A truly gripping story which contains fully realized characters, not caricatures. As in real life, you get drama, heroism and romance without the melodrama. It is very refreshing and very rare to find a truly entertaining, intricate and well-written story which main drawback as far as I can see are the covers of the books themselves (the original US edition, which is the one I got).

They are clearly the reason why these books are nearly unknown in the science fiction field. I feel certain the author must have been furious. It makes it even more astonishing that I actually bought all three books as they came out years ago (and the suspense in between was pretty bad let me tell you), and is why I can recommend them highly, with the proviso that you really want to read them in order.

This is exactly the reason why we waste our time reading slush: in order to find books like these, if we are persistent enough! And the British edition has very decent covers (and could be easier to find as well, being more recent)

The three books comprising this series are all excellent, thoughtful and meaty. Well written, well fleshed out characters, and detailed settings make this a hard to put down read! I have all three books, and re-read them regularly.

I have owned several sets of this series over the years. I have never been able to keep them, once loaned out they never return. I will not be loaning them out again. I have been waiting a long time, searching used books stores to find them.

The story and charactors are well written. Too many books in this genre are lacking here. Get it, read it, love it!

"Extinction" is the story of Franz-Josef Murau, a wealthy Austrian gentleman living in Rome as a private tutor in German literature. His tastes run to the esoteric and philosophical, and his relationship with his student, Gambetti, is intellectually mutual. He has just returned to Rome from the wedding of his younger sister, Caecilia, to an "obese wine cork manufacturer," held at the family estate in Austria, called Wolfsegg. At the wedding were his parents, older brother Johannes, and his other younger sister, Amelia.

He receives a telegram in Rome: "Parents and Johannes killed in accident." For the first half of this 320-page book (each half being one unbroken paragraph!), he describes his life, and his narration becomes a deep reflection on his childhood and life to date. He delivers a marvelous psychological portrait of himself, as well as the family members who have just died, and his long-dead Uncle Georg, whom he remembers with great fondness. He hates his family deeply, and the feeling is mutual. He is a philosopher, they are down to earth. He is an aesthete, but they are simple folks. He is a scholar, but they are hunters and farmers, despite their fantastic wealth and their prosperous family estate. Only Uncle George understood him, artistic, free-spirited, and educated. Franz-Josef reflects passionately on his current situation, and tells us many stories of himself and his family.

For the second half of the book, he describes the funeral at Wolfsegg. Lacking parents and older siblings, he is now the master of the estate. His sisters look to him for leadership. He must now decide what to do with the estate. Will he move back to Wolfsegg in Austria, a land he loves, but an estate he hates? Will he pass it to his sisters and remain in Rome, a city he cherishes more than any other? Bernhard will stun the reader with the beauty of the resolution, but will do it in his own literary fashion.

During the story, we learn Franz-Josef disdains Catholicism and National Socialism (i.e., Nazism) in equal parts. His mother had been having an affair with a Catholic Archbishop in Rome, a relationship which was supposedly secret, but which all her children seem to know of. The Archbishop is a close family friend, and will certainly visit the estate for the funeral. His father had many Nazi friends, unbelievably still openly Nazi all these years after the war. He tells us of the fun times he enjoyed playing at his estate's Children's Villa, and how disappointed he was when it was shuttered. He vows to open and restore it when he is master. He tells us of the five libraries---five!---scattered about the estate, similarly shuttered up, collecting dust despite a half-dozen generations' worth of valuable books stored within. He tells us childhood stories of his parents, his brother, and his sister, all disdainful, and heaps contempt upon his brother-in-law, whose name he cannot even bring himself to utter, in generous proportions. At one point, he bathes in his father's bath, and wears some of his clothes. Is this a metaphor for his feelings? We learn that he blames his father only for being such a simple man, but hates his mother passionately, for dragging his father into the mud.

We struggle with the idea that this is an unreliable narrator, and we are only hearing one side of a two-sided story, but unlike Italo Svevo's masterpiece, "Confessions of Zeno", it is clear that despite this narrator's one-sided story, there is no reason to disbelieve him. He is as critical of himself as of others, and he demonstrates the pettiness and crudeness of his family in many different ways. We trust him, not only because he is self-critical, but because despite his self-confidence, he is not a fool. We also learn some untoward truths about his family, and a few hidden secrets, which cannot be dismissed, even from the most unreliable narrator. His angst comes from a simple sentiment, expressed early on: "I can't abolish my family just because I want to." He struggles to resolve the question of extinction: Must he extinguish himself to satisfy his family? Must his family be extinguished to satisfy himself?

Finally, after a rollicking narration of heartfelt emotions and deeply-help philosophies, Bernhard's narrator demonstrates how he chooses to reconcile his thoughts and feelings, his inheritance and his sisters, his legacy and his future, and all the elements demonstrated through the length of the novel braid together like a jewel. Bernhard's prose is difficult for those unfamiliar with experimental or cutting-edge literature, but actually not very difficult once one tries. Curious readers will greatly enjoy engaging their mind with this book. If they wish to sample a smaller work before digging into this one, Bernhard's "Yes" is another masterpiece of style and depth. Both are rewarding, brilliant works from a literary master.

There is great joy to be had from this wonderful book. Its first joy is its prose - sparkling in its clarity, musical, effortless - which carries one along on a journey through the thoughts and feelings of Viennese 48 year old Franz-Joseph Murau. Intellectual resident of Rome, alienated by choice from his Austrian family, friend to Archbishop Spadolini(who is also his mother's lover!), he receives a telegram that his father, mother and brother have died in a car accident making him at one stroke inheritor of the family's wealthy estate. He is now MASTER OF WOLFSEGG. The first half of the novel THE TELEGRAM concerns his recollections of childhood and relationships and events that shaped his life. Example: " At first we always tell ourselves that our parents naturally love us, but suddenly we realise that, equally naturally, they hate us for some reason - that is to say, we appear to them as I appeared to mine, as a child that didn't conform with their notion of what a child should be, a child that had gone wrong. They had not reckoned with my eyes which probably saw everything I was not meant to see when I opened them. First, I looked in DISBELIEF, as they say, when I stared at them, and finally, one day I SAW THROUGH THEM, and they never forgave me, could NOT forgive me.(p 76)" The second half of the novel THE WILL concerns his attendance at the estate where he oversees the funeral and greets and reflects upon the range of visitors paying their respects.

Example: "In ROME I often lay on my bed, unable to stop thinking of how our nation was guilty of thousands, tens of thousands, of such heinous crimes, yet remained silent about them. The fact that it keeps quiet about these thousands and tens of thousands of crimes is the greatest crime of all, I told my sisters. It's this silence that's so sinister, I said. It's that nation's silence that's so terrible, even more terrible than the crimes themselves.(p 231)" This bare outline of the two parts cannot prepare you, dear reader, for the experiences of this novel. It is as if one becomes privy as another Viennese Mr Freud did, to the real secrets of the heart of an individual, an individual nevertheless, shaped by the world in which he was born but determined to realise some truths about that world. WE are privy then to the feelings, equivocations, doubts, fears, guilt and searching. It is a revalatory experience, scaldingly honest, which provides one man's analysis of 20th Century Austrian culture, including National Socialism, the class system, religion, architecture, cuisine et al. Sometimes mocking, sometimes self excoriating, sometimes savagely funny, we travel with Mr Murau through his thoughts and feelings at this turning point in his history. In the end, Mr Murau makes a stunning act of redemption which concludes his statement and rounds off this wonderful work of literature on a joyous note. Please accompany, or perhaps follow,this novel with a large dose of HAYDN. Most modern novels pale into the ordinary compared to this work.

This was his latest novel to appear in English. It is masterfully constructed,elegantly disturbing and satisfyingly challenging.

I have an original 1958 copy of the Weekly Reader hardcover by Ormandroyd,from my childhood.I recently began reading it to my youngest child,who has never shown much interest in chapter books.Now he is relentlessly begging for just "One more chapter please".I am enjoying rereading what was one of my very favorite childhood books and am delighted that my son can't wait for me to read him the next chapter.After the first 3 chapters my son noticed the "In which the ..." beginning of each chapter title, and we started joking about it with me saying to him "In which it was time to turn off the light and go to sleep" I am curious whether Ed Ormondroyd was an Ornithologist in real life.I wish he had continued the series,I did and do love the book.

this wonderful little book has been tugging at the back of my mind for weeks now. Over 15 years ago, probably 20, as always scouring tag sales for books that would fit my youthful budget, I picked up a copy of this, possibly the original weekly reader release. The cover alone intrigued me. When I sat down to read it I was captivated... this book (and maybe my dad's love of Star Trek) probably began my love of sci-fi and fantasy... I knew there was a reason I keep hearing the part about when the newly born Phoenix brushes David across the forehead, which he feels "burning cooly" afterwards, in my mind... to come here and find out how many other people adore this book! Parents, this book is a must for your childs' collection... I would recommend it for adults, too - if for nothing else than to escape for a while back to our childhoods... now you must excuse me while I frantically look for my copy!!

I can't believe this book is still talked about! Like so many others who have reviewed it, I got this book in the 1950s (from the Weekly Reader Book Club) and it was one of my favorites. "The Pink Motel" and "Follow My Leader" also were from that period and they too seem to be alive and well, but now in paperback. I still have these three books and several others from the WRBC and the Young America Book Club that I treasure to this day.

I re-read "David and the Phoenix" about 3 years ago when I found it in a box of books packed away for ... what, posterity? The story is just as powerful now as it was then--perhaps more so. David's love for this mythical creature come to life is so strong, so pure! I cried like I did 40 years ago when...well, that would be telling.

But you know what I liked best about that book? I remember dreaming of flying like David on the back of the mighty Phoenix. Sigh....

Like most classic novels, "In Praise of Older Women" is a simple and wise book. I consider my life meaningfully enriched by having read it. (And how many books can you say that about?) I can understand why the author (to whom I give my thanks) pursued the dubious expedient of personally promoting it here. It cries to be read! But I fear that its European sanity with regards to the eternal dance between men and women will always be a foreign tongue to American readers, saddled as we are with the sexual neuroses of our Purtian founders. What Vizinczey has learned about women, and which he has graciously shared with us, is not feminist and it is not politically correct. It is simply true. People who value doctrinal conformity over thoughtful perception had better stick to Oprah-approved novels instead. Those seeking to understand our human nature a little better before it is lost to the grave are well-advised to start here.

This is the author. I think those who like my work may be pleased to learn that the French edition of the novel, which was published a month ago along with my Truth and Lies in Literature, is already in its 3rd printing and has received favourable reviews. The 5 stars is a summary of the review of the French edition of In Praise of Older Women in the 25 May 2001 issue of LE MONDE. Here is a translation of some extracts: "... For eight years, living from hand to mouth, Vizinczey learned to become a writer in a language of exile. At the end of his apprenticeship, he published a masterpiece, In Praise of Older Women... At the price of discouraging some readers who are fond of sexual spectacles and amorous gymnastics, it has to be said that the novel, far from being about fantasies and neuroses, seeks, like all great novels, to teach those who read it the truth about life. It is a novel of apprenticeship which would be a good thing to offer to young people of both sexes as soon as they approach the enchanted and agonizing shores of sexuality... ... Faced with the youth cult and the barriers between age-classes which bear down on modern societies, where each generation seems to belong to a different period of history, Vajda-Vizinczey "having been lucky enough to grow up in what was still an integrated society", wishes to help to bring about a better understanding of "the truth that men and women have a great deal in common even if they were born years apart". Vajda begins from a simple observation: when adolescent boys and girls, knowing nothing about life and the other sex, want to begin lovemaking, they do it so clumsily, with so many fears, anxieties, preconceived notions and models furnished by bad books that what ought to be a pleasure turns into a struggle. And often for a whole lifetime. After several catastrophic experiences with teenage girls, Vajda, who refuses to look on women as his enemies, decides to rid himself of his sexual illiteracy by learning from those who know: older women. In his peregrinations he not only discovers simple and cheerful enjoyment, sexuality without anguish, free of guilt, sin and acrobatics, he learns the warmth, tenderness, delicacy and complexity of human relations - the voice of the other - the wearing away of time, understanding, habit and how to get around it - the errors, the shames, the joys... The irony, the lightness, the profundity, the naturalness and exactitude of the novelist are found again intact in the texts of the critic... András Vajda reads women the way that Vizinczey makes love with books: with the same desire to understand through pleasure, the same opening up of the mind and the heart, the same freedom, the same lucidity and passion for truth and beauty. You would lose something if you read only one of these books without the other... Vizinczey's intelligence is so bracing, so contagious, that reading his books plunges you into a bath of joy for at least a week."

I have just read In Praise of Older Women for the second time. Many reviewers have drawn attention to the wisdom contained in this little book, which slyly presents itself as a breviary for young men without lovers. I am reluctant to insist on its status as "an erotic classic," for fear that to do so would confine it to a very narrow context. Indeed, the erotic scenes do not constitute the heart and soul of the story, nor do they even take up very much room. Rather, the book brings some very subtle psychological observations to bear on human relationships. Note, for example, the analysis of the "rapport des forces" between the older women and the younger hero. Zsuzsa, a "small, colourless woman," struggles to overcome her pride. Her coyness turns to compliance only when Vajda snaps at her, showing his passion (one recalls a scene in The Red and the Black: playing for somewhat higher stakes that Vajda, Julien tears a sword from the wall, imprudently displaying his passion before Mathilde, who briefly sees that he loves her). Other women aim stinging remarks at the young man only to succumb to his advances; or else they are guarded and surly the morning after, suspicious (and, in many case, rightly so) of the young Don Juan's motives. In another case, it is Vajda who is prideful. In his efforts to keep up with an energetic violinist whose relentless athletic pursuits and strange sleeping habits he takes as a challenge, the poor Casanova wears himself down to the bone. Vajda also writes of the anonymous onanists, versions of Dostoevsky's "underground man," who keep to themselves and satiate their erotic cravings in solitude. These misanthropes belong to the category of men who have not opened themselves up to women, who want to seduce and dominate the opposite sex, unlike Vajda, who looks on women as "accomplices." The book is a very strong and subtle critique of pride. When I think back on its contents, I remember not only the pleasant watercolors of Hungary and Rome, the descriptions of bodies and faces, and the maxims worthy of La Rochefoucauld ("Whatever is sanctioned by society as a principal good also becomes a moral imperative"), but also the wry humor that examines human interaction with sympathy and insight. While desire plays a large role in the recollections of the hero, the extent to which the author soars above his past is quite remarkable. To be invited to partake of his calm gaze is a pleasure worth repeating. One can read this book again without tiring of it.

The book was very well received in France. "Un bain de bonheur" was how one reviewer described it. How to account for its popularity in Europe (the book has been a best-seller in Spain and elsewhere I believe)? It is true that eroticism has been raised to the level of a value in France, which deploys its Catholic moeurs like scud missiles against a monolithic (and not wholly imaginary) American puritanism. Ideology aside, the fact remains that France knows how to appreciate good literature.

I see that the author himself has posted a review translated from the French. Good for him. America should know about the European point of view.

I found this book quite good... but with my favorite book of all time being Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman and my favorite character being Joanna (in this book Joan) I was not pleased with the way the author made her look like she disliked her daughter. I know it was just a story and stuff but I can't help but defend Joanna.

Everyone should read this book AND Here Be Dragons (which follows Joanna and Llewellyn's life together)

I just wanted to write and say how very much I enjoyed this book. This book was so well written, the characters so real (some of them are fictional, some are actual historical figures) that I could really envision all of the things that were going on. Child of the Phoenix is about one of the daughters of Llywellyn ap Iowerth of Wales, Elyene, who through a series of marriages becomes a prominent figure of the court of Robert de Bruce (of Braveheart fame). Elyene is a strong, intelligent woman who through looking through the fire, is able to see into the future and sometimes the past. Unfortunately she is unable to tell when these visions are occuring so more often than not they cause her great sorrow as she is unable to warn people of things to come. In this book we meet some of the most fascinating characters in English history, including Edward I, and II, Robert de Bruce and (my favorite) Llywellyn. It was a huge disappointment to reach the end of the book, but luckily I have two more of Ms. Erskine's books to tide me by. As a teacher who specializes in the history of England, Scotland and Wales, this book was a definate treat.

Okay, so Wales isn't that far off from me, but it is a book which sweeps you away. The historical detail is so accurate that you know Barbara Erskine has done her research, but it doesn't detract from the story.

Everything flows so well, that it is easy to imagine the time and place. I really grew to like Eleyna and I was sorry to see the story end. It's one to read again and would make a great present for people who like historical romance.

Reveiwed by Annette Gisby, author of Silent Screams.

... WOW! ... If, after having read this book, you do NOT seriously reconsider WHERE you are living in relation to the surrounding circumstances of your immediate environment, if you do NOT reconsider the WAY you have been relating to that environment as well as to your fellow human beings and all of the other creatures who share that environment with you, and if you do NOT reconsider your goals and means to those goals as far as whether they are in HARMONY with both Nature as well as Spiritual Laws, then - if what this book prophesizes is true - you may be in BIG TROUBLE in the coming years ahead. ... This is no joke!

... This book picks up where SPIRIT SONG left off. It fills in more detail into the teleological understanding of End-Times prophecies from the Native American perspective of No-Eyes - the wise, old, blind teacher of Mary Summer Rain. If you liked SPIRIT SONG, you are going to LOVE this second book in the series, Phoenix Rising. It leaves no stone uncovered.

... Mary Summer Rain writes, on page 48: "As we listened to the nonstop chatter of the scampering squirrels, each of us was lost in our private musings. I wondered at the great number of unaware people I saw around me every day. Didn't they realize that there were great things in the offing? I saw no physical evidence of preparation, physical or spiritual. Oh, I knew of separate groups of mountain folks who believed and were taking every opportunity to physically prepare for the bleak future, but, on the whole, everyone appeared to be obsessed with worry over the most trivial matters. I found this incredibly difficult to accept. The general unawareness of the masses made them look like mindless robots living out their individual lives with blinders on. I thought about the times when I'd overheard people idly comment on the strange occurrences of this or that, yet nobody was ever aware enough to connect the strange occurrences together. Nobody bothered to fit the puzzle pieces of the signs together. Nobody was aware enough to see the entire picture for what it represented."

... Funny, how blind prophets - Native American or otherwise - seem to have more insightful vision than people with normal sight do! We can thank No-Eyes for sharing her visions and wisdom with Mary Summer Rain, and we can thank Mary Summer Rain for sharing them all with us. She has presented us with all of the connected pieces of the entire picture of the prophetic puzzle! Whether your eschatological beliefs are pre-Millennial or post-Millennial, embrace the faith in a Rapture, or even simply cling to the stand that you will one day die, be judged, and hopefully go to a place called Heaven, it doesn't matter - ALL of these prophecies may take place and come true BEFORE any of those final, Biblical, tribulation time events of the Apocalypse ever take place. If this is, indeed, the truth, then Mary Summer Rain has done us all a great service - and we are very grateful to her, and thank her with all our hearts. ... YOWZA! - The Aeolian Kid

This book foretold of all the changes that are now happening. The Phoenix is preparing to rip forth from Mother Earth and bring with it a new time, new hope, new life when all the races will unite. In scary times this book brought about a new sense of peace and hope within me, as well as signs to watch for. Some of the things foretold that one can consider that happened: Chernobyl, and the events of 9-11-01. BUY THIS BOOK, Check it out from you library. This is a must have. I am buying it for all of my friends.

This book will have you quivering at the thought of destruction of life as we know it. Every religion believes that changes are to come, and No-Eyes' visions piece everything together. Read it and cry at the joyous life on earth that is to come.

This is another fine example of Kathryn Reiss's writing. I think it was a great book. I read atleast 4 times because I loved it so much. I really hope Kathryn Reiss becomes well-known. She has a great imagination and sense of literature. This classic tale about a pheonix rising from the ashes is a great story for young and older people to enjoy. I'd give it 10 stars if I could.

This book is the best one I have ever read. I would recommend it anyday. The author, Kathryn Reiss is my favorite and if you read some of her books maybe you will think of them the same way. I would rate this book a 10+!

This was a GREAT book! I loved it! Reiss did a wonderful job unfolding her story about Abby, a young puritan girl unable to move on to the next world, trapped by her own reluctance. Her only hope is almost 300 years later when Miranda discovers her secret and tries to help, but not until the two learn to get along after Miranda's parents decide to take Abby in. A very inticing story and definitely worth reading! I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

Speer is an intriguing personage in the Nazi hierarchy: was he really the only "good Nazi", as he was called, or merely a master manipulator? I read his "Inside the Third Reich" many years ago and found him to be unafraid of his history in Hitler's cabinet. Although "Inside" was published before "Spandau", the diaries had to be written before he could write "Inside". Speer struggles mightily trying to comprehend his role in Hitler's agenda and subsequent responsibility for its actions. This alone is interest enough, however, Speer's anecdotes about life with his fellow inmates, first at Nuremburg, then at Spandau, give a different view of such historical figures as Goring and Donitz. Speer even manages to humanize the odd and remote Rudolph Hess. Alone of the men convicted at Nuremburg, Speer sought and accepted personal accountability. His writing provides a deeply introspective view of how ordinary men are caught up in extraordinary circumstances. That he sought to understand this in himself was his redemption. The casual reader will enjoy the book for its human insights, however, some passing familiarity with WWII, Hitler, and European politics will add depth to the reader's experience. Speer may have longed for an abiding fame as an architect, but I believe he has built something much more lasting and significant with this work than he could have imagined.

This is an excellent book which gives a brilliant account of the day to day life of the Nuremburg men at Spandau. While Albert Speer's thoughts on the 'Third Reich' are interesting, I much prefer his diary entries which incidentally cover his time spent at Nuremburg too. Some entries are only one or two lines long but they make a very sensitive and moving account of himself. I loved reading about the various dreams he had in Spandau (some of which were very vivid) the attitude to him of the other prisoners are interesting too. Referrences to Rudolf Hess make fascinating reading but for a full picture of Hess I suggest that reliable back up information of a sympathetic nature be read as well such as the book by one time Spandau Director Colonel Eugene Bird (The Lonliest Man In The World) now sadly out of print but worth seeking second hand through the internet. Albert Speer could not have known that Rudolf Hess was genuinely ill with an undetected stomach ulcer when he wrote how Hess complained so much of being in pain. The reality of Hess's very real illness was only discovered after Speer had been released from Spandau. The book also highlights the sometimes harsh treatment meted out to Rudolf Hess. The diary entries show a sensitive and intelligent man who wondered how he was going to get through his 20 year sentence. It is an extremely human and moving account and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the Third Reich and in particular anyone who is seeking to know what the men at Spandau were really like and who are willing to put any pre-conceived prejudices they may have or have heard about Nazi's aside.

A brilliant read!

Louise Brown

Albert Speer was for some strange reason a very extraordinary character.
First of all he was the Third Reich's Architect, and one of Hitler's closest friends and during the last years of WWII he was also Minister for arms and munitions. At the "Nuremberg Judgement" he was sentenced to 20 years in Prison.

In his "Secret Diaries", Speer tries to make clear, how a well educated intellectual like him could have been caught by such a totalitarian system and got mesmerized by it. His entries are primarily his way of coming to terms with his past.
Describing several key elements from his time in office, Speer tries to find out how much his character has been influenced and far he has been manipulated.
Speer gets sentimental from time to time, but he tries to remain objective and level-headed and never falls into self-pity or lachrymose and most important, Speer sees and accepts himself as the war criminal he was.

From a historical point of view, Speer's portraying of his fellow prisoners (Hess, Doenitz, Neurath, Raeder and von Schirach) are those of great significance and fascinating to read, and his portaying of Adolf Hitler is surely one of the most precise and immediate analyse of the dictator's nature.

Of course I'm not sure how much these diaries were subsequently altered and/or changed, and it's possible that they were ! One must always keep that in mind ! But in terms of history these diaries are very valuable and of great importance.

The notable German writer Carl Zuckmayer once said about Speer's diaries: "A great book in some respects: In the human attitude of the convict, in the firmness of his discipline and in the unusual way of his expression which is both thoughtful and sincere."

"The Secret Diaries" is a controversial but utterly important book and a must read for everyone who is interested in history, and in addition to that, Speer's book is also a gripping study in existentialism.

On the advice of a good bookseller, of the kind that has now practically disappeared, I read An Innocent Millionaire quite some time ago. Through that novel I discovered Stephen Vizinczey. The quality of the book inevitably led me to read all his other work, including his essays, which are models of clairvoyance.

I acquired the habit of reading some decades ago, and that habit not only taught me to distinguish the good literature from the bad, but also to appreciate it as a source of knowledge, rather than only of entertainment.

The novel that I am referring to is a veritable fountain of knowledge. It is ideal for those who do not know the USA (or the world), and even more so for those Americans who wish to comprehend their country. Although the future of a work of art is not predictable, this may well be one of those novels that, in a hundred years, will be read to learn of a culture and of a civilization.

But I am not writing these lines to praise An Innocent Millionaire. Its caliber has already been recognized by people such as Graham Greene and Anthony Burgess. And the critics have unanimously (or almost) rated it as one of the books of the century.

I am writing to identify a significant error that I have found in some critiques. In many of these, the book has been categorized as an "adventure novel." Due to the current understanding of the meaning of the word "adventure" this is totally misleading.

The first (and perhaps the best ever) adventure novel from the Western Hemisphere, from which all subsequent novels originated, was Adventures of the Ingenious Knight Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605), by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. The fact is that the word "adventure", from Latin adventurus or advenire, simply meant 'things about to happen'. Today, unfortunately, it is associated with the leaps and bounds of James Bond or Indiana Jones.

I do not believe that there is a single novel (including those written in the past tense) in which there are not 'things about to happen'. Even the epic poems of Homer could be considered adventure novels. Especially The Odyssey, a work that was transformed, in the cinematographic version with Kirk Douglas, into what is today considered an "adventure".

I condemn those critiques that lightly pigeonhole works of art. An Innocent Millionaire is a book full of ideas and concepts, with brilliant dialogues that are not only meant to sustain actions. Perhaps this is the reason that MGM is taking so long to make the film. If the novel is not well understood, there is a distinct risk of transforming a contemporary epic poem written in prose (I prefer this classification for An Innocent Millionaire), into a banal adventure.

Pablo Urbanyi

Every once in a great while- if you are lucky- you enounter a book or a writer so special that you cannot help but buttonhole everyone you meet in an effort to share the good news with them. Thanks to the miracles of cyberspace, I can now buttonhole strangers all over the world and let them know via this forum what a wonderful writer Stephen Vizinczey is and how I feel it has enriched my life. An Innocent Millionaire is not just Vizinzcey's best novel it is, at least in my opinion, the greatest novel of the 20th century. I re- read it regularly and find new depths of meaning and insight in it each time. Also, like a missionary, I do my best to get others to read it as well. In the little over four years since I discovered the novel myself, I have bought at least one additional copy of the book every month to pass along to someone I feel would appreciate it. Again, like a missionary, I cannot claim to have had a 100% success rate. But I have found no one who merely "likes" the book; the ones who enjoy itlove it passionately and, as I, begin anxiously seeking out Vizinczey's other works. The novel certainly had that sort of almost intoxicating effect on me; after I first finished AIM I became desperate to get a copy of Truth and Lies in Literature. In those pre- Amazon days, my local distributor couldn't get a copy and jokingly suggested I try driving to the University of Chicago and try my luck there. With only the slightest hesitation, I did in fact make that five hour drive for that book and never regretted it. Vizinczey's work is so special and so mentally invigorating that it is easily worth such effort. Though Iunhesitatingly call, An Innocent Millionaire Vizinczey's greatest work, Truth and Lies in Literature is another favorite of mine. It is a collection of marvelous essays about literature.What a feast! . And, at the time in my life when I read this book, I desparately needed such an injection of passion. I was an undergraduate literature major . And, at the time in my life when I read this book, I desparately needed such an injection of passion. I was an undergraduate literature major and my teachers were doing an outstanding job only of sucking all the pleasure out of every book we read- making me forget why literature had ever mattered to me. But his essays helped refresh my memory- and it is another title I regularly re read. I really do not know how to say this but I truly feel as if I have learned quite a bit about the world from Vizinczey'swork and for that I shall always be profoundly grateful.

In difficult times we like to turn to books, especially to novels. But it would be a mistake to think that only light and syrupy stories bring us relief. On the contrary, we need the company of authors who, thanks to their perceptiveness and creative vigor, describe the world as it is, without false embellishment. We sense that these writers are able to face the worst of all possible worlds because they keep alive in themselves the promise of peace and goodness. For this reason we are moved by their vision.

Vizinczey's Innocent Millionaire brings us such a subtle solace. The novel is an enthralling roller-coaster of fortunes and passions, full of striking dialogues. It even manages to say something new about the birth of love. Marianne, the heroine of an ultimately tragic love affair, is one of the most lovable woman I have ever encountered in fiction, surpassing even the desirable and generous ladies of the author's previous masterpiece In Praise of Older Women. But this is a very different novel. Here the author weaves a tragic love relationship into the story of a fraud, showing how small and ridiculous are all those stupid and greedy people who make our life miserable or dull. If you are satisfied with the world as it is and approve its values, you will scorn this book. But for the dissatisfied reader, it is a rare treat and a unique source of comfort.

I bought this book because it was supposed to be one of the 100 greatest adventure books of all time. While it does have narrow escapes and Mary Kingsley was very brave, there is too much discussion of "the African mind". I found the constant reference to the superiority of the European colonists very offputting. Of course it was written in the 1890's!

Although some of her comments about "the African Mind" and her belief in the unassailable superiority of Europeans is off-putting, she was otherwise a fine writer and this book is a considerable pleasure to read. Highly recommended.

Single and independent, with a small allowance after the death of her parents, Mary Kingsley decides to explore Africa. She sets off to the Congo, with no entourage nor special clothing and with no knowledge of the local lingo, knowing that this area was renowned for cannibals. Considering that Richard Burton set off to find the centre of Africa with an entourage of 600 bearers puts Ms.Kingsley's trip into perspective.
This is not just a wishful fantasy, she has an agenda to research the fetish cults of the natives and collect animal specimens, as well as fulfil the wanderlust that she had bottled up while looking after her parents.
She takes everything in her stride, beating off crocodiles - 'he was only a pushing young creature', wading through fetid swamps, falling into a staked animal trap and attributing her salvation to the benefits of a good thick woollen skirt!
She has a wonderful way with words; that dry, laconic humour that starts one into fits of giggling; the page-long description of 'Hubbards' sent out by well-meaning, misguided women in Europe for the use of the natives is absolutely wonderful.
She has excellent communication skills, getting what she wants from any native by offering him exactly what he wants - tobacco (reminding us of Xabicheh in 'Dead Man') - and if he doesn't want that, then he must need a hairpin to clean out his pipe!
I am awed by the determination, bravery, guts and chutzpah of this young woman; even more awed by her writing skills - which are definitely not in the Victorian mold, would that there were more of her books than the two she wrote (the other is 'West African Studies'), sadly this was not to be, as she died of typhoid in Capetown in 1900.
A book to savour - highly recommended! *****