The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Penguin Modern Classics)

I think this book deserved a 5 star rating because of its great writing,humorous moments, & drawings. I wish there were more short stories like this. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a great read and something different than what you're used to when it comes to reading. Also after reading the book I would recommend watching the movie "The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty"
-Boden Morris, 12 years-old

Thurber is a writer after my own heart. After all, who can we be without daydreams? If you've never read it, or even if you have, find THurber' "the thirteen clocks"...a must for every child, no matter the age.

The movie with Danny Kaye has been remade.
Reading the book to understand Thurber's concepts is to be recommended before or after seeing the movie.
FYI Thurber's essay on Sex is one of the most humorous I have ever read.
Patrick

A wonderful short story by Thurber that has not been done justice by either film treatment. It works beautifully to capture and excite your imagination without long exposition or tiresome detail. Skip the movies and enjoy the real thing. Kapoketa-poketa!

This short story is so short. So just do yourself the favor, buy it, get lost for about five minutes, and then be sad it's over. Identify with Ole Mitty and his love for living in the intense, adventurous, impressive extreme that doesn't exist because you have to make a run on a Friday evening to the drugstore to buy a pair of toenail clippers.

Having watched the movie a couple of months back, I decided to re-read this short story that I had read almost 30 years back. I found it as quirky, as humorous as I had found it when I read it first. The movie is quite a deviation from the book but retains the eseence...

Two movies have been made based upon the Walter Mitty character, both comedic.

Having seen the Ben Stiller film, I bought the short story and I guess I must have a different take on Thurber's original than most folks. Mitty's last daydream was downright disturbing to me. Anybody who would contemplate those thoughts must be viewing his life through a very dark lens indeed.