WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHN GILBERT
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Johann David Wyss (1743–1818) was an army chaplain with four sons; it was to entertain them that he wrote The Swiss Family Robinson. His son Johan Rudolf prepared the manuscript for publication in Zurich in 1812–13. The first English edition was translated by William Godwin in 1814.
J. Hillis Miller taught for many years at Johns Hopkins University and then at Yale University, before going to the University of California at Irvine in 1986, where he is now a UCI Distinguished Research Professor. He is the author of many books and essays on nineteenth- and twentieth-century English, European, and American literature and on literary theory. His books include Others, Speech Acts in Literature, and On Literature, the last of which includes a section on The Swiss Family Robinson.
Literary critic and feminist thinker Elizabeth Janeway is the author of six novels and many works of nonfiction, including Improper Behavior, Powers of the Weak, and Between Myth and Morning.
--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
78 of 81 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Check the publisher very carefully before you buy "Swiss Family Robinson."
July 21, 2010
Check the publisher very carefully before you buy "Swiss Family Robinson." One of the versions available, published by General Books LLC, has reviews associated with completely different imprints of the book from genuine publishers.
Be warned that the contents of the version of Swiss Family Robinson published by General Books LLC is completely unedited garbage. Also be warned that when you do the "Look Inside," you're not looking at the General Books LLC version, you're looking at an image of the book from a genuine publisher that actually edits and checks their work. And the reason is....
General Books LLC puts together books using an OCR automated scanning device which misses complete pages. There are numerous Typos and there's no table of contents. There is ABSOLUTELY NO EDITING of any kind done to the book, and the scanning is done by a robot (which the publishers website says can miss pages).
This is all stated on the publishers web site (google them and read - you'll be as stunned as I was when you get all the details). The Almost every review of books published by General Books LLC (around 500,000 of them from one imprint or another now listed on Amazon) by buyers is negative, many are extremely so.
If you have bought the version from General Books LLC by mistake, you can return to Amazon within 30 days(but check Amazon's Return Policy for the details) .
Personally, I always liked Swiss Family Robinson, my one star review is for the General Books LLC version.
Be warned that the contents of the version of Swiss Family Robinson published by General Books LLC is completely unedited garbage. Also be warned that when you do the "Look Inside," you're not looking at the General Books LLC version, you're looking at an image of the book from a genuine publisher that actually edits and checks their work. And the reason is....
General Books LLC puts together books using an OCR automated scanning device which misses complete pages. There are numerous Typos and there's no table of contents. There is ABSOLUTELY NO EDITING of any kind done to the book, and the scanning is done by a robot (which the publishers website says can miss pages).
This is all stated on the publishers web site (google them and read - you'll be as stunned as I was when you get all the details). The Almost every review of books published by General Books LLC (around 500,000 of them from one imprint or another now listed on Amazon) by buyers is negative, many are extremely so.
If you have bought the version from General Books LLC by mistake, you can return to Amazon within 30 days(but check Amazon's Return Policy for the details) .
Personally, I always liked Swiss Family Robinson, my one star review is for the General Books LLC version.
63 of 66 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The story is, of course, a classic! I doubt many would finish reading it in these days given how dated the language and story line feel. My one-star rating is solely due to the fact that this particular version is incomplete. The missing pages have a profound impact on enjoying / gaining a full understanding of the story. I feel the version description should mention the missing text!
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I rarely give 5 star reviews but this 200 year old book deserves it. It is well-written, well-paced, full of adventure, and is a wonderful book on man's interactions with nature and the environment.
A shipwreck strands a family headed for the new world with nothing but the ship's supplies and each other on a desert isle. Through hard work and knowledge of the natural world, they are able to not just survive, but thrive on the island. There is no better adventure in the natural world survival story.
This book is so good and so well-regarded that there have been multiple schmaltzy movie versions over the years. DON'T SEE THEM UNTIL YOU READ THE BOOK! The writing moves well and the plot line includes plenty of excitement. Although this book is 200 years old, the author wrote it as an action book and it does not drag like other works of the time like "Last of the Mohicans" or "Robinson Crusoe". Robinson Crusoe is another famous survival story written prior to this book, but it suffers from being a morality play with little action and long descriptive sections that are frankly boring. The Swiss Family Robinson is a much better book.
This is a particularly clean book also and is perfect for younger readers as well. Highly recommended.
A shipwreck strands a family headed for the new world with nothing but the ship's supplies and each other on a desert isle. Through hard work and knowledge of the natural world, they are able to not just survive, but thrive on the island. There is no better adventure in the natural world survival story.
This book is so good and so well-regarded that there have been multiple schmaltzy movie versions over the years. DON'T SEE THEM UNTIL YOU READ THE BOOK! The writing moves well and the plot line includes plenty of excitement. Although this book is 200 years old, the author wrote it as an action book and it does not drag like other works of the time like "Last of the Mohicans" or "Robinson Crusoe". Robinson Crusoe is another famous survival story written prior to this book, but it suffers from being a morality play with little action and long descriptive sections that are frankly boring. The Swiss Family Robinson is a much better book.
This is a particularly clean book also and is perfect for younger readers as well. Highly recommended.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorites
It was wonderful to find a free digital version of my favorite childhood book. It is a timeless classic. I love it.
Published 16 hours ago by jessesgirl1212
4.0 out of 5 stars
Swiss family Robinson
This is about a family from Switzerland who are shipwrecked and have to survive on their wits. They manage because of sufficient food, provided they catch it or hunt it first, and... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Clare O'Beara
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite what I remember
This isn't the translation I remember from my childhood (no snake! And I don't remember anything about them going to another island.), but it was a fun read. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Kate
3.0 out of 5 stars
the classic
They sure do kill plenty of game in this one. PETA might not approve. Interesting survival tale, not much plot.
Published 12 days ago by tom philipp
3.0 out of 5 stars
Swiss Family Robinson
Easy reading. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Good for a classic but wouldn't recommend to someone. Still work reading if you like the classics.
Published 14 days ago by Lauren Ranney
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful book
This is always been a terrific story. I loved the Disney movie of it and the book is terrific too.
Published 16 days ago by Beth A. Essington
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome I loved it
My 10 year old son and I loved this book. This book had great inventions, descriptions, adventures and family spirit.
Published 24 days ago by Sky Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Genuine Classic
This is a wonderfully detailed story that shares space in my Kindle library with
the works of Tolkien. A must have book.
the works of Tolkien. A must have book.
Published 29 days ago by Moe Priell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ultimate camping trip.
This book brings out the camping spirit in me, makes me want to haul off into the woods and build a tree house, with my bare hands.
Published 1 month ago by mike
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gotta love the classics
Great book, that I've always liked. No noticeable errors in this version, love this unabridged version! Yay for public domain books!
Published 1 month ago by Tzeja
