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Summary: I'm so glad that Santa decided to tell his story!
Review: Although this book was a little slow at times (chalk it up to the ramblings of a VERY old man, who has lived a long and fun-filled life), I feel that everyone, bouth yound and old, should read this story. Live the magic of Christmas through Santa's eyes and never forget that to give up on Santa is to give up on hope! Merry Christmas!!! :)
Rating: 
Summary: Loved this book!
Review: I bought this book last year as a gift for my mother and couldn't resist reading it before I wrapped it. I was charmed by it and had to buy a new copy for her so I could keep and share one of my own. I'm looking forward to the sequel about Mrs. Santa Claus!!!
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Summary: A wonderful mixture of fantasy and history
Review: I can't even imagine how long it must have taken Jeff Guinn to research and piece together this unusual book, but the hard work was worth it. "The Autobiography of Santa Claus" is part novel, part history, and something that anyone who loves Saint Nicholas will be grateful to read.Guinn tracks down the origins of nearly all pieces of the Santa Claus legends and pieces them together, beginning with the birth of Nicholas in 280 A.D. He traces a life that lasts over 1700 years and explains how every well-known story of Santa Claus came to be, mixing in science with magic and throwing in actual historical figures to color the piece. (You'll never believe who some of Santa's "helpers" actually turn out to be.) He takes the character through the dark ages, through the Victorian era, mixes him in with European and American history and literature and finally brings it all together in the present day. The book doesn't have much of a climax, but that's because it is written as an "autobiography," not a novel. The stories just stop because they've all been told... for now. That's part of the miracle -- the knowledge that Santa Claus will outlast us all and continue bringing his true gift, hope, to children all over the world long after you and I are gone. It's a wonderful book,and for people who love Christmas, I can't recommend it enough.
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Summary: What a Delight
Review: I have to say that this book brings back the magic of the season. It was very well written and definately a page turner. I was suppose to read it in 24 nights but cheated and did it in 5. I will read this every year just before the season gets going. 5 stars plus.
Rating: 
Summary: Spare yourself and those you love!
Review: I was unfamiliar with this book until I received it for Christmas from my boss. I was impressed by its elegant dust jacket and it looked like it would be a nice, comprehensive overview of all the Santa Claus myths and legends.
It starts out interestingly enough with a story about Bishop Nicholas of Myra, although I was a bit put off by the level of writing aimed at a 10 year old. Soon, however, the story deteriorates from the unmitigatingly ridiculous to the patently absurd. By story's end, Santa has recruited as his helpers along the way Attila the Hun, King Arthur, St. Francis of Assisi, Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Sequoyah, Teddy Roosevelt, and Amelia Earhart, to name but a few.
What on earth can be the purpose of injecting such nonsense into the beloved legend of Santa Claus? I would call it "revisionist history," but it's not even close to history. What is a child who hasn't yet studied history going to think when he or she has his or her first lesson on Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, or Teddy Roosevelt?
Santa himself becomes a thoroughly unlikeable character by the end of the book, a man with serious body-image issues who expresses himself exclusively by mumbling, grumbling, snapping, moaning, groaning, whining and complaining, and whose wife (a woman allegedly named "Layla") is a cheerless sort, constantly berating him. This story will do nothing to dissuade those who already don't believe in Santa Claus, and I'm afraid it will cause those who do to lose faith.
The dust jacket points out that the book has 24 chapters, one to be read aloud with your family starting Dec. 1 and continuing through Christmas Eve. I can't imagine any loving family subjecting themselves to such torture!
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Summary: SANTA CLAUS IS REAL
Review: MY SISTER BOUGHT ME THIS BOOK ONE CHRISTMAS AND WROTE A NOTE INSIDE THAT SAID " WHOEVER MEETS SANTA FIRST , AND HE WILL COME FOR US ONE DAY TO JOIN HIM AND ALL THE OTHERS IN THE GIFT GIVING, WE HAVE TO GO GET THE OTHER SISTER... SO WE CAN GO TOGETHER- TO THE NORTH POLE AT LAST." I BURST INTO TEARS IN FRONT OF MY CHILDREN AND RELATIVES AND HAD TO RUN TO THE BATHROOM TO GET MYSELF TOGETHER.. WE ARE KNOWN AS THE "CLAUS" SISTERS. EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER HAD A DOUBT ABOUT WHETHER SANTA IS REAL OR NOT NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK. I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH
ABOUT IT AND FOR THOSE WHO DO BELIEVE- IT REALLY DOES ANSWER SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS WE HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED ABOUT.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing - A must read for families everywhere!
Review: No matter what religion you are or faith you have in Santa Claus, this book is a must read for famlies all over the world. It is packed with the history every kid and adult wants to know about St Nickolas (better known as Santa in America), how he gained his magical powers to live on forever and many of his adventures from the past century, as he travels the world.
Don't wait til Christmas. Santa's love and spirit of giving lives all year round.
Rating: 
Summary: History was good, fiction was silly
Review: The history of St. Nicholas and the church's view of Christmas over the years was very intresting. I'd like to read more about Nicholas. The fiction part, though, was kind of silly. I just can't get my mind around the idea that Santa ran into Atilla the Hun and "Mr. Hun" abandoned his fighting to join Santa in giving giving gifts to kids. Along the way, many other historical figures joined Santa. EVERYONE knows that Santa has elves to help him. If that part hadn't been included, I'd have given the book five starts. The history of modern Santa was interesting, too. As was the author's theory of how St. Nicholas lived forever, but everyone thought he died.
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Summary: A treasure, and a must read for Christmas!
Review: This book is a treasure, especially for those parents with children nearing the questioning years.
Jeff Guinn does an excellent job of blending historical fact, fiction, and a little magic to provide the perspective a child can understand and enjoy. And chances are, parents will learn some things about the tradtions we celebrate.
It's fun, educational, entertaining, and a good read.
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Summary: How I Wish Santa Had Told His Story Sooner!
Review: This book is a true gem. I only wish Santa had chosen to confide his life story twenty or so years ago, so that I could've shared it with my daughter as a child! This is a delightful blend of history and Santa's own story, and explains all the strange little details we've always wondered about. Every true lover of Christmas should read this one.
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