Rating: 
Summary: Not just another pulp novel (spoilers!)
Review: A witty and elegant subversion of the fantasy genre.********** It astonishes me that some of the reviewers below never figured out that the book of which this one purports to be an abridgment /doesn't exist./ There never was an S Morgenstern, nor were there kingdoms of Florin and Guilder (the names of medieval coins, not countries.) /The Princess Bride/ is a novel about the relationship between a sick boy and his grandfather. The grandfather emigrated to America as an adult. During the boy's confinement, the grandfather reads him their fictitious ancestral country's national novel, cutting and reworking as he goes to transform it into a straightforward adventure story the boy will enjoy. The problem of teaching a child born in America to identify with his national heritage is a difficult one; after all, people from the old country smell funny, eat weird things, talk with accents, and don't know anything about baseball. I imagine that Goldman himself comes from an immigrant family. In that light, this book is in part his response as an adult to his memories growing up, and it is warm and engaging. But Goldman manages not to let this turn into treacle by combining it with an adventure story so good that they made a movie out of it. The scenes with Fred Savage in the movie are not extraneous, they're vital to the book's unique quality: naive self-consciousness. It's a book that's basically about someone reading a book (take that, postmodernism,) but it uses the metatextual conceit to add to the story by giving it a deeper social significance rather than to detract from it by making it the object of games with meaning. We accept both the realistic world of a boy coming to terms with his family and heritage, and the fantastic world of ROUSes, Holocaust Cloaks, and Humperdinck's life-suctioning machine. You can read this book simply for the adventure story, which is what many people appear to have done, but in my opinion, there's a better novel written around the adventure story than in it. Whichever you prefer, I suppose.
Rating: 
Summary: Think beyond the love...
Review: It's great that people appreciate the book for what it is, but somehow I think there is more to it than true love and adventure. It's a satire, right? SO what is Goldman really saying about fairytales? Buttercup is as fickle as any, yet her "true love" is the type that can conquer death. It's about our ideals, what we have made them. I'm not saying you have to agree with me, I'd just like you to think about what Goldman is really saying about love.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly well written book
Review: This book is just amazingly written, with very clever asides and brilliant narratives. I am one of those who saw the movie first, and this book just adds so much more. There were some minor changes between the book and the movie, but both stand on their own two feet solidly.
Very highly recommended. I was even finding myself wondering if Florin and Guilder were real, DESPITE having a pretty good grasp of European history and countries.
Rating:
Summary: William Goldman's Princess Bride.
Review: Like some other reviewers I also listened to the audiobook for William Goldman's The Princess Bride which was narrated by Rob Reiner who as an actor played Mike Stivick, AKA Meathead in the 70's TV show All in the Family and Rob Reiner also directed the movie version of The Princess Bride. The audiobook recording is good and I think Rob Reiner did a good job with most of the voices with the exception of the female characters like Buttercup. The Story of The Princess Bride is good and if you have seen the movie you will notice that is was pretty faithful to William Goldman's story but If you are looking to buy the book I would recommend that you buy the paperback book instead of the audiobook.
Rating:
Summary: You Can't Handle the Truth
Review: The Princess Bride is a delightful story of true love that conquers all. It has action, adventure, death, cool fighting scenes, love, hate, giants, everything you can ask for in a fairy tale. That is exactly what it is. Everything you think of when you hear 'fairy tale' is included in this book. When I first read it, I was hooked. This is an epic portrayal of love lost and refound, bad guys perceived by their black hats and too many fingers, miracles, and revenge.
What I do not understand is how some people (Okami) can say they have read the original by S. Morgenstern, when he does not even exist. That's part of the story. Florin does not exist. Guilder does not exist. And neither does S. Morgenstern.
This book is a great read, and I suggest it to all of you. I know you will enjoy like I have.
Rating:
Summary: As a Representative of S. Morgenstern's Estate...
Review: I've read several reviews on this site taking Mr. Goldman to task for editing S. Morgenstern's classic, The Princess Bride. Please allow me to set the record straight.
S. Morgenstern is a distant relation of mine. It had been very difficult in my early years, trying to explain to others about my Florinese heritage, when Florin is so little known and almost never taught in school (just try to search for it on the web--shameful--there's even a fringe group that claims Florin never existed at all)! Thankfully, all of that changed when Goldman wrote his book and even moreso with the release of the delightful film version in 87. Now, I have something to refer to, and even more than that, a family legacy to really be proud of. I am certain that Gilder-Americans feel much the same way, no matter how their anti-defamation league has taken Goldman, et al, to task over their supposed "racist portrayal."
You see, I have one of the few extant copies of the original Princess Bride, all leather-bound, gilded, thousand pages of it. And it is dull. I mean, DULL. My mother had to prod me for years before I finally read the thing through. Goldman did the world a favor by abridging it into such a wonderful novel (the Florinese are not known for their brevity) and my family a tremendous favor by giving fame to my ancestor that he does not, honestly, quite deserve.
People have asked me before whether I intend on ever suing for any share of the proceeds of the book or movie. Again, I'd like to clear the air by saying that Mr. Goldman tracked my parents down quite some time ago and made arrangments with them prior to the release of the novel. Mr. Goldman didn't want that made public; I hope that he will overlook my disclosure because I just want the Goldman-bashing to stop.
So, to all of those who've enjoyed this abridgment, I thank you as a scion of S. Morgenstern, but direct you to thank William Goldman all the more. For those who cry injustice at his abridgment, I ask you to stop: it's better this way. Believe me.
Rating: 
Summary: not quite as it should be
Review: I, like William Goldman, read this book when i was little. Also like him, though, I read it as the original. The reason that edited books such as this annoy people like me is that it is no longer the author's work. The editor (Goldman) took the author's (Morgenstern) artistic licence away when he took out everything he thought the audience would not need to read or enjoy. The title says "The 'Good Parts' Version" but who is he to say that? Goldman says that he loved this book as a child, so why shouldn't anyone else? Just the way that it is? He should have just gotten it reprinted. A writer himself, he should know that authors hate to have their works changed. What they write is what they want to be said. Not edited out.
Finding this book on the library shelf while browsing was one of the happier moments of my simple life. But I was disappointed when I found out that so much had been removed.
This is an okay substitute to the original, he did not actually change anything that was written, but I still think that the editing was unneeded. I gave it three stars because of what was left of the original.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Delightful
Review: This book was absolutely adorable. It was interesting getting to read the story and cute little remarks about the story all at once. I remember having my mother reading to me when i was little and the little comments with the story helped me enjoy it much more because it felt like i was being told a story and not just reading it. It is an adorbale classic romance that little girls dream and are told about while growing up. I found this book absolutely delightful and made me feel like a child all over again it brought me back to a time when true love was possible, the good guys win against the bad guys, and magic is real.
Rating:
Summary: There is No S. Morgernstern.
Review: This is the book-on-tape version of the classic novel on which the movie was based read by its director, and it IS an abridgement. For one thing, the very intense scene inside the lightning sand is not included.
If you're a fan of the movie, read the book. If you love the book, get this tape for your next road trip. Reiner does an excellent job recreating the magic he brought to the movie, and a lot of the book that wasn't shown in the movie is here.
As in my review of Rich Hall's "Vanishing America," the missing star is only because of the quality of cassette tape used for these books on tape. My copy has developed an annoying squeal that has made much of it virtually unlistenable. When I get a clean copy, it's getting dubbed right away to Maxell or CD.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay
Review: I've read many good reviews for this book, so naturally, I had to see for myself how good it was. Well, I was disappointed. This book is definitely for very very very young kids. In fact, it may even bore some of the fantasy loving kids out there in the world. I liked the character of Westley, but I didn't really liked any of the other characters all that much. Overall, big big disappointment.
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