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Title: Samuel Johnson (The Oxford Authors) by Samuel Johnson, Donald Greene ISBN: 0-19-281340-4 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: September, 1984 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.95

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Johnson is extraordinary, but please don't underrate Boswell
Comment: This is undeniably the best anthology of Johnson currently available. It outshines Penguin's much too abbreviated version and contains all the major items: a fine selection of the essays, several biographical pieces, including the essential Soame Jenyns and Life of Savage, the prefaces to the Dictionary and to Shakespeare, a selection of prayers, some wonderful letters, etc.

For the journey to Scotland (only excertpted here), I much prefer Penguin's complete edition of the Journey, which includes Boswell's Journal. Reading the two interlaced is an utter delight--moving from the formality, grace and power of Johnson to the smaller, more intimate pleasures of Boswell gives one the feeling of having captured, in the adventurous peregrinations of these two inimitable characters, the very breadth and depth of eighteenth century English writing.

I must say, with all respect to Frank Lynch whose standing as the leading Johnsonian of the web is beyond dispute, that to love and admire Johnson, but not appreciate the brilliant, even if much different, stylistic inventions of Boswell seems to me somewhat perverse. Certainly Boswell had his shortcomings, but half the joy of reading and 'knowing' Johnson and his circle comes from appreciating the little peccadilloes and foibles that each displayed in his turn--not the least the Great Cham, Johnson, himself. I cannot think of either of these two men that I don't see Thomas Rowlandson's wonderful caricature of the two walking arm in arm--the older man a head taller, wagging his finger and pontificating casually and brilliantly on some weighty matter, and the other rolling along beside him smiling with sweet admiration and pride of association. To read Johnson and bypass Boswell, is to find one great treasure and forsake another.

Rating: 5
Summary: Recommended by Frank Lynch of "Johnson Sound Bite" fame
Comment: I asked Frank Lynch, who runs the "Samuel Johnson Sound Bite" site, to suggest a good starting point for someone who's never read Samuel Johnson. (I've never been able to get into Boswell's Life of Johnson, which Frank Lynch doesn't like either). Frank is of course a great Johnson enthusiast and regularly contributes Johnsonian wit and wisdom to alt.quotations. I've ordered this book on the strength of his recommendation. (Warning: this 884-page paperback appears to be a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BOOK with the from the 200-page hardbound published by Twayne, even though Amazon has them crosslinked as being the same).

Frank posted the following in alt.quotations:

"Without hesitation, I recommend the anthology published by Oxford & edited by Donald Greene. It has NO Boswell. It has about 40 periodical essays, all of Rasselas, the preface to Shakespeare, the preface to the Dictionary, a sermon, some of his Journey to the Hebrides, extracts from the Lives of the Poets, some letters, The Vanity Of Human Wishes, London, his review of Soame Jenyn's "A Free Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Evil", The Patriot, the Drury Lane Prologue etc etc Hands down the best anthology going, and a great survey of the scope of his work."