Books : The Confidence Man (Norton Critical Editions)
|
|
In association with Amazon.com
|
by: Herman Melville
List Price: $13.75Amazon.com's Price: $12.37 You Save: $1.38 (10%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.3
EAN: 9780393979275
ISBN: 039397927X
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 505
Publication Date: December 19, 2005
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Sales Rank: 497265
Studio: W. W. Norton
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
The text of The Confidence-Man reprinted here is again that of the first American edition (1857), slightly corrected. The Second Edition features significantly expanded explanatory annotations, particularly of biblical allusions.
'Contemporary Reviews' includes nineteen commentaries on The Confidence-Man, eight of them new to the Second Edition. Better understood today are the concerted attacks on Melville by, especially, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Methodist reviewers.
A new section, 'Biographical Overviews,' embodies the transformation of knowledge about Melville's life that has occurred over the last three decades. This section provides a wide range of readings of Melville's life by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dennis Marnon, and Hershel Parker, among others.
'Sources, Backgrounds, and Criticism' is thematically organized to inform readers about movements and social developments central to Melville's America and to this novel, including utopias, cults, cure-alls, Transcendentalism, Indian hating, the Bible, and popular literature.
A Selected Bibliography is also included.
About the Series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Vote of no confidence
This, the last Herman Melville novel published during the author's lifetime, is not his best work. It's a great theme -- how confidence is necessary for personal success and a thriving market economy yet subject to abuse -- that could have been dealt with much more succintly. The book could have been 15 to 20 chapters instead of the 45 that it is (although most of the chapters are short). Melville also punishes the readers with many dependent clauses. The great man could certainly have used an editor ... Read More
Rating:  - A Classic Exploration of Trust and the Con
Why read a book from 1857 which flopped so badly as commercial literature that Melville stopped writing and ended his career as a customs official? Because this book masterfully explores the entire nature of trust, confidence and cons. Though the setting is a riverboat on the Mississippi River just before the U.S. exploded into Civil War, its insights cross cultural boundaries.
This is not an easy book to read for several reasons. First, it is undoubtedly one of the first "post-modern" novels ... Read More
Rating: - A book and edition which redefine "fabulous"
As Melvillians will know (and as new readers will discover), this is an astoundingly modern work in the guise of an 'older' style. Re-reading it in this new edition is especially rewarding: abundant and illuminating notes, essays, and reviews in a beautifully produced book make for a very rich reading experience -- I got much more out of this reading than from earlier encounters with other editions. Highly recommended.
Rating: - The Confidence Game: From All Angles
"The Confidence Man" was Melville's last novel. Like all his novels except "Moby Dick" it was a commercial failure. It is purported to be Melville's personal favorite of his own creation.
Melville takes a very special position in this book. He is an active author who directly interacts with the reader. The book is especially intricate and disguised. Melville tried to show the `Confidence Game' from all angles. He illustrates those performing the game, those who are victims of the game, and ... Read More
|
|
|
