Other editions of book Gulliver's Travels

Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift, Blue Ribbon Books, Rainbow Binding, 1913, illustrated in color and black and white by Louis Rhead and Frank E. Choonover. Description: Blue cloth boards with impregnated image of Gulliver on the cover and illustrated spine, plain blue back board with the wraparound rainbow design and publishers devise. Interior has four color illustrations in addition to the cover. There is a publisher's note at the back of the book explaining that the cover is new book binding process and unique to Blue Ribbon Books. No dust jacket. Condition: Good. Tight and complete book without interior markings, but front cover has been heavily stained with what appears to have been a hot bowl and thus removing the protective coating, which has resulted in complete loss of color. Other mild rubbing to all edges.

The travel begins with a short preamble in which Lemuel Gulliver gives a brief outline of his life and history before his voyages. During his first voyage, Gulliver is washed ashore after a shipwreck and finds himself a prisoner of a race of tiny people, less than 6 inches (0.50 ft) tall, who are inhabitants of the island country of Lilliput. After giving assurances of his good behaviour, he is given a residence in Lilliput and becomes a favourite of the Lilliput Royal Court. He is also given permission by the King of Lilliput to go around the city on condition that he must not harm their subjects.

I hope you will be ready to own publicly, whenever you shall be called to it, that by your great and frequent urgency you prevailed on me to publish a very loose and uncorrect account of my travels, with directions to hire some young gentleman of either university to put them in order, and correct the style, as my cousin Dampier did, by my advice, in his book called “A Voyage round the world.” But I do not remember I gave you power to consent that any thing should be omitted, and much less that any thing should be inserted; therefore, as to the latter, I do here renounce every thing of that kind; particularly a paragraph about her majesty Queen Anne, of most pious and glorious memory; although I did reverence and esteem her more than any of human species.

Gulliver's Travels comprises four different books, each detailing accounts from a different voyage undertaken by the putative author, Lemuel Gulliver. Published anonymously by Swift, it was ostensibly just another travelogue, describing the new territories emerging as a result of progress made in technology and commerce. Swift helps establish this ruse by describing the author as 'Lemuel Gulliver, first a Surgeon, and then a Captain of many ships'. He provides a fictional biography of Gulliver in the prefatory dedication and provides maps of the territories discussed. It is only when Gulliver is ship-wrecked and awakens on a beach with 'arms and legs strongly fastened on each side to the ground', captured by creatures 'not six inches high' that the reader begins to question the veracity of the account. This is, of course, a description of Gulliver's encounter with the Lilliputians, a race of people no larger than his middle finger. Following assurances to the little people of his good intentions, Gulliver soon becomes a favourite. At their request, he helps the Lilliputians vanquish their nearby rivals, the Blefescudans, by wading across the sea to steal the enemy fleet. Despite this helpful act, his subsequent refusal to force the Blefescudans into Lilliputian subservience enrages his hosts who sentence him to be blinded as punishment. Fortunately, Gulliver makes good his escape when a correctly proportioned rowing boat washes up on the Lilliputian shoreline. In contrast to this experience, Gulliver's second voyage sees him arrive in Brobdingnag, populated by a race of giants 'As tall as an ordinary spire-steeple' who take 'ten yards for every stride'. Between fighting off a giant wasp and being abducted by an eagle, he passes the time attempting, unsuccessfully, to impress the king by describing the workings of the English political system. Gulliver's subsequent adventures are far too numerous to describe in detail but highlights include his being rescued by the flying island of Laputa following a pirate attack, meeting the immortal and ancient Struldbruggs and being abandoned in a land where horses (Houyhnhnms) rule over un-civilised human-like creatures (Yahoos).

Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the "travellers' tales" literary sub-genre. It is Swift's most celebrated work, as well as one of the indisputable classics of English literature. This is probably one of the most beautiful digital version ever made of this story, containing many gorgeous illustrations.

A largely political and social satire, the book does this by having an average person go on extraordinary adventures to lands that portray the satirical undercurrents Swift is attempting to show. First, the main character, Gulliver, ends up in Lilliput where a race of people no taller than six inches live, he is allowed to stay as long as he doesn't hurt anyone. After leaving there, Gulliver is stranded once again in a city where this time he is the small person and all the inhabitants are giant sized. The third adventure pits Gulliver in a realm of floating cities where he attempts to get home from and lastly from a realm where the rulers of the kingdom are fantastical talking horses. The difficulties that Gulliver must overcome are reminiscent of the England of Swifts day and are a valuable lesson to us today.