Robinson Crusoe Audible Audiobook – Abridged

I hated this book with a passion. This was my very first set book in English Lit. in secondary school in the '50s ( aged 11 ) and the very first homework was to read the first 100 pages for a test the following week. Having been brought up on a diet of Enid Blyton, Malcolm Saville, Arthur Ransome, Frank Richards, and some RLS etc, I struggled with the archaic style, long sentences, and so on, and failed miserably. I vowed never to touch the book again.Fast forward sixty years and I thought I should give it another try. I now find it very readable, interesting and even enjoyable. So never say never! The version I bought is from the hard cover, Collectors' Library edition. These books are a handy pocket size and smart looking with gilt edged pages, a page saver ribbon, and a durable spine. On the down side, the print is necessarily small and some may have difficulty with this size font. Maybe a touch expensive at £8.99, when you can get a paperback copy for £2.00 or less, but okay if you intend to keep it.

As this is a Penguin Classic, it is written in old fashioned English, and initially is pretty hard going. Once you get used to it, its a great story. I first read it for my English Literature "O" Level when I was 15. Now 66, I am re-visiting some of these classic books! As a study book, it is great, with a good glossary, introduction, further reading and explanatory notes. Typeface is a little small for my ageing eyes, but nothing a bright light and spectacles can't cope with. Its one of those books that makes you think how resourceful would modern day people be if they were marooned on a desert Island for 28 years. If you have not read it, or have only read a modern English version, try this one, its very entertaining, especially Robinsons explanation of his financial arrangements towards the end of the book - they seemed pretty switched on even as long ago as the 17th century!

It's easy to forget quite how boring the unabridged Robinson Crusoe really is.Imagine audio documenting all the happenstance of your average day - swept carpet, washed dishes, went to toilet, etc, etc.And repeating that for chapter after chapter after chapter after chapter ....Occasionally adding in a reading from a Jehovah's Witness pamphlet that had come through the door.That would be equivalent to much of what this offering comprises.And Tom Casaletto may well be an estimable voice actor in his own milieu, but as a purveyor of an "English" accent and style of reading he is toe-curling.

I first read this many decades ago after watching the excellent BBC serial on children's television that I think was a French production. Coming back to it all these years later I'm struck, once again, by how, although appearing slightly `overblown' for some modern tastes, engaging the writing is and how the story of this young man's gruelling coming of age still resonates down the centuries. Thus, one understands why the book quickly attained classic status and remained a favourite for more than 300 years.According to Colin Wilson (in A Criminal History of Mankind) Defoe based the story on the adventures of a Scottish pirate named Alexander Selkirk who, following a quarrel with his pirate captain, asked to be marooned on what was then, one of the uninhabited islands of the Juan Fernandez group about 600 km off the coast of Chile in the South Pacific. After five years Selkirk return to England and became an overnight `celebrity' and Defoe (who began life, in 1660, as Daniel Foe) went to see him in Bristol in 1713 and probably paid for his written reminiscences. The interesting point to note is that Defoe was an agent provocateur and spy, a kind of forerunner to those more recently employed by MI5, and built up a network of spies as well as spending time `inside' and in the pillory!Why it's interesting, at least to this reader, is that this seems to indicate a certain type of person; i.e. not particularly pious, unlike his fictional creation Robinson Crusoe, who, during his long solitary sojourn on his fictional island, develops, possibly, quite understandably under the circumstances, a distinct religious sensibility and frequently and at length thanks God for providing for him so bounteously. Crusoe reflects on this many times during the book and this is just one example of a degree of repetition that a good editor would surely have remedied.Nevertheless, this book is a classic for a good reason and provides hours of enjoyment for the patient reader in addition to a great deal of food for thought!

Can you give 0 stars? This book is massive! Too hard to read and very small typeface. Who on earth thought it was a great idea to print on paper the size of a magazine?!? Strewth!

As a child I remember being left spellbound following a 1970's tv series depicting the life and times of Robinson Crusoe. After many years I picked up the book and read it and was immediately transported back in time (the book was much better!). The book really is a gem and although I thought it was going to be a tough read, it really wasn't. The book deals with a man who although did not have much luck as a sailor (he had two mishaps, the latter landed him on the island - perhaps he really should have listened to his father!) did have an eventful life as a businessman in Brazil, he was a former slave and later a slave owner and lastly a castaway. The book, although fiction, closely follows the true story of Alexander Selkirk who, like Robinson Crusoe, also found himself marooned on a desert island. All in all a great British classic that has stood the test of time and a must for any serious reader of fiction.

Great addition to my collection and so beautiful as part of the set

CHILDREN WILL LOVE THESE TYPES OF BOOKS -EASY TO READ AND UNDERSTAND

Is a good looking book though I found the print to be small.. very small. I better read it now as I am still young and my eyesight still up to the mark.

Ho preso questo libro per la figlia di un mio collega; le e' stato dato dalla professoressa di inglese come compito delle vacanze.E' una edizione del classico Robinson Crusoe di Defoe adattata da Janet Cameron in modo da essere un test valido per la certificazione in inglese A2.Questa certificazione fa parte della conoscenza base dell'inglese ed e' il secondo (ed ultimo) livello della base.La certificazione spesso la troviamo definita anche in altre maniere.Se utile qui sotto riporto una sorta di comparazione di questo livello con le altre scale:CEFR A2 = GESE grado 4 = ISE grado 0 = Cambridge da 120 a 140.La storia penso che la conoscerete, vuoi per averla letta a scuola (a me e' successo almeno 35 anni orsono) vuoi per avere visto i film.A proposito di film ne ricordo uno degli anni 90 con attore protagonista Pierce Brosnan che ebbe un discreto successo.Robinson Crusoe e' un ragazzo che vuole visitare il mondo per mare e durante il viaggio naufraga su una isola deserta e irta di pericoli.Un romanzo di avventura per tutti, piccoli e grandi.Sono compresi una verifica on line ed un CD sempre per i tests.Ad una prima scorta mi sembra sufficientemente facile da comprendere e assolutamente utile per studiare l'inglese base.Poi la bravura e' nell'alunno... ci mancherebbe!Se avete dubbi o domande sono a vostra disposizione.... chiedete!Buoni acquisti... e alla prossima review!

Ma chi acquista dovrebbe essere informato che è una versione abbreviata e semplificata per risultare meno frustrante per studenti che non hanno ancora acquisito un buon vocabolario. Successivamente mi sono cimentato con l'audiolibro originale su libervox ed è un'altra cosa. La storia parte dagli albori, dal suo difficile rapporto col padre e con la vita professionale e dai primi fallimenti come marinaio. Recensisco in ritardo un acquisto del 2012.

Rileggendo "Robinson Crusoe" nella sua versione originale, ho avuto la possibilità di far emergere un tratto del suo stile dal ruolo di "intelligence man" che Defoe assunse con la regina Anna. Egli aveva scritto per il suo mentore, il parlamentare Robert Hartley delle dettagliate esperienze informative di viaggi che utilizzò anche per altre opere. Quando pubblicò "Robinson Crusoe" nel 1715 il suo talento era maturo per fare delle avventure di un naufrago solitario un racconto denso di note socio geografiche e marinare che ancora sorprendono il lettore per la loro rispondenza reale.

Crusoe ist eine Tavernen-Geschichte, das wird besonders im Original-Englisch-Text spürbar, zu viele Übertreibungen und grottenschlechte Beschreibungen, zu viel Gefühlgesussel und nix erklärendes. Ich denke, dass Robinson Crusoe die Mischung von Daniel Foe (später Defoe), Alexander Selkirk und Robin Kreutznaer war. Mehr hier auf den Wikipedia-Seiten, wen's interssiert....Wer geistig anheuern möchte, dem empfehle ich "Moby Dick" von Herman Melville. Hier lernt man was, es ist wunderbar journalistisch-wahr (der GUTE ! Journalismus!) geschrieben und packend detailgenau über die Techniken, Probleme und irrgläubigen Selbstverständlichkeiten einer sich in Kriegen wälzenden Männerwelt. Besonders auch für Frauen eine wichtige Einsicht in diese WELT, wie die Damen es so ja NIE erlebt haben und erleben werden.