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Jackdaw Cake

An Autobiography
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( 173 ratings, 19 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Jackdaw Cake by Norman Lewis is a captivating memoir that delves into the author's adventurous experiences growing up in the early 20th century. Lewis vividly recounts his upbringing and family life, contrasting the eccentricities of his relatives with his own yearning for escape and discovery. The memoir paints a picture of a young man navigating a changing world, filled with humorous and poignant reflections on human nature and societal transitions.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by richly detailed memoirs that traverse both time and place. The author paints a vivid tapestry of his experiences through various countries, capturing the essence of adventure and the uniqueness of different cultures with wit and insight. Ideal for those who appreciate a blend of personal growth and historical context.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Dragon Apparent, Golden Earth, The Honoured Society and Naples '44 .

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Jackdaw Cake is Norman Lewis's account of the first half of his adventurous life, infused with his dry, infectious, and laconic wit. He takes us on a transformative journey from a stammering schoolboy to a worldly-wise, multilingual sergeant in the Intelligence Corps.

In Auberon Waugh's words, Lewis was on the brink of becoming "the greatest travel writer alive, if not the greatest since Marco Polo." The narrative leaves off in 1950, just before he began creating a series of superbly crafted, wry, but deeply humane travel books, including Dragon Apparent, Golden Earth, The Honoured Society, and Naples '44.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781906011826

Publisher: Eland Publishing Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 20 February 2013

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Eland Publishing Ltd

Illustration: Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 135.0mm

Height: 215.0mm

Weight: 310g

Pages: 224

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    A time-tested classicβ€”first published more than sixty years agoβ€”that has helped millions achieve mastery of English, now in an Anchor mass market edition for the first time. The most effective English language vocabulary builder available, this time-tested classic has helped millions achieve mastery of English and improve their communication skills in business, the classroom, and in life. Word Power Made...
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  • A Quiet Evening
    This book contains the very best of Norman Lewis's travel writing. If you already own The Changing Sky (Jonathan Cape, 1959), which was later expanded by Eland in 1986 with the addition of another eight pieces and given a fresh title, A View of the World, you will encounter stories you have already read. An additional source are the three...
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  • The Missionaries
    The Missionaries was intended to be the concluding trilogy of a series of autobiographical books, beginning with Voices of the Old Sea and Jackdaw Cake. However, it was instead transmuted into a deeply searing examination of the extermination of indigenous tribes by North American fundamentalist missionaries. This narrative is all the more powerful as it represents the distillation of a...
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  • Empire of the East
    Norman Lewis was eighty-three years old when, in 1991, he embarked on a series of three arduous journeys into the most contentious corners of Indonesia: into the extreme western edge of Sumatra, into East Timor, and Irian Jaya. He never drops his guard, reporting only on what he can observe, and using his well-honed tools of irony, humour, and restraint...
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  • In Sicily
    In Sicily is a loving take on an extraordinary island, based on Norman Lewis's sixty-year-long fascination with all things Sicilian. Few places on earth have escaped the singular eye of Norman Lewis, but always, in the course of his long career, he has come back to Sicily. From his first wartime visit to a land untouched since the Middle Ages...
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  • Naples '44
    Naples '44 follows Norman Lewis as he arrives in war-torn Naples as an intelligence officer in 1944. The city is a world where the starving population has devoured all the tropical fish in the aquarium, respectable women have been driven to prostitution, and the black market reigns supreme. Lewis finds little to admire among his fellow soldiers, but he gains...
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