Product Description
A new edition of Jonthan Swift's important work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A Modest Proposal is Swiftean satire at a high level of excellence
My review is based on the Penguin Revised Edition of "A Modest Proposal and Other Writings." Jonathan Swift was a seventeenth century Horatio Alger. Swift rose from obscurity to become the famous Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral. He had an earned Doctor of Divinity degree from Trinity College in 1702. It is not as an academic or ecclesiastical leader that we remember Swift. It is for his satirical pen warmed up in the flames of seventeenth century controversies from the Tory-Whig disputes (Swift was a torrid Tory supporter) to Anglican-Dissenting Church wrangles to the Irish-English troubles. Swift was a Hibernian hero as he railed against the use of debased English coinage in Eire, the poverty of the Irish and the plights of his countrymen living in an undeveloped land.
In the Penguin Edition a wide ranging selection of writings by Swift are included. There is his famous satirical essay "A Modest Proposal" in which he suggests that the English pay the Irish for cannibalization of Irish babies
and essays on the need to industrialize Ireland. Swift calls on the Irish to refuse to buy English products. A short play is included showing Swift's love of double entendre and the English language. Several letters to "Stella" are included as well as correspondence with such famous authors as Alexander Pope. A 100 plus page glossary, notes and list of Swift's contemporaries makes this Penguin a handsome edition. The writing is over 300 years old and may be hard for some American readers to comprehend. Swift wrote much more than just "Gulliver's Travels" and this book proves he is still worth reading.

worth every penny
just a short review.absolutely amazing satire.even if you're not into satire from the 1700's, jonathan swift makes a plausable case for the consumption of useless babies (which i totally agree with).anything that curbs the population explosion is a plus in my book.even gives you recipe ideas along with the proposal, and talks about lazy 15 year old girls.(as an aside was mentioned in a sealab 2021 episode but not explained)

The Master of Invective
When Jonathan Swift published "A Modest Proposal" in October of 1789, he had determined to alleviate what he saw as the unnecessary plight of the starving poor of Ireland.For centuries the Irish had lived under the often harsh thumb of England which placed very many hardships on them.The English Parliament tended to view the Irish as a conquered people who existed only for the benefit of the mother country. Restrictive financial laws guaranteed that most of the revenue produced in Ireland would find its way into the coffers of the English treasury.Restrictive trade laws ensured that goods manufactured in one part of Ireland could not be transported and sold to another.And most egregious of all was the prevailing tendency of wealthy English landowners to hire landlords to run estates, villages, and apartments of all squalid sorts in Ireland while all the while charging exorbitant rents to those who could ill afford those rents.It is against the totality of what Swift saw as a massive wave of a lack of basic human care and sympathy for the downtrodden Irish that convinced him to write a tract that he hoped would draw attention to the inhuman conditions under which the Irish had to live.To accomplish this goal, Swift chose to write in a style with which he had a long familiarity--a mixing of bitter satire with biting irony.In essence, "A Modest Proposal" is an extended use of this mixture to present what would have otherwise been seen as an appalling use of cannibalism under the guise of a misplaced socially acceptable benevolence.

The structure of the essay is more than slightly reminiscent of the tracts that were then current.Authors of such tracts were fond of critiquing what they saw as the sociological issues of the day.Swift must have seen an opportunity to reveal his proposal to feed the starving masses of Ireland in a forum with which readers could instantly identify.However, where the vast majority of these other pamphlets were utterly serious in tone, Swift chose to mask his thesis using tones which range from stark realism to the outrageously ironic.The irony begins with his narrator, one who is at first portrayed as a man of benevolence, intelligence, and in possession of a strong moral conscience.The narrator commences with a grim description of Ireland's poverty-stricken female beggars who have with them numerous bedraggled ragamuffins.This opening leaves the reader to assume that the narrator's sympathies rest unerringly with these unfortunates.Almost immediately, however, Swift undercuts this incipient benevolence with the suggestion that his sympathy is mixed with other and contrasting emotions.His acknowledgment that these beggar children will eventually turn highwaymen or war with England is the first in a long line of hints, modest or otherwise, that his true purpose is an ill-defined series of pokes and retorts at England and surprisingly enough at Ireland itself.As Swift quickly enough gets to his central thesis that the babies of Ireland are to be fattened and slaughtered as food, the reader begins to wonder what he is supposed to make of Swift's narrator.As the narrator uses the soothing and disarming language of sociological rhetoric to advance his proposal to reduce Ireland's excess population by eating its youngest members, there is the initial tendency for the reader to view the narrator as the villain.However, Swift had far more in mind than merely to ridicule one man.Rather, it was his purpose to use the narrator as a sounding board by which he could assail his true targets: the wealthy of England who profit from the collective misery of Ireland and the Irish themselves who could so willingly even eagerly participate in their own degradation and ruination.

Swift's first target are the landlords "who as they have already devoured most of the Parents, seem to have the best Title to the Children."These landlords are symbolic of their masters, the landed English gentry who act like financial vacuum cleaners, sucking up the wealth of Ireland and placing it in the pockets of gentry.His second target is the entire Irish population whom he pictures as willing collaborators to their own moral and spiritual dissolution.It is by no means easy to distinguish which group holds Swift's greatest contempt.If it is true that the English are the original destroyers of the Irish social fabric, then it is probably equally true that the native Irish do not resist with any force the allure that money holds as the means to fatten the tables of the wealthy.Swift makes it clear that his view of the foibles of human weakness is based solely on the monetary.The interest of the English with reference to Ireland is based entirely on the number of pounds and shillings that can be safely extorted to the coffers in London.The only offer that the English make to the Irish is similarly based on the assumption that the Irish are a race with no sense of integrity or shame and can be manipulated by the Almighty Buck.

Toward the end of the essay, Swift's irony drifts into the truly morbid.His narrator is exasperated by the failure of anyone to come up with an alternative that is less bloody.He groans that he has no desire to entertain "other expedients," all of which are the non-ironic commonsense proposals that if given a chance might actually serve to help the Irish without resort to cannibalism.But of course, these proposals were never given the chance.By the end of the essay, the reader realizes that there was nothing "modest" about either the proposal or the narrator.The narrator's closing claim to impartiality is an ironic afterthought that a claim for benevolence does not equate to its actuality.And this may be Swift's ultimate comment on satire.

Sharp Political Satire
Short and to the point, this is political satire at its best. While some background of Irish history is helpful, what I most like about Mr. Swift's arguments is that they can apply to any society where the group in power frets over what to do with the poor. I was in the middle of a book on the history of the Civil Rights movement in the American South when I read this, and what struck me was how Swift's satire lined up with the events a continent and centuries away from the original subject.

To whom this proposal is addressed?
Honestly, I do not understand this proposal very much although it is a classical satire, because I do not know to whom this proposal is addressed, to poor people, or to politicians, or to religious people.

Therefore, I really do not know what is the author's intention due to the fact that I have little knowledge and background on this topic although I tried to understand this essay by reading Wikipedia.
... Read more

Product Description
This Norton Critical Edition is the fullest single-volume collection of Jonathan Swift's writings, encompassing not only the major prose satires—A Tale of the Tub, Gulliver’s Travels, and A Modest Proposal—but also a large number of other works, including his most important poems and political writings. The texts are accompanied by detailed explanatory annotations by Ian Higgins, thirty illustrations, and a full introduction by Claude Rawson. This is an indispensable edition for scholar and student alike.“Contexts” features a generous selection of contemporary materials,among them Swift's letters, autobiographical documents,and personal writings.

“Criticism” provides readers with a wide chronological and thematic range of scholarly interpretations, divided into two sections. The first, “1745–1940,” includes assessments by Henry Fielding, Samuel Johnson,Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William MakepeaceThackeray, D. H. Lawrence, W. B. Yeats, F. R.Leavis, and André Breton, among others. The second, “After 1940,” is by subject and collects critical discussions of A Tale of the Tub, the poems,the English and Irish politics, and Gulliver’sTravels, by Hugh Kenner, Marcus Walsh, Irvin Ehrenpreis, Penelope Wilson, Derek Mahon, S. J. Connolly, George Orwell, R. S. Crane, Jenny Mezciems, Ian Higgins, and Claude Rawson.

A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included. 1 map, illustrations ... Read more

Product Description
A new selection of works by Britain's foremost prose satirist

Easing poverty in Ireland by eating the children of the poor was the satirical "solution" suggested by Jonathan Swift in his essay "A Modest Proposal" (1729). Here Swift unleashes the full power of his ironic armory and corrosive wit, striking his targets-the ruling class and avaricious landlords-with deadly precision. This masterly essay is accompanied by a generous selection of prose works, among them humorous pamphlets critiquing British rule in his native Ireland, articles and correspondence, a loving eulogy to his beloved "Stella," the daughter of a house servant whom he mentored, and pieces on such diverse subjects as the nature of broomsticks, the joys of punning, and comical rules for servants.

... Read more

Product Description
Annotated adaptations of the best in world literature for today's children.

On one level, Gulliver's Travels is a story of amazing adventures set in a series of magical worlds; but just beneath the surface is a very different but equally exciting book-a witty satire on humankind's failings and foibles. In this adaptation of Jonathan Swift's original text, retold by James Dunbar with illustrations by Martin Hargreaves, young readers can discover the layers of this beloved book, and find out how it relates to the author's life and times-and their own. Dorling Kindersley Classics presents classic works of literature, richly retold. Additional information on period, setting, and author adds depth to these retellings. The beautiful illustrations are complemented by new photography, prints, diagrams, maps, and other documents. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful Introduction for Children to this Classic
My daughter and I have been reading (and re-reading!) the DK Classics (of which "Gulliver's Travels" is part of) for several years, since she was 5. These books are very colorful, with lots of illustrations and photos of genuine artifacts, maps, and people from the era in which the story is set. Side panel textgives background information about the author, pictures and story. These "additions" (which do not detract from, but only enhance the story) help the young reader (and the adult too!) put the story into context. It is like getting both a classic and a pictorial history book rolled into one! The text is easy to read. My daughter is now 9, and reading the books on her own. Not only has she developed an appreciation for classic literature, but for history as well. These are great books for parents to read with their children. I highly recommend them! ... Read more

Product Description
A real Long John Silver?Could this most famous of fictional pirates be actually based on the life of a real man?Andcould that man be one Jonathan Swift of Alexandria, Virginia, an enigmatic merchant whose legendary silver mines have enticed and eluded treasure hunters for over two centuries?From ancient maps, documents and charts, to personal diaries and secret Masonic archives, author Robert Prather boldly delves into both the mystery and legend of Swift, as well as the probable connections with Robert Louis Stevenson s classic adventure, Treasure Island.Filled with intrigue, deception, murder, cryptic codes and buried treasure, this provocative look into a fascinating segment of literary and American history will ready even the casual reader to set sail for plunder and riches. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

An entertaining historical investigation, with literary interpretation
The splendid book is of one researcher's quest to determine the historical truth behind the legend of Jonathan Swift and Kentucky's lost silver mines.

The author is sometimes emphatic about the difference between the factual and the conjectural, but I wish he had been much more tentative in his statements of conjecture throughout the book, rather than referencing comparisons to the popular but easily debunked DiVinci Code, as he sometimes does.

Mr. Prather, who is not an academic, takes us on a winding but valuable paper chase back through the early histories, using land grants and deeds and indenture books to establish the identity of the real Jonathan Swift.He makes a convincing case on this point, and although the average reader of TREASURE ISLAND might be bored with all of the paperwork, those of us with a penchant for genealogical or historical research will here be highly entertained and often enlightened.

When he then gets into the Masonic symbols that he sees encoded in TREASURE ISLAND, he loses me a bit, for it seems to me that such things are universals.TREASURE ISLAND is a bildungsroman, a boy's adventure story, yet it is also a classic, a work of literature containing genuine archetypes and human universals.Because the ambiguous universals are there, a great wealth of critical literature has grown up around the novel.

It came to Stevenson in a rush, fifteen chapters in fifteen days.It was only after it was finished that Stevenson says he could see meanings and hidden connections in it.It was only later that he saw it as "a mine of suggestion."

Don't get me wrong.This is a very handsome book with much valuable content, and I shall keep it close to my leather-bound copy of TREASURE ISLAND.

Under the stunningly beautiful dustjacket, the book is a turtleback hardcover.There are many pictures, maps, and other illustrations, a bibliography, and an appendix of documents.The last appendix is Robert Louis Stevenson's THE PERSONS OF THE TALE, a gem of appended metafiction which Stevenson wrote to be inserted at the end of chapter 32 of the novel, pertinent to his debate with Henry James on the morality of the novel, weighing the good with the bad.

All in all, five stars from this reader.

Ripping Yarn
This book reads like fiction, but keeps coming back to facts, people and actual places.Overall a great read with never a dull moment.The author's care for history is apparent - as is his love a a good story.

Swift Review
Mr. Prather puts a new twist on an old Kentucky legend.His investigation introduces us to the enigmatic Mr. Swift who is an international trader, an ambassador, a freemason of considerable standing, a merchant with connections extending to President George Washington and perhaps--a homicidal miner. Throw in a secret code by Robert Louis Stephenson and you have a gripping historical mystery. Did I mention a lost silver mine.....?

Wonderful Slice of History and Mystery
For those who like their History with a bit of mystery this book is for you. Not only is this tale highly readable, it is well researched and entertaining. The probable connections with Robert Louis Stevenson's Long John Silver and Jonathan Swift make for a stimulating debate.I would definitely recommend this book not just for History buffs, but also fans of Robert Louis Stevenson, and treasure seekers alike.

The strange case of Jonathan Swift
Mostly a waste of time - filled with anecdotal "facts" and assumptions. About as meaningful as Pres Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy and Pres. Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln. I have assigned my copy to the weekly collection recycling service. ... Read more

Product Description
Now in paperback— A tour de force of illustration and design, JONATHAN SWIFT'S GULLIVER is a magnificent introduction to one of the most popular stories in the English language.

First published in 1726, Jonathan Swift's wonderful adventure has long been a favorite with adults and children alike. This skillful adaptation by award-winning author Martin Jenkins stays true to the original, in a magnificent edition featuring all of Gulliver's extraordinary voyages. Chris Riddell's illustrations capture the tale in panoramic detail, making for a peerless introduction to one of the most popular stories in the English language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A new spin on a beloved old title.
AS a grandmother, I often feel a sense of dismay at the lack of exposure modern day children are being afforded of the classics of literature. Books like this one with wild illustrations designed to grab the eye of the reader and keep it with a text more understandable to the twenty first century child are a gift to be shared. This is a book that will attract readers. I can't think of anything more important. With vocabularies being drawn from television, movies and video games that often fall very short of expressive ideals, it is so nice to see some one tackle Swift and make him palatable to young readers. Anyone up for Dickens, Kipling and Stevenson?What about good old Mark Twain? Kudos to Jenkins and Riddell.
My soon to be six year old grandson will love this book. I consider it my job to make sure he keeps getting treasures like this one.

Adventures of a Misanthrope
Gulliver's adventures to imaginary lands are used to illustrate the foibles and pettiness of mankind.In his first adventure, he finds that the tiny Lilliputians are forever at war with their island neighbors over how to crack open an egg, and they are therefore suspicious and manipulative.By contrast, the giants of Brobdingnag live by "common sense, reason, justice and fair play," but Gulliver is often in danger by being so tiny in their country.In other lands, Gulliver meets all kinds of characters - constant worriers, crazed inventors, preposterous rulers, and some chatty ghosts who give him a history lesson.With each adventure, Gulliver becomes increasingly aware that the beliefs he holds about mankind's achievements may be the opposite of what he had thought.Finally, he meets the horse-like Houyhnhnms (sounds like a horse neighing), "noble creatures ruled entirely by reason," who have no idea of evil.Their country is also inhabited by Yahoos, wild animal-like humans without any redeeming qualities, who steal from each other and squabble endlessly.Gulliver is so taken by the civilized, virtuous Houyhnhnms that he would like to live happily ever after with them, but they can't get over the fact that he really must be a Yahoo, who will only encourage the other Yahoos to revolt against them.He is cast adrift in a small boat and eventually finds himself back in England, where he has to get used to lying, deceit, self-importance, and greed once more.Some of the story elements are a little disturbing, such as his attitudes towards the servant classes, and some of the outrageous behaviors of certain characters verge on disgusting, but this is always used to make a point.Overall, this is a beautifully-made book with much food for thought, for both young and old alike.

A new children's classic
This is really a beautiful book. The illustrations are quirky and captivating and the language, while not antiquated, still reads like a classic.I sat reading it to my 7 year old son in the bookstore for a good 15 minutes before realizing we just had to take it home.Originally a story which my son would have had to wait until at least junior high to read, this version sits up on the shelf next to Doctor Dolittle, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland etc. The fantasy is emphasized but the political satire is gently present for those old enough to appreciate it.

A PRAISEWORTHY RETELLING OF GULLIVER
When most of us hear the name "Gulliver," a picture probably comes to mind.A giant. A strong, brawny fellow?Leave it to consummate illustrator Chris Riddell to give us a smile provoking Gulliver with knobby knees, a bump in his nose, and shirt askew.Gulliver isstill prone to many adventures, just as Jonathan Swift intended when he wrote "Gulliver's Travels," but he's also a tad clumsy with a tendency to wind up in comical positions.

There he is in Lilliput on the first of his voyages skewered into the sand by all those little people.In this double-page full-color spread every bony finger is pinioned, his waistcoat is tacked to the ground, and one big toe pops through a hole in his sock.Next, we find tiny spear bearing soldiers marching across the length of his body.

Consider Gulliver's voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubrib, and Japan.If you recall, the ship he was aboard is taken over by not one but two pirate ships.Such ferocious buccaneers you've never seen.Thankfully the Dutch pirate captain showed our hero a little sympathy, and we find him tucked into a small canoe and set afloat.

Each of Riddell's illustrations is a gem, and will surely be enjoyed over and over again.He is a political cartoonist for the Observer, thus the perfect choice to bring Swift's political satire to life.

Martin Jenkins has done a yeoman's job of retelling this classic.His adaptation is true to Swift's original story yet it is more easily understood by young readers.While this Gulliver will hold appeal for all ages, it is certainly a choice introduction to what is considered to be one of the finest stories ever written.Kudos to both Martin Jenkins and Chris Riddell with, of course, a deep bow to the memory of the incomparable Jonathan Swift

- Gail Cooke ... Read more

Product Description
This volume contains the complete and definitive texts of virtually allof Swift's major works, as well as a generous selection of his poetryand other writings.Included are Gulliver's Travels, A Tale of a Tub, The Battel of theBooks, A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit,numerous essays and other prose pieces, and poems, among them severalthat are rarely reprinted. All of the texts are scrupulously edited andannotated.

Backgrounds includes correspondence between Swift and members of hiscircle and observations by his contemporaries.

Criticism offers evaluations by Norman O. Brown, Samuel Holt Monk,Allan Bloom, Nigel Dennis, Edward W. Rosenheim, Jr., A. E. Dyson,William Frost, C. J. Rawson, Kathleen Williams, Martin Price, Robert M.Adams, and Jay Arnold Levine.

An Annotated Bibliography guides the reader to important works forfurther study. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A very thorough collection
In contrast with the principal competing collection of Swift's work (i.e., the Oxford Classics collection), the Norton Critical Edition contains all of "Gulliver's Travels," "A Tale of a Tub" (my favorite of Swift's works), and "The Battle of the Books," along with a solid selection of other writings in prose and poetry. Given the breadth of the selection, it is not surprising that this edition does not have an extensive critical apparatus. But it does have enough background material and footnotes to make the texts generally useful to the modern reader, and other materials are readily available. This may be more of a "reader's edition" than a truly "critical edition," but it is still a valuable edition.

You might want to choose a different anthology.
This anthology will serve those who don't care about the information that footnotes would provide, and those who already have that information in thier heads.

For students who want to give Swift a serious and informed reading, this edition is not ideal. Footnotes are few, and there's little editorial help in navigating the complex historical, political, and religious issues relevant to the text. Without an understanding of those issues the many of the works included are largely unintelligable and therefore a lot less interesting. For the price of a Norton, one expects a bit more padding to come with the text. ... Read more

Product Description
This series collects together the best-known aphorisms, epigrams and reflections of a wide variety of figures from antiquity to our own age: humorists and novelists, poets and philosophers, politicians and playwrights. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

iconoclast swift
Quite pleased with the condition of the book (and its contents) and the Amazonseller provided first rate service. thanks ... Read more

Product Description
Treasury of five shorter works by the author of Gulliver’s Travels offers ample evidence of the great satirist’s inspired lampoonery. Title piece plus The Battle of the Books, A Meditation upon a Broom-Stick, A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit and The Abolishing of Christianity in England.
Amazon.com Review
If you read this in high school (as many of us did), it mayhave shocked you--not bad for a tract written in 1729. It wouldn't befair to those of you who haven't come across A Modest Proposalto reveal the particulars of the piece; suffice it to say thatSaturday Night Live has nothing on Jonathan Swift! Swift'sdiscussion of what Great Britain should do for his native impoverishedIreland is a model of political satire, absolutely consistent in toneand even now still sparkling in its clarity. The balance between, onthe one hand, the utter seriousness of the matter in question and, onthe other, the outrageousness of the remedy suggested isexquisite. A Modest Proposal is short and comes bound in thisedition with several of Swift's other writings. This volume is anexcellent introduction to the author of Gulliver's Travels(itself a masterwork) and to one of the world's premier satiricalminds. What are you waiting for? --Michael Gerber ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

This is clever and humorous
The Irishman Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) is justly praised for his famous Gulliver's Travels; however, most people know nothing about his other writings. The titled satire is the most widely known of the five short works in this volume. It suggests that the Irish could solve their hunger problem by eating their children. This proposal, he writes, will have many social benefits, including the following: First, it will reduce the number of Roman Catholics who are "the principal breeders of the nation as well as our most dangerous enemies." Second the "poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own." Third, new money will be introduced into the economy that will be beneficial to everyone.Fourth, those having children will not need to maintain them after raising them for a year. Fifth, taverns will have more food at their disposal and "fine gentlemen" will enjoy visiting them. Sixth, doing away with children would be a great inducement to marriage.

A Modest Proposal
Most of us, including myself, read "A Modest Proposal" in high school. I decided to purchase a copy of the book, so I could read it again. It's quite an interesting and funny book. I can't even imagine how people of that era took the writing after it was published.

Monumentally disappointing...
Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels is one of the best books I've ever read--truly a timeless classic, a supernal achievement, a work that embeds itself in your brain. So it came as a rude surprise to me when I commenced reading this small pamphlet of essays and discovered it was AWFUL.

The ONLY thing amongst the FIVE essays that got my antennae quivering was the tete-a-tete betwixt the spider and the bee in The Battle of the Books. Everything else was fusty and antiquated...of no interest and tedious to read.

A Modest Proposal itself is no great shakes, especially to modern eyes. It's ho-hum. Mediocre. Feh.

If you're gonna read this slim little opus, it will be to self-educate, and not to derive "enjoyment." You won't laugh out loud. You may be impressed by an odd sentence here or there, but I'll own you'll be rolling your eyes FREQUENTLY at Swift's verbosity and infelicitous clause-agglomerations.

But, what the hey, it's only sixty-some pages, so polish it off and you'll know for the rest of your life that SWIFT=SATIRE.

The father of modern satire
Swift truly is the father of modern satire, unfortunately true satire is a dying art form."A Modest Proposal" is one of the most brilliant papers ever written.A biting idea proposed on handling the issues of poverty and overpopulation in Ireland.

The infamous proposal is the fattening, and eating of the children of the poor.Swift goes into great detail proving that his theory would work.Is he truly proposing that the English dine on "yearlings" as he calls them?Of course not... but he is showing that just because an option is available and COULD solve an issue, doesn't mean that people can stomach the ethics involved.

This should be MANDATORY reading in all schools... if nothing else perhaps the next generation will realize the importance and the power of satire.

A satirical wonder
Mr Swift is enormously accurate, a pundit of exalted talent. Wish he were here to justly give a critique of our political nightmare. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume contains the three works which together make up Jonathan Swift's early satiric and intellectual masterpiece, A Tale of a Tub: the Tale itself, The Battel of the Books, and The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit. Incorporating much new knowledge, this edition provides the first full scholarly treatment of this important work for fifty years. The introduction discusses publication, composition, and authorship; sources, analogues and generic models; reception; and religious, scientific and literary contexts (including the ancients and moderns controversy). Detailed explanatory notes address many previously unexplained issues in this famously rich and difficult work. Texts have been fully collated and edited according to modern principles and are accompanied with a textual introduction and full textual apparatus. Illustrations include title pages, the eight engravings from the fifth edition, and original designs for these engravings. Extensive associated contemporary materials, including Edmund Curll's Key and William Wotton's Observations, are provided. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The best affordable text for students
Angus Ross is one of the top people in Augustan prose studies, and his annotations for this edition are well done.For college students and those with college educations who are reading A Tale of a Tub and its associated works, the introduction and appended works are sufficient to give an overview.The Tale is an "impossible" work, and giving any student a complete review is impossible, as it is a work that opens every category of question, every matter of philosophy, religion, history, and rhetoric, and Ross splits the difference admirably.This annotations sometimes explain the self-evident, but he rarely misses a vital spot that needs explanation.On the other hand, the annotations are all in end note format, and so students and readers who are unfamiliar with Augustan history and the literary context of the work have to continually flip back and forth to "get the jokes."Simply moving to real footnotes would make an enormous difference for readers (e.g. the 1920 and 1958 Oxford UP standard editions edited by Guthkelch and Smith).

The other works in the volume are a nicely eclectic selection.The W. W. Norton Selected Works of Swift is better at giving the author's range, but Ross picks well and gives a nice representation here.The effect is to not only fully situate the Tale (even giving space to the silly Thomas Swift), but to give a snapshot of early Swift.

For anyone teaching, or teaching him or herself, this greatest of Swift's prose satires, this is far and away the best, affordable edition.

The most elusive of great books
A Tale of a Tub is certainly Swift's least classifiable work.He's best known, of course, for Gulliver's Travels.This work was mostly written at the very start of his career, when he hadn't yet totally hardened into hislater misanthropy, and it has all the demented exuberance of a great writerin his mid-20s finding a voice.

It defies description.The kernel ofit is a satire on religious controversies, but that makes up about a thirdof the actual text.The rest is a series of prologues, forewords,dedications, prefaces, afterwords, epilogues and appendices, the sheerprofusion of which suggest very much that Swift is poking dire fun at theidea of writing itself.In that respect, it goes further than any 20thcentury French golden boy of artistic revolt; Artaud looks like astamped-in-tin romantic poet when set against Swift's manic nihilism.ATale of a Tub is the closest anyone has ever got to writing a book thattackles head-on the futility of writing books, but that's only oneinterpretation of it.It exhausts interpretation by being as near aspossible about nothing at all - and hence about everything.Plus it's noteven 200 pages long.Swift never wrote as irresponsibly ever again,although the Travels, 'A Modest Proposal', the Bickerstaffe Papers, the'Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift' and the Drapier's Letters are alladmirable enough.A Tale of a Tub is as comprehensive a piece of literaryterrorism as was ever attempted.

Damagingly Funny
Swift, the greatest English satirist, is of course best known for Gulliver's Travels, but the Tale of a Tub is more complex, more vicious, and funnier. In some of the best prose of the 18th century, he ridiculesall sorts of conventions, religious, literary, rhetorical, and otherwise. He makes full use of the capacity that prose has for being deliriouslyirrelevant and digressive.It is similar in some ways to Tristram Shandyand the novels of postmodernism.It'll give you fits. ... Read more

Product Description
Shipwrecked castaway Lemuel Gulliver's encounters with the petty, diminutive Lilliputians, the crude giants of Brobdingnag, the abstracted scientists of Laputa, the philosophical Houyhnhnms, and the brutish Yahoos give him new, bitter insights into human behavior. Swift's fantastic and subversive book remains supremely relevant in our own age of distortion, hypocrisy, and irony.

Edited with an Introduction by Robert DeMaria, Jr. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (151)

Good book, reads like an adventure story!
why buy a Kindle or Nook if you can get it on your phone? This book is great; read it as a youth and now rereading it on my phone whenever I have a break... it takes one to other lands, a real original.

Best Satire of All Time, a Comic Masterpeice
This book is a masterpiece.I picked up an old dusty copy of this title at a book fair just so I could have this classic on my shelf.I was just out of college and not too interested in reading anything too boring and heavy.I figured I would scan through it just so I would be able to to say I read it and talk about it a little.What a surprise when I started reading- I couldn't put it down!

It was the original version with the addition of footnotes that explained the political climate and other relevant facts of the day.I strongly suggest that you obtain a version with this information as without it you are missing 3/4 of the reading experience.I actually read the whole book twice just to try and pick up the funny, quirky things I might have missed.There are just so many levels to this book.On the surface it is a book about a man and his travels to strange faraway places.Underneath it is a scathing, comical, statement on the state of society and the movers and shakers of the day.I did not know that Jonathan Swift was a comic genius, but this is a fact you cannot miss if you read this book understanding the social satire weaved throught its chapters.I actually would find myself laughing out loud and being overcome with awe at the complexity of the humor the author was able to conjure.

An Epic Adventure
It is difficult to review a "classic" novel given the weight of history and the number of reviews already written. However, this is an enjoyable adventure with very imaginative settings.

I agree with earlier reviews that the first 2 voyages are the more interesting, or at least not so laden with political messages. The later two are more interesting ideas for alternative fantasy settings but are bogged down by too much preaching.

There is a gem in here for Studio Ghibli fans, the third voyage was inspiration for a popular Ghibli movie.

From little to Big
My first experience of Gulliver's Travels was when I was about 7 or 8. My father had been a part of this subscription service from some publisher (I think it's the Franklin Library) called the "100 Greatest Books of All Time." The edition he had was heavy with gilded pages and was something that seemed like one of those medieval illuminated manuscripts. Each few pages had a beautiful, colored illustration of Gulliver struggling.

Before I'd go to bed, he'd sit by my dresser on his wooden chair with a glass of water--at least that's what I thought it was--on his knee, and I'd be wrapped in a blanket with my back to the head of my bed frame. When he started reading, his posture would straighten out and he'd hold the gold hardback up to his eyes with one hand, the glass of "water" held in the other. Every few page turns, he'd sip at the glass and inhale sharply as if he were washing down what he had read. I remember hearing his voice bellow above the reading lamp in a kind of dark monotone. It wasn't like when he read My Father's Dragon or Wonderland. He would describe Gulliver trapped and tied down, and I remember feeling guilty for laughing. The most he would do is invisibly smile in the shadow of the lamplight and snicker.

My father died this past summer. About a month after the funeral, I was walking through Border's trying to figure out what books I wanted my students to read (I just started a teaching apprenticeship at a local high school), and I ended up finding this edition. The good thing about it is that the price is so cheap.

Upon rereading it this past summer, I suddenly realized what Swift and my Father saw in the text. This was by no means simply a children's book or even a "misanthropic" novel, but instead, Gulliver's Travels maps perfectly the lifespan of a human being. This novel is clearly a bildungsroman. This occurred to me when I realized that the reader's concept of the author "Gulliver" is a result of his travels. Each world he visits, he is at first considered an outsider and then becomes, somewhat, a part of the society. Gulliver is an amorphous narrator; he exists only through these worlds and therefore, grows with the text. He is not just a passive observer to these magical places, but the context of his visits shapes him, the narrator, as much as it does change the reader.

How he is seen is through the context in which he is put. The Lilliputians are, obviously, a symbol for childhood. Brobbindang is pubescence as in this section, Gulliver sees the ugliness of the human form. The things that were cute in childhood now are these frightening forms. The last world Gulliver visits is a reference to the cynicism of old age. He sees humanity for what it is, a bunch of Yahoos. With this key in mind, you can clearly see how Gulliver's Travels is not misanthropic but an acceptance and analysis of the "human life cycle." We all go through these stages during our life, just like how we go through them while reading the text. My father helped me realize this. When he read this novel to me as a child, he was teaching me what to expect from this world.

However, this edition is worth "four stars" because the book is fairly cheap and feels like it will fall apart at any second. It feels as if there is no weight to it and is poorly constructed. Pages would be ripped out as they were turned. My father's stable, gold hardback edition was sold in a garage sale for a few cents four years ago. It's sad to say i don't think you can read it like that hardback tomb anymore.

Kindle Edition is NOT the Same Book!!!!!
I purchased this book in Kindle form in order to use it as a reference book for a research paper regarding Swift & Gulliver;s Travels. I thought it would be easier than using the Google Books version, since it would be at my disposal regardless of being online or not. Imagine my surprise when I opened the book & it was the exact same book I already have, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift & NOT Gulliver's Travels (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) by Swift & Christopher Fox. Kindle didn't even pick it up as the same book, but when I clicked on this new book, it actually opened up to the place I had bookmarked in my previously purchased "Gulliver" book. I do NOT need two exact copies of the same book!!! Bad Amazon!!! ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Customer Reviews (151)

Good book, reads like an adventure story!
why buy a Kindle or Nook if you can get it on your phone? This book is great; read it as a youth and now rereading it on my phone whenever I have a break... it takes one to other lands, a real original.

Best Satire of All Time, a Comic Masterpeice
This book is a masterpiece.I picked up an old dusty copy of this title at a book fair just so I could have this classic on my shelf.I was just out of college and not too interested in reading anything too boring and heavy.I figured I would scan through it just so I would be able to to say I read it and talk about it a little.What a surprise when I started reading- I couldn't put it down!

It was the original version with the addition of footnotes that explained the political climate and other relevant facts of the day.I strongly suggest that you obtain a version with this information as without it you are missing 3/4 of the reading experience.I actually read the whole book twice just to try and pick up the funny, quirky things I might have missed.There are just so many levels to this book.On the surface it is a book about a man and his travels to strange faraway places.Underneath it is a scathing, comical, statement on the state of society and the movers and shakers of the day.I did not know that Jonathan Swift was a comic genius, but this is a fact you cannot miss if you read this book understanding the social satire weaved throught its chapters.I actually would find myself laughing out loud and being overcome with awe at the complexity of the humor the author was able to conjure.

An Epic Adventure
It is difficult to review a "classic" novel given the weight of history and the number of reviews already written. However, this is an enjoyable adventure with very imaginative settings.

I agree with earlier reviews that the first 2 voyages are the more interesting, or at least not so laden with political messages. The later two are more interesting ideas for alternative fantasy settings but are bogged down by too much preaching.

There is a gem in here for Studio Ghibli fans, the third voyage was inspiration for a popular Ghibli movie.

From little to Big
My first experience of Gulliver's Travels was when I was about 7 or 8. My father had been a part of this subscription service from some publisher (I think it's the Franklin Library) called the "100 Greatest Books of All Time." The edition he had was heavy with gilded pages and was something that seemed like one of those medieval illuminated manuscripts. Each few pages had a beautiful, colored illustration of Gulliver struggling.

Before I'd go to bed, he'd sit by my dresser on his wooden chair with a glass of water--at least that's what I thought it was--on his knee, and I'd be wrapped in a blanket with my back to the head of my bed frame. When he started reading, his posture would straighten out and he'd hold the gold hardback up to his eyes with one hand, the glass of "water" held in the other. Every few page turns, he'd sip at the glass and inhale sharply as if he were washing down what he had read. I remember hearing his voice bellow above the reading lamp in a kind of dark monotone. It wasn't like when he read My Father's Dragon or Wonderland. He would describe Gulliver trapped and tied down, and I remember feeling guilty for laughing. The most he would do is invisibly smile in the shadow of the lamplight and snicker.

My father died this past summer. About a month after the funeral, I was walking through Border's trying to figure out what books I wanted my students to read (I just started a teaching apprenticeship at a local high school), and I ended up finding this edition. The good thing about it is that the price is so cheap.

Upon rereading it this past summer, I suddenly realized what Swift and my Father saw in the text. This was by no means simply a children's book or even a "misanthropic" novel, but instead, Gulliver's Travels maps perfectly the lifespan of a human being. This novel is clearly a bildungsroman. This occurred to me when I realized that the reader's concept of the author "Gulliver" is a result of his travels. Each world he visits, he is at first considered an outsider and then becomes, somewhat, a part of the society. Gulliver is an amorphous narrator; he exists only through these worlds and therefore, grows with the text. He is not just a passive observer to these magical places, but the context of his visits shapes him, the narrator, as much as it does change the reader.

How he is seen is through the context in which he is put. The Lilliputians are, obviously, a symbol for childhood. Brobbindang is pubescence as in this section, Gulliver sees the ugliness of the human form. The things that were cute in childhood now are these frightening forms. The last world Gulliver visits is a reference to the cynicism of old age. He sees humanity for what it is, a bunch of Yahoos. With this key in mind, you can clearly see how Gulliver's Travels is not misanthropic but an acceptance and analysis of the "human life cycle." We all go through these stages during our life, just like how we go through them while reading the text. My father helped me realize this. When he read this novel to me as a child, he was teaching me what to expect from this world.

However, this edition is worth "four stars" because the book is fairly cheap and feels like it will fall apart at any second. It feels as if there is no weight to it and is poorly constructed. Pages would be ripped out as they were turned. My father's stable, gold hardback edition was sold in a garage sale for a few cents four years ago. It's sad to say i don't think you can read it like that hardback tomb anymore.

Kindle Edition is NOT the Same Book!!!!!
I purchased this book in Kindle form in order to use it as a reference book for a research paper regarding Swift & Gulliver;s Travels. I thought it would be easier than using the Google Books version, since it would be at my disposal regardless of being online or not. Imagine my surprise when I opened the book & it was the exact same book I already have, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift & NOT Gulliver's Travels (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) by Swift & Christopher Fox. Kindle didn't even pick it up as the same book, but when I clicked on this new book, it actually opened up to the place I had bookmarked in my previously purchased "Gulliver" book. I do NOT need two exact copies of the same book!!! Bad Amazon!!! ... Read more

Product Description

This collection was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices. It is indexed alphabetically, chronologically and by category, making it easier to access individual books, stories and poems. This collection offers lower price, the convenience of a one-time download, and it reduces the clutter in your digital library. All books included in this collection feature a hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes. The collection is complimented by an author biography. Author's biography and essays in the trial version.

Customer Reviews (2)

Perfect format for the Kindle!
Perfect format for the Kindle!

I've purchased over 20 of these complete author collections from this publisher. These collections work superbly on the Kindle. Take Mark Twain collection. The collection includes huge number of Mark Twain's works all in one place, searchable and well-organized. If I would have purchased all these books separately, searching for `The Gilded Age' among hundreds of other books on my Kindle would be a nightmare. With Mobile Reference collections, I simply click `Works of Mark Twain', then click Novels> `The Gilded Age'. I can also click `List of works in alphabetical order' > `G' > `Gilded Age'. If I forget the book title but remember that `The Gilded Age' was written by Mark Twain early in his career, I can click on `List of works in chronological order' > (1873) `The Gilded Age'.

If I want another author, say, Charles Dickens, I click `Home' > `Works of Charles Dickens'. If I want Dostoevsky, I click `Works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky'. I think this format is perfect for organizing books on the Kindle.

Inside collections, each book has links to chapters and footnotes. The text is nicely formatted and seems to be complete and accurate - something that cannot always be said about inexpensive ebooks. I think these collections are great bargains both in terms of saved money, time, and book organization!

Works of Jonathan Swift. Excellent ebook!
Works of Jonathan Swift. (200+ Works). Includes Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Journal to Stella, Drapier's Letters, The Battle of the Books, ... Christianity, and A Tale of a Tub and more.
Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745), the author of Gulliver's Travels, was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist and poet. This is a comprehencive collection of his works. Excellent ebook!

... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's preservation reformatting program. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the text that can both be accessed online and used to create new print copies. This book and thousands of others can be found in the digital collections of the University of Michigan Library. The University Library also understands and values the utility of print, and makes reprints available through its Scholarly Publishing Office. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (151)

Good book, reads like an adventure story!
why buy a Kindle or Nook if you can get it on your phone? This book is great; read it as a youth and now rereading it on my phone whenever I have a break... it takes one to other lands, a real original.

Best Satire of All Time, a Comic Masterpeice
This book is a masterpiece.I picked up an old dusty copy of this title at a book fair just so I could have this classic on my shelf.I was just out of college and not too interested in reading anything too boring and heavy.I figured I would scan through it just so I would be able to to say I read it and talk about it a little.What a surprise when I started reading- I couldn't put it down!

It was the original version with the addition of footnotes that explained the political climate and other relevant facts of the day.I strongly suggest that you obtain a version with this information as without it you are missing 3/4 of the reading experience.I actually read the whole book twice just to try and pick up the funny, quirky things I might have missed.There are just so many levels to this book.On the surface it is a book about a man and his travels to strange faraway places.Underneath it is a scathing, comical, statement on the state of society and the movers and shakers of the day.I did not know that Jonathan Swift was a comic genius, but this is a fact you cannot miss if you read this book understanding the social satire weaved throught its chapters.I actually would find myself laughing out loud and being overcome with awe at the complexity of the humor the author was able to conjure.

An Epic Adventure
It is difficult to review a "classic" novel given the weight of history and the number of reviews already written. However, this is an enjoyable adventure with very imaginative settings.

I agree with earlier reviews that the first 2 voyages are the more interesting, or at least not so laden with political messages. The later two are more interesting ideas for alternative fantasy settings but are bogged down by too much preaching.

There is a gem in here for Studio Ghibli fans, the third voyage was inspiration for a popular Ghibli movie.

From little to Big
My first experience of Gulliver's Travels was when I was about 7 or 8. My father had been a part of this subscription service from some publisher (I think it's the Franklin Library) called the "100 Greatest Books of All Time." The edition he had was heavy with gilded pages and was something that seemed like one of those medieval illuminated manuscripts. Each few pages had a beautiful, colored illustration of Gulliver struggling.

Before I'd go to bed, he'd sit by my dresser on his wooden chair with a glass of water--at least that's what I thought it was--on his knee, and I'd be wrapped in a blanket with my back to the head of my bed frame. When he started reading, his posture would straighten out and he'd hold the gold hardback up to his eyes with one hand, the glass of "water" held in the other. Every few page turns, he'd sip at the glass and inhale sharply as if he were washing down what he had read. I remember hearing his voice bellow above the reading lamp in a kind of dark monotone. It wasn't like when he read My Father's Dragon or Wonderland. He would describe Gulliver trapped and tied down, and I remember feeling guilty for laughing. The most he would do is invisibly smile in the shadow of the lamplight and snicker.

My father died this past summer. About a month after the funeral, I was walking through Border's trying to figure out what books I wanted my students to read (I just started a teaching apprenticeship at a local high school), and I ended up finding this edition. The good thing about it is that the price is so cheap.

Upon rereading it this past summer, I suddenly realized what Swift and my Father saw in the text. This was by no means simply a children's book or even a "misanthropic" novel, but instead, Gulliver's Travels maps perfectly the lifespan of a human being. This novel is clearly a bildungsroman. This occurred to me when I realized that the reader's concept of the author "Gulliver" is a result of his travels. Each world he visits, he is at first considered an outsider and then becomes, somewhat, a part of the society. Gulliver is an amorphous narrator; he exists only through these worlds and therefore, grows with the text. He is not just a passive observer to these magical places, but the context of his visits shapes him, the narrator, as much as it does change the reader.

How he is seen is through the context in which he is put. The Lilliputians are, obviously, a symbol for childhood. Brobbindang is pubescence as in this section, Gulliver sees the ugliness of the human form. The things that were cute in childhood now are these frightening forms. The last world Gulliver visits is a reference to the cynicism of old age. He sees humanity for what it is, a bunch of Yahoos. With this key in mind, you can clearly see how Gulliver's Travels is not misanthropic but an acceptance and analysis of the "human life cycle." We all go through these stages during our life, just like how we go through them while reading the text. My father helped me realize this. When he read this novel to me as a child, he was teaching me what to expect from this world.

However, this edition is worth "four stars" because the book is fairly cheap and feels like it will fall apart at any second. It feels as if there is no weight to it and is poorly constructed. Pages would be ripped out as they were turned. My father's stable, gold hardback edition was sold in a garage sale for a few cents four years ago. It's sad to say i don't think you can read it like that hardback tomb anymore.

Kindle Edition is NOT the Same Book!!!!!
I purchased this book in Kindle form in order to use it as a reference book for a research paper regarding Swift & Gulliver;s Travels. I thought it would be easier than using the Google Books version, since it would be at my disposal regardless of being online or not. Imagine my surprise when I opened the book & it was the exact same book I already have, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift & NOT Gulliver's Travels (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) by Swift & Christopher Fox. Kindle didn't even pick it up as the same book, but when I clicked on this new book, it actually opened up to the place I had bookmarked in my previously purchased "Gulliver" book. I do NOT need two exact copies of the same book!!! Bad Amazon!!! ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Customer Reviews (151)

Good book, reads like an adventure story!
why buy a Kindle or Nook if you can get it on your phone? This book is great; read it as a youth and now rereading it on my phone whenever I have a break... it takes one to other lands, a real original.

Best Satire of All Time, a Comic Masterpeice
This book is a masterpiece.I picked up an old dusty copy of this title at a book fair just so I could have this classic on my shelf.I was just out of college and not too interested in reading anything too boring and heavy.I figured I would scan through it just so I would be able to to say I read it and talk about it a little.What a surprise when I started reading- I couldn't put it down!

It was the original version with the addition of footnotes that explained the political climate and other relevant facts of the day.I strongly suggest that you obtain a version with this information as without it you are missing 3/4 of the reading experience.I actually read the whole book twice just to try and pick up the funny, quirky things I might have missed.There are just so many levels to this book.On the surface it is a book about a man and his travels to strange faraway places.Underneath it is a scathing, comical, statement on the state of society and the movers and shakers of the day.I did not know that Jonathan Swift was a comic genius, but this is a fact you cannot miss if you read this book understanding the social satire weaved throught its chapters.I actually would find myself laughing out loud and being overcome with awe at the complexity of the humor the author was able to conjure.

An Epic Adventure
It is difficult to review a "classic" novel given the weight of history and the number of reviews already written. However, this is an enjoyable adventure with very imaginative settings.

I agree with earlier reviews that the first 2 voyages are the more interesting, or at least not so laden with political messages. The later two are more interesting ideas for alternative fantasy settings but are bogged down by too much preaching.

There is a gem in here for Studio Ghibli fans, the third voyage was inspiration for a popular Ghibli movie.

From little to Big
My first experience of Gulliver's Travels was when I was about 7 or 8. My father had been a part of this subscription service from some publisher (I think it's the Franklin Library) called the "100 Greatest Books of All Time." The edition he had was heavy with gilded pages and was something that seemed like one of those medieval illuminated manuscripts. Each few pages had a beautiful, colored illustration of Gulliver struggling.

Before I'd go to bed, he'd sit by my dresser on his wooden chair with a glass of water--at least that's what I thought it was--on his knee, and I'd be wrapped in a blanket with my back to the head of my bed frame. When he started reading, his posture would straighten out and he'd hold the gold hardback up to his eyes with one hand, the glass of "water" held in the other. Every few page turns, he'd sip at the glass and inhale sharply as if he were washing down what he had read. I remember hearing his voice bellow above the reading lamp in a kind of dark monotone. It wasn't like when he read My Father's Dragon or Wonderland. He would describe Gulliver trapped and tied down, and I remember feeling guilty for laughing. The most he would do is invisibly smile in the shadow of the lamplight and snicker.

My father died this past summer. About a month after the funeral, I was walking through Border's trying to figure out what books I wanted my students to read (I just started a teaching apprenticeship at a local high school), and I ended up finding this edition. The good thing about it is that the price is so cheap.

Upon rereading it this past summer, I suddenly realized what Swift and my Father saw in the text. This was by no means simply a children's book or even a "misanthropic" novel, but instead, Gulliver's Travels maps perfectly the lifespan of a human being. This novel is clearly a bildungsroman. This occurred to me when I realized that the reader's concept of the author "Gulliver" is a result of his travels. Each world he visits, he is at first considered an outsider and then becomes, somewhat, a part of the society. Gulliver is an amorphous narrator; he exists only through these worlds and therefore, grows with the text. He is not just a passive observer to these magical places, but the context of his visits shapes him, the narrator, as much as it does change the reader.

How he is seen is through the context in which he is put. The Lilliputians are, obviously, a symbol for childhood. Brobbindang is pubescence as in this section, Gulliver sees the ugliness of the human form. The things that were cute in childhood now are these frightening forms. The last world Gulliver visits is a reference to the cynicism of old age. He sees humanity for what it is, a bunch of Yahoos. With this key in mind, you can clearly see how Gulliver's Travels is not misanthropic but an acceptance and analysis of the "human life cycle." We all go through these stages during our life, just like how we go through them while reading the text. My father helped me realize this. When he read this novel to me as a child, he was teaching me what to expect from this world.

However, this edition is worth "four stars" because the book is fairly cheap and feels like it will fall apart at any second. It feels as if there is no weight to it and is poorly constructed. Pages would be ripped out as they were turned. My father's stable, gold hardback edition was sold in a garage sale for a few cents four years ago. It's sad to say i don't think you can read it like that hardback tomb anymore.

Kindle Edition is NOT the Same Book!!!!!
I purchased this book in Kindle form in order to use it as a reference book for a research paper regarding Swift & Gulliver;s Travels. I thought it would be easier than using the Google Books version, since it would be at my disposal regardless of being online or not. Imagine my surprise when I opened the book & it was the exact same book I already have, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift & NOT Gulliver's Travels (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) by Swift & Christopher Fox. Kindle didn't even pick it up as the same book, but when I clicked on this new book, it actually opened up to the place I had bookmarked in my previously purchased "Gulliver" book. I do NOT need two exact copies of the same book!!! Bad Amazon!!! ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Customer Reviews (151)

Good book, reads like an adventure story!
why buy a Kindle or Nook if you can get it on your phone? This book is great; read it as a youth and now rereading it on my phone whenever I have a break... it takes one to other lands, a real original.

Best Satire of All Time, a Comic Masterpeice
This book is a masterpiece.I picked up an old dusty copy of this title at a book fair just so I could have this classic on my shelf.I was just out of college and not too interested in reading anything too boring and heavy.I figured I would scan through it just so I would be able to to say I read it and talk about it a little.What a surprise when I started reading- I couldn't put it down!

It was the original version with the addition of footnotes that explained the political climate and other relevant facts of the day.I strongly suggest that you obtain a version with this information as without it you are missing 3/4 of the reading experience.I actually read the whole book twice just to try and pick up the funny, quirky things I might have missed.There are just so many levels to this book.On the surface it is a book about a man and his travels to strange faraway places.Underneath it is a scathing, comical, statement on the state of society and the movers and shakers of the day.I did not know that Jonathan Swift was a comic genius, but this is a fact you cannot miss if you read this book understanding the social satire weaved throught its chapters.I actually would find myself laughing out loud and being overcome with awe at the complexity of the humor the author was able to conjure.

An Epic Adventure
It is difficult to review a "classic" novel given the weight of history and the number of reviews already written. However, this is an enjoyable adventure with very imaginative settings.

I agree with earlier reviews that the first 2 voyages are the more interesting, or at least not so laden with political messages. The later two are more interesting ideas for alternative fantasy settings but are bogged down by too much preaching.

There is a gem in here for Studio Ghibli fans, the third voyage was inspiration for a popular Ghibli movie.

From little to Big
My first experience of Gulliver's Travels was when I was about 7 or 8. My father had been a part of this subscription service from some publisher (I think it's the Franklin Library) called the "100 Greatest Books of All Time." The edition he had was heavy with gilded pages and was something that seemed like one of those medieval illuminated manuscripts. Each few pages had a beautiful, colored illustration of Gulliver struggling.

Before I'd go to bed, he'd sit by my dresser on his wooden chair with a glass of water--at least that's what I thought it was--on his knee, and I'd be wrapped in a blanket with my back to the head of my bed frame. When he started reading, his posture would straighten out and he'd hold the gold hardback up to his eyes with one hand, the glass of "water" held in the other. Every few page turns, he'd sip at the glass and inhale sharply as if he were washing down what he had read. I remember hearing his voice bellow above the reading lamp in a kind of dark monotone. It wasn't like when he read My Father's Dragon or Wonderland. He would describe Gulliver trapped and tied down, and I remember feeling guilty for laughing. The most he would do is invisibly smile in the shadow of the lamplight and snicker.

My father died this past summer. About a month after the funeral, I was walking through Border's trying to figure out what books I wanted my students to read (I just started a teaching apprenticeship at a local high school), and I ended up finding this edition. The good thing about it is that the price is so cheap.

Upon rereading it this past summer, I suddenly realized what Swift and my Father saw in the text. This was by no means simply a children's book or even a "misanthropic" novel, but instead, Gulliver's Travels maps perfectly the lifespan of a human being. This novel is clearly a bildungsroman. This occurred to me when I realized that the reader's concept of the author "Gulliver" is a result of his travels. Each world he visits, he is at first considered an outsider and then becomes, somewhat, a part of the society. Gulliver is an amorphous narrator; he exists only through these worlds and therefore, grows with the text. He is not just a passive observer to these magical places, but the context of his visits shapes him, the narrator, as much as it does change the reader.

How he is seen is through the context in which he is put. The Lilliputians are, obviously, a symbol for childhood. Brobbindang is pubescence as in this section, Gulliver sees the ugliness of the human form. The things that were cute in childhood now are these frightening forms. The last world Gulliver visits is a reference to the cynicism of old age. He sees humanity for what it is, a bunch of Yahoos. With this key in mind, you can clearly see how Gulliver's Travels is not misanthropic but an acceptance and analysis of the "human life cycle." We all go through these stages during our life, just like how we go through them while reading the text. My father helped me realize this. When he read this novel to me as a child, he was teaching me what to expect from this world.

However, this edition is worth "four stars" because the book is fairly cheap and feels like it will fall apart at any second. It feels as if there is no weight to it and is poorly constructed. Pages would be ripped out as they were turned. My father's stable, gold hardback edition was sold in a garage sale for a few cents four years ago. It's sad to say i don't think you can read it like that hardback tomb anymore.

Kindle Edition is NOT the Same Book!!!!!
I purchased this book in Kindle form in order to use it as a reference book for a research paper regarding Swift & Gulliver;s Travels. I thought it would be easier than using the Google Books version, since it would be at my disposal regardless of being online or not. Imagine my surprise when I opened the book & it was the exact same book I already have, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift & NOT Gulliver's Travels (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) by Swift & Christopher Fox. Kindle didn't even pick it up as the same book, but when I clicked on this new book, it actually opened up to the place I had bookmarked in my previously purchased "Gulliver" book. I do NOT need two exact copies of the same book!!! Bad Amazon!!! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (151)

Good book, reads like an adventure story!
why buy a Kindle or Nook if you can get it on your phone? This book is great; read it as a youth and now rereading it on my phone whenever I have a break... it takes one to other lands, a real original.

Best Satire of All Time, a Comic Masterpeice
This book is a masterpiece.I picked up an old dusty copy of this title at a book fair just so I could have this classic on my shelf.I was just out of college and not too interested in reading anything too boring and heavy.I figured I would scan through it just so I would be able to to say I read it and talk about it a little.What a surprise when I started reading- I couldn't put it down!

It was the original version with the addition of footnotes that explained the political climate and other relevant facts of the day.I strongly suggest that you obtain a version with this information as without it you are missing 3/4 of the reading experience.I actually read the whole book twice just to try and pick up the funny, quirky things I might have missed.There are just so many levels to this book.On the surface it is a book about a man and his travels to strange faraway places.Underneath it is a scathing, comical, statement on the state of society and the movers and shakers of the day.I did not know that Jonathan Swift was a comic genius, but this is a fact you cannot miss if you read this book understanding the social satire weaved throught its chapters.I actually would find myself laughing out loud and being overcome with awe at the complexity of the humor the author was able to conjure.

An Epic Adventure
It is difficult to review a "classic" novel given the weight of history and the number of reviews already written. However, this is an enjoyable adventure with very imaginative settings.

I agree with earlier reviews that the first 2 voyages are the more interesting, or at least not so laden with political messages. The later two are more interesting ideas for alternative fantasy settings but are bogged down by too much preaching.

There is a gem in here for Studio Ghibli fans, the third voyage was inspiration for a popular Ghibli movie.

From little to Big
My first experience of Gulliver's Travels was when I was about 7 or 8. My father had been a part of this subscription service from some publisher (I think it's the Franklin Library) called the "100 Greatest Books of All Time." The edition he had was heavy with gilded pages and was something that seemed like one of those medieval illuminated manuscripts. Each few pages had a beautiful, colored illustration of Gulliver struggling.

Before I'd go to bed, he'd sit by my dresser on his wooden chair with a glass of water--at least that's what I thought it was--on his knee, and I'd be wrapped in a blanket with my back to the head of my bed frame. When he started reading, his posture would straighten out and he'd hold the gold hardback up to his eyes with one hand, the glass of "water" held in the other. Every few page turns, he'd sip at the glass and inhale sharply as if he were washing down what he had read. I remember hearing his voice bellow above the reading lamp in a kind of dark monotone. It wasn't like when he read My Father's Dragon or Wonderland. He would describe Gulliver trapped and tied down, and I remember feeling guilty for laughing. The most he would do is invisibly smile in the shadow of the lamplight and snicker.

My father died this past summer. About a month after the funeral, I was walking through Border's trying to figure out what books I wanted my students to read (I just started a teaching apprenticeship at a local high school), and I ended up finding this edition. The good thing about it is that the price is so cheap.

Upon rereading it this past summer, I suddenly realized what Swift and my Father saw in the text. This was by no means simply a children's book or even a "misanthropic" novel, but instead, Gulliver's Travels maps perfectly the lifespan of a human being. This novel is clearly a bildungsroman. This occurred to me when I realized that the reader's concept of the author "Gulliver" is a result of his travels. Each world he visits, he is at first considered an outsider and then becomes, somewhat, a part of the society. Gulliver is an amorphous narrator; he exists only through these worlds and therefore, grows with the text. He is not just a passive observer to these magical places, but the context of his visits shapes him, the narrator, as much as it does change the reader.

How he is seen is through the context in which he is put. The Lilliputians are, obviously, a symbol for childhood. Brobbindang is pubescence as in this section, Gulliver sees the ugliness of the human form. The things that were cute in childhood now are these frightening forms. The last world Gulliver visits is a reference to the cynicism of old age. He sees humanity for what it is, a bunch of Yahoos. With this key in mind, you can clearly see how Gulliver's Travels is not misanthropic but an acceptance and analysis of the "human life cycle." We all go through these stages during our life, just like how we go through them while reading the text. My father helped me realize this. When he read this novel to me as a child, he was teaching me what to expect from this world.

However, this edition is worth "four stars" because the book is fairly cheap and feels like it will fall apart at any second. It feels as if there is no weight to it and is poorly constructed. Pages would be ripped out as they were turned. My father's stable, gold hardback edition was sold in a garage sale for a few cents four years ago. It's sad to say i don't think you can read it like that hardback tomb anymore.

Kindle Edition is NOT the Same Book!!!!!
I purchased this book in Kindle form in order to use it as a reference book for a research paper regarding Swift & Gulliver;s Travels. I thought it would be easier than using the Google Books version, since it would be at my disposal regardless of being online or not. Imagine my surprise when I opened the book & it was the exact same book I already have, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift & NOT Gulliver's Travels (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) by Swift & Christopher Fox. Kindle didn't even pick it up as the same book, but when I clicked on this new book, it actually opened up to the place I had bookmarked in my previously purchased "Gulliver" book. I do NOT need two exact copies of the same book!!! Bad Amazon!!! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Book!
This book was great. I read it a lot. It is a must-read and once you read it, watch the movie that is coming out in 2010. This is what the book was about.

Gulliver was on a journey to explore. His ship, one day was in a terrible storm. His ship was wrecked by the storm. He woke up on an island where everyone was small. The small people captured him and brought him to the king. The king didn't think he was dangerous and Gulliver wasn't. Gulliver was soon trusted by the small people. Since they trusted him, they built a house and a big bed for Gulliver to sleep in.

Soon, they trusted him so much they let him out of the town. Soon, he explored towns and met people. One day, there was a huge fire.The small people couldn't put it out. Then, Gulliver got water in his mouth and sprayed it at the fire. The fire went out and the town was happy that the fire was out.

Gulliver found a boat and built it to go to his hometown. He said goodbye and left. Instead of going to his hometown, he went to another island. This time the people were big and super tall, taller than Gulliver. They treated him like a child because he was so small and one day, a girl befriended him and they became best friends. One morning, a person bought Gulliver for money from the girl because he was so small. The girl was sad that someone bought Gulliver from her family. The person that bought Gulliver said that you can visit him.

This book was adventurous. I loved this book because I like adventures. I just found out this book is going to be a movie. I was wondering if the book is better. Go get this book at the library or go buy it.
... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. - Volume 09 - Contributions to The Tatler, The Examiner, The Spectator, and The Intelligencer is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Jonathan Swift is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Jonathan Swift then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more