The Great Stone Face (and Mosses From An Old Manse, continued, Twice Told Tales, continued) [Hardcover]

Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1931

The Great Stone Face (more commonly referred to today as "The Old Man of the Mountains") juts out from the White Mountains of New Hampshire and looms over a small village--**IT NO LONGER EXISTS!!**. An old prophecy states that: "Someone will be born hereabouts who will look just like the Great Stone Face, and he will be the noblest person of his time." Like many others, young Ethan watches the faces of returning famous men for signs of the gentle wisdom seen in the face. The rich merchant, however, is grasping, the soldier only stern, and the politician---well, a politician. Ethan, meanwhile, works hard on his farm, and is looked up to by his neighbors for the thoughtful counsel he offers. When he is an old man, people remark that they fear they will never see the prophecy fulfilled. Ethan's granddaughter, touching his face, remarks that it was fulfilled long ago. While the story is intrinsically a teaching tool, it avoids didacticism and lets the events speak for themselves. This thoughtful look at what it means to live a good life is as relevant today as when first written. This volume also includes stories from MOSSES FROM AN OLD MANSE and TWICE TOLD TALES.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Standard Book Company (1931)
• ASIN: B000SQKOFM
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,911,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an imagination of one's mind, November 23, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Seoul, Korea) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Stone Face (Hardcover)

I am much interested in teaching lessons for kids. There are too many books to teach knowledge, but hard to find any to teach wisdom. We, adults, sholud teach our children the abstract conceptions, such as happy, perseverence, love, imagination, wisdom, mercy etc, through books. I think this book is really good because I can teach easily my children that you can be what you think in your mind, what you will think in your mind, good or bad. Introduce this book to your kids,and discuss the strength of imagination. Thank you.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Great Stone Face, August 31, 2010

By 

Sue C. Wanlass (KEENE, NH, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Great Stone Face (Paperback)

The book was in SHORTHAND! It was to be a gift for a very special person (who does not read shorthand)! What a disappointment.

4 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The book could have been better., October 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Stone Face (Hardcover)

This book was unable to hold my interest. I thought the book was boring. This book had a good plot. The reason I was not to fond of the "The Great Stone Face" was because there wasn't much action. If you like action don't read this book, but if you like stories set in the Early American times or legends this book would be great for you. This book would be good for kids in sixth through tenth grade. I think the author did a good job on the "The Great Stone Face" and I would probably read another one of his books.