Read The Classics: Robinson Crusoe January 17, 2009

The Multnomah County Library invites you to take part in a new book series, where you can read some of the best all-time classics and discuss them under the leadership of Dr. Katya Amato, professor of literature at PSU. Participation is free, but registration is required. You can register online at http://www.multcolib.org/events/classics/1600.html
A limited number of books will be available free of charge for those who pre-register.

As the full title puts it: "The life and strange surprizing adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, mariner : who lived eight and twenty years, all alone in an uninhabited island on the coast of America, near the mouth of the great river of Oroonoque, having been cast on shore by shipwreck, wherein all the men perished but himself : with an account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by pyrates, written by himself." The British were fascinated by stories of travel and the strange places, peoples, and experiences that were so different from those of Britain. When Crusoe is shipwrecked, his struggles to build a protected place to live and to plant food reflect the values and survival skills of English house-holders (who were avid readers of this book) as well as of colonialists. As a colonialist, when Crusoe meets "my man Friday," he naturally makes him his servant. Robinson Crusoe is sometimes viewed as a book for youth, and indeed it is a fast moving adventure, but we also see Crusoe deal with moral dilemmas such as cultural relativism. As an examination of the self–reliant man, it makes an interesting study of human nature.

Official Website: http://www.multcolib.org/events/classics/1600.html