E. Christian Kopff

First off, it needs to be said that this is not really a book about why you should Latin or about the classical tradition of education. For that, you want Tracy Lee Simmons' Climbing Parnassus.

But for those who still want to know about this book, The Devil Knows Latin is a collection of what is essentially conservative literary and film criticism with a focus on the influence and importance of the classical tradition. Some of it is very good (the essay on The Godfather and The Lion King as show more well as the one on Clint Eastwood especially), some of it makes for miserable reading (like the giant one on why postmodernism is bad), and a lot of it is just average. The first section does cover the importance of learning classical languages (and an appendix covers suggested resources to doing so), but the arguments are weaker than Simmons, which really is the book to get for that.

There's also the fact that Kopff really could have used an editor, as I found at least two obvious factual errors without even trying: 1. He claimed that Tecumseh's brother invented the ghost dance and it was responsible for his defeat at Tippecanoe (he didn't and it didn't) and 2. Scar's henchmen were jackals (they were hyenas) 2. Scar's henchmen were jackals (they were hyenas). There's no telling what else I missed, but an editor definitely should have caught those.

But especially if you're interested in classical tradition and its influence on film, there is actually a lot of interesting material here. Just don't judge the book on its title. Recommended with caveats. show less

In spite of the title of this book, its subject range is amazing. You will find commentary on history, civilization, the Enlightenment, postmodernism, and popular culture. Through all of this there grows a web of evidence in support of the idea contained in the book's subtitle: "Why America Needs the Classical Tradition."

I have mixed feelings about this book. The first and last chapters relate to the title, as in why we need to understand the classical tradition to further Western Civilization. Mainly he is talking about studying Greek and Latin and changing the rhetoric for our elementary schools. The middle of the book is unrelated schlock. It is a combination of tirades about liberalism, different artists, reviews of films about farmers and Clint Eastwood. And how if we don't return to traditional show more Christian ethics, the world is doomed. I was so inspired that I took up studying Latin after the first chapter, but was disgruntled after a few more chapters. The stuff is not even related to the proposed subject. Your mileage may vary. show less

Dear Ed: I thought this would be of interest to you. Happy New Year! Briggitte Krauss, Assistant to the President