I just finished reading "Alien Child" by author Mona Lee, and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed this book! It was so well written that the words effortlessly eased themselves off the page and into my heart and imagination.

With an easy to follow story line and deliciously decriptive characters and scenery, the author awakens the texture, personality and emotional depth within the reader. We are taken on a journey through and beyond a seemingly "normal" experience. The impossible becomes possible, and "Alien Child" becomes personally realistic and absorbing even though the book is labeled "science fiction" and "fantasy".

The concept of blending science-fiction and fantasy into the realities of global political structures is a highly effective strategy. Ms. Lee successfully introduces new ways of thinking and positive role models to a growing audience hungry for peaceful solutions to human sufferings. She stretches our belief systems and expands the concept of unlimited human potential within everyday people and events.

Another fine quality of this book is the physical presentation and layout. Separations by chapter and date enhance the storyline and development, and the centered, even margins are easy on the eye.

Many people continue to work toward healthy globalization, United Nations reform, and the establishiment of enforceable laws and justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC). I commend Ms. Mona Lee for her creative presentation of these innovative ideas, and will encourage my friends and colleagues to read her fascinating and engrossing novel.

Thank you for making this book available on amazon.com

Sincerely,

Susan J. Zipp Member - Board of Directors World Federalist Association

This book is engulfing! I'm so happy each night when I fall asleep reading such wonderfully descriptive text! The main character is enchantingly beautiful, in a most spiritual way. The insightful remarks about the structure of our society and what it means to be human make this book worthy of my highest regards.

Innocence and intrigue, love and fear, war and peace -- the themes are eternal. But an other-worldly perspective suggests a new and hopeful vision. This is the apocalypse in reverse. Be prepared for a page turner that inspires. From the lonely self-doubts and confusions of a young girl to the emergence of a global consciousness for peace and justice. To paraphrase Daniel Berrigan, "we must dream of things we never expect to see". This is that dream. It is our faith, our gift, for the generations to come.

The Children of Willesden Lane is a remarkable, transporting story, at once upllifting and heartbreaking. I'm a better person for reading it. The authors' flawless narrative style facilitates a "can't put the book down" memoir read. After grabbing their readers' hearts, Golabek and Cohen seize their readers' minds with a cogent, compassionate, and otherworldly understanding of the intricacies of living a life in music, and its accordant near-mystical ability to bring humanity as close as it can get to the divine. Such are Golabek's and Cohen's gifts that one can almost hear the music coming from the pages of The Children of Willisden Lane. I loved this book. It is a gift.

Even if you are not a musician, you will find Lisa Jura's story compelling. It's the true tory of her escape from pre-WWII Vienna to an orphange in London-243 Willesden Lane ... hence the title. Her strength came from her music. Her mother prophetically told her that her music would be her best friend, and so it was. Lisa took the Kindertransport to London and safety, along with dozens of other Jewish refugees The book is compelling and hopeful. It reaffirms our belief in the humnan spirit to strive for and achieve happiness. I couldn't put it down, and neither will you. This is a must-read.

I stumbled on this book when a friend recommended it. I was wary of the title, but the book is excellently written and very easy to read. It is an inspiring tale of Lisa Jura, a Jewish girl from Austria. In attempt to save her life, her parents send her away to England on the Kindertransport train.

The story of Lisa is wonderfully told. I was moved to tears several times and laughter several others.

You will love this story.

Louis Begley's Wartime Lies paints a vivid picture of the life of a nine-year-old boy, Maciek, and his aunt, Tania, during World War II. The novel snares the reader from the very first page. Maciek is representative of most pre-pubescent boys until the Germans begin to take control of his home. This novel unfolds like an adventure story, containing violence, suspense, and drama; however, the reader must remind himself that, although the characters are fictitious, the story remains similar to that of many victims of the Holocaust. The terror that plagues the hearts of the characters is almost palpable. Since Maciek narrates the story, the war is seen through the eyes of this young boy. He recounts the "wartime lies" he and his aunt had to fabricate in order to live and all the while confesses his guilt of being a liar and hypocrite. His innocence is both touching and heart-wrenching. "She and I had to get used to the idea that we were quite alone: Tania and Maciek against the world. This was not an easy lesson to learn, but probably the world would beat it into our heads." And the world did. The voice of an adult Maciek concludes the novel. This man bears no resemblance to the child he once was. He is unable to speak of his childhood; rather, he prefers to keep it buried amidst the rubble of a past that he no longer acknowledges. Upon reading this powerful conclusion, the reader can't help feeling a mix of emotions. Maciek has survived the war, but what has his survival brought him? Wartime Lies should be read to not only teach about the Holocaust, but also to allow the reader to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel the Holocaust.

Louis Begley's novel, Wartime Lies, is set during the German invasion of Poland in World War II. After the Nazis take over their town and send them to a ghetto, Maciek-a young Jewish boy-and his family must to take on new identities in order to survive the German occupation. The family is forced to separate and only Maciek and his aunt Tania are left together, posing as a widowed mother and her son while they travel through Poland looking for refuge.

I don't tend to dwell much on my ethnic background. I'm an American. I was born in America, as were my parents and my parent's parents. Still, if you ask me what nationalities I am, I'll tell you. I'm half Polish, with the other half being mostly Irish, with some English, and Welsh. I don't look stereotypically Polish or Irish, and both my families come from Christian backgrounds, so I don't look Jewish. I've never been to any of these countries, I don't speak their languages, and I'm not particularly well versed in their histories. I'm just your average American, with a very Polish last name, Zakrzewski. My family simplified the pronunciation to "Za-crew-ski," though it sounds quite different in Polish. I'd like to know more about my family's background and what brought both branches here to America. I could ask my Grandmothers and I know they'd tell me, but it just isn't something that we seem to talk about in my family. Out of the two countries, I probably know the least about Poland. If my last named started with "Mc" or "Mac" maybe I wouldn't care as much, but since I'll always be identified first as Polish, I have some deep, unfulfilled interest in this nation.

It's not everyday I read about Poland. I've learned about World War II, and the atrocities of the Holocaust. I know about Germany's invasion of Poland and of Auschwitz, but it's all textbook knowledge and documentaries from the Discovery Channel. Most of the information I know is cold and sterile. As someone who wasn't born until 1981, the closest thing I can get to a first hand experience is usually from a survivor of a concentration camp. Rarely does myself-or anyone for that matter-get a fist hand look at what it was to live during these times, outside the nazi camps and Jewish ghettos. Bagley does a fine job in showing us what it meant to be a Jew in Poland during World War II from a perspective greatly different from those poor souls who ended up in Hitler's death camps.

Like Dante's pseudo-self in his Divine Comedy, Maciek-the hero of Bagley's tale-wanders around his own hell with his aunt Tania as a protector and guide. Just like Dante, Maciek is immune to the actual terrors of the German invasion, due to his forged documents stating he is of Aryan decent, and must travel through his ravished homeland as an outsider observing the atrocities committed by the Nazis. Since Maciek is only one person, the purpose of his journey isn't to change his homeland. His task is to inform the rest of his country, and the world, of what actually occurred in Poland, so that it can hopefully never happen again. He is merely a tool used to relate these horrors.

As I've already said, I know very little about Poland and its people. Most of what I do know centers around the county's tendency to be conquered by other nations, but probably the most widely known chapter in Poland's history occurred during the Nazi Holocaust. Bagley's novel is the first time I've every encountered these events related from an objective view. This book has given me a better understanding of what actually transpired during the German occupation then any other source I've ever encountered. Wartime Lies not only gives us a chronological history of events, but also an emotional history of a person who lived through them. This marriage of history and personal exploration paints a more vivid picture then any textbook or documentary could.

Even after the war, Maciek and the remains of his family still lived under false pretenses, fearing what still might occur if their Jewish heritage were discovered. While I have no fear of others knowing I'm Polish, in some ways I understand the feeling of not being true to ones background. While I don't attempt to hide my ethnic background, I make no strides in exposing it either. If anything, Bagley has not only kindled in me a desire to learn more about my own family and nationality, but his book has also given me a new perspective on events that I thought I knew all to well.

Louis Begley's novel, Wartime Lies, is set during the German invasion of Poland in World War II. After the Nazis take over their town and send them to a ghetto, Maciek-a young Jewish boy-and his family must to take on new identities in order to survive the German occupation. The family is forced to separate and only Maciek and his aunt Tania are left together, posing as a widowed mother and her son while they travel through Poland looking for refuge.

I don't tend to dwell much on my ethnic background. I'm an American. I was born in America, as were my parents and my parent's parents. Still, if you ask me what nationalities I am, I'll tell you. I'm half Polish, with the other half being mostly Irish, with some English, and Welsh. I don't look stereotypically Polish or Irish, and both my families come from Christian backgrounds, so I don't look Jewish. I've never been to any of these countries, I don't speak their languages, and I'm not particularly well versed in their histories. I'm just your average American, with a very Polish last name, Zakrzewski. My family simplified the pronunciation to "Za-crew-ski," though it sounds quite different in Polish. I'd like to know more about my family's background and what brought both branches here to America. I could ask my Grandmothers and I know they'd tell me, but it just isn't something that we seem to talk about in my family. Out of the two countries, I probably know the least about Poland. If my last named started with "Mc" or "Mac" maybe I wouldn't care as much, but since I'll always be identified first as Polish, I have some deep, unfulfilled interest in this nation.

It's not everyday I read about Poland. I've learned about World War II, and the atrocities of the Holocaust. I know about Germany's invasion of Poland and of Auschwitz, but it's all textbook knowledge and documentaries from the Discovery Channel. Most of the information I know is cold and sterile. As someone who wasn't born until 1981, the closest thing I can get to a first hand experience is usually from a survivor of a concentration camp. Rarely does myself-or anyone for that matter-get a fist hand look at what it was to live during these times, outside the nazi camps and Jewish ghettos. Bagley does a fine job in showing us what it meant to be a Jew in Poland during World War II from a perspective greatly different from those poor souls who ended up in Hitler's death camps.

Like Dante's pseudo-self in his Divine Comedy, Maciek-the hero of Bagley's tale-wanders around his own hell with his aunt Tania as a protector and guide. Just like Dante, Maciek is immune to the actual terrors of the German invasion, due to his forged documents stating he is of Aryan decent, and must travel through his ravished homeland as an outsider observing the atrocities committed by the Nazis. Since Maciek is only one person, the purpose of his journey isn't to change his homeland. His task is to inform the rest of his country, and the world, of what actually occurred in Poland, so that it can hopefully never happen again. He is merely a tool used to relate these horrors.

As I've already said, I know very little about Poland and its people. Most of what I do know centers around the county's tendency to be conquered by other nations, but probably the most widely known chapter in Poland's history occurred during the Nazi Holocaust. Bagley's novel is the first time I've every encountered these events related from an objective view. This book has given me a better understanding of what actually transpired during the German occupation then any other source I've ever encountered. Wartime Lies not only gives us a chronological history of events, but also an emotional history of a person who lived through them. This marriage of history and personal exploration paints a more vivid picture then any textbook or documentary could.

Even after the war, Maciek and the remains of his family still lived under false pretenses, fearing what still might occur if their Jewish heritage were discovered. While I have no fear of others knowing I'm Polish, in some ways I understand the feeling of not being true to ones background. While I don't attempt to hide my ethnic background, I make no strides in exposing it either. If anything, Bagley has not only kindled in me a desire to learn more about my own family and nationality, but his book has also given me a new perspective on events that I thought I knew all to well.

This book is poorly put together. It looked as if it had been copied and it was even double copied on some pages. It also had no cover or colored pages. Figures are small proportions, not up to date with fashion figures. It was a bunch of copied pages

Yes, this book is very helpful with developing design skills. The only thing I was unhappy with when I recieved it in the mail was that on the preview of it on this website Amazon.com it looks as though it would be in color...only when it came it looked like it was xeroxed (and a bad job at that) it was obviously printed in color to begin with but has since been printed in black, gray & white. For instance, it goes to describe a color scale but the "color" scale is gray & black. It also has a section about highlights & skin color yet alas, it is gray & black...Very helpful but at the same time very disappointing...

I thought that this book had alot of really helpful ideas and tips.Personally,this book has improved my skills from "not so good" to unique and lifelike! My regards go out to Sharon Lee Tate and Mona Shafer Edwards...Excellent Job on writing an outstanding book!