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Kenneth Craven's Hamlet of Morningside Heights is a brief, but engaging and understandable autobiography of intellectual development and literary discovery. Craven reflects on the similarities between himself and Shakespeare, and himself and Hamlet, as humanist and as soul-searcher...Woven throughout the book, Craven analyzes the influence of St. Paul's epistle to the Romans on Hamlet. This autobiography is a fascinating window into the relationship between person, knowledge, and art, and demonstrates how reflection reveals the threads tying them together. - Paula L. Gallagher, The Christian Shakespeare In the most compelling conjunction of Hamlet of Morningside Heights, Craven discusses the establishment of Polonius's advice to Laertes as a touchstone of American education ... Craven explores the ironies by which the self-righteous words of a partly duplicitous and bumbling figure have become a motto of the Establishment. ... [The book reveals] an extraordinary and fascinating career. ... [Some might wish] this to have been two separate books - a memoir of a career in Cold War telecommunications and a book about the centrality of Paul's epistles to Hamlet. - Elizabeth Scott-Baumann, Times Literary Supplement Nobody beside Dr Craven ever studied the way that Paul's Epistle to the Romans affects the play Hamlet. It has staggeringly wide-ranging implications, many of which are identified in this account of how and when these thoughts resounded in Dr Craven's mind. - Andrew Gurr, Director of the Renaissance Texts Research Centre I've just finished reading the magisterial conclusion to your autobiography. It is an astonishing tale of discoveries personal, scholarly, and of the origins and nature of modern culture. Of course it would be preposterous to expect such discoveries from anyone, but somehow as I read it seemed right that you would be the person to see these things. I feel privileged to be among your readers. Thank you for this. - Frank T. Boyle, English Professor, Fordham University Although I have never had the privilege of meeting the author, this autobiography bestowed that honor on me in its unique fashion. As a former English major, I have carried throughout my lifetime a deep appreciation of Shakespeare's sonnets and plays. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Dr. Craven's book captured my attention from the outset with his reference to Mrs. Craven's constant North Star love. What a lovely and touching tribute! It was on two levels that this book appealed to me. Foremost, long after reading it, I continue to be fascinated by Dr. Craven's discovery of the Apostle Paul's ethical principles integrated throughout Hamlet and still resonating in our culture today. His discovery and his well developed body of evidence supporting it clearly illustrate Dr. Craven's scholarship, creative genius, and unique vision as a writer. Secondly, and on a lighter note, I enjoyed the autobiographical element of his masterpiece. I found his selection of critical life experiences charming in some instances, wryly humorous in others, and consistently insightful. All in all, in Hamlet of Morningside Heights, Craven has seamlessly interwoven all the historical, cultural, ethical, and autobiographical elements, and that is a remarkable achievement of style and substance! - Jean Ann McCormick, Informed Reader

Kenneth Craven's Hamlet of Morningside Heights is a brief, but engaging and understandable autobiography of intellectual development and literary discovery. Craven reflects on the similarities between himself and Shakespeare, and himself and Hamlet, as humanist and as soul-searcher....Woven throughout the book, Craven analyzes the influence of St. Paul's epistle to the Romans on Hamlet. This autobiography is a fascinating window into the relationship between person, knowledge, and art, and demonstrates how reflection reveals the threads tying them together. - Paula L. Gallagher, The Christian Shakespeare In the most compelling conjunction of Hamlet of Morningside Heights, Craven discusses the establishment of Polonius's advice to Laertes as a touchstone of American education ... Craven explores the ironies by which the self-righteous words of a partly duplicitous and bumbling figure have become a motto of the Establishment. ... [The book reveals] an extraordinary and fascinating career. ... [Some might wish] this to have been two separate books - a memoir of a career in Cold War telecommunications and a book about the centrality of Paul's epistles to Hamlet. - Elizabeth Scott-Baumann, Times Literary Supplement Nobody beside Dr Craven ever studied the way that Paul's Epistle to the Romans affects the play Hamlet. It has staggeringly wide-ranging implications, many of which are identified in this account of how and when these thoughts resounded in Dr Craven's mind. - Andrew Gurr, Director of the Renaissance Texts Research Centre I've just finished reading the magisterial conclusion to your autobiography. It is an astonishing tale of discoveries personal, scholarly, and of the origins and nature of modern culture. Of course it would be preposterous to expect such discoveries from anyone, but somehow as I read it seemed right that you would be the person to see these things. I feel privileged to be among your readers. Thank you for this. - Frank T. Boyle, English Professor, Fordham University Although I have never had the privilege of meeting the author, this autobiography bestowed that honor on me in its unique fashion. As a former English major, I have carried throughout my lifetime a deep appreciation of Shakespeare's sonnets and plays. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Dr. Craven's book captured my attention from the outset with his reference to Mrs. Craven's constant North Star love. What a lovely and touching tribute!It was on two levels that this book appealed to me. Foremost, long after reading it, I continue to be fascinated by Dr. Craven's discovery of the Apostle Paul's ethical principles integrated throughout Hamlet and still resonating in our culture today. His discovery and his well developed body of evidence supporting it clearly illustrate Dr. Craven's scholarship, creative genius, and unique vision as a writer.Secondly, and on a lighter note, I enjoyed the autobiographical element of his masterpiece. I found his selection of critical life experiences charming in some instances, wryly humorous in others, and consistently insightful.All in all, in Hamlet of Morningside Heights, Craven has seamlessly interwoven all the historical, cultural, ethical, and autobiographical elements, and that is a remarkable achievement of style and substance! - Jean Ann McCormick, Informed Reader

Author Information

Kenneth Craven, an authority on Shakespeare, Swift, Locke, Sterne, and Tolstoy, is also a humanist, intellectual historian, corporate planner on infrastructure, psychotherapist, and Kremlinologist. He holds a PhD from Columbia University, New York, USA, and served on the faculty of the City University of New York. He has worked as a consultant for AT&T, Xerox, and IBM. In 1961, Dr Craven published the landmark study Science Information Personnel for the National Science Foundation that created the first doctoral programs and schools in information and computer science.

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