I cannot tell you how delighted I am with this CD set. It is amazing how many stories they were able to put on six CD's. They were selective, of course, but each story is complete in itself and doesn't "leave you wanting more." All of my favorites were here, including some I thought a bit obscure, like "Jacob's Ladder" and Nathan's "Parable of the Ewe Lamb" (following, of course, "David and Bathsheba"). The emphasis is on stories, so the prophets get short shrift, and I had the same feeling about the Epistles and Revelation, but on the whole, it is an excellent introduction or refresher to the KJV Bible. Jarvis and Ayres are wonderful readers, alternating with each story, and this item should be a welcome addition to anybody's audio library.

This story is a little bit out of reality, but it keeps you interested in the book and you can compare the FBI with the former KGB as they work almost in the same manner.

This a classic, certainly a novel of high standard amongst the famous French writers of the time period of pre- and industrial age. It deals with head character Julian Sorel - the student training for priesthood and the master of hypocrisy. His love affairs with Mde de Renal and Madamossiele de la Mole are just the tip of the iceberg. As one can gather without reading Shaw's commentary, it is a story about the Scarlet and the Black, ie nobility and the priest's habit, and the clashes associated with them. Of course Stendhal puts his own political view into it, which in itself is interesting. This book portrays French society during the 2nd restoration (1815-30) and the continuing admiration of Napoleon despite his fall from grace. Of course there is also the clash of sectarian Catholicism and Stendhal vents his anger at Jansenism - this can also be seen in contemporary Austro-Hungarian life in regards to censorship of book publications , especially in the life of France Preseren. Overall a good book, and very educating.

My five stars are for the novel itself - and undisputed masterpiece. In this note I just want to report that I have been checking out this translation against the one in the handsome little Konemann edition - that is, checking each against the French. The Shaw (Penguin) translation is ever so much better than the other (by E. P. Robins). The general level of the English in the Robins is low, and it contais many out-and-out errors in how it renders the French. The Shaw, though imperfect, is much better,

I started reading this book by accident, but soon found I couldn't put it down. It has the power to take one to the time it describes, in this instance the early-mid ninteenth century in france. Julien Sorel is an ambitious character who tries to make his way by embracing hypocrisy - this is impossible for someone who isn't completely corrupt and so he is doomed to failure. Julien cannot control his passions or his sense of honour and this is what makes a seemingly calculating and sly character ultimately appear vulnerable and heroic.

I first read Walter Lord's "A Night to Remember" in the summer of 1968 as part of my required reading list for freshman year of high school. I was so fascinated by the account that I read it at least three times that summer and early fall. It brought to chilling life one of the greatest maritime disasters in history. As I read the dog-eared, yellowing, crinkled-paper copy of the paperback (its purchase price was sixty-cents back then) once again last year as a "mature" 42 year old, Mr. Lord's brilliant account of the tragedy still held my attention. His vivid, detailed, yet smooth flowing narrative brought back the excitement as felt as a young teenager, in a way that few books have. I recently viewed the movie "Titanic" with my fourteen year old daughter. The movie was thoroughly enjoyable, but there were some aspects of the book (such as the spectre of a rescue ship only a few precious miles away)that could have added to the drama. The book is worth reading both as literature as well as history.

Mr. Lord has taken this ill fated voyage of the most luxurious and grandest liner to sail in its time, and gives you the feel you are on board. While reading this magnificent work of literature, I could not put it down. The minute-by-minute desccriptions of the passangers aboard and the last minutes of the Titanic are so detailed from the casses of shelled wallnuts aboard, to the actual people who's lives were changed forever that night. I have read many books about Titanic, but never have I come across anything like Mr. Lords, "A Night to Remember." This book is a book one to remember!!

When I read this book, it brought tears to my eyes when I learned how the steerage passengers were forced to stay in the lower decks even when the Titanic was sinking. I found it absurd how people in the first class were given the chance to live when third class, who were the same as the first class (the only difference is the ticket they held in their hand) were freezing to death in the ice-cold waters of the Atlantic. Because the Titanic was believed to be "unsinkable", there wasn't enough lifeboats for the 2,500 lives onboard. There were a lot of families seperated because women and children were the first to get into the lifeboats while the men were forced to stay on the sinking ship until almost every woman and child was safe in a lifeboat. I am so glad that sociaty has changed so that everyone is treated equal and no one judges you on how much money you have or what your class is on a boat.

There are many things to like about this book, most of which are described well by the other reviewers. What really struck me about this book (perhaps because I listened to the unabridged tape) was how so much of the plot turned on what happens when a writer is less than precise with language. Mortimer does a masterful job of creating Felix, a writer who doesn't even realize that his misstatements are misstatements or the trouble those statements cause.

Overall, it took me a while to warm up to the book but by the end I was rooting hard for the truth to emerge. The actual ending was a little corny but ok. It's a book filled with a fun assortment of characters. More than a few humorous jabs are made at the modern publishing world and modern society in general. Not a laugh out loud book but one that made me chuckle to myself.

A New York Times notable mystery in 1997 - for those who are fond of books with credentials.

A hapless middle-aged midlist author gets embroiled in the British legal system when he is accused of fathering a child and not paying support. You may need a certain amount of anglophilia and interest in the literary scene to fully appreciate it. The only fault I could find was that it's too short. I hate finishing books in one night before I fall asleep.

John Mortimer is the writer of many charming and wonderful books, although he is no doubt best known for his stories of Horace Rumpole, the irascible British barrister. In Felix in the Underworld, Mortimer showcases his comic and satirical talents most admirably.

Mortimer reminds me a little of bestselling Japanese novelist, Haruki Murakami, in that his characters in this book are quite ordinary people who live quite ordinary lives but have the absurdly bad fortune of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The protagonist of Felix in the Underworld, Felix Morsom, is a moderately successful, quiet, sensitive novelist at Llama Books who manages to become involved, much against his will, with a man named Gavin Piercey.

Soon after meeting Piercey, Felix notices the man everywhere in his life: at book signings, during radio talk shows and, most especially, at one fateful meeting where Piercey introduces Felix to a woman named Miriam. This meeting will have serious, but hilarious, repercussions on Felix's life.

From the moment Felix meets Miriam, his life becomes one of turmoil and wild, unbelievable events. He receives a letter from an agency calling itself PROD; he is accused of a brutal murder; he becomes involved with London's homeless population.

Mortimer's handling of the plot is superb, his writing as smooth as silk and the characters, although slightly cliched, are still polished and hilarious. One of the funniest is the lawyer, Septimus Roache, the man Felix turns to in desperation when he attempts to prove his innocence in the murder. Roache is an obtuse and self-satisfied man who has little to no interest in his clients and really doesn't listen to a word Felix is telling him.

Mortimer, who himself was a successful barrister before becoming a writer, knows how to create a rollicking good murder mystery and this is part of why Felix in the Underworld works as well as it does. Another large part is Felix, himself, an engaging character we can't help but like; a man who maintains his dignity and poise even in the face of adversity of the highest, and most unexpected, order.

Mortimer calls himself a "Champagne socialist," and is a champion of the poor and the downtrodden. In this book he manages to take us on a trip through contemporary British society, especially homeless society. The book is fun, though, above all, and never sounds like polemic. We can credit Mortimer's superb writing skills for that.

The snobbish character of Simon Tubal-Smith, Felix's boss at Llama Books is contrasted wonderfully with Esmond, a homeless man who was, at one time, a manager in a supermarket. Esmond left his job and home for a life in the streets when tragedy struck. Felix, himself, spends some time as a member of London's homeless population and is reminiscent of George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London.

The dialogue is pure Mortimer and always fun. When Felix is temporarily residing in jail, his cellmate is a man named Dumbarton who allegedly beat another man to death. "You killed him?" Felix asks. "Thoroughly," Dumbarton replies, quite satisfied with what he did.

Felix is both self-effacing and hilarious as he attempts to cope with unhelpful lawyers who do just as much to convict as help him, as he tries to sort out the mystery behind PROD, as well as develop his budding relationship with Brenda Bodkin, his publisher's publicity agent.

Although this book is a little formulaic at times, the formula works and works well. Maybe that is because Mortimer is a master who never lets us down. Felix in the Underworld is a first-rate murder mystery, a comedy of errors and a satire of the British class system. It is always delightful and filled with surprises up until the very last page.

Anna Sewell's novel Black Beauty is a timeless classic for readers of all ages, but has a main demographic of females from the age 9 to 16.
The story takes place in 19th century England. IT follows the life and experience of a horse named Black Beauty. The horse is born on a farm and sold at the age of four. His first owner Squire Gordon is a great loving man. Black Beauty is treated with respect and dignity. The story follows the horse as he is then sold from owner to owner. He becomes neglected and abused by carriage owners. A loving and gentle man finally purchases Black Beauty. He cares about the horses and treats them well. Black Beauty is finally happy as a carriage horse when tragedy strikes. His owner is struck with illness and is forced to sell the horse. Black Beauty is sold to a poor owner and is neglected. He longs to go back home to squire Gordon's farm and live a happy life once again.

The book is uniquely enough from the horse's point of view. This helps children connect with the horse, and makes the book more interesting and easy to follow along with. The heart breaking tale of a horse's life that will readers leave on the edge of their seat wanting to keep reading, dying to find out what happens next. The book goes into detail about how animal abuse used to be in the early 1900's. Older children have and will continue to enjoy this book for generations to come.

What girlhood would be complete without reading this tearjerker classic? As a child, there wasn't much I loved more than books, horses and a good cry -- and this provided all three.

For those of you who don't know the story, Black Beauty is horse in England during the 19th century. He begins life with a loving master, but due to circumstances is sold several times -- to owners both kind and cruel.

Sewell, a Quaker woman, wrote this book (first published in 1877) to enlighten the public. Horses at the time were often beaten, starved and overloaded. Sewell's book, however, became a catalyst for change and ushered in a new way of thinking about the treatment of animals.

Since pictures & illustrations are as much a part of a child's imagination as the written word, then this book beautifully combines both, with the abundant B&W line illustrations by illustrator Lucy Kemp-Welch, in addition to the 12 colour plates included - all in keeping with the time period this novel is set in. A wonderful edition to any child's library. I've been reading horse-topic related books for as long as I can remember; but the very 1st horse story that left an indelible impression on me was ANNA SEWELL's " BLACK BEAUTY ".

It really openend my eyes as to the abuse and cruelty - and majestic fraility - that these wonderful creatures suffer at the hands of their human counterparts.

Ms Sewell opted to write this book from " the horse's point of view " and she was one of the very few authors that was able to pull this off with such great success.

This book also, laid the cornerstone for the ASPCA aims and goals, and brought to light the conditions and treatment of working horses in 20th century London, England ( and elsewhere ).

The story is such a wonderful tale of a horse's life from start to finish; told with a quiet dignity and warmth - and serves as a successful analogy also, as to how humans should interact with one another.

This book also laid the cornerstone for my interest and love of horses, and further spurred my interest in reading about all things Equine.

From there, and I went on to read all of Walter Farley's "The Black Stallion" series ( I used to collect the hardcover editions), and Marguerite Henry's books, and National Velvet(which really wasn't about a horse per se, but more about a little girl who's dreams come true), and anything else I could get my horsey-hungry hands on!

I now keep a copy of Anna Sewell's "Black Beauty" in my library at home, and have given a copy to my daughter to read.

This is a tale that sensitizes the reader to the plight of horses at the hands of their human caregivers, trainers, etc - all told from the horse's mouth ( so to speak )..!

And lest we think that the inhumane treatment of horses has abided since this book was written - one only has to follow the controversy surrounding the use of "Premarin", or abusive training methods of gaited horses, or the Thoroughbred racing industry, or rodeo...etc.

There is still much to be gleaned about the exploitation and abuse of animals from this book - which will always remain a timeless classic.

Kim C. Montreal, 05/2000

A very enjoyable book, full of irony, humor, and social commentary. It offers a picture of middle class life in contemporary India, commentary on the state of religious and ethnic relations there, and the stories of several interesting and well drawn characters. Although it deals with mundane people in rather ordinary circumstances, there were several parts of the book that made my heart race. It's a testament to the author's skill that he can make ordinary moments extraordinary (and it's striking that none of the most overtly dramatic moments are told in the present tense or fleshed out very much). Nonetheless, in my view, the book falls short of Mistry's spectacular A Fine Balance. It just doesn't have that book's scope or impact.

As Mistry makes clear in this novel, the "one important story [is] of youth, and loss, and yearning for redemption...Just the details are different." With these themes as the bedrock of his story, he depicts the world of a multigenerational Parsi family in Bombay, their world changed forever when Nariman Vakeel, a 79-year-old former professor and sufferer from Parkinson's disease, falls and breaks his leg, effectively ending any possibility of an independent life. His stepchildren, Coomy and Jal, quickly dump Nariman in the two-room apartment of their younger half-sister, Roxana Chenoy, her husband Yezad, and two sons, supposedly for only three weeks, while his leg heals. Beset with financial problems, lack of space, and resentment of Coomy and Jal, who remain in their father's 7-room apartment, the family does its best, but tensions rise and slowly erode their relationships, precipitating intense personal crises for each family member.

Concentrating more on the world writ small than on the broader, more expansive views of A Fine Balance, Mistry creates a number of vibrant and fully drawn characters. Nariman Vakeel, recalling his dreams and disappointments, his 11-year love for Lucy Braganza, and his disastrous arranged marriage, is touching in his neediness and in his apologetic helplessness. His grandchildren delight in his stories and seek ways to help out; Roxana makes do in every way possible, tending to Nariman's most personal needs; and Yezad, frustrated by the lack of financial support from Coomy and Jal and a job in which he is underpaid, feels jealous of the old man's claims on Roxana. Mistry's dialogue, the subtle and not-so-subtle undercurrents it reflects, the often humorous interactions, the honest but naïve motivations of some of the characters, and the meticulously depicted and subtle decline of the family are the work of a master.

The one jarring note for me was the use of Shiv Sena, a fanatic political/religious group, as a motif thoughout the novel, their threats, extortion, violence, and fundamentalist rhetoric intruding periodically (and often dramatically) on the lives of the characters. While this obviously broadens the scope of the novel and offers a context in which to evaluate Coomy's religiosity, the fears of small businessmen like Yezad and his boss, and Yezad's eventual conflicts with one of his sons, it felt contrived to me, too strong and too obvious in what is otherwise a novel of more subtle interactions.

Mistry's latest novel, Family Matters, is a flawless gem and is a worthy successor to his equally impressive A Fine Balance. At the heart of Family Matters is the aging Nariman Vakeel who is in rapidly deteroriating health due to Parkinson's. Nariman is haunted by dreams of his ex-girlfriend, Lucy Braganza, a girl his parents forced him to renounce. He is cared for by his children Coomy and Jal. Coomy is a cranky woman with "too much anger" within her to care for her father well. When Nariman slips and hurts himself seriously on a walk, Coomy and Jal transfer custody of their bedridden father to their half-sister, Roxana Chenoy. Roxana's is a happy family with a doting husband, Yezad, and two wonderful sons, Murad and Jehangir. The arrival of Nariman in an already cramped apartment, though, puts enormous financial and emotional burdens on the family. As Nariman puts it, "People have their own lives, it's not helpful when something disturbs those lives." Family Matters portrays the daily play of emotions with remarkable acuity.

Mistry paints all of his characters very realistically with real strengths and failings. Roxana cares for her aging father with amazing grace. Yezad, who once dreamt of emigrating to Canada, tries valiantly to keep the cheer. And who wouldn't want to have Murad and Jehangir, two of the most amazing kids, as their own! There are many side players in the story-Daisy, who lives downstairs in Pleasant Villa, and who regales Nariman quite often with her violin. Also portrayed well is Mr. Vikram Kapur, Yezad's boss at Bombay Sporting Goods Emporium.

Mistry's love for his old city, Bombay, shines through loud and clear in the words of Mr. Kapur: "Bombay endures because it gives and it receives. Within this warp and weft is woven the special texture of its social fabric, the spirit of tolerance, acceptance, generosity. Anywhere else in the world, in those so-called civilized places like England and America, such terrible conditions would lead to revolution."

These words of high praise for Bombay, however, come with a warning against the radical political party, Shiv Sena, trying to gain control of the dynamic city. As with Fine Balance, Mistry uses his platform to make a couple of political statements-a frequent rant against the Shiv Sena and another subtle one against the pro-lifers in America, the "empty talkers" who prevent research into Parkinson's.

Mistry warns against fatalism: "In a culture where destiny is embraced as the paramount force, we are all puppets." Despite that, his primary characters often accept fate as the only graceful alternative. Family Matters ends without strong closure and that is just as well. For we have learnt along the way that even in a culture riddled with fatalists, the common man holds his head up high and always emerges from battle, relatively unscathed.

At one point in the narrative, Yezad and his boss peer into a mirror and Mr.Kapur asks, "See that? The faces of ordinary family men, not heroes." I respectfully beg to differ.

David Copperfield, Dickens' favorite child, is an experience. Forget what your high school teacher or college professor told you. Forget all the terribly bad film representations of this book. Forget the glib one-liner reviews about Dickens people being caricatures instead of characters. READ this book. This book is one of the few Real Books in this world.

The great storm scene alone will thunder forever in your memories. You will encounter with Copperfield:
• the evil, chilling Uriah Heep,
• the mental and physical destruction of his mother by a Puritanical,untilitarian step-father,
• the always in-debt Mr. Mawcawber who somehow transcends his economic and egocentric needs into something noble,
• the betrayal of Copperfield by his best friend and Copperfield's shattered emotions by this betrayal,
• the ruination of another close friend's reputation, and her step-by-step climb back out of the mire,
• Copperfield's own passionate step into marriage while too young with an irresponsible, yet innocent child-woman, her death,
• Copperfield's own rise from poverty and orphanhood into worldly success but empty life until mature love rescues him.

Dickens has a real gift for creating people that irritate you, yet gradually you come to love them - just like folks in real life. If you never have read Dickens, come meet David Copperfield. You'll find that your impressions of David from the brief snippets by critics, teachers, reviewers, professors and know-it-alls completely different than the Real Thing.

Charles Dickens is a master at re-creating the world. Throughout most of his books, Dicken's own life is recreated time and again, always with a different plot but with the same basic truths. In "David Copperfield", we go along the protagonist through his troubled and orphane childhood, his sufferings in terrible public schools, his trip to the beach to visit his nanny, his life with the stern yet loving aunt Miss Betsie Trotwood, the intrigues of the despicable yet fearsome Uriah Heep, his marriage to the childish and immature Dora, the betrayal by a trusted friend, success without happiness, and finally the encounter with true love, in the form of a friend from youthness.

The characters are all people you find during your own lifetime: your friends, your aunt, your sweetheart, that woman you love but you can't stand, etc. Copperfield is the story of a good man in his learning through difficulties and setbacks.

No wonder it is still read and probably will stay alive through the decades: Copperfield has something to tell us all.

Oh, I loved it! I finished David Copperfield, finally, of but an hour ago. Oh, that is such a wonderful book! I hold Charles Dickens in a sort of reverence. He has the fascinating ability to spin a web of the most spendidly horrible (here, I refer to, the remarkably AWFUL Uriah HEEP) and the most splendidly excellent (here, I refer to, the exquisite and good-natured Agnes) characters, and then he completes his tale by adding the most unforgettable of ALL people, a main hero, such as David Copperfield. Never have I been so attached to a work of fiction, and I have read a lot. Oh, the things David so heroicly endured, turning him into a most superior man! I love the story! It's most powerful. It moved me to tears and sent me into fits of laughter so many times I can't count them on my hands. And I felt such rapturous joy when Agnes and David professed their love for each other that I could hardly contain myself, and here started to laugh and cry at the same time; and I felt such overwhelming sorrow over the death of Steerforth, for I rather liked the man, even thought he took Emily away; and I love Peggotty's character to death! She was such a glorious figure of devotion and heartfelt love for David; I felt he would not have survived Murdstone and other things were it not for her steadfastness and friendship (I dearly loved her button-poppings! I found them hilarious!). And the grand Agnes, how I worshipped her! She was so real, I can see her cordial eyes looking upon David with the love of a sister, the passion of a wife. It was the most admirable work, I am sure. Dickens made Uriah Heep come alive so vividly, I see him writhing about, with contortions like a caught fish. I see Traddle's hair sticking up on end like a porcupine's, I see Miss Mowcher waddling about, I see Steerforth, tall, dark, and handsome. Oh, how David did admire Steerforth in the beginning! How he did charm! For all the critics: yes, the book was sometimes boring, and at times it was dull. But can't you see the art in it? That all Dickens wanted you to do was enjoy it and fall in love with the characters? Yes, sometimes he got a little carried away but that's hardly the point. It was worth it, because I know I'll never forget a one of them. What more can I say? I want to read the book over and over again, never ending.

Perhaps I was spoiled by seeing the movie before I read the book. (This is one of those rare cases where the movie is better than the book). The story is entertaining enough, and well written. An interesting touch, not possible in the movie, is that the book is told from the viewpoint of Calloway - so there are things he doesn't know, things recounted third-hand, things he gets wrong. There are also a few different scenes in here - notably a kidnapping scene with Anna that was left out of the movie. Nationalities of characters changed in the movie, partly to accomodate the actors (I'm glad Joseph Cotton didn't try to do a British accent for the movie) and also to avoid "upsetting" American audiences (an unsympathetic character becomes Romanian rather than American in the movie).

There are two things missing in the book that I thought were breathtaking scenes in the movie: the bit with the cat (the discovery that Lime is not dead) and the "Borgias and the Renaissance; Swiss and cuckoo clocks" line that Welles inserted in the movie.

Perhaps I'd have liked the book better if I hadn't seen the movie first. Still, the book version is interesting, as one of the other reviewers commented, as a way of looking at a "rough draft" of a movie script.

I'd be much more of a movie watcher if all screenwriters put in as much initial effort as Greene did on this one.

When Graham Green wrote this in 1949, he had a screenplay in mind. However, even though this short novella is only 157 pages long, it certainly can stand on its own. The setting is post-war Vienna, a once-beautiful city that was now nothing but war rubble. It's administered by the four victorious nations, Russia, France, Great Britain and the United States, and they all communicate with each other in the language of their former enemy. There's a somber mood, a feeling of decay and destruction throughout. And, of course there's a mystery, and lots of suspense, as the reader is swept into a story of intrigue, betrayal and constantly changing alliances.

The form is interesting too as it's narrated by a British policeman. He has some interesting philosophical discussions with the lead character, a fellow Brit named Rollo Martins who has been summoned to Vienna by a long-time friend, Harry Limes, only to find a funeral in progress for Limes when he arrives. The mystery deepens as he sets upon doing his own form of detective work. The writing is stark, with excellent dialog and the cast of characters is somewhat confusing at first. As we learn more and more, the book picks up speed and we're hurtled into the conclusion that, while it is satisfactory, never really answers all of the questions raised. With just a few words though, it made me look at some deeper issues than the plot, such as the moral conscience of the characters as well as the particular time period in which they lived. And if there are no easy answers? Well, that's the way life is.

This is a quick and wonderful read, but don't breeze through it too speedily. As with the other Greene novels I've read, The Third Man has much going on beneath the surface, and that is no pun on the setting for the climax of the novel! The real magic in Greene is the treatment of the narrators. It's important to know the narrator, just as it is to know the historian or biographer when you're reading their work.

This is really a perfect little thing. Enjoy!

1963's Merry Go Round In Oz, written by the mother-daughter team of Eloise and Lauren McGraw, was, as Katherine M. Rogers notes in L. Frank Baum: Creator of Oz (2002), the last Oz title commissioned by a major publisher. Neither good nor bad, Merry Go Round In Oz was also the first major Oz novel to almost completely remove itself in tone from the spirit of the classic Oz titles. The book is not only not a romance, but, despite the prominent appearance of the Easter Bunny, hardly an Oz novel at all. Its very light, crisp manner owes more to Mary Poppins author P. L. Travers than it does to Baum or any of his successors.

The book's excellent first chapter finds young foster child Robin Brown accompanying his multiple stepbrothers to an evening carnival in Cherryburg, Oregon. Continuously overlooked by his well-meaning but rambunctious foster family, Robin enters the carnival with a single coin; the others have all run off with pockets full of money towards their favorite amusements. The McGraws perfectly capture the essence of Robin's physical and emotional isolation from not only his new family, but from the balance of humanity as well. Robin, who is aware of his mistreatment, is thus an archetypal fairytale child protagonist, not unlike fellow orphan Cinderella, bearing up silently and bravely making the best of his predicament. When Robin, who has modestly hoped for but a single ride on the merry-go-round, meets a strange, ticket-bearing older man dressed in tatters, his fairytale outsider status is confirmed: Robin sees things and meets people that no one else does. The McGraws cleverly portray the fair grounds in somewhat Bradbury-esque terms: the night carnival is both an all-American, fifties-style entertainment venue of roller coasters, popcorn, and hot dogs as well as Pinocchio's midway of shadowy seduction. Transgressing the rules of order, Robin uses the illicit ticket provided by the stranger to gain access to the merry-go-round, seats himself atop a beautiful red mare, and momentarily finds himself hurled through the air towards Oz.

Unfortunately, Robin, who gleefully discovers that his mount has sprung to life, lands in the comparatively dull Quadling Kingdom of the Fox Hunters, a place he quickly finds tedious in the extreme. As readers will be able to attest, Robin is absolutely right: his prolonged captivity among the endlessly talkative, single-minded, faux-British inhabitants represents one of the most overwritten, slowly moving, and irritating misadventures in the entire Oz chronicle. The authors clearly intend the obsessive, fully adult foxhunters to be amusing, but the writing, while technically crisp, drones on at exactly the same bantering pitch for dozens and dozens of pages. Robin and the reader thus face the same exhausting dilemma.

Meanwhile, in the ostensibly blue Munchkin kingdom of Halidom, a curse of sorts lays over the land: two of the kingdom's magic rings of power have been stolen, and the third, which gives great physical strength to Halidom's people, now mysteriously vanishes. In Sleeping Beauty fashion, the kingdom falls into lassitude and drowse: only Fess, a young man born in a neighboring land, and an immortal fairy unicorn are immune. Brainless Prince Gules, still half asleep, decides the power rings must be returned to the kingdom, and a quest is born. In the Emerald City, Ozma and Dorothy decide to hold an Easter party, which necessitates Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion journeying to the realm of the Easter Bunny ("it's down a rabbit hole," says Dorothy) to gather magical eggs. In traditional Oz fashion, the three groups eventually cross paths and unite to solve their various troubles.

Though the later chapters are more imaginative, the book's largest drawback is that too much of it seems to take place in a dry, mundane world that barely resembles Oz. In fact, the foxhunting chapters seem like sections of another book awkwardly grafted onto a stale facsimile of a traditional Oz title. While the best of the earlier books have a dreamlike, otherworldly quality, Oz here, in keeping with the trend in children's literature at the time of its publication and since, has few numinous characteristics. In place of romantic, playful, or absurd names like Woot the Wanderer, Ojo the Unlucky, Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter, Kabumpo, Alexample, and Jenny Jump, the reader is confronted with next-door neighbor monikers like Barry, Richard, and Fred. The Quadling land is no longer profusely red in color as in the Neill books, where the sky, water, and even in the shade and shadows were scarlet-hued. Oddly, though red is mentioned, the dominant Quadling color inexplicably appears to be pink.

Though ninety-nine percent of previous Oz history goes unmentioned, the McGraws curiously recap the earthly existence / afterlife facet of the Oz chronicle, relaying to readers that Dorothy, among others, has cheated death and reached Oz via otherwise fatal catastrophes (cyclone, earthquake, shipwreck). Is the tattered stranger Robin meets at the carnival the angel of death, a kind of fairy godfather, or the ghost of his human father? Does the "free ticket" symbolize Robin's passage into death and the heavenly paradise of Oz? Is the somewhat odd inclusion of the Easter Bunny a further metaphor for Robin's death and rebirth? The authors also let drop another historical Oz bombshell when a Quadling ferryman explains to the gender-neutral named Robin that little girl fairy ruler Ozma was at one time little Munchkin boy Tip. Though Robin "bursts out, delighted," at the news, the McGraws quickly add that this makes Ozma seem "more approachable" in dungaree-wearing Robin's eyes.

Merry Go Round In Oz was very likely an attempt by its authors and publisher to reinvent the Oz series for Camelot and Leave It To Beaver - era America. Robin and Fess are likable, sturdy boy heroes, and the characterizations of the Oz royal family are fairly good. If the foxhunters had been removed and the first third of the story reimagined, the book might have left a lasting impac

This was my favorite Oz book as a child. I checked it out numerous times from the base library and I was the only one to check it out. I bought it as soon as I heard it was in print. It was just as good reading it as an adult.

Robin Brown, from Cherryville, Oregon, takes a ride on the merry-go-round via a ticket from a weird old man. He jumps on a scarlet horse with a white tail and mane, then grabs a ring that will give him a "free ride". With that, he is flying throuhg the air for one whole night. When he wakes up, he finds the horse, Merry-Go-Round, is alive. They are both captured by fox hunters and are put to work. Meanwhile, the the country of Halidom, the last of three magic rings is stolen, the middle one, that makes the people strong and hard working. He goes on a quest with his page, his horse Fred, a fliter-mouse, and a unicorn to find all three, the largest to make the people smart, and the smallest to make the people good a calligraphy, weaving, and other fine arts. In the Emerald City, Dorothy wants a huge Easter party, and she and the Cowardly Lion go to the Easter Bunny's workshop, right in Oz. How will these traveling groups meet? Where are those rings? How will Robin and Merry escape? REad the book, and find out emore.