Alan Arkin Books

I got a copy of the older version, illustrated by James Stevenson - it is a treasure. I LOVE IT! Have read it to my grandkids and they love it. GREAT humor and pictures. Wish the new one was illustrated by James Stevenson! It is a book worth owning!

I read this book at school. I was impressed by the language. The day before I read this book I found out that the author wrote this book about his three sons.

This was my favorite book when I was little. Now that I'm a father, I can't seem to find my copy (I managed to keep it for 20+ years, but I may have just had one move too many), so I was sad to see it was out of print.

Hopefully it will turn up, because this book is a real gem.

This was my favorite book when I was little. Now that I'm a father, I was ecstatic that I could find my copy from 30 years ago, as I was sad to see it was out of print.

I was given this book when I was a little girl and it instantly became one of my favorite books which I still keep in my library today. The book is wildly imaginative and teaches children that limits only exist in your own mind, certainly not in the minds of others. It's a shame that this book is no longer in print because it's truly timeless. If you see it anywhere grab a copy and then torture yourself by giving it away to a child that's dear to you.

I love this book! it is fun and lovely and really quite cuttie wootie~

I thought that Cassie Loves Beethoven was good because she could talk and play the piano.Then when she here's Beethoven's music her whole life changes.So then she goe's to a concert and she decides she need's to play an instrument,she tries almost every instrument but nothing seem's to work.Then Hallie and David's dad Myles made Cassie a 40 foot long piano.Then Cassie became very famous,then got mad at a newspaper review and got in a fight.From then on she just played for fun and with no audience.

"Halfway Through the Door" is a short informative, enjoyable book. The book documents Alan Arkin as a seeker of personal truths as he finds a teacher and his own wisdom.

Terrific story to read aloud. Anyone who has ever visited FOA Schwartz or other giant toy store will appreciate this story about Molly and her Grampa. How to choose just one present??? You will enjoy this delightful tale, I promise.

Of the three one-acts collected here, the first two have only minimal depth and the third doesn't have any. Doesn't matter. Alan Arkin and Elaine May have brilliant comic minds, and put them to excellent use on this project.

My personal favorite of the three is May's opener, "The Way of All Fish", in which a meek secretary attempts to shift the balance of power away from her difficult boss, with bizarre and side-splitting results. But there are amusing lines and intriguing situations in all three. Reading this book isn't quite a substitute for watching May and Arkin perform in their own pieces (or for watching Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss, their replacements in the original production), but it has the added benefit of allowing you to go back and excerpt the most quotable lines at your leisure.

Don't hesitate -- just grab it.

This is the original (at least in terms of modern relevance) satire of modern warfare and decision making. However, it achieves a level of humour very rarely achieved elsewhere. It is a very personal book, and some of the personal touch, sidesplitting jokes, and very dark serious undercurrent make this resonate more with me than some of the other great "political / moral" satires - Animal Farm and 1984 after all can leave you feeling somewhat cold.

Although [...]. It had an incredible affect on me. It is incredibly funny, yet very sad in parts. Especially for example when you do finally find out what happened to the gunner, Snowden, in the mission to Avignon. Or when Yossarian walks through Rome.

The ideas concerning the ridiculuous nature of war are as topical now as they were in the 1960s. Actually, of course, Joseph Heller's presentation of the insanity around him predated the Vietnam War, and I wasn't around at that time to truly judge the feeling then.

The dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny at times, as is the juxtapostion of events, as for example when Clevinger complains of confusing cause-and-effect in staring at the bomb-line on the map south of Bologna, willing the line to move itself and for the squadron to not have to fly the mission. In fact, the whole chapter in which this incident occurs, "Bologna" was the funniest in the book for me, with the rain beating down and the mission continually cancelled, Chief Whitehalfoat stealing a jeep to drive home, and Yossarian telling his pilot to turn around. And then, of course, Bologna was a milk-run; no glue gun there.

Anyone who has not read this book and is mystified by what is going on at the moment and since 2003 should read this book. It's not going to change the world, but it is food for thought.

Also highly recommended are the next two of Joseph Heller's novels, "Something Happened" and "Good as Gold."

Why is this a so-called "classic"? Got me. I have no idea. Another reviewer said that you could skip chapters and not miss anything. I agree. I first attempted this novel a few years ago. I quit in less than 50 pages, so bored was I. I picked it up again recently, and I'm now less than 50 pages from finishing. What an unfulfilling reading experience this is. There is no central unifying theme or plot - other than that war is hell and the military rarely makes sense. But we knew that, right? As for the whole catch-22 business, sure, that is amusing the first twenty times, but it gets old quickly. This story could have been told in 50 pages and even that would have been too much.

Why then, if it is so bad, am I about to finish it? You know how it is. You start reading, and you become determined to complete it, just to say you did. There is no enjoyment in it though. I am looking forward to getting done so that I can read something else. My advice? Don't read this novel. Read the ingredients on food packages in your cupboard instead. You'll have more fun.

This book is so good, my weak attempt at a review is not going to do it justice. But I'll try.

I knew before I was half-way through that this is going to be a favorite and I plan to re-read it immediately. The writing is so fresh, the character studies so sharp, and the satire so relevant in today's increasingly bureaucratic (corporate) society, no wonder it was so hard for me to find a used copy. It's definitely a book I plan to hold onto and enjoy re-reading every year.

Anyone who's ever worked for a big corporation (like myself) can identify with Heller's hilarious and angry take on bureaucracy. Gen. Peckem's quote reads like a line from Dilbert or Office Space:

"Just pass the work I assign you along to somebody else and trust to luck. We call that delegation of responsibility. Somewhere down near the lowest level of this coordinated organization I run are people who do get the work done when it reaches them, and everything manages to run along smoothly without too much effort on my part."

It's sad how true that is in real life.

But this book is not all satire. It has a big heart. I often found myself laughing and crying at the same time. I can tell Heller cares deeply for his characters, even when he makes high comedy out of their sad fates (such as what happens to poor Doc Daneeka). He's brutally honest about the horrors of war, and laces them with enough humanity to really break your heart. It all makes the climatic "miracle" that much more satisfying. It's a satire that ends with a message of hope. And I like that.

Many people call this book ant-war, but I don't think it is. It really comes down to the last conversation btw. Yossarian and Danby. The ideals of war can be good - who can argue against rescuing Western Europe from Nazi domination. But it's the method of war - and all the evils that go with it - that makes no sense. Are these evils worth the ideals? It's a catch-22. And it's a dilemma that applies to life in general, not just to war.

This book was non-engaging, talked about boring and non-sensical chit chat, and hung on its phrase "Catch 22." After patiently studying the book as well as reading it, I find this to be one of the most boring books I have ever read in my life. The plot was threadbare, the characters kept repeating the same words (ie "Do you think I'm crazy?" "No, you aren't crazy." "Yes, I sure am crazy!" "You aren't crazy." "I am.") and dragged on, and on. Another example of boring repetition is an entire chapter dedicated to a character talking about crabapples in his cheeks. I personally don't care if he does or not, and wish the author made a point quickly. All in all, this is a waste of $, a waste of time, and the second most boring book I have ever read after To Kill A Mockingbird.

The lemming condition is written like a Children's story but it is not.
the message in it is for more adults than Kids.
if read in schools I suggest above sixth grade, it is not descriptively Violent, it just is very unnatural for a book written like it to contain the things it does, most children will not expect such a ending do to it is a fairy tale sort of thing, and so get into the mind fix that the ending is happy, almost all the characters commit a unknowingly suicide, falling off the cliff one after another.

Sincerely,
disturbed Teenager

P.s. Read it. It is good, just not for Kids.

As an elementary school teacher, I have read this book aloud to fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. It is an amazing springboard for discussion and can be tailored to any age group--adults included. Those who arrogantly posit how simplistic this book is, apparently have not dealt with children. I have been amazed with the many themes I have been able to use in the classroom--not just life lessons (not following the crowd, thinking for yourself, friendship, tolerance, etc.), but with teaching writing.

Caveat: Make sure the children know that scientifically, it is not true that lemmings run off cliffs. Focus on the fact that because the main character chose to think for himself, he saved himself from a lot of heartache and was able to continue to grow and learn.

I read this book back in the eighties while I was teaching. This summer I read it again with a couple of middle and upper elementary aged kids. To me it's a classic story, written simply but with a rare combination of lightness, humor and a look at the important ideas concerning "following your own path." It's a book that parents can read with their kids and use the story lines to discuss all sorts of ideas. It's a children's book that doesn't talk down to kids. In fact, it's a simple story for all ages.

Bubber, your average Lemming, was just another Lemming in the field. Then all of a sudden, every Lemming starts talking, and talking about one thing only. Traveling west. Every Lemming in the whole colony is heading west. They don't know why and they don't how far they're going. That is, until Bubber talks to his friend Crow. Then he realizes that he's going to need to jump off a cliff and into water to get there, which is fine except for one small thing. He doesn't know if Lemmings can swim! Bubber tries to figure out what's going on and what they should do.
This is a good book for all ages. It is easy enough for young readers to understand and has a hidden message for older people. Some readers may think that this is a book for only young kids but as you get along the way, you'll find that this is good for all ages. I was surprised to find out that Alan Arkin is an actor and an author as well. Alan Arkin puts you in a position you're not in every day. I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a quick, but good story.
-Brendan Goggins

I began using this book in my classroom about 20 years ago.
I have read and discussed it with children 10-18.
Most notably, I read it to students at a continuation high school where I worked for three years. Many of the students were in gangs and had already been to jail. Many of the girls already had their first child and had settled into a pattern that would spiral their lives and those of their children into misery. This book offered them an alegorical exposure to the idea that life need not be preset series of events leading to the leap of no return and the long death.

It remains one of my most stolen books, always a compliment. Mr. Arkin reminds us that it is not only okay, but necessary that we break from the pack to survive.
I am so grateful for his authorship and the effect it has had on so many. I wish he knew.

I really like this book, but there is this kind of religious undertone to it. Y'know, like The Chronicals of Narnia. That kinda gives me a bad feeling about it. That doesn't make it a worse book, but it does make me a bit uncomfortable. Anyway, it's a very good book, and I sure don't see why it's out of print. That surprises me, since I have been getting it out of the library for years, not having my own copy.

I read this book a few years ago, but I just recently read The Lemming Condition, the obvious prequel to this story. This is a really good book an I recomend anyone who reads it to first read The Lemming Condition by the same author.