Product Description

Stephen King, whose first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974, the year before the last U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam, is the first hugely popular writer of the TV generation. Images from that war -- and the protests against it -- had flooded America's living rooms for a decade. Hearts in Atlantis, King's newest fiction, is composed of five interconnected, sequential narratives, set in the years from 1960 to 1999. Each story is deeply rooted in the sixties, and each is haunted by the Vietnam War.

In Part One, "Low Men in Yellow Coats," eleven-year-old Bobby Garfield discovers a world of predatory malice in his own neighborhood. He also discovers that adults are sometimes not rescuers but at the heart of the terror.

In the title story, a bunch of college kids get hooked on a card game, discover the possibility of protest...and confront thier own collective heart of darkness, where laughter may be no more than the thinly disguised cry of the beast.

In "Blind Willie" and "Why We're in Vietnam," two men who grew up with Bobby in suburban Connecticut try to fill the emptiness of the post-Vietnam era in an America which sometimes seems as hollow -- and haunted -- as their own lives.

And in "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling," this remarkable audiobook's denouement. Booby returns to his hometown where one final secret, the hope of redemption, and his heart's desire may await him.

Full of danger, full of suspense, most of all full of heart, Stephen King's new audiobook will take some listeners to a place they have never been...and others to a place they have never been able to completely leave.Amazon.com Review
With his idiosyncratic blend of patrician airs and boyish charm, narratorWilliam Hurt provides a wonderful complement to this wildly imaginativecollection of short stories by author Stephen King. Hurt carefully weavesthe disparate elements into a cohesive whole, embracing the subtlecomplexities of each character; one moment a wizened sadness leaks into hisvoice as a haunted old man, pursued by demons, asks his 11-year-oldlookout, "You know everyone on this street, on this block of this streetanyway? And you'd know strangers?Sojourners? Faces of those unknown?"Then, in a profound yet almost imperceptible switch, he exposes the boy'snaive enthusiasm, "I think so." Right about here your neck hairs will standat attention. Hurt's peculiar vocal style is in perfect pitch to King'sdark, surreal vision of growing up amid the monsters of post-VietnamAmerica. (Running time: 21 hours, 16 cassettes) --George Laney ... Read more

Customer Reviews (593)

Brought back memories!
What real cops do.
I'm 61 now and as I read through the pages of this book, finding it hard to put down, it brought back so many memories. The innocence of childhood. The carefree life of a child. Finding that simple things can be the most fun and exciting. It also brought back memories of Vietnam, or should I say that era. I was a soldier between 1969 and 1972. I did not serve in Vietnam, but I knew many that did and I know of those who came back messed up physically and mentally. I was drafted and I knew of those that managed to stay out of the draft by going to college or going to the National Guard. I also knew a few that failed in college and went anyway and of at least one person who did not attend Guard meetings as required on was activated.
It also made me think of my first love.
This is a great read, and I would encourage anyone to read it.

WARNING - King reads half the book!
Nowhere on the label does it say Stephen King is reading any of this book.If it did, I would never have bought the CD.The first story is read by a very good reader.The rest is not -- at least so far as I can tell.I listened to King read for 5 more disks and that was all I could stand.I don't know how much of it he actually reads.I feel this was trick labeling of the CD and I will never buy another Stephen King audio book for fear it will not tell the truth about who is reading.

Good Bedtime Reading..
..because it's seldom so interesting that you can't put it down, and sometimes just boring enough to make you sleepy!

Seriously, this was not an awful book, but neither was it great.In fact it could just as well have been 3 separate novellas as each of the stories is only linked by the faintest of threads.The first reads like sci-fi, the second long section like autobiography.The third section (Viet Nam) suddenly delves deeply into some characters we've not even met with in the first 2 sections in order to compliment the story of some secondary characters from the 2nd section who go to Viet Nam. And for the grand finalle, it wraps up with a quip of an ending relating back to the first story.The only thing that unifies this novel besides the somewhat distant relationship between characters of the 3 parts, is the 60s, how they got through it and what finally became of them.

In a nutshell, it could be a frustrating read for folks that care about the outcome of the first story which is the most interesting.On the other hand, if you're feeling more detached and you don't mind a casual (long) walk down memory lane (from the point of view of college students in the 60s and then Viet Nam), you may find something in the autobiographical tone of the substantial second section (not autobiographical in fact) and the sorrow and nightmare flashbacks of the vets in the third section, though this seemed like it had been done before in too many Hollywood movies.Finally, what seems like eons later, we get around to wrapping up the original story in a dozen pages or so (I did like the name of the last section "HEAVENLY SHADES OF NIGHT ARE FALLING" - and it does end on a somewhat satisfying note).

While overall the book has a number of good moments and as many or more than are occasionally tedious, I don't regret reading it - but neither would I recommend.For much, much better 'new millenium' Stephen King (not horror, but gripping all the same) check out "Bag of Bones".

Heart breaking
I pretty much quit reading Stephen King in the early eighties.But in the last few years I've become attracted to his less supernatural horror stuff, in part because of the superb film adaptations like Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption and (for me) recently, the excellent Dolores Claiborne.A few years ago, I read some really good short stories, as well as The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon , which was gripping but didn't really move me that much.However, I just finished Hearts In Atlantis.Amazing.Just a thread of the supernatural is masterfully strung throughout these five separate pieces, though it could just as easily be considered a novel.It's about the 60's; the effects of the Vietnam war, the anti-war movement and the horrible things that human being do to each other, as well as the wonderful things that human beings are capable of.All the main characters fail at some point in realizing their ideals, and the book appears to be a subtle indictment of the baby-boomer generation.However it really seems to apply to all of us who have settled for microwaves, cell phones and PCs rather than trying to understand and perhaps heal the insanity that has become of western civilization.But it's also full of compassion, and I was moved to tears more than once.Although the first story/section, "Low Men in Yellow Coats", appeared to me to be the highlight of the book as I approached the ending, the last two stories recast the rest of the book in an unexpected and totally compelling light, and it made it clear that this may be his masterpiece. Highly recommended.

poignant and real
Just when you think you have Stephen King figured out, he surprises you again!! The characters who inhabit the places and times of this book are richly limned and lovingly detailed. Mr. King has done them the justice that only someone the calibre of a Harper Lee or a Carson McCullers can do..in that he captures them in prose that is achingly reminiscent of these two authors..He has proven himself truly a master..as far as I am concerned, this is his magnum opus... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Favorite of Roger and me
This is really two very different novelettes followed by a lengthy epilogue. I had read the book years ago, and picked up the audiobook after seeing it on Roger Ebert's list of books to read. It was Ebert's favorite audiobook. I listened to it with my 15 year-old son, and it became the favorite of both of us. It's really the first segment (9 of 20 CDs) which blew me away. Read by William Hurt, this story of an 11 year-old in 1961 was amazing. The boy lives with his mother, who is going through hard times, when a mysterious stranger moves into the apartment building and befriends the boy. The characters and times come alive in this story with so much heart and a little supernatural thrown in. Listen to this first story and stop if you want. It stands on its own. Or listen on, and visit a floor of college guys in 1966 who are addicted to cards (Hearts), and are on the verge of flunking out and going off to Vietnam. Read by Stephen King, this is a candid, uncensored (R-rated) look at the 60s and college life. I liked this, as it reminded me of college life in the early 70s. The final segment is a post-Vietnam piece, following up on many of the characters from the first two stories. I hadn't liked this when I read it, but with William Hurt reading and period music throughout (as there was the whole novel), I did like it on audio. In short, listen to this for the first story, and you can't go wrong, whether you listen to the rest of not. The readers were both great. ... Read more

Product Description
A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa. "As always, the forms are sculptured, the perspectives as dazzling as they are audacious, the colors rich and elegant, the use of light and shadow masterly." -- Horn BookALA Notable Book
Booklist Editors' Choice
Horn Book Fanfare Selection
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of theYear
Reading Rainbow Review BookAmazon.com Review
One couldn't select a more delightful and exciting premise for achildren's book than the tale of a young boy lying awake on Christmas Eveonly to have Santa Claus sweep by and take him on a trip with other childrento the North Pole. And one couldn't ask for a more talented artist and writerto tell the story than Chris Van Allsburg. Allsburg, a sculptor who enteredthe genre nonchalantly when he created a children's book as a diversion fromhis sculpting, won the 1986 Caldecott Medal for this book, one of severalaward winners he's produced. The Polar Express rings with vitality andwonder.

25th Anniversary Edition Includes
To commemorate this special anniversary, a lavish gift edition has been created. The set includes a silver foil border, a CD audio recording read by Liam Neeson, a note from Chris Van Allsburg, and a silvery keepsake "All Aboard" ornament.

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Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Chris Van Allsburg

Dear Amazon Readers,

Over the past twenty-five years, many people have shared stories with me about the effect that reading The Polar Express has had on their families and on their celebration of Christmas.

One of the most poignant was told to me five or six years ago at a book signing in the Midwest, on a snowy December evening.As I inscribed a book to a woman in her sixties, she told me that it was the second copy she had owned, and wanted to know if she could she tell me what had happened to the first."Of course," I answered.

A dozen years earlier the woman, who had no children of her own, befriended a neighbor, a boy of about seven, named Eddie.He would often cross his driveway to visit her.

She had a collection of picture books, which she read to him, but around the holidays, the only story he ever wanted to hear, over and over, was The Polar Express.One year she offered to give him the book, but Eddie declined because he wanted to hear her read it aloud to him, which she continued to do every year until the boy and his family moved away.

Years later the woman learned from a mutual acquaintance that Eddie had grown up and become a soldier. He was stationed in Iraq. Since Christmas was approaching, the woman decided to send him a gift box. She included candy, cookies, socks, and her old copy of The Polar Express. She wasn't sure what a nineteen-year-old battle-weary soldier would do with the book in an army barracks in the Middle East, but she wanted him to have it. A month later, after the holidays had passed, she received a letter from Eddie.

He told her he was very happy to have heard from her and to get the box of gifts.He had opened it in his barracks, just before curfew, with some of his fellow GIs already in their bunks. A soldier in the next bunk spotted the book. He knew it well from his own childhood and asked Eddie to read it. "Out loud?" he asked. "Yeah," his buddy told him.

Eddie, quietly and a little self-consciously, read The Polar Express. When he'd finished and closed the book, a moment of silence passed. Then from behind him a voice called out, "Read it again," and another joined in, "Yeah, read it again," and a third added, "This time, louder." So Eddie did.

He wrote to the woman that he'd stood up and read it to his comrades just the way he remembered she had read it to him.

All aboard,

Chris Van Allsburg

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Recipes and Activities to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of The Polar Express
(Click on Images for the Recipe or Activity [PDF])

Snacks for Santa

Candy Cane Sugar Cookies

Polar Chocolate Nougat Caramel Squares

Christmas Snowball Cookies

Hot Chocolate

Fun and Games

A Polar Express Word Search

A Polar Express Crossword

A Polar Express Maze

A Polar Express Drawing Sheet

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... Read more

Customer Reviews (269)

Christmas Must Have!
This book is a holiday must have!I ordered it and received it the next day!Great book and great service!

Classic
This has always been a favorite book of mine, and I have a friend who had only seen the movie. I ordered this for her so she could experience the magic of the book. Fun, beautifully illustrated, and great for a Christmas lover or imaginative little one.

Beautifully Illustrated
This beautifully illustrated, classic children's Christmas story will delight young and old readers alike as they are transported to the North Pole in this skillfully crafted adventure, written by Chris Van Allsburg.Both boys and girls will be enchanted by the fanciful holiday tale of a boy who struggles with the concept of maintaining the beliefs of his childhood .

Holiday Stories
A great holiday storie. Warm and enjoyable and it has a childlike innocense and children of all ages will love this book.

Polar Express Book
We liked the movie so well my wife wanted to own the book as a remembrance. It does this task very well. ... Read more

Product Description
for Ages 3-83-book set (hardcover picture book, activity book, and parent teacher guide) helps children handle hurt feelings and frustrationEmotional Literacy Series: Exploring HurtAn encounter with Mrs. Murgatroyd and her magical paints helps a little boy gain self-confidence and overcome the feeling of hurt.William is sent to his room for bad behavior while his family finishes decorating the Christmas tree. His brother and sister tell him that he is clumsy and a klutz. He feels as if he cannot do anything right--that everyone is always criticizing him. In his hurt and disappointment, he decides to run away from home. Feeling cold and alone, William encounters the wise Mrs. Murgatroyd. With the help of her magical paints, he creates a computer game in which his character, Elf, must decorate a Christmas tree while the Meanies try to stop him. Through his game, William comes to terms with his hurt feelings, and realizes that he can do things right. Through this experience, he receives the gift of self-confidence.With its rich, inviting illustrations, William's Gift helps young readers develop their own inner strength and power to meet life's challenges. ... Read more

Product Description
7 Read-Along Stories on One DVD, plus Spanish Version of Moon Man ... Read more