Letters between Sinclair Lewis and his publishers at the greatest creative period of his life, from just prior to the publication of "Main Street", to the period including "Babbitt", "Arrowsmith", "Elmer Gantry" and "Dodsworth", to his acceptance of the first Nobel Prize for Literature awarded to an American. More intimate and revealing than one might expect from letters of this sort, they reveal much of what Lewis was like at this time. The striking thing is how genuine the liking, friendship and respect seemed between Lewis and Alfred Harcourt, the publisher who signed Sinclair Lewis as his first major author for his newborn company. They both grew together, and the relationship was affectionate and mutually rewarding. Lewis often remarked on how above and beyond other publishers Harcourt would go to promote his books. And yet, the mercurial nature of Lewis is revealed by the final exchange of letters, soon after Lewis' aceptance of the Nobel Prize in Stockholm, in which Lewis severs their association, feeling that Harcourt has taken insufficient advantage of the Nobel Prize in promoting his books. Harcourt takes the high road to this cold betrayal, writing to Lewis "If I've lost an author, you haven't lost either a friend or a devoted reader". Lewis was neither a great writer or a great man; he was merely an adept observer of the American scene who happened along at the right time for a while, and overstayed his welcome. ( )