There are few people in the world who can claim anything near the experience of Professor Ananda Guruge. From his childhood under colonial rule to his early adulthood as a government official for the emerging nation of Sri Lanka and finally to mature years on the international stage of UNESCO, he has witnessed the shifting of social, economic, and religious patterns. It would be misleading to say that he has only "witnessed," because his imprint can been found on many of the institutions of his home country, the influence of the UN in international agreements, the representation of Buddhism to the world community, and in a host of educational centers around the globe. Moving in the highest ranks of prime ministers, presidents, kings, and ambassadors, Professor Guruge has tirelessly pursued his intention of service to society. At the same time, he can be seen working with at-risk youth in Los Angeles, developing strategies for lessening violence when it erupts in our cities, devoting time to helping rescue students who need a mentor, and speaking day after day to service groups, university classes, and leaders of society. With a background such as this, he has unique credentials to appraise the role of Buddhism in the contemporary scene, whether it is in social programs or scientific and technical research. Lewis Lancaster University of California, Berkeley

FREE AT LAST IN PARADISE is a historical novel on Sri Lanka. It is the first part of A SRI LANKAN TRILOGY FROM FREEDOM TO PEACE and deals with the period 1848 to 1948 when the country evolved into a modern nation and regained independence. It is a gripping novel tracing the path of the freedom movement, in then Ceylon from the 1848 rebellion to Independence in 1948. It features a Buddhist boy; a young novice in a temple, later educated in missionary schools, becomes a government functionary, a forest monk and still later an erudite scholar, whose life parallels the freedom movement driven mainly by the Buddhist revival led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott and his followers Anagarika Dharmapala and Sir Baron Jayatilake. The hero was a strong nationalist, deeply involved in the movement most of his adult life. Though a work of epic proportions, full of information masterfully dissecting every aspect of social and family life, with all its strains of caste and class, as well as the political and cultural scene of Ceylon at the time, it is a triumphant love story, that is by turns dramatic and powerful, romantic and tender that makes you want to keep reading. Displaying the author's dexterity, the most readable prose is appropriately laced with exhilarating verse. This is an extraordinary novel that exemplifies the best of historical fiction. Somehow he has managed to make the story both educational and, dare I say it, fun "The book will be read with pleasure," says David Vickery of Britain, "by those who love Ceylon and introduce those who have no knowledge of the country to a fascinating society." Leslie Gray M.D. of Denver, Colorado, USA, in his review published in the Journal of Theosophical History, says, "a magnum opus, a masterpiece from any angle. Elegant style, eloquent language, relentless tempo, exciting and almost galloping."

There are few people in the world who can claim anything near the experience of Professor Ananda Guruge. From his childhood under colonial rule to his early adulthood as a government official for the emerging nation of Sri Lanka and finally to mature years on the international stage of UNESCO, he has witnessed the shifting of social, economic, and religious patterns. It would be misleading to say that he has only "witnessed," because his imprint can been found on many of the institutions of his home country, the influence of the UN in international agreements, the representation of Buddhism to the world community, and in a host of educational centers around the globe. Moving in the highest ranks of prime ministers, presidents, kings, and ambassadors, Professor Guruge has tirelessly pursued his intention of service to society. At the same time, he can be seen working with at-risk youth in Los Angeles, developing strategies for lessening violence when it erupts in our cities, devoting time to helping rescue students who need a mentor, and speaking day after day to service groups, university classes, and leaders of society. With a background such as this, he has unique credentials to appraise the role of Buddhism in the contemporary scene, whether it is in social programs or scientific and technical research. Lewis Lancaster University of California, Berkeley

BUDDHIST ANSWERS TO CURRENT ISSUES: Studies in Socially Engaged Humanistic Buddhism An internationally reputed Buddhist scholar and activist - Vice-President and Liaison Officer to UN and UNESCO of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB); Patron, European Buddhist Union; President, World Buddhist University Council; Honorary Consultative Editor, Encyclopaedia of Buddhism: Professor of Buddhist Studies, Dean of Academic Affairs and Director, International Academy of Buddhism (IAB), University of the West, California, USA; Editor, Hsi Lai Journal of Humanistic Buddhism; Member, UNESCO International Interreligious Council; Former Ambassador of Sri Lanka to UNESCO, France, U.S.A., Spain, Algeria and Mexico; Former Senior Special Advisor to the Director General of UNESCO; and Author of 49 books on Buddhism, history and education - explores in eight chapters Buddhist answers to such issues as - Can Buddhism be the dogma-free humanistic spirituality, which the humankind searches to replace organized religion? How can Buddhism help in socialization and development of social awareness and responsibility of children and youth? What is the Buddhist bioethical response to abortion, euthanasia, suicide, asexual procreation, cloning, genetic engineering, eugenics, euphenics and the like? How does Buddhism help to accomplish the many-sided goals of a "whole person" education? How can Buddhism contribute to securing the human right to Peace, Security and Prosperity? What tasks lie ahead for the traditionally Buddhist countries to preserve and propagate Buddhism? How can Buddhism in the West usher in Universal Buddhism? How can we tap Sino-Indian Buddhist literature to answer current issues?

The imaginary discourses in Guruge's "Voices from Ancient Sri Lanka" come full-circle in the "Serendipity of Andrew George" in which the country, its peoples, and their cultures are explored at the present time. It is unique in its comprehensive approach to the reality of modern Sri Lanka.