Vintage Reading brings eighty of the world's most unforgettable books out from behind the high castle walls, lowers the drawbridge, and welcomes readers inside. With lively and concise commentary, award-winning author Robert Kanigel throws an arm around the reader and becomes the tour guide to classics, best-sellers, lesser-known greats, and everything in-between. From St. Augustine's Confessions to Dorothy Parker's Stories, Kanigel presents a unique collection of essays unlike any other stuffy attempt at introducing the modern reader to Great Books.Vintage Reading is welcoming. It opens the door to eighty good books rather than post stern-faced guards around them. Before writing his critically acclaimed titles The Man Who Knew Infinity and The One Best Way, Kanigel penned these essays to guide time-starved bibliophiles to important books they may have missed. The essays appeared in such publications as Baltimore's Evening Sun, Cleveland's Plain Dealer, and The Los Angeles Times. Vintage Reading brings eighty of the world's most unforgettable books out from behind the high castle walls, lowers the drawbridge, and welcomes readers inside. With lively and concise commentary, award-winning author Robert Kanigel throws an arm around the reader and becomes the tour guide to: • Books That Shaped the Western World • Books on Everyone's List of Literary Classics • Books on Many a List for Burning • Lighter Fare: Good Reads, Best Sellers • One-of-a-Kinds • "But I Know What I Like": Books on Aesthetics & Style • Making Hard Work Easy: Great Works of Popularization • Not Robinson Crusoe...Lesser Known Classics • The Realm of the Spirit: Holy & Human From St. Augustine's Confessions to Dorothy Parker's Stories, Kanigel presents a unique collection of essays unlike any other stuffy attempt at introducing the modern reader to Great Books.Vintage Reading is welcoming. It opens the door to eighty good books rather than post stern-faced guards around them. Before writing his critically acclaimed titles The Man Who Knew Infinity and The One Best Way, Kanigel penned these essays to guide time-starved bibliophiles to important books they may have missed. The essays appeared in such publications as Baltimore's Evening Sun, Cleveland's Plain Dealer, and The Los Angeles Times.
"These brief essays on Kanigel's personal choice of best books provide a unique point of view to literature students in search of an overview or comments about their favorite work. The author makes no claim to be scholarly or comprehensive, but has written briefly about enduring books and stories that appeal to his "middle-brow" tastes. Included are essays on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Prid
School Library Journal
"This book got its start from a column Kanigel wrote for seven years, published by the Baltimore Evening Sun and the Los Angeles Times. It includes 80 two- to three-page essays on books he chose, as the author says in his introduction, for his benefit rather than the reader's. So, the choices are somewhat eclectic, ranging from Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady to Isadora Duncan's My Life. The
