If you can get your hands on this book, by all means, do so. It is one of the most powerful books I've ever read. Here it is 10 years since it first came out and the characters and story stick with me like I finished it yesterday. As the other reviewers have said, it's a novel within a novel, the pace and storyline of one so terrifying and harrowing, comforted by the quiet thoughfulness of the other. You look for and draw parallels between the stories. It's impossible to put down, but sometimes you must because the manuscript is so intense you sometimes need a break. Austin Wright is an incredible writer. I can't recommend this highly enough.

I agree with the reviewer who said this book should be read not just once, but again -- and I intend to do exactly that. What amazes me about Austin Wright is how different his writing is from book to book. I love the power of his words, his story-telling skill, his characters. Wright's brain must be an amazing place.

I couldn't put it down. I found myself reading at red lights. Austin Wright has written a suspenseful thriller within a domestic tale, both equally spellbinding. This novel-within-a-novel propels you forward then makes you stop to consider the relationships between reality and imagination, reader and writer, civility and violence, husband and wife, perpetrator and victim. And when the roller coaster ride ends, you still feel its thrusts for days. Austin has marvelously crafted a multi-layered, literary experience. A+ professor!

Austin Wright is always challenging. I eagerly await his books that horrify me and make me curious just what sort of man Mr. Wright is himself. This is one of the great books. A book that stays with you forever. It's a difficult read, but so rewarding.

Islandia is a masterpiece. It is a utopian novel about a high culture, low technology society, but a utopia without glib answers and with real-world problems. It is a rich and detailed creation of a country, its society, and its people. The Islandians have developed a simple way of life that gives broad scope for individual fulfillment and the living of a happy, healthy, natural life through the enjoyment of work, love and friendship, craft, and the beauty of nature. Since this is the story of an American in Islandia, there are many contrasts between the American and Islandian way of life. It is impossible to describe the richness of this book; it has to be experienced to be understood. The plot is dramatic, the characters have great depth, the dialogue is fascinating, and the writing is beautiful. I have already read it three times, even though it's 1000 pages. It is a pleasure to read and highly rewarding.

I could gush for pages and pages about this marvelous book, but the other reviews here can tell you pretty much everything you would want to know. I'm adding my comments as well to strongly urge you to purchase Islandia -- it's worth buying at any price.

For a month this summer I was a witness to life in the simple but beautiful nation of Islandia through the eyes of the protagonist, John Lang. He becomes friends with an Islandian native, Dorn, while at Harvard, and after graduation is appointed consul to Islandia. There he experiences a full life of romance, adventure, politics, intrigue, and the clash of two incompatible cultures. Ultimately he must decide what really matters in life.

The book's evocative descriptions of Islandia are all beautifully done. I found myself time and time again thinking that Islandia actually exists. The message is as striking as the descriptions of the nation, and the novel is worth reading for both. I can only echo others in saying that this has been for me more worthwhile reading than any of the books I was made to read in my high school English classes.

This is one of those rare great novels to keep and treasure. Buy it -- its worth is far greater than the pittance it will cost you. Your room has been prepared for you...

This is my very favorite book, bar none, and has been since I first read it 20 years ago. Hero John Lang attends Harvard (Class of 1905) with Dorn, a young man from Islandia, a mysterious, xenophobic country struggling to deal with incursions from rest of the world. Upon graduating, he finds himself unable to choose a career, so he decides to use his language skill (Dorn teaches him Islandian one summer vacation in Maine) and is granted a rarely-issued entry visa. Though he never truly fits in, he becomes involved in Islandia's curious culture in various ways, and ends up at the crux of a national debate there, related in part to a German military threat. (Islandia is on the northern end of an Australia-like continent, never clearly located but probably in the far southern Pacific.) Wright carried Islandia in his head, expanding it from a childhood fantasy into hundreds of thousands of words of narrative and description of the place. [Sailing on Cape Cod once, he remarked that a particular bay looked just like another in Islandia.] He was killed in a car accident in Las Vegas in 1931, and his editor and family took 11 years to cut about 70% of his words to winnow the book to its still formidable length (it's 1,000 pages long). The book is wonderfully written and edited, with a smooth, lovely style. It's a bit slow by contemporary standards, but the description of Islandia's language, e.g. there are 4 words for love (romantic, strong friendship, desire, and one unique to Islandia's family-centric society), culture, and country, are beautifully done. Example: he's helping plow one day, and is horrified to find human remains right in the main field. His hosts quietly explain that when people die, they are of course returned to the land they loved, and they carefully return the bones to the furrow. In subsequent conversation, his hosts are equally horrified to hear how corpses are handled in America. The plot tracks John Lang's development from a young man, through his coming-of-age, finding himself, and coming to terms with his simultaneous love for and alienness in Islandia, and ultimately accepting who he is. First published in 1942, it was a minor cult classic in the early '60s, and though it's a bit dated in terms of feminism, for example, it remains my favorite book of all time. If there was an Islandia, I'd be there now...

This is a great starter book for people who are interested in natural remedies for common ailments. It is very easy to use, easy to read, and unintimidating. For every ailment or illness, it gives the usual natural remedies I have found in other books. And it has a pretty good list of vitamins, herbs and homeopathic remedies. However, it isn't the most comprehensive book I've seen. There are some herbs that I couldn't find. But overall, if you want a basic guide, this is a good one to start with.

Wonderful book that explains all those pills you hear about on the news and in magazines. No hype - just great information. This book ROCKS for people who want info on what the heck all those vitamin/pill things are at the grocery store.

Walk into a bookstore and you can be overwhelmed with the HEALTH information thrown at you . . . particularly if you are interested in understanding how you can play a more active role in your own prevention, treatment and cure of disease. The Natural Pharmacy gives you just the right balance of useful information without insulting your intelligence or burying you in biochemistry. The book is organized around health concerns - in English, not medical-ese, the authors provide you with dietary & lifestyle changes that maybe helpful before they tell you about other approaches - including nutritional supplements and herbs. They cover side effects and interactions as well. They also provide a tremendous resource for insomniacs by listing more than 3,500 references! You can also look up specific nutritional supplements, herbs and homeopathic remedies as well. A nicely done work!

I love you Austin Wright. I read very few books of fiction a year, you are the real thing. But this book is just a disappointment. I couldn't wait to get it and I tore through it immediately. There's nothing to it. An interesting set up and then it completely crumbles and falls apart. I wanted to love this book (as I usually do Austin, I do) but there is little to like here. Write another hurry.