Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1139934 in Books
• Published on: 1998-07-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 355 pages

Review
..a carnival of a book that is a non-stop read and which cannot totally be described as either a travel book, a personal memoir, or a cultural study of changing times in Greece - It is all of these and more. -- THE GREEK AMERICAN

Greece has always been lucky to have talented foreign writers who, like Gerald and Lawrence Durrel, Patrick Lee Fermor, Henry Miller and others have been able to savor or write about the timeless pleasures and troubles that are at the heart of the Greek experience. Add THIS WAY TO PARADISE to this select and honored group. -- HELLENIC JOURNAL

About the Author
Willard Manus is the author of five novels: The Fixers, Mott the Hoople, Connubial Bliss, The Fighting Men, Pigskin Rabbi. He's also a playwright whose work has been performed in Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Vienna, Sydney and Paris. He has also been a foreign correspondent and has freelanced for countless newspapers and magazines.

Customer Reviews

Quite the epic tale
This book is much more than just a memoir about the author's life in Lindos on the Greek Island of Rhodes. It's more than just a collection of stories about the people whose paths he crossed. And it's more than an historical review how Lindos changed dramatically over the course of 35 years. The book is all those things, but what makes this book great is that it is, at it's core, an tale of adventure. By all accounts, Willard Manus has lived quite a remarkable life. He could have easily settled down in the US suburbs at any point along his journey (and this book is definitely about the journey of life). But instead Lindos kept calling to him, beckoning him to return. It's a story that will inspire anyone who has put his or her dreams on hold for whatever reason.

I think you'll get the most out of this book if you have actually visited the Greek Islands (perhaps Turkey too). Although I never went there until well after mass tourism had been embraced, I have experienced places that are as tranquil and unspoiled as the Lindos of the early 1960s as described by Manus, and also to places that have become as tacky and overcrowded as the Lindos of the late 1990s and beyond. It's a no-brainer for me to choose which I prefer, and I can only imagine what it must have been like for Manus to witness the profound changes that Lindos underwent.

But the point of the book is not to warn of the dangers of mass tourism or to criticize the way the people of Lindos responded to their newfound wealth. It is a wonderful lesson about the importance of following one's dreams and living the life that's waiting for you. And you can't top that.

JOY TO READ
This book is witty, well-written and a joy to read. It accurately depicts both the joys and tribulations of living in Greece!! Buy a copy and head for any Greek island!!

Sandy Pappas

Truth speaks for itself
I bought the book whilst in Lindos in the summer of 2000, and i found it an entertaining, yet informative book about the village.

I had been to Lindos before and the stories in the book cease to amaze me, I know many of the characters personally and feel it is a great way to get to know the village better.

Overall it is a wonderful fusion, the characters set against the traditional Greek village life makes it a book for everyone, regardless of whether they have been to Lindos or not.