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The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition Hardcover – November 17, 1999

by
Lewis Carroll (Author)
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Lewis Carroll (Author), Martin Gardner (Editor, Introduction),
John Tenniel (Illustrator)
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John Tenniel (Illustrator)
4.8 out of 5 stars 229 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Series: The Annotated Books
  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Upd Sub edition (November 17, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0393048470
  • ISBN-13: 978-0393048476
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 1.1 x 10.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (229 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThe name of this review is called "Haddocks' Eyes"
By A Customer on February 22, 2001
Format: Hardcover
I finally, and seemingly permanently, misplaced the 40 year old copy of 'The Annotated Alice' (which I had pilfered from my mother's bookshelf) for the last time. I can't go more than a month or two without it so I rushed to buy a new copy...just weeks before the more beautifully bound 'Definitive Edition' was published. No matter, now I have two (perhaps even three if the original turns up).
My point is that this book contributed more to my understanding of logic and wordplay than several semesters of college philosophy classes. If you've read this far then I am probably preaching to the choir but 'Alice in Wonderland' can hardly be classified as a childrens' book, dispite Disney's attempts to do so. The concepts Lewis Carroll and Martin Gardner bring to this tale cover such areas as set theory, meta-language, Aristotelian logic, topography, game theory, several pre-Socratic logic paradoxes, and even quantum physics. Yet John Tenniel's original illustrations remain as an welcome tether to the original publication.
Gardner does a wonderful job of bringing all the various aspects of these two stories together as he illuminates layer upon layer of meaning that might not be evident to an American audience or, for that matter, a 21st century one. My favorite gems are the French and German translations of The Jabberwocky.
This book ranks in my top five favorite books of all time.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe Looking Glass Shows Hidden Humor
By Ian on January 21, 2000
Format: Hardcover
I always enjoyed the twisted logic and unique sence of humor that I found in Lewis Carroll's Alice tales, the only problem I encountered was that some of the jokes required information that was no longer common knoledge. For example: when Alice continually misquoted the old English nursery rhymes I found myself wondering what the actual versions were, information that every child in Victorian England could have easily told me but that has since been lost to obscurity. After reading through this book I found the answers to all my original questions as well as many that I never considered asking. At first I thought that the commentary would strip the original work of its character and reduce it to a lifeless shadow. I found that the commentary did exactly the opposite, in a surreal way it made the book even more entertaining to read. The incredible detail of the commentary and the wide range of topics covered made the comments themselves seem part of the insane illogic that pervades the realms of wonderland and looking glass house. This does not mean that the coments themselves are insane or illogical, on the contrary they are all intresting and many offer new insights into the books, what makes the commentary so entertaining is how the story of "exactly 7 and one half" Alice is juxtaposed with comments on how the structure of the plot relates to physic and Robert Oppenheimer. Altogether I found the Annotated Alice to be a wonderful read and a gorgeous book which I recomend to anyone who enjoyed the original tales.
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4.0 out of 5 starsMaster of Nonsense
By Bryan A. Pfleeger VINE VOICE on January 14, 2002
Format: Hardcover
The Annotated Alice provides a treasure chest of information on the two Alice books and on the man, Lewis Carroll who was responsible for their creation.
Martin Gardner provides annotations throughout the texts of both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. Gardner's annotations help explain the inside jokes and mathematical and linguistic puzzles that fill the stories.
Reading the Alice books as an adult is quite a different experience than it was as a child. The books' complexity really stands out on a careful reading. In fact, what are generally regarded as children's stories can be amazingly frustrating to read due to the complexity of the language and the almost constant stream of puns that are sometimes lost on modern audiences. One must remember that the stories are told purely for fun. Unlike other Victorian children's literature one gets no morals, plot development, or character development here. Alice is a yound child who stays a young child throughout her adventures. She neither matures or learns anything from her adventures.
This is a very nice volume in its own right. It contains complete authoritative texts of both books and includes the supressed episode "The Wasp in the Wig." The original Tenniel illustrations are crisp and clear. The only difficulty is that the annotations are placed on the same page as the text in a small column that sometimes supplies more information than the text itself. The annotations themselves range from the definitional to the clearly eccentric. One can read all of them or only the ones that he or she is interested in.
On the whole this is an excellent volume well worth the effort to read if one has any interest in the world of nonsense literature.
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5.0 out of 5 starsNo need to "Go Ask Alice" when you have the Annotated one
By Lawrance Bernabo HALL OF FAMEVINE VOICE on June 15, 2002
Format: Hardcover
Perhaps no other set of works in literature benefits more from annotation than "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Class." Martin Gardner, the author of a regular monthly column on recreational mathematics for "Scientific American," provides expert commentary on all the jokes, games, puzzles, tricks, parodies, obscure references and other curiosities with which Lewis Carroll saturated his writing. That means that you will find out who was the original model for the Chesire Cat and how the "Jabberwocky" poem translates into French. Actually, the definitions of all of those strange words in "Jabberwocky" is quite a load off of my mind. Besides, this edition also contains the full text of each tale, together with all of the original Sir John Tenniel illustrations in their proper places. The annotation runs concurrently with the text and Gardner also provides an introduction that covers both the story of how the books came to be written and some of the most interesting analyses of Carroll's works, such as those always fun Freudian interpretations. The bottom line is that either one of these books gets 5 stars by itself, so when you put the two of them together and add all this annotation, there is nothing to complain about. This is the perfect book for re-reading these books; I would never send anybody here for their first exposure to Alice, but once they are hooked on Carroll's sublime nonsense this will open up a whole new dimension or two (or three) of his work for them.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsbut for the connoisseur it's an absolute delight.

An undisputed classic that you will grow with you. This addition may be less appealing to a younger reader because of the multitude of comments and footnotes, but for the... Read more

Published 19 days ago by Daniel C
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

The book is wonderful and makes the story so much more enjoyable

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsJust buy it--even if you own other version of these classic books

Someone doesn't love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass?

Martin Gardner's comments clarify the mid-nineteenth century British references... Read more

Published 1 month ago by L. D. Gottlieb
5.0 out of 5 starsA classic with annotations only Martin Gardner could do

Alice in Wonderland is a classic. The Annotated Alice is also a classic. Martin Gardner (magician, mathematician, puzzle master) has explained the considerable hidden and... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Spock
5.0 out of 5 starsThis book is a fascinating take on "Alice". It's ...

This book is a fascinating take on "Alice". It's insightful and enchanting. It's well worth your time. 5 stars.

Published 2 months ago by brandi
5.0 out of 5 starsrecipient was pleased.

Purchased as gift, recipient was pleased.

Published 2 months ago by Angel
5.0 out of 5 starsAmazing insights to the author and story.

Great explanations that are much more rooted in logic and thought than first expected.

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsTales, Not My Favorite; Scholarship, Top Notch

The Annotated Alice contains three works by Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, and The Wasp in a Wig. Read more

Published 2 months ago by RuthSophia
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Absolutely beautiful!

Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsGorgeous book... fast shipping! This was ...

Gorgeous book...fast shipping! This was a gift for a friend and she was thrilled! Thanks

Published 4 months ago by LiLASC299

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