Terry could have been a contender in On the Waterfront. Ginger dies in Black Beauty. Prince Andrei stirs up the troops in War and Peace. Here Conrad makes judicious choices of scenes from film, fiction and drama to create a very tasty plate of hors d'oeuvres, whether for those who know and love the patron work or those who would like to learn more about the pithiest parts of literature. He includes great beginnings (some writers only need one word to draw you in) and purely visual scenes, action, adventure, war, romance (complete with understanding gendarmes), revenge, betrayal, humor (Dave Barry comments on the word "Squanto"), horror, juveniles (or perhaps more accurately horrors of juveniles), and endings (slam the door very vigorously at the end of A Doll's House, giving sound advice about writing with each. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)