Talk:Life Against Death

Life Against Death
Hello there Polisher of Cobwebs! Thank you for getting in touch with me; I've had a look at the Life Against Death page – for which I congratulate you, as it's really rather good – and have a few tips that I hope shall be of benefit to you. If I may, I'll post them here on your user talk page, although feel free to copy and paste them to the Life After Death talk page (attributing them to me), if you like:

Introduction:
 * As it stands, the introduction currently consists of only a single paragraph; ideally, it should really be divided up and expanded into three or four paragraphs (see the example over at Dreamtime (Duerr book), which I put together pretty much single-handedly).
 * "is a book by Norman O. Brown, first published in 1959, with a second edition in 1985" – what kind of book is it: a novel? a psychoanalytical study? a historical study? This needs to be clarified. And who is Norman O. Brown and what is his nationality? Who published this book, and who republished it ? Was it originally published in the English language, or was it translated into it ? If so, who was the translator ? All of these things should be included in your first introductory paragraph.
 * In your second and perhaps third paragraph, provide a very basic synopsis of the book, describing its primary arguments.
 * In your final introductory paragraph, discuss the reception, legacy and influence of the book.
 * Why use the 1970 edition in the photograph ? Ideally, use the first edition cover.

Background
 * Who is Brown and why does his opinion matter ? Give a little bit of biographical information about this author.
 * Similarly, who is Freud ? Again, a sentence of two of biography would be of help; always assume that the reader knows basically nothing about the subject.
 * Again, who is Marcuse and why does he matter ?
 * Who is Paul Robinson ?
 * Are these psychoanalysts arguing that Freud was a social conservative, fiscal conservative or an all-round conservative ?
 * "Jakob Böhme and William Blake" need to link somewhere.

Synopsis
 * Much of this page could do with being linked; words like Nietzche, Eros and Thanatos should be linked to their Wikipedia articles.
 * Would any images be relevant here ? Does the Life Against Death book actually contain any pictures, one of which could be used here ?

Could other quote boxes be employed in later parts of the article ? They add a bit of colour and are aesthetically pleasing for many readers, myself included.

Hope this helps! Midnightblueowl (talk) 17:00, 18 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Thank you for your response. It does help. I'm aware that the article has problems that need ironing out, and I'm ready to make whatever changes are required; I value other editors' criticism. I'll certainly take your comments into consideration. As for the picture of the book, the 1970 edition is there because, frankly, I happen to like it, and prefer it to other editions of the book. I would be perfectly prepared to change it to a different edition, however. Polisher of Cobwebs (talk) 20:23, 18 August 2012 (UTC)