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For more than one hundred years, this classic poems has inspired readers to reach for the best in themselves.

In pictures and words, here's what every boy needs to know most. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (11)

Every kid should know it
I can't begin to count how many times I've read this book from one end to the other--still less the times I've dipped in just to reread a favorite tale over.It may be Kipling's defining juvenile book, in part because it's written for a slightly older audience than Just So Stories, with more violence and a more mature level of language (the Mowgli stories particularly feature dialogue written in "the vernacular," a rather formal kind of speech used by native speakers in India).

Most of the 15 stories are set in the Subcontinet, where Kipling was born and to which he returned as a man; the rest ("The White Seal," "Quiquern") take place in the Far North.Eight feature Mowgli (Hindi for "frog"), a gypsy child whose parents were frightened off by Shere Khan, the lame tiger, leaving him to be rescued and adopted by a pair of wolves.He is raised in the jungle ("Mowgli's Brothers," "Kaa's Hunting," "How Fear Came"), learning its laws and speaking the languages of its creatures, until at the age of 10 he is caught up in a sort of palace coup engineered by the tiger and forced to leave his pack.He stays among humans for four months, kills Shere Khan ("Tiger! Tiger!"), is driven out by the villagers and ultimately pays them back in spades ("Letting in the Jungle"), then returns to the wolves, has various further adventures ("The King's Ankus"), and ultimately saves the pack from invading dholes ("Red Dog") before his human instincts at last him force him back to his own kind ("The Spring Running," which invaribaly makes me tear up).(If you want to find out what happened to him afterward, read "In the Rukh," which can be found in Many Inventions..)Featuring such creatures as Mother and Father Wolf, Gray Brother (the oldest of their pups), Baghera the Black Panther, Baloo the brown bear, Kaa the Rock Python, Hathi the elephant, Chil the kite, and Akela, the Lone Wolf who leads Mowgli's pack for years, these stories are about as far from the Disney version as anything you can imagine, and to my mind far superior.(I wish some studio would take them up as Harry Potter was, and do them accurately: the animatronics and CGI that gave us such caracters as the ice-bears in The Golden Compass (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition) and the farm animals in Mist: The Tale of a Sheepdog Puppy and Babe (Widescreen Special Edition) would bring them to life as never before.)

"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" tells the story of a young mongoose taken into a human home and how he fights a pair of cobras in the garden."Toomai of the Elephants" features Little Toomai, whose forebears for three generations have been the mahouts of Kala Nag, the great work elephant, and how his friendship with the pachyderm leads him to see "the sight that never man saw," the elephants' dance."The Miracle of Purun Baghat" is about a high-ranking native official who forsakes position and honors to become a mendicant holy man, and how he saves a tiny hill village from a catastrophic landslide.In "The Undertakers," a man-eating crocodile, a jackal, and an adjutant-stork discuss the vagaries of humanity on a sandbar."Her Majesty's Servants," a story particularly suitable for reading in a multicultural society like that of the U.S., eavesdrops on the conversation between a troop-horse, two mules, a baggage-camel, and a pair of gun-bullocks on the night before a great troop review.In "The White Seal," Kotick, a fur-seal born snow-white, sets out on a quest to find a place where his kind will be safe from human fur-hunters."Quiquern" tells of a young Inuit hunter and how he and his dog save his people in a time of starvation.

These stories should probably be read aloud first, since their rather formal language will make them difficult for the younger independent reader to follow, particularly in these days of dumbed-down readers (although the homeschooled may not have as much trouble).Kids of 11 or 12 should be able to read them alone.Despite Kipling's occasional imperialistic chauvinism (hardly unique to him in that time and place), he had a real knowledge of India, its creatures, and its people, and he loved them all, with an intensity that comes through in every tale; and his language, as well as his characters', often approaches the poetic (he was, after all, a noted and prolific poet aswell as a fictioneer).No English-speaking child should reach his teens without coming to know the book.

Kipling's Version is By Far the Best
If your only experience with Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book is through the Disney version put that completely out of your head. Besides the title of the book and the name and species of the animals the two have almost nothing in common. Disney took the very kernel of the story and then bled the heart and soul out of it. At least they didn't give Mowgli a cute but endearing sidekick.

The Jungle Book is the story of a young Indian boy raised from infancy by the animals of the Asian jungle. The concept shares similarities with Tarzan of the Apes but preceded the Edgar Rice Burroughs classic by nearly 20 years. They differ in that Tarzan was fully an adult and not able to hold full conversations with the animals. Mowgli is capable of having sophisticated discussions with his panther friend Bagheera and bear Baloo about the laws of the Jungle. Kipling doesn't shy away from violence as this is the jungle but even the human characters see more than a few deaths. In the one scene in the Disney version that actually semi relates to the book Mowgli is kidnapped by the Bandar-log (monkeys). In the movie he's rescued by Bagheera and Baloo who bop the Monkey's and send them scampering on their way. In the book Bagheera, Baloo and Kaa the python (yes, in the book Mowgli and Kaa are good friends) slaughter the monkeys. At the end of the fight Kaa utilizes his hypnotic powers, influencing the Monkey's into walking straight into his gapping mouth. It's a rather horrifying scene and the only time where he uses this hypnotic talent.

The Jungle Books is a classic that lives up to the name classic. Kipling has a wonderful poetic style that seems to be lost on today's writers. Only about half the stories concern Mowgli but almost all feature conversations between animals. These aren't technically talking animals since they cannot communicate with humans other than Mowgli but they can communicate amongst themselves. In one short story that I particularly enjoyed various domesticated animals in the British military discuss their roles, trying to promote their own importance while diminishing others. Some stories take place outside of India including several in the arctic. The Jungle Books also contains the story of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi which was animated by Chuck Jones. Kipling excels at setting moods and creating compelling dialogue. Mowgli's stories both begin and end the collection of short stories and by the end of the book I was saddened to leave his jungle home. The Jungle Books is classified as for young adults but the beauty and sophistication of the writing would keep just about any adult satisfied. Just make sure you get the actual Kipling book and not a watered down adaptation.

Neat, clean, nice work publisher
This is a classic tale of course, the thing I like about this copy is the quality for the price.Nice cover, not a lot of illustrations, but a few line drawings and they are nice - I plan to buy other classics from this publisher.

Great book for all ages
this is a book which can be read by anyone and each read makes it more interesting. had read some stories long back and loved reading it again.

Kipling's Masterful Storytelling, History, and Modern Mythology Come Together
Legends are made from legends. Rudyard Kipling dug deep into the tales of the jungle from his years living in India, and drew from them the kinds of stories that live forever.

"The Jungle Book" is more than how Mowgli, the man cub, learns to live and survive amongst enemies like Shere Khan. The intense mongoose vs cobra "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," also well-known, is here, as are several lesser-known and unrelated adventures.

Richly written, with details and contexts unfamiliar to Western readers, "The Jungle Book" lifts imagination and language beautifully. Poetic, and written in a literary style, it shines above most modern prose.

This is the stuff of afternoon stories read to older boys and girls. Young teens will while away rainy evenings, unwilling to part until finished. Sometimes scary and always exciting, Kipling also uses the book to teach lessons much greater than a jungle in India.

When chapters were first read to me many years ago, I listened gawk-eyed, listening intently for as long as my mother would read. I read it with different eyes now, but no less a young boy as I worry how Baloo will handle the Bandar-Log monkeys.

It isn't perfect. A few scientific details are fudged (wolf pack breeding structure, for example), but nothing that matters in the big picture. Kipling will have you in the palm of his hand, even though it was first published over 100 years ago.

May "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling be as amazing to you as it has been to me.

--Brockeim ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Take a careful look at the Publisher before your buy "The Works of Rudyard Kipling"
There's a reason for many of the negative reviews of the quality of this book. This is because the version of "The Works of Rudyard Kipling" published by General Books LLC is an el cheapo version, created using OCR scanning and an automated scanning device which can miss complete pages. Typos are frequent and there's no table of contents, also, there was absolutely no editing of the book. This is all stated on the publishers web site (google them and read - you'll be as interested as I was when you see all the disclaimers).

The owner of General Books LLC (a company called VDM Publishing), is getting more and more notorious for these ripoffs - almost every review of their books (500,000 or so now listed on Amazon) by an actual buyer is negative, many are extremely so. Also watch out for any books published by Alphascript, Betascript, Fastbooks, Books LLC and LLC Books - all imprints of VDM Publishing. Unfortunately, Amazon is currently doing nothing to protect their customers from this Publishers misleading product descriptions.

If you have bought a paper version from General Books LLC by mistake, you can return to Amazon within 30 days(but make sure you check Amazon's Return Policy for the details)

Even at this price, not worth the cost
This is just an unformatted text file. Save the money and go to Project Gutenberg

CAVEAT EMPTOR!!
The title of this Kindle item is a lie. As the first sentence of the summary reveals, it does not include any of Kipling's poetry -- so it's anything but "complete".

Work=5 Stars, Edition=2
Unlike other reviews, mine refers to the correct book - The Collected Poems of Rudyard Kipling, Wordsworth Edition. Before going into its merits, it is necessary to say a few things about Kipling's poems. They are some of the most famous in English; published when poetry was actually popular, they were immediate bestsellers. Indeed, the public has never stopped loving them; there are seemingly fewer poetry fans each year, but Kipling still topped a recent BBC poll of the Greatest English Poems. He remains a favorite not only with poetry buffs but even with many who usually dislike poetry. Kipling has also had a major impact on other writers, as widespread use of his titles, lines, characters, etc. clearly indicates. He has also managed to infiltrate popular culture to a degree rarely seen. Conversely, critics still hotly debate his merits. Some think him a major poet; at least as many think him overrated or downright bad. He had near-universal popularity at the turn of the twentieth century but was critically despised by the time of his 1936 death; the pendulum has swung back and forth somewhat since, but he has never come close to regaining his apex.

Kipling undeniably does several things well. He is a rhythm master with almost unmatched technical deftness and an excellent rhymer. He can truly turn a phrase and is eminently quotable; his lines are indeed so memorable that several, as George Orwell points out, are often used unconsciously by many who have barely heard his name. He is notably diverse and adept at nearly every form he tries. Even his harshest critics cannot deny these virtues. The fact that many of his poems are set in India, Africa, or other distant parts of the British empire also lends notable historical value; we get a good sense of what life was like in this important time and place, all the more interesting in that it is often through the eyes of representative types such as soldiers. Other characteristics are more subjective. For example, Kipling is very straight-forward; his poems are extremely lucid and very accessible, in large part because he relies little on tropes. Those who value simplicity and clearness will appreciate this; others may find it somewhat lightweight.

The real crux, though, is not with form but content. Kipling has long been stereotyped as a jingoist glorifying war and imperialism and is almost ubiquitously accused of xenophobia, narrow-mindedness, mindless patriotism, and racism. His work undeniably has an element of this, but anything more than a superficial reading reveals a wealth of nuances and complexities. For instance, "Recessional," written for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, is a thoughtful warning against hubris that is far from the simple-minded flag-waving critics lead one to expect. Works like "The White Man's Burden" seem unambiguously imperialist, though not in a celebratory way, but a few have found subtleties even there. The issue comes to a proverbial head over Kipling's many soldier poems, where he has soldiers speak as they really did - not only with profanity that now seems mild but with casual racism that is now very striking. This at times reaches such a peak that it has made some liberals stop reading and even condemn Kipling - an understandable impulse, but we must look closely. Some defend him by saying he is merely a reporter, but this is a copout. The question of how much he agrees with his soldiers is complex and still hotly debated, but it seems safe to say that - like nearly all men of his time, place, race, and status -, he likely had a milder prejudice. Even so, we must not dismiss the poems automatically, because the prejudice has a valid artistic and even moral purpose. Anything more than a superficial reading shows that Kipling in many ways sympathizes with the victims of this racism, and this comes out in several ways. Most fundamentally, the insight and sympathy the speakers gain for the natives is believable and affecting because of prior prejudice, making the contrast all the more stunning. One must keep this in mind, though some will of course still think the poems unreadable. Kipling is certainly not politically correct by our standards, but this does not mean we should dismiss him automatically; doing so is at least as illiberal as he is said to be, and the literary, entertainment, and educational losses are potentially great.

This makes actually reading Kipling all the more pertinent; only those who have are qualified to judge. There are many collections, but this is notable as an inexpensive, widely available single volume one with all the authorized poems first published in 1940's Definitive Edition - hundreds of works over 850 pages. It is all the Kipling anyone but absolute hard-cores will need, missing only unpublished poems and a small amount never collected. The real question is if it is too much. Even Kipling's greatest fans admit he is uneven; he has a large number of great poems but a significant amount of mediocre ones, and more than a few are simply bad. Casuals may be better off with a selection, but the fact that this has all the poems for little or no more - and in some cases even less - than selected editions arguably makes it a better buy.

Whether or not they want this edition is a very open question. Anyone seeking only the poems will be well-served, but those requiring more should probably look elsewhere. There is substantial supplemental material, especially considering the price, but it is mostly low quality. Unlike some Wordsworth Editions, there is a sizeable Introduction with background on Kipling, the poems, and the historical context plus some initial analysis. We even get Orwell's famous essay on Kipling's poems, perhaps the most important piece of Kipling criticism. However, both Orwell and editor R. T. Jones start by assuming Kipling is a bad poet and defend him to various degrees; this is valuable, perhaps even inevitable, but not an ideal introduction. Those not already familiar with the poems should read them first, as it is hard not to have one's perceptions colored. Unlike nearly every other book in the Wordsworth Poetry Library, this also has quite a few notes - and they are thankfully footnotes, in contrast to the endnotes in Wordsworth fiction editions. This is essential, because Kipling uses a plethora of foreign, technical, and geographical words that are alien to nearly all readers as well as many contemporary and historical references. Numerous poems would be to various degrees incomprehensible without notes, and we should be grateful for them. That said, they have many problems. Words, including foreign ones, that few will know are inexplicably not footnoted - all the more frustrating in that some notes belabor the obvious. A great number of other things that should be footnoted are not; for example, a series of automobile poems parodies a variety of literary works, but only those aware of them will appreciate it, as the notes are silent. Less significantly, words defined once are never defined again, even though there may be hundreds of pages between uses; anyone not reading the book straight through in a short amount of time - i.e., almost everyone - will thus be frequently lost. On a more positive note, the edition differs from many Wordsworth ones by helpfully including a Table of Contents plus title and first line indices.

These complaints are small considering the price, but dedicated readers will be unsatisfied. All others will likely be well-served.

The Works of Rudyard Kipling
The title of this book is misleading. It is not "The Works of Kipling". It is only one story; in large print. I was not satisfied with it this purchase. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Good selection of poetry for young people
I bought this book for home schooling. I knew it would be excerpts from poems, but I didn't want to buy an adult book. Each poem is preceded by short comments explaining the poem. The comments even helped me to understand because some of the poems are about a particular event in history. The drawings are very good, not childish, and I enjoyed sharing them with my son. Rudyard Kipling is a great writer and shouldn't be missed because of lack of time or understanding. This book had me going to look up the longer versions of some of the poems.

BEAUTIFUL BOOK - ALSO MY FAVORITE POET
I cannot think of a better way to introduce the poetry of Rudyard Kipling than this small volume.Now I do admit that Kipling is at the top of my list as a poet, so take this with that in mind.The selection is excellent and of interest you the young reader.The commentary is quite relevant as are the pictures which accompany it.I find that often now, our young people go all the way through the early grades in school and many of them have never heard of rudyard Kipling,much less read their poetry.This was the sort of stuff my generation and the generation before it grew up on and cut our teeth on.I do not feel I am any worse for the wear.I am fearful that we are bringing up an entire generation (rightfully or wrong, although I feel it is the later) of young folks who will have no appreciation to this great art form and will miss a lot.This book helps.This entire series helps, as a matter of fact and I certainly recommend you add this one and the others to your library.Actually, it is rather fun reading these with the young folk and then talking about them.Not only do you get to enjoy the work your self and perhaps bring back some great memories, but you have the opportunity to interact with your child or student.It is actually rather surprising what some of the kids come up with.I read these to my grandchildren and to the kids in my classes at school.For the most part, when I really get to discussing the work with them, they enjoy it.Recommend this one highly. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

the complete genius
This is a treasury of verse for Kipling fans and anyone who enjoys poetry. It has it all, from "power of a dog" to "mulhollands contract", he was brilliant!

gorgeous!
Largely forgotten today, to many, Kipling is an outdated imperialist with racist and sexist views, and should be left to moulder on the shelves of public library back collections.To others, he is a great poet, with a sympathetic ear for dialogue and an uncanny ability to weave the atmosphere for any story or poem.

I side with the latter.

I've liked Kipling years back.He writes poetry as easily as he does his stories, with wit, snappy soundbites, and both the ability to make you laugh and cry.

Famous for his writings of the soldiers, for his fairy tales, he isn't much in demand these days, except maybe recommended for children, which is rather a shame, because he wrote many interesting works, be it in verse or novel.

Those who call him racist had probably not read past the first few lines.Even in more blatant works like "Gunga Din" or "Fuzzy Wuzzy", he writes with a certain respect for the natives.And even in his colonialist days he was more of its critic than its trumpet.Such an attitude is obvious in more obscure works like "We and They", or "Hadramauti", where an Arab voices his dislike for the Englishmen.

Also there are his historical pieces, like "the Dutch in the medway", describing the humiliating defeat of the British at sea, and "the Roman centurian's son", a very poignant piece about an Roman soldier being called back to Rome after decades in Britan.More whimsical and lively pieces (as well as the satire he was known for), like "The way through the woods", "Pagett, MP", his pieces for chapter headings, as well as inspiration poems like "If -".

Darker works like "the Storm come" shows that he is no warmonger; his "Recessional" predicts the dissolution of the empire which he nearly outlived, and his lament for his son in "the Children" is both moving and tragic.

I suppose there's not much to be said -the poetry is loud enough on its own, and I hope my cruddy penmanship doesn't affect your view on Kipling -or deter your from reading his works. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Beware
This book hasextraordinary problems with formatting, rendering it worthless on my Kindle. Don't know what happened to it, or why it is still listed as a viable product, because it isn't.Which is a pity, because the poetry is superb. ... Read more

Product Description
“A brilliantly insightful biographical study. Allen is equally sound on all important aspects of Kipling.”—Martin Rubin, Los Angeles TimesThe first biography of Kipling's younger years: his Indian childhood, abandonment in England, and coming of age as a writer.Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay in 1865 and spent his earlyyears there, before being sent to England at the age of six, wherehe was desperately unhappy. Charles Allen's great-grandfatherbrought the sixteen-year-old Kipling back to India to work on Thecivil and military gazette, and thus began young Rudyard's literary career.

He arrived in Bombay on October 18, 1882—"a prince enteringhis kingdom"—and for the next seven years, his writing establishedhim as a popular and critical, though sometimes controversial,success. Allen has written a brilliant account of these formativeyears—as a child in India, his unhappy years in England, and hiscoming of age back "home" in Bombay. in this tale of family andempire, Allen traces the Indian experiences of Kipling's parents,Lockwood and Alice, and reveals what kind of culture the youngwriter was born into and how it would shape his life and writingover the next twenty years. 14 black-and-white illustrations ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Kipling Sahib
Reading gets a little slow but the subject is facsinating.The author does an excellent job of explaining Kipling who was brilliant and insightful as well as a very troubled personality.This book also gives a good insight into 19th century British India as it wasquite different from what I had previously thought.

A fascinating insight to Kipling's background
A fascinating insight to Kipling's background. I had no idea he was such a precocious, bumptious and opinionated young man. How he matured so young! And of course that terrible time in the Southsea foster home.He was also quite a lad, seemingly with all kinds of dalliances, especially in Simla. It all goes to explain how he could write a poem like "The Ladies".

Incredible how he developed such a deep understanding of the East. Breaking convention and wandering the streets of the native cities by night and making all kinds of unconventional acquaintances and soaking up novel experiences. That was the local color so wonderfully exemplified by his novel Kim Kim (Penguin Classics), and his Ballad of East and West.

Kipling also did something that no Sahib had done before: talk to the ordinary Tommy in the barracks and absorb all the terrible privations they suffered. That is how he could write a short story like "The Drums of the Fore and the Aft" in The Man who would be King The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics) and searing poems like Danny Deever Collected Verse Of Rudyard Kipling.

Charles Allen only sounds one false note when, seemingly as a a sop to the politically correct, he is unnecessarily apologetic about Kipling and his time. Quite uncalled for! Kipling's works display a wonderful understanding and sympathy for humanity in general. How lucky we are to have his works as an insightful record of the British Raj. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Simple conversion of public domain text.
Review for Public Domain Books edition of Kim with ASIN: B000JQU7BM

This has been updated since I first reviewed this edition in April. Now upped to two-star.

Still no italics. Still straight quotes. Dashes are now proper dashes.It now has had the paragraphs correctly wrapped, and has a simple table of contents at the beginning (but not linked from the menu). The text is now from the later Project Gutenberg text, so it has the typos from that edition - e.g. pincers instead of pencase, instead of the earlier typos, e.g. "Thou Knobbiest" for "Thou Knowest".

It's not too bad for free. There are better free conversions not on Amazon, e.g. at Mobileread. And there are a few better conversions here on Amazon, that cost money. But beware of the many quick conversions on Amazon that are really no better than this free edition, but charge anything from $0.99 to $45.00!

If you're looking for a Kindle edition of Kim, don't just search for "Kim". That only finds a few of the many editions. Search for "Kim Kipling" (without the quotes) to find the 30 or so editions available. And also look for my review "Kindle Edition Choice is critical" for a review of all the available editions as of May 2010.

Kim
Kim is a good. though dated. novel. but badly transcribed.In some places very badly transcribed.

Don't bother!
This one's not properly formatted
for the Kindle
Don't bother!
It will drive you nuts

But don't overlook the book
Kipling is a lot more sophisticated than he looks
Some have called this a mystery or thriller
I loved the intricate look at culture
and a little bonus
A lama's enlightenment ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Travel Back In Time To The American West via Kipling
What a gem!!! I clicked to download this "excellent" account of "America" as it washes over one of earth's great literary men, who better to put into words our America than the man who wrote "Jungle Book" -- Rudyard Kipling as he first lands here in San Francisco in the 1800's. What a feel he gives us for how it really was -- no veneer of romance needed. The true romance of the American West gushes forth in this splendid little volume. Encountering the geysers in Yosemite and seeing massive waterfalls through bumpy and often life threatening rides via train and stage coach. I was given a box of old books for having cleaned out someones old office and these were to be discarded had I not taken them. I'm glad I did, for in the box amid other treaasures, was a faded and well worn copy of "American Notes" that has been in and through our family. Great, great, great! MJ ...~ Ps. Best read hearing a British voice in your head -- maybe even the actor Ben Kingsley :) ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

No Images or Poems in this version!
This version does not contain the images or poems in the original -- one of the ones at Gutenberg does. Since some of the fun of this book is in the convoluted captions of the original drawings, I'd recommend getting that one instead.

Ok, and it's free
I agree with the previous review.A bummer, but it was, after all, free.I don't know what other free sources of this ebook offer.I probably would never have revisited the Just So Stories if it hadn't been free, anyway.

Mostly there, but missing things
Being a free Kindle edition, I was expecting that the drawings and their attached descriptions would be missing.What I was not expecting was for the little poems often found in the stories to also be missing.Things like the Sloka the Parsee sings after the Rhinoceros eats his cake, that are usually block-quoted and italicized in published versions, are not included.The stories can certainly be followed without them, but as the text that IS there specifically says a little poem or song is going to be related to the reader, the gaps are quite obvious. ... Read more

Product Description

This collection was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices. It is indexed alphabetically, chronologically and by category, making it easier to access individual books, stories and poems. This collection offers lower price, the convenience of a one-time download, and it reduces the clutter in your digital library. All books included in this collection feature a hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes. The collection is complimented by an author biography.

Customer Reviews (8)

Poor text editing / OCR
I was reading the novel Kim in the free manybooks format, and liked it, so I went ahead and bought this anthology.I read about 1/2 the novel from the anthology, and found many text errors (incomplete words, paragraphs, and sentences).I know there were errors because at one point, I couldn't make any sense of a paragraph, and I keyword searched to find the same paragraph in the manybooks version.In the manybooks version, there were no errors, and the paragraph made sense.

I bought this anthology as a convenience and I am happy to pay for a well formatted and clean book, but I am very disappointed.I would not recommend it to anyone.

Great Collection of Classic Literature
The Kindle edition of WORKS OF RUDYARD KIPLING (indeed 500 works) provide literary aficionados a convenient way to enjoy the collection of Kipling's most noteworthy and legendary short stories and novels with convenience and at anytime of the day.All of Kipling's legendary, renowned, and beloved books and short stories are included, JUNGLE BOOK, MANDALAY, JUST SO STORIES, and many more.

So, for those who never get tired of reading classic authors, especially those who have provided an insight of the world around us, which Kipling has done through his meticulously written tales about the East and West and points in between, this may become a collection that may be read more than once.In addition, these stories may have one reliving one's childhood or sharing them with generations thereafter.

A must for all Kipling fans
Kipling has the fate to be cursed by academia more for his opinions then for the quality of his writtings. A rather curious fate given that Homer who wrote praiseing piracy and barbarism is generally accepted(just to begin with). But there is no accounting for what gives offense to others and everyone has his own beef with something(There are a lot of things fashionable academia praises that I wouldn't read so I guess we're even).
In any case Kipling has a sense of the picturesque and a(albeit occasionally mixed) talent for phrase which makes him an often entertaining and a sometimes beautiful writter. He has lasted for generations and we can be fairly sure he will last for generations more.
But no true Kipling fans need all this. What they need is to know why they should get this particular edition. Why is it worth $4.79 when you can get a pretty good set at other parts in the Kindle for far less. The answer is in the active contents and the active index. This set allows you to get precisely to the story or poem you wish to read. No more drudgery working your way through the pages to find the place you wish to bookmark.
This edition also has some of my favorites including Ballad of the King's Jest, In Flood Time, and many, many more. It is well worth the money spent.

The books looks fine on my Kindle 2.
I am not sure what the previous reviewer complains about. The books looks fine on my Kindle 2. I've purchased over 10 of these complete author collections from this publisher. These collections work superbly on the Kindle. Take Mark Twain. The collection includes huge number of Mark Twain's works all in one place, searchable and well-organized. If I would have purchased all these books separately, searching for `The Gilded Age' among hundreds of other books on my Kindle would be a nightmare. With Mobile Reference collections, I simply click `Works of Mark Twain', then click Novels> `The Gilded Age'. I can also click `List of works in alphabetical order' > `G' > `Gilded Age'. If I forget the book title but remember that `The Gilded Age' was written by Mark Twain early in his career, I can click on `List of works in chronological order' > (1873) `The Gilded Age'.

If I want another author, say, Charles Dickens, I click `Home' > `Works of Charles Dickens'. If I want Dostoevsky, I click `Works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky'. I think this format is perfect for organizing books on the Kindle.

Inside collections, each book has links to chapters and footnotes. The text is nicely formatted and seems to be complete and accurate - something that cannot always be said about inexpensive ebooks. I think these collections are great bargains both in terms of saved money, time, and book organization!

Comments from the Publisher
Comments from the Publisher:

We have tested the book on March 18th, 2009 on Kindle 2.0 and were NOT able to recreate the problem. Maybe it was an Amazon glitch that was fixed by the time of testing. If you see the problem again please post a comment or email us the location of the problem.

Thank you!
MobileReference
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Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Animals; Children's stories, English; Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Literary; ... Read more

Customer Reviews (72)

A book every child should know
Kipling is criticized nowadays for his imperialism and jingoistic views, but his two major children's books (this one and The Jungle Books: Complete and Unabridged (Puffin Classics)) remain undying classics that every kid should know.His eloquent and often original language also make them delightful read-alouds.The twelve Just-So Stories were originally told to his little daughter Josephine (and in fact three of them feature "little girl-daughters" and their daddies) and are for the most part pourquoi tales in a traditional folkloric style--explanations of how the whale got "his tiny throat," the camel his hump, the rhinoceros his wrinkly skin and terrible temper, the leopard his spots, the elephant his trunk, the kangaroo his shape; how armadillos came to be, how the tides began, how the cat became a part of humanity's world, how the first letter was written and the alphabet invented.(The last story, "The Butterfly That Stamped," is "quite different from the other stories--a story about the Most Wise Sovereign...Solomon the Son of David.")Every kid should own some edition of these tales and have them read aloud as soon as he's old enough to understand them.They've been among my favorites since I was very young, and even now I wouldn't be without a copy.

Lost love rediscovered!
I love this recording.I listened to it for hours when I was little and now my son can too.My lp recording was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, so was thrilled to find it on CD.Mr. Karloff's voice is distinctivly captivating and the stories contain timeless wisdom.

A favorite for life
My mother enjoyed this book when she was a child, probably not long after it was first published, and she read it to me, over and over again, when I was a child.Kipling's use of language is unsurpassed anywhere, in my opinion.He taught me to love the sound of words..."the great grey green greasy Limpopo River all set about with fever trees..."-- who cannot, dearly beloved, be enchanted by that.It actually took my mother and me on a quest years ago to see that river and those fever trees.But that aside, there is no better book for teaching children to love books, reading, language, and the sound of words well placed and absolutely delicious.There is no dumbing down, and any silliness is whimsical and sophisticated.Anyone of any age who has not read this book should do so immediately.

Great Idea!I love this for bedtime
My kids love to listen to stories or music at bedtime and I think this is an especially good CD for developing their vocabulary and love of language.It keeps them engaged and they love it.I also do product reviews on my website [...]

The stories never grow old...
These stories have been a joy in my life from childhood to now in my 7th decade.A great deal of the pleasure is in the reading aloud.Children love the alliterations, the completely fanciful ideas.Parents adore the superb English -- even the crazy made-up words!Don't waste a minute and read these to your children and grandchildren.You will enjoy them as much as the little ones do... ... Read more

Product Description
This Townsend Library classic has been carefully edited to be more accessible to today's students. It includes a background note about the book, an author's biography, and a lively afterword. Acclaimed by educators nationwide, the Townsend Library is helping millions of young adults discover the pleasure and power of reading. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Informative and a great read
I picked this book up hoping I could learn a bit aboutfishing/ sailingin 19th century New England; I did learn a lot but I also enjoyed the story.This books holds up amazingly well,having been written a hundred or so years ago. The story is interesting and moves along at a good pace,and the characters aredistinct and enjoyable.It was a quick read, not because it's just over 200 pgs, but because it was so well written. I'll be reading it again in the future, definitely recommended!

If you let your son read Diary of a Wimpy Kid, make him read this to learn the value of hard work!
The making of a boy into a man, Captains Courageous is the story of the coming of age of young Harvey Cheyne.Harvey is the son of a millionaire who falls overboard from an ocean liner and is rescued by a Portuguese fishing boat.At the beginning, Harvey is a winy little brat who can think of nothing by his own self-interest.But with hard work and the love of this rough crew of fishermen, Harvey is transformed into a man - able to work hard, willing to sacrifice for the good of others, interested in taking a stand for what is right and just.When Harvey is finally reunited with his parents almost a year later, his father is so proud of the young man that Harvey has become understanding that it took the hardships of the fishing boat to break through the affluent lifestyle which shielded Harvey from hardship.

What was the author's intention?
I have already known the great patience that this author showed in his Just So Stories. This time I am extremely impressed by the author's ability to take so much pains and patience to record correctly and to invent correctly the non-standard English pronunciations.

These strange words invented by author could be a fun for himself or his time, but this is really painful for a non-English speaking foreigner. I really wonder which is the author's intentions: to transfer fun or pain to the readers. At time, he successfully transferred his pains in invention to the readers.

Great history based on fact.
Captains Couragous is both grabbing and acurate. Kipling who spend no more than six weeks at sea captures the life of the Grand Bank Schooner fishing culture spot on. Although the account traces the transformation of a spoiled rotten rich 15 year old to a respectable member of a fishing crew, Kiplings discritions of life at sea are so acurate that I can varify every aspectof his discriptions. I am a marine biologist who has spent considerable time opn schooners and other tall ships. Kipling nails the life dead on. I could not put the book down. J. Philip McLaren, Ph.D. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Kipling about revenge -- during and just prior to the Great War
A Diversity of Creatures was published in 1917, but most of the stories predate World War I, and it shows. The book resembles the just preceding adult collection, Actions and Reactions, more than it does the postwar collections such as Limits and Renewals. Indeed, I would classify A Diversity of Creatures as something of a disappointment, if only relative to Kipling's high standard. It does include one of his all-time great stories, "Mary Postgate", and one other very fine story, the odd SF piece "As Easy as A. B. C." Perhaps not surprisingly these close and open the collection. There is also the famous comic story "The Village That Voted the Earth Was Flat".

The most obvious recurring theme in the collection is revenge, and not always in a good way. Quite often the revenge is by characters Kipling appears to approve of against hapless or awkward antagonists, and seems out of proportion to the original offense. For example, in "The Village That Voted the Earth Was Flat", a group of people in an early motorcar are caught in a sort of speed trap, clearly a revenue grab by a local Baronet. They are newspaper people, as well as an M. P. and (in another car) a theatre man. They get together to subject the village in which they were mistreated to humiliation by such means as arranging for them to be hoodwinked into voting that the Earth is flat after a presentation by a fake member of the Flat Earth Society.

"As Easy as A.B.C." is a sequel to "With the Night Mail". It is set in 2065. The world by this time has become a mostly libertarian paradise, with a declining population and a horror of invasion of privacy. One form of invasion of privacy, in this formulation, is democracy, with its imposure of majority will. Paradoxically (or not), the generally libertarian nature of this society is maintained by the Draconian rule of "The A.B.C., that semi-elected, semi-nominated, body of a few score persons", as the introductory paragraph has it. In this story some members of the A.B.C. are travelling to Chicago, where it seems a few idlers and no-accounts have been assembling and trying to force votes on various issues. The other locals, horrified, call in the A.B.C. demanding that they take over -- if they don't, they say, people might get killed. And so the A.B.C., rather drastically it seemed to me, takes things in hand -- though with magic tech that supposedly won't actually really hurt anyone. Politics aside (the views put forth are, I think, purposely exaggerated for effect), I really liked the story. It seems very fresh, very science-fictional and well thought out, for all that it dates to 1912.

The title character of "Mary Postgate" is a spinster hired to be companion to a well-off woman, Miss Fowler. Miss Fowler's nephew Wynn is orphaned, and she and Mary Postgate more or less raise him, until he joins the nascent Flying Corps at the outbreak of war. Soon he dies in a training accident. Through all this we gather something of Mary Postgate's relationship to him: clearly she dotes on the boy while he treats her with casual disrespect that one supposes includes a reluctant admixture of affection. Mary Postgate suffers in silence through the funeral, and the cleaning up of his effects. The two women decide to burn some of Wynn's belongings, and as Mary is working on his there is another accident -- a building collapses, and a local child is killed. At about the same time an airplane crashes near the incinerator where Mary Postgate is burying Wynn's effects. Mary immediately (and almost certainly erroneously) decides that the airplane had dropped a bomb, causing the building collapse. When she finds the downed pilot, she refuses him any help (though he speaks in French, albeit possibly German accented French), instead guarding him until he dies -- an event she reacts to in a stunning scene in which she seems perhaps to come to orgasm as the main dies.

It's an odd odd story, and Mary Postgate is one of Kipling's stranger characters. You might think that the story, written in about 1917, in the midst of the War, should be read straight -- that Mary is simply doing her bit for the War effort, killing her German, as it were, while mourning her lost surrogate son, who died as a result of the War. But everywhere this is undermined. Mary's actions are hardly heroic, and her orgasmic reaction to his death is distasteful. The German pilot isn't even necessarily German -- he could be French, an ally. Mary assumes he dropped a bomb on the village and killed a child -- but that does not seem likely. Mary's beloved Wynn does not die in action but in a training accident. To me the story seems rather to be concerned with the tragic waste of war, with the danger of excessive vengefulness, and with one particular character: the spinster Mary Postgate.

These stories are the cream of the crop in this book. There are other fine stories (for example "In the Same Boat"), and even the lesser stories are Kipling -- thus hardly to be ignored! The 4 star rating is only relative to the greatest Kipling collections, such as Limits and Renewals and Traffics and Discoveries. ... Read more

Product Description
Rudyard Kipling shares the moments of fear, suspense and courage during his two years on a British ship during WWI.True tales of trawlers and mine sweepers, submarines and ice breakers - all come to life when told in the inimitable Kipling fashion.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

There was a boat not only at, but in the mouth of a river—well home in German territory. She was spotted, and went under, her commander perfectly aware that there was not more than five feet of water over her conning-tower, so that even a torpedo-boat, let alone a destroyer, would hit it if she came over. But nothing hit anything. The search was conducted on scientific principles while they sat on the silt and suffered. Then the commander heard the rasp of a wire trawl sweeping over his hull. It was not a nice sound, but there happened to be a couple of gramophones aboard, and he turned them both on to drown it. And in due time that boat got home with everybody's hair of just the same colour as when they had started! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

true face of warfare
Sea Warfare by Rudyard Kipling. Published by MobileReference (mobi).

This ebook is recommended for readers who want a better understanding of the effects of the human element in naval warfare. This is an exciting account of two years at sea during World War I.

Excellent Sea Yarn
Rudyard Kipling, author of the Jungle Books, also wrote this exciting account of two years at sea during World War I. "The main principles of sea-warfare," he begins, "hold good throughout all ages... For matters of detail the Navy, to whom all days are alike, has simply returned to the practice and resurrected the spirit of old days." This theme--that the march of time does not change the old spirit--is the leitmotif of Kipling's narrative, balanced upon the strange threshold of modern war, wherein cavalry detachments gallop toward the beach to exchange fire with submarines and wounded destroyers ram steel battleships as their crews leap into the sea, cheering for King and country. This tale only Kipling could tell, with numerous moments of suspense and fear illustrating the true face of warfare, yet with ironic glimpses of humor including old 19th-century naval songs set to new words that make this book also a wry commentary on a warfare that changes but yet remains the same. (--Lost Treasure Book Company).

Excellent book.
Rudyard Kipling, author of the Jungle Books, also wrote this exciting account of two years at sea during World War I. "The main principles of sea-warfare," he begins, "hold good throughout all ages... For matters of detail the Navy, to whom all days are alike, has simply returned to the practice and resurrected the spirit of old days." This theme--that the march of time does not change the old spirit--is the leitmotif of Kipling's narrative, balanced upon the strange threshold of modern war, wherein cavalry detachments gallop toward the beach to exchange fire with submarines and wounded destroyers ram steel battleships as their crews leap into the sea, cheering for King and country. This tale only Kipling could tell, with numerous moments of suspense and fear illustrating the true face of warfare, yet with ironic glimpses of humor including old 19th-century naval songs set to new words that make this book also a wry commentary on a warfare that changes but yet remains the same. (--Lost Treasure Book Company). ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
The Jungle Book introduces Mowgli, the boy foundling adopted by a family of wolves, Shere Khan the tiger, Bagheera the black panther and Baloo the sleepy brown bear.
How did the Leopard get his spots? How did the Elephant get his trunk? In Just So Stories Kipling wittily supplies the answers to these and other questions.
Puck of Pook's Hill relates how Dan and Una's magical meeting with Puck, the last of the People of the Hills, leads to their adventures with Romans and Crusaders, Saxons and Vikings...
And later, in Rewards and Fairies, the three meet an array of characters ranging from Iron Age warriors to 'Good Queen Bess' and Sir Francis Drake.
In Kipling's rattling school yarn Stalky & Co, Stalky, M'Turk and the Beetle are a trio of scallywags with a keen desire to break the rules, their unruly activities give the stories an enduring appeal to all children - especially those who have ever wilted beneath the stern glance of a peevish schoolmaster. Kipling's wry, sometimes tongue-in-cheek style will delight and entertain young readers while adults throughout the world will remember his stories with affection. ... Read more