Vintage Reading : From Plato to Bradbury : A Personal Tour of Some of the World's Best Books [Paperback]

Robert Kanigel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 1998

Presents a collection of essays unlike any other stuffy attempt at introducing the modern reader to the Great Books.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-These brief essays on Kanigel's personal choice of best books provide a unique point of view to literature students in search of an overview or comments about their favorite work. The author makes no claim to be scholarly or comprehensive, but has written briefly about enduring books and stories that appeal to his "middle-brow" tastes. Included are essays on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Pride and Prejudice, Native Son, and other works often studied by high school students. The selections are collected under broad subjects such as "I Know What I Like," "Literary Classics," and "The Realm of the Spirit." A useful but optional purchase for YA collections.
Catherine Charvat, King's Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This book got its start from a column Kanigel wrote for seven years, published by the Baltimore Evening Sun and the Los Angeles Times. It includes 80 two- to three-page essays on books he chose, as the author says in his introduction, for his benefit rather than the reader's. So, the choices are somewhat eclectic, ranging from Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady to Isadora Duncan's My Life. The essays are light and amusing. Each includes a bit of information about the author, some plot outline, and a reason to read the book. Book groups looking for titles would find this a good choice as would library users who want a list to guide their reading. Recommended for public libraries.?Lisa J. Cihlar, Monroe P.L,.WI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 243 pages
• Publisher: Bancroft Press (February 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963124676
• ISBN-13: 978-0963124678
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,249,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Kanigel was born in Brooklyn, NY, but for most of his adult life has lived in Baltimore, MD, where he lives today. He has written seven books, on wildly differing subjects. His second, "The Man Who Knew Infinity," was named a National Book Critics Circle finalist, a Los Angeles book Prize finalist, a New York Public Library "Book to Remember," and has been translated into Italian, German, Greek, Chinese, and other languages. His latest book, for which he was named recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, is "On an Irish Island," set on a windswept island village off the coast of Ireland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun! Breezy, Entertaining, and Informative., July 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Vintage Reading : From Plato to Bradbury : A Personal Tour of Some of the World's Best Books (Paperback)

This volume is a collection of book reviews originally written for a newspaper -- except that instead of reviewing current books, the author has reviewed books dating from ancient Babylonia (the Epic of Gilgamesh) to the very recent past. These essays are truly enjoyable introductions to the books that everyone is supposed to have read but hasn't. They may sate your appetite or, instead, spur you to check out the originals. (They inspired me to tackle Gibbon's Decline and Fall.) At least you will know why these works are considered classics, even if you decide to pass.

The author is knowledgeable, but also concise and breezy, and has a light, humorous touch. If you are a graduate student in Comparative Literature working on a dissertation on deconstructionism, this book may not do anything for you. For this reasonably well-educated general reader, though, it was a pleasure.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some special praise, January 23, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vintage Reading : From Plato to Bradbury : A Personal Tour of Some of the World's Best Books (Paperback)

A novel concept - that you can be your own judge of good reading -- and an honest, charming, profound, fair, and fascinating book... If you're already a reader, consider Vintage Reading a validation. If you haven't yet discovered the joys of discovering new worlds in print, get ready... All of Vintage Reading is an incitement to action - to read these books. I do hope there's a sequel. -- George Liston Seay, host of "Dialogue," a weekly interview broadcast by Public Radio International (PRI)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Enticing Read, September 16, 2007

By 

Edward A. Joseph (Yonkers, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Vintage Reading : From Plato to Bradbury : A Personal Tour of Some of the World's Best Books (Paperback)

Vintage Reading: From Plato to Bradbury, A Personal Tour of Some of the World's Best Books is an anthology of 80 book reviews that the author wrote over a seven-year period for three separate newspapers. Most are around 750 words. The reviews are well written and engrossing.

The book is broken into nine sections:

"On Everyone's List of Literary Classics" in which 12 books are reviewed. Two examples: Kim by Rudyard Kipling and My Antonia by Willa Cather.

"On Many a List for Burning: Heretics, Subversives, Demagogues" in which 7 books are reviewed. Two examples: Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler and Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed.

"Books That Shaped the Western World" in which 11 books are reviewed. Two examples: Essays by Montaigne and Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville;

"Making Hard Work Easy: The Great Popularizers" in which 10 books are reviewed. Two examples: Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead and The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton.

"Not Robinson Crusoe, Not Brave New World: Lesser Known Classics" in which 7 books are reviewed. Two examples: A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe and Roughing It by Mark Twain.

"Lighter Fare: Good Reads, Best Sellers" in which 8 books are reviewed. Two examples: A Bell for Adano by John Hersey and The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.

"But I Know What I Like: On Aesthetics and Style" in which 5 books are reviewed. Two examples: The Seven Lamps of Architecture by John Ruskin and The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form by Kenneth Clark.

"One-of-a-Kinds" in which 9 books are reviewed. Two examples: A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf and The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn

"The Realm of the Spirit: Holy and Human" in which 11 books are reviewed. Two examples: The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton and Night by Elie Wiesel.

Each of the 80 reviews is like a tasty appetizer that entices you to read (or re-read) an outstanding book.