| Caesar: The Life Story of a Panda Leopard Contributor(s): O'Brian, Patrick (Author) |
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ISBN: 0393321827 ISBN-13: 9780393321821 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company OUR PRICE: $16.10 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2001 Annotation: A stark tale encompassing the cruelty and beauty of the natural world, Caesar tells the bloodthirsty story of a creature whose father is a giant panda and whose mother is a snow leopard. It was published in 1930, when O'Brian's was 15, and the dry wit and unsentimental precision O'Brian readers savor in the "Aubrey/Maturin" series is already in evidence. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction |
| Dewey: FIC |
| Physical Information: 0.32" H x 5.99" W x 8.01" (0.29 lbs) 104 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: A stark tale encompassing the cruelty and beauty of the natural world, and a clear demonstration of the storytelling gift that would later flower in the Aubrey/Maturin series. When he was fourteen years old and beset by chronic ill health, Patrick O'Brian began creating his first fictional character. I did it in my bedroom, and a little when I should have been doing my homework, he confessed in a note on the original dust-jacket. Caesar tells the picaresque, enchanting, and quite bloodthirsty story of a creature whose father is a giant panda and whose mother is a snow leopard. Through the eyes and voice of this fabulous creature, we learn of his life as a cub, his first hunting exploits, his first encounters with man, his capture and taming. Caesar was published in 1930, three months after O'Brian's fifteenth birthday, but the dry wit and unsentimental precision O'Brian readers savor in the Aubrey/Maturin series is already in evidence. The book combines Stephen Maturin's fascination and encyclopedic knowledge of natural history with the narrative charm of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. It was published in England and the United States, and in translation in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Japan. Reviews hailed the author as the boy-Thoreau. We can see here a true storyteller in the making....a gripping narrative, which holds the reader's attention and never flags.--The Spectator |
Contributor Bio(s): O'Brian, Patrick: - Patrick O'Brian's acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series of historical novels has been described as "a masterpiece" (David Mamet, New York Times), "addictively readable" (Patrick T. Reardon, Chicago Tribune), and "the best historical novels ever written" (Richard Snow, New York Times Book Review), which "should have been on those lists of the greatest novels of the 20th century" (George Will).Set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, O'Brian's twenty-volume series centers on the enduring friendship between naval officer Jack Aubrey and physician (and spy) Stephen Maturin. The Far Side of the World, the tenth book in the series, was adapted into a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir and starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. The film was nominated for ten Oscars, including Best Picture. The books are now available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book format.In addition to the Aubrey/Maturin novels, Patrick O'Brian wrote several books including the novels Testimonies, The Golden Ocean, and The Unknown Shore, as well as biographies of Joseph Banks and Picasso. He translated many works from French into English, among them the novels and memoirs of Simone de Beauvoir, the first volume of Jean Lacouture's biography of Charles de Gaulle, and famed fugitive Henri Cherrière's memoir Papillon. O'Brian died in January 2000. |