The Bomb and the General [Library Binding]

Umberto Eco (Author), Juvenile Collection (Library of Congress) (Author), Eugenio Carmi (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

An important general collects atoms and puts them into bombs that he stores in his attic in preparation for war, but the atoms prefer to live in harmony and sneak out. Full-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Eco and Carmi combine their considerable talents in these works, which suffer ultimately from sentimentality. In The Bomb and the General , a bad general piles up bombs while the atoms bemoan their fate as destructive substances. The atoms run away, and when the general, under pressure to keep his job, drops bombs, they don't explode. In The Three Astronauts , an American, a Russian and a Chinese astronaut all land on Mars at the same time, mistrustful of one another. But they all weep for their mothers as homesickness sets in, and unite forcefully when a Martian comes upon them. Prepared to kill him, they realize that the lesson they have learned about one another applies to the Martian, too; they are not so different. Carmi's collage forms reduce Americans to Chiclet gum wrappers, the Chinese to one calligraphic symbol, and Russians to a swatch torn from a red newspaper. Both books are interesting, eccentric products, but will not engage or involve readers. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English, Italian (translation)

Product Details

• Library Binding: 39 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books (J); 1st edition (February 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152097007
• ISBN-13: 978-0152097004
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,326,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Umberto Eco (born 5 January 1932) is an Italian novelist, medievalist, semiotician, philosopher, and literary critic.

He is the author of several bestselling novels, The Name of The Rose, Foucault's Pendulum, The Island of The Day Before, and Baudolino. His collections of essays include Five Moral Pieces, Kant and the Platypus, Serendipities, Travels In Hyperreality, and How To Travel With a Salmon and Other Essays.

He has also written academic texts and children's books.


Photography (c) Università Reggio Calabria

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect way to start "The Conversation" on atomic war, September 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bomb and the General (Library Binding)

This is a gentle first intoduction to the dreaded but inevitable talk in which a parent must reveal the realities of living in an age of nuclear weaponry. The illustrations and text are so superb that they are appropriate for any age, but do a particularly good job of introducing younger children to the dynamics of war. At the same time, the joyful ending makes it highly readable. It's made the top of my gift list.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They way children should learn the atomic war, January 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bomb and the General (Library Binding)

It's hard for a child to imagine the consequences of an atomic war. But not so hard if it has a happy end. In "The Bomb and the General", the beautiful texts by Umberto Eco and Carmi's fantastic ilustrations teach what should be learn by everyone about wars: its better to have doormen than crazy generals, and vases than bombs.

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is The Bomb, February 21, 2011

By 

Sarah J. Ritter "Sarahjane Dooley" (Cary, North Carolina United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Bomb and the General (Hardcover)

Hardly a child's book, but one worth reading with kids under the right circumstances. I would certainly use this with middle school students in my history class.