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The Story of My Life: The Restored Classic, Complete and Unabridged, Centennial Edition (精装)
by Helen Keller
| Category:
Memoir, Biography, Motivation, History |
| Market price: ¥ 238.00
MSL price:
¥ 218.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
The struggles and triumphs of Helen Keller, a remarkable woman to admire. |
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AllReviews |
  1 2 Total 2 pages 17 items |
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Harold Zeckal (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
Truthfully and briefly: I found much of this book difficult to read. However, I felt I learned some invaluable lessons from reading it. One in particular was the making explicit of something I felt for a long time to be true, namely, the effectiveness of Miss Sullivan's method of teaching. To put it succinctly, by responding to the child's curiosity and letting it lead you wherever it goes(As opposed to formalized instruction). I feel that though this book has been revered for about 100 years, what Miss Sullivan said repeatedly in this regard is still ignored by our educational system. Such is life! Then, Miss Keller's attitude towards failure stands as a ready inspiration for all whose lives are impeded by the fear of failure. She says, "Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow." Her life and her book are testimony to that dictum. |
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J. Pace (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
Most people have seen the Miracle Worker. That story was more about Anne Sullivan, the teacher of Helen Keller. This book gives you a glimpse into the thoughts of the little girl, Helen. I was amazed to read about things from the point of view of a little girl who was blind and deaf. She was so lost and alone until Anne Sullivan came into her life. But, even she knew when she was doing something wrong. She describes great details of her life I never heard before. She even gives an idea of what life was like before she discovered words. Helen wondered why her mother and others moved their mouth, but it was some time before she knew they were communicating with each other and then her long struggle to communicate began. I was surprised to read how she learned to read lips with her hands and even eventually learned to speak audibly. Not only did she gain that knowledge, but she became a brilliant young woman, writing the English language with great skill, as well as a few other languages. This book is brief, but well worth your time. You will gain a better understanding into the life of one with Helen's severe handicaps. |
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Samuel Okoro (MSL quote), Nigeria
<2007-01-04 00:00>
I was in my early teens when I first came across references to Helen Keller, and have long admired her from the little I knew of her story.
Reading about her in her own words is an inspiring experience. She strips us of all excuse for mediocrity - she who so easily could have pointed at the cruelty of her fate and resigned to life in the shadows.
The courage with which she lived her life, the matter of fact way she accepts herself and moves on, and the significance of her achievements must surely serve as an inspiration and an admonition for all who would otherwise have felt justified in being less than they could be. |
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Kim Manuel (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
I absolutely fell in love with this autobiography because of Keller's powerful story of triumph. Through a type of streamed thought, her writing is beautifully honest and touching. Although this work is non-fiction, it is interesting to see the literary devices that have been weaved into the story. Even from the very beginning, Keller uses great similes. On the first page, for example, she states, "I have, as it were, a superstitious hesitation in lifting the veil that clings about my childhood like a golden mist." In addition, she alludes or refers to the bible on occasion. A perfect example is her allusion to Mt. Sinai. Her biblical allusions very much lend themselves to a later part of the work when Helen speaks and learns of God. Furthermore, great imagery is used in her descriptions. Helen Keller loves nature, especially flowers, and she can describe them better than any person with perfect vision! She expresses the joy she finds pressing rose petals, as well as the wonder she finds in the motion of lilies swaying. Her beautiful imagery and her quite descriptive similes thoroughly amazed me; there were parts where I often forgot Helen was blind. The overall message of this work is the concept of man's ability overcome obstacles. While developing immensely and never giving up hope, Helen Keller is the epitome of the soul's ability to persevere. |
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A kid's review (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
A little girl's life has barely any happiness. She has no idea about the beauty of the world. She is eventually "saved" by her teacher in Helen Keller's heart touching autobiography The Story of My Life.
Helen Keller lived in a small house (later a larger one) in Tuscumbia, Alabama. She was born on June 27, 1880. As a young toddler full of life, she was fast on her way to talking.
Suddenly, at 19 months of age, a terrible disease struck her. The doctors knew she was very ill and thought she would not live. Although she did live, the disease left her deaf and blind and trapped in a world she wasn't familiar with.
This terrible tragedy left her family really shaken. Because she was disabled, her parents often gave in to her every wish. By the time Helen was 7 years old she was an angry, wild and often disruptive child. Her mother knew she was a bright little girl but didn't know how to reach her. She knew she must get her help. Helen was locked up inside herself and her desire to communicate was growing. The family was advised to consult Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, of Washington, who recommended they write to the director of the Perkins Institution in Boston. The needed a teacher who was qualified enough to begin her education. March 3, 1887 became one of the most important days of Helen's life. Anne Sullivan, her new teacher, would help Helen out of her isolation and open her to the gifts of knowledge.
In the beginning, Helen easily got confused about what Anne was trying to teach her. Then there was the great day when she placed Helens hand under some water while at the same time spelling w-a-t-e-r on her other palm. This was a true joy to Helen because she made the connection; she knew what water was! Learning this word opened her, gave her such hope and joy! She knew she would learn. She felt proud and confident. Her temper tantrums were reduced and she became eager to learn more and more. The whole first summer Anne was with her she did nothing but explore with her hands and learned the name of every object she touched.
Once Helen had the key to language she was eager to do more. She learned to read, do some arithmetic (not her favorite) and even studied zoology. In May 1888 Helen took a trip to the Perkins Institution in Boston. During the train ride, Miss Sullivan described all of the scenery along the way to Helen. Helen loved this! She would imagine it all with every word Miss Sullivan drew on her palm. At the Perkins school, Helen made many friends. What a joy it was for her to talk with children her own age. She never imagined that there were other children in the world with the same problems she had. With school, friends and communication her life was so much fuller than she ever dreamed it would or could be. She spent all of her winters in Boston after this first trip.
In 1890 Helen learned to speak. The impulse to utter sounds was always strong for her. She was taught by the principle of the Horace Mann School, Miss Sarah Fuller. She took Helens hands and ran them lightly over her face when she made different sounds. After 11 lessons she was able to speak. Her first sentence, a true thrill, was "It is warm." She couldn't wait to speak with her own family. One of the happiest moments of her life was the first time she spoke to her Mother, Father, and Sister.
In October 1896 Helen entered the Cambridge School for Young Ladies to be prepared for Radcliffe. Miss Sullivan attended classes with Helen and would help interpret instructions given. She studied English History, Literature, German, Latin, and Math. Helen was working wonders but also working to hard. In 1898 Mr. Keith began to tutor her and for eight months gave her lessons five times per week. She was on her way to her dream of college. In the fall of 1900 this dream of going to college came true. She was officially a student at Radcliffe. She began her studies with such eagerness. She saw a new world opening and felt the capacity to know all things. After awhile she felt some disadvantages about going to college. Helen liked to take her time and sit, think, reflect. She felt people were going to college to learn without a lot of time to think. She loved her time with her books. Reading at her pace and really thinking about what she was reading. Along with her love of reading she had a love of many other pleasures. She learned to row a boat, to swim, the go canoeing and to sail. She loved being on the water. Because her world was unlocked for her she seemed to cherish everything she did.
Helen Keller's life should be an inspiration to anyone with or without any type of handicap. Her story is truly inspirational for the sighted and the blind, the deaf and the hearing, the young and the old. It shows us you can over come anything when you put your heart and mind to it. With each step you take towards a goal, you can become more excited and encouraged to continue on a path that will take you to what you are working and wishing for. |
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A kid's review (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
If you would like to read a story about a young girl trying to battle her blindness an deafness to get a good education then The Story of My Life by Helen Keller is for you. You will read about her many goals like how she wishes to go to Harvard. You will, in your mind, see the wonderful things Helen's teacher Miss Sullivan, did for her like teaching her how to read by first putting words on a board and telling Helen to feel them and read. Miss Sullivan help she goes to a school with kids how aren't blind and deaf and see if she makes it. You also in your mind see her child hood in Boston where she vacationed. Those are some of the things that make the book good.
In the book we see a wide variety of characters. For example, Helen is a small girl that is blind and deaf at a young age. She was a little upset but soon she began to calm learning some American sign language. She is a determined little girl and woman, she never gave in. She went to a school. And we also see another major character, Miss Sullivan she is Helen's first teacher. She is more of Helen's friend than anything. She is quite smart she, is also determined to help Helen.
This book was a page-turner. I was in a deep trance when I read it. I thought "will she continue this and how will she over come that ?" Her story was amazing, she just never gave up. This book made me want to read more autobiographies they are reassuring, they are true and I like to know this happened, has happened , or may happen. People that will enjoy this may like history and like to read a book about the struggles of a young girl. |
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Richard Schwartz (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
A book to read that is of the warmness of soul, an account that conveys love and realness. The body and the mind are only the peripheries, for it is the soul or consciousness that is of the real person. So when the mind is expanded in knowledge and intellect, one can find erroneously enter in it's subjectivity defining such as the real self or one can use such intellectualism as an instrument of the consciousness and view objectively. This then allows the heart and feelings to penetrate, in turn the mind is transcended, one goes beyond the mind to the real inner self. And when this occurs the result culminates in the most beautiful and extraordinary person. Such is the case of Helen Keller.
Her fingers found expression, felt emotion and penetrated the surface into the feelings and depth in the person she encountered, in the words that she read and in the vibrations that she felt. I have read in the East, that consciousness does not come to us solely through the eyes and ears, but when such peripheries are down we can perceive in much more strength through other senses.
"I derive genuine pleasure from touching great works of art. As my finger tips trace line and curve, they discover the thought and emotion which the artist has portrayed. I can feel in the faces of gods and heroes hate, courage and love, just as I can detect them in living faces I am permitted to touch." P. 68
In a letter she received from Mr. Gilder, Helen wrote, "In a letter he wrote me he made his mark under his signature deep in the paper so that I could feel it…." and " I feel the twinkle of his eye in the handshake." P. 75
Case in point is that of poetry. What the average school teacher and intellectual defines in art and poetry are the stanzas, the numerical structures and literary criticism. Now this actually destroys such forms of art. But what intellectual, a person that uses their head without the heart can fathom any understanding beyond such? Helen wrote:
"Great poetry, whether in English or Greek, needs no other interpreter than a responsive heart. Would that the host of those who make the great works of the poets odious by their analysis, impositions and laborious comments might learn this simple truth! It is not necessary that one should be able to define every word and give it its principal parts and its grammatical position in the sentence in order to understand and appreciate a fine poem." p. 59
Not only did she find the external world but went to the university and went further in learning and knowledge than most. But it is her understanding and diligence, her positivism and depth that this autobiography conveys.
After reading her account, I can say that if I could love another person, I have fallen in love with Helen.
"Is it not true, then, that my life with all its limitations touches at many points the life of the World Beautiful? Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.
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1 2 Total 2 pages 17 items |
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