Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition
Average customer rating:

eye-opening analysis

Fantastic - Easy to Understand and Use

Mandatory reading for developing on the Web

Good content, poor binding

Simple--Concise--Easy to Read

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition
Steve Krug
Manufacturer: New Riders Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Website Architecture & Usability | Web Development | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Internet | Home Computing | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books | Internet & Education | Online Searching | Web Browsers | Web for Kids
General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0321344758

Amazon.com

Usability design is one of the most important--yet often least attractive--tasks for a Web developer. In Don't Make Me Think, author Steve Krug lightens up the subject with good humor and excellent, to-the-point examples.

The title of the book is its chief personal design premise. All of the tips, techniques, and examples presented revolve around users being able to surf merrily through a well-designed site with minimal cognitive strain. Readers will quickly come to agree with many of the book's assumptions, such as "We don't read pages--we scan them" and "We don't figure out how things work--we muddle through." Coming to grips with such hard facts sets the stage for Web design that then produces topnotch sites.

Using an attractive mix of full-color screen shots, cute cartoons and diagrams, and informative sidebars, the book keeps your attention and drives home some crucial points. Much of the content is devoted to proper use of conventions and content layout, and the "before and after" examples are superb. Topics such as the wise use of rollovers and usability testing are covered using a consistently practical approach.

This is the type of book you can blow through in a couple of evenings. But despite its conciseness, it will give you an expert's ability to judge Web design. You'll never form a first impression of a site in the same way again. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

User patterns
Designing for scanning
Wise use of copy
Navigation design
Home page layout
Usability testing

Book Description

Five years and more than 100,000 copies after it was first published, it's hard to imagine anyone working in Web design who hasn't read Steve Krug's "instant classic" on Web usability, but people are still discovering it every day. In this second edition, Steve adds three new chapters in the same style as the original: wry and entertaining, yet loaded with insights and practical advice for novice and veteran alike. Don't be surprised if it completely changes the way you think about Web design.

Three New Chapters!

Usability as common courtesy -- Why people really leave Web sites
Web Accessibility, CSS, and you -- Making sites usable and accessible
Help! My boss wants me to ______. -- Surviving executive design whims

"I thought usability was the enemy of design until I read the first edition of this book. Don't Make Me Think! showed me how to put myself in the position of the person who uses my site. After reading it over a couple of hours and putting its ideas to work for the past five years, I can say it has done more to improve my abilities as a Web designer than any other book.

In this second edition, Steve Krug adds essential ammunition for those whose bosses, clients, stakeholders, and marketing managers insist on doing the wrong thing. If you design, write, program, own, or manage Web sites, you must read this book." -- Jeffrey Zeldman, author of Designing with Web Standards

Customer Reviews:

eye-opening analysis.......2007-10-07

I'm not a designer and I would by nature make many of the mistakes Krug points out in this great book. Krug's reasoning and reasoned approach that he presents in this book is invaluable.

Fantastic - Easy to Understand and Use.......2007-10-06

This book on internet usability has not only changed the way I design websites, it has changed my thinking on many areas of life. The other day I was asked to review a print media item and I kept saying to the designer - "Don't Make Me Think!" The idea of designing easy to use, simple to understand websites is so simple that it is often overlooked. This is a fantastic read. I'm halfway through my second reading of it.

Mandatory reading for developing on the Web.......2007-09-28

As it promises, Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think: 2nd Edition, is a quick, but extremely usable, guide to Web usability and design. The book took me less than a day to read (less than 3 hours), but has become, in my mind, a requirement for even beginners (like myself) of Web design. Since everyone who develops for the Web should have some idea of design and usability, this book should really be a mandatory requirement for said work.

In short, there's no reason not to read this book if you're developing for the Web (writing content, programming, etcetera), or working with a team that does so.

Good content, poor binding.......2007-09-27

Others have said that Krug's book (2nd edition) is for those with little experience. That is exactly why I found it so useful. There are lots of concepts that are common sense, sure. But until they were pointed out I had not even considered them. His point about the usefulness of tabs was particularly useful to me. I am creating a site now and will incorporate them into my design.

My only complaint is with the binding. The book was so poorly produced that pages began to loosen and fall out before I was finished with the first reading. I am now looking for a big rubber band to hold everything together. I just hate it when that happens.

Simple--Concise--Easy to Read.......2007-09-27

As an owner of two online businesses I found this book to clarify and outline what most owners and developers fail to understand...which is usability / navigation of their sites..this book nails it. A must read for anyone involved in managing of paying for a web site. JLW.

Average customer rating:

Informative, but very, very dry......
Not a very good one
Good as a Textbook
Excellent!
Try reading 3 pages without falling asleep

Operating System Concepts
Abraham Silberschatz , Peter Baer Galvin , and Greg Gagne
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Operating Systems | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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Accessories:

Operating System Concepts with Java
Operating Systems Concepts with Java

ASIN: 0471694665

Book Description

Another defining moment in the evolution of operating systems
Small footprint operating systems, such as those driving the handheld devices that the baby dinosaurs are using on the cover, are just one of the cutting-edge applications you'll find in Silberschatz, Galvin, and Gagne's Operating System Concepts, Seventh Edition.
By staying current, remaining relevant, and adapting to emerging course needs, this market-leading text has continued to define the operating systems course. This Seventh Edition not only presents the latest and most relevant systems, it also digs deeper to uncover those fundamental concepts that have remained constant throughout the evolution of today's operation systems. With this strong conceptual foundation in place, students can more easily understand the details related to specific systems.
New Adaptations
* Increased coverage of user perspective in Chapter 1.
* Increased coverage of OS design throughout.
* A new chapter on real-time and embedded systems (Chapter 19).
* A new chapter on multimedia (Chapter 20).
* Additional coverage of security and protection.
* Additional coverage of distributed programming.
* New exercises at the end of each chapter.
* New programming exercises and projects at the end of each chapter.
* New student-focused pedagogy and a new two-color design to enhance the learning process.

Customer Reviews:

Informative, but very, very dry.............2007-09-16

This book is very informative if your interested in learning how operating systems work. Unfortunately, Im not really interested in it, I just have to read it for a required class. The material is very dry so its hard to focus on what your reading.

Not a very good one.......2007-03-11

I had to buy it for the course, but I really prefer Tanenbaum books, you can find more science. Pages reflect light so you should have indirect lighting, I had difficulties reading it.

Good as a Textbook.......2007-01-13

This was a required text for a college class. As a beginner in understanding how operating systems are created the first few chapters were easy to read and understand, but after that I needed the professor to be able to understand the concepts.

Excellent!.......2006-10-21

We had to buy this book as part of our undergraduate Computer Engineering curriculum at The University of Akron. The book is very well written; I taught myself a lot by studying it.

This book was so good that I actually ended up telling one of my friends in Computer Engineering at Case about it, only to find out that 1) they use it there, too, and that 2) he thinks just as highly of the text.

Try reading 3 pages without falling asleep.......2006-03-05

While "Operating Systems" is not exactly the sexiest subject in Computer Science, it ought to be possible to make it interesting, for example by taking a historical or problem solving approach.

Sadly, Silverschatz does none of this; in fact, often his book reads more like a tome on tax-law. Take this sentence, for example:

"If no process is executing in its critical section and some processes wish to enter their critical sections, then only those processes that are not executing in their remainder sections can participate in the decision on which will enter its critical section next, and this selection cannot be postponed indefinitely." (p.194, 7th ed.)

Silberschatz also has a tendency to make sweeping statements without giving examples, like what I am doing here. Admittedly, online chapters for different operating systems are available, but I think more examples within the main text itself would have helped to explain the concepts better.

The book also contains errors. For example it says that, "For instance, suppose that the queue usually has just one outstanding request. Then, all scheduling algorithms behave the same, because they have only one choice for where to move the disk head: They all behave like FCFS scheduling." (p.461, 7th ed.) While this is true for shortest-seek-time-first, LOOK and C-LOOK algorithms, it is wrong for SCAN and C-SCAN. They would continue moving the HD head from cylinder 0 to cylinder max, with worse performance than SSTF.

Since I do not have wide experience with other O/S books, I will not give a categorically "don't buy it!" recommendation. After all, Silberschatz is quite comprehensive and could be okay as a reference book. However, if you require a book to teach you O/S concepts, I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere. Perhaps try a book by Tanenbaum? His prose is more readable.

Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business

Average customer rating:

A Really Enjoyable GOOD Business Book
Restauranteurs and Managers get this book
He cares about his readers as much as his diners
One of the Great Ones
Delicious book on inspired management, filled with tasty tidbits

Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business
Danny Meyer
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Hospitality, Travel & Tourism | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary

ASIN: 0060742755
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Amazon.com

Book Description
In October 1985, at age 27, Danny Meyer, with a good idea and scant experience, opened what would become one of New York City's most revered restaurants--Union Square Cafe. Little more than twenty years later, Danny is the CEO of one of the world's most dynamic restaurant organizations, which includes 11 unique dining establishments, each at the top of its game. How has he done it? How has he consistently beaten the odds and set the competitive bar in one of the toughest trades around?

In this landmark book, Danny shares the lessons he's learned while developing the winning recipe for doing the business he calls "enlightened hospitality." This innovative philosophy emphasizes putting the power of hospitality to work in a new and counterintuitive way: The first and most important application of hospitality is to the people who work for you, and then, in descending order of priority, to the guests, the community, the suppliers, and the investors. This way of prioritizing stands the more traditional business models on their heads, but Danny considers it the foundation of every success that he and his restaurants have achieved.

Full of behind-the-scenes history on the creation of Danny's most famous restaurants and the anecdotes, advice, and lessons he has accumulated on his long and ecstatic journey to the top of the American restaurant scene, Setting the Table is a treasure trove of innovative insights that are applicable to any business or organization.

Service with a Smile: Dishing with Danny Meyer

Is the customer always right? According to Danny Meyer, one of America's leading restauranteurs, the answer is no--but "they must always feel heard." Named one of the most influential New Yorkers of 2006 by New York magazine, Meyer, the founder and co-owner of 11 of Manhattan's most influential restaurants, including Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Tabla, The Modern, Blue Smoke, and Shake Shack, has penned Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality, a business book that reads like food lit and equal part personal memoir. Amazon.com senior editor Brad Thomas Parsons took some time from his daily long-distance day-dreaming of Shake Shack and caught up with the ever-gracious Danny Meyer over e-mail to ask about his new book, the Food Network, his favorite cookbooks, insider tips on dining out, and much more.

Read our Amazon.com interview with Danny Meyer

More from Danny Meyer

Union Square Cafe Cookbook

Setting the Table [Audio CD]

Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe

Book Description

Mercedes Lackey's triumphant return to the best-selling world of Valdemar, Takes a Thief reveals the untold story of Skif-a popular character from Lackey's first published novel, Arrows of the Queen. Skif is a homeless orphan who lives with a gang of juvenile pickpockets...until he is "Chosen" by one of Valdemar's magical horses and becomes a Herald serving the Queen.

Download Description

Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as `my job.' My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of `story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the `folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't `not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a `high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL [`There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the `evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as `one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."

Customer Reviews:

One of my favorites so far.......2006-08-10

This book happens to have been my introduction to Mercedes Lackey and Valdemar. As a fantasy reader I've been leery of reading these books because I didn't get into it early, and by now the chronology is so big, it's intimidating. But I got this book in the airport before a long trip (you know how that can be) and read it on the plane.

I loved it! Sure, this is a lot like Oliver Twist, at first, but I felt that the author drew the characters wonderfully. I got to know and care deeply about Skif during this book, and it was a great introduction to Alberich, Companions, and Valdemar in general, especially the seamier side of things. The author is not afraid of painting her characters as human, and her world as imperfect. In fact, she revels in it and does it quite believably.

It was because of this book that I picked up the "Arrows" series, which I found juvenile by comparison. This wasn't surprising - the author wrote that series first, a long time ago, and the world she made has gotten more complex and colorful. I wasn't at all disturbed by continuity problems - hey, lighten up, people, the author is human, this is HER work, and she can develop things as she sees fit.

My major beef here is that having been introduced to the series with this book, I'm disappointed to see that Skif was given such short shrift in the other books in the series. I feel this character has as at least as much potential as an adult as he did as a child. To see him marginalized "afterwards" in the "Arrows" series didn't bother me because those stories were really about Talia, but I didn't like the treatment he got in Winds of Fate either, though I haven't read the rest of the Mage Winds series yet. I'd sure like to see Skif take a lead role in another book the way Alberich did.

I thought the pacing of the book was perfect, actually. Skif was moving along with his life, plotting his revenge, putting himself slowly back together, when he was kidnapped by his Companion and everything was turned upside down! From that point forward he had to balance being himself against being a Herald. Beautifully, done, IMHO.

Thanks for a great book!

likeable but flawed.......2005-07-17

This is an easy read and decent addition to the Valdemar canon, however, there are a few problems. It tells the tale of Skif, an orphan and pickpocket, who in Dickens-fashion, is apprenticed to a slovenly and corrupt uncle, then a humane and kind-hearted thief, and finally Chosen and brought to the Herald Collegium to train. Needless to say, he has difficulty adjusting to a place where just about everyone is kind and unselfish.

A conflict arises when Skif's Faginish mentor's house is burned and he is killed. Skif sets out for revenge, and as the man's misdeeds extend far beyond his imagination, he eventually gets aid from the Heralds, who wish to wipe out such a scourge in their city.

I was annoyed by the page after page of indecipherable dialect, and how one character's speech was grammatically correct half the time, and transposed English the other half. It seemed random and sloppy, and detracted from the impact of the character, especially since we were never given any good reason why this should occur. Other than that though, the book was fine.

Take a Thief.......2005-01-14

Skif was a thief, and a herald, the first thief-herald, But he wasn't always a thief-herald, Take a thief by Mercedes Lackey, is the story of how Skif became a thief-herald. I didn't find this to be one of Mercedes best books, However I enjoyed this book very much. on a scale of 1 to 5 I would give this book a 4

Worthy addition to the Valdemar world........2004-12-12

This book explores the early life of Herald Skif. The story, though written after Mercedes Lackey's Arrows series, is set before his debut in those books, and illustrates his earlier experiences as a thief in training.

Skif grows up under his Uncle's thumb, an orphan with a debt to pay to a cheap, conniving relative. After some dealings of his uncle goes wrong Skif takes the oppurtunity to escape to the street and to a gang who teaches him the intricasies of thievery. They soon become like the family he never had.

The story is sweet and endearing, as we follow Skif through the streets of the capital. It does lack a bit of substance though. The time he spends as an initial herald in training is not as flushed out as I normally like. And his quest for revenge, though deserved, felt rushed and awkward. It is still a great addition to the world of Valdemar though, one I would recommend reading in concert with the Heralds of Valdemar trilogy (Arrow's of the Queen, Arrow's Flight, and Arrow's Fall.)

More Unanswered Questions........2004-11-25

This book answers a lot of questions about the main character that I had from books released earlier that were later in the time line. However it left me with a lot more questions about the character. Perhaps this is a good thing. It leaves me room to think about the book.

The book gives you more information about regular city life in the capital city than other books in the series. It shows the everyday life of the citizens. I read it quickly enough. It was not mind bending. Sometimes that is what you want in a book though.

Average customer rating:

Take a Thief A Novel of Valdemar
Mercedes Lackey
Manufacturer: Daw Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QV9LLC

Book Description

Short on supplies and support, the Cumbre system is left vulnerable to an alien race bent on universal domination. Only the never-say-die members of The Legion stand in their way--armed with pride and fighting for glory...

"Chris Bunch delivers complex plots, intrigue, and great descriptive narratives of battle and combat."-- SF Site

"Bunch knows how to mold heroes, how to keep the pace fast, and how to create exciting scenes of battlefield mayhem and convincing webs of political intrigue."-- Publishers Weekly

"Bunch's battle sequences are second to none."-- Oregonian

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Sequel.......2007-08-04

Chris can write a good "male" romance with just enough romance to string the action together. A fun read, and fairly fast, but engaging.

Better than the first.......2003-02-19

I liked this book better than the first in the series, which I thought was a little too underdeveloped. The characters in this one were developed a little better, and I thought the interaction with the Musth made for a more exciting story than did the conflict with the Raum. But the book still had problems with the culture and slang that seemed made up and forced, but maybe that is just a personal preference. This one at least made me want to read the next book.

Bunch solo military SF saga continues.......2002-07-18

Before reading this novel I would highly recommend reading the first book, The Last Legion. Bunch does an adequate job of filling in some blanks for a brand new reader, but to truly grasp the background and implications of the Musth/Cumbrian war it helps to have read The Last Legion beforehand.

I enjoyed this novel quite a bit, finding it solidly written in Bunch's trademark style. Njangu and Garvin, the series' primary characters, are cement-booted cynics forever thumbing their noses at authority while finding purpose and even a little idealism amidst the chaos of war. The Musth aliens are interesting and explored fairly well, with Alikhan the rebel Musth proving to be the most compelling of all. Fans of the Sten series will find Firemask--and the entire Last Legion series--familiar, yet different just the same.

As with The Last Legion, Firemask resolves itself only after pointing the reader in the inevitable direction of the next book. Where the Cumbrian civil war of the first book set the stage for the Musth invasion, so does the Musth invasion set the stage for a showdown with Redruth's combined Larix/Kura armies, which occurs in the third novel, titled Stormforce.

As with my review of The Last Legion, while Firemask is hardly a masterpiece, I think it's a great starter book (starter series?) for teenaged and college aged readers who are ready to break out of reading purely media-related SF like Star Wars or Star Trek. Advanced and/or Hard SF readers may not flip for this novel, but it's a nice entry-level read for someone looking to expand their SF reading horizons.

Besides, Bunch still writes some the most harry-knuckled military SF in the business. Top grit.

typical Bunch.......2000-04-23

It is enjoyable easy reading. I wish that the author would go into greater detail when discribing future war machines. The main characters are likeable, the plot plausible, and if you like his previous books-read this one.

A fitting second book in this series........2000-03-29

The two con men from the first book are back in the second, and are now in charge. The book continues where the first left off. If you are a fan of the "Sten" series, then this series, at least from the military standpoint continues in that direction. I would have given the book a five rating, but it skips around some, leaving you wanting to skip around to find out what happens. A good read, however.

Last Legion Series Four-book Set By Chris Bunch (The Last Legion, Volume 1,2,3,4 The Last Legion, Firemask, Storm Force, Homefall)

Average customer rating:

Last Legion Series Four-book Set By Chris Bunch (The Last Legion, Volume 1,2,3,4 The Last Legion, Firemask, Storm Force, Homefall)
Chris Bunch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000TXA3FU

Product Description

Last Legion 1. The Last Legion (1999) 2. Firemask (2000) 3. Storm Force (2000) 4. Homefall (2001)

Real Presence: The Christian Worldview of C. S. Lewis as Incarnational Reality
Average customer rating:

great buy

Wonderful insights into Lewis, and deep spiritual truth

Payne as an interpreter of the spirituality of C.S. Lewis

A superb study of CS Lewis's worldview.

A superb study of CS Lewis's worldview.

Real Presence: The Christian Worldview of C. S. Lewis as Incarnational Reality
Leanne Payne
Manufacturer: Baker Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Christian Living | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Crisis in Masculinity

ASIN: 080105172X
Release Date: 1995-06-01

Customer Reviews:

great buy.......2007-05-21

I received the book in great condition and find it to be very inspiring.

Wonderful insights into Lewis, and deep spiritual truth.......2004-12-07

"Real Presence" is the best introduction to C. S. Lewis that I have seen; Leanne Payne captures the essence of Lewis better than anyone else I've read. She follows the main threads of Lewis' thought through a comprehensive cross-section of his work, and, from where I sit, she gets it exactly right. I kept finding myself nodding vigorously as she described some key aspect of Lewis that I had noticed but couldn't quite put to words.

"Incarnational Reality" is Payne's key insight (hence the title) - that, just as God in Christ took on human flesh, so in our day, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, lives in Christian believers. This leads in some very fruitful directions as she develops how God "breaks in" to our universe and sanctifies ordinary life - her thought is very "sacramental" (dare I say "catholic"?)

Lewis once said that he discerned in George MacDonald's writing an elusive quality which he later realized was holiness; Leanne Payne here returns the favor to Lewis. After I finished "Real Presence", I realized that what I loved about Lewis was exactly holiness. Thanks to Leanne Payne for showing it to me.

Payne as an interpreter of the spirituality of C.S. Lewis.......2001-11-30

In the REAL PRESENCE, Leanne Payne explains the spirituality of C.S.Lewis as revealed in his fiction and nonfiction writings. Payne is in part an interpreter of C.S. Lewis; in part a Christian apologist to the philosophical community; in part a spiritual director (telling us how to 'grow our own spiritual life'). She is also a minister in her own right - she has an international ministry of spiritual (emotional) healing. She has a somewhat arcane writing style which takes just a little bit to decipher. But her understanding of Lewis is great. His spirituality was foundational to the development of her own, and she articulates it very well. She explains it in light of classic, historic Christian doctrine, especially that of the early church. This book is very helpful in understanding her own subsequent books, all of which I highly reccommend, esp HEALING PRESENCE, RESTORING THE CHRISTIAN SOUL and LISTENING PRAYER. She has a tremendous understanding of (as she terms it) 'Incarnational Reality', the essential Christian assertion that, through the Holy Spirit, God comes to live right inside the believer. It is in listening to and collaborating with the Holy Spirit, who indwells us, that we are healed and caused to grow. Lewis wrote much about this concept (in large part symbolically, in his fiction); and it is from him that much of Payne's own understanding comes. It is to this concept that she refers in the title of this book - THE REAL PRESENCE. The book is a tremendous help in understanding the complexity of Lewis' writing, especially his fiction. Without understanding his underlying spirituality, it is hard to appreciate any but the most superficial aspects of meaning in the imagery and characterizations in his fiction; it also informs much of his nonfiction. Payne does an excellent job of explaining that spirituality and does so with frequent quotes from and references to Lewis' writings. (Perhaps you thought that the Narnia Chronicles and his outer space trilogy - PERELANDRA,OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET,THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH - were simple children's books. They are, in fact, profound works, if one only knows what is meant through the imagery.) Payne taught at Trinity Seminary in Deerfield IL USA, and had access to a large body of Lewis' unpublished writings and correspondence. She has taught, there and elsewhere, on an undergraduate and graduate level, the writings of Lewis, Tolkein, Charles Williams and others. I give this book five stars (" ... and two thumbs up - way up!")

A superb study of CS Lewis's worldview........2001-02-03

This book is a excellent study of the worldview of CS Lewis - one of the most influencial christian writers of the twentieth century. It is aimed at those who have either read or are contemplating reading Lewis's work. Unlike some books which deal with worldviews this is very readable, and far from being dry and abstract. The author demonstrates throughout her book a profound understanding of Lewis's writings and communicates this in a lucid and readable style - showing how Lewis's whole system of thought is centred in what she terms "Incarnational Reality" - the reality of God, present in and through His creation.

Later chapters in the book look at how Lewis understood the role of an artist, the nature of imaginative experience, and Good and evil (the author contrasts Lewis's views on this with those of the psychologist CG Jung and fellow writer Charles Williams).

Well worth reading for anyone even slighty interested in Lewis.

A superb study of CS Lewis's worldview........2001-02-03

Well worth reading for anyone even slighty interested in Lewis.

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