The Story of My Life and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more



or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading The Story of My Life on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

The Story of My Life: The Restored Classic, Complete and Unabridged, Centennial Edition [Hardcover]

Helen Keller , Roger Shattuck , Dorothy Herrmann , Anne Sullivan Macy , John Macy
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)

List Price: $21.95
Price: $15.59 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $6.36 (29%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 8 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Wednesday, May 29? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Image
Save on Popular Books This Summer
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more.

Book Description

May 5, 2003 Restored Classic

One of the "hundred most important books of the twentieth century" (New York Public Library), finally published in complete form.

The story of Helen Keller, the young girl who triumphed over deafness and blindness, has been indelibly marked into our cultural consciousness. That triumph, shared with her teacher Anne Sullivan, has been further popularized by the play and movie The Miracle Worker. Yet the astonishing original version of Keller's and Sullivan's story, first published in 1903, has been out of print for many years and lost to the public.

Now, one hundred years after its initial publication, eminent literary scholar Roger Shattuck, in collaboration with Keller biographer Dorothy Herrmann, has reedited the book to reflect more accurately its original composition. Keller's remarkable acquisition of language is presented here in three successive accounts: Keller's own version; the letters of "teacher" Anne Sullivan, submerged in the earliest edition; and the valuable documentation by their young assistant, John Macy. Including opening and closing commentary by Shattuck and notes by Hermann, this volume will stand for years as the definitive edition of a classic work. 10 black-and-white illustrations

Frequently Bought Together

The Story of My Life: The Restored Classic, Complete and Unabridged, Centennial Edition + The World I Live In and Optimism: A Collection of Essays (Dover Books on Literature & Drama) + LIGHT IN MY DARKNESS
Price for all three: $33.45

Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Helen Keller would not be bound by conditions. Rendered deaf and blind at 19 months by scarlet fever, she learned to read (in several languages) and even speak, eventually graduating with honors from Radcliffe College in 1904, where as a student she wrote The Story of My Life. That she accomplished all of this in an age when few women attended college and the disabled were often relegated to the background, spoken of only in hushed tones, is remarkable. But Keller's many other achievements are impressive by any standard: she authored 13 books, wrote countless articles, and devoted her life to social reform. An active and effective suffragist, pacifist, and socialist (the latter association earned her an FBI file), she lectured on behalf of disabled people everywhere. She also helped start several foundations that continue to improve the lives of the deaf and blind around the world.

As a young girl Keller was obstinate, prone to fits of violence, and seething with rage at her inability to express herself. But at the age of 7 this wild child was transformed when, at the urging of Alexander Graham Bell, Anne Sullivan became her teacher, an event she declares "the most important day I remember in all my life." (Sullivan herself had once been blind, but partially recovered her sight after a series of operations.) In a memorable passage, Keller writes of the day "Teacher" led her to a stream and repeatedly spelled out the letters w-a-t-e-r on one of her hands while pouring water over the other. This method proved a revelation: "That living world awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept away." And, indeed, most of them were.

In her lovingly crafted and deeply perceptive autobiography, Keller's joyous spirit is most vividly expressed in her connection to nature:

Indeed, everything that could hum, or buzz, or sing, or bloom, had a part in my education.... Few know what joy it is to feel the roses pressing softly into the hand, or the beautiful motion of the lilies as they sway in the morning breeze. Sometimes I caught an insect in the flower I was plucking, and I felt the faint noise of a pair of wings rubbed together in a sudden terror....

The idea of feeling rather than hearing a sound, or of admiring a flower's motion rather than its color, evokes a strong visceral sensation in the reader, giving The Story of My Life a subtle power and beauty. Keller's celebration of discovery becomes our own. In the end, this blind and deaf woman succeeds in sharpening our eyes and ears to the beauty of the world. --Shawn Carkonen --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

More than a 100th-anniversary reprint, this book was reedited by literary scholar Roger Shattuck and Keller biographer Dorothy Hermann to include excised material.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; CEN SUB edition (May 5, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0393057445
  • ISBN-13: 978-0393057447
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Authors

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

After finishing The Story of My Life, there is a collection of Helen Keller's letters. Austin Somlo  |  13 reviewers made a similar statement
My only complaint about this wonderful book is the editing. drebbles  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
71 of 71 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary woman; an inspiring story October 28, 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Helen Keller (1880-1968) is a revered figure in American popular culture. Struck deaf and blind by illness at the age of 19 months, she still managed to get an education and become a writer and activist. Her story was further popularized by William Gibson's play "The Miracle Worker," which was also adapted for both film and television.

Keller's autobiography, "The Story of My Life," first appeared in installments in "Ladies' Home Journal" in 1902. This book is truly one of the great American autobiographies: an inspiring story of a courageous individual who overcame tremendous odds.

Keller writes about many things: her childhood in Alabama; her relationship with her beloved teacher, Anne Sullivan; her attendance at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York City; and meeting such eminent figures as Mark Twain. She especially stresses her love of literature, which she describes as "my Utopia."

Along the way are some fascinating details and profoundly moving passages. Her tribute to the Homer, the blind poet of ancient Greece, is particularly powerful. I also loved her interpretation of the biblical Book of Ruth: a story of "love which can rise above conflicting creeds and deep-seated racial prejudices."

I think that many will regard Keller's autobiography as a mere historical or sociological document. But I think the book deserves a place as a great work of literature, and moreover as a work of literature in the great American tradition. Keller's poetic, often sensuous words about the natural world are comparable to the work of Emily Dickinson. And her stirring account of her revelatory awareness of language reminds me of Frederick Douglass' account of his first awareness of the power of literacy. The book as a whole is enhanced by Keller's charming, likeable literary style.

"The Story of My Life" is a wonderful book by an amazing individual. Helen Keller still has, I believe, much to say to contemporary audiences.

Was this review helpful to you?
73 of 79 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I was about 8 years old, my grandmother had a "bed and breakfast" type of house in Garmisch, Germany, I was on my way home from school and had picked some flowers for her "B & B" tables, when I saw a lady with awhite cane, I gave her the flowers which I had picked for my grandma, The lady to whom I gave the flowers was Ms. Keller, the lady accompanying her was Ms. Sullivan. The next day, my teacher at school asked me to her office. Thinking that I was in trouble (again) I was worried about what was going on. She asked me where I had met Helen Keller; To which I replied "Helen who??" , She then explained to me who Helen Keller was. My grandmother and I then were invited to one of the finer hotels in Garmisch to have dinner with Ms Keller and Ms Sullivan. At which time she presented me with a hardcover of her book "The story of my life". What I belive makes this book special is the fact that Ms Keller wrote a note to me In GERMAN, she wrote: "An meiner kleine freund der meine hand froh machte mit 'Primrosen', eine botschft from fruehling mit liebe Helen Keller" In rough translation: "To my little friend, who made my hand happy with a message of spring with love Hellen Keller". This book is most certainly one of my most price posessions.
Was this review helpful to you?
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Woman! August 2, 2003
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The miraculous Helen Keller and her equally astounding teacher, Annie Sullivan, go into great detail of their struggles to overcome Helen's grave disabilities. It is so astounding, in fact, that it's almost incomprehensible. Helen's amazing mental ability, Annie's guidance and their mutual tenacity are surely to be credited.

It is a wonderful story to read, especially so because it is told BY them and not as interpreted by a third-party biographer.

Unfortunately, Helen's eloquence and the prose of the day can border on the flowery side (to be it mildly) which made me unable to push through as quickly as I might have otherwise.

But then again, that's the beauty of her success story: it WASN'T too good to be true!

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars helen Keller
i read this book because of a book report. however this did not feel like it was a chore to read it even though i thought it would be. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Kayla Shaver
5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspirational Story
The book, "Story of My Life," is an amazing book that tells the inside story of the girl who went deaf and blind. Helen was noticeably intelligent from an early age. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Megan
4.0 out of 5 stars Helen Keller "The Story of My Life"
In everyday life, we see people who are blind, or people who are deaf. Try going through life being both blind and deaf. Read more
Published 24 days ago by ATCMickey
4.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what we needed
Got exactly what we needed quickly and easily! Just in time for my brother to read it and test on it! Product in good condition as promised! Very pleased!
Published 1 month ago by Miss P
2.0 out of 5 stars Not good for a 6th grader
Got this book for my daughters 6th grade biography report. She is an excellent reader but she thought it was to hard to understand for a 6th grader.
Published 1 month ago by tb
1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of time.
I found this to be a waste of time. Rather than a story about triumphing over adversity and the lessons that Helen learned from her struggle, the book seems more like Helen putting... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Edward Sturm
5.0 out of 5 stars love it
Good service and right on time. Exactly what it is suppose to be great book would order off them again.
Published 2 months ago by Candace
3.0 out of 5 stars Boring
The Story of my Life, by Helen Keller, had a lot of information but it was boring. I never wanted to pick it up. Read more
Published 3 months ago by smvirts
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
This is an autobiography of Helen Keller. You can't go wrong here the woman is an inspiyration and proof that no matter what obstacles we face, they can always be overcome through... Read more
Published 4 months ago by LeslieB
1.0 out of 5 stars Although listed as a Book on CD, when it arrived it was a book on...
My library is slowly getting rid of their books on cassette and when I got rid of this title I was looking for a CD replacement. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Carla E. Hollar
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews




What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Forums

Topic From this Discussion
Random House is blocking text-to-speech access on this title
Wow . Random House is beyond belief - I'm surprise they would even issue this, if they are going to block access for the blind.
Jun 27, 2009 by Paxton |  See all 2 posts
Have something you'd like to share about this product?
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions


So You'd Like to...

Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category