Robinson Crusoe (Scribner's Illustrated Classics) [Hardcover]

Daniel Defoe (Author), N.C. Wyeth (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

During one of his several adventurous voyages in the 1600's an Englishman becomes the sole survivor of a shipwreck and lives for nearly thirty years on a deserted island.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-Defoe's classic novel of shipwreck and survival, now nearly 300 years old, is abridged competently in this recording. The flavor of the 18th century language is retained, but the plot moves along at a pace more appealing to 21st century ears. The reader, Martin Shaw, has a pleasant voice, but unfortunately tends to trail off at the ends of sentences, losing whole words. As with all abridgements, large sections of the story and entire characters are omitted, but since most of the book tells of Crusoe's solitary sojourn on the island, this is not a major problem. This version is no substitute for the original, but it would be a supplemental purchase in libraries where abridgements are popular.
Sarah Flowers, Santa Clara County Library, Morgan Hill, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

(in full The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who Lived Eight and Twenty Years, All Alone in an Un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, Near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having Been Cast on Shore by Shipwreck, Wherein All the Men Perished but Himself. With an Account how he was at last as Strangely Deliver'd by Pyrates. Written by Himself.) Novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719. The book is a unique fictional blending of the traditions of Puritan spiritual autobiography with an insistent scrutiny of the nature of men and women as social creatures, and it reveals an extraordinary ability to invent a sustaining modern myth. The title character leaves his comfortable middle-class home in England to go to sea. Surviving shipwreck, he lives on an island for 28 years, alone for most of the time until he saves the life of a savage, whom he names Friday. The two men eventually leave the island for England. Defoe probably based part of Crusoe's tale on the real-life experiences of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who at his own request was put ashore on an uninhabited island in 1704 after a quarrel with his captain. He stayed there until 1709. The book was an immediate success in England and on the European continent, and Defoe wrote a sequel (The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe) that was also published in 1719. Many stage and film adaptations have been made of Robinson Crusoe's life, and the book has spawned many imitations, including Johann Wyss's Swiss Family Robinson. --< /${0}">The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 386 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum; 1 edition (September 1, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684179466
• ISBN-13: 978-0684179469
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #858,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Survival by Thinking and Doing, May 18, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Robinson Crusoe (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

Robinson Crusoe is best taken at two levels, the literal adventure story of survival on an isolated island and as a metaphor for finding one's way through life. I recommend that everyone read the book who is willing to look at both of those levels. If you only want the adventure story, you may not be totally satisfied. The language, circumstances, and attitudes may put you off so that you would prefer to be reading a Western or Space-based adventure story with a more modern perspective.

Few books require anyone to rethink the availability and nature of the fundamentals of life: Water, food, shelter, clothing, and entertainment. Then having become solitary in our own minds as a reader, Defoe adds the extraordinary complication of providing a companion who is totally different from Crusoe. This provides the important opportunity to see Crusoe's civilized limitations compared to Friday's more natural ones. The comparisons will make for thought-provoking reading for those who are able to overcome the stalled thinking that the educated, civilized route is always the best.

One of the things that I specially liked about the book is the Crusoe is an ordinary person in many ways, making lots of mistakes, and having lots of setbacks. Put a modern Superhero (from either the comic books, adventure or spy novels, or the movies) into this situation, and it would all be solved in a few minutes with devices from the heel of one's shoe. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I liked the trial-and-error explorations. They seemed just like everyday life, and made the book's many lessons come home to me in a more fundamental way.

Have a good solitary trip through this book!

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars school report, September 7, 2004

By 

chris wiley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robinson Crusoe (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

For twenty-four years Robinson Crusoe was stranded on an island far away from anything, after being the only survivor of the shipwreck. Until one friday he rescues a prisoner I felt that book moved very slowly through the whole story, but it kept me interested throughout it. He turns his deserted island into a tropical paradise and learns to deal with his surroundings. It was an easy read. He returned to England the eleventh of June, 1687; after thirty-five years of being stranded out at sea. Daniel Defoe made this book made it seem more realistic than fiction, with his very descriptive writing. Overall I liked the book, because it had a good plot.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historical Perspective Will Help You Appreciate This More..., August 14, 2000

By 

bethlovesbooks (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robinson Crusoe (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

I must admit that I wasn't "wowed" by this book after I finished it. I'll even confess that I was mostly glad to be done with it. However, I've learned not to make hasty judgements about works, to spend time reflecting and researching in hopes of broadening my appreciation and understanding. My research has helped me resolve questions regarding why Defoe stressed some things to tedium while leaving out other more interesting details.

For example, as many have noted, he goes on and on and on about his projects on the island. The modern reader may tire of reading description after description about his cave and livestock and cooking methods. I thought to myself, "I know these people didn't have TV, but why would they want to know every cotton picking detail!" During my research, I learned that the reason for the detail was that Robinson was concerned about demonstrating mastery over his environment because that was a high priority during that time period. The most successful men learned how to work an environment to maximum efficiency. Men were concerned with conquering the land and establishing their dominance over others as well. This also explains why Robinson is more interested in learning how to live well on the island than in getting off the island.

Then there were other times when the book started to get more interesting, only to find Defoe skip off to a new topic. For example, I kept waiting and waiting for Friday to enter the storyline, and I assumed that he would be a great buddy of Robinson's. I was disappointed to learn that Friday didn't enter unless very late in the novel and that even when he did, Robinson wasn't very attached or concerned about him as a person. Again, after doing some research, I learned that their relationship reflected standard ideas at the time regarding masters and servants. There was an established hierarchy back then that regulated human relationships back then, whereas things are much more fluid and democratic these days. The concept of individual human rights did simply not exist in the form it does today.

So, although this work will never be my favorite, I have come to understand the people and values of that era better because of it. It's interesting to think about how so many basic ideas have changed since then.