Elephants Books

What can I say? There is nothing quite like this trilogy out there in the world of modern literature. Auster hit his stride with these three novellas, which stand as a kind of examination of language and existentialism masked by a cloak of private eye genre fiction.

If I had to rate the stories individually, I would say 'The Locked Room' is the weakest. Not that it is bad or worse than the others, it just seemed to serve more as an autobiography of the author, so after finishing the first two this one seemed a little less daring. The other two, 'City of Glass' and 'Ghosts', are equal in my view. A great price and edition for three innovative and intriguing stories.

When I was an English grad-student in the 90's, there was a certain kind of guy I observed who loved language passionately, a word-geek, you know? Pale, fastidious, carrying his fountain pen or carafe of espresso with him everywhere he went, along with his worn copy of "Ulysses," he either went the Ph.D. route or decided to write, in which case he went from MFA workshop to writing fellowship, bouncing from place to place every year or so, aspiring to semi-permanence as an instructor somewhere. Sensitive, intelligent, aware of his lack of machismo, he relied on words as a weapon, and as his 20's turned to 30's, his troubles increased, for now he was the impoverished writer/student type, while the extroverted, less-idealistic types had the wives and homes and you get the picture. For the aspiring male writer, in my opinion, the subconscious sense of suspended adulthood and marginalized masculinity could sometimes be acute; pushing 40 in an elite fellowship, where he was paid a stipend to finish his novel, the one he'd started in his 20's about a boy saddened by his parents' divorce, say, he was in a dangerous place: rootless, essentially without life experience and family responsibilities, without knowledge of work or craft beyond academia, coddled yet deprived by its protective culture, his work ironically de-potentated by its paternalism.

Very often, this type of guy showed certain preferences in his work: his stories might have "tough" male types, like those from noir films, expressions of his desire to be active in the world and streetwise and tough; very often his stories would begin with a male character who'd lost his wife and child, conveniently making the character sympathetic, by giving him a back story, an explanation for his current state of almost autistic insularity, while also protecting the writer from having to write about such things. The writer now had to compensate for many weaknesses in his work due to his lack of life experience, compounded perhaps by his innate introversion, love of words, sensitivities, etc., and so, in lieu of real human interaction, his main character might spend a lot of time smoking cigarettes, visiting "blowsy tarts" or doing something shocking (!) like sitting on the toilette. (Oh, I'm sure Auster spawned "Fight Club" at the very least.) A story could be written in such a way that if, for example, the setting was New York, someone who'd never been there and was only referencing a map, could do it. Then he'd display his one true strength in a bit of aggressive word-play, going philosophical with puns and ideas about language and its limits. Professors of creative writing, jaded in appetite, likewise insulated, seemed to especially approve of violence or sexual perversion to spice-up those intellectual interludes.

Any of this ring a bell? Auster's work here jogged my memory of this smart yet developmentally-delayed male type, so aware of his sensitivity that he resorts to images of violent masculinity and portrayals of women as mommies. Mommy, the desire to return to infancy. The death instinct. All of which is not to say that his work is not compulsively readable here; it is a test-case for the effectiveness of suspense as a device within plot, carrying the reader along against her will. But I feel cheated, and I don't like to be so tightly controlled by a writer's agenda. I prefer a messier aesthetic, an excess of consciousness and life, as one gets in Proust or Shakespeare, spilling over the edges, as one gets in much good non-fiction, the letters of Van Gogh, for example. The coolest thing about these novellas, I think, is how Auster came up with an analogy to describe the writer's paradox, the writer's problem, in his angry deconstruction of the mystery genre--how someone temperamentally a writer, who craves solitude necessary to write, who believes that real life is the internal life of thoughts and emotions, can somehow perform the alchemy necessary to create fiction with its demands for action in the physical world, for plot, for drama. That's what I love best about this schizoid, paranoid, hermetic, manipulative, redundant and disingenuous trilogy. But I still want more life------!

This is the first book that I read by Paul Auster. I had heard of him for years, but I always assumed that he was another New York Writer. In order words, stuffy and primarily writing for "intellectuals" and the Pulitzer Prize or the National Book Award. I could not have been more wrong. These three loosely connected short works contain some of the most gut-wrenching emotional writing that I have laid eyes on. It hit me almost as hard as John Steinbecks "East of Eden". Don't get me wrong, these books have nothing in common other than a willingness on the part of both authors to let dark things come to the surface and then not just explain them away. (Actually, there is a bit of self reference in Steinbeck's book as well, but it is merely a mention and not the intense existential experience that Auster's book is. Anyway, this is merely an aside.) Auster's Trilogy takes the form of detective stories, but this is only the most rudimentary framework for these incredibly powerful explorations into the nature of identity and the disappearance of one's self or the many selves that one man possesses. I'm not going to tell anything about the plot, but suffice it to say that this stuff is pretty dark. Don't be fooled by the cartoonish cover (done by Art Spiegelman of "Maus" fame), this is not a fun genre exercise. It is art.

This is a series of subtle interlocking novellas set in New York published over 85 and 86: City of Glass, "Ghosts" and "Locked Room with the first set in the period, the 2nd in the 40's and the last one in the 70's. They use mystery conventions of the gumshoe detective (think Humphrey Bogart) but in a subversive way as an existentialist reflection on writing, and story creation and communication but at the pace of a thriller; it more Kafka then Chandler with haunting imagery and surreal coincidences. But it also has deep emotional and psychological depths.

To give you a flavour of the book, in the City of Glass the main Character is Daniel Quinn a writer who has abandoned writing except for mystery writing owing to the death of his wife and child. He is successful enough to only need to write one novel a year which he has just done and then he drifts. He is clearly depressed and only feels alive when he is the private eye of his novels. One night he receives a midnight phone call asking for a detective called Paul Auster( yes the real author is also a later character in the story) and after several rejections he decides to act as if were his private eye character. His clients are a child-man who is a survivor of a dreadful abuse by his father (he was deprived of language as part of an experiment in discovering the natural language of man before the fall of the Tower of Babel) and his wife a nurse who had married him so that he could leave the hospital. The father now elderly is being released from Mental hospital and they fear that the son will be killed and want protection.

The story then takes many twists and turns and ends with the author as character being criticised by a final narrator who may be one of the characters from the other stories for what happens to Daniel Quinn during the course of the story.

In the Locked Room all the characters are named after colours and it's a classical stake-out story but is it? Or is it a reflection on the lives of characters once that have been created and written about?

The final story is of two friends who have drifted apart, one wanted to be a writer and is now a critic unable to create works of his own imagination. He discovers that his friend has disappeared leaving a wife and baby and a locked room of manuscripts. These turn out to be masterpieces of novels, plays, and poems far beyond his capability of writing. In preparing those for publishing he re-enters and re-evaluates his life long friendship and what it meant but at a cost as he faces a secret that tests him and his relationships to destruction.

Paul Auster's draws on his own colourful work life in his struggle to become a writer so the stories have a grain of gritty realism. But they are interlinked by an interest in the impact of coincidences and lives lived in minimalist even ascetic ways against a background of a loss, failure and absent fathers and reflections on writing and storytelling. If you want a painless way into postmodernist metafiction then this is the book for you. Highly recommended

I havn't read the book yet but I did receive it in the amount of time stated and in good condition.

If you already know Pratchett's books, then you can't go wrong with this one. Sam Vimes and his Night Watch are at it again, this time facing one of man's worst inventions... diplomacy!

Vimes is appointed ambassador and must travel to the dangerous world of Uberwald, inhabited by werewolves, vampires and dwarfs. While applying his special kind of sensitivity to issues like species or upeer class manners, Vimes must also cope with a murder and theft mistery, and a dangerous and lethal enemy.

This one is, in my opinion, one of the best books of the Discworld series. It has everything: mistery, action, violence and, above all, lots and lots of humor. Special mention goes to Sgt. Detritus, the first troll ever to become cultural aggregate.

Absolutely recommendable. However, to fully enjoy it, I would advise to get familiar with the cast of the Night Watch by reading any of their prtevious novels in the series: "Guards, Guards!" "Men at Arms" and "Feet of Clay".

You'll be certainly coming back for more.

I know that many have stated that there had been a decline in Pratchett's writing as time goes on... I personally would have to disagree. There is a change in his writing; however I feel that it has been for the better. As his books have progressed, he has leaned less toward the quick giggle and insane rush of nonsense and more toward a satirical plot with darker edges and the giggles interspersed within the story rather than his jokes running the story.

The Fifth Elephant is one of Pratchett's more plot driven novels, there isn't a giggle or a chortle on every page as with some of his others. I have always liked the Guard's series for this reason, I like a good plot. If you have not read a discworld book before, I wouldn't advise this be your starting place, instead I would start at the beginning of whichever series it is you want to read. This being part of the Guards Series I would start with "Guards Guards" which although it is by no means the strongest entry in the series, it is a good introduction to the lead character of Samuel Vimes and his crew. Each of the following books adds additional characters who become major players in the later books. The characters truly grow through each of the books and I think that having read the previous in the series will increase your enjoyment of this one.

Quick Summary: A strange theft and murder occur in Ankh-Morpork, and just as the Watch is about to investigate, The Patrician sends Vimes and his wife off to Uberwald to attend the coronation of the new Dwarfish Low King as ambassadors. While street hardened Vimes has to start learning about politicking, Angua disappears... and Carrot decides to go after her, unfortunately her trail leads to Uberwald, land of vampires, werewolves, and Dwarves who rarely come to the surface. As Sam Vimes always says - A cop will always find a crime, the origins of the strange crimes in Ankh-Morpork also lead back to Uberwald and the coronation ceremony. Vimes finds himself attempting to not only play politician and ambassador, but also detective to sort out the truth before the Dwarves are thrown into a bloody civil war.

The summary sounds a bit dark doesn't it? Well this, much like "Carpe Jugulum," is a darker more plot driven novel, but the humor is still there. Cheery accompanies Vimes back to her homeland as military attaché and unfortunately her modern ways cause issues amongst the more traditional dwarves of Uberwald. Detrius the Troll attends as the cultural attaché, unfortunately in Uberwald the trolls and dwarves have been at war for over a hundred years... then throw in Angua's noble yet slightly psychotic werewolf family, and a Vampire clan that's on the wagon from drinking human blood... everyone is moving their chess pieces and poor Sam has to figure it all out. Sybil has a much larger roll in this story than in the past, and her personality really begins to develop. This book is funny, full of action, and intrigue... who stole the Scone? Who murdered the prophylactics maker? Where is the fake stone? Who is behind it all? The opposing Dwarves? The Werewolves? The Vampires? Or is it someone from within?

Although I didn't laugh nearly as much during this book, I found myself truly enjoying the read much more than some of the others. If I were to try to tell you what "The Color of Magic" was about... I really couldn't other than to say it was about running away... True, I enjoyed it immensely, but this had a plot, a meaning, and more to learn from, I think this is an excellent addition to the Discworld series.

Admittedly I think it's tied for first with about half a dozen of the other books in the series. Loved this. I particularly like Lady Sybil in this one - she's given a bit more to do and more personality. Cheery is also a good play in this as is Igor (no no not Igor... Igor.) Overall it's great fun. I think if you haven't read much or any of discworld before this would be an acceptable one to read first or early on.

Although I love the Discworld series as a whole, I'm noticing a pattern that the ones I like the least all have Sam Vimes as the central character. I have nothing against Vimes as a character per se, but I'm beginning to suspect that some sort of "Vimes curse" exists: if Pratchett's using him, the book's ultimately going to be a disappointment.

Such was the case with The Fifth Elephant. The book started off promising, but about a third to half way through it seemed to be losing steam. Ironically, the ending seemed to drag on about 20 pages longer than it should have. In between, we have a number of tantalizing ideas that are ultimately left as unexplored red herrings. (I'm reading the series out of order, so I don't know if Pratchett was laying groundwork for future books, or if he just lost interest in them while writing.)

Another big problem I had with this book is that it had a heavy helping of overly-contrived plot convenience. Pratchett's proven that he's creative enough that he could certainly have come up with something better than the Deus Ex Machina that shows up ***a couple of times*** here.

Last gripe: in the beginning, it seems that we are going to have 3 interconnected subplots, but as the story shifts more and more to the Vimes angle, 1 of them (the Carrot/Angua arc) ultimately just becomes an unsatisfying Deus Ex Machina to get Vimes out of trouble at a critical moment, and the other (the Captain Colon arc) ultimately becomes weak comic relief -- which Pratchett (wisely) all but forgets about anyway.

Despite this, Fifth Elephant had a few amusing moments, and helped flesh out the Discworld Milieu. If you're a completionist, by all means give it a go, but remember to keep your expectations reasonable. Pratchett certainly has done better.

Although I couldn't quite get my mind around the idea of a fat mine (created by the fiery crash of the fifth elephant that supported Discworld on top of A'Tuin, the Cosmic Turtle), this fantasy is nevertheless a savoury entry in the Sam Vimes/Night Watch series (in spite of all that fat).

Sam Vimes, Commander of Ankh-Morpork's Night Watch is 'asked' by the city's Patrician (with the approval of Sam's wife, Sybil) to represent the city at the coronation of Uberwald's new dwarf Low King.

The last thing Sam wants to do is dress up in ceremonial tights and gallop off to a country filled with werewolves and vampires, not to mention two sects of battling dwarfs. He's got the murder of a condom manufacturer to solve right in Ankh-Morpork, plus the theft of a replica of the holy Scone of Stone from the Dwarf Bread Museum.

However Lady Sybil thinks her husband needs a vacation, so off they go, tights and all, leaving Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson (a six-foot adopted dwarf) in charge of the Watch. Then Corporal Angua, the only werewolf on the Watch disappears and Captain Carrot resigns to go after her, taking only Gaspode, the talking dog with him.

Sergeant Colon is now acting-Captain of the Watch, much to the dismay of everyone, including himself.

While his beloved Night Watch slides swiftly into an abyss of incompetence in Ankh-Morpork, Sam discovers that being an ambassador is not all champagne and cucumber sandwiches. On his first day in Uberwald's capital city, he becomes both a murder suspect and a participant in the Game--a werewolf version of 'Fox and Hounds'---with himself as the unwilling fox.

The alpha female among the werewolves calls Sam a "nothing...a paper man. A man of straw. An insult." She will have to learn the hard way that she grossly underestimated the new ambassador.

If you'd like to read the Sam Vimes/Night Watch books in order of publication, they are: "Guards! Guards!" (1989); "Men at Arms" (1993); "Feet of Clay" (1996); "Jingo" (1997); "The Fifth Elephant" (2000); "Night Watch" (2002); and "Thud!" (2005).

Our 1 year old granddaughter loves dogs...and she REALLY loves the Carl books. All pictures of Carl and another baby just her size. She looks "reads?" this book just about every day!

Hardly any words, so kids of all ages can read the story to adults, and everyone can guffaw at this outrageous story of a dog-nanny.

I saw this book at a friend's house and couldn't believe the story of a dog left alone to take care of the baby while the mother goes out. It's quite funny - but, I wonder what a kid would make of it!

I found this book to be an excellent guide for child rearing. It affirmed by choice as a parent to leave my toddler in the ward of a large canine for hours at a time. It offered a further benefit of teaching my child how to leave his crib so that he would not get too bored while I am at work for the day. Carl is indeed a good dog and this book will make you a good parent, too.

I wasn't so sure about this book but my 4 year old ADORES it. She laughs out loud every single time we "read" it. I say "read" because there are only about 2 sentences in the whole book but we have a great time discussing all the pictures. We have the hard back board book which has held up extremely well and the pictures are very clear and beautiful. She goes to sleep with it every night and totally "gets" that it is a silly story (i.e. people do not leave their babies with the dog in charge!!) For the joy it has brought my children I give this book with its beautiful illustrations a 5 star review. I had no idea there were other Carl books but will likely pick some of those up too.

A collection of stories, that ends with the surreal "the Elephant Vanishes" about a totally ordinary guy who works for a P.R. department of an electrical company (the same guy appears in many stories throughout the book) who thinks he may have watched an elephant in the early stages of shrinking into nothingness. Surreal, but not in a good way, in a very boring way.

Having read a bunch of Murakami's books, I can identify easily the two characters Murakami writes about: the ordinary guy who's married, but whose wife disappears, and the ordinary single guy who drinks too much and likes to play the field. Murakami likes to try to change his stories, but somehow his style is nearly always the same. A guy wakes up, makes toast, thinks about what he's going to do that day. At some point in the story he has a cigarette, he drinks a beer, he thinks about sex, he puts on some Coltrane.

But some of the stories are fun, and the one about the guy who burns barns is in fact mysterious and chilling. There are some interesting phrases throughout. "One morning after New Year's, my mother called me at nine o'clock. I was brushing my teeth to Bruce Springsteen's `Born in the U.S.A.'" Brushing your teeth to the tune of Born in the U.S.A.? Then there are interesting, poetic closing lines to stories. "When I closed my eyes, sleep floated down on me like a dark, silent net."

Of course, there are also totally useless passages. "The door was locked, I think, but I can't be certiain. Maybe I forgot to lock it. It really wasn't foremost in my thoughts at the time, so who knows? Still, I think the door was locked." A writer could fill page after page of `did I lock the door?' Other passages are even worse. "Curiously, the wife makes no mentoin of the appearance of the television set in the apartment. No reaction at all. Zero. It's as if she doesn't even see it. Creepy. Because, as I said before, she's extremely fussy about the order and arrangement of furniture and other things. If someone dares to move anything in the apartment, even by a hair, shel'll jump on it in an instant. That's her ascendancy. She knits her brows, then gets things back the way they were." Of course, it's all in the translation, and I don't know what `that's here ascendancy' is supposed to mean anyway (could somebody translate this phrase to me?). And what's the point of using the phrase `as I said before' in a book? Or any time, for that matter?!

Some of his lines are quite good. In a story about a guy who cuts lawns, there is the line "a couple of times I got a hard-on, then it would go away. Pretty ridiculous, getting a hard-on just mowing a lawn." A few of the story are really very good, like "The Dancing Dwarf" and "Silence." Overall, still a pretty frustrating read from a terribly overrated writer.

This was my first introduction to the works of Murakami, it is a collection of short stories. It is a fantastic book, the stories are abstract and unusual however this adds to their allure. Murakami is a genius, he has a unique way of looking at things. I've since become an avid reader of his books. I highly recommend this.

If you get a chance to read this, don't. I listened to the audio version of the book and had to force myself to finish it because it was a selection of my book club. I kept hoping there might be some thread cleverly connecting the stories, but except for the character of Noboru Watanabe, who showed up in different guises in a few stories, that thread never materialized. Many of the stories seemed like so much navel-gazing, letting us in on the private thoughts of unremarkable people. While I, too, might have thoughts such as "Do bugs get cold?" I hardly consider them the stuff of literature. It's not that the quality of the writing itself was bad. Rather, the stories were boring and pointless.

Murakami is a writer that you either love or hate. For me, reading his work is encountering an almost perfect story. He engages the reader in a new world, full of magic realism, humor and a strange unsettling darkness. The short stories in this collection stay with you years after initial reading. If you don't enjoy The Elephant Vanishes, chances are you will not appreciate his novels. This is a wonderful introduction to the addictive world of this great author.

Murakami's writing has a surreal quality. This collection of stories was like wandering through a series of seductive dream landscapes. Originally styled.

- C.A.Wulff, author of Born Without a Tail

I have great memories of my dad reading me this book when I was little. It has always been one of my families favorites and we always quote it. I know read it to my nieces and nephews when they come over and it's always one of thier favorites as well.

Like everyone else that has commented on this book - It is my all time favorite story. I'm 38 years old and I still have my original copy given to me by my grandmother at age 6. My 3 children all delight in this book as well. The pictures are great and it is just the right length for a bedtime story. This book makes memories for children and is worthy of handing down from generation to generation.

I realize that the book was used, but there was writing inside the front cover and the book really looks "used". I've bought used books before, and they looked much better than this. I feel that I spent a lot of money for a used book.

This book is a joy to read and fun for children to hear. I read this to my two girls when they were young and now they read it to their children. Our edition is getting very worn and it is wonderful to see that it has been reprinted. This is the type of book that is a must to be owned and read over and over again.

The illustrations are fantastic. The writing is clever. But for a children's picture book, it's just too wordy! Hate to say it, but the rhymes barely fit on a page and cover too much of the illustrations. I love a well-written book, but this is overwritten. I have to abridge it while reading to keep my childrens attention. Still, I would recommend this book for animal loving children and parents.

HORTON HATCHES THE EGG, by the legendary Dr. Seuss, is my 3 1/2 year old's favorite Seuss book. She loves to pretend that she is the Mayzie bird - but a better Mayzie bird, who hatches her own eggs. Ever since we first read this story, she keeps a basket of Easter eggs nearby that she sits and sits on, trying to be a good bird and hatch.

In HORTON HATCHES THE EGG, Mayzie is too bored and too lazy to hatch her own egg. She convinces Horton, an elphant who is faithful 100 percent, to egg-sit for just a short while. But, Mayzie is gone for nearly a year, and our faithful Horton sits on that egg come rain, shine, snow, hunters, kidnapping, and the ridicule of his friends. And in the end, he is justly rewarded for his hard work and faithfulness.

Only Theodor Geisel can tell a story like Dr. Seuss. Kids and adults alike are drawn to his weird and whimsical characters, and his wonderful, meaningful messages. His tales are all told in rhyme and are pleasing to the ear and the tongue - perfect for reading aloud.

HORTON HATCHES THE EGG is a lesser known work of Dr. Seuss, but my daughter and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it. It is a great lesson about faithfulness, trust, and doing a job well. And a whole lot of fun, too!

Great story. My 2 year old daughter loves it almost as much as I enjoy reading it to her.

This is a lovely story about in my opinion the most lovable character of Dr. Seuss.

Horton agrees to take care of Mazie's egg and she never returns, but he sticks to his promise about caring for the egg no matter how many troubles it may bring him, and in the end is rewarded by the hatching of an elephant-bird.

Not only is it a beautiful story, with great rhymes, but it also teaches the importance of loyalty and perseverance to children. My son (3 1/2y.o.) got this story only yesterday and he already loves this book. So do I.

& has for years. This is a good story that teaches a kid to "hang in there" when things are unpleasant. It also teaches about keeping promises, & the good things that can happen when you do.

Great story for children and grownups alike. Life lessons given in rhyming lines and adorable pictures. My grandson loved it and so did I!

This book was chosen for my bookclub to read. I was skeptical...another war book BUT - it was fabulous. The book has several "mini" stories woven into the broader context of the war - about the people trying to survive. Excellent stories that are moving and well told.

This book was wonderfully well written. The author uses taglog phrases, includes filipino superstitions, and filipino myths. I loved this book! Great read for all ages!

In addition to being an excellent historical novel and great read, "When the Elephants Dance" is also a must read for anyone contemplating a visit to the Philippines whether short term or long term. Whether the visit is for pleasure or business, this book puts the Philippine experience in a historical perspective and helps the visitor or outsider to have a bit of an understanding of the culture and helps to remove some preconceived ideas. I read this book after returning from the Philippines and will now be able to use the perspective for my return visits.

It usually takes me a couple of pages (or chapters for that matter) to really get into a book. but "When the elephants dance" had me hook, line, and sinker from the first paragraph. I was immediately drawn to Holthe's powerful storytelling abilities. When I read that there would be interwoven stories, I wondered if the connections would feel disjointed. Much to my surprise, the stories from each of the characters flowed so seamlessly I forgot I was reading a separate story.

"Ghost Children", told by one of the characters, Aling Ana had me crying buckets. It's been a long while since a book was able to tug at my heartstrings like that.

This is definitely a book that I would read over and over again. I highly recommend "When the Elephants Dance" anyone and everyone. You will not be disappointed!

When the Elephants Dance is the story of the Philippine's during WWII after the Japanese had taken control of the islands. Due to exorbitant costs and danger of death most families at that time hid with local neighbors and friends, only going out to trade or search for food to survive. This book is the story of one family - hiding in their basement with 11 neighbors and friends.

The book is broken down into 3 main parts - the first being told by the 2nd child Alenjandro, the second being told by the older sister Isabelle and the third being told by the guerilla leader (and friend of this family) Domingo. Interwoven into each of these three parts are stories from the elders that are hiding with them - stories from their childhood that teach lessons or morals pertaining to what that narrator is going through in that moment.

These lyrical stories interwoven with the desperation of the times make for a breathtaking story and subtly teaches you a lot about the Philippines. The character description in this book is phenomenal - it's one of those stories that you won't want to put down because it's riveting but that you won't want to end because you know you're going to miss the characters when it's over.

This is a MUST read!

They don't seem to require reading classic literature in the schools any more, so I decided to build a library for my 12-year old granddaughter. She has read them all, including this one, so it wasn't a bad idea. Now, if I could just get her to call her old grandfather more often....

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I purchased The Jungle Books. I am familiar with Disney's story of Mowgli, but was very unfamiliar to all the volumes and the other stories. These stories were very interesting and moving -- the stories of Mowgli were exciting, and I loved The White Seal, Rikki-Tikki, and all of the others as well. What a great collection.

The Jungle Book (1894) and The Second Jungle Book (1895) are collections of children's stories and related poems by Rudyard Kipling, the Briton who was born in and loved India, and who wrote these stories while living in Vermont. The stories are written as fables, and teach some moral lessons. They are probably Kipling's best-known works.

Many of the stories in both volumes feature Mowgli, the child raised by wolves who becomes master of the jungle (the first three stories in The Jungle Book are very obviously the inspiration for the 1967 animated Disney film). Most of the other stories are also set in India, although "The White Seal" in The Jungle Book and "Quiquern" (which is about Inuits) in The Second Jungle Book are exceptions. In nearly all instances, Kipling anthropomorphizes the animals; they speak, and are always prominent characters.

Kipling does a good job of writing in the fable style, although he doesn't always keep things moving at a good pace, and so some stories are more engaging than others.

There is a subtle racism throughout both volumes. Kipling was a staunch imperialist (he wrote the poem "The White Man's Burden" - this phrase has been used by imperialists since to justify imperialism as noble), and when humans feature in these stories, English whites are often presented as culturally and intellectually superior to the native Indians. This racism is still relevant, as it indicates a popular attitude of the day.

Ultimately, the Jungle Books are well worth reading. They have, perhaps deservedly so, achieved a prominent place in the pantheon of children's literature.

Since it appears that Amazon is combining the reviews for several versions of this book under one, I want to stipulate that I've read the Barnes & Nobel Classic version.

Actually comprised of 2 books, The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book, this is a collection of stories surrounding the jungles of India. A central character is Mowgli - a boy left in the jungle when his parents are frightened away and who is raised by wolves. His adventures as he grows up in the jungle are intriguing, frightening, enchanting, and certainly adventurous! This is NOT Disney! The way Kipling presents this material, it is easy to suspend belief and one could believe a boy was raised amongst the animals.

There are a host of other stories in each books that have nothing whatsoever to do with Mowgli, and that is fine. A couple even take the reader out of the jungle and into the frozen north - talk about a change of scenery! Still, Kipling keeps the reader fully engaged with the lives of animals and the effects of their environment.

A book of true escapism, but certainly not "just" for adults or children. Though the language might be a little more difficult to follow for younger children, older children should be able to stretch their imagination. And adults can fully appreciate the language of Kipling, which is rich and descriptive.

A thoroughly enjoyable read!

Rather than being raised by apes, it is wolves that fulfill for the family role for the young boy Mowgli after he escapes being tiger snacks.

Shere Khan will continue to be his antagonist, and he will gain advice and assistance from other jungle denizens as he grows to manhood.

This also has the pretty cool heroic mongoose tale Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

This is an excellent and well-researched book on creativity and innovation, and how they can be fostered in individuals and organizations by facilitating "intersection" of diverse disciplines, cultures, life experiences, worldviews, etc. The intersection concept is similar to concepts such as fusion, multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, cross-fertilization, liberal arts education, integrative approaches (eg, in medicine), etc.

The book is well organized and well written, with a diverse range of fascinating examples to illustrate the concepts, and therefore the book is easy and enjoyable to read.

To be sure, the book and the concept have some limitations, as other reviewers have pointed out. In particular, (a) Johansson has not provided every "how to" detail related to implementing the concepts, (b) intersection won't always work, especially if subtleties in its implementation are missed, and indeed (c) there are some circumstances where constraints make creativity and innovation essentially impossible and sometimes even undesirable, with standard solutions being more appropriate instead.

But this is a book which should be judged by what it offers, not by what it lacks, and it certainly offers a lot of valuable insights on a fundamentally important topic.

Highly recommended for people seeking to be creative and innovative, for parents thinking about their children's education and careers, and for those with a general interest in education and personal development. This book has certainly inspired me to try harder to seek intersectional ways to make use of my own diverse background and interests.

After hearing Frans Johansson speak, I purchased his book. I was very inspired by him and his work. The intersections that he talks about are not easily recognized but if you can apply this to business, your profits will soar. I highly recommend this book that combines ideas and encourages you to color outside the lines.

I think the basic premise is solid--your best chances of true innovation come from the "Intersection." It's something I had known before--I often look for lessons from other industries, to see how they apply to mine. But he expanded the concept to go beyond cross-industry pollination, to include intersections between business and biology and other less obvious combinations. The first half of the book was a real page turner. Second half slowed down--a bit of re-hashing, and overly detailed explanations for some obvious ideas. Still, overall an excellent book that I will recommend to others.

this is a quick read on where real innovation comes from. johansson contends that there are two kinds of creativity and innovation. one is linear, staying within one field of study, one body of knowledge. most companies (and people) who are trying to innovate, attempt this directional innovation. like, an engineer who tries to think up a new way of building a bridge by surveying bridges already built and thinking of a refinement or change.

johansson contends that this kind of innovation is rare, and never substantial when it happens. we're too locked into our modes of thinking, and we put up barriers to potentially innovative influences from outside the field (because they're seen as a threat or a distraction).

the second kind of innovation is intersectional. it's the stuff that comes from the intersection of two different fields of study or bodies of knowledge. this is where - the author contends - all deep and significant innovation occurs. johansson gives dozens of helpful illustrations -- like, how a knowledge of the feeding patterns of african ants helped inform truck drivers trying to find the quickest route through the swiss alps at any given time.

anyone interested in being innovative should read this book. it's a great book for a team read and discussion.

At first glance, "The Medici Effect" can seem like yet another quick-read business book that simply restates the obvious. The author's basic thesis is this: to spur innovation, we must bring people together from different backgrounds and disciplines.

Well, that seem true enough... Just visit Thomas Edison's complex at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan, for an early example of this so-called "intersection of innovation." (Museum curators have done a fantastic job reconstructing his entire laboratory.)

What saves this book from the dust pile is the author's willingness to go beyond the easy answers. Brainstorming can often fail, says Johansson, and he spells out the most common pitfalls in great detail. Likewise, he says that building a culture of innovation must include both punishments and rewards for those involved -- even if those rewards are largely intangible. "Positive failure" is another powerful concept -- the idea that failure can be encouraged, managed and optimized for faster innovation.

Johansson illustrates his main point with a dozen or more entertaining anecdotes from a wide variety of fields, ranging from neurobiology at Brown University to video games to the restaurant business.

Along the way, he provides practical guidelines for team leaders and team members alike. Johansson knows that innovation isn't limited to PhD's in white lab coats or oddball geniuses with bad teeth. All of us are capable of (at least contributing to) breakthrough innovations, given the right support system and organizational attitude.

Of all the concepts Johansson presents, I found his section on "associative barriers" to be the most interesting. Here's a quick summary: As we become more knowledgeable about a particular field, we also begin to limit our cognitive freedom to make strange, unpredictable associations. For example, if I say "police," most people would associate that word with things like crime, violence, jail, justice or lawbreakers. Relatively few would jump to other associations, such as childhood disease or solar energy. By breaking down these associative barriers, we can see new connections and find new solutions to seemingly intractable problems.

If you don't have time to read the entire book (short as it is), I strongly recommend this section. The Medicis would certainly approve.

Robyn Meredith's book, The Elephant and the Dragon, describes and compares the recent political and economic developments in India and China and purports to state the meaning of these changes. Meredith is a foreign correspondent for Forbes magazine. Accordingly, her book is filled with facts and figures, but it is largely a superficial account written by someone on the outside looking in. By comparison, James Kynge's book, China Shakes the World, also by a financial writer, is an insiders account in that Kynge has lived in China since 1982, speaks the language fluently and has an understanding of the country that only someone with a long standing experience in it can have. Meredith lacks that background and thus that understanding. Her book is a useful, but limited account. She largely gets the main points accurately, but does not provide the kind of insights necessary for a solid understanding of these two countries. The book is worth reading, but to truly understand the meaning of India and China you should look beyond it.

For example, I lived and worked in India (New Delhi) for one year. My apartment was in Defense Colony, a middle class neighborhood. Every morning I would sit on the balcony of my second floor apartment having breakfast. A woman, a servant in the house across the street, would come out and sweep the trash from in front of her house to the front of the house next door--and leave it there. This example epitomizes the problem with India. Problems are not solved, but merely shifted from one place to another. People with some degree of wealth and success do not see the need to share that success with their neighbors. There are so many poor and needy people that a sense of hopelessness (or selfishness) pervades most of those who are relatively well off. The government is so hopelessly enmeshed in bureaucratic rules and regulations that it cannot act or acts too slowly. In sum, it takes someone who has lived in India for an extended period to really understand the nature of the country. Meredith lacks that kind of understanding and thus sees the potential upside without fully realizing the downside. She does discuss some of these problems--the slums in Mumbai, the bad roads and generally poor infrastructure, the illiteracy, etc. but in the end she seems mesmerized by the glitter of Bangladore.

One problem is that the topic is huge and cannot be adequately covered in a book limited to some 200 pages. Another is that her writing style is stilted, filled with repetitions and is stereotypically what one might expect from a financial writer. One particular irritant to me is her repetition of the word "tectonic." Admittedly, after a dull beginning, Meredith does make the book more interesting by relating personal stories and examples. For the most part, the book alternates chapters between the two countries on such topics as the kind of businesses being developed in each country, culture and politics.

The main ideas of the book are (1) both countries have begun to take off economically; India later (starting in 1991) and slower (6% or so growth per year) than China (starting in 1978 and 9-10% growth annually.) (2) India, given its large English speaking population and poor infrastructure, has focused on service jobs, while China, given its good level of basic education and strong infrastructure, has emphasized manufacturing. (3) India's growth has been hampered by its changing political system and the demands of its people for immediate improvements, while China has benefited from an authoritarian political system that can impose its will on a largely compliant population. (4) Both countries face enormous problems such as pollution and potential political strife (India with Pakistan and China over Taiwan).

Finally, I cannot agree with Meredith's conclusion that India and China will join the United States in the future as the three great superpowers. In my view the European Union, which Meredith largely ignores or denigrates, China and the U.S will form this group and that India will, at best, be a part of a second group (including a reviving Russia and an emerging Brazil) of economic powerhouses.

In the end I give the book 4 stars because I think it is worth reading and Meredith does get it right for the most part. But you have to go beyond her book to really understand what is happening is these countries.

A solid expose about the strengths and weaknesses of India and China. Many individuals view these two competitors as superstar economies, but Meredith points out that both countries have some great strengths but also huge weaknesses. When you think of India and the growth of technology, one thinks of super smart computer programmers doing the jobs that Westerners once did. However, as Meredith reports, 35% of Indians cannot read. Simarilarily with China, one thinks of super cheap workforce with great productivity. However, China's government subsidizes the West through a cheap currency, and their political system is balanced on a population that may overthrow it. America's goal is to compete with these two giant countries with a smart, innovative workforce in high technology. Only through this method will the USA be competitive five to ten years down the road.

This is a great book to read about the rise of China and India. All Americans should take interest in what Meredith says because their job may depend on it. Only by being smart and innovative will Americans prosper in a world where India and China compete.

I purchased this book when studying Marketing in an International Context. I wanted to find out about this emerging power centre in the East as the business focus is increasingly shifting in this direction. I found this book explaining the situation in a very comprehensible way. I already knew some of the things presented in the book, but it also changed the way I was looking at this part of the world. This book puts the global economic power shift into context leaving the reader with a fresh pair of eyes when discussing issues such as economies of scale, supply chain management and international business.

Meredith's book is an attempt to describe and articulate the newly-fashionable theme of the China and India's rise to political and economic prominence.

However, the book lacks a coherent plan of detailing its facts and linking them in a sensible way. The author jumps from one set of facts in one paragraph to some totally unrelated commentary in the next and then comes back to the first set of facts in a later section. This patterns keeps repeating througout the book, giving the reader a feeling this is a hastily cobbled collection of one-paragraph magazine articles. There's precious new information presented, as the author has made no effort to research beyond the top layer of Chinese and Indian economies i.e apparel factories and call centers respectively.

I would highly recommend Edward Luce's book on India (Inspite of the Gods)as a more substantive and detailed book on emerging India. I'm sure there are better books on China as well, though I'm not as informed on those choices.

Very informative book. Vividly illuminates how development in central Asia is reshaping the world market place.