Treasure Island (World's Classics)
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List Price: $5.95
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.8
EAN: 9780192816818
ISBN: 0192816810
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 253
Publication Date: 1985-06-27
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Quick Service in Great Condition!
Comment: I got my order the day AFTER I ordered it! The book was in wonderful condition for a used book. I couldn't be happier!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Treasure Island (Stepping Stone)
Comment: I teach students with special needs. Stepping Stone books give me modified classic literature that stays fairly close to the original text. This allows my students to focus more on comprehension skills, and less on "getting through the book". Treasure Island is a favorite combined with an overabundance of "pirating" activities that for a brief period of time my students get to become pirates. Comprehension soars. It is the best!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Drink and the devil had done for the rest / Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Comment: Treasure Island is one of those books that is thought of as a boy's book, a classic that nonetheless is designed for the youth that craves adventure. As such, it delivers, but that is not the only reason one should read this classic. The appeal is present for the fully grown man, if not woman. In fact, there is hardly a woman character in the novel, and though Robert Louis Stevenson had contributions from others in the writing of it, women were conspicuously absent in the influence, contributions primarily coming from his stepson and his father.
It is evident from the novel that Stevenson's description of the landscape does not mesh well with something from the Caribbean, but possibly something from California (which he visited -- in pursuit of a certain married woman, which he later married himself), with the inclusion of trees that can only be described as Redwoods. He does not really say where the island lies, in any case. The story goes that Stevenson drew the island first, then the story was developed later, influenced by other stories by such as Washington Irving.
This is an adventure that is a beautiful version of escapist literature from an imaginative writer, and though Stevenson was obviously influenced by others, his tale has influenced more modern tales, such as "Pirates of the Caribbean," theme song and all. I think women may enjoy the tale, as well, but on the whole, this is a story for boys and men, especially ones in search of a worthy adventure of the mind.
As a little quibble, on page 179, I noticed a place in the Penguin paperback version where it says "tail trees" rather than "tall trees," and it was not simply a printing imperfection, but an outright error. Still, the Penguin version has many extras...an introduction by a scholar, an essay at the end by Stevenson on the writing of the book, and a section from Washington Irving's "Tales of a Traveller," which influenced the beginning of "Treasure Island."
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great read
Comment: I picked this one up for the kids and ended up just reading it to myself one day because I had missed it in my youth. It really is a great story and is well told.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great for All Ages
Comment: Often considered a children's book, Treasure Island, like all great children's books, can be readily enjoyed by all. Though very different from current children's works, it certainly has much that young readers are likely to enjoy - rollicking adventure, an astonishingly quick pace, great suspense, colorful characters, an engaging young narrator, etc. However, it has at least as many elements that anyone can appreciate, such as deft plotting; few works draw us in so immediately or are as well put together, and the action never lets up. It is very hard to put the book down even after more than a century; modern thrillers certainly have nothing on it. For pure adventure and excitement, it is nearly impossible to top. The plain, straightforward prose is still lucid, and Treasure has the great virtue of being easy for anyone to read. Perhaps what really makes the book, though, are its characters. The notorious Long John Silver is the most famous, a splendid and unforgettable creation; he is one of the most lively and simply fascinating characters ever. Many others are also memorable, not least Jim Hawkins, one of literature's most notable young protagonists and narrators.
Treasure belies its children's story origins in several ways, such as strong binary oppositions between heroes and villains in regard to alcohol, religion, thriftiness, etc. However, it has many serious, even thought-provoking themes; for example, it is in large part a very fine bildungsroman, which young readers will certainly appreciate. That said, reading it shows just how much children's stories have changed; such a work would never be considered, much less marketed as, a children's story now. This is most obviously due to surprisingly graphic violence and a strong glimpse or real evil; more fundamentally, it has much to do with moral murk. The good/evil distinction is far less clear than it first seems. For instance, Silver is very hard to pin down; no character can dislike him fully, and much the same can be said of readers. This may go a long way toward explaining the seemingly mysterious fact that he is by far the best-known character, is often depicted at worst as ambivalent, and has had his name used for such things as a fast food chain. He somewhat recalls Shakespeare's Richard III in that we are - somewhat perversely - drawn to him because of his evil, but the issue is very complex and subtle. None can deny that he has several conventional virtues, including bravery, determination, and resourcefulness. Conversely, the heroes' actions also give us much to think about, as does Treasure itself; to begin with, it deals with several important morality questions like justice, law, mercy, etc. All this will more than satisfy those expecting something more than adventure, though the book certainly has plenty of that.
Treasure is one of the few books that everyone should truly read. It has become a true cultural institution, still immensely popular and constantly adapted. If nothing else, one should at this point read it just to see its immense effect on the popular consciousness, especially the view of pirates and everything associated with them, which the book virtually invented. There are few books I would recommend unhesitatingly to readers of all ages; this is one, and I recommend it very strongly indeed.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Unrivaled in literature, Stevenson's Treasure Island is among the most delightful adventure romances of all time. From young Jim Hawkins' first encounter with an old buccaneer and his tresure map to the final daring skirmish with the treacherous pirate Long JOhn Silver, this classic work enchants and fuels the imagination with beautiful illustrations.
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