RETURN TO AMALFI The tale of the return of the native son or daughter to the old home town has often enriched our lives. As something new for the "return to" and travel genre, Return to Amalfi is about the return of an improbable native son to the old home town and region as it exists today-and may, or may not, have existed 300 years ago. In a rare real life combination of travel, detective, romance, history, "ghost, " and scientific adventure story, the author and his wife and partner, the internationally known writer of The Chalice and the Blade, Riane Eisler, explore the Amalfi coast in this second book for the Benjamin Franklin Press publication of a six book Entertainment and Humor cycle by award-winning author David Loye. The story begins in one of America's most popular travel destinations, the Monterey Peninsula and the tiny town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, then moves to Europe, Rome, and down through Campania to an even more popular attraction, the enchantment of Amalfi, Ravello, and the sparkling string of towns and villages from Positano to Sorrento along the Amalfi coast. Driving the adventure is the baffling mystery of the increasing popularity of what is known as past life regression work. In this case, it is the question of whether or not Loye, a psychologist and evolutionary systems scientist, might actually have also lived 300 years ago as a spice merchant in late Renaissance Amalfi. Humorous, absorbing, information-packed, at times moving, this becomes for the Amalfi coast a portrait akin to travel guru Bill Bryson's portryal of Australia in In a Sunburnt Country or America's Appalachian trail in A Walk in the Woods. The look and feel of the magical Amalfi coast, littlestories of the place, tips on lodging and dining here and in Rome, provide a hefty serving of the basic fare and abiding appeal of the travel book genre. But with its probe into the lost history of late Renaissance Amalfi, the book uncovers startling new dimensions of adventure, romance, and enduring meaning. An amazing connection to both the America of Washington, Franklin, Jefferson and other founders and the earlier "partnership" era of gender equality peace and gender equality that Eisler writes of in The Chalice and the Blade and other books emerges. The book includes an invaluable guide to the rich history-laden architecture of the Amalfi coast, ranging from Roman, Byzantine, and Gothic to Baroque and Romanesque. It is, in short, a book for readers who want to go in mind or in person to Amalfi, Ravello, Positano, or the rest of the wonder of the Amalfi coast. As a companion to their joint biography 3, 000 Years of Love, it is also a book for the reader who via the return of Loye and Eisler to Amalfi may find an evocation of the puzzle and mystery of their own life. Cover by John Mason. Production: Cassandra Gallup Bridge. Back cover photo: Cathleen Roundtree