Lewis Books

My husband gave me this book for Christmas last year, because months ago I had mentioned that it was one of my favorite childhood books and I was very chagrined that evidently I had not saved it. I read it again, about 47 years after my first reading, and loved it just as much, maybe even more.
Before I read it, for extra interest I tried to remember everything I could about it. It was amazing to me that I could remember so many little details, even some of the expressions that the children used.
I intend to read it to my grandchildren when the time comes.

This is by far my most favourite book from my childhood. Your child will fly away with the children and visit all the exotic times and places. I great jumping point for parents to explain history in more detail to their kids.

Great for ages 7/8 and up.

This book was my all time favorite children's book. My mother had it as a child and read it to me when I was around three. Once I learned to read I re-read it several times. I most recently read it again this summer and I can't wait to read it to my future children.

I read this book as a child,simply for the story. Now, as an adult, and a would-be educator (wannabe, really) I find myself coming back to the story of the children and their magic ship again and again. As I grew older, I read grander tales of more complicated magic... and greater historical scope... but every now and then, I would return to this story. It gives a different taste of magic... the Norse tradition is too little explored, at times; and a smattering of several interesting periods in history... Norman England, Egypt in the time of the great pharaohs.... even a visit to the Norse gods themselves. Age constraints notwithstanding... a good literature is good literature. Given the current resurgence in magic in children's literature... this deserves a reprint!!

This is a wonderful book, which I've read dozens of times, and it still moves me. I first read it 40 or more years ago, and when I found it again recently, I was just as enchanted by it, and now appreciate it on other levels. I still want to wander a tiny English seaside town and find my own magic ship.
I recommend it to anyone-children, teens, adults, seniors. It has something for everyone.

Good selection of places in and near Las Vegas to go hiking with your dog and rates them for how difficult they are (great for me since I'm a fairly new hiker). Also has sections on what to include in the first aid kit for your dog and hiking tips (preparing for your hike, etc.), and tons of maps. It divides the hikes into different areas around Las Vegas and within each area goes into detail about each hike. I definitely recommend this book!

This book is great, it's so hard to find out about trails in the Las Vegas area (outside of the heavily populated areas). As a bonus, the authors are local and lead hikes every now and then around the valley. The web-site address for the guided hikes is printed in the back of the book.

Thanks to "Best hikes with dogs Las Vegas and Beyond," I am much more adventurous and take my dog to new trails often. Directions to trails and details of terrain have helped me choose which hikes are best suited for my dog and I. The book takes "guessing" out of the equation. A must have for anyone hiking with or without a dog.

I love, love, love this book! It is easy to read and all the hikes I've done (with my two dogs in tow) have been great. I would recommend this book to anyone (even if you don't hike with dogs). It is so hard to find a quality hiking book for this area. This is the BEST!

Chewbacca (25 lb pup) and I really enjoyed using the book on the trails! It was nice to know what hiking-obstacles we could expect. The first-aid section for dogs was really great too. If you've got a dog you blaze the trail with... then check this guide out.

The Best of Good is a refreshing novel about real people and their journey to self discovery. We all know these people. We are these people. It has the right amount of bitter and sweet. I laughed and I cried. I felt rejuvenated while reading it. I didn't want to put it down. This is my new favorite of all of Sara Lewis' novels, and my favorite of all the books I've read in a couple of years!

What a wonderful book! The Best of Good is a gentle story about real people that grabs hold of you and won't let go, even after you've closed the cover for the last time. I found myself reading long sections aloud to my husband, and each time I thought I had finished, he would say "Keep reading!" It's that kind of book. One that asks you to keep reading because the characters have become important to you as real people, not because the chapter ended with an explosion or a car chase. If you like reading books instead of reading television shows written on paper, this is the perfect book for a fall evening.

Within a few pages, I was so hooked that I couldn't decide if I wanted to read it straight through or savor it for a few days. I couldn't put it down.
I am anxiously awaiting her next book.

Once you meet Tom Good you can't help but root for him and hope for him. Good will stay with me for a long time. Be prepared to leave a place in your heart for him. The best of Sara Lewis' excellent novels. Can't wait to see her next book.

Having just finished reading "The Best of Good", there are tears in my eyes. This book moved me deeply, while also providing hours of enjoyment. Writing in the first person, as a man, was an amazing feat for Sara, who continues to surprise me with her books. I've read all her novels, and this one rates right up there and, in fact, it's hard to choose a favorite. The characters were so very real to me. There are even things about Tom Good that I can recognize within myself. His struggles to start living his life again after isolating for 20 years made me examine my life, too. The children, his neighbors and his sister Ellen were all so realistic. They all have their layers of complexity, which Sara presents so brilliantly.

Read this book and see if you want to start making a quilt, upgrading your surroundings, getting closer to the people around you, and maybe even forgiving yourself for guilt that you should not have assumed for things in the past. This is a powerful book, in the guise of light entertainment! Absolute bravos for this, and I highly recommend it!

This is a useful guide for all ages and skill levels of drawing. Especially those that are not familiar with or from the culture of manga animation artistry. It gives the history and origins of manga to give the reader and artist a better of understanding of manga. It then helps the artist see how traditional manga artistry is performed and the processes to make "good" and "proper" manga characters and art. Moreover, it shows the reader and artist how to develop their own style of manga artistry based upon the principles of the tradition. Then it helps the reader and artist to create and develope manga stories, and characters to be in them with "good" plots and flow to create your own manga novel of equal greatness to all those that many/you know and love.

I got this book out of the library out of curiosity
and was very suprised by its content.

Most Manga books show you how to
copy the CONTENT/STYLE of Manga; this
this addresses Manga's FORM as well
as its historical background and relation
to Western comics.

The section on how to use computers and
various software to layout, ink, letter and color
your OWN comics and/or manga
is worth the price of the book alone.

Highly Recommended!!!!

After you finish practicing Bruce Lewis' tips and techniques, you cannot help but emerge with your own particular style. Instructions are clear, informative and inspiring.

Its actualy the most helpfull book I have purchased so far when it comes to drawing in that style. It stresses the importance of practicing your own style and mastering it before moving on to anime esk figures. infact heres some advice, master basic anatomy before you decide to try manga, you have to be experienced regadless. The "How to Draw Manga" series is flawed in that it expects the customer to already know how to draw...

This book is great, step by step guide to drawing your own manga. not copying someone else's style.

The Hunting of the Snark is a whacky piece of poetical silliness by Lewis Caroll. Complete nonsense, no-one knows what a Snark is, or why Snark hunters hunt it, or why anyone would want to become a Snark hunter to start with. Anyway, the poem is definitely amusing at times with some of the humour he slips in.

The Hunting of the Snark seems to be a very, very short imitation of The Canterbury Tales. The first chapter (titled a fit) introduces all of the occupations of all the different people going on a journey. However, instead of going on a general pilgrimage and telling tales along the way, their trip is very specific to hunting.

The Baker actually attempts to tell a story, but the Bellman (who leads the group) says there's no time for storytelling. They have to catch the Snark before nightfall.

Along with the Bellman and Baker, a Banker, a Bonnet-maker, a Butcher, a Boots, a Billiard-maker, a Barrister, a Broker, and a Beaver tag along to hunt for the Snark. The Beaver is afraid of getting cut by the Butcher, so he puts on a dagger-proof coat and talks to the Banker about buying an insurance policy.

The Beaver is involved in a hilarious scene with the Butcher later, when the two attempt to compute sums. But perhaps the funniest scene of the entire book is in the Barrister's dream when the Snark declares sentence on a pig, only to find out the pig has been dead long before the trial even began.

I'd highly recommend this short poem for Carroll fans, even though it's not big enough to contain but a small portion of what's to be found in the Alice books.

I have read a great deal of nonsense in the past, but this was by far the best nonsense that I have ever read. There is no point, no meaning, no sense, and no boringness. It is a delightful poem (which is well written and very fun to read aloud) about a crew on a ship hunting a snark. The crew includes a captain who only rings a bell, a beaver, a cook who only cooks beavers (the beaver and the cook did not get along well), a man afraid that the snark would turn into a boojum and make him disappear, etc. As you can tell, this makes for an insanely silly poem. The subtitle is rather fitting, as my sides were definitely hurting from laughter when I was done. Well done Mr. Carroll.

Overall grade: A+

Nonsense poems can easily miss the mark
Yet, this masterpiece has that spark.

"How do you kill a _____?", you ask
To find the answer was the hunters' task.

"What was their fate?", you wonder
Did they ever catch their elusive plunder?

A paragon of haunting Carollian lore
Be in no doubt that you'll finish wanting more.

This poem is just great!

First, this one of the most delightful pieces of writing that ever appeared in (more or less) English. It succeeds as a sustained exercise in illogic. I am sure that only a mathematical logician like Dodgson could possibly have pulled it off - only someone with such deep understanding of reason could master unreason so completely.

Second, Martin Gardner's commentary adds depth and background to the reading. Gardner explains terms that are now obsolete, but also adds his own analysis and a rich history of the Snark phenomenon. It should be no surprise that Gardner is still best known as the long-time editor of Scientific American's column on Mathematical Games, a mathematician himself.

I can't add much to the scholarship or praise that already surrounds this incredible poem. I would like to point out, however, that most non-native English speakers are unfamiliar with this poem. Many of them have only ever seen the serious side of the English language, and have never seen English at play. I consider this short work to be the ideal introduction to the very best of English-language nonsense.

//wiredweird

For a book to be called game development this book sure is lacking on the game side of things.You create one big game at the end,but other than that there is really nothing else in there I would consider a game.That's why the book is getting 4 stars not 5.With that out of the way this book is very well written and the author explains things in great detail. There are alot of good nuggets of coding techniques in this book.

I had used Flash 4 for some time. In Flash 4, if you wanted to do a certain command, like go to a different scene you went to the point and click menu and selected that.But I felt that was rather lacking in what you could do, so I wanted to get the latest and greatest version of Flash. I went out and bought it, (MX 2004) and I soon found out, that there really wasn't a point and click menu, and you needed at least some knowledge in ActionScript. I looked around, and found this book. And I am glad I did. The book is exellent. It's really easy to follow, between the detailed explantions and the demo's on the cd. I found it really easy to understand everything, and it gives you a great way to start programming.

It comes with a demo of Flash MX 2004, but I highly recommend buying it (I got it at an educational discount). Both MX and this book were well worth the money.

There are few author's that take the beginner's (dummy) route to teaching programming to the masses and this book shines brightly in that department. From start to finish, it seems that the author knows what I want to do and shows me thoroughly how to do it properly with different ways to tackle it. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to take FLASH MX to sky high heights and not just leave this wonderful program to websites.

This is an enthusiastic book to read because once you open it and see how easy it is to follow you'll be excited to continue to read, and learn how to use flash mx. The author shows excellence in communicating the information to his readers. I am not fimilar with programming, but interested in programming and i was able to gain a lot of information that I was able to apply(which is the most important concept of the book). I definitely recommend this book to those who may want to enhance their knowledge or one who is just curious of the field.

I'm a business man looking for a programming book to spice up my computer knowledge & some fun, something different and exciting, I came across this book, in Barns & Noble, sitting on the shelve in the actionscript section. The book is very easy to understan, comes packed with not only that but the CD comes packed with cool samples and games and comes with Flash MX 2004!!! Defenietly I recommend it.

Integrative Theology is one of the better theological resources because it doesn't just focus on one aspect. Most Theology books look at a system, a few focus on the biblical data on a specific issue. For each issue, Demarest and Lewis run through half a dozen formulations for the issue at hand, followed by a summary of the Biblical texts, and conclude with a systematic formulation and sections on apologetics and application. While the volumes do not cover as broad a range of topics as some comparable works, the depth in which the important issues are covered is difficult to understate.

While not written at the level of technical philosophical detail as Aquinas or Pannenberg (as another review here stresses), this text is still set apart from most general theological treatments by its philosophical clarity and coherence. This is in addition to the virtues of its serious treatment of the range of Scriptural data concerning each topic, its apologetic engagement with differing views, and its practical counsel for life and ministry. It is a great resource for thinking through major theological issues and positions. I recommend it highly.

Okay, I'll confess up front that I am a former student of the authors, but that was before this book came out. As a student I appreciated the theological method modeled by Professors Demarest and Lewis, as it had the virtue of teaching the student how to think theologically, testing various theories against different alternatives as well as Scripture. They didn't just teach theology. They taught us how to DO theology. None of this simply memorizing and parroting back canned answers. Now, as a professor and practicing theologian my appreciation of the method has increased to the point that it has highly influenced my own theology text, to be released in Brazil (in Portuguese) later this year. I have found that students respond with enthusiasm to this type of presentation, as it brings theology to the heart of their world, and allows them to really engage the issues. Simply put, Integrative Theology is the best text available for providing a comprehensive treatment of how the task of Christian dogmatics can be a world view building enterprise. It's a great way to learn (and teach) theology and that alone merits five stars.

However, there is more than just that. The content and insight into historical, biblical and philosophical issues are a great way to demonstrate how the various disciplines in the seminary curriculum should come together in a balanced manner. Too often these disciplines ignore each other, or are outright antagonistic. Here the tendency of biblical theology to atomize the text and the tendency of philosophical theology to launch off into unbridled abstractions, divorced from revelation, are both avoided. Instead, you get a warm and practical treatment of relevant issues as the traditional loci of doctrines are developed.

As for the complaint of some reviewers that there is some sacrifice of depth and rigor, it must be kept in mind that a key part of the authors' purpose is to provide an introductory seminary level textbook. After spending the past three years working on such a text, I can testify that there are just some things you have to leave out, or at least treat with less detail, lest the discussion go over the head of your intended audience. Readers and students can make up for the lack by pursuing more advanced reading in the references, or taking upper level seminary courses. With Integrative Theology as a background, they'll have much easier going doing so. It's a great starting point for aspiring theologians, or laypeople who simply want to deepen their understanding of the scope of Christian doctrine. You may not always agree with their conclusions on every position, but you will come away being challenged to think it through for yourself and arrive at a coherent view that will deepen your understanding of divine truth. This book belongs in the library of every pastor and serious layperson.

Gordon Lewis and Bruce Demarest were for many years full-time colleagues in Systematic Theology at Denver Seminary. Dr. Lewis is now Professor Emeritus and Dr. Demarest is half-time, still teaching in the area of spiritual formation. Both are good friends and cherished colleagues. The strength and uniqueness of Integrative Theology is its "verificational" or hypothesis-testing approach. Ask any classical theological question (or a new one for that matter!) and, to test the validity of the various possible answers that have been given or might be given, one must survey the Scriptural data, book-by-book, passage-by-passage, interpreting each text in its original context, then look at the main ways answers have been formulated throughout church history and why, then create one's own systematic synthesis of all of the relevant Scriptural data as informed by the various readings of history into what seems to be the most internally coherent and consistent whole, as well as corresponding to any external evidence that may bear on the question, along with that which is existentially viable, i.e., livable. A wonderful bonus are the short sections of application or contemporary significance at the end of each topic that the authors filter through this multi-step grid.

I really appreciate the work. I was teaching trough Wayne Grudem's "Systematic Theology" when the footnotes mentioned this book. The approach made me an instant student of the histtory of theology and the church fathers, whereas I was not interested in, nor had the time needed to try to search out what has been said in history on these various subjects. These authors gave me a great foundation in learning to use these various disciplines to do theology.

All the wonderful reviews of Professor Markos' work leave little left to be said. It is a brilliant and insightful work that has many layers of instructional possibilities. One of Professor Markos' greatest strengths is as an effective communicator. His obvious love for humanity and commitment to educational values that by far exceed the norm, shine through his words, that are bolstered by his enthusiasm and love for CS Lewis. He embodies the twin roles of student and master beautifully by following Newton's advice of "standing on the shoulders of giants" and then by breathing life into his experiences so that others may benefit from his committed contemplations. I am very grateful for the work Professor Markos has done and has shared with us.

I enjoyed the book. The book referenced a large sample of the Lewis corpus. His approach to the Space Trilogy and how we can use Lewis to make bridges to the New Agers was very interesting. I knocked a star off because of his writing style. It was very uneven. At times it seemed forced and at other times it was inspired. The section on the deconstruction of language lost me, but that may be due to my lack of study in that area. His love of the fiction of Lewis came through very strong. I wanted to drop everything and read the Space Trilogy again.

I love primary sources. I would much rather read St Paul or Plato, than read about them. But must I apologize for reading and enjoying commmentary on the work of a leading Christian apologist? If dismissed as simply too academic a thing to do, you will miss an edifying and delightful 'read'.

The writings of CS Lewis continue to post major sales, so there is likelihood that many may be interested in this title in spite of its slightly overwrought subtitle. And as for the title itself, Markos explains that it's borrowed from a play written by John Milton, Samson Agonistes, (ie: Samson, the Wrestler). The OED tells us that the agon is 'a gathering or assembly, (f. to lead or bring with one), esp. for the public games; hence 'the contest for the prize at the games,' and by extension, 'any contest or struggle'. He tells us that this volume grew out of an article he wrote for Christianity Today (April 2001). In the book he says he is an evangelical who teaches English literature at Houston Baptist University, but he also states that Christianity is not the only truth. (I can almost hear his fellow pew sitters cobbling together a cross! He does go on to qualify the statement; yet it is evident that he is very broadminded.) I've learned that it is his eighth title, but the first to make it into print. So, clearly our author is tenacious!

Indeed, I find him to be an accomplished grappler, actually carrying forward the conversation advanced by CS Lewis. He attempts to "fashion an aesthetics of incarnation,one that will not only speak to the potential of the arts to bear a heavy weight of meaning but that will champion the arts as a far greater friend than foe to the beleagured apologist living in a postmodern world." This is refreshing in a day when we are weary of narcissism and nihilism in the arts. And I think he makes good on this thesis, which is not the sole goal of the book.

Rarely have I encountered an author who is as well-read and capable of weaving a grand tapestry from the canons of literature and scripture. Those already familiar with CSL's writing may find the first chapter a bit tedious as Markos sets the stage, but it's worth being patient, and this reader was rewarded several times in chapter one.

He adeptly lays a foundation for a new paradigm of the intuition to replace that worn (worn out?) by today's rationalists. This guy doesn't merely wrestle in defence of the faith, he wrestles to win! After capsulizing CSL's many joustings with materialism Markos points us forward with this delightful clip: "If a skeptic has already decided that miracles do not and cannot occur, then even if one should take place right in front of his nose, he would simply dismiss it as a coincidence, a natural anomaly, or, like Scrooge, as the result of 'an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato.'" His commanding ability to integrate what he has read, combined with his passion for reason in pursuit of truth, takes us on a joyride questing to be persuaded of his new paradigm. I'm on board.

Along the way he speaks eloquently about developing a desire to minister to devotees ['neopagans' -- a word he defines kindly] of the new age: "If we are to win back the neopagans, we need to rediscover our awe at the majesty of God and his Creation, an awe that has little to do with the modern warfare over worship styles and everything to do with that breathless sense of the numinous that we first encountered in the nursery when a timeless tale from mythology or folklore or legend ushered us into the world of faerie." And he even ventures to deconstruct heaven and hell: "Americans have the wrong understanding of heaven and hell. We think that life is like college and that if we get an 'A' we go to heaven, and if we get an 'F' we go to hell. Thus, to go to hell is to be a failure, a 'loser,' and no American can stand to be labeled as such. But the fact of the matter is there are two colleges: the College of Heaven and the College of Hell. If we enroll in the former, it means that what we truly desire is God and the things of God. And if that is our desire, Lewis asserts, we shall someday find it: 'No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it.' But if we enroll instead in the latter college, it is because we have chosen our own wills over that of God, because we have agreed to adopt as our motto that most American of phrases, 'looking out for number one.' I have met many pople who say they cannot believe in God because he sends people to hell. Invariably, though, as we speak further, it is soon revealed that this person does not like God and certainly does not wish to spend eternity with him. We can't have it both ways. Our souls are immmortal; they must go somewhere after we die: if not to God, then, by default, they must go to hell. For, as we already said above, hell is the only place in the universe where God is not. And yet, even in hell, God extends some mercy."

I will caution that Markos makes what I deem to be an occasional overstatement. Psalm 139:8 says if I make my bed in hell, God is there. And if I don't like Him, hell may be akin to being sat next to the Teacher's desk. But his concluding epilog had my ears hearing my lips pronounce a resounding 'YES'. Markos may not yet be worthy of wearing Lewis' mantle, but he is a reliable valet capable of carrying it, and the conversation across-the-centuries, onward.

Eric Chaffee, Alden NY

I did enjoy this book but I found Dr Markos' lecture series "The life and Writings of C.S. Lewis" to be much richer as it covered so much more ground and it was wonderful to hear the enthusiasm that Markos has for Lewis' body of work. The CD lectures are available here on Amazon and I highly recommend them.

I've read so many books on Lewis, many of them disappointing, that I'm always wary when I begin a new one. I picked up Lewis Agonistes because of the promise in its subtitle--that I would gain insights from Lewis' work on how to relate truth to the postmodern world. Almost every Lewis reader understands that the great British writer's incisive logic and imagination effectively sliced through modern thought, but perhaps few consider how he also addresses the postmodern error. Markos did not disappoint me. His book demonstrates a rich understanding of Lewis' body of work and does an insightful job of showing how it refutes both modern and postmodern thinking. It's a fine addition to anyone's Lewis Library. -- Thomas Williams, author of The Heart of the Chronicles of Narnia and Knowing Aslan.

I could say the book is terrific and it is. But better than terrific, the book is important. It is important in that everyone should read it. Physical Scientists...some of the best, say what we see, hear and touch are not really what we think they are. Ms. Lewis uses hundreds of quotes from nearly everyone most people respect throughout her book as her premise. Then she connects the dots between the quotes effectively, and for me, convincingly.

Here is one such quote in the book. Admittedly most are much shorter:

"Gradually philosophers and scientists arrived at the startling conclusion that since every object is simply the sum of its qualities, and since qualities exist only in the mind, the whole objective universe of matter and energy, atoms and stars does not exist except as a contruction of the consciousness, and edifice of conventional symbols shaped by the senses of man."
Lincoln Barnett, The Universe and Dr. Einstein

The message of the book presented with conviction is that thoughts are things and we need to watch what we think for the good of ourselves and mankind.

Ms. Lewis gets down to what is probably real, what is core, and that therefore makes an important book...better than merely a terrific book.

Can we extablish a category of 6 stars?

It dose not matter what walk of life you are from or where you plan to go with you "life". "Living In Grace" will Expand your world and give you the strenth and direction to live life at it's fullest! I feel so greatfull to be able to call Beca Lewis a true friend and advisor.
The book is beond compare so read it and read it more than once!
you will find you cant put it down!

I have always had an interest and curiousity about the spiritual side of life and finding the answer(s) to why we are all here. I have read many books in the "new-age" genre. Beca's book is a wonderful and uplifting guide on the subject of life and the truth of who we really are. For once, someone approaches life in a completely positive, loving and reassuring way. We are not told that the world is an awful and evil place, but quite the opposite, if we just shift the way we look at things. Everything we have ever needed is and always has been available to and provided for us. We have just been looking at things the wrong way. Beca clearly explains how to get back on track and gives the reader practical ways to return to our true Spiritual Path and how to easily stay there. I would recommend this book to anyone who is not afraid to change their life in a positive way once and for all.

Living In Grace: The Shift To Spiritual Perception by Beca Lewis is an impressively written and nicely organized self-help guide to achieving inner peace and wholeness through taking control of one's perceptions. Living In Grace features the "7 Keys to Grace" and the "8 Gracious Steps" for staying on the "Spiritual Path". Readers are informed on a range of abilities from experience love, knowing whom to trust, being happy, and knowing what to do, to feeling safe, avoiding unnecessary worry, and being comforted in adversity. Emphasizing the importance of putting God first and repenting of sins, as well as being aware of the necessity for balance in all relationships, Living In Grace is a profound, moving, constructive, "reader friendly" instructional guide to personal and spiritual self-improvement.

If you have ever asked: Why is life so unfair, so hard for me? Why do other people have all the luck? Why doesn't anybody love me? Why don't I know what to do? Then give yourself the gift of LIVING IN GRACE. It will change your mind, shift your perception & give you ideas that will change the rest of your life. No, it won't happen over night, like being touched by the Good Fairy's wand, because you do have to do the "work."

While a focus on Christianity does appear halfway through the book, it is not the Christianity of our childhood, & Beca Lewis' exercises & ideas actually transcend that exclusivity.

Beca Lewis has something to tell us, & it is memorable, sometimes scary, often useful - a look into how to transform the quality of our lives, to live the life we've always wanted to, in contentment, authenticity, & being present.

I group this book with Eric Newby's "Love and War in the Appenines" for unsentimental and direct views of the corrupting power of war that use Italy as examples. Liberation seems such a romantic idea that one can hardly resist it, and yet here we can easily read and understand that true liberation takes a lot more than military objectives and shouting in congress.

Lewis's eye was remarkable in one so young. I hope that both these books have found their way to the library at West Point. It is perhaps too much to ask that they should be read anywhere inside the beltway.

Can a foreign military "successfully" occupy another country? Where can we look for historical lessons to our clusterf**k in Iraq. What are our boys reading in West Point? Is there large scale prostitution and venereal disease..Are there markets openly selling stolen U.S. military items.. Where are ordinary Iraqi's getting $ to survive with their economy is shambles? Lots of questions.

Naples 44 is a beautifully crafted account of allied occupation in Naples. Norman Lewis describes, with his usual gentle irony, the unique lifestyle of Neapolitans and how they survive abject poverty.
He has an eye for the absurd whilst retaining his compassionate love of humanity.

When I was younger I knew an Italian-American veteran who spent time in Naples at roughly the time covered by this book. His stories while entertaining always seemed a bit exagerated to me. Now, after reading Norman Lewis' account of those days I owe my long departed friend an apology for having doubted him.
This is a remarkable account from a gifted observer. Lewis as a British intelligence officer assigned to the Area occupied by American forces immediately following the expulsion of the Germans was in a unique position to observe many aspects of the struggles and adaptations of the locals under these extraordianry conditions. The ingenuity and superstition of the Italian people is displayed from a point of view that is neutral in it's judgements while sparing the reader nothing of the darker side of the stuggle to survive at the same time.
As somone who has read extensively about WWII I was surprised this one got by me for so long. I stumbled on it while browsing Amazon and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the War ,Italy or just a good entertaining read.

Lewis left us with a fascinating account of this small but very human part of WWII. And gathered some very interesting details that otherwise would have been lost forever.