Understanding the Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism

Understanding The Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism is the definitive collection of essays on Tolkien's masterpiece. The essays span fifty years of critical reaction, from the first publication of The Fellowship of the Ring through the release of Peter Jackson's film trilogy, which inspired a new generation of readers to discover the classic work and prior generations to rediscover its power and beauty. Fans and scholars alike will appreciate these important, insightful, and timely pieces. Fourteen of the fifteen have been previously published but are gathered here for the first time. The final essay in the volume, "The Road Back to Middle-earth" by Tom Shippey, was commissioned especially for this collection. Shippey examines how Peter Jackson translated the text into film drama, shaping the story to fit the understanding of a modern audience without compromising its deep philosophical core.

Understanding The Lord Of The Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism

Humor & Entertainment

Isaacs, Neil D.

Zimbardo, Rose A.

Movies

Harvest

We are a nation of gamblers: pari-mutuel wagering at horse tracks; blackjack in Las Vegas; the NCAA basketball office pool; even day trading on the internet. Gambling is both our national pastime and our predominant cultural metaphor―play the field; beat the odds; take a chance on love. Yet gambling poses serious risks to individuals and to society as a whole. Neil Isaacs―sports historian, licensed clinical social worker, English professor, and a gambler himself for more than fifty years―seeks to shatter the myths interfering with our understanding of gambling addiction, its causes, and its treatment. He begins by systematically debunking several commonly held beliefs, demonstrating that there is no such thing as the law of averages, that gambling is not inherently sinful, immoral, or criminal, and that money is not always the prime motivator for gamblers. Isaacs shows how habitual gambling can lead to compulsive gambling, but avoids oversimplifying this condition. Arguing against a undifferentiated interpretation of pathological gambling as a simple impulse control disorder, he draws examples from fiction, film, and his own practice to demonstrate additional ways gambling can be abused. A radical departure from established views, You Bet Your Life identifies the costs―in dollars, people, families, and credit ratings―of society's failure to address adequately the burdens of gambling.

You Bet Your Life: The Burdens of Gambling

Puzzles & Games

University Press of Kentucky

A unique look at baseball’s clubhouse culture through the eyes of batboys

Batboys and the World of Baseball (Studies in Popular Culture Series)

Biographies & Memoirs

UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI

The Doaker's Story charts the career of Billy Doakes from champion schoolboy athlete to TV news reporter and his destruction by the cynical forces of the sports/media establishment. He's a tragic hero of our times. The story of William T. Doakes is told from the point of view of his friend and confidant, Mark Simons, a videographer who has followed the Doaker through his transition from athlete to reporter. As the drama unfolds, Simons unwittingly becomes the chronicler of the events that haunt the Doaker in a final quest for justice. It is a pursuit which gets trampled by an industry whose need for celebrity competitors violates his sense of self. Author Neil Isaacs is Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Maryland, College Park and a retired therapist. Besides two prior novels, his books include clinical studies (pathological gambling, couples counseling), sports history and analysis, cultural studies, and literary studies.

The Doaker's Story

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

Drinian Press

This is the long-awaited paperback edition of Neil D. Isaacs' novel about the rise and fall of Jack Molinas. Molinas was a brilliant basketball player whose skills on the court were subverted by a pathological addiction to gambling. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Sam Jones says this about the author and his writing: "Isaacs is not only an outstanding student of sports but a skillful and knowledgeable storyteller as well. ...you will not be able to put this down."

The Great Molinas

Basketball, one of the world's greatest sports, attracts millions of all ages. Now  Dick Motta , former NBA coach, and  Neil D. Isaacs , well-known basketball writer combine their talents to show you the keys to developing your game. In this book you'll learn;Four basic skills that every basketball player should knowThe 10 crictical keys to rebounding successDefending you manWhen, wher, and how to install zone offenses and defensesOffenseCriteria for determining which position is best suited for you

Basketball: The Keys to Excellence (Sports Illustrated Winner's Circle Books)

Sports & Outdoors

Motta, Dick

Basketball

Sports Illustrated

This is a book about and for couples, a guide to ways of achieving successful coupling. Implicit in its presentation is the notion that a happy couple is the best foundation for a happy family. It is written with two overlapping audiences in mind. The primary audience consists of couples who are interested in examining and perhaps relieving difficulties in their relationships, whether or not they are considering therapy. The secondary audience is the growing cohort of mental health professionals who work with troubled couples. The Package and the Baggage occupies a middle ground between pop-psych lingo that aims for a lowest common denominator on the one hand and academic/professional discourse (with its inevitable reliance on jargon and doctrinaire methodology/modality) on the other. Understanding the differences between the "package" and "baggage" are central and vital to a couple's ability to achieve stability, success, and fulfillment. The book examines specific issues, identifying characteristic problems that weaken couples' relationships and presenting: * principles that may be applied to address the problems * exercises that may be undertaken as aids to solution o communication (i.e., listening and hearing, as well as verbalizing) o the "business of marriage" o the "exchange of favors" o the risks of turning partners into parents or children o the concept of mutual independence. Descriptions, narratives, and dialogue derived from cases and clients provide the necessary fleshing out of the skeletal principles that structure the book's argument. No viable guide could work without them. Quoted dialogue heightens the sense of reality of what goes on in therapy.

The Package and the Baggage: Help for Couples and Their Counselors

Self-Help

Relationships

Blue Dolphin Pub

Flirtations with Fame covers a lifetime hunt for celebrity status by one who tries (and comically fails) to join the ranks of the famous with whom he contrives to rub shoulders. Like a name-dropper on steroids, he gets you to enjoy his pursuits and laugh at his gall, guile, ga&#64256;es, and gaucherie. It is the journey through worlds of sports, movies, journalism, literature, politics, and academe that matters, after all, not the unattainable goal.

Flirtations with Fame

Memoirs

West Point Print and Media LLC

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Books by Isaacs, Neil D.