Rating: 
Summary: Good for any age
Review: This is probably the best collection of Roald Dahl's short stories in existence.
Although he is best known for writing children's novels, Dahl was a master of the short story, and always wanted to be known for writing something above the level of children.
This book contains all the stories that combine his best elements; they are short stories, some of which have literary aspersions above his most famous novels, and yet they are accessible enough to be read by all ages.
Needless to say, they are intensely, wickedly good.
The collection contains seven stories, which range from 16 to 70 pages in length. The final two are definitely more adult oriented; _Lucky Break_ is a memoir-style account of how he went from being a poor english student to a professional writer, and _A Piece of Cake_ is his first published story, which appears to be based on his wartime experiences without necessarily being 100% accurate in its minor details. For an enthusiastic Dahl fan like myself, getting a glimpse of the man behind the curtain is exciting, and getting to know more about Dahl is a real treat.
Really, all of the stories are just fantastic, so I won't bother repeating how good each one is . But the stories are:
_The Boy Who Talked With Animals_ , which is about a young tourist boy at a beach resort who seeks to free a giant sea turtle which has been captured by the hotel management. This sounds like a children's story, but the characterization and the setting are quite adult.
_The Hitchhiker_ is an amusing tale about a british hitchhiker who reveals himself to be a fingersmith, a master classman of the pickpocketing profession. The interplay between three different levels of british society-the journalist driver, the rough cockney passenger, and a belligerent traffic cop, are very fun.
_The Mildenhall Treasure_ is an oddball story that is different because it's true (and not a firsthand experience). It tells the story of a plowman who comes across a great cache of valuable silver while plowing in the fields one day, and the way that it affects his life.
_The Swan_ is a story about childhood cruelty, in which a weak and inoffensive boy is pushed to the absolute limits of his endurance by two beebeegun-toting bullies who catch him in the woods alone. There is a surprise ending here that I've come to adore over the years.
_The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar_ is about a greedy man (Henry Sugar) who decides to apply himself to learn the powers of an indian yogi. This is a frame story around two interior stories that have the same themes, are fascinating in their own right, and which give weight to Henry's story. He finds that he can indeed learn the powers, but not without changing himself. This story ends with the type of madcap scheming that colors so many of his children's books.
I loved each one of these stories, from the time I was a preteen right through today, twenty years later. They all display Dahl's ability to find the most interesting parts of a story, and to make them even more interesting. Even better, many of these stories have something to say, which gives them some literary merit even as they entertain us.
If you like these stories, you might give his adult short story collections a try (collections I would recommend are The Umbrella Man and Skin).
Rating:
Summary: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a review by Purna Shah
Review: Lookin for a good book while browsing through the bookstore? Pick up this. I know that you'll read one sentence and then you'll be hooked on it through the entire two hundred something pages. It is a Dahl masterpiece. Dahl is my favorite writer of all time, but this is his best. Dahl is a unboring classical writer, even though he hasn't been elected as one.
I have read all of his books and short stories (except for the out of print ones) and they are the best. Even his adult ones I've read. But this, as I said, is the best. It is my prized posession. The only problem is that my copy is not a hardcover. Seven stories, with the style of a writer who has been wishing at a genie to be the best writer ever. The stories are: THE BOY WHO TALKED WITH ANIMALS, THE HITCHHIKER, THE SWAN, THE MILDENHALL TREASURE, THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR, LUCKY BREAK: HOW I BECAME A WRITER, and A PIECE OF CAKE. You must buy a copy of this!
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous tales from a master
Review: A recent discussion with several friends left me fending off accusations that the only material I read or watch pertains to the horror genre. I had some difficulty convincing these misguided souls that I do indeed like to read literature and watch films that don't contain a masked maniac. Exhibit A in my defense is Roald Dahl's "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More," a book I adored as a child and one that fully deserves to sit alongside the author's better known "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "James and the Giant Peach." Dahl the man had an interesting life; he worked in the oil business in Africa before joining the RAF during World War II to fight the Luftwaffe. Injuries incurred from a plane crash briefly sidetracked Dahl's military career, but eventually gave the world something to sing about because it directly led to the beginning of his writing career. You get all of this information from one of the stories in the book, but Dahl's fiction deservedly receives the most attention. Fortunately, we get a lot of that here too. Roald Dahl died in 1990. The non-fiction pieces here are wonderful. His first story, "A Piece of Cake," is here, along with an account of how Dahl became a writer. Entitled "Lucky Break," this story is really a short autobiography of the writer from his early school days through his war experiences. The sections outlining his years at one of England's public schools should be read by anyone who thinks American places of learning are terrible. English public schools, Dahl writes, are actually very private academies devoted to the total education of their pupils. During the writer's childhood, this meant harsh, rigid discipline of a type usually seen in the military. The brutality exhibited by teachers and elder classmates at the school is shocking: the older students routinely whipped younger pupils with switches, an activity mirrored by the teachers whenever students misbehaved. There are great, tension filled descriptions of the beatings endured by Dahl at the hands of these tormentors. The author advises that wearing thick pajamas and undergarments will protect one's posterior from the brunt of a switching administered by a fellow classmate, but nothing will save you from the headmaster's canes. Yikes! And to think the worst thing that happened to me in school involved losing my locker combination. School wasn't a total loss for the young author, however, as it was the place where he learned to love literature. The centerpiece story, "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar," is one of the best in the book. It's really two stories in one, about a wealthy but frivolous soul named Henry Sugar and his discovery of an unusual book in a friend's library. The book tells the story about a man in India who has learned to see through objects without the use of his eyes. Sugar gets the sudden inspiration to attain this ability and soon discovers that he is a natural at it, one of the rare people with the amazing gift to learn this art in just a few years. Henry's motivations are highly suspect at first: he wishes to use this newfound talent to cheat at the casino, thereby earning himself a fortune. But something rather odd occurs during his training process when Sugar soon discovers that he has little interest in accumulating money for selfish ends. He decides instead to use his gift to fund orphanages for the world's poor, and over the next several decades bilks casino after casino out of millions of dollars. Sugar soon becomes so well known to the owners of these gambling houses that he must assume disguises to keep the game going. Dahl writes the story in such a way that the reader becomes convinced Henry Sugar was a real, breathing person. "The Swan" is another gem about a precocious child named Peter Watson who runs into two local tormentors, Ernie and Raymond, while out bird watching. The two goons march Watson around at the point of a gun for no other reason then alleviating their boredom on a weekend. They first tie Peter to the railroad tracks and trick him into believing he will be hit by a train. The final indignity occurs when Raymond and Ernie shoot a beautiful swan, tie its wings to Peter's arms, and force him to climb a tree so they can see him "fly." No spoilers here, but there is something magical and memorable about what happens next as Peter learns that he is one of those precious souls which all the bullies in the world will never triumph over. Along with "The Swan," you get "The Hitchhiker" and the less interesting "The Boy Who Talked With Animals." "The Mildenhall Treasure" is an incredible story about an amazing discovery. On a cold winter morning, a farmer plowing another man's land stumbled upon the greatest cache of Roman silver ever found in Britain. Regrettably, Gordon Butcher didn't know what he had found because the silver had tarnished during its years in the ground. His boss did know what it was and took the stuff home where hid it for a few years before the authorities discovered it. The crux of the story centers on a British law that says the person who FINDS any treasure receives compensation for the full market value of the items. The Mildenhall plates, bowls, and spoons would have netted Butcher nearly a million pounds. By allowing his boss to walk off with the silver, Butcher received only one thousand pounds. In a way, this book is similar to the Mildenhall Treasure: a great find even if you have little idea of it at first glance. Roald Dahl's works are genius and everyone should read a few of them.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive
Review: Although "Henry Sugar" isn't one of Roald Dahl's more popular books, in terms of quality it stands with "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" at the pinnacle of Dahl's work. One of the only criticisms I can make of Roald Dahl's novels is that they often tend to read like a collection of marginally related stories. (For example, "Matilda" was an excellent book but some entire chapters could be removed and the novel would have remained essentially the same.) Here, the book IS a collection of short stories, and so this flaw is irrelevant! Everything here is written with the touches that make Dahl's work so much fun: the flashes of mature wit among the whimsical storytelling. Absolutely essential for any fan of Roald Dahl.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just for Kids...
Review: Anyone who thinks Roald Dahl is only a children's writer is gravely mistaken. I do not believe the stories in this book can be fully appreciated by the younger reader. From the fairy tale beauty in "The Swan" and "The Boy who Talked with Animals" to the engaging accounts of the authors life, these stories are the type which keep you glued to the book, regardless of how early you need to get up the next morning! A must!
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best
Review: As far as I'm concerned, this book should be reachable on every child's bookshelf (and by the way - every child should have a bookshelf). I read it years ago and can still recall the way the book made me feel - truly wonderful. I still remember the story of the hitchhiker so many years after I read it. Dahl is one of the best storytellers of our time.
Rating: 
Summary: Delightful Stories by the Exciting Author Roald Dahl
Review: Contains: THE BOY WHO TALKED WITH ANIMALS A wierd tale about a boy who decides to run away on a giant sea turtle. I gave away the end, but you'll have to read the well-written middle. THE HITCHHIKER The short tale of a fingersmith ( talented pickpocket ). THE SWAN A dramatic story of an intelligent, unconquerable young boy and the child thugs who terrorize him. THE MILDENHALL TREASURE From the back of the book:"A true tale of a fortune found and an opportunity lost." THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR Tells of the deep, Indian ( that is, from India ) secret: how to activate the senses without their instrument functioning ( i.e., to see without eyes, smell without the nose, hear without the ears, etc. ), and of the two people, Imhrat Khan and Henry Sugar, who dared to use it improperly. LUCKY BREAK-HOW I BECAME A WRITER Exactly what the title says. Includes some interesting characters we didn't see from "BOY" and some other great moments. PIECE OF CAKE FIRST STORY-1942 A poorly written story about the author's accident as a RAF fighter that changed his life. Then again, it was his first story, so I shouldn't be so critical.
Rating:
Summary: Another great classic
Review: Dahl is one of the few authors that I have loved all through life. He has done so much and many of his different types of stories can be found here. From a tresure hunt to a downed plane and an interview of sorts with a pickpocket this book is wonderful and a pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely brilliant! For parents and children alike...
Review: For anyone who loves Roald Dahl's books, this is a treasure trove of his short stories, with the amazing Henry Sugar at the top of the list. But, frankly, these stories are so wonderful, I don't want to spoil any of the surprise that reading them will give you, so I will not go into the plot details. Buy this book! You will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A Literary Masterpiece !!!!
Review: I can still remember the message this wonderful book gave me, although it has been years since I read it. All my friends love this book, and we always talk about it. We even created a Henry Sugar fan club.
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