Jack Lemmon Books

Jack Lemmon, his films and career (1986) remains the best and most complete book about Lemmons films written this far. Starting with a foreword by famous film critic Judith Crist, this richly illustrated volume contains a solid biography and offers insights and anecdotes about the private man and his film and stage career. The centerpiece of this book is, of course, the complete description of his films from "It should happen to you"(1953) to "That's Life"(1986), each one complete with plot, Joe Baltakes own review and critical reception by the most famous critics, like John Simon, Pauline Kael and Judith Crist. I can recommand this one!

I hope that you enjoyed Chris Lemmon's affectionate A TWIST OF LEMMON - a tribute to my father. If you want to know more about Jack Lemmon's early years Don Widener's biography (1975, updated 2000) is the book you need. Well-researched - Lemmon's first fifty years are extensively documented - perfectly honest ("That's the way Jack wanted it"), based on hundreds of hours of conversation it approaches an autobiography.

The only son of a party-loving society-girl and the Irish-catholic president of America's doughnut corporation was born in a Boston elevator on Feb.8 1925. ("It was impossible not to love the child. He was always kind and polite"). His wealthy parents spoiled him immoderately because he was so often sick. A youthful prank nearly killed his father, but nothing could bring him to spank his little sunshine. He bought him a pony and sent him to the finest schools: Andover, Harvard. His parents sustained their marriage solely for his sake. Their separate bedrooms and pst-not-before-the-child-attitude preyed upon his mind. As soon as he left for Harvard his father moved out and his mother began to drink.

He was so popular in Harvard that he was elected president of the hasty-pudding-club. Widener dedicates two pages to the loss of his virginity: "She was older, like twenty-two...Houdini could not make it in this car...she said: Wow, your're terrific" (The girl chased him for a year). The U.S Navy found him very serviceable: " Harvard, eh? Okay, you're the new communications officer". He prevented a collision, his captain sang his praises, he got "a cushy job in Washington in some kind if decoding section" and a transfer to Boston: "Ensign Lemmon - Jeeps and trucks".

His hungry-young-actor-years are a bonanza: he besieged producers and agents, played piano and his life bordered on vagrancy. Debutantes rarely shared his bathtub (=bed). Showgirls liked him though. In 1947 he met his first wife, Cynthia Stone. They jobbed as food-inspectors and made four tv-series together. Cynthia Stone describes her marriage as pleasant and free of conflict: "There was never ever a cross word before or after the wedding. But his mother had an alcohol-pills-gas-accident on his wedding day and soon his wife realized: "We were great friends, we loved each other, but it was all a performance" (She filed for divorce right after he won his first oscar).

It happened that Columbia's headhunter saw Lemmon's cigarette-spot when Judy Holiday needed a leading man. Cohn and Cukor were impressed but Judy thought he made her look fat (this explains his shoulder-pads). Plenty of behind-the-scenes-anecdotes: Shooting in Hawaii and Midway Island. Interviews with Cagney and Fonda. Shooting in Trinidad: Co-star Robert Mitchum's behavior infuriated the State Department and even Lemmon relapsed into his bachelor-habits (Chapter XIV is definitely X-rated). Glenn Ford's vodka convinced him to climb a horse - napkins eased the pain - and the steer-scene was one of his most dangerous stunts. Nobody's perfect: The SOME LIKE IT HOT and APARTMENT- chapters could have been more detailed.

In 1957 he fell in love with Felicia Farr ("I have never been hit like that"). They married in 1962 after his father's death ("A terrible ordeal"). He attended AA meetings when he made DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES ("I was greeted very warmly...they's looked like they'd been expecting me"). The first edition (I have not seen the updated version and Widener died one year after Lemmon) mirrors of course the couple's views during the mid-seventies. Their daughter Courtney was nine ("the apple of Jack's eye"), Carol Matthau was very grateful that he "sprung" her husband's career: "The most generous actor in the world" (I couldn't agree more) and his son Chris was - a teenager during the hippie-era: "Chris' slightest wish was Jack's command...the school-bus-episode...Dad said: "Chris - it's okay" - and forgave me. They still had their fishing-trips.

Widener's "snapshot" captures a star with the right attitude: he worked for minimum scale to make SAVE THE TIGER - a film in which he believed (his second oscar) and accepted the box-office-failure of some of his finest films - AVANTI, PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE - with grace. He began to safeguard his own interests more frequently because he had an outlook: his hit-play TRIBUTE, the films CHINA SYNDROME 1979 and MISSING 1982 were still to come. Widener rejoices in his final chapter: "there are people and businesses who will find the new Lemmon unsettling" but hints at dangers: "The inevitable division is beginning among his friends and associates. On the one side is a delighted cheering section; on the other the puzzled and frightened. An old friend commented over cocktails: "I liked the old Lemmon better, my drinking-buddy". Jack Lemmon's "definitive" biography has still to be written. In the meantime...

When writing about Jack Lemmon's failed aspirations on the celebrity golf classic Chris Lemmon declared that he could clearly imagine his "Pop" winning with his traditional hearty "Isn't that a bit of terrific!" Every time I read that I could hear Jack Lemmon's voice in my head. That's the juice of this story. Jack's voice singing through his son's words.

This is the view of the gifted, charming, incredibly likeable Jack Lemmon through the eyes of his gifted, talented, and seemingly honest son Chris. He is a bit heavy handed on the "beloved father" and "cherished sister" phrases which, although refreshing in a celebrity biography (very un-Mommy Dearest), such affectations were completely superfluous because his adoration of his Pop came through in every word.

It took a bit of getting used to hearing of squeaky clean Jack Lemmon swearing and drinking so much. But he swore in such a funny, enthusiastic, unique way that I ended up adoring that about him. And the drinking? He fixed it. The hero came through in the end.

Some of the players didn't come off as well. I was appalled at the pettiness of Lemmon's wife who had her knickers in a twist over some fight with Walter Matthau's wife and made Jack and Walter's friendship difficult. Chris said of the depth of his father's relationship with Walter "I think if Uncle Waltz had taken up golf, Pop would have married him." But that was not the only time Lemmon's widow got into fights with people. She fought with Jack and nearly killed him in a drunken rage when she threw a heavy glass ashtray at Lemmon's head. That particular drunken brawl was the end of drinking for Jack, but not for his wife. Chris alludes that he and his stepmother were never on good terms and it's admirable that he didn't stoop to airing any of their dirty laundry in this book. Though dirty it certainly would be.

The book takes us on fishing trips to Alaska, sound stages in Hollywood, and on the golf course. Chris' references to the "Lemmon curse" is amusing and so well told that it played in my imagination as clear as a movie. What a great sense of humour Jack had, and how delightfully it was passed down to Chris.

I had such a crush on Jack Lemmon, and still do even now he's gone. I wish he had enjoyed a happier marriage and had taken more time to be a father. But he was true to himself, and did remarkable things. I would imagine being his son to be the most wonderful thing in the world and one of the hardest. What an act to follow!

This was a fascinating tribute to the father, not the actor or the person. Chris Lemmon is a really gifted writer. I hope he continues to write. I will eagerly buy whatever he puts his name to after reading this charming book. I hope he reads these reviews because there is something I'd like to say to him. "Hello Ramhead, go F yourself!" (He said he missed hearing that.)

Actor Chris Lemmon,not as famous as his late movie star father Jack pays homage to the elder Lemmon in this book. The elder Lemmon has done quite a few films throughout his career with his late longtime friend Walter Matthau. Chris' mother divorced Jack when Chris was a toddler. Chris became a cast member of one of Fox's first sitcoms,Duet,which ran from April 1987 to August 1989. Duet was then spun off as Open House which ran for nearly a year. Chris' character Richard Phillips and his wife Linda,played by Alison LaPlaca, were respectively,a patio furniture salesman and an executive film producer. Richard quit the retail business and became a cocktail lounge pianist. On the spin-off Linda went into real estate. Post-Duet-OH,Chris has had a series of guest roles on various shows. Hundreds of people,including Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones,attended memorial services for Jack in 2001. Jack was 75 years old when he passed away. I dedicate this book to Jack's memory.

CL pays the ultimate tribute to his father in this classy portrayal of the supremely gifted father and the somewhat lonely but not lost son trying to sort out a complicated relationship made more complex amidst the mixed fortunes born of fame and celebrity and the tensions and heartaches that always come with divorce. This is a wonderful read that confirms much of the positive image that most people hold of the elder Lemmon while affirming the deep love that father and son were able to share in an environment that has split so many other families apart. Jack Lemmon was without doubt driven in terms of his career, but the measure of the man is that he reserved a part of himself for his son that was theirs and theirs alone.

Recommended: A Twist of Lemmon: a Tribute to My Father, by Chris Lemmon

Chris Lemmon writes as though chatting with a friend, about the father he loved. I was drawn in by the humanity of the man and the honesty of his son, the author. According to Chris, Jack Lemmon was like an ornery little boy, a little like my own father. Both father and son were aware of Jack's strengths and shortcomings (drinking, a temper, over-dedication to his career). I think Jack Lemmon is probably recognizable in some person in everyone's life. STAR is not the picture drawn here.

There is some language that a few sensitive folks may find offensive; I did say he was ornery didn't I? However,I believe if those folks read on, they will be glad they did. There's nothing really vulgar, but some humor is pretty worldly. Chris says that one of his father's favorite lines to the nurses, even near the end, was "Wanna take a peek at Stiffy?" Alternating from hospital room to scenes from Jack's life Chris Lemmon creates a complete picture of the man without ever going Hollywood neon.

A twist of Lemmon is Chris Lemmon's literate, deeply-felt tribute to his father, the unique Jack Lemmon. CL wrote partly for his children, who must have liked his elk- and poodle-stories better than his golfer's yarn (but tell this to a golfer), partly because it helped him heal the big loss he felt.

An extraordinary insight into people's nature presented his highly-gifted father with a career that lasted half a century. Two oscars, eight nominations, best actor in Cannes (twice). There were times when he stood alone. His Billy-Wilder-films have no equal but he was proud of DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES 1962 and SAVE THE TIGER 1973 - he suffered creative agonies and was never happier. A committed democrat and environmentalist. "Experts" smiled at his breath-taking performance in THE CHINA SYNDROME 1979 - three weeks later fiction came true. No other film, except MISSING 1982 - about a father who searches for his son in Chilean morgues - made more headlines.

Many anecdotes revolve around "America's sweetheart" who wrecked jaguars and ferraris, did not make the cut at Pebble Beach and was chased by moose, eagles, bobcats and bears. He had great moral courage, though: The fact that he suffered painful operations during his childhood did not keep him from entering the navy (many heroes stayed in Hollywood) and make dangerous stunts. Too few films catch his "quirky, unpredictable, sweet devil side". He was one of Hollywood's most exciting stars.

A tribute is no platform for criticism and while CL drops many hints most of his concerns remain unspoken. Nobody could accuse CL of "nepotism". JL made it by himself and expected the same of his son. That he played small parts in his father's films is perfectly legitimate. It was a proud moment when his father was in the front row "applauding, whistling, wiping away a tear". Daddy's amazement that junior worked hard enough to buy a car is the book's comic highlight (the Paris-brothel-episode is not bad either). How I wish that CL could have protected his generous, trusting and compassionate father from all those well-meaning people who asked him favors and harmed his career (the man of flesh & blood belonged to his family but his reflexion on celluloid belongs to us). Neither could he influence his father's eating habits (cheeseburgers) despite a warning shot: CL lost his mother Cynthia Stone to cancer in 1988 (his book is of course a tribute to both parents who remained optimists to the end).

His parents divorced when he was three, both remarried and he commuted between two patchwork-families with younger sisters. He and his father had fishing-trips to Alaska ("it was only during those times that I felt he really belonged to me"), jam-sessions, golf. He excuses his father's "inadvertent irresponsibility" - he woke his father up with a triple-martini when he was six - but is still haunted by "that empty chair at dinner-table" and felt "in the doghouse" when separated from his father. He did not grow up in his father's household and survival was difficult for a son-of-the-first-marriage who was a teenager during the hippie-era. JL's second family was part of his everyday life and "the only person I think he ever did commit to totally was Felicia" - his second wife. "Pop and Felicia had been partying hard the night before...an airborne ashtray had sliced pop's forehead". JL's private life is still terra incognita (or "treasure island" for biographers).

His moving description of his father's last fight ("I never heard him complain once...his only concern during the final days was for us, his family") and his desperate attempts to tell the dying father what he did not say to the living one are the highest points in CL's book. Chemotherapy; radiation; the reprieve; devastating surgeries; colostomy; morphine; the respirator. But CL also writes: "He had too much pride to let us know if he was suffering". Memories of his fater who held him after his mother's burial counterpoint his account. He makes also an alarming confession: "I remember feeling hurt that no one had told him...that I'd been out there with him through those many weeks he's been unconscious" although he admits: "We'd all remained in a state of utter denial".

CL holds out to the end and his real, great merit is that he does without rose-colored-glasses because he understands that his father, about whom Kevin Spacey said that his humanity was even bigger than his talent, deserves the truth. I hope this book becomes a best-seller!

This book was great i read every one of his adventures. I got realy mad when i heard some librarys were banning the book. :(

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an exciting novel. It begins with the narrator (Huckleberry Finn) explaining that he and some friends (along with Tom Sawyer) are in a "Robber's Gang." Huck wishes to remain a part of this new gang but Tom Sawyer, who is a life long friend forces him to be respectable and stay in school in order to stay in the gang.
The Novel is set in St. Petersburg, Missouri. All is well, Huck Finn has money saved in the bank from treasures he and his friend Tom found. Unfortunately, Huck's father, who is a money hungry drunk, comes back to town and demands Huck's money. Huck was adopted by a lady named Widow Douglas. Huck's dad tries to fight for custody once he comes back to town but fails in his attempts. He then hangs around town and harrasses his son. Finally he kidnaps Huckand takes him to his cabin. In this part of the story the reader feels for Huck. His father locks him in their cabin when he leaves and when he returns home drunk, he beats him. The reader wants to see Huck stand up to his father and do something. Then, the reader gets what they want. Huck escapes from his father by faking his own death. He then sneaks off to an island in the Mississippi while the townspeople search the river for his body.
While he's living on the island he encounters another boy. His name is Jim. Huck and Jim become friends and live on the island together. Unfortunately, some townspeople saw smoke coming from the island so the boys are forced to leave. The novel goes on to follow Huckleberry Finn in his wild journey's across the Mississippi.
I thought that the book was a wonderful exciting tale of companionship and adventure. I would not hesitate to read this book again. Although the time period and the setting set me off from reading this novel before, when I finally read it I was pleasently suprised. I really liked how Huck Finn tells the story and the humor that is put into it. Mark Twain does a great job of making you feel like you are a part of the story as well. However, Mark Twain sometimes used racism that could be offensive to some. In my opinion, this book wouldn't have a clear setting of time period if he had left it out.
My favorite thing about this novel is that it is a story about a young boy and what he overcomes in life. I loved the friend ships and the childhood fasination of the outdoors. I would recommend this book to anyone who read the novel preceding it, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and also to anyone who enjoys a good adventure themselves.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an adventure book written by Mark Twain. Huck Finn sails down the Mississippi River on a raft. Huckleberry Finn shows his bravery by trying to escape from his father. In order to live Huck Finn has to try to run away or escape from his abusive father. To find out if he escapes from his father be sure to read this book.
This is a must read! The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will make reader feel like your Huck Finn. The reader will realize how hard it actually is for Huck Finn to live with his father and how hard it is to escape. This book is a book the reader just can't put down. The book takes a long time to get into so don't put this book down until you finish.
Mark twain is famous to most children my age. Twain was born in 1835 and died in1910 so he was 75 when he died. Mark Twain has written many books such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Samuel Clemens is considered one of the greatest American writers. When the reader reads this book they will feel Huckleberry Finn's pain.

I bought the original work of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn for my 8-year-old and while he reads on a very elevated level, the original had language too difficult to decipher. However, he was interested in the story so I bought this abridged version and he loved it.

Jack Lemon takes a rare and wonderful turn at narrating in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This adaptation of the Twain classic seems crisper, capturing the feel of youth. It has never sounded better. The spry Mr. Lemon breathes life into this worn classic. This is a keeper for all ages.

"You can't run away from trouble. There ain't no place that far." Uncle Remus

Huck and Jim take to the river to escape their troubles, but trouble dogs them every foot of the way. In fact, both Jim & Huck were within days of liberation when they eloped. They literally escaped from freedom.

The slavery and such are interesting sideshows, but Twain makes it pretty clear Jim wasnt mistreated, and freedom was always across the river, north & east, if Jim wanted physical freedom. Freedom was NOT down the river in the heart of the Deep South. All of this is metaphor for running away from your troubles.

This book accurately depicts the lifestyle and thoughts and feelings of Americans during the time slavery was legal. This book incorporates many concepts from other books such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons feuded against each other over a marriage. I recommend this book.

How can one critically review what is arguably the greatest American novel? Very carefully! Twain, who briefly served the Confederacy was a river boat pilot, miner, reporter, lecturer, acerbic wit, devoted family man, was the premier writer of 19th century America.

In "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" Twain thoughtfully and compassionately weaved a tapestry of mid-stream American life and culture which probably did more to positively change white America's view of its black minority than any legislation ever could. He achieved all that while creating a timeless world of youthful adventure to where countless generations can escape.

This wonderful volume is a replica edition that contains almost 200 original illustrations by E. W. Kemble, which conveys the raw excitement of life on the Mississippi. It should be given as a present along with "The Complete Tom Saywer," so the reader can have access to the the entire mythos that Twain recorded.

I have read and enjoyed "Huckleberry Finn" many times; but this recording enhances the text and makes it that much more enjoyable. The narrator, Tom Parker, does a superb job of bringing this odd assortment of strange and humorous characters to life. He does an especially fine job of pronouncing the numerous dialects that Twain put down for posterity. Hearing Mr. Parker's pronunciations and articulations brings these characters to life in all of their mid-nineteenth century motley. If you close your eyes you can picture Huck and Jim conversing as they travel on the Mississippi, lazily wasting their days and outwitting the numbskulls they encounter along the way. Parker does an especially fine portrayal of Pap Finn when he rants about the Guv'ment in a drunken stupor. His Duke and King are also delightfully portrayed in all their vainglorious pomposity.
I was really impressed by how much value I received for so little cost. I laughed many times while following along with my text of the story. After all, Twain was primarily a humorist, and what's the point of reading a story like "Huckleberry Finn" if you refuse to see the humor in it? And Tom Parker's dramatic skills embellish this humor by bringing the text to life. Aside from the humor, Mr. Parker elicits the heart and soul of both Huck and Jim and shows how their views of each change as they both realize just how human and decent the other is. This is a story of some very human people from a time and a world that no longer exist. It's like reading a dream of a foreign world.
This CD set is worth the money. It's a delightful and heartfelt reading of a most wonderfully compassionate and funny story about the common sense and innate humanity of an "uneducated" boy from the back woods of Missouri who discovers his own sense of morality and humanity while living by his wits and travelling up and down the Mississippi while meeting an assortment of colorful characters along the way. And, yes, it is unabridged.

Twain's Huckleberry Finn has derived much controversy from its use of the "n" word in the dialogue as well as what some believe are stereotyped characters within the novel. As some have noted in defense of Twain, Twain's main object was to portray and depict the typical Southern dialect of this time period, and so his use of the word was to mainly show that this was a common expression used. This "overuse" of the word is most obviously an attempt at debunking the idea that people should speak this way. What some forget while reading Huckleberry Finn is that it is a satire aimed at breaking down and making fun of many of the conventions of not only the South, but other aspects of social life. Perhaps the biggest indicator of Twain's intent of facetiousness is in his "Explanatory" and "Notice" in the book's preface, where it is inferred that we are not to take everything so seriously in the book. There are many other things going on in the novel, and it is a shame that often we overlook that a classic like this has so much more going for it.

For one thing, the novel is as much about growing up and striving to do good as anything else. Huckleberry Finn has this battle throughout the book, and mostly after he meets up with Jim on Jackson's Island and must do some serious soul searching to figure out what is right and what is wrong. An abolitionist wasn't thought of lightly in this setting, and so Huck is not easy to let go of society's laws. However, through much of Jim's guidance, Huck does learn morals and principles of life. Jim represents the father-figure in Huck's life, mainly because Huck's "real" Pap is an alcoholic, abusive, neglectful and mean-spirited to his son. If there ever were a case for a character breaking the stereotype idea, it would be Jim. After all, isn't it Jim who questions what Huck believes about him running away from slavery? When Huck examines ironically to himself is, and will always be, a "no good abolitionist", this admission and growth of character can be chalked up to Jim, who has already influenced Huck by then. Jim helps Huck grow up and be a more thought-provoking character. Huck gains a better picture as the novel progresses; for instance, he comes to understand that the duke and the king are not only frauds, but that they are lower than low because of their greed and callousness to the Wilks family.

On another level, the novel is a lot about light-hearted fun, satire, poking fun of society and just Huck's imagination. Huck is a child who is not easy to civilize; he wants to be out in the world and living an adventure, being in a band of robbers with Tom Sawyer or adding "style" to a given situation. Huck often lives life by the moment, and has to use his "street smarts" to get out of predicaments, which might mean making up a story, faking his own death, dressing up like a girl to get information or using quick wit to escape a sticky situation. He seeks freedom and adventure, and the Mississippi River, where Jim and he spend much of their time on the raft, is a symbol for this escape.

Over all, I found this to be a difficult review because Huckleberry Finn is probably one of my favorite books and Twain is one of my favorite authors. But, I think if you read Huckleberry Finn in the right light, it is an amazing read about adventure and growing up. Definitely recommended!

"Jack Lemmon" by Will Holtzman (1977) is one of the best volumes of the PYRAMID seríes about the history of the movies. It contains at the same time a fine biography as well as a solid description of Lemmons films from "It should happen to you" to "Airport 77". Richly illustrated on nearly every page with portraits, film and private photos, this volume contains many anecdotes and citations as well. In short: this book offers everything that can be expected of a paperback with 155 pages. Still entertaining and informative.
(Recommandations: The most thorough biography about Lemmon is by Don Widener, and the most detailed book about his films is by Joe Baltake. Michael Freedmans biography is superficial, and his latest update, 2002, is a sheer insult for every fan of Lemmon. Avoid if you can).

"Hommage" (Berlin, 1996) is a german book published by the Berlin international film festival (Berlinale) 1996 on the occasion of Jack Lemmon being honored with a retrospective of his films and receiveing the "Silver Bear" (The german life achievement award).

The book contains, on 119 pages, a brief biographic survey and twenty essays from different authors about the films selected for this festival. The most interesting aspect may be, that the views of the german contributors often differ from the standpoint of american critics. For this reason, the book seems to me a valuable addition to my other books about Lemmon. It is richly illustrated and contains a complete filmography (ending with "Grumpier old men" which was released here soon after the festival). Almost alone among all other Lemmon filmographies, this volume contains the exact dates of release (in the US and Germany) of all his films: Valuable information for a biographer who wants to check out critic's voices or newspaper articles of this time. Contains also a bibliography where many interviews and newspaper articles are mentioned and a complete list of Lemmons tv-work until 1996.

Warning: My copy is in GERMAN LANGUAGE. I don't know if it has been translated in english.

In the early eighties, this book was an agreeable addition to the more complete but older Lemmon biographies by Don Widener and Will Holtzman. It was entertaining, informative and filled the gaps between the mid-seventies (where the other biographies ended) and the early eighties when Lemmon had added films like "The China Syndrome" and "Missing" to his name. I could recommand this volume if it weren't for the fact, that Michael Freedland updated it this year ("Some like it cool"). It took this author twenty years to write a small, not very incisive chapter about the chemistry of Lemmon & Matthau and a few sentences about Lemmons alcohol problems, his face lift and his death. Don't expect any more details from his book. I have read very detailed and intimate star biographies lately, like Clark Gables biography by Warren G. Harris, or Burt Lancasters by Cate Buford. Those authors took their time. They interviewed friends and family. They looked over old newspaper articles and other sources. They did thorough research about the stars they wrote about. In short, thy did all the things that Michael Freedland should have done - but didn't.

The book was very interesting and informative. It also had great pictures! However, as a teacher wanting to use this book in the classroom, I was disturbed to find misinformation in it. On page 58 it states that Martha Jane Canary (Calamity Jane) is buried next to Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood, Arizona. Well, I've visited Calamitiy Jane's buriel sight (beside Wild Bill Hickok's) in my hometown of Deadwood, SOUTH DAKOTA.

If you are looking for a New Age version of the Christmas story for children, this is it. According to this version, Jesus is not divine, does not understand what his place is in the world, is a normal, questioning human, and dies on the cross without being resurrected. Oh, and, by the way, our goal in life, according to the author, is to "find our own stars...the kingdom of heaven is within us."

This version is one that would appeal to Shirley MacLaine and most other New Agers, because, after all, we are all God, right?

The best Christmas story every written can be found in the best-selling book of all time - the Bible. The truth can also be found there.

If you are looking for a New Age version of the Christmas story for children, this is it. According to this version, Jesus is not divine, does not understand what his place is in the world, is a normal, questioning human, and dies on the cross without being resurrected. Oh, and, by the way, our goal in life, according to the author, is to "find our own stars...the kingdom of heaven is within us."

This version is one that would appeal to Shirley MacLaine and most other New Agers, because, after all, we are all God, right?

The best Christmas story every written can be found in the best-selling book of all time - the Bible. The truth can also be found there.

This is an ususual book in every way. Colorful and elegant pictures illustrate a unique rendition of the story of Christmas.

The story expresses the spiritual and psychological meaning of the ideas behind Christmas without being strictly sectarian.

My 6 year old and 8 year old were enthralled by the colorful paintings and the story.