GOOD & EVIL   by Dale Lisi Review by Grady Harp, Amazon Top 50 Hall of Fame Reviewer ‘A fine line between insanity and religion’ Maryland author Dale Lisi is a USCG Licensed Captain for Foolish Pleasures (Charter and Bounty Fishing) as featured on National Geographic reality television show ‘Wicked Tuna Outer Banks.’ In this, his debut publication, he brings his life’s experiences  - teenage drug use and ‘manipulation,’ overdoses of PCP and LSD, and most significantly his boating accident resulting in the tragic loss of an arm followed by travels to odd remote regions in search for the answers to the meaning of life (and the arm he was missing!) – all of this supplies the energetic fuel for this book on seeking understanding of religion and God. Typical of Dale’s fine writing skills, his own mission is well stated in his words: ‘The closest we can get to the flame without getting burned is where we want to be. From our beginning on this earth until our end, we are warned about these things that we all desperately pursue and glorify (some in secret, some boasting) as we constantly attempt to partake in them while at the same time trying to elude their worth, constantly feeding this addiction to entertainment, from Hollywood, to drugs, to the act of sinning. I have always made horrible decisions, never believing anything until it was too late, and to make matters worse, I was overrun with the desire for the ‘extreme.’ Ever since I can remember, I was completely captivated by just about everything I was told not to do and did many things many times out of dares I posed to myself, from skateboarding to riding bikes and motorcycles, from smoking cigarettes to drinking alcohol, from using marijuana, LSD, and Cocaine all the way to doing PCP, where I would find satisfaction at a price and a label that would never go away like a Scarlet Letter. ‘It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to beg for permission.” Dale’s search for God spins a fascinating journey for understanding of the dichotomy between good and evil, and indeed for understanding God. He offers, ‘In this day and age, we would rather put our hopes and beliefs into lies, desperately attempting to make them real, glorifying emotions, feeling, and erotic experiences, placing our power into coins and paper, hungering for them with all our being.’ And then he reflects, ‘Man wants so badly to come up with his own explanation for things with his microscopes, telescopes, probes, and potions, but he can only study matter with these tools. He can’t study its intent, and some things you can’t understand if you are not willing to accept where they have come from.’ He then adjures, ‘“This is just my interpretation of the oldest book in the world.’ There are many books about man’s search for meaning, but few have been delivered in the raw yet poetic and erudite tone Dale achieves in GOOD & EVIL. His closing comment sums the discovery well: ‘‘The meaning of life is to learn the difference between good and evil and to make the choice of what you wish to be a part of for eternity; beyond that, there is no meaning.’ He somehow makes it all make sense – a major achievement in our current trying times! Grady Harp, December 1, 2020