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| Gone With the Wind | 
 enlarge | Author: Margaret Mitchell
Publisher: Scribner
Category: Book
List Price: $28.00
Buy New: $5.78
You Save: $22.22 (79%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $5.78
Avg. Customer Rating:  (657 reviews)
Sales Rank: 48299
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1048
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.6
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 6 x 2.2
ISBN: 068483068X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN: 9780684830681
ASIN: 068483068X
Publication Date: September 1, 1936
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 I don't know what I can add, but.... August 23, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book probably has more reviews written for it than any other that I've seen on the Amazon site. As I said, I don't know what I can add that others haven't already said...but I have often thought, as I have read and re-read this wonderful novel, that I don't think Scarlett would get Rhett back in the end. I always thought Rhett was far more intelligent, well-rounded, and wise than she, and that an awful lot of his longing for her was comprised of her lack of availability (her heart, that is, that heart that belonged only to Ashley), and her looks. After all, when did he fall for her? When he looked up at her on the staircase and she was wearing that low-cut green-sprigged dress!
The fascinating characters that Mitchell so deftly brings to life are what make this novel so unforgettable. I don't know that any of them are truly believable, but somehow that doesn't matter. The writing style is dated (all those exclamation points!), and of course the dialect and political viewpoints are atrocious in this day and age. The amazing thing is that none of this matters as we find ourselves caught up in Scarlett's world, a world, as Mitchell so poignantly writes,that was gone with the wind.
When Rhett tells Scarlett at the end, "I won't be pursued as the luckless Ashley was pursued," I believe he meant it. The fact that he could coin a phrase like, "Someone or something has convinced you that your lover is too large a piece of Dead Sea fruit for even you to chew" (not sure if I'm quoting this 100% correctly, but I've memorized large portions of the dialogue through re-reading) simply showcases how much more extensive his intellect is than Scarlett's. He realizes now that she no longer holds any appeal for him; her charm for him, simply, was her unattainable-ness. (not a word, either - sorry!)
I never read the sequel. To me, that would be a sacrilege. Mitchell always said that for her, the novel ended when it ended. But no one who reads it can resist pondering..."Did she get him back?" And I say no.
But read it anyway. It's a long read, but oh, such an enjoyable one.
 Stand the test of time? August 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've been thinking for a long time that I should read this book--and I'm probably not alone. It's not like I don't know the plot, but still, I've always imagined that it's a classic piece of American storytelling. Let's just say that the writing can be hackneyed, and at times cringe-worthy. But what will make this book last is Mitchell's ability to tell a story, to make people want to turn the page, and experience what happens next. This skill is often undervalued and overlooked, but makes her talent stand above the abilities of others who can write a better sentence. I would recommend this book, not as a timeless piece of literature, but of storytelling.
Hands down the BEST book I have EVER read! August 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is now my favorite book of all time (it contends with the Bible people!) and is the reason I am grateful to have sight and the ability to read, to enjoy masterpieces like this. I will admit the first 100 pages were slightly slow, but necessary to build the story. I loved learning more about the Civil War and appreciated seeing it from a perspective that often gets shrouded in history. Slavery was never ok but this book allowed me to explore slavery from the South's point of view. I also loved Scarlet, even with all her downfalls, and enjoyed the book most all when Rhett was highlighted.
Every American should be required to read this book! That is how passionately I loved it.
Also, the un-sequel Scarlet was a lovely read. Some contest that Mitchell's work should have been left alone and I can see their point. However, I wasn't ready to say good-bye to Scarlet just yet. No, the sequel does not quite compare to the original, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend the sequel to those who secretly want a happier ending for Scarlet.
good book August 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I loved this book. It is so much more in depth than the movie and gives the hard core fan a new perspective.
A timeless, sweeping, epic masterpiece June 16, 2008
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
Gone with the Wind is a timeless, sweeping, epic masterpiece of American literature. It is the story of the South right before the Civil War, during the war, and the aftermath when Reconstruction began in the South. It is filled with drama, romance, tragedy, real characters with flaws, and I can see why this book won a Pulitzer Prize and why it continues to be a very popular book decades after it was first published in 1936.
I don't need to go into a synopsis of the book, if anyone hasn't heard of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, I'd be very surprised. If you have only seen the wonderful movie adaptation of the book, but have never read the book, I highly recommend you read the book. The movie doesn't capture the essence of the characters, the entirety of their personalities and motives behind certain actions and behaviors.
I was captivated from the very first page. I can't describe exactly how or why, but Mitchell wrote in such a way that pulls you into the story. Her writing is simple and straightforward, and it touches you in a way that helps you relate to the characters and the world she wrote about. Her writing resonates with you, and keeps you reading. Her writing of the scenery and backdrop of the South, her depictions of the various characters, their motives, their thoughts, their innermost secrets that make them who they are. Mitchell brought this time period to life and causes you, the reader, to empathize with the characters and the struggles and upheaval they go through.
Even though I know this story, how it unfolds and how it concludes, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough until I reached the very end. Scarlett O'Hara isn't the most sympathetic character you'll encounter, but as I gradually read her story, I found myself liking this character and rooting for her happily ever after, although you know she doesn't get that HEA in the end. I actually found the ending appropriate, it fits in with Scarlett's personality of a person who won't quit no matter what. She has seen the worst in life, and she remains stubborn in defeat that she can win back Rhett's love.
Scarlett was a very selfish, manipulative, and cruel young woman, the only person she cared about was herself (with the exception of her mother, Ellen O'Hara, who she revered and respected and was the only woman she trusted). She was a simple person, not easily able to understand more serious and complex issues, which she usually shrugged off in a careless fashion as insignificant and unworthy of her time. She presented a facade of a lady of gentility to the world, all the while seething secretly inside at what she perceived as injustices against her or the unfairness of life if she didn't get her way. She was also willfully stubborn in her unrequited love for childhood friend, Ashley Wilkes, and it was quite sad to see her pine for a man who rejected her even though he did love her but was too cowardly to do anything about it.
Despite her numerous character flaws, Scarlett had some admirable traits, such as her perseverance and flinty determination to survive. There were so many times where she was numb with weariness and feeling desolate at the heavy burden on her shoulders, but she would always put off her morose thoughts and say, "I will think about it later", and mentally force herself to take it one step at a time in order to stay sane and calm in a chaotic world. This was in contrast to her weak sisters who couldn't seem to comprehend that their old lifestyle had vanished forever and that a change was needed within themselves in order to survive. Scarlett, with her unladylike blunt honesty and very practical nature realizes this almost immediately. She was so unlike her tender and kind mother, Ellen, in almost every way except in one. Like her mother before her, she became the mistress of Tara, and in her newfound role she fills her mother's shoes in becoming what her family needed. Someone to look up to and lean upon for aid when needed.
I found Scarlett a contradiction of sorts. She would look upon in contempt or disgust at those who depended on her, yet she would cast such thoughts aside in order to fulfill her duty to them as she couldn't abandon them. For her family because they *were* family and an O'Hara always helped family, and for Melanie, Ashley's wife, because of a promise. On the one hand she was a strong woman, strong in that she was able to survive the devastation of the South and show a courage of spirit in facing adversity and impossibility, but on the other hand, she was weak too. Weak in continuing in her girlhood, idealistic, puppy love for Ashley that blinded her to real, true lasting love with Rhett Butler who was her true soul mate. In some ways she was finally a woman, having the burden of responsibility of her family forcing her to mature, but in other ways, in her relationship with men, she was still a child. Of course, in the latter category she realizes too late what she knew instinctively all along, that Rhett Butler was the man for her and she had just been too immature, stubborn, and childish to see it clearly.
Rhett Butler was the perfect match for fiery Scarlett. He was exactly like her, unscrupulous and looking to number one first (although, he did have his gentlemanly and kind moments beneath the veneer of mockery and sardonic amusement). Unlike Scarlett, he didn't pretend to be what he was not. He was no refined Southern gentleman and he took perverse pleasure in flaunting this in subtle ways. He is basically Scarlett in masculine form, only more intelligent.
Some of my favorite moments of the book were the scenes with Rhett and Scarlett sparring with the other. It was amusing to see Rhett get the upper-hand over Scarlett every time. His witty quips most times went completely over her head, as she wasn't as clever as he, but that made it all the more amusing to see Scarlett finally meet her match in Rhett. I laughed aloud several times as I read Scarlett getting frustrated and upset stating he was no gentleman, only to see him laugh at her and agree with her he wasn't. Other scenes I enjoyed reading was the scenes back at Tara after she fled Atlanta, where you are witness to the transformation of Scarlett the Southern belle to Scarlett the survivor as she toiled in the cotton fields in Tara and tried to put food on the table for her family.
I thought it was quite saddening to read about the delusions people in the South had regarding the war. The characters in Atlanta, such as Mrs. Merriweather or Dr. Meade, with their desperate, futile hope, and optimism that the South would prevail was sad to read about. Defiant to the end, in their naive and stubborn pride they thought the South and "the Cause" they fought for would triumph no matter the cost. It was this hope they clung to even as Atlanta was under siege by the Union army. None would know (or wanted to admit to knowing), except those perceptive enough to see the truth, such as Rhett Butler or Ashley Wilkes, that the way of life the South enjoyed up to the war was dead and gone. An old world that wouldn't come back, even if they had won, as it was forever changed, and like the title of the book gone with the wind. This book was poignantly sorrowful in that regard, you get a brief glimpse into the South portrayed pre-war and then post-war, and you realize it was never to be the same again.
Although this story is told from the perspective of a Southern woman and her story of surviving the war, I think one could say her personal story reflects on a larger scale the entire South's struggles to survive in a new and changed world. The scenes of the ruined and abandoned plantations, with their eerie tomb stillness, was described in very convincing detail, and I found myself with Scarlett mourning the lost world she loved and grew up in.
I could keep on writing about the various aspects of this story that were enjoyable and what I thought, but this review would get very lengthy if I did! Let me say this: the book was wonderful. Just read it! You won't regret it, yes, it is quite a hefty book but this story is so engrossing, compelling, and captivating you won't even notice how long the book is.
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