Rating: 
Summary: Soon To Be One Of The Great Works Of Literature
Review: The Mouse that Roared, if it isn't already, should be one of the funniest books of all time. In the Grand Duchy of Fenwick the loyal citizens have a tiny problem that most countries are faced with. They're out of money. After posting stamps and the usual things tiny countries do to earn money they turn to their only export. Their Grand Pinot Fenwick wine. Two political parties the Dilutionists (led by D. Benter) and Anti-Dilutionists (led by Count Mountjoy) argue over how to make their wine more profitable. Gloriana XII, the wise and very attractive ruler of the country decides to go to Tully Bascomb, the Chief Forest Ranger, to ask him to form a Communist party so that the United States will give them money. Tully convinces Gloriana that this wouldn't be honorable and he offers a suggestion which would save Grand Fenwick's national pride: to declare war on the United States. This hilarious book ends with Tully winning the war, the Duchy of Grand Fenwick becoming the most powerful nation in the world, and Tully and Gloriana becoming married. If you haven't read it and have just seen the movie you're missing out. Nothing can beat the madcap ride you take through the pages of "THE MOUSE THAT ROARED."
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: This book takes place during the beggining of the Cold War. What happens is that the Duchy of Grand Fenwick (a very small unheard of country, that is about 500 years away from being modern) is going bankrupt. The main way and basically the only way the county makes money is selling its wine. The rising population of the country and several other things force the country to find ways to make more money. They first start to add water to the wine to make more of it. But when this isn't enough, they make up a plan to attack the US and lose so that US would give them money for suffering defeat. They then use this money to mordenize their country. But there is a horrible mistake, they win. You could probably find more information in other reviews, but I don't want to say anything else because it takes a while for all these things to happen. I also read other reviews, and some people say this book is funny. I found absolutely no comedy at all, but maybe they were talking about the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: This book takes place during the beggining of the Cold War. What happens is that the Duchy of Grand Fenwick (a very small unheard of country, that is about 500 years away from being modern) is going bankrupt. The main way and basically the only way the county makes money is selling its wine. The rising population of the country and several other things force the country to find ways to make more money. They first start to add water to the wine to make more of it. But when this isn't enough, they make up a plan to attack the US and lose so that US would give them money for suffering defeat. They then use this money to mordenize their country. But there is a horrible mistake, they win. You could probably find more information in other reviews, but I don't want to say anything else because it takes a while for all these things to happen. I also read other reviews, and some people say this book is funny. I found absolutely no comedy at all, but maybe they were talking about the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Great! Caesar's Ghost! (so, Long Live the Rest of Us!)
Review: This is a very well handled story. The author has a number of humane, intelligent things to say, and he says them well... There are two main conflicts in this book, as I see it. First, the contrast between medieval, chivalric ideals of war, (or at least the [not really correct] popular stereotype of them), where everyone involved is constantly worrying about "honor", vs. the modern war, where one bomb, in this case, can totally destroy the entire human race. This conflict is exemplified, in my view, by the hot-blooded, passionate, anachronistic young Grand Fenwickian Tully Bascomb, on the one hand, fighting against the ruthlessly efficient, modern American General Snippett on the other. Second, the conflict between two highly intelligent old men, the wise and humane Pierce Bascomb on the one hand, and the scientifically brilliant but morally myopic Dr. Kokintz on the other. There is a very interesting, and beautifully written, debate between these two men in about chapter 17 or so, (maybe 16 or 18, I forget) it's worth reading over a few times.Watch for the little things in this book -- there is a debate over whether birds that settle in the miniscule duchy of Grand Fenwick should be called by the name they are known as there, or if they should be called whatever the larger (if not, ultimately, more significant) world outside calls them. This argument seemed kind of dumb to me, but if you keep reading Mr. Wibberly gives it a nice little twist, and you can see why he included it. On a personal note, I wish more books about this kind of thing had more positive scientist characters. A lot of folks come to science, and love it, because it gives them a chance to experience wonder about the universe, and this wonder has a lot of value as a bulwark against excessive militarism -- we can unite in a sense of childlike wonder, as opposed to uniting against some enemy... It can be akin to having a love of "peace through music", for me at least. Anyway, back to the book -- lest I forget to say so, let me come right out right now and say that it's very funny. If your sense of humor runs to "Dr. Strangelove", you'll definitely get a big kick out of this book, as well as being provoked by it.
Rating:
Summary: Great! Caesar's Ghost! (so, Long Live the Rest of Us!)
Review: This is a very well handled story. The author has a number of humane, intelligent things to say, and he says them well... There are two main conflicts in this book, as I see it. First, the contrast between medieval, chivalric ideals of war, (or at least the [not really correct] popular stereotype of them), where everyone involved is constantly worrying about "honor", vs. the modern war, where one bomb, in this case, can totally destroy the entire human race. This conflict is exemplified, in my view, by the hot-blooded, passionate, anachronistic young Grand Fenwickian Tully Bascomb, on the one hand, fighting against the ruthlessly efficient, modern American General Snippett on the other. Second, the conflict between two highly intelligent old men, the wise and humane Pierce Bascomb on the one hand, and the scientifically brilliant but morally myopic Dr. Kokintz on the other. There is a very interesting, and beautifully written, debate between these two men in about chapter 17 or so, (maybe 16 or 18, I forget) it's worth reading over a few times. Watch for the little things in this book -- there is a debate over whether birds that settle in the miniscule duchy of Grand Fenwick should be called by the name they are known as there, or if they should be called whatever the larger (if not, ultimately, more significant) world outside calls them. This argument seemed kind of dumb to me, but if you keep reading Mr. Wibberly gives it a nice little twist, and you can see why he included it. On a personal note, I wish more books about this kind of thing had more positive scientist characters. A lot of folks come to science, and love it, because it gives them a chance to experience wonder about the universe, and this wonder has a lot of value as a bulwark against excessive militarism -- we can unite in a sense of childlike wonder, as opposed to uniting against some enemy... It can be akin to having a love of "peace through music", for me at least. Anyway, back to the book -- lest I forget to say so, let me come right out right now and say that it's very funny. If your sense of humor runs to "Dr. Strangelove", you'll definitely get a big kick out of this book, as well as being provoked by it.
Rating:
Summary: The Mouse That Roared
Review: This is the best book I have ever read. It's about an absent-minded Dr. Kokintz, a U.S. atomic scientist, who invented the quadium bomb trigered by his landlady's hairpin. The bomb was captured for Duchess Gloriana XII by her expeditionary of 20 longbowmen who invaded the world's largest city under their flag, and frightened American civil defense workers who thought them men from Mars. This brought instant retaliation from the U.S.A. in the form of a senatorial investigation. This was a book I couldn't keep my eyes off of.
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