See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.


Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Birthday of the World: And Other Stories
 
 

The Birthday of the World: And Other Stories (Paperback)

by Ursula K. Le Guin (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


24 used from £2.51
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 9 used & new from £1.54
Paperback £9.99 £9.99 9 used & new from £0.97
School & Library Binding 4 used & new from £32.36

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Other Wind: An Earthsea Novel

The Other Wind: An Earthsea Novel

by Ursula Le Guin
4.3 out of 5 stars (12)  £5.24
The Left Hand of Darkness

The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula Le Guin
4.3 out of 5 stars (41)  £5.99
Tales From Earthsea: Short Stories

Tales From Earthsea: Short Stories

by Ursula Le Guin
4.1 out of 5 stars (8)  £5.24
The Dispossessed

The Dispossessed

by Ursula Le Guin
4.2 out of 5 stars (22)  £5.99
Always Coming Home (California Fiction S.)

Always Coming Home (California Fiction S.)

by UK Le Guin
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (Mar 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0060509066
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060509064
  • Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 13.4 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,105,879 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Product Description
'Her most important book since ALWAYS COMING HOME and her most satisfactory collection since her first, the brilliant, THE WIND'S TWELVE QUARTERS. A formidable and rewarding work, a prime candidate for best SF collection of the year. An essential book.' LOCUS Six of the eight piece are set in Le Guin's classic Hainish cycle. The title story, 'The Birthday of the World', stands alone and the final piece, 'Paradises Lost', is a new short novel original to the collection, a major addition to the generation starship subgenre of science fiction. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author
Ursula K. Le Guin was born in 1929 in Berkeley, California, and lives in Portland, Oregon. She has won many Nebula and Hugo Awards as well as a National Book Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Newberry Honor and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Le Guin short story collection, 17 Jul 2002
By P. Jørgensen "percjorgensen" (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This collection of short stories by Ursula K. Le Guin shows her strength as an author and worldbuilder. Some (not all) of the stories take place on worlds of the Ekumen or Hainish universe. One of the stories is brand new, the others have been published in various magazines.

We visit worlds like Gethen, as in the novel 'The Left Hand of Darkness', where most individuals are neither female nor male, but periodically enter the state of kemmer, where they asume one or the other sexual form. Or O, where couples marry couples. On the planet Seggri women outnumber men, who are kept apart for enjoyment and recreation purposes. In the short story 'Solitude' we visit a planet where there is no society as such, just loose bonds and encounters.

Of course, such short summaries can't get across the detail of Le Guin's work. And it is precisely the social anthropology and the details that make the stories and the worlds very much alive - and make you think. For the stories are not only thought-provoking, they might even be plain provoking, and may make you think again on several subjects.

So for a collection of science fiction in which there is more social science than physics or chemistry, 'The Birthday of the World: and other stories' is a very fine choice.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Very strong set of stories, 9 Nov 2003
By G. Rogers "Gid" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is a set of speculations about possible societies, distinguished by having different conventions for sexual and gender relations. With this subject there is danger of an author using characters as too-obvious puppets, but no ax-grinding here, all the stories are personal narratives, with a wide variation in viewpoint and tone, and more to the point very well written, readable, and interesting. Good speculative fiction. All within a faint background of LeGuins Hainish/Ekumen novels. I had thought it would be a late-career roundup or ragbag of stories, but it's much more of a integrated themed work, and a bit of a tour de force.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Very strong set of stories, 9 Nov 2003
By G. Rogers "Gid" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This as a set of speculations about possible societies, distinguished by having different conventions for sexual and gender relations. With this subject there is danger of an author using characters as too-obvious puppets, but no ax-grinding here, all the stories are personal narratives, with a wide variation in viewpoint and tone, and more to the point very well written, readable, and interesting. Good speculative fiction. All within a faint background of LeGuins Hainish/Ekumen novels. I had thought it would be a late-career roundup or ragbag of stories, but it's much more of a integrated themed work, and a bit of a tour de force.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback


The Birthday Of The World and...

The Birthday Of...

Ursula Le Guin's latest title, The Birthday of the World, is her first... Read more

Find similar items

 

More From Ursula K. Le Guin

Lavinia

Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin

'Like Spartan Helen, I caused a war. She caused hers by letting men... Read more
£14.99 £10.49

 

Up to 50% off Dental Care

Braun Oral-B Professional Care 6000 Rechargeable Toothbrush - Pack of 2
Put a sparkle in your smile with up to 50% off selected Oral-B and Philips rechargeable toothbrushes.

Up to 50% off power toothbrushes

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates