The golden thread: A reader's journey through the great books

by Bruce Meyer

Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, and all the other great author are still with us in countless ways we might not realize. Much more than embossed names on leather-bound tomes, they are the creators of the stories that mold our lives, our deaths, our dreams and our politics, not to mention our dining habits, our lovemaking and the new media.

The Golden Thread takes its readers on an exciting voyage of discovery through some of the most important works of Western literature: from the Bible, The Aeneid and The Odyssey to King Lear, A Room of One's Own and Ulysses, Bruce Meyer offers a fresh and accessible approach to reading and understanding the narratives that underlie our culture. Meyer gives his readers the keys to unlock the joys of both ancient and contemporary literature, and in doing so unearths the basis of many of our contemporary ideas and allusions. This is a guide that will enable the lover of literature, or the reader who has always felt intimidated by the classics, to navigate through the great works with confidence--and a sense of wonder.

Genres: Books About Books, Nonfiction, Writing, Philosophy, Classics

455 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Dr. Bruce Meyer is an author of more than 45 books of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, literary journalism, scholarship, and pedagogy, and is a professor of English at Georgian College.

Reviews

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the guide for the lover of literature, or the reader who has always felt intimidated by the classics, to navigate through the great works with confidence -- and a sense of wonder.

[Joe Boudreault · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ever want to read some of the great classics of English literature (anything in English) and want a quick teaching aid to them all, this is a very good beginning. I generally don't go in for literary criticism but I like instruction on what to read and why to read it. All of us avid readers need classic backgrounders for our everyday reading. What are the human themes of greatest importance and who are the great writers etc? Here, a University of Toronto professor, Bruce Meyer, does a very good job of instructing the average reader. Meyer is not hard to read - this is not another stuffy tome for the academic by any means. I thoroughly enjoyed his trip through the history of some of the literary greats from the Bible's Genesis to James Joyce's Ulysses and a lot of intriguing books in between.

Meyer breaks literature into major categories in which "home" and the search for a peaceful home place is the main factor driving human beings in life's struggle. It is very well done, and will enlighten the reader on what is most important when reading serious stuff. I came away with a hunger to read more of those literary greats, or at least preview them and plunge into some of them. I will remember Meyer's clear analysis for a long time to come, thanks in large part to his smooth and easy style of communicating it all.

[Syed Ali Hussain Bukhari · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Golden Thread: A Reader's Journey Through The Great Books
is such a book that not only explains, comments on the great works of Western literature but also attracts readers; wheather not relating to literature, to understand what literature says. It also creates passion to read all of the works mentioned: Homer's The Odyssey, Virgil's The Aeneid, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Dante's Inferno & many others.
I recommed it to all for it helps anyone seeking meaning in the written works of any genre.

[Sharon Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meyer is brilliant on anything to do with mythology. And highly readable.

[Jack Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literart tour guide to the classical books of Western Culture.
Treasured birthday present,just reread as my selection for our book club.

[Sween McDervish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Save money on an English Lit degree. Read this book instead.