Clifton Fadiman (1904–1999)

This is my "desert island book". I've read this maybe 10 to 15 times, always straight through. Hang out with all the great personalities of western history, but only for those 5 minute periods when they are funniest or at their most interesting. My hard copy has rings from the beer cans placed upon it, has fallen into a pool, and I plan on handing it down to my first born. If he does not appreciate it, I will beat him over the head with it as it is hard cover and weighty. I sniped this from show more my father's bookshelf when home from college 14 years ago, I guess he used it never or once when he had to make a speech or something. show less

I will only review this one edition, although it stands for all the volumes in my collection from the beginning, in September of 1973 to May of 1978, when I felt I was too old to receive them anymore. These were wonderful magazines. Better quality than many of the paperback books which I had access to at the time. The contributors were first class authors and illustrators, the designs and humor were perfectly attractive to children without sounding condescending. I treasure each volume and show more remember the hours I spent pouring over them when they came. My mother knew I was good for nothing for the first couple of days after I received a Cricket magazine in the mail. show less

An anthology of stories with the common theme of mathematics. The first story is rather dark, being a tale of a young Italian boy first discovering the joys of mathematics who commits suicide when taken from his family. Most of the rest of the stories are much more lighthearted. There are quite a few about Moebius strips and Klein bottles. The one I remember most is the tale of the first Martian colony ship, Expedition.
I found this volume in the school library in junior high school and I show more remember reading through it more than once. Something brought it to mind last year and I hunted down a copy and ordered it for myself. Re-reading the stories recalled to me that ever so awkward period in my life and the refuge I took in books and the school library. show less

Clifton Fadiman can remember to this day the wonder that he felt as a child when he opened a book and found "a surprise package stuffed with things I had no idea ever existed." Fadiman's lifelong love affair with books, which began at the age of four, is evident in this splendid anthology, which gives young children--and adults who can still summon up the child in themselves--a chance to explore the riches of books that will entertain, amuse, sadden, delight, mystify, and show more astonish.International in scope, covering countless countries, and handsomely illustrated (often with the original art). show less