"... and in the darkness bind them"

When you title your book Penetrating Wagner's Ring, I don't know what, but you're asking for something. As it happens, "you" were unlucky enough to get these evil genius Amazon reviewers. I don't know how they manage to stay so subtle:

Before reading this book, the thought of penetrating Wagner's "Ring" left me cold. Why would I go near Wagner's musty old "Ring", I thought, when there were so many younger, more supple pieces available to me? Surely Wagner's "Ring" would seem worn and battered from nearly two centuries of over-use?

How wrong I was! What this book shows, and what many other reviewers have clearly experienced, is that Wagner's "Ring", despite its great age, is still full of life, freshness and verve, and that there are still great rewards to be had from treading this well-trodden path. Full of insightful comments from the many men and women who have played in Wagner's "Ring", often dressed as Valkyries, this book is an invaluable guide to extracting pleasure from Wagner's much-abused piece.

I know, it's childish. But goodness knows there's too much Heidegger on this blog already.