Clifton Fadiman (1904–1999)

The idea of a western cannon of literature is becoming less and less viable with the major shifts in sensibilities that are constantly 'tornadoing' back and forth over it.

Books like this will hardly be published in the future. For those of us that still think there is value in reading parts of the old and moldy cannon this is as good a choice as any I suppose.

The title is appropriate btw, it truly will take a lifetime to read this long list of some of the greatest writings ever. I've barely show more scratched the surface myself.

Were it not for this book I would have never thought for a second that it would be worth reading the Epic of Gilgamesh for example.

Which it is. 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