In Roger Ebert's "Life Itself," Ebert phases the chapters as thoughtful strolls through his childhood and into college in Champaign-Urbana, his favorite places in Venice, London, Paris, and Chicago, irrepressible high spirits and high jinks, philosophical debates, and declarations of love.

Despite Ebert's last decade of illness and rehabilitation, disfiguring surgery, and the inability to speak, eat, or drink, his memoir is full of the moments that make his life a life still fresh and full and worth living. He has an acute memory for details of dialog, from film or conversation, and he is especially adept at calling forth the lighting of place.

We get to know Roger and his love for Champaign-Urbana and the University of Illinois. We peek into his relationships prior to his marriage to his soul mate, Chaz, and her loving extended family. I found the chapters about Gene Siskel highly entertaining as their rivalry evolved into a deep friendship. The fact that they would both get hit by fits of giggles with one wrong look during a speech or filming left me laughing. They also engaged in monumental fights.

Ebert evaluates the directors and actors he interviewed, commenting on his interviewing style. The chapters on Lee Marvin and John Wayne are classic.

This is a truly memorable memoir by a man who has seen his life change in ways not pleasant to think about, but even in those changes, he has found the exchange of one sense for another.

I would emphatically say that this book is more than two thumb's up: Roger, I love you.