Writers Books

Linda has created a fine collection of life stories. Once you begin, you will find it difficult to put the book down. If these incidents have not been a part of your experience, someone you know has been there. My only complaint is that the collection comes to an end much too quickly. Fortunately, the author has compiled another one in "Thirst."

These short stories are bullets--shots to the brain that stay on your mind long after you read them.
"Shadow Man" is very powerful. In less than 10 pages, Ms. Lavid made me care deeply for a young woman who's invited to meet her estranged father in the Tea Room of a fancy hotel. The dad abandoned her and her mother years ago.
The events that follow indelibly scorch my mind. I'm amazed how a writer can cram so much emotion, excitement, and vivid descriptive imagery in such a small package.

The stories were so good, I read the book in one day.

Fred Tomasello Jr.

Rented Rooms is bite-sized reading that grips your imagination. Each story, from four to eighteen pages, is complete, with a message, all 130 pages crammed with life's lessons.
Visualize the three-dimensional characters, live the vibrant scenes that you know exist, enjoy the measured, thoughtful writing but beware. When you think the story is set, Lavid hasn't finished with you as the sting in each story's tail penetrates.
This collection demonstrates refreshing writing craft, the whole a quality job, the reading time well spent.

Rented Rooms permits the reader to be a voyeur peeking in the many windows of a carefully constructed house of words. Linda Lavid takes ordinary situations and turns them into brilliant little gems of stories that examine the secret corners and surreal moments of life. Her style is engaging, her characters like people we encounter daily, and her plots--oh, her plots are so sublime. All in all a terrific read from someone who promises to master the classic short story and help rescue it from the tediousness of angst-ridden pointless short fictions that seem to be the rage today. Well done.

This is a valuable book. It will start you thinking about all sorts of things. The stories are well written and interesting. I found that the more time I put into thinking about the stories in this book, the more I thought about life in general and my life in particular. I found that many of the stories resonate with my own life. There was one story that I reread several times, called "Aunt Leona". Each time I reread it, I found that I was rewarded with a newer and larger understanding of the story.
"Aunt Leona", like many of the stories in this book, is about ordinary people: a secretary, her niece the narrator, an attorney, and the attorney's wife. On the surface, they lead ordinary lives and died ordinary deaths. As I read and reread the story, I began to see that beneath these lives, strong emotions came into play and their lives and deaths were something quite different from what they seemed. Who of us can really tell what someone else is really thinking? Really doing? Really did? Really has done? And why? Do we really ever know one another?
After each story are a few words from the author, commenting on the story and the author's feelings about the story. It's an added benefit of buying the book. Reading this book is sort of like a visit from a favorite friend, like having a cup of coffee with someone you like and respect and want to listen to because of all of the interesting things she's going to say, and the interesting questions she might ask.

This book, now in its third edition, is a great introduction to library research for undergraduates and upper division high school students who are heading off to college soon. I'm planning on using it in for high school advanced library research course.
The author, a college librarian in British Columbia, gives a step-by-step introduction to the "information fog" and deals with such topics as defining the need for research and refining a topic, using keyword searching and metadata and controlled vocabularies, library catalogs and online databases, general internet research and other research sources.
A strength of the book is the humorous approach which tones down what most other authors seem to take too seriously. In his preface, for example, Badke states: "This book is definitely for you if you are: a university student whose term papers have been patented as a cure for insomnia; a Dilbert of industry who's been told to do a feasibility study on the expansion potential of ice cream bar sales in Nome, Alaska; a simple honest citizen trying to find the truth behind the advertising so that the next car you buy won't be like your last disaster-mobile, the car that made you persona non grata at the automobile association."
I had an earlier edition of this title which I liked also and so when I discovered the 3rd edition had been published I immediately ordered it. The way that the world of research changes continually means that what was once cutting edge is no longer so and having the latest is really important. I was impressed that the book mentions the Amazon Kindle which was only made available last (2007) November.
I reviewed several other similar recently published texts on information literacy but this one definitely is heads and shoulder above them all in terms of usefulness, cost and a light touch to a rather dry subject.

We live in the "information age". Communication on the information highway is fast pace. However, the problem is most of us don't have the map needed to travel that highway and so we have great challenges finding the destination. The material in Dr. Badke's book is the road map to the information highway. This book is the "GPS" to the information highway.

If readers follow this guide, they should be able to access the information needed much quicker and easier. It will save students valuable time as they learn research skills and strategies needed (needed for college and universities assignments). It will also make the research more accurate, as the student learns how to access information written by the best scholars in the field. A small price to pay for a resource is worth so much.

The author writes in an easy to read style. Hint: to get the most benefit out of this resource, take the time to do the practice exercises before getting involved in your actual research. If you do this, it should take you less time to do the actual research for your assignments. Try it. It works.

This update to Badke's previous work on library research is excellent. I teach Language and Research at a Bible college and used to use his first book as required reading for my students. I was so disappointed when it went out of print. Now, this updated version is my new requirement. This book is written with the same humor and simplicity as the first, but with updated information that is a must. Dealing with electronic research is now the norm and Badke explains it very, very well. This is a must have resource for anyone taking on research.

"Research Strategies" is written with humor and in an easy to understand style making this a must have book for anyone wanting to do justice to a research assignment. The author covers the basics of how to develop a good research question; the importance of research strategies - what they are and how to use them; how to take notes and organize a paper. There are numerous examples that illustrate the strategies and most chapters end with study guide questions and ways to practice the concepts as well as assignment suggestions.
As a high school librarian I was excited to find this book and plan to use it a a teaching tool for research.

This book serves as a useful introduction to research techniques and options for the late high school or early-to-mid-level college student beginning research. Badke's writing focuses on finding sources and writing research papers. The writing assumes no current knowledge of conducting research of any kind, so parts may be simplistic for many, but there is a wealth of great research strategies within.

He begins with a look at paper design, and the place from which to begin your research. He then moves to database, periodical and internet searches. He then discusses how to formulate your research into a working topic, and organizing your data.

He writes for people who have never really used a library effectively or used a computer for research. Overall, this is a superb introduction to research that should be read by anyone attempting research.

Finneran writes a Gripping mystery that one can not put down. Both of his books, "Retribution" (#1) and "Murder in Two Parts" (#2), artfully shift scenes between two cities, and are tales well calculated to keep you in Suspense. Am eagerly awaiting #3.

Completely enjoyed reading this attention keeping book. It was fast paced and held interest until the final page. I liked the twist of an ending. I would recommend this book to all my friends. Is there another book in the works by this author?

That this is the author's first novel is difficult to believe given the fast-paced action and well-developed characters. The author quickly grabs the reader and draws him into the story, keeping him there with an insider's knowledge of the Navy, police forces, the FBI, and technology. I can't wait for the next entry by this author!

Finneran gets off to a dynamic start! After a very serious problem is resolved (about midway), he moves swiftly to the satisfying resolution. With inside knowledge of police work, computers, surveillance hardware and a host of other things he brings the reader to sweet retribution!

Fast paced, hard to put down novel with a surprising twist at the end. Holds attention and is enjoyable to read.

I came across this book while basically just browsing many different topics. I had read "Black Boy" and "Native Son" many, many years ago, and had kind of lumped them in with books by other black authors like "Invisible Man" and "Go Tell It on the Mountain". However, having fortunately had my consciousness raised significantly since the late 60's, I decided to read this biography - there was another biography by Margaret Walker, a former friend of Wright's, but it seemed a little bitter and so possibly not as objective. I noted right away this was what I call a "two bookmark" book - one for the text and one for the footnotes at the back (I much prefer footnotes at the bottom of the page but realize this is sometimes too awkward and voluminous). The story evolved of a man whose life somewhat overlapped with my own, beginning with his wretched and impoverished childhood in Mississippi, spent mostly with his mother and brother after his father left and started another family. Richard's family was incredibly poor, in a poor black section of a poor town in the poor state of Mississippi. Other adjectives for Mississippi at that time, and for years to come, spring to mind, like "brutal", "racist to the nth degree", "lynching addicted", "determined to maintain a questionable (and certainly not enviable) "white way of life" by harsh infliction of Jim Crow laws. However, the young Richard Wright had great artistic intelligence, as well as an exceptionally mind, and a dream for his life from which he would not waver. He could no longer live in a State where his inferiors were seen to be his superiors. He moved to Chicago ("up North") with an aunt while in his teens and was disappointed and horrified by many of the conditions he found there. There were minimally more opportunities for Negroes (as they were called at that time, also "coloreds") and "race-mixing", while widely frowned upon, was accepted in certain circles. Richard was introduced into the Communist Party, and thus began a decades old love-hate relationship with communism. Yes, he got many good opportunities to exercise his writing abilities through the Party's many literary outlets, but he resented its stifling nature and in-fighting. Eventually, he felt he had been duped by the Party and he also felt he could no longer tolerate the obvious infiltration by the FBI and CIA, who were beginning their paroxysms of anti-Communist hysteria at that time, wasting millions of tax-payer dollars scrutinizing and harassing ordinary and innocent citizens, particularly those involved in the arts and in civil rights. This hysteria, of course, culminated in the insanely megalomaniacal frenzy known as "The McCarthy Era", after the fixated, parapolitical, ranting Senator who gave this era its name. He also progressed through work he did under the auspices of the WPA. He had some close writer friends and developed close friendships with his agent and his publisher, and lived a fairly social life (although he most loved to be by himself, writing), mostly through activities in the Party, the WPA and earlier, at the Post Office where he was temporarily employed. He also lived for quite some time in New York, which was a little more progressive; however, he encountered instances of racial prejudice there, as well. His first big book, Native Son, was a huge success considering white America really didn't like to have more than one big Negro writer at any one time. Black Boy followed. He also wrote many short stories and essays. He married precipitously (actually his second choice) because he felt he should be married and have children. After considerable passport problems, he moved his family to France, where he felt much more at home, despite France's somewhat straitened circumstances following WW II. Richard Wright was keenly aware and interested in matters of a political nature, and particularly as they affected "people of color", which included also citizens of the oriental countries, Africa, Muslim countries, etc. He also traveled to Spain and some of the Nordic countries. He was fascinated by people and their reactions to their circumstances in life. He maintained close correspondences with many of the literary figures of the day, both black and white, and counted them among his close friends. In his personal professional life, he was incredibly focused and hard-working. Most of his books were required to be extensively edited by his publisher, often up to over one-third of the original book. However, he took on these tasks with diligence, resignation and hard work, as he realized that a book that doesn't sell is basically just a home decoration. During his life, he wrote fiction, biography thinly disguised as fiction, short stories, songs, plays, non-fiction travel memoirs, books of political and historical theory and, toward the end of his life, haikus. He and his wife had two daughters but eventually his wife and children moved to England, while he remained in France to write. Even when they all lived together, he often traveled for six months to a year at a time by himself researching and writing. Needless to say, he and his wife grew emotionally apart - his weakness for other women didn't help. Instead of bemoaning this turn of events, although I'm sure she did in the beginning, Ellen Wright turned to publishing, with the help of Simone deBeauvoir, a friend originally of Richard's but then later, Ellen's very close friend. His later books, written in France, did not do as well, with the possible exception of "The Outsider". His publisher and agent speculated that perhaps he had been overseas too long and was not aware of the changes that had taken place in the U.S., and particularly in Mississippi, where his stories took place, making his books dated. Paradoxically, his books that took place in France and Spain were panned as not being familiar enough to him. He never gave up, however, despite ill health that had plagued him off and on since adulthood and which had become worse in his later years, culminating in a truly scary course of treatment by his German doctor. His untimely death was a blow to the millions of people who would have been enriched by the books still in him, and of the books unpublished at this death. In particular, I would have loved to have read his book about Africa. Richard Wright was a writer of uncommon intelligence and research habits, with a gift of seeing into the hearts of people. He wrote equally well about the white races. He also comes across as a fairly loyal and interesting friend, as well as a loving father. Even in hard times, he provided for his family, despite his basic estrangement from Ellen, his wife. His untimely death was a loss for all readers, but his legacy lives on, as I, for one, fully intend to read (and in some cases re-read) every book I can find by Richard Wright. This was a fairly long book, with voluminous footnotes, but I can honestly say I was never bored, and there were never parts I felt I had to skip over. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to "meet" Richard Wright, the man and the author.

Why has it taken a half-century for a really good writer to produce a biography of Richard Wright? It had not seemed "natural" until Hazel Rowley's new book.

Far beyond crippling "racial," political, and professional cliches, Rowley has crafted easily the most comprehensive, insightful and balanced life of Wright. Her prose and understanding are unaffectedly live and clear. Her feel for Wright's accomplishment, the range of the man's life and times is superb! Her book is an enriching pleasure that ought finally to compel honest recognition of this unique American genius.

Many biographies have been written about Richard Wright but this remarkable book gives you a fresh perspective on this man who turned the publishing world upside down with his book Native Son. Unlike the other books written about him, The Life and Times focuses on the personal life of Wright and how over the years he developed as a writer.

Rowley takes us to his home state of Mississippi where we meet Richard Wright as a boy. Raised in a fundamentalist religious family in the midst of poverty, Wright was a true outsider who was not understood by his family or friends. His migration to the north (Chicago) unfolds a new world for him where his writing abilities are recognized and nurtured.

You see a Richard Wright who embraces individualism and won't allow the Communist Party or any other organization to dictate to him how to write. As time goes on Wright takes the step of permanently leaving the United States by going to France. It is there that he finds a freedom never felt before in America.

I enjoyed this book and was surprised about many facts concerning his personal life and writing career. Wright's psychological development and philosophical stances are intriguing. At times he is an outspoken voice against racism but ends up making compromises in his work and personal life. Towards the end of his life, Wright becomes suspicious of those around him. He alienates himself from his family and friends.

Rowley shows us the complexities and humanity of a man who went from poverty to fame and then on a downward spiral into spiritual poverty. What was it that made this man tick? The author does an outstanding job in answering that question and putting him in perspective of his day and time. This is an outstanding book that deserves to be in the libraries of every reader.

Wright undoubtedly is one of the most interesting figures in American literature. He was among the second generation of post-slavery African Americans and received only the most rudimentary education in the segregated South, but went on to be one of the most celebrated literary figures of his time, trading wits with Albert Camus and Jean Paul Sartre at the height of the French existentialist movement in Paris. In 1941 the eminent sociologist Robert Park summed it up upon meeting Wright, asking simply "how in hell did you happen?"

Rowley's biography is well written and thoroughly researched, and the subject matter is a fascinating one. Wright is probably more interesting as a personality and sociological phenomenon than he was as a writer (it's been argued that Native Son was his one and only true work of genius) but the story of his life makes for riveting reading. Wright's life is a study of contrasts and ironies. He grew up in the injustice and grinding poverty of Jim Crow Mississippi, spent time as a Communist immersed in Marxist doctrine, and after achieving fame and fortune went on to live in bourgeoisie luxury in post-war Paris surrounded by impoverished White Europeans.

This is an excellent biography: thorough, well referenced, and compelling. I give it four stars instead of five simply because it is somehow missing that element that is present in the best of biographies which allows the reader to look into the motives and inspirations of the subject. Rowley includes a lot of facts about Wright's early life (his influences, who gave him his first books, etc.) but I never felt like I understood the reason that this particular Black youth from the Deep South ended up reading Mencken, Chekhov, and Maupassant in his spare time and dreaming of fame as an author. In short, I'm not sure that Rowley's biography succeeds in answering Robert Park's question.

Overall, however, this is an outstanding book. Rowley is an objective and unbiased biographer. Rowley covers not only Wright the author, but also the age in which he lived. Wright was a truly original voice in the history of American literature, and was among the fist to bring the Black experience to American readers. He deserves to be remembered, and Rowley does a fine job of telling the story of his life. Highly recommended.

Richard Wright is a major American author and, as such, deserves a major biography. Up until now, this has not happened.

Sure, there have been previous attempts. Friends (Constance Webb), enemies (Margaret Walker), and scholars (Michel Fabre) have all had their turn, but only Hazel Rowley's account, RICHARD WRIGHT: THE LIFE AND TIMES, can be considered definitive.

The fact that Wright is the subject of a major book in the 21st century is in itself marvelous. Too often, Wright has been dismissed since his death in 1960 by critics, readers, and other writers. That a major publishing house (Henry Holt and Company) would even put out Rowley's work is a testament to the revival of Wright in literary circles.

And Rowley has provided us with a wonderfully balanced account. She recaps the triumphs (NATIVE SON, BLACK BOY), and is not afraid to include the faults (Wright's weakness for casual affairs and his indulgence in psychological babble in later works). What emerges is a portrait of a gifted outsider who managed success in spite of an almost crippling self-doubt.

In chapter after chapter, Rowley describes not only Wright's experience; she manages to incorporate the context of the experience as well. This journalistic tactic is especially rewarding in the passages describing Wright's travels to Spain and Africa in later life (his reactions *to* those travels make sense in the narrative as well). In fact, the book's only flaw is the quick wrap-up; I would have liked to read a summary of Wright's influence, and a few lines about his family today, in the closing.

But this is a small problem compared to what Rowley has achieved. Here, at last, is a clean, readable account of a neglected but nevertheless important figure in American literature. It is to be hoped that the book spurs renewed interest in the actual works of its subject.

This book is written in rather an old-fashioned way and is difficult to understand due to queer wording. In spite of the great exaggeration it makes entertaining reading, and brings to light the life, habits, dress, ideals, and manner of worship of the people of the year 2167.

This is an amazing work of fiction by a first-time author that is both provocative in tone and reflective in scope. It is a prescient look at the future of organized, "for-profit" religions and the continued desire to find meaning, any meaning in life. The author has successfully walked the fine line between absurd comedy and inflammatory parody to create a book that I enjoyed reading as much the second time as I did the first. If you have read Joseph Campbell's "The Power of Myth" and/or Walter Miller's "A Canticle for Leibowitz," you should read this book.

Kracht's dark and fatalistically humorous work appears to be as influenced by movies and television as much as it is by other works of science fiction. From the explosive prologue to the "brief" courtroom denouement, Kracht knows how to draw an audience into his shamelessly chaotic universe, filled as it is with mega-corporations, oppressive bureaucracies, useless police and the consequences of religion without restraint. This IS a dark vision. Only Kracht's bemused, semi-detached narrative style imparts the material with a sense of lightness. The closest parallel this reviewer can draw would be to John Varley's "Gaia Trilogy" (Titan, Wizard, Demon). Make no mistake, though, Kracht's tale of the hapless Simon Shadow bears only superficial similarity to Varley's final tome (Demon) - in which a genetically engineered moon suddenly appears in orbit around Saturn, attracting the faithful - and those who prey on them. Perhaps Frank Herbert's "The Jesus Incident" - a story of a desert enclave, the Redoubt, whose population of genetic misfits seeking transcendence - is more conceptually akin to "The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism." This is not the sci-fi of marauding aliens and incomprehensible physics - instead, this is a STORY, a tale of one man's journey into the unknown. Simon Shadow is us. Along the way we witness the futility and consequence of dogmatic adherence to faith beyond reason. We find that a small favor may be remembered - and we find that even when all is lost Simon still lands on his feet. We all want to break away from the Dilbert-like humdrum of every day life, only Simon actually goes and does something about it. Ultimately, the cost of pursuing this vision may be too high, but it seems that in the end, he did what he had to do.

One part utopian satire, one part apocalyptic vision; an imaginary voyage that reads like an encyclopedic epic. Strong images dominate this work, and they did not leave my consciousness for weeks. There is also an element of realism that is hard to ignore, dealing with drug use/abuse and the nature of human perception. This is one of those works that is almost recursive in its use of allegory. The primary story thread - that of Simon Shadow and his quest for freedom from the constraints of a society plagued by overpopulation - has, wrapped around it, two "lesser" story threads, which themselves are intertwined (the military presence above the planet Reetar, and the survivors of the crashed starship below). The three work in unison, leading to an almost perfect (and always entertaining) use of the 'deus ex machina' - and I say 'perfect' since this work's overall theme is religion - or rather, the dominant, soulless spirituality that runs rampant in the year 2167. Despite its length, it blazed by. Very well written.

Engaging. Kracht manages to weave a tale of ultimate cynicism, humor and adventure. A page turning, Sci-fi epic, that spans across the galaxy taking the root of religion with it. At least five different sub-texts circumvent the protaganist on his quest for a new life. Of course, whatever planets human beings decide to colonize in the future; religion is sure to follow. Shimmerism is a pure example of the 'written exquisite'. Intense character development suspends the reader in a reality of cool music, weird alien lifeforms, mind altering drugs (or sensory enhancing), and awesome galactic operations dealing ultimately with total military control of all colonized planets. And then of course their are the spiders, ah, yes....the spiders. Excellent job James.

This a wonderful story with finely drawn characters (although I disagree with other reviewers on the bird) with lots of style, wit, and panache. The descriptions of post-war rural Southern life are full of life and light, the characters jump out of the page and are people that you wish you could meet, and the narrative just keeps on revealing more about everyone's lives. Hayes has a winning novel here that will draw you in and satisfy many readers.

Hope to see more from Stan Hayes; this is truly sophisticated, sexy, Southern-fried fun, with a sneaky aftertaste of spookery. What's with dat bird, man?

Anyway, I played ball at an SEC school, and the episode about the Sugar Bowl tickets reminded me of my red-shirt days and strgglin' to make ends meet. Trouble is, I had no playmate remotely like Maybelle of the Red Austin-Healey! Way to go, Hayes; now sex on a hotel roof's on my checklist of things to do before I die. Yeah, THAT kind of sex!

What a case of bottom english! Ex-Abwehr agent steals millions, has his postwar flight to Cuba interrupted when his Buick limo breaks down in cracker country. Porque? Why, for the oldest reason in the chronicles of humankind; a fine, fine woman who's grossly misunderstood, and, naturally, underappreciated.

I'm convinced that Mr. Hayes either grew up in a town like Bisque, or drank a lot with someone who did. His place descriptions, characterizations and ear for dialect are just too spot-on for this reviewer to believe otherwise.

Bring it on, Stan; we need more of Bisque and Hamm County, which bids fair to be appreciated as nothing less than Yoknapatawpha East!

This story has quite a few memorable characters, not the least of whom is Flx the Goshawk. Befriending Jack on the first day that he's separated from his Father, he remains his supernatural sounding board- or is he an alter ego?... throughout the years of his growing up. On whichever side of this question you may decide to come down, I'll bet that you end up wishing that you'd had a Flx of your own to guide you through the pitfalls of growing up, to say nothing of the mentoring of a resourceful ex-Nazi spy!

Hayes doesn't exactly hit you over the head with his message, as DeLillo or Pynchon are wont to do, but it comes through loud and clear if you look closely at what this blockbuster-sized book has to say. To wit, sex is a deadly sort of fun, God is a fig newton of far too many people's imaginations, and life's too short to pussyfoot around. I write this having just reread The Rough English Equivalent's 600+ pages to make sure that I'd really "gotten it," and it was so much fun that I'll probably do it again before the summer's out. As a woman, I found myself applauding Rini's independence and wishing that I were as tough as Diana, the kick-ass psychic nympho twin. And if you're a pilot, as I am, you'll get a kick out of flying the J-3 Cub and the old Grumman F3F fighter with Jack, Moses and Gene Debs!

This is, excuse my French, a hell of a book; to that point, I can't give it five stars because I'm at odds with Mr. Hayes' atheistic subtext. I suppose that's akin to a feminist downing the cromagnon philosophy of John Wayne, which I do, and still admiring his Sgt. Stryker of Sands of Iwo Jima, which one must. If I could, I'd give the book 4 1/2 stars, but since I can't, it gets a very enthusiastic FOUR!

Having chanced across this book's web site during a Google search, I bought it on the strength of Thomas Mcguane's endorsement. His off-center humor's been a longtime addiction of mine, and I figured that if he got "hours of amusement" from it, so would I. Well, I didn't know what I was getting myself into; this guy Hayes' mind certainly shares a quirk or two with McGuane's, but they definitely feed in different pastures. The Rough English Equivalent shares tones of alienation and rebellion with McGuane's work, especially the early books, but its humor's at once darker and more hopeful than the wide-open-space bleakness of which McGuane is the master. This novel, which I think is Hayes's first, has a decidedly urban cast, with airplanes and motorcycles serving in the roles of McGuane's beloved horseflesh.

Enough comparisons; what we have here is a bordering-on-black comedy set in post-World War II Bisque, Georgia, hard by the Savannah River Project plutonium plant. The Rough English Equivalent spans a decade in the lives of Serena, the striking, sensual, estranged wife of Manhattan Project scientist and a Bisque bigwig's daughter, who's itching to trade motherhood and the live-in management of her father's hotel for a sculptor's loft in New York. Jack, her ferociously apt son, puberty just around the corner, is shadowed by a Goshawk that only he can see. Having only sporadic contact with his father, he grows up in Hotel Bisque under the iconoclastic tutelage of burly Jewish entrepreneur Moses, who's actually Peter, a onetime Luftwaffe pilot, late of German intelligence, who sat out the war in Baltimore after walking away with three million bucks earmarked for Roosevelt's and Churchill's 1941 IRA assassination aboard USS Augusta. Stranded en route to Cuba by a ruptured radiator, he gets a load of Serena and drops anchor.

As they craft a modus viviendi, these characters smite Bisque's small-town sensibilities hip and thigh, careening down a collision course with destiny. Probing their psyches and the circumstances that shaped them, Hayes cracks the citadel of Bisque's bigoted bourgeoisie, delivering episodes that include Moses adjourning a Klan cross-burning with bazooka fire, Serena swapping his 1950 Buick's hood ornament for a replica sporting a slickly-chromed penis modeled by the sculptor from life, Jack seduced at 16 by Moses' old lover's daughter aboard a sailboat in New York Harbor and, last but not least, the Bishop sisters, psychic twins possessed by Tourette Syndrome and nymphomania, using Moses' old white limousine to stalk him, driving him nuts with implications that they know who he really is.

Increasingly restless in his Bisque sojourn, Moses fakes his death in a plane crash off the Georgia coast, goes to Havana, and all too soon joins his old Mafia cronies in flight from the Castro revolution. Jack and Moses reunite in Miami's Coconut Grove, awash in CIA types and Cuban exiles, notably Howard Hunt and Bernard Barker, gearing up for the Bay of Pigs.

This is a rich, rich piece of work. The web site quotes a reviewer as saying that it's a cross between John Irving and Louis Grizzard, and I guess I could agree with that. I could also go on, but recalling McGuane's verdict that The Rough English Equivalent's "...funny and wonderfully energetic," I'll close this out by telling you just one more thing. It's an Altman movie screaming to be made!

Although I don't have much to add to the previous reviews, all of which I essentially agree with, I would like to register my endorsement of this small, densely packed, guide to "off the beaten track" (for the most part) fiction, much of it from the last 30 years and most of it from the past century. THE ROUGH GUIDE TO CULT FICTION is intelligent and literate, and of far higher quality than several similar breezy guides to literature I previously looked at. I picked the book up for episodic reading on trains and so forth during a trip to Europe, and it turned out to be perfect for that kind of situation. I discovered at least two dozen books that I would like to read as well as ten or so previously unknown authors whom I am glad to now know about and would like to investigate further, and I was warned off equal numbers of books and authors. Thus, for me, the several hours I spent with the guide promise to have been time very well spent.

"The Rough Guide To Cult Fiction" is one of those books you can pick up and open at random and spend a couple of hours skipping around in, making notes about which book described you would like to read next. It's a lot of fun, and it's useful too. The largest section, "Authors", is an encyclopedic listing nicely blended between cult authors you know of but haven't got around to yet (Raymond Carver, James Ellroy, Milan Kundera, Martin Amis) and those you've never heard of but sound interesting (Weldon Kees? Victor Pelevin? John Fante? Anna Kavan?) There's also a large section devoted to "one-hit wonders" ("A Clockwork Orange", "A Confederacy Of Dunces", "Little Big Man", "All The King's Men"). There's a section devoted to cult characters (Sherlock Holmes, Holden Caulfield.) There's a section for graphic novels (Neil Gaiman, Harvey Pekar) and a section of readable cult non-fiction ("Dispatches", "A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius"). Most of the entries are witty and informative. Some are maybe a little too opinionated (it gets tiring always being told how transgressive and rule-breaking all these writers are. Sometimes there's too much conformity in being so non-conformist.) Even so, this is a very worthwhile little reference book, to be kept beside your bedside.

When I first picked up this book I was immediately reminded of the 'AMOK 4th Dispatch' catalogue. Back in 1989 the AMOK bookstore out of L.A. released a sourcebook for the extremes of information in print. The book was an unbelievable find, a real jewel in the pre-internet age. Virtually every author who appeared in the 'PULPS' section of that catalogue has found themselves listed in this new ROUGH GUIDE.
For anyone who is tired of the bestseller lists and is looking for something different to read, this guidebook is indispensable! It features all the offbeat, wonderful authors who can lay claim to breaking new ground in literature. Some are well known bestselling authors (Vonnegut, Camus, Tolkien, Ellroy, Palahniuk, Pynchon), others are celebrated more for their lifestyles than their actual work (the infinitely emulated Kerouac, Bukowski and Henry Miller), still others are infamous (Selby, de Sade, Burroughs, Beirce) while many, many others have been either criminally ignored, forgotten or just faded with time (Crews, Himes, Mishima, Bowles, Dick, Willeford, Trocchi, Gysin et al.)
All have devoted (some would say slavish) readerships that have allowed for their works to remain in print one way or the other over the years. I have many of the writers in this collection but the real treasures are to be found with some of the other entries in the guide. You're bound to discover several new writers in this collection which, along with some extra facts that you may not have known about some of your favourite authors, makes it well worth buying. Some of you who haven't yet delved into the literary underworld are in for a real treat. I envy your upcoming voyage of discovery.
The guide is set up simply and efficiently. It covers over 200 novelists but also branches out to include classic cult books by authors who never became cult figures themselves, as well as graphic novels, beloved characters, non-fiction faves and even some trivia. I know about most of the authors mentioned in the book but there were still quite a few surprises as well as some illuminating facts, bios and recommended reads that made it well worth buying. I highly, highly recommend this guide for people who are ready to branch out from the bestsellers, the old classics and mainstream pulp. A whole new world of ideas awaits...

First, a word about the term cult fiction, and its implications. When I first saw the title of this little book, I assumed it would be full of strung-out wreckages like Burroughs and Dick. While the Rough Guide does contain them (as it should), its scope is far greater than writers of that type. In here you'll find a wind range of novelists reviewed, including Graham Greene, John Fowles, even Zane Grey. Bottom line: an excellent resource for readers.

This book will fool most. It covers far more than simple "cult fiction." The author presents short biographies on many authors, some well known and some obscure. They include writers such as Joyce, not exactly a "cult" writer, so that gives an example of the range of writers cover in this guide. The authors cover hundreds of writers. It is a great buy and worth the investment.

In addition to the short biographies, they have selected the best works of each author. For someone like Dorothy Sayers or a similar writer, that is a great aid for a reader seeking guidance.

Based on their book I came up with a reading list as follows, i.e.:

BOOKS FOR A LONG SEA VOYAGE (taken mostly from the guide's suggestions):

1. Dorothy Sayers: Gaudy Night

2. Gertrude Stein: Three Lives

3. Hunter S. Thompson: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

4. Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Grey

5. Heinrich Boll: Last Honour of Katharina Blum

6. Charles Bukowski: Post office

7. Mikhail Bulgakov: The Master and the Margarita

8. Albert Camus: The Outsider

9. Gabriel Garcia Marguez: One Hundred Years of solitude

10. Tadeusz Konwicki: A Minor Apocolypse

11. and 12. Nabokov: Pale Fire and Pnin (two books)

13. Proust; Vol. I, In Search of lost Time.

Great book. 5 stars.

I have read all the deryni series and this one is a good one. There is a really good twist in this book that will affect the events in all the other books in the series. It is also action pact with a hint of mystery, magic, and suspence. A good read, should be the 2nd one read in the whole series. Enjoy!

This is a very fast moving, action packed, enjoyable book! A great compliment to the previous Deryni novels. A must read and a gauranteed favorite of all ages.

Suspence, intrigue, mystery, and humor, all packed into one book. This book goes into the Protocol of Orin, a guide to many ancient, complicated Deryni practices. The plot is excellent and this book is guarenteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

I continue to enjoy this book, just watching Camber getting himself into more trouble.

Camber, the elderly Deryni lord who led a human revolt against his own magic-wielding kind in the land of Gwynedd, begins to cope with the aftermath of the successful coup.

King Cinhil, once a monk, blames Camber for the loss of his vocation and the infinite difficulties of his new life and is not coping with them (or his ertswhile magic-wielding allies) well at all.

If Camber's priestly son Joram knows his father, Camber will do whatever it takes to make sure Cinhil--and Gwynedd--come out right. Even risking death...or worse, his soul!

Camber, in this book and it's sequel (Camber the Heretic), is at his strong-willed, best-intentioned, and soul-searching best. His dilemmas and solutions to them, bad and good, make an impression on the reader as well as the kingdom he serves.

This review is actually directed at all Deryni novels. I havent read them for a few years and have moved several times and only have 5 or 6 of the total deryni series but am going to buy all of them again. They are among the best books I have ever read and I have a large collection of about 150 books. If you are a fan of SciFi/Fantasy you will love this book. Without giving away too much this is one of the most pivotal of all the books by giving away some of the intrigue and a double person?

If the title of this book is keeping you away you are missing out on what could easily be the best book I've ever read. This book took my mind, my heart and my soul to places that they enjoyed immensely. My husband is reading it now and I felt honored to give a copy to my sister for Christmas after she spotted me reading it at Thanksgiving and expressed interest in it. Read it and spread the word!! This author deserves major attention. She has a new book out, called "The Brothers Campbell" that is so much fun! In fact, I dare you to put either one of these books down without regret!!

This is an absolutely amazing book! When I read the book I felt like I was Toby and could feel everything as he was feeling it. This book is so well written that I could visualize every detail.

From the first paragraph this book has you entranced, wanting read on. When you have to put the book down, you find yourself reliving what you've just read over and over.

I've found that now I have been educated and enlightened from reading about Toby's quest. It's sure got me thinking and wondering how this could possibly be fiction.
I am looking forward to reading more stories written by JW Coffey and would love to see this book one day as a movie. It would be a brilliant one!

The Savior by J. W. Coffey is not just a book to read. It is truly a book to be "experienced".

I was then and am now, completely and totally intrigued by this book. And that is rather an understatement! As I read, I would find myself having to close the book and sit back while I pondered what I had just experienced......and it WAS an experience. The further I delved into the intricately woven plots, the more I had to sit back and contemplate, not because it was confusing but because it offered so many avenues I had never really explored.

The Savior is a remarkable book filled with endless possibilities from the present to the ancient past and beyond. It is so well written it is difficult to believe it is a work of fiction. I know that I will read this book again and again, and everytime I will find another new road to travel.

J. W. Coffey is an amazing author with a unique gift that is rare today. I am so looking forward to "experiencing" more of her works.

This is an engaging book about the ultimate 'what if'. I was completely caught up in the story of Toby, and his fantastic journey through time, back to the youth of the carpenter. Historical persons are rendered with balance and imagination, yet are completely plausible in this completely different perspective of life in 20A.D. I highly recommend this.

This is an absolutely amazing book! When I read the book I felt like I was Toby and could feel everything as he was feeling it. This book is so well written that I could visualize every detail.

From the first paragraph this book has you entranced, wanting read on. When you have to put the book down, you find yourself reliving what you've just read over and over.

I've found that now I have been educated and enlightened from reading about Toby's quest. It's sure got me thinking and wondering how this could possibly be fiction.
I am looking forward to reading more stories written by JW Coffey and would love to see this book one day as a movie. It would be a brilliant one!

There are books written by people that have never made any movies at all and there are books that are written by people that HAVE made movies. This is a book about the second case scenario.

This is essential reading for someone interested about what its like to get your movie script up and running and produced, all the ins and outs of the movie business you need to know about. Its a no nonsense approach to the business end of movie making, nothing more and nothing less. It is brief and easy to read and gives your purely the facts. It is not some etherial, hypothetical and theoretical conceptual model of what someone thinks the movie business might be like, it is cold hard facts by someone that has done the business, writing The Thomas Crown Affair and Bullit as his major calling cards.

Only minor drawback was that some of his writing is a little hard to understand I think because he is using coloquial lingo that Im not familiar with because I dont live in the same street as him, but regardless of that it was a good quick read.

Well recommended, gives some illuminating insights into the movie world everyone wants to get into.

My best friend gave me this book for my birthday. I'm an aspiring screenwriter and needed to get all the insight I could into the business. This book is great. Buy it!

When you think of great screenwriters, Alan Trustman is right up there on the top of the list with the Goldman Brothers and Ron Bass. This is a great book. Trustman doesn't beat around the bush. He tells it the way it is for better or worse. I couldn't recommend this with any more enthusiasm.

Two of my favorite films are "The Thomas Crown Affair" and "Bullitt." Alan Trustman wrote both of them. How lucky we are to have a screenwriter of this ilk share his thoughts on the business with us. It's a great read. I recommend it highly.

This is the only book of which I am aware that describes truthfully the economics of the business and the way it is structured to keep out everyone, and particularly the waves of talented young people who flood to Hollywood every year, hoping to make it in the business.
It is written for the benefit of those kids, so they will understand what is going on and what they can do to crack the magic circle fame and fortune A-list.
Unless you know what you are walking into, you are doomed, no matter how talented you are, unless you are unbelievably lucky, and no one in his right mind should bet his life on odds which are that stacked against you.
Don't let anyone you care about go to Hollywood unless they have read it...