Amazon.com has the reviews of various editions thrown together willy-nilly, so let me make clear that my review is of the "Bullseye Step Into Classics" edition, which is a complete rewrite and abridgement of Wells' original. I know many people feel such abridged versions are sacrilegious and yet another sign of the decline of civilization, but they can be a godsend for beginning readers of English. My son has been raised in Japan, and while he can understand spoken English and can speak it fairly well, reading is still difficult. At ten years of age, he is a sophisticated reader of Japanese, so "Dick and Jane" cannot hold his interest. Books like Martin's adaptation of The Time Machine allow him to use and expand his English while also providing entertainment that is not condescending. Martin's adaptation in particular is very good. I read a similar adaptation of Frankenstein (also published by Random House) by Larry Weinberg that was annoying precisely because it is condescending. Just because one is confined to a beginning vocabularly and simple syntax doesn't mean one needs to adopt a Barney-the-Dinosaur tone. My only complaint about Martin's adaptation is his use of incomplete sentences. I understand that he is trying to avoid complex sentences and perhaps create dramatic pauses, but I don't want my son to think that it's all right to write sentences that lack a subject or verb. Random House publishes many of these "streamlined" classics. Keeping in mind that the quality of the adaptations apparently varies, I suggest you read a few pages before deciding to buy any of them. Martin's Time Machine, though, is a winner. It was a real joy to hear my son reading whole English sentences without trouble. The story excited him, and reading the book by himself (with some help from me) boosted his confidence enormously. At this rate, he'll someday be ready for the original century-old text!
