night of musical beds, mistaken identities and astonishing revelations.

I've seen this referred to as the first modern novel; I'm not sure why, in light of it's obvious debt to Cervantes. But it does combine those quixotic elements with a seemingly accurate portrayal of 18th Century English manners and the central concern with identity and status do place it squarely in the modern tradition.

At any rate, it is very funny and, for whatever reason, seemed a much easier read than Tom Jones. I recommend it unreservedly.

GRADE: B+
Joseph Andrews (Dover Thrift Editions)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • 18th century England away from court and cathedral
  • Andrews, Parson, and Fanny
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  • Joseph Andrews
  • Three saints in a rotten world
Joseph Andrews (Dover Thrift Editions)
Henry Fielding
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486415880

Book Description

Joseph Andrews refuses Lady Booby's advances, she discharges him, and Joseph and his old tutor, Parson Adams (one of the great comic figures of literature), sets off to visit his sweetheart, Fanny. Along the way, they meet with a series of adventures in which, through their own innocence and honesty, they expose the hypocrisy and affectation of others.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars 18th century England away from court and cathedral.......2007-08-07

This is a fine work both to allow the reader insight into England in the 18th century away from court and cathedral, and to provide a peek into the early invention of the English novel.

Fielding's characters paint a vivid picture of how well, or how poorly, people reside within their assigned class levels. Parson Adams, though often playing the naive fool, establishes an expectation of noble Christian behaviour against which Fielding's 'Canterbury Tale'-like characters can be measured. At the same time, Fielding uses Adams to allow the title character to evolve from the pure innocent, who falls into difficulty, to become resurrected as the fully realized, real-life hero.

As a story of life among the lower and middle classes, this is a fine read. But I found the brilliant, excellent construction of this novel to be a real eye-opener as far as the development of the early novel is concerned.

4 out of 5 stars Andrews, Parson, and Fanny.......2006-11-02

This book was assigned to me in my British Literature class for a book club. Shortly after being assigned this book, I quickly went out and began reading it. While Fielding's writing style does seem to run on a bit, his narrative wit and dialogue is enjoyable.

I found myself liking the three main characters, Parson Adams in particular. He told some interesting stories, and has kind of an older brother relationship with Joesph, making him a good side character. The brief moments of action were pretty good in the story, as were the humorous bits. Its easy to see why this novel will go down as one a classic in literature.

5 out of 5 stars Shamela: Parodies-Unlike Their Originals-Are Read Only Once.......2006-08-13

Henry Fielding wrote SHAMELA for the best of all reasons: he needed the money. The fact that Richardson's earlier PAMELA had been begging for burlesque in its absurdities and pretensions can be seen only as a contributory reason. In his preface, Fielding makes it clear that he has placed Richardson's heroine squarely in his sights. He attempts to expose "the many notorious Falsehoods and Misrepresentations of a Book called Pamela, Are exposed and refuted; and all of the matchless Arts of that young Politician, set in a true and just Light." He makes it pretty clear that in the controversy as to whether Pamela's motivation for marrying the cad who tried mightily to seduce her are innocent or mercenary Fielding sees as the latter.

Like PAMELA, SHAMELA is a novel (much briefer than PAMELA) written as letters. But in Fielding's hands, Shamela is seen as the master manipulator. Where Pamela faints whenever her Mr. B. grabs her, Shamela swoons too-but in coarse delight. With each passing episode, Fielding inverts the moral universe of Richardson so that when one considers Richardson's subtitle of PAMELA as "Virtue rewarded," one now sees with crystal clarity that virtue does indeed earn a reward, but the virtue of Pamela and the virtue of Shamela are alike only in their spelling. I am glad that I read PAMELA first, for if I had come across SHAMELA first, I am pretty sure that I would have hooted and guffawed at a young innocent whose only crime was to follow on stage a deadly mimic.

3 out of 5 stars Joseph Andrews.......2006-02-17

I enjoyed Fielding's sense of humor, his appreciation of human foibles. Joseph Andrews is a good story and becomes more entertaining as it moves along. Parson Adams is my favorite character.

4 out of 5 stars Three saints in a rotten world.......2005-11-30

Fielding's basic concept is describing 'manners, not men.'
His main characters are two paragons of chastity (Joseph and his girlfriend Fanny) and a model Christian (parson Abraham Adams).
During their tumultuous itinerary, they are confronted with vanity, avarice, envy, ambition, ingratitude, selfishness, intolerance, venality, hate, lust, folly, malice, deceit, rage and all this behind a veil of hypocrisy (Do as I say, not as I do): 'Lord, it is true I never obeyed one of thy commandments, yet punish me not, for I believe them all.'

The overall mentality is calvinist fatalism: 'We must submit to Providence', and 'no accident happens to us without the Divine permission ... the same power which made us, rules over us, and we are absolutely at his disposal, he may do with us what he pleases, nor have we any right to complain.'
There is also a Malthusian accent: 'he shall not settle here, and bring a nest of beggars into the parish.'
Christianity is only a tiny film of varnish: 'that it was possible in a country professing Christianity, for a wretch to starve in the midst of his fellow-creatures who abounded.'

Socially, the few wealthy rule over the many poor. 'The worst consequence of poverty is dependence on the great.'
Another characteristic is the blatant misogyny, through its picture of the lewdness and vulgarity of women (in sharp contrast with Fanny's manners): 'I am no meat for a footman.'

This rich, lively, fresh and satirical text contains anti-novel sparks and many modern ingredients ('a set of jolly companions ... Their best conversation was nothing but noise.')
But the novel as a whole is loosely built (no real plot) and sometimes too scholarly and boring. It ends in a pure Menander-style.
Still, it is a worth-while read.
The Sanctification of Don Quixote: From Hidalgo to Priest
Average customer rating: Not rated
    The Sanctification of Don Quixote: From Hidalgo to Priest
    Eric J. Ziolkowski
    Manufacturer: Pennsylvania State University Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    ClassicsClassics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
    Spanish & PortugueseSpanish & Portuguese | European | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
    All TitlesAll Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
    ASIN: 0271007419
    Joseph Andrews, preceded by Shamela (Everyman's university library)
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Joseph Andrews, preceded by Shamela (Everyman's university library)
      Henry Fielding
      Manufacturer: Dent
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Unknown Binding

      Fielding, HenryFielding, Henry | Classics | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Classics | Comic | Contemporary | Literary
      ASIN: 0460104675
      Joseph Andrews
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Joseph Andrews
        Henry Fielding
        Manufacturer: Random House
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Mass Market Paperback

        Fielding, HenryFielding, Henry | Classics | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
        ASIN: B000KEP740
        The Adventures of Joseph Andrew. With an Introduction by L Rice - Oxley.
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          The Adventures of Joseph Andrew. With an Introduction by L Rice - Oxley.
          Henry Fielding
          Manufacturer: Humphrey Milford / Oxford UP 1945. (World's Classics)
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover

          Fielding, HenryFielding, Henry | Classics | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
          ASIN: B000L6FE40
          THE ADVENTURES OF JOSEPH ANDREWS
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            THE ADVENTURES OF JOSEPH ANDREWS
            HENRY FIELDING
            Manufacturer: ROUTLEDGE
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Hardcover

            Fielding, HenryFielding, Henry | Classics | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
            ASIN: B000SHL31A

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