La actividad literaria de José Martí es tan relevante como su actividad revolucionaria, lo es en su jerarquía de valores y lo es en el balance final de sus frutos. Nunca dejará de sorprendernos que Martí sea, además del estadista imprescindible, uno de los primeros y mejores poetas modernistas, el creador de la primera novela propiamente modernista, el verdadero renovador de la prosa en lengua española en el siglo pasado y el pionero, en las letras hispanoamericanas, de la narrativa corta dedicada a la instrucción de los más jóvenes, aunque apta para todas las edades. «,La Edad de Oro», condensa el cuerpo fundamental de esa narrativa corta. Es una obra profundamente original y con una carga ideológica fuera de lo común, a pesar de su dedicatoria: ", a los niños de América ", . Concebida como una revista mensual para recreo e instrucción de menores, compuesta por diversos relatos de tipo fantástico, histórico, social y cultural, terminó siendo una de las obras clave del género en la literatura occidental. ", Enseñar es crecer ", , son palabras de Martí consciente de que las ideas de aprendizaje e identificación han de calar en la juventud de América. Porque para él, el niño es el futuro, y el futuro es el del mejoramiento humano y el de la virtud, para conseguir los fines que él persigue: libertad, búsqueda de la verdad, americanismo, utilidad, independencia de Cuba, desarrollo, vuelta a la Naturaleza.

I had to read this when I was in school, probably around 7th or 8th grade. Jose Marti, the Cuban poet and independence fighter, was exiled for a time in New York City. During that time, one of his projects was this: La Edad de Oro, a magazine for children. Now, keep in mind this was the late 19th century or so, thus we are not talking the crappy pap kids get fed today. Marti treated children like human beings who were smart and capable of learning and growing up to be productive citizens and members of society. His magazine reflected that. This volume collects the four issues of the magazine he published. Each issue contains some essays on a broad range of topics from Latin American heroes to the World's Fair in Paris. He also wrote poetry, and the magazine included some kind of fiction such as a fairy tale or fable. He wrote and adapted content reflective of a wide worldview, and he did it all in a language that young people could easily understand. And, as if that is not enough, the guy was a pretty good writer; there is a certain lyricism to the text.

For me, this was one of the first books I read that explored a variety of topics. I still remember the fable of the magical shrimp and reading about the great men--Bolivar, San Martin, and Hidalgo. It is a book that you can read a piece now and a piece later. I had not revisited it in years, so I felt I should reread it. It is still a pretty good read, very literary, which is amazing considering he was writing this particular work for children. In other words, he had high expectations of his young readers, expectations that are rarely found in children and YA writers today (yes, there are some good children and YA authors that treat their audience seriously, with respect, dignity, and as good readers, but this seems rare).

This particular edition includes illustration plates by Lorenzo Amengual, which add to the classic look of the book.

Overall, if all you have read of Marti is his poetry, which is excellent, this volume will give you a different look at this brilliant writer. It will show him as a humane man who also cared for and believed in children. Finally, I believe there is a recent translation in English, which may be worth looking into if you don't read Spanish. However, if you read Spanish, you should read it in the original.
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This was one of my favorite books when I was a child. I had to leave it behind when I came to the U.S. I replaced it with newer editions. Then one day, decades later I found this old edition at the Miami Book Fair. Because it had an odd-shaped stain on the back end-paper I recognized it as the very copy I had owned. God bless the souls who were instrumental in getting it back to me! ( )