The Lotus Eaters

by Gerald Green

Tom, hero to his Italian family and friends of New York's Bronx, Marty, his wife, and her eccentric genius of a father, a famous anthropologist, Prof. Maitland, who cannot resist championing lost causes; Ballard, a Negro whose scientific background is at odds with the pull back to the war his people are waging; an ex-Communist, haunted by his personal tragedy. Set against them are the millionaire couple who have granted the right to "the dig", and who show a shallow concern for the findings. A possible lost site of a lost tribe of Glade Indians. And Ira deKay, an utterly surrealist character, whose one aim becomes the acquisition of Tom's remote, beautiful, arrogant wife.

Mass Market Paperback

Published July 1, 1980

About the author

Gerald Green (April 8, 1922 – August 29, 2006) was an American author, journalist, and television writer. He attended Columbia College, where he edited the Jester, starred in several Varsity Shows, and was a member of the Philolexian Society. He graduated from the college in 1942 and, after serving in the US Army in Europe during the Second World War, where he was also the editor of the army's Stars and Stripes newspaper, he returned to New York to attend the Columbia Journalism School.

Green wrote many novels, the best known being The Last Angry Man, published in 1956. It was adapted into a movie by the same name which was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Muni) and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White. His other novels include His Majesty O'Keefe (co-authored with Lawrence Klingman), adapted into a 1954 film, North West, Portofino P.T.A., To Brooklyn with Love, My Son the Jock, The Lotus Eaters, and East and West. His 1962 novel Portofino P.T.A. was adapted into a musical, Something More!, by composer Sammy Fain and lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman.

He wrote the teleplay for Holocaust, a critically acclaimed 1978 TV miniseries that won eight Emmy Awards, including one for "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series," and was credited with persuading the West German government to repeal the statute of limitations on Nazi war crimes. He later adapted the script into a novel of the same title. In recognition for this effort, Green was awarded the Dag Hammarskjöld International Peace Prize for literature, 1979. Green won another Emmy nomination for his 1985 TV script for Wallenberg: A Hero's Story. Green was also a writer, producer, and director for NBC News. In 1952, he co-created (with Dave Garroway) NBC's The Today Show.

Green lived in Stamford, Connecticut for twenty years and moved to New Canaan, Connecticut. His first wife, Marie, died of cancer. They had three children: Nancy, Ted and David. He married Marlene Eagle in 1979, becoming stepfather to Dr Janie Worth (Née Eagle), Julie Cardo (Née Eagle) and David Eagle. Green died of pneumonia in Norwalk, Connecticut on August 29, 2006.

Reviews

[Biskit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has it all - sex, drinking, affairs, politics, archaeology...and it's set in Florida, so you can't go wrong. In his own trashy way, Green does illustrate how Florida was transformed from a natural playground into the scary thing it is today.

[Jamie Barringer (Ravenmount) · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the last 100 pages of this book seem to drag on with less focus, overall this is a great modern literary novel showing the culture of the Deep South in the 60's and 70's, and highlighting aspects of modern Western culture in general. There is a lot to this book, and I'm sure if readers can get past the length, this book has a chance at being a classic whenever it can catch enough attention to become trendy somewhere.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

good early history of los angles

[Lonzetta]

didn't like it