Responsibility. Courage. Compassion. Honesty. Friendship. Persistence. Faith. Everyone recognizes these traits as essentials of good character. In order for our children to develop such traits, we have to offer them examples of good and bad, right and wrong. And the best places to find them are in great works of literature and exemplary stories from history.

William J. Bennett has collected hundreds of stories in "The Book of Virtues", an instructive and inspiring anthology that will help children understand and develop character -- and help adults teach them. From the Bible to American history, from Greek mythology to English poetry, from fairy tales to modern fiction, these stories are a rich mine of moral literacy, a reliable moral reference point that will help anchor our children and ourselves in our culture, our history, and our traditions -- the sources of the ideals by which we wish to live our lives. Complete with instructive introductions and notes, "The Book of Virtues" is a book the whole family can read and enjoy -- and learn from -- together.

ESP-092

Ought to be distributed, like an owner's manual, to new parents leaving the hospital. -Time ( )

I rolled my eyes at the beginning because there was so. much. poetry.
But, by the end, I was loving the poetry more than the poor, mutilated stories.
I feel like it is an average collection of above-par works (or sections of works). So the rating might not be accurate. But I couldn't rate those letters from Lincoln less than a 4. ( )

For the most part, I liked this book. I was reading this book off and on as I waited for books to come from the library. There were a lot of good lessons, poems that I like and some Bible stories. I tended to skip over or skim stories from mythology and other religions. ( )

William Bennett succeeds gloriously in achieving what he set out to do: "aid the time-honored task of the moral education of the young." How delightful to be let into the inside story of his wife's influence on the project and their road-testing the selections with their own sons. The labor involved in selecting and discarding an untold number of possibilities is not small task. Thank you Mr. Bennett for reacquainting me with some old friends and introducing me to new ones. I would love to see more works like this from well-read collectors of stories reflecting other cultures and societies. ( )

Superb Messages ( )

Nice intriguing stories that help improve character and friendships. There also are poems that are nice and good to read at bedtime. I liked this book because it had really cool stories that I read again and again.I liked these two the most,"The Sword of Damocles" and "The Bell of Atri".I also liked the stories that had to do with the colonial times ( at least I think). ( )

(6 hours) I bought the cassett version at a thrift store and it was the edited version. This book was extremely enteraining. Bennett wants to communicate the value of positive character traits from real people or famous tales. He includes character trait examples from an assortment of writings which spans everyone from Asoep to Babe Ruth. This book is a rich mine of moral literacy which will encourage and inspire anyone no matter what faith you adherre to. I now want the full version. The variety of narrators adds to the colorful readings. ( )

All Bennett proved is that he can compile good stories than he didn't write but liked. And then he makes a lot of money from it. No original thinking here and shouldn't original thinking be one of the highest virtues? ( )

As a gift when I was a child, I was slightly offended to receive this book, feeling my reading level was much advanced from "for Young People" books, but honestly, this would be something I gave to most adults I know now. The young people part comes at the beginning of each chapter, but even those are probably the best way to understand these virtues. ( )

Some great stuff in this collection of stories, poems and dissertations. The book is quite American in places, which while not necessarily bad, does have a certain distance to it. Stories of the Revolution, the Alamo and the Civil War have more relevance to Americans than Canadians. Still a great book to study. ( )

This book full of wonderful stories to share with children - even inspiring for adults.

Honestly, I picked up this book because I thought it would be good for me (and I believe it has been). I had no idea I would enjoy it. As someone else may have mentioned, each chapter (on a particular virtue) is organized from the easily-read (you could read it to a 4 year old) to the dense (even Plato and Socrates). I enjoyed the simple stories more than I expected, and I never expected parts would be moving. It takes a while to read, though; sometimes I read it every day for a month and sometimes I don't pick it up for a month. ( )

Bennett has collected here a multitude of different tales, myths, stories, essays, poems, plays, and speeches, each bringing to life the virtue that its particular section bears.

Though a bit right-wing conservative Christian at times, this collection does a good job of presenting material from both the secular and the nonsecular world, allowing for most any reader to enjoy the stories of virtue.

The stories presented here are usually edited, adapted, or translated in a way to make it interesting to children and make it "family friendly" to boot.

Recommended for people sharing the same politico-religious views of Bennett, and quite possibly those looking for an anthology of virtuous tales to offset the more pessimistic literature flooding the market. Not recommended for those who _enjoy_ said pessimistic literature. ( )

A collection of short stories and poems that try to expound on virtues that all desire to emulate. Have used this book as a bedtime reader for my son. Many interesting stories included in this edition. ( )

Edited by noted virtue expert Wiliam Bennett, who neglected to mention at the time that he has what is now a well-documented huge gambling problem.

Well-known works including fables, folklore, fiction, drama, and more, by such authors as Aesop, Dickens, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, and Baldwin, are presented to teach virtues, including compassion, courage, honesty, friendship, and faith. Also self-discipline, responsibility, work, perseverance, and loyalty.

To Ed Feulner -- A man of virtue for all seasons -- and a good friend in thick and thin

Rated: C+ ( )