The life of William Shakespeare; arguably the most significant figure in the Western literary canon; is relatively unknown. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1565; possibly on the 23rd April; St. Georgersquo;s Day; and baptised there on 26th April. Little is known of his education and the first firm facts to his life relate to his marriage; aged 18; to Anne Hathaway; who was 26 and from the nearby village of Shottery. Anne gave birth to their first son six months later. Shakespearersquo;s first play; The Comedy of Errors began a procession of real heavyweights that were to emanate from his pen in a career of just over twenty years in which 37 plays were written and his reputation forever established. This early skill was recognised by many and by 1594 the Lord Chamberlainrsquo;s Men were performing his works. With the advantage of Shakespearersquo;s progressive writing they rapidly became Londonrsquo;s leading company of players; affording him more exposure and; following the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603; a royal patent by the new king; James I; at which point they changed their name to the Kingrsquo;s Men. By 1598; and despite efforts to pirate his work; Shakespearersquo;s name was well known and had become a selling point in its own right on title pages. No plays are attributed to Shakespeare after 1613; and the last few plays he wrote before this time were in collaboration with other writers; one of whom is likely to be John Fletcher who succeeded him as the house playwright for the Kingrsquo;s Men. William Shakespeare died two months later on April 23rd; 1616; survived by his wife; two daughters and a legacy of writing that none have since yet eclipsed.
#1455355 in eBooks 2016-01-28 2016-01-28File Name: B01B708KOO
Review
0 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Book PurchaseBy Charlotte P. LiuThe book is just what the profesor needed to teach his course. Thank you.25 of 27 people found the following review helpful. an eye-opener; one of the best books Ive read about sprawlBy Michael LewynIn addition to giving specific examples of how zoning has prevented infill development and compact development; Levine actually shows how these policies matter - that is; how zoning alters the market instead of mimicking it. For example:*Levine shows how rare infill is in single-family zones. Because local politicians rigidly prohibit any attempts to add new housing in already developed single-use zones; single-family neighborhoods are never transformed as a region grows. For example; in Massachusetts only 3 of 351 communities experienced a loss of single-family acres between 1970 and 1999. So as a result; landowners only way of accommodating new housing demand is to build further out in suburbia.*Levine discusses surveys of developers showing that government regulation consistently forces them to make development less compact. 78% of developers responded that regulation was a "significant barrier" to more compact development. By contrast; only 35% cited financing as a barrier; and only 26% cited insufficient market interest.*Levine discusses a survey of renters and homeowners in Boston and Atlanta; asking them to make tradeoffs between space and transit/pedestrian-friendliness. He found that in more sprawling Atlanta; development is actually LESS likely to reflect consumer preferences than in more compact Boston. Among the 25% of people with the most pedestrian-oriented preferences; only 7% lived in the most pedestrian-friendly parts of the metro area (as opposed to 25% in Boston). And of that group; 38% of Atlantans lived in the MOST auto-oriented areas (as opposed to 6% of Bostonians). Why? Perhaps because there is little pre-auto stock in Atlanta- which means that thanks to Atlantas anti-density zoning; pedestrian-friendly housing has never been built in large enough quantities to meet demand. By contrast; in Boston much of the housing stock was built before zoning; which means there is (or more accurately; was before the 2000s housing bubble) an ample supply of pre-auto housing available to meet demand for pedestrian-friendly development.*Levine demolishes the argument that smart-growth planners are forcing people into higher densities. He asserts that this is simply impossible: that planners can mandate high density; but developers can always avoid such a mandate by building elsewhere. By contrast; low-density mandates cant be avoided so easily: developers would rather turn a profit building to (low) allowable densities than not build at all; and low-density zoning is so widespread as to be unavoidable.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Refutes Dominant Myths about Zoning and Land MarketsBy TransitStudentThis is an excellent; comprehensive refutation of the idea that the land use we have is a result of free-market choices. The author covers theory; law; and empirical evidence to prove this point that there are societal costs when we exclude people out from where they would like to live. A little bit of background in economics would prove helpful; but the author does such a good job explaining concepts that it is not necessary. It is especially important today because it forcefully counters the dominant narrative in planning and economics.
