Tales from the Times : Real-Life Stories to Make You Think, Wonder, and Smile, from the Pages of The New York Times

Rating:
Summary: a Sophisticated Version of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Review: In many ways THE NEW YORK TIMES is America's newspaper, and overall its reporting is among the best in the country (its recent case of plagiarism not withstanding). For those who do not get the opportunity to read the TIMES all that often, TALES FROM THE TIMES may be the next best thing. In many ways the work is a sophisticated version of THE CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL, and like the works in the CHICKEN SOUP series, the book captures a reader's heart and gives a reader stories to contemplate and remember. This is a compilation of human interest articles originally published in the paper. The articles are divided into various topics. While some of the articles are based on somewhat well known news stories, such as the young man who played in the Little League World Series but did not know his actual birth date, most are ordinary stories that come to life from the pens of the TIMES gifted writers. There is a variety to the stories and cover a range of human situations.

This work would be an excellent resource for teachers as well as those interested in journalism.

Rating:
Summary: Tales for Movie Makers
Review: This collection of human interest stories from the New York Times follows several volumes of the Wall Street Journal's Middle of the Page column and The New York Times's own collections of science articles. No matter how religiously you read the newspaper, you will have missed or forgotten most of these stories. In fact, most of the stories are forgettable. But some of them will stick with you.

I enjoyed reading about a man who had lived in a terminal at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris for over ten years. So that's where Spielberg got his idea for the movie! There is a story about twin girls who didn't know the other existed until they were sixteen and finally found each other. Shades of Parent Trap.

Some of the stories are a little too heartwarming to be believable, but who's to say? The first story of a man who helps a homeless New Yorker find his mother and get a second chance at life becomes too much when there is a follow-up story after a year that finds the formerly homeless man living with his mother and playing piano at church every day. I'd rather be homeless.

If you love stories about child prodigies and lost pets who find their way back home, or if you are a film director looking for your next big project, Tales from the Times may be just the ticket.