First, I should tell you I never meant to read this book. I found a copy the public library had discarded at the Swap Shop of our local "transfer station" in Wellfleet, on Cape Cod. Trapped in bad weather, with no other book around, I started it. Of course, the writing is expert; Waugh (brother of the far-more-famous Evelyn Waugh) had been a novelist for more than fifty years when he wrote it. With complete naturalness he puts himself, as well as his brother and their real (and often prominent) friends in the book as characters; the narrator's life is, more or less, Alec Waugh's actual life. But the central character, Raymond Peronne, is invented. He is the recipient of the "fatal gift"--but what is that gift? More than physical beauty, Raymond has intelligence, poise, good feelings towards everyone, supreme self-confidence (without any haughtiness). As the second son of a baron, he thinks (and his father thinks) he won't inherit and have to serve in the House of Lords, so, in a certain way, the world is his. Everyone expects great things from this multiply-gifted and likeable man.

Waugh's novel traces Raymond's entire adult life--on the premise that they were school friends and remained fast friends into their early seventies. The narrative convention, that Waugh is "needed" at nearly every important juncture of Raymond's life, isn't overworked. Some critical events Waugh doesn't find out about; indeed, the intriguing question of the novel remains until the very end: What keeps Raymond from ever finding a foot-hold in life and living up to his promise?

Instead of rising to his expected prominence in England, he seems to fall in love with the British island of Dominique,in the West Indies--and the island is, perhaps, the true love of his life. Even more fascinating, Waugh examines the all-important question: What comprises the value of a life? You won't know the answer to this question till the final pages, but the answer, in my mind, anyway, has the true authority of a man of culture and long, long experience.

This novel is written by a master. But more than that, it's written by a man who maintained his creative fire and originality into his seventies and knows more about the world than anyone younger could. If, like me, you read even Anna Karenina thinking, "This is about as deep an explanation about what life adds up to as a man at Tolstoy's stage in life could write," you may be hungry to find those rare superb novels written by people who are older than Tolstoy was when he created Levin, and hence know even more. Waugh doesn't derive his answer, as his brother might, from any theology, but from his pragmatic and varied experience in the ways of the world.

What a find this book is! It's full of information about England, Dominique, even Egypt, but, more than that, profoundly wise about what, in the end, life amounts to. The answer to that question I'll leave unanswered, hoping fortunate readers who can find this book will arrive at their own formulation of what Waugh might be suggesting. Hunt this book up, if you can find it, and ponder Waugh's answer, as he embodies it in this charming and maddeningly self-possessed and seemingly underachieving hero. If you're a publisher, consider bringing the wonderful, unusual novel back into print.

These guys have put together an incredible value for $9.95. The binding makes it easy to lay open, and reveals a fold out map from the back that makes it possible to easily see where all of these neat places are located.

Published to celebrate Sir Alec Guinness's 75th birthday, this well produced book features a brief text history of his acting career and numerous photos of him on stage and in film. A must have large size hardbound collectible for any serious fan.

i would like to know what all kinds of nerves are connected to our ears.

It was the first time I saw a "Haynes Service and Repair manual", and I was suprised with the contents (technical information, photos and pictures).
I hope that this quality continues with the recent manuals for the new models.

The controversial yet very real issue of immigration in France is dealt with in an interesting and logical way. It addresses the most important issues in an impartial and thematic way and presents the facts very coherently. It is an invaluable source of information of the roots of the problem with race and ethnicity. Although it is really a study text, I found it so interesting that I read it all at once. It is also perhaps the only book on this subject in English!

For those who don't have a lot of free time to read all the great books of golf, here is a book that puts the great works together for you.

I used to for my EIT test. It's a great book preparing me for IE EIT.

This book gave a great insight on the problems of malaria in Africa, well worth reading and must for parasitology students like myself.

British colonialism on the decline and its effect on the inhabitants of a small West Indies paradise is the background for this tale of politics, forbidden love, murder, and redemption. As the sun sets on the british empire the people of this tiny island, both white and black, begin to prepare for free elections and impending independence. In essence the island is a microcosim, all the social and political issues of the time cook in the heat of the West Indian sun. This story is not without its fair share of soap oprah-ish melodrama, but it is extremely entertaining and offers the reader a social commentary on a way of life and a time that has forever passed.