A decent fellow doesn't work - Lawrence G. Green (First edition)

Newspaper and radio critics who have read the manuscript of “A Decent Fellow Doesn’t Work” regard this long new volume as Lawrence Green’s finest book.

It is essentially a narrative of personal experience, though the author is so interested in other people and unusual subjects that the book has a wide sweep. However, he never ignores the places on his own doorstep, but presents many scenes familiar to South Africans in a new light.

Here you find Lawrence Green living on Robben Island and the French Riviera; travelling by forest railway at Knysna and in a sleeper on the “Sud Express” to Spain. Readers who are fascinated by the railways of the world will ride with Lawrence Green in many strange and luxurious trains. Here is an author who loves travel and proves that a keen observer of cities and people can travel successfully without spending a fortune.

One powerful chapter is devoted to the odours and aromas of the world. All through the book runs the queer theme of the sense of smell — the scenes that are recalled by woodsmoke and wine, spices and flowers.

A Decent Fellow Doesn’t Work is far more than a travelogue. It is a summing-up, a philosophy of life and an entertainment. Lawrence Green takes the world in his stride in this memorable book, and readers will be impressed as much by the style as by the remarkable material. These pages have a most pleasant flavour.