Considered to be one of the first important English novels; Robinson Crusoe is the tale of a shipwrecked mariner told with simplicity and style. It is unfair, even impossible, to classify this book under any one category. While the spirit of adventure & quest is traced with a great deal of fervor, philosophy and religion form a considerable part of the book. In Robinson Crusoe the reader will find the evolution of mankind. Just like mankind, in its very earliest days fulfilled the most trivial wants from mere provisions of nature, so did Robinson Crusoe, isolated on an island, far from the very reach of the 'civilized' world, did undergo a long ordeal to fulfil the minutest of his wants. Against the will of his family, Robinson sets out to become a sailor. Crusoe's feelings, his experiences and thoughts as he faces a variety of circumstances are described in detail with an aesthetic sense. Initially, he is, like most people, opportunistic, and tends to remember the concept of God when he is trouble. As the story moves on, his faith in the ultimate power of God is strengthened, & so is his will to live, to work. After twenty-four years of loneliness that few of today's adventures would dream to be a possible, Robinson discovers a human footprint on the sand; & hence ends his solitude. However, the story doesn't end here� because it's not man, but savages who have set foot on this island, which is doomed for gloom� did Crusoe painstakingly live through 24 years to be devoured by savages? Told with modesty & simplicity, this book finds it's right place among the world's best-known classic literature. Praised by Virgina Woolf as a 'masterpiece', this book is not to be missed out.

Neeldhara