I borrowed the book from the local library and after reading the first few pages, I knew I was going throught the same stuff as the main charactor. I proceeded to bye the book from Amazon.com's Marketplace and am very happy with their service. But through that transaction, I realised that the book is still being printed in London by the publisher Faber and Faber. So you can still get a new copy...Good Luck!

I picked up this book from a Greek Store in Astoria, NY since it was not avilable here at Amazon. This is not a book which can be red by all us materialistic humans of today. I spent many sleepless nights thinking on how to approach " ftoxia" or poorness and how to hamble myself without humilition.

An incredible book; do not read it if you do not fasten your seatbelt. It will move you.

I have to agree with previous reviewers it is a shame that this wonderful book is out of print. I first read this book about 6 years ago. I picked it up on impulse at a library, having already had a slight interest in St. Francis. I don't consider myself terribly religious but this book touched me like no other. I found myself crying throughout the book, not from sadness, but with the total unconditional love/agape that Francis felt for all beings. It left me feeling this way for a whole month afterwards. All of this aside this is a great book. Told from a very human viewpoint: 'Brother Leo' a wandering beggar who befriends Francis before his transformation from rich young man to saint.

If you want a better understanding of David Hockney buy this book. It is a wonderful display of illustrations and information of a great British artist.

"David Hockney: Paintings" is well written and organized to foster a greater understanding of how Hockney evolves over the course of his career. Moreover, you will be impressed by the outstanding quality of the the black & white and color illustrations.

Authors Paul Melia and Ulrich Luckhardt provide the reader an excellent insight to the artistic thoughts of David Hockney. It also studies and explains the tremendous global popularity of the artist. This is a great book to have in the house.

Being a tremendous fan of Hockney's work, I was delighted to find this beautiful and informative book.

I liked the chronological organization as the book traced the artist's development over the years. I always find this such an interesting perspective, seeing how an artist's vision changes and evolves. And I also liked the way that the relationship between Hockney's life and his art is explored.

The illustrations were grand too!

A worthwhile book and a good study of Hockney, his life, and his works.

I was more than pleasantly surprised by the extremely high quality of the reproductions. The book is split up in six chapters covering the main artistic phases in Hockney's live and giving a lot of information about his paintings.
I find it extremely interesting not just to see Hockney's work but also to read the details on the creative process leading up to the finished painting. A wonderful book!

Nikos Kazantzakis is one of the most under appreciated authors of the 20th century. The fact that this book, arguably his greatest work, is out of print is a prime example of that fact. Many readers have come to the mistaken conclusion that this book is primarily about the Greek, more specifically Cretan, struggle for freedom from Ottoman rule. The subject of this book is far greater. This book is truly about man's struggle for freedom from his own shortcomings. Some may even argue that Kazantzakis is seeking not only to define his own struggle, but also to understand his father. Captain Mihalis (The primary character in the books) is patterned after the author's own father.

I've had the opportunity to read this edition, and Greek editions of this book numerous times over the years, and have never grown tired of this book. I've come away with something new after each reading. I typically find myself conserving pages (reading slower) towards the end of this book because I don't want it to end. This is one of those books that will haunt you after you've read it.

In the island of Crete the Teacher was born. In the island of Crete where his people remained under Turkish occupation for more than two centuries. Is there a diamond in the greek history which cannot be linked to Crete? Incredulous one might remain to extreme stories described-imagined by Kazantzakis, but then let this "Thomas" read into the history of the Cretans, their constant revolts against Othoman occupation, their "aposyrsis" to the mountains where their life displayed the attrocious but noble feature of Freedom. Was/is it really the Turks? No, Kapetan Michalis was not the man to enjoy peace, war and fighting were his nature, there abolished he the tornment of having been given life. Kazantzakis shares: I asked my mother, "How was my grandfather?" "Like your father only darker." "What did he do? " "He fought." "And where there was no war?" "He smoked his pipe and looked at the mountains."

It is the nature of man, the nature of the warrior who restrained from life, restrained because life he has been given , choses he to continue by fighting... It is in this isolation of the self, in this denial of peace that man reaches the crest of alienation, the crest of silent freedom, Death...

This book is incredible. It is an accurate portrayal of Greeks because it was written by a Greek. "Freedom or Death" is too good to be out of print. This is one of Kazantzakis' best novels, even better than "Zorba." It needs to be put back into print, by gum!

A magnificent insight of pre-World War II Japan and China by the hands of the most represantive of Greek soul of all writers.

The book proved invaluable in researching my new novel set in China as a sequel to THE SHANGHAI MURDERS. It was glorious to hear Kazantzakis's words on places that I have seen and his insights, as is true in his great fiction, are devistating in their accuracy. A book that all travel writers should read. A great treat.

This was a wonderful story. You feel as though you are walking with them on this journey. Bill is an amazing guy. How do you say thank you to someone who has given such a service to our Country? In this time, when we are in conflict with so many nations, and feel as though we are alone, it is important to remember our Heros who made sure we have the freedom that we do today. Thank you, Bill and thank you for this book!

The Last Mission: The Incredible Story of William Kollar, speaks about those on the front lines. It also talks about how life events can shape a person into someone who could be called-- a survivor.

That is what I liked about this book. It is not only the story of war, both the glory and the tragedy. It is not only about this man finding the love of his life and marrying her. It is about this man as a child growing up in Michigan and about how his difficult childhood prepared him to survive an extraordinary situation. It is about a sense of duty and doing what you think is right out of love, love for your country.

I feel this book is very timely due to current events, and was written in a way that is very easy and enjoyable to read. It flows very quickly, is very descriptive, and has the ability to move the reader. It is very easy to "be there" climbing mountains, and avoiding enemy soldiers. I found myself at times ducking to avoid enemy fire or laughing at the crazy antics which occured.

I read some of it to my 9-year-old son and he was on the edge of his seat begging me to tell him what happened next.

I highly recommend this book, not only for its historical value, but for the empowering emotional journey it takes the reader on.

I read this book a year ago while on Spring break with my husband and two little daughters. It completely took me away and put me on a higher spiritual level that lasted a long time. Kazantzakis somehow captured the essence of what St. Francis was all about...St. Francis was a man who truly tried to do what Jesus said to do, sell everything you have, give it to the poor, pick up His cross daily and follow Him. The feeling I get when I read the book was one of actually being with St. Francis and understanding why so many followed him and liked him. I am in the middle of reading it again (another Spring break!), and I see why I loved it so much the first time. It's a great novel, even if you aren't a Christian, because the characters and the writing are so good, but being a Christian adds a spiritual level that makes me want to read this book over and over, even though I think I am so far from where St. Francis was! It makes one think about what Jesus really said and what it would be like to TRULY do what He said! I highly recommend it.

Saint Francis is a passionate and highly personal vision of the life of Francis of Assisi, the poor man of God, by the late Nikos Kazantzakis, author of The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel (1958), The Last Temptation of Christ (1960), Zorba the Greek (1953), The Greek Passion (1954) and Freedom or Death (1956). (Note: dates are those of the first American editions.)

Nikos Kazantzakis' books transcend the usual limitations of the novel: they go beyond the mere telling of an exciting story and enter the sublime world of the spirit. Their themes are powerful and heroic, for above all they are concerned with the struggle between good and evil in man's soul, and with the ability of ordinary men, at all times in history, to leave behind their daily occupations and their pleasures and to dedicate themselves to a noble ideal, often at the cost of their lives.

In Freedom or Death, Kazantzakis wrote of the mortal combat between Greek and Turk on his native island of Crete; in the The Last Temptation of Christ, he wrote of the Saviour's spiritual passion and agony as He prepares His own martyrdom. In Saint Francis, Kazantzakis has re-created the story of Christianity's best-known, most human, and most beloved saint -- Francis of Assisi.

It is a historical novel, and the reader will grasp in it all the miseries and glory of medieval Italy. But Kazantzakis has not limited himself to the retelling of this well-known story. He has tried to show us Saint Francis as a person, tempted by the life that is offered to him and the comforts of his home, but driven by his own restless spirit to rise above the level of his fellow men and to assert his belief in goodness and submission. Kazantzakis' Francis is not the calm and undisturbed saint of legend, preaching to the animals. His is a man, tempted, weary, but searching for spiritual peace in a world of evil and war.

Kazantzakis has made his narrator, Saint Francis' companion, a cheerful monk, happy with wine and good food, weak in the ways of the flesh, but faithful to the master he cannot fully understand. Through his eyes we see the endless strife between the flesh and the spirit, the bitter wanderings over Europe and the Holy Land, the struggle against complacent and entrenched men in the Church that finally led to the founding of the Franciscan order.

This is the story of Saint Francis as only Nikos Kazantzakis could tell it.

It is a book that cannot fail to move everyone who reads it.

I was delighted to come across Gatsos book while perusing the bookshelves of the University of Arizona. But why are the best poets like Gatsos rarely found on the bookshelves of stores? Who knows, and I suppose it will always be that way. Notwithstanding, Gatsos proved a real treasure of intoxicating verse. He is right up there with the best of the modern Greek poets: Seferis, Eyltis, Tsatsos, Kindinis, Ritsos. For a truely enjoyable alternative to the Beats and the New York school, try Gatsos and his kin.

This superb tome is meant to be read as part metaphor, part autobiography, and part myth. A truly glorious and inspirational work. Here, fellow readers, is the essence of the book: "Rise up, brothers! Join the struggle of life! Have no fear! Yes, all is vanity, but by boldly confronting the Abyss and experiencing each day anew, we can overcome the pettiness and sheepishness of the Age! Stand and fight! Though life is but a finite struggle, do not despair! Live life to its fullest! By doing so, each one of us may existentially triumph over our own mortality." Remember what is written on Kazantzakis' tombstone in Crete: "I want nothing, I fear nothing. I am free!"

As I was reading this book I could not help but notice that there are some interesting recuring motifs and themes. The theme and motif of a crowd just shouts at you in this book. You can see it in Kazantzakis' favorite symbols rain, oceans,fire etc. He also mentions his ancestors in himself and carrying on thru in progeny. If you want to get the most out of this book read it along side of Canetti's Crowds and Power.

To make the most of this occasionally confusing spiritual journey, one ought to pay close attention to the introduction by Helen Kazantzakis, Kazantzakis' wife of 33 years. She tells us that, with the exception of the first chapter, REPORT TO GRECO was still in first draft form when Kazantzakis died, and that "If he had been able to rewrite this Report, he would have changed it. Exactly how, we cannot know." It is a "mixture of fact and fiction." And, finally that, if he had lived long enough, "he would have poured it . . . . into the mold of reality."

She also states that his times (i.e. the sequence of events as he relates them) are wrong. In fact, if you read a bibliography of his works, you will find that both "Zorba" and "The Odyssey, a Modern Sequel." were written much earlier in his life than one would infer from what Kazantzakis has written in this book.

Whatever it is, REPORT TO GRECO is not an autobiography. If this is the case, what then, is it? I believe it to be the story of one man's lifelong search for his own raison d'etre. For many years he didn't seem to be consciously aware of his own motivation.

His quest led him first to the Christian Saints and Christ; then to his teacher, the French philosopher Henri Bergson; then to the philosophic teachings of Nietzsche; then to Buddha and Lenin; and finally to the Odysseus within himself. Dominating all of these was his own Cretan soul. Each time he moved from one philosophy or set of teachings to the next, he thought that the new one was the answer he sought, and that he was discarding the old. What he finally came to realize was that, all along, he had been building, not rejecting. The culmination of this search came with his sequel to Homer's "Odyssey."

Kazantzakis was a child of Crete, and it was to Crete that he always returned for rejuvenation. It was also the spirit of Crete and his Cretan forebears that infused all his works. According to him, his works went through a sort of internal germination period, and only when THEY were ready to be written could he begin to write. This was particularly so when he wrote "Zorba, the Greek." Zorba was a real person who, in the three months that Kazantzakis and Zorba spent together, had taught Kazantzakis "how to live and how to love life." Kazantzakis says that after he heard that Zorba had died,it took months before the story of Zorba allowed itself to be written,

I would love to have been able to experience Crete with the eyes and soul of Kazantzakis. Whin I visited the site of Knossos, I saw archeological ruins and reconstructions, mosaics and frescoes, pots and statuary, ancient cart roads, what may or may not have been part of the famous labyrinth, and the religiously symbolic double axe. I'm afraid, though, that I only saw them as objects. When Kazantzakis would visit Knossos, which he frequently did throughout his life, he would feel its mystery. As an example, in a fresco of a flying fish (dolphin?), he sensed both the evolutionary urge inherent in lower animal orders, and a possible source of man's desire to always ascend. Had I read REPORT TO GRECO before my visit to Crete, perhaps I, too, might have been prepared to see and feel that which lay beneath the surface. Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps one must be a true son of Crete to share this sort of experience with Kazantzakis.

From the many conclusions that Kazantzakis was able to draw from his life-long search, I'd like to quote just a few.

On death: "It is true that we cannot conquer death. We can however conquer the fear of death."

On freedom: ". . . . The man who either hopes for heaven or fears hell cannot be free."

On love: "Perfect love exists between two people only when each addresses the other with 'O myself'"

As one might expect, Kazantzakis expands on these themes which are but a few among many. There is much food for thought in this book.

It is also my opinion that Kazantzakis never lost his way, although many critics seem to think he did. Somewhere in the book he states that he took a path similar to that of a boat tacking into the wind, tacking first to the right, then to the left, but always gaining on his objective.

He must have done something right in the way he lived his life, because his only true regret when he knew that he was dying was that he didn't have time to complete his planned projects. "Oh for a little time, just enough to let me finish my work. Afterwards let Charon come." A little time to finish and then on to his maker.

I feel that neither I, nor any reviewer for that matter can do REPORT TO GRECO justice. It would take the soul of a born and bred Cretan to begin to do so. There's so much here to be read, contemplated, and absorbed that only a cover to cover reading can begin to reveal its magic.

A long, long time ago, I read this book and it changed the way I read literature. Kazantzakis' book goes beyond writing - it is a vivid exploration of the flame that consumes man. To go back to reading the frivolous so-called literature of today almost seems pointless. I am just thankful that Kazantzakis left us with such a rich body of work to read. The libraries were full of his books twenty years ago, but today I rarely find them on any shelf. To those of us who were lucky enough to discover him early, we know that he is the best kept secret of the twentieth century.

First of all, good luck trying to find a copy. Second of all, you have to be a Kazantzakis fan to get through this book. Read Last Temptation or Zorba first, fall in love with his work, then read this. Third, I don't know if this book will appeal to women because it is extremely masculine. That said, it is written with a scriptural density, beautiful even in translation. If you hate Victorian novels, you've found your nirvana.

I have two copies of this book, both well worn. I began reading it over twentyfive years ago. As others have noted, the text is so rich that one or two pages is enough, and twenty is too much to digest. I find I tend to pick it up when I am discouraged. It is always a sweet wind to stand in, inducing a sense of space, of freedom in the cosmos, that lifts me to a higher perspective. And yes the translation is stunning. It is hard to remember that it was not written in English first. I have not finished the book - I just finished book 16, of 24, recently - and I don't know what I will do for solace, and reminders of my true free nature, when I have finished it. I suppose I could read it again. I have seen nothing else like it, and have never met anyone else who is reading it. So my experience of solitude is extreme when I read it. I should note also that it seems to have a particularly male point of view. There is also a feminist in me that would like to see that perspective broadened. Yet it offers so much that is true, I have to forgive this.

In my opinion, there are some critical recipes missing -- mushroom khinkhali, for example. Nonetheless, this is the most comprehensive and best Georgian cookbook I've come across. The cultural information is a delight to read, and the author's recipes for the Georgian spice blends are key to replicating Georgian cuisine.

This book is precious just by the fact that it exists! The recipes work amazingly well, directions are clear and easy. The sections on culture and customs are extremely helpful in understanding the roots and reasons behind the preparations and techniques. Highly recommended to anyone who knows and loves Georgian food or those trying to expand their culinary horizons.

The problem with reader reviews is that not all readers are reliable. Tatia Vashakidze, the self-described Georgian teenager studying in the U.S., gives this prize-winning book only three stars because she says it lacks her favorite recipes, all of which are in fact included: Khinkali on p. 144 and two recipes for grilled kebabs (identified by their alternate name of basturma instead of mtvadi or kababi) on pp. 84-85.