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Book reviews for "Arthur,_Arthur" sorted by average review score:

Stop Buying $63 Hamburgers!
Published in Paperback by Joe Mann Books (18 May, 2002)
Author: Arthur J. Vangeli
Amazon base price: $8.99
Average review score:

Terrific Book.
I found this hard to put down. It breaks down financial choices into the lowest common denominator. The larger print makes it a nice read. My favorite parts include the cost of smoking analogy and the true price we pay for buying a shirt, shoes, etc. There are some solid tips on retirement planning too, which is refreshing. It's one of the better books I've bought so far this summer. A great value.

Terrific book.
I found this hard to put down. It breaks down financial choices into the lowest common denominator. The larger print makes it a nice read. My favorite parts include the cost of smoking analogy and the true price we pay for buying a shirt, shoes, etc. There are some solid tips on retirement planning too, which is refreshing. It's one of the better books I've bought so far this summer. A great value.

Motivating Read
This book will motivate the average Joe to re-think monetary decisions. It is filled with good advice, and the tips are easy to understand. This is a great book for college age readers too. We really liked it, especially the large print.


Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators in the Secret of Terror Castle
Published in Paperback by Random House Children's Books (May, 1978)
Author: Robert Arthur
Amazon base price: $1.50
Used price: $1.91
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Five stars is not enough!
WOW!! This is my first visit (finally) to Amazon.com, and the very first thing I did was to search for the three investigators. What a wonderful surprise to have found them -- I'm so flooded with memories I don't know where to start.

I was introduced to them as a kid in Buffalo in the early '70s by my best friend's copy of "The Secret of Terror Castle." The first one I owned was a scholastic book services paperback of "The Mystery of the Green Ghost," and I can actually remember exactly where and when I received my first hardback, "The Mystery of the Talking Skull." Sadly, my set disappeared when my parents moved. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew are fine in their own way, but they were NEVER a match for Jupe, Pete, and Bob!

Any one of the books in this series is the perfect gift for a child these days -- it will capture their imagination and help infuse them with a lifelong love of reading. The writing and pacing is just right, there are funny and scary parts that any kid can relate to, and the characters are developed in a way that really makes them come to life. I know Alfred Hitchcock is gone from the new versions, but his presence in the original issues as a real person had us convinced that if we could only get to California we could find Rocky Beach and the Jones Salvage Yard! I don't know how many 3x5 cards we went through as we made business cards for our own detective agency!

Thanks, Random House!! I can't wait to give every book in the series to the kids in my life (and I'll have to get copies for myself, too). I'd love to see a re-issue in hardback of the old versions with Hitch in them, but I guess I'll just have to keep searching used book stores for those. It's sure great to see The Three Investigators back!

I thought I was the only one
Wow. I'm 33 years old and thought I am probably the only adult who would pick up a Three Investigator's book and read it. I am here looking for some of The Three Investigator's books for my girlfriend's son. I saved a few of the books I had as a child, a couple of them in hardback, with the intent of saving them for my children. Most of the books I read in the series I checked out at the library. Reading these books provided some of my fondest childhood memories. The young man I am buying these books for has just discovered a love for reading and I believe that these stories will hook them just like they did me. Amazon, please act upon the suggestions of others and release the entire series if possible.

Excellent summer vacation reading- or any time of the year!
If you've never been introduced to the 3 Investigators, you have no idea what you're missing. They make Nancy, Frank, and Joe look as exciting as an unbuttered piece of stale white bread. And parents, don't overlook these books for your daughters! I loved them as a child and I'm delighted to find my children are as enthralled today as I was then. I recommend starting here, with #1, to introduce readers to the 3 Investigators' start. As an added bonus, main character Jupiter Jones uses a vocabulary most English professors would be delighted with. It's nice to have a series of books that doesn't downplay its wording. Your kids can have a grand time reading, and actually learn at the same time! Most especially, I recommend Terror Castle and all the 3 Investigators books for any parent trying to find something to motivate their children to read more. These are genuine page turners. Exciting, thrilling, puzzling- everything a good mystery should be!


Swallows & Amazons
Published in Hardcover by Buccaneer Books (October, 1985)
Author: Arthur Ransome
Amazon base price: $24.95
Average review score:

Swallows and Amazons forever!
I read this book for the first time when I was 37 and loved it so much I took to the sea and had adventures of my own. It's a wonderful, wonderful book for anyone who has ever dreamed of being on a boat -- or even for anyone who hasn't. Pemmican, bunloaf and chocolate have become staples of my diet; the descriptions of Susan's meals are out-of-this-world. In addition, the book is filled with practical lessons for sailing from how to line up markers to get into a hidden harbor to how to sail at night. I am Titty and my friend is Susan because he keeps careful lists and is always prepared. Our boat is "Summer Song" and we sail on the coast of Maine. We're looking forward to David Godine's publication of the complete series of books.

Ramsome's ageless children's masterpiece
In a lifetime of reading, I don't believe I have ever found a book that I loved as much as I did (and do) SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS and the other books of Arthur Ransome. Set in The English Lake district between the wars, the books tell of the adventures of a group of children unbound by parental restrictions, something totally unheard of in my world. These fortunate children, with whom the reader immediately identifies, are allowed to sail the English lakes alone and to enjoy the carefree and innocent adventures that were possible in this world. The only writer who comss close to Ransome in my experience is the late Iris Murdoch, but of course Ransome is a children's writer and in that he cannot be surpassed. I discovered the books at about 10 years of age but was grown before I realized that other people had read them too and loved them as much as I had. I think these books are the best literary companions I can think of for the older child.

Childhood Adventure
This series appears to inspire fanaticism in those of us lucky enough to read them as children. Included with a bunch of Enid Blytons from my grandmother this was one of my favorite books of childhood and has become an odd literary touchstone in my older friendships. An interesting adventure story that remains rooted in reality yet gives life to the childrens' fantasies this is a book I can always retreat into. I only wish my vacations had been like those of the Walkers and Blacketts. Their camping and sailing adventures in the English Lake District are not overly dated(considering they were written in the 1930's) and probably the least sexist childrens books from that era and from today- the girls and boys have equal responsibilities and the most charismatic character is Nancy Blackett, captain of the Amazons. I don't understand how these books have remained in such relative obscurity for so long.


The Night Before Christmas
Published in Hardcover by Random House Value Pub (September, 2000)
Authors: Clement Clark Moore, Arthur Rackham, and Clement Clarke Moore
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A great book for a great price!!
In preparing our list of Christmas books to share with others, we had to search far and wide on amazon to find this particular book, a paperback edition of the classic Night Before Christmas.

This is the book I've used for years when reading this story to my own children, passing on Tasha Tudor and other illustrators. Why?

Although we can find the same poem and pay a lot more, with award winning illustrators, the illustrations provided by Douglas Gorsline are surely the best. They are quite colorful, and offer details little children love looking into...cats lie sleepily on the window sill, we see an overview of the town, the presents spilling from the open sack are intriguing and plentiful, and Jolly St. Nick is -- well, quite Jolly (as you can see by looking at the cover!)

The story is an "abridged version" - I'm not sure about other parents, but we read this on Christmas Eve, and we only have so much time and energy. Everything we remember from the classic poem by Clement Clarke Moore is in this version.

(From "'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" to "He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!" In between we have everything, from the names of the eight tiny reindeer, to a belly that shakes like a bowl full of jelly, including dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky".

In other words, don't be scared off by 'abridged'!)

Perhaps a hardcover edition might be more appropriate if you're giving a gift (unless you're giving to more than one child), but this book is one of the best offers we've found!

A classic done simply and inexpensively!

The Night Before Christmas illustrated by Tasha Tudor
I discovered this book 31 years ago, for my daughter and it is still loved by all the family. The illustrations are wonderful, warm, charming and delightful and bring a special meaning to the story. We still read it to all the young children on Christmas Eve and for adults we read the story and pass a grab bag gift every time the word THE is mentioned. It would not be Christmas without this book. It is magical.

A beautiful edition, to give as a gift
We have an inexpensive paperback version (see our reviews) of this classic poem, and we said that's enough for us. That was before we looked through this beautifully illustrated (by Bruce Whatley) edition of The Night Before Christmas.

The lyrics are the same, from book to book, but the fanciful illustrations in this one are enough to engage adults and children as they read this book together.

The perfect gift for any family whose Christmas tradition includes reading this classic!


The Princess and the Goblin (Everyman's Library Children's Classics Series)
Published in Hardcover by Knopf (November, 1993)
Authors: George MacDonald and Arthur Hughes
Amazon base price: $10.36
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Love Narnia? You'll love this!
So you love C.S. Lewis' Narnia Chronicles? There people who don't are few and far between. One of the biggest influences on C.S. Lewis was this man, George MacDonald (1824-1905). It was MacDonald's talent for telling fairy stories that inspired Lewis in writing his own. Like Lewis, MacDonald has a remarkable ability to tell a delightful and enchanting story for children, layered with strong Christian themes and imagery by means of allegory and symbols. 'The Princess and the Goblin' is one of his most beloved works for children, and an excellent introduction to his style and success.

'The Princess and the Goblin' features a heroine ' a princess called Irene ' and a hero ' a simple miner's son called Curdie. While working overtime in the mines to earn money to buy his mother a red petty-coat, Curdie chances upon the goblins who live in the mountain, and discovers that they are hatching an evil plot against the king and his palace. Meanwhile the princess makes a discovery of her own ' high in the castle she finds a wonderful old lady who is her great-great-grandmother. The problem is, nobody else knows of her grandmother, and nobody believes her. But the princess does believe, and it is by her faith in her grandmother and the magic thread that she receives from her, that she is able to rescue Curdie. Together they rescue the entire palace from disaster at the hands of the goblins.

In telling the story, MacDonald has an enchanting conversational style, wonderfully suitable for reading aloud to enraptured children ' an ability perfecting in telling stories to his own eleven children. But 'The Princess and the Goblin' is more than just a story. Before pursuing a literary career, MacDonald was a Congregationalist minister, and so integrates important underlying Christian themes. Believing in the great-great-grandmother despite the fact that many cannot see her, is a symbol of believing in God. MacDonald uses this to show how the Christian faith involves believing without seeing, and that not everyone has to 'see' something for it to be true. The grandmother's lamp and magic thread are the guides on which the princess must depend, much like the Word which is a lamp on our path. It may sound tacky, but it works.

Children are not likely to grasp the deeper underlying themes that MacDonald is working with. Nonetheless the story has a clear message for children. The clear conflict between the royal powers of light against the goblin powers of darkness is unmistakable. Moreover, the princess is presented as a model of virtue, and MacDonald frequently asserts the importance of moral virtues such as always telling the truth, keeping your word, and admitting your faults ' moral virtues that are equally important for princes and princesses of God's kingdom. Courage, honesty, grace, dignity and beauty are timeless ideals for children of all times to strive for. If you love Narnia, you're sure to like this one, and you'll find yourself quickly grabbing the sequel, 'The Princess and Curdie.' 'The Princess and the Goblin' was one of J.R.R. Tolkien's childhood favorites, highly regarded by C.S. Lewis, described by W.H. Auden as 'the only English children's book in the same class as the Alice books', and generally considered as a classic example of nineteenth century children's literary fairy tales. So if you haven't yet read this book, it's about time you did. With admirers such as Tolkien, Lewis and Auden, if you become a MacDonald's admirer you'll find yourself in good company!

A classic well worth seeking out
This wonderful children's novel tells the story of eight year old Princess Irene. Cared for by her nurse Lootie, she lives in a mountain farmhouse while her father rules over the region from a mountain top castle. The local folk work as miners but are beset by the Goblins who inhabit the underground. Irene is saved from the Goblins by Curdie, a thirteen year old miner, and she in turn saves him. The whole thing is told in a pleasant conversational style and is filled with humor, word games, magic, derring-do, and pure wonderment.

George MacDonald, a Congregational minister turned novelist, who seems nearly forgotten now, was one of the seminal figures in the development of Fantasy. His influence on other Fantasy authors is obvious, he was a childhood favorite of JRR Tolkein, who especially liked this book, and C.S. Lewis named him one of his favorite authors. His own stories draw on many of the themes and characters of classical European fairy tales. But where they were often merely horrific and meaningless, MacDonald adds a layer of Christian allegory. Thus, Irene and Curdie are eventually saved by a thread so slender that you can't even see it, but which leads them back to safety, teaching Curdie that you sometimes have to believe in things that you can't see.

The book would be interesting simply as a touchstone of modern fiction, but it stands up well on its own and will delight adults and children alike.

GRADE: A

A timeless book
This book is not only beautifully written and perfect for all ages, "The Princess and the Goblin" is also morally strong and uplifting. Children of either sex will be interested in it, with a loving and beautiful grandmother, a strong and intelligent young girl, and a young boy who is intent on protecting his loved ones and uncovering the evil goblin plot. I have read this countless times, and each time I discover something new. The sequel, "The Princess and Curdie," is also worth reading. I love this book!


Complete Sherlock Holmes
Published in Hardcover by Doubleday (20 May, 1960)
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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Stunned to discover how good these were
When I was in 8th grade, I had to read "Hound of the Baskervilles" for class, and given the yawners we had been made to read otherwise, I wasn't looking forward to much from this. I expected another boring book by some dead English guy -- and boy was I shocked! It remains the best novel I've ever read, and I still return to it from time to time. After the PBS Holmes series with Jeremy Brett, I finally bit the bullet and bought the entire collection, and it still surprises me how great they are. If anyone out there is curious but afraid of being bored or wasting your money -- don't worry about that. Just get these stories and race through them and you'll be glad you did.

Another comment that I have to make is Doyle's ability to write women characters. A lot of authors nowdays don't write good women -- they're either harpies, bimbos, or doormats. Doyle, this man from Edwardian England, writes people, sympathetic or otherwise, and his female characters are very real and very, very well done. There aren't many authors that cover everything -- sensitive characterization, awareness of people in this world who aren't just like them, an ability to put together a top notch plot, and the ability to write REALLY well. Doyle was one -- snag these stories and devour them as soon as you can!

Gold for Sherlock Holmes Fans
This book, a compilation of every original, published Sherlock Holmes story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is a joy for all fans of classic mysteries. Although many other detective stories are also excellent, there is nothing quite like the original Holmes stories. As we read through the many adventures of Holmes and his ever faithful companion Dr. Watson, we are also led through their colorful, albeit enigmatic, lives including Dr. Watson's two marriages and the time in between them (lodging at 221B Baker Street, naturally). Holmes' life includes his opium addiction, and subsequent recovery, his encounter with Irene Adler and finally, his retirement to the English Channel coast as a beekeeper.

Whether already a fan for years or a new Holmes reader, this collection is perfect. My copy is one of the most treasured volumes in my library.

Buy it now!!!
THE COMPLETE SHERLOCK HOLMES is an anthology of every Sherlock Holmes story ever written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This single volume is an absolute treasure; it reveals to us one of the most influential and powerful characters conceived of in the history of literature. Holmes' many adventures manage to transcend the boundaries of the mystery genre and set their permanent mark on the fabric of Western society. The now cliche "Elementary, my dear Watson" reveals how both the sheer genius of Holmes and the unwavering loyalty of Watson have been forever integrated into our collective memory.

If you have ever read Sherlock Holmes in your life and have enjoyed it, please pick up a copy of this book. Reading it again will merely add to your enjoyment. The astounding revelations and brilliant logic of Holmes never lose their novelty.

If you have never read Sherlock Holmes, you have truly missed out on one of the memorable characters in English literature. I urge you to purchase this book immediately. You will not be disappointed.

In summary, THE COMPLETE SHERLOCK HOLMES is a must buy for those who do not already own it. I give it my highest recommendation!


Life and Teaching: Of the Masters of the Far East
Published in Paperback by DeVorss & Company (November, 1996)
Authors: Baird T. Spalding and Arthur Vergara
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The book series that can provide meaning for your life
When a friend of mine gave me this series of books as a gift, he made me promise that I would read them. He knew that I do not have much time to read. He also knew that these are rather "deep", and therefore could not be properly read in ten minute segments fit into a busy day. I waited until a recent vacation, and I took the set of books along. Once I started, I could not stop. It took me over a year to fulfill my promise, and I blame myself for losing this year of my life. These books are absolutely incredible. No matter what faith you have, or do not have, you will be inspired. Although the content is amazing and sometimes incredible, it is presented with such honesty and straightforwardness that it is believable. I found that I WANTED to believe it. And I NEEDED it to be true. All limitations have now been removed from my life, and I cannot fail in my renewed mission to serve others. Thank you, Baird T. Spalding. And of course, thank you, My God.

5 Stars! The best set of books I have ever read...and read.
Baird T. Spalding takes you on a wonderful, remarkable journey to meet the Masters and see the Truth they live in their everyday lives. As a Christian, I find these books to be in complete agreement with Jesus's teachings in the Holy Scriptures. Though the Masters are not Christian, they profess that Christ IS the Way. The Masters take off the "religious" hat, and put on true Spirituality. No New Age mumbo jumbo, just timeless Truth. We are Children of the Living God as the Saviour taught, and the Masters teach and exemplify this in their day-to-day living. Spalding's writing is superb. I felt as if I were there on location with him. After reading the Masters, I read the Bible in a whole new light. Christ's teachings come to life in these short, easy-read volumes. I would like to have some contacts and exchange ideas with other readers of these books and perhaps start a discussion group.

This is one of the best spiritual books I've ever read
It presents a timeless truth, divine laws in a very direct and impressive way. I can sincerely say that it gave me the conciousness and faith to feel my divineness. After years of reading many new age, metaphysical books, working on myself and meditating, this was the most powerful teaching which has succeeded this hard work I only feel the same power in Kryon's and Ramtha's books. And I feel they com from the same Truth level.

Also, as an answer to our friend "from Mount Shasta," David Bruton, who is the author of Baird T. Spalding As I Knew Him, is the person who has written an eulogy after Mr. Spalding's death in 1953. (Volume 6, pp. 162-164) In that eulogy, he was saying, "Few people who knew him ever caught a glimpse of the cosmic significance of his being here. His true life-mission lay in his writing the Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East. When his experience with Masters came to light, a New Age of spiritual understanding was born. Herein lies the cosmic destiny of Baird T. Spalding; and it is my firm conviction that in the past 30 years, Baird T. Spalding -and he alone- has contributed more to the enlightment of mankind than the sum total of individuals and organized groups have done in the past two hundred years. Mr. Spalding fullfilled his cosmic duty, and that duty was fulfilled as only he could have done it." And also, Bruton's book Baird T. Spalding As I Knew Him has been published by DeVorss&Company, which has published Spalding's books too. I also would like to give an example of what Mr. DeVorrs (owner of the company) says after Mr. Spalding's death: (Volume 5, pp. 9-10) "Whereever there is a flare of general interest in any personality or his achievement, such as has been evinced by the readers of The Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East, you may be certain there is a flame of spiritual Truth accompanying it... The nature of Mr.Spalding, the manner in which his message has been presented, and the Message all bear living testimony of the Truth of his words and the honor and sincerity of the man. The countless numbers of letters received through the years from all over the world bear testimony of the tremendous assistance from the message contained in his books.....He seemed to have reached a point of attainment where material things were not of great concern to him. He never wrote or lectured for financial profit, and he was an open channel for any funds that came to him, distributing them immediately."

And one more thing: If readers take a look to pages 162-168 of Volume 4, they will read Mrs. Grace Hahn's letter (who was a member of the party with Mr. Spalding in India), they'll learn that the party was very fond of this trip.

Although I don't believe that Mr. Spalding has made up all these stories, if he has done, I don't care, because I feel the truth of the teaching these books present, within my heart. For me, and I believe for thousands of people whose lives have been changed by this teaching, that is what is important! Please, my friend, lets leave aside the shell, and see the pearl in it. Namaste.


The Mysterious Island
Published in Paperback by Wesleyan Univ Pr (February, 2002)
Authors: Jules Verne, Sidney Kravitz, and Arthur B. Evans
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Adventure Unlimited

Mention Jules Verne, and books that spring to mind are 20,000 Leagues, Around the World in 80 days, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. The Mysterious Island is one of his lesser known works, which is something of a mystery itself.

The book surpasses one's imagination and never fails to surprise. From the initial pages when Capt. Cyrus Harding and his friends decide to escape from a prison camp, the story seizes the complete attention of the reader, and unfolds at a pace and in a direction excelling Jules Verne's characteristic stories. The spirit and ingenuity of man is demonstrated in almost every page, as Cyrus and Co. find themselves marooned on a deserted island, and armed with only their wits, transform their desperate situation into a wonder world of science and technology. The reader is drawn into the adventure and finds himself trying to find solutions to the problems and obstacles that lie in plenty for the castaways, as Cyrus and his indomitable friends surmount myriad problems in their fight for survival. They are aided in their ventures by an uncanny and eerie source that remains a mystery until the very end.

This book cannot fail to fascinate and inspire awe in the mind of any reader. One begins to grasp the marvels and inventive genius behind the simple daily conveniences and devices that are normally taken for granted. The line between reality and fantasy is incredibly thin, and for sheer reading pleasure and boundless adventure, this book will never cease to please.

PS: The book has been adapted into a movie, which is one of the worst adaptations of any novel that I have ever had the misfortune of viewing. It is criminal to even mention the movie and the original work in the same breath.

Remember MacGyver?
How he used to make an engine run with duct tape and a shoe string, or make a bomb from bleach and a rusty nail?

He kept coming to mind as I was reading this incredible book, as the characters, stranded on an island with absolutely nothing, accomplished such amazing feats as draining a lake, making a home, building a ship, making an elevator, and a great many other things. There is excitement, suspense (what IS going on on this mysterious island??), and wonderful, likeable characters. Not a real well-known Verne book, but fortunately still in print, and one of his best and most entertaining.

(Incidentally, if you want a children's version of the same story, try to find "A Long Vacation" by Jules Verne, which is extremely similar in plot, but with younger characters and for a younger audience - very charming!)

By the way, please do read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea first, if you have not already done so. Evidently, Verne assumed that everyone had when he wrote this novel.

Great reading!

A Textbook on How to Start A Civilization from Scratch!
A very difficult yet satisfying book to read, this build slowly from utter bleakness to an enthralling sense of wonder. Having seen the 1961 movie, I was astonished at how LITTLE of the book actually made it to the screen-- and there were NO monsters here! Ironically, the trained orangutan-butler that would have been at home in a Disney film was one of the things left out of the film version. Having been surprised that the book 20,000 LEAGUES actually left Captain Nemo's background a total mystery right to the end, Verne finally reveals his true identity here-- and one can tell nobody in Hollywood's been reading this book. While it basically stands on its own, Verne's MYSTERIOUS ISLAND is actually a sequel to 2 previous books: 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, and the more obscure CAPTAIN GRANT'S CHILDREN, the latter of which I believe served as the inspiration for the Disney film IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS! With Verne's interest in minute detail, I came away feeling this book could serve as not only a rousing adventure story, but as a wonderful manual for anyone wanting to start a new civilization completely from scratch.


The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide
Published in Hardcover by Random House Value Pub (January, 1996)
Author: Douglas Adams
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Maybe too much of a good thing
While often embarrassing in a public place, laughing out loud while reading is an example of pure pleasure that so rarely occurs that any author capable of producing this effect should be commended. Douglas Adams is such an author. The only problem is his writing style should be taken in small doses, because when read all together you start to get buried in all the clever little comments and they lose their effectiveness. The first two novels in this series are two of the funniest books I have ever read. The basic plot is simple: Earth is destroyed to make way for an interstellar highway and Arthur Dent, one particularly hapless Earthman, is taken along by an interstellar hitchhiker to the far reaches of space. This synopsis does not do justice to the incredible universe Adams drags us into: Ships that run on improbability factors or restaurants checks, a two headed former president of the galaxy who is looking for a real good time, and other events and people too bizarre and numerous to summarize. The problem is that each succeeding book seems to jettison some whimsy for a more serious form of science fiction until in the last book the laughs are hard to find. The first two books deserve the highest rating, but this review is based on all the content contained within. But once you start, you'll want to read all of them, Adams does make sure that the reader wants to know how it all turns out. Hopefully you'll enjoy the journey.

An incredible book
I thought this book "The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy" by Douglas Adams, was amazing. I have never laughed so hard while reading in my life. Adams has a unique style of putting the extremely bizarre into fairly common language. He also has a witty humor that will get you rolling with laughter. The books center around two main characters, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect, and their adventures so to speak around the galaxy. The two are faced with many bizarre and life threatening events throughout their journeys. They do varies tasks from finding the meaning of life, to saving the galaxy, and watching as the universe is destroyed as they eat a cow which they had had a conversation with a few minutes before hand. The whole book is full of mind-bending contradictions and hilarious out of the blue humor. The plot that I derived form the book, I doubt it is right, is don't sweat the small stuff. The events that happen to Arthur Dent are far worse then the petty stuff we complain about in life. If you read this you need to be up to laughing the whole way through, and a little time to decipher what Adams is saying in the book.

Too funny for this world
Comedy is so much more likely to succeed in movies than in novel form. So there is that much more reason to celebrate good comedy novels. Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series started out as a radio serial, then went to book and was finally made into a television series. I even hear it may see the big screen soon. For me, the best format so far is the novels.

Adams writes well, has a fertile and sometimes bizarre imagination, peoples his stories with self-absorbed characters and isn't afraid to make the central hero a pessimistic boor. There has been science fiction comedy before this but Adams has earned the crown for the best Sci-Fi satirist, in my opinion at least.

This five-book trilogy revolves around Arthur Dent, supposedly a typical English loser. Poor Arthur gets thrown into one difficult situation after another, not because he is in any way special, but because his best friend, Ford Prefect, happens to be an alien reporter for the most popular book in the history of the universe, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Ford saves Arthur from Earth's immanent destruction, thus derailing Arthur's equilibrium. He doesn't regain his balance until four books later when he falls in love.

Adams is the modern day Oscar Wilde or P. G. Woodhouse. His dialogue is so witty and surprising, that when I first read these books it was impossible to hold in my laughter. And it's not just the occasional quip, sprinkled into an otherwise standard tale; the whole thing tends to build into a crescendo that is almost too funny to bear. I've read this series so many times I've almost memorised each word. Don't miss out on some of the funniest writing to be seen in the last 50 years.


The Holy Grail
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Human nature in American democracy
Toqueville's work unquestionably will last for as long as human nature remains the same. Certainly, it is diverting to read accounts about the topography and anachronistically idiosyncratic habits of the inhabitants of America over a century ago; the fundamental value of his work, however, lies in his acute understanding of human nature that does not change throughout time. I must, however, qualify this statement, since there is only one Book, the author of which I am in utter agreement. One part of his book I disagree with concerns the ways of ending slavery. It was not nearly as dangerously problematic as he thinks, since most Western nations that had had slavery peacefully eradicated it, and America could have done so by several means. (One way, although a distinct compromise, could have been for philanthropists, abolitionists, and/ or government to requite the slave owners their money and thereby instantly free those enslaved.) Having said that, I wholeheartedly agree with much of the work, and think that more than most writers on the American polity, he truly perceives how certain tendencies of human nature are revealed in this particular society founded upon practical wisdom, personal responsibility, self-reliance, and faith. Many of his disquisitions on these tendencies that could be accentuated in American democracy are now more thought-provoking than ever. One prominent example is his understanding of an issue fundamental to Americans. He famously shows how they are pragmatically intent upon getting things done by combining in 'societies.' A problem could occur if ever the citizens in general become selfish and much less self-reliant: 'individualism' could arise. He articulates a bleak portrait of a society in which none care to take personal responsibility, but are willing to sacrifice freedom for temporary security. This is disquieting for modern society, and it would be well were more people to read his work and learn from it.

Every literate American should read this
The specific edition I am reviewing is the Heffner addition which is a 300 page abridgement. I also own an unabridged edition but I have only read Heffner cover to cover. What is amazing about de Toqueville is how uncanny many of his observations are over a century and a half later. He accurately predicted in 1844 that the world's two great powers would be the United States and Russia. He aptly pointed out that Americans are a people who join associations and he is so right 156 years later. Although there are both religious extremists on both ends, ie fundamentalists and atheists, he was dead on that, as a whole, we are a religious society but that our religious views are moderate. De Toqueville shows how American characteristics evolved from democracy as opposed to the highly class structered societies of Europe. From de Tocqueville, it could have been predicted that pop culture, such as rock music etc, would develop in America because the lack of an aristocracy causes a less cultured taste in the arts. In a thousand and one different ways, I found myself marveling at how dead on de Toqueville was. Most controversially, those who argue that we have lost our liberties to a welfare state might well find support in de Toqueville. Here, 100 years before the New Deal, he forsaw that a strong central government would take away our liberties but in a manner much more benign than in a totalitarian government. There are certain liberties that Americans would willingly sacrifice for the common good. Critics of 20th century liberalism in the US might well point to this as an uncanny observation. By reading "Democracy in America," the reader understands what makes Americans tick. De Toquville was an astute observer of who we are as a people and should be read by all educated Americans.

I want to note that there are several editions of this great work and in deciding which to buy, be aware that each has a different translator. I feel Heffner's translation is slightly stilted but, he did such a wonderful job in editing this abridgement that it, nontheless, deserves 5 stars.

Astute Observer of America
De Tocqueville was simply of one of the great social scientists writing about America and Democracy. From reading the book I deduced that De Tocqueville was a social scientist before Marx! He compares European culture and government with the fledgling culture and democracy he observes in America. He is very much impressed with what he sees taking place in America in the 1830's and hopes it will spread to Europe. He at first believed that America's prosperity was simply due to geography and their distance from powerful neighbors, he abandons this idea after his visit to America. He comes to realize that the West is not being peopled "by new European immigrants to America, but by Americans who he believes have no adversity to taking risks". De Tocqueville comes to see that Americans are the most broadly educated and politically advanced people in the world and one of the reasons for the success of our form of government. He also foretells America's industrial preeminence and strength through the unfettered spread of ideas and human industry.

De Tocqueville also saw the insidious damage that the institution of slavery was causing the country and predicted some 30 years before the Civil War that slavery would probable cause the states to fragment from the union. He also the emergence of stronger states rights over the power of the federal government. He held fast to his belief that the greatest danger to democracy was the trend toward the concentration of power by the federal government. He predicted wrongly that the union would probably break up into 2 or 3 countries because of regional interests and differences. This idea is the only one about America that he gets wrong. Despite some of his misgivings, De Tocqueville, saw that democracy is an "inescapable development" of the modern world. The arguments in the "Federalist Papers" were greater than most people realized. He saw a social revolution coming that continues throughout the world today.

De Tocqueville realizes at the very beginning of the "industrial revolution" how industry, centralization and democracy strengthened each other and moved forward together. I am convinced that De Tocqueville is still the preeminent observer of America but is also the father of social science. As a retired Army officer and political philosopher, I found this book to be a must read for anyone interested in American history, political philosophy or the social sciences.


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