The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride (20th Anniversary Edition)
$14.98

Great movie for the whole family. A classic. Intelligently entertaining with lots of lines you'll never forget.

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure; The "Good Parts" Version [PRINCESS BRIDE]
$25.70

The Totally Geeky Guide to The Princess Bride
$9.95
I was very disappointed. I had selected the next book for our monthly book club and it was The Princess Bride". I was looking for a good reference book that would aid in the discussion of "The Princess Bride", saw this online and bought it. It wasn't a good reference book. Instead, it was chapter after chapter of the author repeating her favorite lines and scenes from the movie. There were a few snippets of famous people talking about the movie including some from the actors in the movie. I didn't find anything else in the book vaguely interesting. Anyone who's read "The Princess Bride" and seen the movie knows the movie is good but is missing some of the best of the book (i.e. the zoo of death, Inigo and Fezzig's history and what Miracle Max REALLY thinks is as good as true love and it's not an MLT).

I read the first few chapters of the "Totally Geeky Guide to the Princess Bride" and couldn't read any further. I skimmed through the rest, read the quotes from the actors,etc. and then donated the book to a charity book sale. It was just a big advertisement for the movie and, think about it, if I bought this book then I'm already a fan of the movie and/or the book.

If you're a big fan of the movie, I recommend you buy The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure and read it. William Goldman wrote this book first and later the screen play that everyone has come to love.

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
$8.00
It took me awhile to find the "right" version of the Princess Bride. The description of "Princess Bride" tells of William Goldman abridging the original by S Morgenstern. I was constantly confused with Goldman's talk of Guilder and Florin and Morgenstern's original version. But, there is no Morgenstern! There are no countries of Guilder and Florin. (But Goldman's commentary at the end talk about him visiting Florin and the real Cliff's of Insanity). It is all part of Goldman's imagination. The preface and commentary talk about Goldman's struggle with Morgenstern's estate is also made up. Everything about the book's publication and legal battles are fictional. I wish I would have know that before I read the book, preface and all. It would have made more sense, but discovering this after the fact, I found it quite dissapointing.

As to the actual story: I grew up quoting the Princess Bride movie. I have most of it memorized. So, it was quite fun to relive the story. Goldman also wrote the screenplay for the movie, so it follows the book very faithfully. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the movie.

Vizzini: "Fool. You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is 'Never get incolved in a land war in Asia,' but only slightly less well know in this: 'Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.'"

Classic.

"Inconcievable". "You keep using that word! I don't think it means what you think it does."

"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya (btw it took me forever as a child to learn how to pronounce that); you killed my father; prepare to die."

The book did explain in more detail the background of Inigo and his father's death. The part about Wesley's torture is pretty grusome, so skip that part. Goldman's commentary is also quite boring and contains lots of swearing.

This version contained a preface and Goldman's abridgement of the first chapter of the sequel "Buttercup's Baby". I did not like it at all. Btw, there is no sequel. Goldman never got past the first chapter. And remember Morgenstern is fictional, so the abridgement is not an abridgement but Goldman's original work.