Customer Reviews (1)

A Tale of World-Weary Innocence
The alone-in-this-world boy really did invent a bubble-gun.This is the adventure of getting it patented and the wild bus ride to D.C. with various unique characters that ensues. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not the original!
Important... Please note that this book has been rewritten for a very young audience by Christine Rose.This is not the book as it originallyappeared!

Great for young adults
This book is incorrectly listed as a book for babies. It is written for adults (young adults, and not so young!).

I LOVED The Snow Goose as a teenage girl. My son does not like to read, so I'm buying it for himbecause I think he will enjoy it. The Snow Goose is touching andinspirational, but it has enough war stuff to keep boys interested. I gaveit 4 stars rather than 5 because I haven't yet read the other stories. I'manxious to read them, and to re-read the classic Snow Goose myself.

It'sdifficult to find good books for boys who would rather not read, so I'mpleased to find this book available! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

My favorite since childhood
My grandmother gave me a copy of this book when I was 10.I loved it then and it's still my favorite.I've bought many copies for friends.

Paul Gallico has written more popular stories ("The Snow Goose"), and is maybe better known for the movie versions of some of his books (including Mrs 'Arris Goes To Paris" and "The Poseidon Adventure"). I think this book tops them.

As the book starts Adam has just arrived in the famed city of Magea, the city of magic, for an annual magic competition.But he is different.All the other magicians are illusionists, just like the magicians we'd find on stage or TV any day.But Adam does 'real' magic.The city is thrown into a tizzy when, in the preliminary competition, Adam unscambles an egg and puts it back in the shell.The rest of the story relates how the individuals of the city react to him (everything from naïve curiosity to malevolent determination to kill him).

Besides Adam, the main characters are his dog Mopsy (a talking dog, although no one but Adam can hear him); Jane, a magician's daughter relegated to a future as a magician's lovely assistant; Ninian the Nonpareil, a inept magician and quick friend of Adam, tempted to learn his secrets but trying to do good; The Great Robert, Jane's father, Adam's host, and mayor of Magea; and a host of other characters who relate to Adam in different ways.

Some friends have told me they see "The Man Who Was Magic" as an allegory.I have always just seen it as a wonderful tale of innocence and good overcoming evil. Adam is a character we'd all like to know - or be.

Delightful story teaches, not preaches
A charming tale with just the right mixture of funny, melancholy and thought-provoking moments.It was one of my childhood favorites and I wholeheartedly recommend it to my own daughter.
A true magician, innocent and kind to a fault, and his familiar, a scruffy dog with enough common sense and street smarts for both of them, journey a long way to attend the annual convention at the fabled "magic city" where the magician hopes to be accepted into the guild.To his disappointment, he finds that the guild consists entirely of mere conjurors, who dress up their parlor tricks with smoke and mirrors and the city proves a shallow hub of conceit and show business snobbery.The magician stays on, despite himself, to help out two newfound friends.One is a hopeless aging clutz, who has failed his whole life at getting into the guild on his own merit.The other is the pathetic daughter of a prominent conjuror, whose family's bullying has completely eroded her self-esteem.He changes the life of these friends by showing them how to unlock the magic of "I can" and "I will" within themselves.Meanwhile, however, some more malevolent conjurors realize that he is the real deal and as such a potential threat to their entire livelihood.The story of how he gets kidnapped by thugs, how his amazing dog organizes his rescue and the final bittersweet success on the convention stage is written in graceful, readable style.

Wonderful Children's story
I loved this book as a child and read it repeatedly.As a teacher I picked it up and read it aloud to my third graders and they were mesmerized.

Paul Gallico
The description was accurate and the book arrived promptly
What more could I have asked?
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Customer Reviews (1)

flowers for Mrs Harris
i want to get infor mation about books as example Flowers for Mrs Harris ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The life, and the eventual death, of Snowflake.
High in the sky Snowflake is born and then slowly she begins to fall to Earth, but that is just the beginning of her journey.There are many more miles and forms that she will take before she reaches her journey's final end.Seemingly aimed at Young Adult readers, the emotionally mature reader will quickly notice that Snowflake's journey is a metaphor for the many joys, pains, and inevitable questions of Life itself.The heartwarming message that everything serves a design is delivered with, if not subtle, at least beautiful writing.I had only known Gallico as the writer of The Poseidon Adventure.I am glad to have discovered this wonderful little book among my late wife's personal belongings.It soothed me like no book on grief could.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Paul (William) Gallico, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 2791 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author