Rating: 
Summary: Is DEFINITELY Hysterical If ...
Review: ... you've read the classic upon which the 5-minute translation is based. If you haven't, THE 5-MINUTE ILIAD AND OTHER INSTANT CLASSICS still provide plenty of merriment -- with maybe a touch of confusion. (In particular, Bram Stoker's "Dracula" is an absolute howler and George Orwell's "1984" might even have you running to pick up a copy of the original to find all of the hints.) While a few of the 'instant classics' do feel like one-note jokes that go on for several pages, it's still all in good fun at no one's expense ... other than a few of civilization's most revered authors. Nagan's observation's about Western Civilization and the expanse of its subsequent culture, however, are perhaps the finest notes of pure mirth in the book ... I'd almost wish he'd dedicate a book to that subject alone!
Rating:
Summary: Is DEFINITELY Hysterical If ...
Review: ... you've read the classic upon which the 5-minute translation is based. If you haven't, THE 5-MINUTE ILIAD AND OTHER INSTANT CLASSICS still provide plenty of merriment -- with maybe a touch of confusion. (In particular, Bram Stoker's "Dracula" is an absolute howler and George Orwell's "1984" might even have you running to pick up a copy of the original to find all of the hints.) While a few of the 'instant classics' do feel like one-note jokes that go on for several pages, it's still all in good fun at no one's expense ... other than a few of civilization's most revered authors. Nagan's observation's about Western Civilization and the expanse of its subsequent culture, however, are perhaps the finest notes of pure mirth in the book ... I'd almost wish he'd dedicate a book to that subject alone!
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious. What's not to like?
Review: A very, very funny book. We need more books like this -- laugh-out-loud silly, yet also smart and literate. My favorite line is probably the author's opening to the Iliad, "Rage -- Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles. If you don't know it, I can hum a few bars." But every page has another gem or two. My only regret is that Nagan satirizes only 15 great works -- would have enjoyed even more of these. On the other hand, if he had added, say, 10 more books at five-minutes a book, that would take almost an hour to read. Who has that kind of time?
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious and brilliant parodies of the classics.
Review: By far the funniest book I've read in a very long time. I hadn't read a lot of the books Nagan parodied, and it didn't even matter. I feel so smart and well-read now. I think I may have to pick up the original works -- they don't seem so intimidating anymore.
Rating:
Summary: How to Get Straight A's in an Ivy League School
Review: Columbia University is famous for making thousands of young men and women a bit too familiar with the writing of dead white men over four years. THE 5-MINUTE ILIAD does the same thing -- plus Jane Austen -- in about two hours. As if hilarious abbreviated literature weren't enough of a boon to the average undergraduate's schedule, it's a few thousand bucks cheaper than the Complete Western Canon, and it takes up less shelf space. It's even got pictures for all you art history majors. So laugh with midget masterpieces while your ramen steeps in the hot pot.
Rating:
Summary: Read the quick and funny versions of the classics!
Review: Did you skip Crime and Punishment, 1984, and Sense and Sensibility? Have you made it your personal goal to never read the Iliad? Then this book is for you. Nagan expertly cuts all the unimportant stuff out of the classics, shortens them so you can read them in only 5 minutes each (10 if you're slow like me), and adds a bit of humor so you actually want to read them. I tested my new familiarity with the classics by discussing The Iliad with a friend who was taking Great Books. She couldn't tell I'd never actually read it! This book allows normal people to learn the classics without actually reading them. The 5 Minute Iliad was hilarious and I feel 1000 times smarter after reading it. Now I can expertly discuss the plot from Dracula, The Old Man and the Sea, Catcher in the Rye and other boring classics. Whether you've completely unfamiliar with these novels or you'd like to just read the funny versions, The 5 Minute Iliad is the perfect book for you. Note: These stories are meant to humor you and offer you a very basic understanding of the classics. The 5 Minute Iliad is Not a substitute for Cliff Notes (or the actual books if you're ambitious)
Rating:
Summary: This is humour!
Review: Five Minute Iliad is the funniest and most intelligent book I've read in ages. Nagan's humour is superb - I will never be able to pick up Moby Dick again whitout laughing my head of. His obvious love for his material mixed with a sharp and profound irony provides you with all you need to know about these classics. Can't wait to see what he'll come up with next. Hurry up, Greg Nagan!
Rating: 
Summary: Five minutes of boredom
Review: Five minutes of speed reading told me I made a mistake and wasted $10. Let me at least warn fellow readers to save your time and money and skip this failed attempt at wit and wisdom.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly witty, charming, and flat-out funny
Review: I actually was thrown off by the title of this book. When I got it for Christmas I figured it was just a bunch of classics (many of which I already have read) summarized. I really must have drank too much egg-nog or something (not that there was rum in it or anything) :). Anyway, I picked up the book a few weeks ago and smacked myself in the forehead. These aren't your simply informative summaries. These are summaries that are meant to cause the book's audience to laugh themselves silly. Mr. Nagan has quite a sense of humor. The addition of his wit and his plot twists do make for an "improvement" in the original works. :)
Rating:
Summary: It would be good if this were funny
Review: I admit I didn't buy this book---I leafed through it in a bookstore. I read enough to know that you better have actually read the Iliad to appreaicte this. And I suspect if you had read the Iliad you'd probably think this was a waste of time.
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