Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9780425126646
ISBN number: 0137169035
Label: Berkley Publishing Group
Manufacturer: Berkley Publishing Group
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 44
Printing Date: 1991-04
Publishing house: Berkley Publishing Group
Age index: Young Adult
Sale Popularity Level: 3484034
Studio: Berkley Publishing Group
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Product Description:
HarperCollins UK Audio Classics presents abridged and unabridged readings of the world's favorite literary masterpieces. Among the distinguished readers are Christopher Lee, Derek Jacobi, Simon Callow, Linus Roache, Elizabeth McGovern, Terry Jones, Peter Firth, and Rufus Sewell. Each package of cassettes in the Audio Classics series is beautifully packaged and shrink-wrapped.
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Rated by buyers -
The name "Robinson Crusoe" readily conjures up images of a sad castaway on a desert island, who after years of solitude comes up a man's footprint in the sand. But in reading Daniel Defoe's novel of 1719, I was surprised how different the work is from its common stereotype. Not until about 50 pages in does Crusoe end up a castaway, having before hand some misadventures as a young sailor. Instead of washing up on his island with just the clothes on his back, he in fact is able to get a great many useful tools and implements from his still intact wreck. And the man's footprint, instead of being the sign of another Crusoe subsequently encounters, is just a sign that some cannibals from the mainland visit the island on occassion.
All in all ROBINSON CRUSOE is an entertaining novel, one with much adventure and intrigue. One gets a lot of pleasure from reading of how Crusoe turns the basic furnishings of the island to his own use, having by the end of his confinement there such things as cheese, three houses, two canoes, and pottery. ROBINSON CRUSOE is also an interesting portrait of the times, for it was much influenced by popular attitudes of the early 1700s. Crusoe occasionally voices his dislike of the Spaniards, their atrocities in the Americas, and their Roman Catholic religion. But Defoe is hardly more charitable to the Native Americans, whose ignorance and godless depravity Crusoe deplores constantly.
To criticize a 300 year-old classic might be a silly exercise, but I doubt many readers will find this novel an elegantly crafted work. It's repetitive, for one. How many times do we need to read that Crusoe is reluctant to kill the maneaters? And the writer didn't seem to know when to stop, for after Crusoe's return to civilization we get an unnecessary battle with wolves in the woods of France. No wonder that the novel has so often circulated in abridgement.
I read this book in the Penguin Popular Classics edition, ISBN number 0140623154, which I would recommend if you just want some reading material without making a permanent addition to your library. It is printed on poor quality paper, but is priced quite low. It has no notes or commentary, but you really don't need them. Indeed, I'm surprised how smoothly readable ROBINSON CRUSOE is considering that it was written in the English of 300 years ago (even later works like TRISTRAM SHANDY present more of a challenge), and I'd even recommend it to a young person wanting just a fun adventure story.
Rated by buyers 
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Scribner has created a beautiful book in this edition. The illustrations are on heavy glossy paper and are magnificent. There are very nice, free readings of this work online, and so I purchased the book for my young children to enjoy - to read while listening to the narrator. My only complaint is the book is abridged. This is not evident from the description. I think most editions of this work are abridged. When the book ended, I was left wondering what became of Friday, as he is not mentioned again after the final battle. The author did not seem like one who would leave out that detail, and so I discovered the unabridged story is longer. Still, the quality of the book and the beauty of the illustrations are so very nice that I cannot knock a star off my review.
Rated by buyers -
"I came on shore here on the 30th of September, 1639." These words, these few words signified the beginning of a new life for Robinson Crusoe. In the timely classic Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, a young boy becomes a man, after living alone on an island for 35 years. Set in the 1600's, our protagonist, Robinson Crusoe, is stranded on an isolated island after being shipwreck by a terrible storm. He has to learn anything and everything in order to survive on the island. At first, Robinson Crusoe struggles with the need of food, shelter, and protection. But most of all, Robinson Crusoe battles against the desperate need of company. Slowly, Crusoe starts to fall into a pattern: he built a sturdy fortress, raised up a good crop, managed to satisfy all his need with his own to hands, and took the Bible to his heart. Defoe wonderfully creates a realistic mental scene of all Robinson Crusoe dealt with while, the illustrator, N.C. Wyeth, visually portrays the moments of Crusoe's life vividly. The style of Robinson Crusoe switches between very first person narrative and dairy format. The book is fast-paced, skimming years, while writes in detail on only the most important parts of his island survival. Defoe neatly described all aspects of Robinson Crusoe's life from religion to family. Finally, Defoe puts in, in my opinion, a theme of never giving up, no matter what the circumstances, for if you stack up the good against the battle, you will find the good shall always outweigh the bad.
Rated by buyers -
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There are a lot of psychological and social theories about "Robinson Crusoe," but I just take it as a grand adventure. I loved all the details of how he survived after being shipwrecked on that island. Just remember that it was written in the seventeenth century so you have to get used to writing.
I have a warm place in my heart for Robinson Crusoe. Some fifty years ago in the second grade, my teacher read it to our class. Decades later, I told my wife about it, but she said that it was impossible. Robinson Crusoe is too difficult for a teacher to read to second graders.
Well, several years went by, and I was proved right. In a used bookstore, I bought a copy of "The Story of Robinson Crusoe in words of One Syllable," with "Colored Illustrations." The book was published in about 1900, and when my teacher read it to her class, the book was over fifty years old.
Since then I have collected paperback editions of "Robinson Crusoe" for their neat covers, and this one is really nice.
If you like shipwrecked-on-an-island stories, read Richard Laymon's "Island." It's a page-turner of a modern murder mystery.
Island
Rated by buyers -
Everyone knows the story...so the issue is who can read the
literature in a compelling way. Clearly, Martin Shaw has the touch. My only criticism is that this audio Cassette should be made into an audio CD for most modern listeners.
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