James Thurber Books

How could such a gem ever go out of print? This collection contains some of Thurber's best stuff. Opening up with "The Gentleman is Cold," one of those stories that are funny just because they're so depressingly true to the petty humiliations of life, the book goes on from triumph to triumph. "Mr. Prebles Gets Rid of His Wife," "The Private Life of Mr. Bidwell" (he breathes), "Everything is Wild," "Smashup," "The State of Bontana"--amusing and unforgettable. There are also some sober and haunting pieces, such as "One is a Wanderer" and most especially "The Man on the Train," a marvellously concise and closely observed story with a punch at the end.

Quintessential Thurber--if you're already a fan, you MUST have this. If you're not, then this would be a perfect introduction.

The Battle For Congress: Consultants, Candidates, And Voters was published to specifically to help readers understand modern campaigns for seats in Congress, as well as the workings of America's representative democracy. It contains in-depth examinations of six political campaigns from the heated House election year of 1998: specifically, the House contests in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Washington, and Wisconsin. With case studies that closely evaluate professional political consultants, The Battle For Congress is a "must-read" for anyone wanting to learn more about the electoral process that determines America's future.

This book contains one of the great dog stories of all time: THE DOG WHO BIT PEOPLE....... Scratch that ...... This book contains one of the great stories -- period -- of all time, THE DOG WHO BIT PEOPLE. Once you have read this story you will remember it forever. Isn't that the definition of a "great" story?

This book Su

This book is so funny I laugh out loud every time I read it. Thurber reads and comments on a handful of "Self-help" books like "Be Glad Your Neurotic." Finally, he decides the best thing to do is to let your mind alone.

The metaphorical way of asking for the impossible has been "to ask for the moon" for as long as I can remember. I have tried to find out the origin of the phrase, but the best I can do is trace it back to the 1942 film "Now, Voyager," where Bette Davis says to Paul Henreid, "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." Perhaps the origin is lost in the mists of the past, which ends up being appropriate because the enchanting fable "Muchas Lunas" ("Many Moons") by James Thurber takes place in the past when a young princess asked her father for the moon.

The problem is that the Princes Lenoire is "ill of a surfeit of raspberry tarts" and insists that the only thing that will make her well is if she has the moon. Since the King had a great many wise men who always got him anything he wanted he did not think this would be a problem and so he told his daughter she could have the moon. But when he calls for the Lord High Chamberlain he is told the moon is 35,000 miles away, which is too far. The Royal Wizard says it is 150,000 miles away and twice as big as the palace. The Royal Mathematician says it is 300,000 miles away and half the size of the kingdom. The only thing the three wisest men in the kingdom can agree on is that they cannot get the moon for the princess.

The King is upset that nobody can do anything for him and that the Princess Lenore will not be well until she gets the moon. He also knows he should stop asking his wise men what they think because every time he does the moon gets larger and father away. All the King can do is ask the Court Jester to play his lute. But the Court Jester also listens to the King's problem and comes up with something that the King had not thought of that might actually solve his problem.

"Many Moons" takes a couple of out twists and turns after that, so giving away too much would be wrong. Suffice it to say that this story reaffirms the place of James Thurber as one of America's most renowned humorists. It is not surprising that when "Many Moons" was first published in 1943 will illustrations by Louis Slobodkin it was the winner of the 1944 Caldecott Medal. If the story was told with stick figures it would have won because it is that good of a story. This 1990 edition is illustrated by Marc Simont, who had already done the art for two other James Thurber works, "The Wonderful O" and "The 13 Clocks," and who received the Caldecott Medal as well for his pictures in Janice May Udry's "A Tree Is Nice."

The only problem with "Many Moons" if it gets into the hands of young children is that it may well convince them that it is indeed true that if they ask for the moon their father will get it for them. This is a wonderful story, but it may end up being an expensive one...

American humorist James Thurber (1894 - 1961) brought us Walter Mitty, and now freelance journalist Neil Grauer brings us James Thurber in all his comic and caustic complexity.

A native of Ohio and graduate of Ohio State University, Thurber began as a code clerk in the Department of State. After working as a journalist in Paris, he began a life-long association with New Yorker magazine, whose pages were brightened with Thurber's short stories and classic cartoons in which his misanthropy is often present as animals ape the behavior of humans and vice vera.

Always aware of the frailties and pratfalls of human beings as they faced life's predicaments, Thurber penned among others, "The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze" and "The Thurber Carnival." In 1940 he joined Eliot Nugent to write a drama of college life, "The Male Animal," which, along with other Thurber works, was made into a motion picture.

This funny man's last years were relentlessly bleak. Unable to cope with the loss of his sight, Thurber alienated many of his former colleagues with boring boasts of his past successes.

Grauer does not gloss over the humorist's flaws, instead presents a concise human portrait of one who brought laughter to the lives of many.

- Gail Cooke

I loved this book! The symbolism Thurber uses is beyond what most could imagine. I feel most everyone who reads this book will be able to identify with one or more of the characters. We are all guilty of daydreaming at one time or another and this book is a wonderful illustration of that. I also thought this would be a book most have never heard of, but to my surprise the most important person of all (DonQ) knew all about it.

Thurber and Simont were friends and neighbors in West Cornwall, Connecticut, when Simont was a young man. After Thurber lost his own eyesight, Simont illustrated such works of Thurber's as "The Thirteen Clocks" and "The Wonderful O". Recently, Simont provided new illustrations for a new edition of "Many Moons", the first illustrations of which had earned Louis Slobodkin a Caldecott Award. Simont, a native speaker and teacher of the Catalan language, won the Caldecott Award for "A Tree is Nice", in 1957.

So much fun! Great for a few minutes or hours.