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I've read several first novels this summer and this one is my favorite. I began, trying to be a critical reviewer, but was caught up in the story, the development of the characters and their interaction. It was so real that I found myself wanting to reach out, to comfort, to encourage each relationship. The surprising thing is that Ms. Perabo is so young to have such an understanding of the complexities of human relationships with their ebb and flow. If someone doesn't make a movie of this novel they are missing a sure hit! I look forward to more from Ms. Perabo! By the way, I make sure that everyone of my grandchildren's grade school teachers gets a present of her book "Writers in the Schools: a Guide to Teaching Creative Writing in the Classroom" to start each school year! If you have children, or grandchildren, you'll want to read that too!

I loved this book. The style is beautifully simple and unsentimental--a bit like Raymond Carver or Tobias Wolff, only things actually happen. The story centers around the young son of a fireman involved in an accident, and it takes some surprising yet plausible turns. The characters are very real and complicated, and you keep seeing them differently as the novel progresses. Funny and wise by turns. I wished it was longer.

In this novel, Perabo deftly examines the myths that inform our lives, our families, our communities, and the way those myths are distorted by pressures that gather within the very structures they try to explain. Heroism, self-sacrifice, and grace under pressure all become corrosive elements within the small and fragile family she depicts through the eyes of its 12 year old son, Paul Tucker. The novel moves us with its characters as it forces us to think about its ideas, with just enough suspense thrown into the mix to keep us turning pages. Spare and haunting, smart and unblinking, a wonderful first novel.

There are books that you read in a few hours, there are books you only read now and then, and then there are books that you begin reading Saturday morning and don't put down until the sun is already well across the sky, becuase you can't. One of the most interesting things about The Broken Places is through out a great deal of the story there is no great physical action taking place, and yet you feel pulled to turn the page. I enjoy the way Ms. Parebo allows you to see the story from different points of view, and feel the changes that happen in people as they come to grips with who they really are. The Broken places is a story about truth, and how different that can be to each person effected by one event. How refreshing to see someone acknowledge that in a story that isn't always comfortable.

Mel Odom presents the reader with an action packed Thriller. Angel: Bruja is an excellent addition to the Angel series. The plot is complex. A gang of vampires is running a 'Meals on Wheels' operation. Stolen game software leads Angel and Doyle to an underground dot.com company complete with demon telemarketers. Cordelia tracks a missing wife. Doyle has a brain draining vision of a young mother in trouble. Kate is searching for a weeping woman in black who is killing cops and children. Mr. Odom weaves them all together into an excellent story, which explores guilt and insecurities. Angel is reminded that while you cannot forget your past you should not live in it. It is not only the lesson he must learn but also teach another if he is to succeed. The book also has a strong sense of family.

I recommend this to all fans of the series as well as readers who enjoy good horror fantasy

I loved this book. So much that I read it in one day. These "Angel" novels keep getting better and better. The way all the separate cases came together in this novel was great. Can't wait to read the next. Highly recommend this novel, especially if you're a fan of "Angel".

A priest is attacked in the cellar of a church and suddenly a new horror walks the streets of Los Angeles. Appearing as a beautiful woman, weeping for her children, she is drawn to scenes of conflict. There, equipped with both incredible strength and magical power, she takes lives with impunity. Especially if those victims are children. On the other side of town, Angel is cleaning up a demonic Internet pornography site when he discovers that a group of L.A. vampires are running a fresh blood delivery service complete with people on tap.

Cordelia finds a paying case for Angel Investigations when she is approached by Adrian Heath, a well known TV producer. His wife has disappeared without a trace and he desperately wants help. And finally, Doyle is suddenly struck with a vision of great danger for a mother and her young son. As all these threads come together Angel finds himself constantly reminded of his own guilt over the murder of his family. To resolve this case he must learn how to make peace with himself.

It is characteristic of the writing of the Angel series and many of the Buffy stories that there be many layered plots. The challenge for the author is to keep all these threads moving without losing control of characterization. No doubt it helps that the main characters are well established, but even so the believability of the novel hinges on how well the other characters are developed as well as the successful management of the plot. "Bruja," benefiting from a very fine author, is a classic example of what a good Angel story should be.

Mel Odom, the author of 4 books in the Angel and Buffy series, several in the Shadowrun series and many others has established himself again as a respectable writer of science fiction and fantasy. He has a natural skill with his characters, an ear for dialog and builds his stories almost effortlessly. In "Brujah" as in many others he manages to sustain a complex plot and completely involve the reader. While the book does make reference to previous Buffy and Angel adventures, there is nothing here that would prevent a newcomer from thoroughly enjoying the tale.

After the funeral of a young boy a priest is attacked by a woman who confesses to having murdered her own son. Meanwhile, Angel Investigations is hired to look into the disappearance of the wife of a big-shot Hollywood producer, Doyle has a vision of a young mother and her son in danger, and Angel stumbles across some enterprising folk who delivery blood to your door (please specify type desired).

"Bruja" is one of those novels where most of the plot threads come together but not all of them are part of the fun filled climax so you are left guessing which one is going to end up being the only legitimate subplot. This works much better than you might think, because the way Mel Odom ends up putting all the pieces together is never obvious. Consequently, "Bruja" is one of the few Angel stories where Angel Investigations ends up doing some good old fashion investigating even if it means the laconic one has to speak in complete sentences for an extended period of time.

Plotting and pacing are two of Odom's main strengths as a writer, at least as revealed in his "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" original novels. "Bruja" presents a fairly complex plot and the novel moves from scene to scene and plot thread to plot thread without losing momentum. This time around I especially liked how each of the scenes without the main trio (Angel, Cordelia and Doyle) were fleshed out. There are really no nameless corpses in this book, because vampires leave tiny dust mounds behind rather than corpses and Odom take pains to invest each human life lost along the way with some individuality and significance.

Odom also does a nice job with characterization and in this story he manages to work in some significant reflections from each of the main characters on their families without it becoming formulaic, mainly because the self-examinations come in the context of the developing story. However, some readers might consider the amount of dialogue in this novel to be too much given the main character.

There are some pretty horrific moments in this story and I can legitimately say that Odom pushes it as far as he is willing to go simply because there is a scene where he stops short of something that he clearly thinks would have been going over the line. Odom seems to have done some research on his titular villain, which is a way of saying that if he made all of this stuff up from scratch he sure has fooled me. "Bruja" is a solid "Angel" story and while it does not involve moments of epic significance for the soul laden vampire and his compadres, it does tell a tale that has some special meaning for all of the characters.

Joss Whedon at his best. The characters are spot-on. Very interesting story. Really good artwork.

SPOILERS AND QUESTIONS BELOW.

I never figured out why Amy thought it would be such a tragic curse to put on Buffy that to get out of her coma she needed to be given a kiss by one who truly loved her. What's the difficultym just have someone kiss her who's in love with her! A real curse would have been that she couldn't wake until someone who *despised* her was persuaded to kiss her. They covered this thoroughly in Fairy Tales 1.02.

I also wonder why Andrew, our wonderful Andrew, is still stuck in his supernumerary job training potential slayers, as if any slayer worth her salt wouldn't rebel on learning she was expected to take classes from a twit, I wonder why Andrew's monologue about EMPIRE STRIKES BACK has him referring to "Billy D."--evidently some sort of sassy Andrew shorthand for "Billy Dee" (Williams, as Lando Calrissian), but why represent the two spoken words Billy Dee as Billy D.? May seem like a small thing but then again, so is the use Dark Horse is making out of Andrew. I guess they just have decided, he's going to be the Mr. Peepers of a new generation.

Buffy fans will be expecting a lot after seven stellar seasons on television and the success of the first issue of "Season Eight." So the question here is this: Does Issue #2 deliver?

In short, yes. I have to say though--there is so much going on, so many jokes, and so much foreshadowing that I wasn't able to completely enjoy the Jossy goodness until my second read. The first read intrigued me, but the second wow-ed me.

The plot continues directly from the previous issue. Amy (the former rat) is working with the government to take out Buffy and the slayers, and she has an army of zombies to back her up. The ending sequences are amazing--I'm already itching for May 2nd to come so I can get my hands on the third issue. There was a big revelation about half-way through the comic, and clues to who the Big Bad of the season will be as well. Giant Dawn is great, Buffy is true to herself, and Xander is playing the biggest role he's played since the first season.

This issue also re-introduces two fan favorites: Giles and Andrew. So, all in all, this issue is just as good as the first. But did anybody expect anything less? I mean, come on--Joss Whedon wrote it.

9/10

Warning: Thar be spoilers ahead!

Remember each week those exciting words (which alerted us that we were about to get a new exciting episode of the best show on TV)? "Previously on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER . . . " The new comic series seems to be doing something along these same lines. On the inside of the outer cover are printed the following:

"This story takes place after the end of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Season Seven.

"The Slayer population of the world has gone from two to nearly two thousand. Almost five hundred are working around the world with Buffy's organization in squads--or "terrorist cells," according to the American military. Buffy, Xander, Dawn, and a passel of Slayers are currently bunked out in a Scottish castle, where the latest mission revealed a strange symbol carved into human bodies.

"Also, Dawn's a giant."

This may be a summary that is rewritten each month to reflect what has happened in the previous issues.

The first episode in Season Eight established the situation; this one begins moving the story forward. The U.S. military (or rather, a military leader who has on his chest the strange symbol referred to in the monthly summary) has authorized Amy the witch and her army of zombies to go after Buffy and her cohorts. After the story begins with three very different approaches to training the new slayers by first Giles, then Buffy, and finally Andrew (who actually couldn't be said to be training them at all) we find Xander explaining why Dawn took the form of a giant when it was possible she could have assumed other forms instead (obviously, she is trying to get her sister's attention in the most blatant manner possible). The catch is, does Xander really tell any of this to Buffy or is it all just part of what we later learn is a spell-induced sleep in which she experiences an unbroken nightmare. And in a fairy-tale twist she can only be awakened by the kiss of true love. We can, of course, imagine a line of possible candidates for that: Angel and Spike fighting to be first in line. Well, of course Buffy will be awakened, and sooner rather than later. Can't imagine her being asleep at the end of the next episode. The tricky part is how one defines "true love." That needn't mean romantic love. My gut tells me that the kiss won't come from any of the usual suspects. My money is on Dawn. Yeah, I know. No one likes Dawn. But the brute fact is that except for struggling to save her in Season Five, Buffy has been a truly awful sister. Not in a Cinderella step sisterly way, but in the completely neglectful, can't-spare-her-a-minute way. But early in Season Six, Dawn seemed to miss her more than anyone. Like I said, my money is on Dawn.

The issues ends with Buffy asleep, the castle under assault by hundreds of zombies they can't keep at bay, Amy gloating that she could handle slayers with ease, so there was no one there who could take her on. The final frame is of someone who says that they would "like to test that theory." And thus Willow makes her first appearance in the story.

I am going to say something that I don't think I can say often enough. I don't want Joss Whedon writing comics. I want him creating new television shows. I suspect he enjoys the control that a comic gives him. I am sure he is tired of battling studios and networks. I can understand that. But once the battles have been waged and the BS has been waded through, Joss Whedon has been able to create some of the most extraordinary, most timeless television that has ever been made. He needs to get back to it. That being said, I am so much happier with him doing BUFFY Season Eight than either his X-Men project or the Runaways (and mind you, I like both the X-Men and the Runaways). There are others who can tell further stories about the X-Men and the Runaways, but Joss Whedon is only one who can give us authoritative Buffy stories. So I am acquiring these with joy and my heart and impatience in my soul. But I want him back in television. We've had some great TV since BUFFY and ANGEL left the air. LOST, 24, VERONICA MARS, and especially BATTLESTAR GALACTICA have filled the huge gap BUFFY left at its departure. But LOST needs to start winding down (whether it will has to be seen), BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (the only show to completely match the brilliance that was BUFFY) has possibly only one more season left and at most two before Ron Moore brings his series to an end. 24 is definitely in decline. VERONICA MARS might be cancelled. In short, JOSS! WE NEED YOU TO COME BACK TO TELEVISION! But in the meantime, I'll wolf down every one of these issues.

Television writing is simply not supposed to be this good. Or at least we have become acclimated to a good deal less even in very good shows. But I am not sure that any other show in the history of television has put together five shows with scripts this strong. In the history of Buffy, these are the episodes in which the show moved to an entirely different plane from all other contemporary shows. Not since TWIN PEAKS had TV seen anything this well written. Seeing these episodes for the first time, I was in complete awe that the Neanderthals running the WB had actually allowed anything this good to hit the screen. These are also significant episodes because in them Buffy started becoming a show that appealed as much to adults as to teens, as the themes and issues became progressively more complex and darker.

"Surprise" was written by Marti Noxon, who had very quickly in her first season on Buffy established herself as one of the best writers on the show. She was not merely good; she was prolific. This is one of the more interesting scripts to compare to the actual show produced. These collections compile the shooting scripts; they are not transcripts of the final product. Usually, one will find slight wording alterations, or small scenes that got excised in the final shooting. Often shooting instructions provide a great deal of insight into what is happening in the scenes. But in this script, there are significant differences between the final result and the script, especially scenes involving Cordy and Xander. The script was much, much too long for the time slot, and heavy editing took place. The story itself, of how Buffy came to lose her virginity to Angel, resulting in his losing his soul, provides the foundation for everything that happens thereafter in both BUFFY and ANGEL. We'll leave aside the fact that the gypsy curse-that because he has a soul Angel lives in torment for his past crimes, but if he achieves a moment of perfect happiness he loses his soul and reverts to the evil Angelus-is a bald and rather dumb plot device. It makes no sense as a curse, and his potentially becoming evil again makes the curse profoundly self-defeating. But so much else is tremendous, I and apparently everyone else cut them some slack on this one.

Joss Whedon himself wrote "Innocence," in which we learn that Angel, after having made love to Buffy, has lost his soul. If the show had been a teen series before, it was not after we see Buffy's boyfriend literally transformed into a monster on the morning after. It's an old adage that bad characters are more interesting than good ones, and it is reproven in the transformation of Angel into Angelus. But not just Angel, but Buffy is transformed as well. I believe the title in part is a reference to Blake's SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND SONGS OF EXPERIENCE. Buffy loses her innocence as she gains in experience. Willow also struggles with new pain when she catches Xander and Cordelia kissing in the stacks. (By the way, part of the joy of the scripts is reading the directions. As Xander and Cordy begin to kiss we read: "They haben der big smootchen." And when Willow sees them she "has pain on her face like a blush.") In an episode of many awesome moments, one of my favorites is the freshly reborn Angelus killing a streetwalker smoking a cigarette, and then him expelling her smoke out of his lungs after he kills her. That was shot precisely as written.

"Phases" was written by the team of Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, who were also the final script editors on the show until they left for THAT SEVENTIES SHOW. Often in Buffy episodes as strong as "Surprise" and "Innocence" are followed by relatively weak episodes, as if they are trying to create a balance between weak and strong scripts. But "Phases" is a fun, fascinating, and tragic episode in its own right, although it provides a break from the emotional roller coaster of the previous two shows. Buffy never deals with potentially hackneyed subject like werewolves in unoriginal fashion, and that is true here.

Well, others start noticing Cordy and Xander's not-terribly-well-hidden relationship, so Cordy dumps Xander to salvage her social reputation. Marti Noxon produced yet another stellar script in "Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered," in one of the funniest shows ever in the series. Because Cordy dumped Xander, he wants revenge by having Amy the school witch (from the first season) created a love potion that would make her love him, allowing him to then dump her. But it backfires and every girl in the school EXCEPT for Cordelia falls her him. After the emotional stress of the previous episodes, the show provides a great deal of comic relief. Great moment: Xander demands that Cordy give back the necklace he gave her as a Valentine's present. She goes to her locker to get it, but discretely takes it from around her neck.

"Passion" by Ty King is simply stunning. The show had often proven it could be funny, and sometimes scary, but there is gothic horror in this episode that can bring a tear to the most hard-hearted. Angel's voiceovers would work perfectly in the final shooting, giving a structure to what is one of the most tragic episodes in the run of the show. The episode also served as a warning to its fans: anything can happen on this show. On other shows, the main characters are safe, but here they can die, and proved it by having Angel murder Jenny Calendar. But her death was not as horrific as the macabre scene where Angel has rearranged Giles's apartment to make it seem like Jenny had staged a romantic tryst, only for a romantically touched and excited Giles to ascend his stairs to find Jenny's body in his bed.

This is by far the best single collection of scripts yet published in this series. One writer in the early nineties stated that television had a greater potential for excellence than cinema, and that eventually a series could come along to prove this. I believe that it was in these five episodes that BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER did precisely that.

Though the quality is not as great as the previous script books, Volume 3 of Season 2 does have some of the best scripts of the season!
The book is slightly smaller than the previous 4, yet holds as many scripts. The pictures of the side and cover are smaller as well. Still, it holds the scripts that are the main point. Nice otherwise for any Buffy fan!

This collection of shooting scripts contains three of the greatest scripts ever produced for the show, as well as one of the weakest. The two-part "Becoming" solidified the emergence of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER as one of if not the best-written shows in the history of television. Although the season as a whole was remarkable, earlier in the season with "Surprise" and "Innocence," the show moved beyond being merely one of the finest shows on television to one of the finest ever produced. The emotional depth and complexity of those two episodes, and later of "Passion," signaled that this truly was a remarkable series.

The question as the second season began winding down was whether the season ending could match the highpoints of the season.

"Killed by Death" didn't bode well for the end, being the second weakest show of the season (following "Some Assembly Required"). It was not a flat out dreadful show, but it failed to match the inventiveness and passion of earlier episodes. Whenever fans vote for the weakest episodes in the history of the show, "Killed by Death" usually receives a significant number of votes, though it never rivals such shows like "Some Assembly Required" or "Beer Bad" for the top (bottom?) slot. The episode provides some opportunities for some funny lines, such as Xander's "My whole life just flashed before my eyes. I've got to get me a life."

If one had any idea that the show might be slipping at all, "I Only Have Eyes for You," put any fears to rest. Marti Noxon's final script for her first year with the show, is arguably her best in the superb way she blends a wonderful ghost story about a female teacher who had been murdered by a student with whom she had been having an affair, with Buffy's feelings about her relationship with Angel. Although the scene between the dead lovers is played out twice earlier in the episode, the force and power when the two ghosts reenact the scene near the end is almost overwhelming in its power, not least because the ghost of the murdering male enters Buffy, and Angel speaks the lines of the school teacher. When it was filmed, an actress I have always loved but have too rarely seen, Meredith Salinger, plays the schoolteacher. I'm baffled why she hasn't been in more roles in her career.

"Go Fish" is not an episode that I like very much. It doesn't do much in carrying forward the story arc, though it was probably helpful to have a tiny bit of a break before the emotionally overwhelming end to the season. The episode provides a few laughs at the expense of Xander, but I just couldn't get into the story of a high school coach who biochemically alters his swimmers to enhance their performance.

Joss Whedon saved the final two episodes of the season, "Becoming," for himself. I am not sure that anyone not named Joss Whedon has ever written two better scripts for a television series than these, and in non-series perhaps only Rod Serling. Whedon is like a juggler with eight or nine balls in the air at once while riding about on a unicycle. The balance between all the elements in these two shows, as Angelus gradually brings the crisis to a head, Kendra returns to Sunnydale and is killed by Druscilla, and Buffy is separated from all her friends and mother is nothing short of astonishing. Every few seconds in the show brings forth some gem, either a new shock (like Kendra dying or Joyce learning that her daughter is the slayer) or line (as when Joyce asks "Have you ever tried not being the Slayer?") or comic moment (such as Joyce and Spike sitting silently in the Summers's living room, and her asking whether they had met before) or jolt (such as Angel recovering his soul only to have Buffy kill him a few seconds later) or even introducing a new character (the extraordinary and mysterious Whistler, who tragically did not become an occasional visitor on the show, but who at least managed some utterly memorable lines), all of it culminating in that one heartbreakingly awful moment when Buffy finishes kissing Angel, and whispers to him, "Close your eyes." For me this remains the two most emotionally devastating hours in the history of television.

At the end of the first season, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER had established itself as an absolutely first rate, funny, and exceedingly hip show, but one wouldn't after the first twelve episodes have been able to describe it as truly great. But Season Two changed that. Buffy became a genuinely great show this season, one of the high-water marks in the history of the medium. And the foundation for that was the writing. It isn't an accident that the scripts of this show are being reproduced: it is a demonstration of what truly great writing grounded the whole show.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Script Book, Season Two, Volume 4" finally provides in print Joss Whedon's scripts for the two part of "Becoming." It was the second season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" that established the show as being operatic television, in which case "Becoming" is the grand aria in which Whedon hits the highest note on the scale. "Becoming, Part 2," in which Buffy has to kill Angel and send him to a demon dimension to save the world, is still one of the ten best television episodes I have ever seen in my life. Having a copy of the script in my hands puts the final touches on my enjoyment of these episodes, not because it is a question of finding differences between what is in the final shooting script and what got aired on television, but simply because I finally get to see Whedon's stage directions. For example, after Joyce has learned Buffy is a vampire slayer there is a scene in Buffy's living room. There is no dialogue, just the shot, which is described as follows: Joyce sits in the living room with Spike. They both are silent and uncomfortable, like it's Sunday and he's come a 'courtin'. Joyce has a glass of bourbon in her hands, which shakes only slightly.

For such small gems of insight into the mind of Joss Whedon picking up this collection of scripts is going to be worthwhile for "BtVS" fans. Completing the Angelus story arc that covered the second half of Season Two begun in Volume 3, you will find in Volume 4 "Killed by Death," "I Only Have Eyes for You," "Go Fish," "Becoming, Part One," and "Becoming, Part Two." Actually, I enjoyed "Go Fish" a lot more being able to read the inside jokes, production notes, and cut dialogue than I did actually watching that rather [weak] episode. Overall I think it was a good move to have divide the scripts for Season Two this way, so that the first two volumes do the Spike-Dru story arc and the last two the Angelus story arc. I was going to point out that all six of the episodes for the "BtVS" Season Two video tape set are from this latter arc, but now that we are in the world of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on DVD this is no longer a concern.

This book was great! You're always hearing about what happened during the high school years, but never what happened after the graduation. You never hear about the intense plots, the funnies, the occasional tears. Not until this book anyway. It was great, and I loved it. The movie was pretty good too.

This book is really great and it really explains the movie and the characters in the movie. If you haven't seen the movie, it was great! And even if you have seen the movie you should read this book.

This book is really good as a novelization, and also contains things not found in the movie. I really recommend it to anyone that's seen Can't Hardly Wait

It was overall a okay book. It was somewhat funny. But if you have seen the movie can't hardly wait don't buy the book it is word for word the same

Though he comes across a lot meaner in this book when contrasted with the movie starring Al Pacino, Carlito remained a very strong, and even sympathetic character for me. I can only think of a few characters-- fictional or real-- who have won me over, despite their considerable flaws: Humbert Humbert in Lolita, Neil (Robert De Niro) in Heat, Tuco from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and Henry Hill from Goodfellas.

The first person prose was very readable and believable. It also displays wit and humor that doesn't take away from its grittiness. All in all, I would strongly recommend this book. I am hoping there will be a re-release of the follow up book, After Hours.

Like many, I was first introduced to this book when I saw the popular movie starring Al Pacino, Sean Penn, and Penelope Anne Miller. I received the book as a Christmas present, that particular paperback being a movie tie-in reprint with Al Pacino (Carlito) on the cover. I think I gave away the book to the library when I moved a couple of years ago. Film Ink's edition, showcasing a typical street in an ethnic neighborhood, impressed me. I've always been fascinated by some of the provocative photography on book covers these days.

The saga of Carlito Brigante's life (in essence the film Carlito's Way) is actually chronicled in two books, the first titled Carlito's Way, wherein Carlito in 1st person narrative describes his rough-and-tumble childhood and induction into New York's ruthless criminal world, culminating in Carlito's arrest, conviction, and sentence of thirty years in Riker's Island. Yet no one can accuse Brigante of being simply a heartless killer. We get to sympathize with his plight; he is undoubtedly the hero of Torres' tale.

The next installment, titled After Hours (written in 3rd person this time), is actually the setting of the movie, beginning when David Kleinfeld, Carlito's Alan Dershowitzesque attorney, gets Carlito out of prison on a technicality. The David Kleinfeld character is another reason to read this book after seeing the movie, as things in the book turn out quite differently for most of the characters affected by Kleinfeld's machinations. There's also some additional fleshing out of characters and episodes not included in the movie, including Brigante's trip to Spain, where the brash hombre shows off his bullfighting skills. I'm not giving anything away.

Like the Shawshank Redemption, the movie also highlights the profound changes in American everyday life and culture (and with it the criminal world) during the twentieth century. The two books trace Carlito Brigante's criminal career, from the swinging and colorful 1940s, when Carlito existed on small-time armed robberies and switchblades, all the way to the sleazy lava-lamp lit cocaine infested 1970s, an appropriate prelude of the Me Decade. Central to the story is the role New York's Italian Mafia plays in the life of Brigante. Brigante, a Puerto Rican, is eventually admitted to their exclusive innermost circles, but because he is not a Sicilian is never elevated to the status of a "Made Guy," which ultimately leads to his downfall. Via subplots and secondary characters Torres notes the rise and fall of the Cosa Nostra's influence in the Big Apple.

I thought that Miller brought a lot to the somewhat hapless role of Gail, Carlito's longtime love-interest and confidant. I found it much more believable that Carlito's girlfriend would be a stripper and aspiring dancer. In the book her character is an elementary school teacher, which makes the idea of Carlito persuading her to go to the Bahamas a bit implausible.

In an interview contemporaneous with the film's release, Torres said that his novels were inspired by his exposure to countless Carlito Brigantes who had walked through his courtroom throughout his career on the bench. Torres also includes a vocabulary of Hispanic street slang and underworld terms.

An extremely capable writer of prose, Torres pens a stimulating, readable, and believable portrait of life in the Barrio. Barrio is Spanish for jungle, in this context the urban jungle-ghetto that wickedly and unknowingly nurtures the self-destructive psyche of a career criminal who knows nothing but a life of violence and self-preservation.

Splendid!

If you like crime stories don't miss this one. This is one of my all-time favorites and it never really got the attention it deserves. The story of Carlito Brigante shows us the world of crime from a different angle than the classic Mafia tales. Carlito is Puerto Rican and comes up in the New York of the fifties and sixties. He's a hard-core criminal, hard-nose, and he makes no bones about it. He starts of with breaking-and-entering, moves up to racketeering, and after a long impatient wait breaking into the big-time--heroin trafficking.

Yet Carlito never comes across as a merely evil person. Living in America, where the streets are paved with gold except in the barrio where he spent his entire life, Carlito says that no way was he going to spend his whole life washing dishes when there was big bread out there for guys with the guts (he would use a different word) to go get it.

Torres, to his credit, never romanticizes Carlito to the point that he comes across as a good guy, either. Carlito follows his way because its the one HE chose, and if that means dancing with a fine lady at the Palladium one night and then going into Lewisburg Penitentary for a 3-year stretch the next, that's how it goes. Those are the risks and rewards of the life he leads. He meets characters like smooth guy Earl Bassey, crazy guy Nacho Reyes, wise guy Rocco Fabrieze, and bad guy Pete Amadeo. All in all, "Carlito's Way" is a wild ride, both the ups and downs.

I really recommend that you get the audio version of this book and listen to Torres read his book. The movie "Carlito's Way" actually focuses on the second book Torres wrote, titled "After Hours." It's good, but the first novel is told in the 1st person, in Carlito's voice, and Torres is fantastic as he speaks in Carlito's voice. Well worth a listen.

For fans of streetlife and "the real" in general, this is a fantastic read. Having seen the movie, I wasn't quite expecting the book to be what it was - a running mental monologue recounting the life and times of Carlito Brigante, the fictional yet prolific gangster the film was based upon.

Having grown up in Brooklyn, I was thoroughly impressed by the accuracy with which Torres illustrates the "I've got mine, so .... you" thug mentality that's so much a part of the underground New York experience. That, combined with the "Code Of The Streets" and a tiny dab of conscience, is what makes Carlito seem human and uncannily real-to-life.

Torres, being a NYC criminal court judge, has chosen to expound his abundant understanding of the criminal mind not through textbooks or bland case studies, but through this brilliant character depiction. I place it in the same category as "Down These Mean Streets" - a modern urban classic.

Perry mason is in the middle of a plot that is so skillfully planned that even he is baffled. The only clue that helps him solve is a careless kitten. What did the kitten do to help mason solve a case where every suspect seems to have an air tight alibi! The desire to find out what happens next kept me turning pages. So, watch out for the answers & learn a little bit of cat psychology!

In 1942 California Helen Kendal receives a phone call. The strange voice identifies himself as her long-lost Uncle Franklin Shore, and tells her secrets to verify his identity. Helen is to contact Perry Mason, bring him to a hotel, and ask for Henry Leech. Helen lives with her Aunt Matilda Shore, whose husband ran off ten years earlier. But her kitten takes sick, and is rushed to the vet (a mysterious poisoning). Later she meets Perry Mason and goes to the hotel. A message redirects them to a place in the hills; when they arrive there they find a dead body in an automobile, and call the police. It is not the uncle; his death would leave a large sum to Helen. Helen returns home alone, as her aunt was taken to the hospital. When she and her boyfriend hear a noise, they investigate. Shots ring out, and her boyfriend is hit. Perry is notified.

When Perry and Della visit the Shore residence, Perry is taken inside where the police ask him to produce the long missing Franklin B. Shore. Della finds Tom Lunk, the gardener, and drives away with him. Lunk tells Perry that Franklin visited his home earlier to spend the night. But they find Franklin has disappeared again. Perry wants Lunk to hide in a hotel, and Della takes him there. But the police find out, and arrest Della for hiding Franklin! Della escapes conviction for hiding Franklin, a material witness, because of the actions of the kitten at Lunk's shack! Lunk can't appear again as a witness because he is killed in a hit-and-run accident. But this results in solving the three murders. The clue again is eye-witness testimony that can't be corroborated. This story shows the variety of events and surprises that will mark future novels.

There is one warning in Chapter 20. Prosecutors have campaigned to sweep away constitutional guarantees, supposedly to fight professional criminals. But the end result was to stack the cards against ordinary citizens because the whole legal procedure has been completely undermined. Can you trust government to see that no known innocent person is ever prosecuted? The prosecution of Della Street provides an answer. Della will be found guilty unless she can prove her innocence! [Was this a veiled criticism of witch hunts?]

It is an interesting case, where Perry Mason defends his secretary, charged with hiding a material witness. As usual, the plot is well developed and the court room drama is highly interesting. A very good novel.

D.A. Hamilton Burger is out for blood this time. While investigating the return of a man missing for ten years, Mason sends Della Street out to interview the man before the police get there. What happens? When the man can't be found by the police, Della is charged with spiriting away a material witness. Burger plans to convict her, then try Mason as an accessory, convict him, then institute disbarrment proceedings against him. This will end Mason's career of legal dramatics and "outwitting the police".

Mason doesn't care anything about a murdered man, a wounded man, or the missing man who is the prime suspect - all he cares about is aquitting Della Street. And since Burger made it personal, Mason refuses to give the true solution to him during or after the trial. After all, if he did so, he'd be "outwitting the police" once again...

After seeing the watered down final volume of "The Watcher's Guide" for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," I had some trepidation for the second volume of "The Casefiles" for "Angel." But Paul Ruditis and Diana G. Gallagher follow in the footsteps of Nancy Holder, Jeff Mariotte, and Maryelizabeth Hart and you will find more of the same: a Character Guide, an Episode Guide for Season Three and Season Four, and Actor Profiles. Volume 2 is a hundred pages shorter than Volume 1, and the book is also a shave smaller in both height and width than Volume 1, which you will discover as soon as you put them side-by-side on the shelf. Since Volume 3 is only going to cover the fifth and final season it is probably going to be at least a hundred pages shorter as well.

The character guides are for Angel, Cordelia Chase, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Charles Gunn, Fred, the Host, Connor, Lilah Morgan, Darla, Captain Daniel Holtz, Justine Cooper, Jasmine, Sahjhan, Gavin Park, Linwood Murrow, the Groosalugg, Skip, the Beast, Faith, Gwen Raiden, Willow Rosenberg, and Knox. These are not background descriptions, but take each character through Season Four. For example with Angel/Angelus/Liam you get a complete history of the character, which consists of brief summary of the "BtVS" years and the first two seasons of "Angel," and then focusing on what happens during seasons three and four. For the minor characters (e.g., Faith and Willow) the emphasis is just on those episode of "Angel" on which they appear.

Because these casefiles cover the third and fourth seasons, the focus is on the saga of Angel and his son, Connor. Each episode is covered in three main sections: (1) From the Files of Angel Investigations commences with the "Case No" for the episode number, and a list of the writer, director, guest stars and costars, and then the "Action Taken" (plot synopsis) and "Resolution" (episode climax). We then have a whole bunch of possible categories. "Dossiers" covers the client, civilian support (e.g., Merl and Lorne), and suspects. "Continuity" covers familiar faces and providing other details that help explain what is going on, while "Office Romance" keeps us up to date on the tangled love lives of the gang and "Quote of the Week" provides a choice exchange of words; (2) The Devil is in the Details looks at the sub-categories of "Expenses", "Weaponry," and "The Plan+ (such as it is). Here is also where you will find "Demons, Etc....," which keeps you up to date on what specific bads are running around in the episode, and can include a look at things like The Vampire Rules. "As Scene in L.A" explains where things are taking place in the episode relative to the real Los Angeles; (3) The Pen Is Mightier is the choice section where you get to see parts of the episode that did not make the "Final Cut," and have all of the "Pop Culture" references identified and explained for you. "The Name Game" explains the episode's title while "Six Degrees of..." covers anybody in the episode whom we have seen before on "Angel," one of Joss Whedon's other shows, or any other place that makes them familiar faces. "Tracks" records any instance of Angel singing anything. "Our Heroes" is where cast and crew members get to comment on the episode (or the series in general).

There are two 16-page sections of color photographs, the first devoted to the major and minor characters, and the second providing candid shots of the making of "Angel." There is a Season 5 Teaser, "Look Homeward Angel," and a tour of the Wolfram & Hart sets with production designer Stuart Blatt and set decorator Sandy Struth, "The Changing Facing of Evil." Last, and also least, are the "Actor Profiles." These were skimpy in Volume 1 and we are treated to more of the same in Volume 2. If there is an area where "The Casefiles" had lagged behind "The Watcher's Guide" volumes it has been in giving the cast and crew ample room to talk about their characters, the show, Joss, and whatever else enters their minds.

Overall I would grade "The Casefiles, Volume 2" as a 4.5, mainly on the strength of the episode guides, where we are still getting the level of detail we have come to expect. I round up because I do not want to give it the same rating as I gave "The Watcher's Guide, Volume 3." I suspect that since "Angel" stopped production last spring the volume is now considered more as a reference book and less as a way of feeding the show's fan base. The final season of "Angel" will be out on DVD early next year and then it is just a question of how long we have to wait for "The Casefiles, Volume 3." Hopefully by then Joss Whedon will have finished with his "Astonishing X-Men" comic book limited series and with his "Firefly" film and will be back in production on the small screen. I suspect he would like to make feature films, but I really would rather have a television show that I can enjoy twenty-two weeks a year that one hit film.

the angel casefiles volume 2 is the a great read after you have watched the episodes

When I first heard that a new writer was going to take over the reins for "The Watcher's Guide 3", I was a little worried. I had never heard of Paul Ruditis. My worries were not unfounded when the third volume, while still fun and competently written, came out and was a huge disappointment because it lacked so much. So, imagine my horror when I learned he was going to do the new Angel book. Oh no. Well, was I so happily surprised!. Teaming up with Diana Gallagher, Ruditis has redeemed himself with a book that stays true and faithful to the first book, and makes WG 3 a distant memory. Ruditis and Gallagher pretty much keep the same pattern and style as Nancy Holder on the first Casefiles. Sadly, and oddly, the book only covers seasons 3 and 4. WG 3 managed to fit in the final season, and Nikki Stafford's excellent "Once Bitten" did too, so why not this one?. Hmm. Included here are the always welcomed "Character Bios", something lacking in WG 3. It goes through all the major players, and most of the recurring players thru the two seasons. They also have "Actor Profiles" as well. They do make some mistakes. Such as saying that Connor, in the character bio part, was 18 when he came back, when he was actually 16. Although they do change it in the actual episode guides. They also mention the song "Lady Marmelade", and say it was by Aretha Franklin, when it was by Patti LaBelle. The episode guides are always the main focus of these books, and the authors don't disappoint. With long, detailed synopses of each episode, they bring the same categories and facts and such with each ep as they always do. The episodes, like the first book, are designed as actual case files. What are they?. Every episode summary is titled "Action Taken". We have "Dossiers", which is a section that informs of who the client, clientele, or outside support is(if there is any in a particular episode)that they deal with. Then there is "Continuity", which deals with the ongoing story and arcs and history that the show has come from. "Quote Of The Wek" is pretty self explanatory. No need to go into that one further. "The Devil Is In The Details" portion has "Expenses", which shows pretty much what you'd expect. "Weaponry" tells exactly what kind of weapon was used, or if it was a weapon at all. "The Plan" is basically what the gang's, well, plan is for this episode's situation. "Demons, ETC...." is a section dealing with what kinds of ghouls ans goblins, if any, were seen in that particular episode. And there is a handful more, like "Tracks", which is for music featured in the episode. "The Final Cut" which is things that didn't make it to the end episode. "As Scene In L.A." is stuff from Angel's city. "Pop Culture" is pretty much saying it there in the title. "The Name Game" tells about the meaning of an episode's title. "Six Degrees Of..." is basically a "Where Have I Seen Them Before?" thing, and a few more. There are also interviews and little tid bits from cast and crew about that particular episode in the guides as well. The episodes are finely detailed and the format for each episode in the casefile way is fun and clever. Afterwards, there is a section called "The Changing Face Of Evil", which is a look at the new design and sets for Wolfram & Hart. And season five doesn't go entirely unnoticed, as there is a section towards the end which gives an overview on what happened. Wether or not we see something on season five in a AC 3 is unclear and not mentioned, and that is this book's one sore spot. I doubt there will be another book for one season. It wouldn't fill a book. If there isn't anything, it would be Angel getting the short end of the stick again. Like The WG's, this book also comes with two sections of photos, all in glorious color. If anybody was upset with Ruditis' work on WG 3, then you should know that this book pretty much stays on course with first book, and makes WG 3 seem all the more like a wasted opportunity. This one is not.

At first on appearance this book is thinner then case files 1, but dont be deceived inside is packed full of information from seasons 3 & 4. Even though this 2nd book is written by different authors it still resembles case file 1 on presentation. I fully support anyone buying this to put it next to case file 1.

My 3 yo daughter LOVES backyardigans.
THis is such a fun book for us to read at bedtime together.
If she feels like it she gets to "read" along with me when I get to the picture clues.
Ever since they came out with the backyardigans books she wants at least one read everynight at bedtime. I really dont get sick of them myself, yet :).

My daughter is obsessed with books and we end up having to read long books to her each night. This book is quick and fun. There are also pictures in place of the words to help preschoolers with their reading.

My Daughter loves this book and memorized it in the first day. She reads it daily.

Ahoy!

In the softcover book Castaways!, Uniqua, Pablo, and Tyrone pretend that their leaky ship was lost at sea, and now they're stranded on a desert island.

What they don't realize is that Austin has been "stranded", too, but he's too shy to say "Ahoy!" to the rest of the castaways.

While Uniqua, Pablo, and Tyrone look for wood, vines and leaves to build a hut for shelter, they soon realize that everything they need mysteriously shows up. Where did it come from? Could it be that they aren't alone on the island?

Castaways! is a Level 1 Ready-to-Read book which uses simple stories and rebuses to help teach reading. My son loves this book and can now read it on his own. It's a colorful, engaging bedtime story for younger children, and good for older children who are beginning to read.

My daughter (age 2) and I love the Backyardigans! She has all the books and she really loves this one!! I read it to her every night and she points at the pictures as I tell her what they are. It's a very easy read and easy to follow along.

It's a long book for a little one, but it's great since the story is simple, cute, and fun to read!!

Though he hasn't made a movie since the 1950s, CB DeMille is still a name that says "Hollywood" to anyone who hears it. But, aside from The Ten Commandments, it's possible that most people today don't know who he was or what he did. Robert Birchard's book, written in a blithe, easy-going style -- as if you're talking to him -- reminds us who CB was and how important he was to the history of film. Using original sources as much as possible (rather than second and third hand accounts) Mr. Birchard has traced DeMille's career through his films, in the process seeing as many as are still available (sadly not all are). In doing so, he manages to trace much of DeMille's life and the life and history of Hollywood as it grows and learns to use new and better technology to tell its stories. This book is both easy to read, fun to read, and even (gasp!) informative! But don't let stop you from buying and enjoying it!

Mention Cecil B. DeMille to many serious film fans, and they might snicker. DeMille has a reputation for corny, big-budget epics like THE TEN COMMANDMENTS or THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH. DeMille also has a reputation as a dictatorial director whose politics were extremely conservative.

DeMille was not really that simple of a person. He made some very personal films, some really entertaining films, and even some daring films for the time. Although he was politically conservative, several of his films preached the dangers of religious intolerance. His battle with the Radio performer's union was a matter of principle, and not money. And while the stereotypical Hollywood director was modeled on him, part of it was an act. DeMille had a great respect for his actors, as long as they were professional. DeMille also had a sense of humor, as some of his cameo appearances in films show.

Robert Birchard has assembled an incredible history of DeMille's film and radio work. DeMille was around during the birth of Paramount in 1915, and he was still a successful director all of the way through the 1950s. Using DeMille's original papers, telegrams from studio moguls like Jesse Lasky, and other direct sources of information.

You will read about DeMille's struggles with technical issues like poorly perforated film stock, cameramen, good and difficult actors, and pressure from management to get his films completed on time and under budget. Mr. Birchard has viewed all of DeMille's films that still exist, and he gives a candid review of all of them. The book also contains very detailed cast and crew listings, a list of DeMille's many cameo appearances, and everything is painstakingly documented in the end notes.

I can guarantee you that after reading this book, you will be very tempted to rent or buy a Cecil B. DeMille film and rediscover this master director yourself.

Before David Lean, before Michael Curtiz, and waaay before Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg, there was Cecil B. DeMille, the creator of gargantuan epics from Hollywood's Golden Age. C.B. started making movies the year that D.W. Griffith shot "The Birth of a Nation" and died when Steven Spielberg was a kid in Arizona, shooting home movies. In between, he wrote, produced, directed and acted in close to a hundred films

Today, of course, DeMille is remembered for "The Ten Commandments" and "The Greatest Show on Earth," but Demille was far more than that. The Great Man directed westerns and bedroom comedies, time travel adventures (in the silent days, no less), and even a musical.

Remarkably, most of Cecil B. DeMille's five decades of film work survive, and Robert Birchard has seen all fifty years worth, and written about each film in a lucid, graceful prose; Birchard has delivered a feast of information for anyone who's interested in the history of Hollywood. (Did you know that Charlton Heston, the star of "The Ten Commandments," was making less than Yul Brynner? Did you know that during the filming of C.B.'s FIRST "Ten Commandments" (a gargantuan hit in 1923) that the slaves who were supposedly sweltering in the Egyptian desert were actually extras on the central California coast FREEZING in chilly Spring weather, and who bundled themselves into coats as soon as the director yelled "Cut"? Mr. Birchard lets us in on the behind-the-scenes action on each of C.B's films (each movie has its own individual chapter), as well as when the films were shot, when they were released, what they cost and what they made at the box office.

This is a book for anyone who wants to know where American films have been...and how we got to where we are today.

This excellent book rates 5 stars for a very factual, no-nonsense in-depth research job on the work of famous director/producer, Cecil B. DeMille. And the emphasis is on his work in Hollywood (hence the title) not on DeMille himself as a person, although quite a few passages throughout this book do shed light on his character and mentality. Rather than a biography-style work with speculation, rumour and gossip, the author of this book has painstakingly searched for, found and quoted all kinds of correspondence and other written records to tell the story of DeMille's career. At times it was quite fascinating to read telegrams and other notes between DeMille and producers or other co-workers, for instance, and while explaining certain events or procedures in the film industry, these letters also reveal a lot about DeMille's thoughts and ways of doing business.

Another highlight for me personally is how the book goes through DeMille's films chronologically, with a chapter on almost every film he directed (and he produced many more) often giving a summary of the plot, which is especially interesting in the case of his early silent films which are not readily available at present. Besides details of cast, crew and plot, many business aspects of the film industry are related, giving an overall comprehensive story of the course of DeMille's career such as how he moved from one type of film to another, or from one studio to another when circumstances changed. Even though this book deals with hard facts only, it is easy and enjoyable to read, and does not get bogged down with too much detail. As a bonus, there are sections of many good photos, further notes and information in the appendixes for anyone who is looking for more in-depth material. For anyone interested in DeMille's work and getting a realistic look into the film industry from the early 1910s onwards, this book will definitely fit the bill.