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Rating: 
Summary: I guess you had to be there
Review: As a reluctant student in that oxymoronic high school class, Poetry Appreciation for Teenage Males, I was surprised to rather enjoy the verses of Rudyard Kipling. Now, decades later, I thought I'd investigate his prose - these 13 tales in RUDYARD KIPLING: THE BEST SHORT STORIES, written during the period 1889 -1904.Kipling had an affinity for the common British soldier and civil servant standing duty on the far edges of Empire. Thus, several chapters feature such of the Queen's own, usually soldiers relating cautionary stories regarding relationships with women. (This is assuredly fertile ground for bivouac conversation, even today.) However, the thick dialect which the author faithfully re-creates in his hero of the moment sometimes makes for heavy going. The author's writing style includes the occasional trick of animating animals and inanimate objects with a human voice and personality. Sometimes this worked for me, sometimes not. The former was best exemplified by "The Ship That Found Herself", a clever instruction about the structural parts of a steamship. Less entertaining was "The Maltese Cat", a dialogue among polo ponies during a big match. Perhaps if I'd understood the game better, or cared, it might have gone over more successfully. On a scale of one star to five, I awarded no single story more than four. The least appreciated effort was "The Record of Badalia Herodsfoot", a depressing narrative set in the London slums that illustrates the adage, "No good deed goes unpunished." Of the several fours, my favorite was "They", a poignant ghost story set in England's southern Downs that would've made, with a little tweaking, a good episode for the old TWILIGHT ZONE television series. However, even the former contained an astute observation worth noting here: "... if people did not die so untidily, most men, and all women, would commit at least one murder in their lives." While Kipling is undeniably a great storyteller, I suspect that his writings had a greater appeal to readers contemporary with the author than those in the current millennium. Perhaps time has passed them by. One had to be there, especially to appreciate both Britain's paternal yet condescending attitude towards the subject denizens of its colonial possessions and once-new technologies that are today considered quaintly antiquated. I'm glad I took the time to read this book, but am also happy to be finished and moving on to the next.
Rating: 
Summary: A Forgotten Classic
Review: If you have the gift of being able to engulf yourself in a story then you are in for an adventure. In this beautiful work by Kipling you are a soldier of fortune headed back into territory with your brother in arms where you both fought bravely for Queen and country. But now its just the two of you with a different victory in mind. This book will put you in the heart of the battle with the characters so that you can go through the trials and experience the victory.
Rating:
Summary: A Forgotten Classic
Review: If you have the gift of being able to engulf yourself in a story then you are in for an adventure. In this beautiful work by Kipling you are a soldier of fortune headed back into territory with your brother in arms where you both fought bravely for Queen and country. But now its just the two of you with a different victory in mind. This book will put you in the heart of the battle with the characters so that you can go through the trials and experience the victory.
Rating: 
Summary: Brutal story, subtle satire.
Review: The story of the man who would be king describes the journey of two half-mad yet determined Englishmen from obscurity in India to divine rule in far-off Kafiristan. The two men smuggle themselves into Afghanistan posing as a mad priest and his servant, steal some mules when their camels can go no further, trek over the vast mountains, and set themselves up as kings by demonstrating the power of the rifle to spear-brandishing natives (in the most murderous way, one might add). They later establish their status as gods by introducing Masonic mystery and orders to the mountain villages. Eventually, however, their humanity is exposed, thus wrecking the dream of empire. The story itself is witty and exciting, driven by the raw prose and longing for exotic adventure characteristic of Kipling. At the same time, this short tale is remarkable as a summary of imperialism and its problems. The questionable motives and courses of actions of the imperialists are exposed, yet at the same time they are shown to reflect human nature more than ideology or political purpose. The ease with which a small number of people with superior technology can subjugate much larger numbers is also demonstrated in a non-sentimental fashion (it is certainly not a politically correct story by present standards). Finally, the ending emphasizes the impossibility of maintaining authority in the long run under such circumstances - technological knowledge must be revealed to maintain order, responsibility must be shared with intermediaries, and propaganda will eventually be appropriated for subversive purposes. If only historians could be as brief and straightforward as Kipling in recognizing these simple facts about how imperialism came about and how it was doomed to failure.
Rating:
Summary: Kipling's best, story of adventure, friendship, and sorrow.
Review: This is one of those stories that one must read to lead a full life. It is one of the most poignant and sorrowful stories about friendship ever written, and the words flow like poetry. This short story is emotionally draining because it is such a tragic tale. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A tragic story
Review: This is one of those stories that one must read to lead a full life. It is one of the most poignant and sorrowful stories about friendship ever written, and the words flow like poetry. This short story is emotionally draining because it is such a tragic tale. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Kipling's best, story of adventure, friendship, and sorrow.
Review: This tale comes with my highest recommendations. Kipling weaves a tale of grand adventure between two friends of the Masonic order who journey across India to become Kings in a little known corner of the world. They follow in Alexander The Great's footsteps and realize he was a Freemason, just like them. Both of the protagonists face many trials and reveal an unbreakable friendship between the two.
Rating:
Summary: A different side of Kipling
Review: While they are quite enjoyable, most of the stories in this collection pale when compared to the author's later works, such as the Jungle Books and Just So Stories. There are definite traces of his trademark wit, but only "The Man Who Would Be King" stands comparison to his more well known pieces. It's an excellent story, and as I was reading it, I couldn't help but think it was the spiritual cousin to Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. If you enjoyed one, you'll enjoy the other, as both share the theme of regular men reaping the consequences of forcing civilization on people. A good black comedy.
Rating:
Summary: A different side of Kipling
Review: While they are quite enjoyable, most of the stories in this collection pale when compared to the author's later works, such as the Jungle Books and Just So Stories. There are definite traces of his trademark wit, but only "The Man Who Would Be King" stands comparison to his more well known pieces. It's an excellent story, and as I was reading it, I couldn't help but think it was the spiritual cousin to Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. If you enjoyed one, you'll enjoy the other, as both share the theme of regular men reaping the consequences of forcing civilization on people. A good black comedy.
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