Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein: A Book Review (No Spoilers)

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      Hello everyone!  This is my review for the amazing book Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein, on of my favorite Sc-fi authors.  I highly recommend you to read this Sci-fi/Adventure.

     Hi, I'm Jake E. Stief and today I am going to review the book Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A Heinlein.  First off, let me tell you that It is nearly impossible or at least very hard to give a book review without giving away any of the plot or story.  I will warn you that there may be a few spoilers in here which could potentially ruin your reading experience.  While I will reveal only what is absolutely necessary in my mind to convince you that you should or should not read this book.  So basically this book takes place sometime in the future;  the Earth is overpopulated and 100s of thousands of other planets for that matter.  Technology has advanced sufficiently, people can teleport, travel through time, etc. 
     The main character is a teenager named Rod Walker and his goal to master his high school Survival course.  Rather than taking a simple exam he must literally 'survive' for up to ten days without any knowledge what so ever of where he would have to withstand the wild.  It could be any climate, planet, terrain, etc.    This exercise can literally be lethal.  He and the rest of the class is teleported to the same region and placed (unknowingly with three other survival classes).  Before leaving however, they are inflicted with the fear of a vicious beast called the stober.
       He steps into a seemingly tranquil terrain much like that of Earth.  Over a matter of days of living in this foreign land Rod accidentally stumbles across another survival student named 'Jack'  who quickly convinces him of something which I will not tell you.  The sun rises and sets far too many times for it to have been only 10 days.  They soon realize that the gate which teleports them back to civilization was not going to appear.  They were stuck there.  Living on the belief that they would need to group with more people in order to survive they start making signals to bring more folks in.  In many ways this book is very similar to Lord of the Flys and at the same time very different.  Lord of the Flys is about a group of kids which have been isolated from civilization who start to tear people up in order to survive and I say this literally.  They collapse any form of civilization.  Tunnel in the Sky takes a different look on things.  Rather than tearing things apart, the group of teens tries to build their own civilization from ground up starting only with supplies they brought on their journey.  I enjoyed reading how this bunch of people erected their own form of life, everything from their own government to starting to forge metal.  This book is stunning just as many of Robert A Heinlein's books are.  I was on the edge, reading this book at any chance I could get.  I would much enjoy coping with the same situation they were in.  I would love to test my survival skills.  So, overall I rate this book 5 out of 5. A great read it is indeed.  I wouldn't say that it would be for anyone under 13 though.   It may be a little hard to understand with the way Robert A. Heinlein worded things at the beginning of the novel.  Now I am going to read one chapter from the book, like I usually do, just to see if it intrigues you.  I highly recommended it and I can't argue enough that you read this book!     

     I can not post the excerpt I read, as it would make may description past the maximum amount.  I will however post may favorite quote from the book:
 
      The young man was dressed only in walking shorts and soft bush shoes.  "Friends," he said, "we are gathered here tonight to found a new nation."
     He paused to let the idea sink in.  "You know our situation.  We fervently hope to be rescued.  I will even go so far as to say that I think we will be rescued...eventually.
     "It might be tomorrow...it might be our descendants a thousand years from now.  But whem the main body of our great race reestablishes contact with us, it is up to us whether they find a civilized society, or flea-bitten animals without language, without art-with the light of reason grown dim.  Or no survivors at all, nothing but bones picked clean!"

If you have any questions please email me at crazyjake451@yahoo.com
Thanks for watching an LZ Production and Bibliophile Production.
Jake E. Stief

Recognizing first edition of 11/22/63 by Stephen King

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      Hello!  In this tutorial I will show you how to determine a first edition/first print of 11/22/63 by Stephen King.  This book was published on November 8th, 2011.

The front of the dust jacket on the book should be a newspaper clipping with a bit of red at the top that acts as a background for the title 11/22/63 and the author, Stephen King.  Below the name of the novel you should see the phrase "A novel"  The clipping portion of the jacket should have a gritty texture and the main title should read JFK SLAIN IN DALLAS, LBJ TAKES OATH.  There should be a color photo of J.F.K right before he got shot.  The spine of the jacket should say the author again, then the publishers name (Scribner) and their logo, then the title of the book.  It should be on a grayish background.  The back of the jacket should have another clipping that reads JFK ESCAPES ASSASSINATION, FIRST LADY ALSO OK.  Below this is a black and white photo on J.F.K and his wife.  The ISBN around the barcode should be 978-1-4526-2728-2.  The cover price should be $35.00 U.S/$39.99 Can.  That other code to the right of the barcode should be 53500.  I will explain what this is in another video.  The inner front flap should have the cover price again, a few thoughts about the book, and a blurb.  The back flap should have a few reviewers' quotes, the author's photo and copyright info concerning the dust jacket.  The author's photographer should be Shane Leonard.  The Jacket Design should be by Rex Bonomelli.  The photographers should be Bettman/Corbis and Neal Lankster/Alamy.  Then it should say printed in the U.S.A by Simon & Schuster.   

      The boards of the book should be bright red and it is quarter bound in black cloth.  The top and bottom threads are yellow.  There are no engravings on the boards.  On the spine you should see in gold lettering Stephen King, 11/22/63, the publisher and their logo.  The paste downs for the front and back are white as well as the front and back inserts.  You should see a page just with Scribner's logo, then the title page.  On the copyright page you should see the following info:
"A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020"
"Copyright © 2011 by Stephen King"
"First Scrinber hardcover edition November 2011"
"DESIGNED BY ERICH HOBBING"
"Manufactured in the United States of America"
"1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2"  (If this number is off but all other info matches what I told you, then you a first edition but not first print.)
"ISBN 978-1-4516-2728-2"

     Then on the dedication page you should see "For Zelda 'Hey, honey, welcome to the party.'"
Do note that there is a table of contents in this book unlike most of his other novels.  There is also a photograph of JFK after the table of contents.  The last page number listed should be 849. 

If you have any question or comments E-Mail me at crazyjake451@yahoo.com

Thanks for watching an LZ Productions.  Be sure to subscribe : )

Jake E. Stief

Recognizing First Edition of Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

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In this video I will teach you how to determain or recognize a first edition first printing on Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King.

      The dust jacket should be gray in color, darker around the edges than in the center. On the front of the jacket Stephen King's name should be written in red and the title of the book, Full Dark, No Stars should be written in silver. There should be a photo of a guy holding his head stretching out his arm on the front. On the spine of the jacket there should be written, Stephen King, the publishers logo, Full Dark No Stars, and Scribner. On the back should be a monotone photograph of Stephen King. In the bottom right hand side will be the bar code with an ISBN of 978-1-4391-9256-6. There should be a cover price of 27.99 U.S dollars and 32 Canadian dollars on the back. the jacket code should be 1110. On the inside flap of the jacket should be a blurb about the four stories contained in the book and the price should be listed again on the top of the page. On the back flap should be some info on the author, a publisher ad, and copyright info for the dust jacket. The copy right infpo should read as follows, "JACKET DESIGN BY REX BONOMELLI JACKET PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF BARK, REPRESENTED BY RAY BROWN AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH BY DICK DICKINSON" Then it should say that it was printed in the U.S (c) 2010 by Simon & Schuster.
    
     The boards should be a light gray, light blue color and quarter bound in a black cloth. There are no inscriptions on the front or back. On the spine written in red is Stephen King, Full Dark No Stars, and the publishers logo as well as Scribner. It should be bound with a solid red thread. Paste downs and front and rear pages are white. Here is the important things you should see on the copyright page, "A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020", "Copyright (C) 2010 by Stephen King", "1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020", "First Scribner hardcover edition November 2010", "DESIGNED BY ERICH HOBBING", "Manufactured in the United states of America", "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 2" (If you do not see a complete number line but every thing still matches the terms I listed above then it is probably a first edition, but not a first printing. Because this book was recently published, print generally won't matter among people (unless collectors) and your book will probably have the same value. Over time though I am certain this will change. Within ten years you first edition first print could be worth $1 while the first edition first print is still worth $15) and finally "ISBN 978-1-4391-9256-6"
The dimensions of the book should be roughly 6.4 X 9.5 X 1.4 in or 16 X 24.1 X 3.1 cm. If it smaller than this it is probally a book club edition.

Thanks for watching,
Jake E. Stief

If you have any question about determaining a first edition or want to be sure i read your comment then E-Mail me at crazyjake451@yahoo.com

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer: A Book Review

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrazyJake451?feature=mhee