Kirjahaku

A vivid, first-hand account of the tension and excitement of flying missions over Nazi GermanyThe British and American bomber crews of the Second World War often had to endure the most terrifying conditions. Not for them the glorious, all-or-nothing exhilaration of the Battle of Britain pilots - rather, the slow dwindling of courage as mission followed mission, the long, freezing, ear-shattering journey to the target, the bursting flak, the prowling night fighters. Then, if they were lucky, the long haul home, sometimes nursing a battered, barely flyable machine, often perilously short of fuel.Bruce Lewis flew in thirty-six such raids. In this book he records, in his own words and those of his fellow survivors, the events that made operational flying such a fearful experience.This is a blisteringly honest account of life for the Second World War bombers.

I have long respected Bruce Lewis as a virtuoso jazz guitarist. A close cousin to Blues, Jazz is dissonant, unstable and like the music he has mastered, the author's prose follows suit. In the tradition of Thomas Wolfe, Lewis's words are a cry to the very soil that birthed each character. In lyrical outbursts, Joshua Celeste remembers and is remembered. We are introduced to the characters that make up Joshua's life from the fields of his boyhood home at Water Maple Farm in Kentucky, with a cattle rancher father and misplaced, glamorous mother to the streets of Budapest, Hungary as a traveling guitarist, a melancholic ex-pat. Bruce Lewis moved to Budapest on May 4th 1993 and stayed until May 22nd, 2012. He played with some of the best European musicians in the world, traveling with his guitar to twelve different countries. His insight into the culture and people of the ancient city make Joshua Fragmented part travelogue and history lesson along with a beautiful, philosophical lesson on the sacrifices of art and the pull of home. This book resembles the dissonance of Jazz as a cast of brilliantly articulated characters sing angular harmonies in the reader's ear. We hear the passionate railings of his academia-minded brother, Doc and his loyal, sex-obsessed and jealous bandmate, Crip Kovacs right alongside his grandmother Bertha, mother Agnes and the steady stream of women in which Joshua searches for meaning. It is a testament to the lost, nomadic quality of an ever-changing modern world. I am most proud to have a small part in bringing this powerful and original work of fiction to light. - Erin Chandler

Manga is the Japanese word for comic. The distinctive manga style – petite girls with huge eyes, spiked hair and funky clothes, kung fu fighting in edgy urban settings captured from unusual and dramatic angles – has entered the mainstream comics, graphics and advertising of the West and is an outstandingly popular style with aspiring comic artists. The 'how to' manga books currently available are translations from the Japanese. They are often poorly translated, containing cultural assumptions not necessarily obvious or applicable to a Westerner. 'Draw Manga' takes an entirely fresh approach. Bruce Lewis explains manga and its roots, teaches the conventions of manga illustration, but encourages the reader to develop their own unique style. Why ape manga when you can develop its exciting conventions in your own way? 'Draw Manga' builds your skills, from drawing the basic figure, creating believable characters and setting the scene, to developing a story and creating dramatic lettering. By the end of the book you will know how to create your own manga and how to publish your work on paper or online. This comprehensive approach to thinking and drawing manga is the essential guide.