John Heard Books

Greg Mank has left the haunted mansion of golden age horror film critiques and heads into Hollywood Babylon territory with his newest book; and what he finds would have Kenneth Anger gasping for breath. Mank, with his coauthors Charles Heard and Bill Nelson, tells the tale of the Bundy Drive Boys, a collective of fast living and hard drinking Hollywood actors, writers and artists--- all committed to their friendship and the right to destroy their careers, their families and themselves by any means necessary. Among the hell-raisers are John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn, John Decker, William Fowler, John Carradine, Ben Hecht and Sadakichi Hartmann; and their stories of childhood tragedy, incest, rape, cannibalism (in a POW camp), drunken brawls, sexual conquests, and even an art forgery scam, will have your jaw hitting the floor.

I read HOLLYWOOD HELLFIRE CLUB in one sitting. My morbid curiosity (wondering just how much worse can things get for the Bundy Drive boys) simply would not let me put this book down. If you are a fan of Hollywood's Golden Age... or the last person to leave the scene of a train wreck, this book will surely entertain and/or horrify you!

I can add little to the other reviews except for my enthusiastic recommendation of this book! Mank, one of the best film historians on the beat, liberally mixes careful scholarship with the zest of good storytelling. This makes for part one of a great double-feature if you follow it with Shawn Levy's dynamite RAT PACK CONFIDENTIAL. Ah, for the good old days... when bad behavior had panache! Great read! As another has noted, it's hard not to tear through in a single sitting.

There are only two ways you can look at the lives of these legendary "bad boy" actors and comedians. First is head-on, which this book offers in abundance. And second, philosophically, as suggested by one of the most poignant passages in the book, "They all saw the joke of life, and they teach us not to be scared. There is no bogeyman. Get the essence of love and happiness and joy, and share it with people. All that matters is to leave a legacy of happiness, and to give someone else an inspiration--like they gave us." (Rita Saiz, clairvoyant?)

John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn, and John Decker were among the most talented individuals of their day, and seemingly, among the most tragic, each drowning his pain in alcohol and prematurely snuffing-out their abilities and lives. But they did so in good company: John Carradine, Alan Mowbray, Ben Hecht, and Thomas Mitchell, to name a few. And best of all, there was Gene Fowler, the writer whom they trusted to keep the record straight. And worst of all, there was Sadakichi Hartmann, a pre-counter-culture beatnik/hippie who seemed to be consumed by his worst impulses, and was kept afloat by Barrymore.

But to concentrate on the tragic is to lose sight of the legacy that includes Barrymore's "Svengali" and "Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde," Fields's trenchant satires of American family life, and the transcendent magic of Flynn's swashbuckling heroes. Authors Mank, Heard, and Nelson offer no apologies for these artists, nor do they cast judgement. This is a book that is both repulsive and yet mesmerizing. In the end, we are left not so much mourning the shortened careers of these men, but marveling that their genius allowed them to perform a weird alchemy that transformed so much personal squalor into artistic brilliance.

This is High-Gothic Hollywood storytelling, and maybe it's about time.

I was a bit nervous when I ordered "Hollywood's Hellfire Club" by Gregory Mank, Charles Heard and Bill Nelson.

I love old Hollywood and the stars of its golden age and although I was not looking for a whitewash of their lives, I was worried it might be a book that just trashed them. And yes, the book shows their lives warts and all, but it was clearly written by people who love these guys and the period of Hollywood they lived in.

The interwoven stories of these friends has the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, but all told in an engrossing way that really wraps you up in the tale. I was familiar with W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn, John Carradine, John Barrymore, Ben Hecht and Gene Fowler but I did not know much about John Decker and Sadakichi Hartmann but reading about their exploits and insanity was funny and fascinating (W.C. Fields as Queen Victoria? And who in their right mind would ever think of a perfume concert?!?)

The book is a very enjoyable read, it grabs you with each persons story and pulls the group together as it tells the tale. Organized by decades, the book is lavishly illustrated and although most of the cast of characters had a lot of sadness in their lives, the book does not get morbid, it more looks at the absurdity and fun these people brought each other, and through their work they brought each of us.

These guys personified perfection in their chosen fields, were perfectly decadent in their private lives and the way "Hollywood's Hellfire Club" is presented makes for a perfectly fascinating story.

The movie " In A Childs Name" was the best movie that I have ever saw. It brought back memories of what happened to my sister. Now I have ideas to help my nephew.

In A Child's Name by Peter Maas is an outstanding non-fiction book. Maas finds factual information about the custody case, because he was one of the reporters. He interviewed both sides and wrote the book based on what they thought, and not his own opinions. He describes in great detail about the battle over Philip Taylor that was between the victim's sister and her in-laws. The book, however, has too many explicit details that younger people should not read. Even older readers can find some parts disturbing. There is a lot of violence, anger, and hard feelings that the reader can feel just by reading the book. The movie of the book is good; however, it leaves many of the details out. The movie doesn't tell about Theresa and what she did with Ken. I didn't know half of the things that went on with Theresa, Ken, and their families until I read the book. I was shocked to find some of the information that Maas wrote about. It also doesn't tell everything about Ken, like the book does. For the full understanding, the book is an excellent source. This is one book that could catch the reader's interest from the beginning to the end. I thought that this book was one of the best books that I have ever read, because it kept my interest. I would definitely recommend this book to people whom like custody cases mixed in with a murder case.

This poor girl should have gotten out of this awful marriage. It showed how close to her family she was and at what lenghts family will go to to do the right thing. The book presented how strong and what great character her sister had.I have met her sister on several occasions and she is nice,kind and sweet. How this family can go on the way they do is an inspiration to others.

If you saw the TV-movie of IN A CHILD'S NAME (starring Valerie Bertinelli), it didn't tell half the story of wife-murderer Ken Taylor, his child-stealing parents, and their accomplices, of whom some were unwitting. With this book author Peter Maas raises the stakes for true-crime writing. Read IN A CHILD'S NAME!

Jurassic Park is an outstanding book. This is the second time I have read it and it got better. It is interesting becuase companies will probably be able to clone dinosuars like that soon. The book really kept me interested, it really didn't have a low spot. The book kinda tests your ability to understand fiction. At times you have to use a lot of imagination, but even with that it is a real good book.

All three of these books are absolute winners, and being able to read them without lifting a finger is a plus on its own! Full of action and adventure, all thee titles are sure to keep you o the edge of your seat. You'll never want to stop listening!

It has been said that 'Jurassic Park' is one of Crichton's best books (if not THE best) and I agree. An absolutely amazing work of original fiction which is written to near perfection. The movie was ripped to shreds by many fans of the novel for having 1-dimensional characters, but you cannot say that about the novel. Crichton breathes life into these people, especially Ian Malcom, easily his greatest creation (and Jeff Goldblum was perfectly cast in the movies I might add).

The idea of resurrecting extinct animals wasn't originated by Crichton, but he is the guy who took the idea and ran with it to the publisher first. I just cannot think of a more compelling idea for a fictional story which bases its original theory on literal facts. The idea of visiting living dinosaurs is facinating beyond words, but Ian Malcom said it best about the process of bringing to life animals that have been dead for millions of years when he said, "You were so interested in discovering whether or not you COULD clone dinosaurs that you never stopped to think if you SHOULD." Quite possibly one of the most entertaining adventure/thrillers ever published.

'The Lost World' in many ways was set up to fail by many even before they read it. How do you top 'Jurassic Park'? Since the total originality of the first book is gone, that takes away a little of the enjoyment, but I believe that Crichton sacrificed nothing with this sequel. Staying true to his original story he wrote a sequel to his book rather than the movie version, making this that much more compelling and entertaining. Never for a minute think that 'The Lost World' isn't as fun in almost every way as the original, because it IS. It is also SO different than the very poor movie that shared the same name. Actually they only shared about 5-10% of the same storyline, enough of a difference to wonder why they didn't come out with a novelized version of the movie. While not his best novel, I found it as exciting as the original and chock full of everything that makes a thriller worthwhile to read in the first place.

I had heard for years that 'The Andromeda Strain' was Crichtons best novel...and this is one area where I disagree. Although being a fun and very good book, it is easy to see how far he has come as an author when you read it. It is very possible that this book inspired a rash of movies which imitated the main plotline of a disease or alien being brought back to earth unknowingly, but one of Crichtons best novels? I don't think so. Still it IS a must read for every fan.

Brian Heard, a well-respected forensic scientist, presents his life long experiences with the serious & provocative subject of forensics in a skillful and insightful manner.

His natural storyteller manner combines with his encyclopedic knowledge of the forensic profession to create a benchmark book. I'd highly recommend this to be read by everyone. Criminal investigators, future forensic scientists and attorneys in particular will find it as useful as it is entertaining and the general public will be enthralled. A must read for anyone interested in crime scene investigation.

If you want true crime this has it all. An easily readable account of a Forensic Scientists examination of over 200 cases ranging from the Krays and the Richardsons to the worlds most violent Triad gangs. This man has lead a truely remarkable life and has put it down in a form which is easy to read, entertaining yet full of the most greusome details imaginable. At the end all I wanted was more and I really hope that there is a follow up in the piupeline.

The full story of the Negro on the frontier deserves to be told and one of the purposes of this book is to break a trail in that direction. By bringing together some of the more thrilling adventures of black men among hostile Indian tribes. A surprising number of frontiersmen wrote accounts of their adventures or had them "ghostwritten," much as is the practice among athletes and other folk heroes of today. Their stirring narratives of wilderness warfare and capture by Indians are presented here in their own words whenever possible. When the adventurer could not or did not write his story, it is in the words of witnesses. Beginning with Estevanico, the first Negro in America whose name definitely is known to history and closing with Henry Flipper, a calvary officer who lived until 1940, the collection of narratives spans four centuries.

The amazing adventures of Estevanico are known to many atudents of Western history. But the second man represented in this collection, a New England slave and Florida captive named Briton Hammon, has been forgotten in spite of the fact that he probably was the earliest American Negro author. Some of these black adventurers fought beside Indians against whites, others helped white frontiersmen conquer the Indians, and at least two were leaders in warfare between Indian tribes. Ranging in roles from a Methodist missioary to a Crow Indian chief, each of the ten men whose exxperiences are related in this book had at least two traits in common - an adventurous spirit and an abundance of courage.
--- excerpt from book's Introduction.

John Hammond is a billionaire who purchases an island off the coast of Costa Rica and sets about cloning dinosaurs. Hammond's goal is to open the world's greatest, and most expensive, amusement park. When his investors get nervous they demand an inspection, and so a cast is assembled to go to the island that includes Alan Grant, a dinosaur expert, Ian Malcolm, a mathematician, and Donald Genarro, the sleazy attorney. Alas, the group arrives just as things go horribly wrong at the park and learn just how dangerous dinosaurs such as T-Rex and velociraptor can be.

While the book was a major bestseller it's probably fair to say that most people are familiar with Jurassic Park (Widescreen Collector's Edition) from movie rather than the novel. Since Michael Crichton wrote the screenplay for the film, it won't come as a surprise that the two are fairly consistent. Still, there are differences and most work to give the book a bit more depth. Among the tidbits lost for the movie are a pteradactyl attack, encounters with both raptors and T-Rex, interesting details on the system flaws in the park, etc. So even if you've seen the film, there is definitely new material here that will surprise you.

Jurassic Park is easily one of Crichton's best-written books. It moves along at a strong pace from the beginning and the suspense builds pretty consistently until the climax. While I sometimes find the discussions of the science involved a bit overpowering in Crichton's books, they're mostly held to an appropriate level here.

The only flaw in the book is that Ian Malcolm is used as a none-too-subtle mouthpiece for the author's reservations about technology. It isn't even that I disagreed with most of what he says, it's the sledgehammer approach of making sure that even the most dense reader gets the point that science has become a very bad thing that got old pretty quickly. I found myself starting to skim over Malcolm's dialog more and more as the book progressed.

Jurassic Park is an easy book to recommend. It's exciting, interesting, and suspenseful when it tries to be. I had read it once many years ago, and after Michael Crichton's recent death I was moved to re-read it and see if it was as good as I remembered. Fortunately, it held up very well over the ensuing years.

This book combines drama and suspense with science and a certain amount of moralizing. The book's major premise-using the DNA of long extinct species-is clever because it is so believable and thus frightening. The book plays upon the idea that if one tampers with Nature's most sacred mechanisms, there will be a price to pay and dangers that one can neither anticipate nor accomodate. The idea of a Caribbean park featuring such resurrected creatures provides a macabre and riveting fascination. The book and movie have been out for a while but nevertheless, if you haven't read this, it is still a good read.

Ok so finally aftering seeing the movies so many times, I finally found a copy of the book in the one of the bedrooms upstairs.

I have to say, the beginning of this book is very drab,
Yadda yadda yadda, let me see some blood.

and after the fun started I couldnt put the book down.
But let me tell you for any of the young readers out there.
It is a goery book.

There is blood on almost every page once they get to Isle Nubar.

But overall it is a great book and I highly recommend it for anyone who has an intrest in sci-fi, paleontology < think that is wrong, or the movies.

Have to admit though... The first movie does in fact differ from the novel so don't expect it to be verbadum. but really what book made movie is?

Have you ever read a book after the movie and actully liked the book better. It rarely happens but for this read the movie impressed me more. The beginning of the book is very different from the Speilberg blockbuster. It started out with some very good action and suspence but went downhill from that. After Alan Grant gets to a mysterious island filled with man-eating dinosaurs its almost too predictable what will happen, but hey that reason better be why you read the book, to see dinosaurs rip off peoples heads and slice open their stomach. After the dinos escape its a life or death race to get off the island. I definetly would suggest this book to a dino freak but no one else. The settings are hard to picture and leave you confused in the later chapters. The island is a prehistic landscape and is hard to picture since we don't know what it looks like. Another reason a thought it was bad was because it didn't describe the dinos well enough. It would be very helpful if Micheal included pictures of the dinos instead of just telling you it was a pretyhuioptyresasaurous. The only reason I like the book is because is has creature violence, which is my favorite, and it has many action sequences. The end is filled with action and has you guess who rein supreme, the humans or dinosaurs. So over all it had a good story line, hard to understand settings, unpictureable dinos, but a good action twist at the end. I definetly suggest it to sci-fi readers, but anyone else just stay away.

Jurassic Park is one of my favorite books! It has a lot of action and a lot of descriptions. The story is very similar to the ever famous Jurassic Park movie by Stephen Spielberg { sp? sorry } The terror and action the Crichton creates with the dinosaur chases is very thrilling. There are some parts where you think, what just happend? And then you have to reread it again. But all in all it's a very great book and I would recommend that you would read Lost World Jurassic Park and that you watch all three of the Jurassics because their all great!

For his first work of fiction, Scott Turow opted for that creature of an infinite number of crime noir books - the innocent man falsely accused. But PRESUMED INNOCENT is not noir, falling instead into the more generic genre of standard mystery. Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor in a fictional Midwestern county, becomes the center of suspicion when Carolyn, a former co-worker and lover, turns up dead. That Carolyn seemed like the type of woman who would have collected a number of enemies at the point in her life when she died, many of whom might have been happy to do the ghastly deed, seems not to dampen anyone's enthusiasm about pointing at Rusty instead.

Turow takes us through several plot twists and legal maneuvers. Rusty is, of course, a lawyer and knows the system. But so is Turow, the author, and his knowledge of the field comes through. The story line flows easily enough and, if not exactly Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is at least as good as the average mystery writer. Although we do not know for sure if Rusty is the killer until the end, we kind of suspect he is not.

While none of the characters are necessarily weak or poorly drawn, none of them are really all that memorable either. Well, with one exception, and it is a detriment that the most interesting character, the coroner, is also the one that is destroyed. Rusty's wife, and his relationship with her in a faltering marriage, is concrete enough for us to connect. But again, nothing memorable.

None of this is meant in a necessarily bad way. Plenty of books stay with me - because of how bad they are. PRESUMED INNOCENT is ok, and if you like your mysteries straight up, then give it a go.

I loved this book when I first read it in paper, so I was going to buy a copy for my Kindle so I could read it again (I gave my paperback to a charity sale), but was dismayed and definitely deterred by the incredibly unresonable out of sight price of the Kindle edition.

Update July 13, 2008:
I emailed the publisher about the Kindle prices and see today that the two books with the $20+ prices are now priced at $7 for the Kindle editions! Quick response from publisher. So I put both on my Kindle.

Now hoping for equally quick response on getting the rest of Turow's works available in Kindle format.

Moral of Story: If your favorite author isn't available for Kindle, write to both the author and publisher!

This is a strong, compelling story with a page-turner drive. Though longer than average, it's easy to read and took only a couple of days of concentrated effort to finish, and it was a pleasure to do so. My impression is that the most powerful element of this book is the characters - they are well drawn, with good voices, and consistent through the arc of the story. My only criticism is that some of the strong voices are stereotypical - but, of course, stereotypes come from somewhere.

I first read PRESUMED INNOCENT when it first came out in 1987, back when I was in my mid-teens. Having recently re-read it as an adult, I wonder how much of it I actually understood as a teenager. This is a book meant for mature adults.

This book is also quite good, a finely crafted legal thriller that succeeds at multiple levels. The prose in PRESUMED INNOCENT is first rate, and the major characters are drawn with great complexity and depth. This novel starts slowly, but once the trial begins about a third of the way through, it really takes off and becomes a highly suspenseful page turner. All the courtroom scenes are also terrifically well done and brim with authenticity, which shouldn't be surprising given Turow's background as a prosecutor in Chicago.

PRESUMED INNOCENT also succeeds as psychological drama. The protagonist of this novel, prosecutor Rusty Sabich, is 39-years old and is forced to deal with numerous career and relationship struggles that many men typically face at that age. I'm still not as old as Sabich, but this time around I found him much easier to relate to as a person. He's hardly perfect (all of the major characters in this novel are severely flawed in one way or another), but I felt quite a bit empathy for him by the end.

This book was published quite some time ago, before the high-profile debuts of writers like John Grisham, Patricia Cornwell, Michael Connelly or Jonathan Kellerman. For 1987, PRESUMED INNOCENT was quite a groundbreaking effort, and it largely holds up twenty years later. This novel has a richness and complexity to it that most thrillers sorely lack these days.

While PRESUMED INNOCENT may not be as cutting edge as it was in the 1980s, it's still a great read that is well worth your time. Turow is apparently writing a long-awaited sequel to this novel, and I am eagerly looking forward to it.

One of Turow's best, if not the best. I have not seen the movie, therefore the ending was a complete surprise.
I will not repeat what the other Reviewers have written, just wanted to rate the novel as I thought it was truly a 5-Star read.

Economist Lott presents storng evidence that gun ownership stops crime. How can this possibly be, asks the left-wingers. Because guns are a deterrent. While people who die from bullet wounds is not to be discounted or disregarded, many critics fail to ask: How many people use a weapon to deter a criminal, save their own lives and stop further criminal tragedy. According to Lott's analysis, guns are used as self-defense over 2 million times per year. That's TWO MILLION TIMES PER YEAR. So millions of people are not raped, assaulted or murdered. In fact, I tell people that guns are a deterrent. Since one can own a weapon in America under the 2nd Amendment Civil Rights, then the criminal must assume that a person might be armed. Hence, deterrence. In Washington D.C., the gun ban on our civil rights has deprive individuals of their own self-defense. As a result, criminals know that they - oh no! - might get shot for their criminal actions. Lott examines a whole host of important issues, including gun-control regulations-assault weapons bans, "one-gun-a-month", right-to-carry laws and more. The left-wing absurdities become apparent: If you create gun free school zones, then law abiding citizens won't bring weapons. But will criminal obey that kind of law? Probably not. Lott uses analysis, graphs and table to support his assertions. A very useful book to understand that your 2nd Amendment Civil Rights have a basis in stopping crime in society.

Michael Mandaville, Author: "Citizen Soldier Handbook: 101 Ways for Every American To Fight Terrorism"

The title of the book says it all. John Lott then proceeds to prove it. Control freaks, sociopaths, leftists, mama's boys, and girly men will hate this book. So to them I say -- Don't read it since it will only make you angry and force you to look at something from an empirical perspective rather than from your usual emotional perspective.

Thoughtful, intelligent bookworms will love it. This is serious stuff, not much humor here so if your looking for an easy, entertaining read -- look elsewhere. If you want the truth about guns and the people who use them -- this is the book.

Excellent source of information no metter what your stance is concerning guns. Lots of well documented research to be found.

It is rather contradictory to attack Dr. Lott who was taught at many academic institutions across the country for being biased when the negative reviewers themselves have a bias as well. That being said, it is almost intellectually dishonest to euphemistically bludgeon Dr. Lott for citing certain statistics when those statistics have yet to be disproved by the world of academia (NOTE). Some statistics are unfounded and not necessary yet some provide a certain insight into the nature of gun laws and their effect on crime rates. It is unfair to only cite outlandish statistics in your review when the valid ones do not appear in review. This, of course, indubitably proves the blind bias of the reviewer. Also, call me a radical but Lott's research methods have been praised by two Nobel prize winning Economists and his work being right wing in nature has made it impossible for him to get a job at a "proven" University. My final question is why do left wing research methods get a pass while right wing research methods are always so psuedo-intellectually scrutanized? A bias against guns perhaps?

NOTE: Though the findings of Lott's first book More Guns, Less Crime have come under fire the more politically correct academics have yet find any flaws in his research. Finally, the American Enterprise Institute is no less credible than the social sciences department at Brown, Cornell, or even Berkeley because the credibility of the peer review is solely based on the bias of the reviewer.

John R Lott is a true patriot and his book, 'The Bias Against Guns: Why Almost Everything You've Heard About Gun Control Is Wrong' should be included as part of the Bible. Every God-fearing American is duty-bound to heed Lott's warning about the liberal, jelly-back movement that is threatening to destroy the country's long-cherished freedoms. However, while I agree 100% with the author, there is a significant argument missing when he says that everything you've heard about gun control is wrong. It's an obvious point that we haven't heard and one that is intellectually unassailable; GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE, BULLETS DO! Therefore, pass a law allowing everyone to own as many guns as they want; 10, 20, 100. Sell them in libraries, bookshops, gas stations, nightclubs and schools. Give them to children, psychopaths, teachers, social workers, prisoners and even terrorists. But at the same time, pass another law banning bullets. It's that simple. This revolution in social policy will not only silence the white ants in the White House, it will also show the rest of the world that Americans can solve problems that lesser minds find impossible to conquer.

Baseball is something sacred, especially when shared between fathers and sons. And "Shoeless Joe" is centered around that very thing - a lost son searching for the ghost of his father, chasing dreams and hearing voices in his head.

And of course there is the romance of the game, something that could turn an otherwise normal cornfield in the middle of Iowa into a sacred gathering place for ghosts of the game's past.

And it's a love story between Ray and Annie as well.

It's a beautiful book, one that I've enjoyed many times. Before my dad died, we even made a detour to Iowa to see the cornfield they carved up for the movie "Field of Dreams."

There's a reason baseball inspires so much poetry, literature and art, and Kinsella is one of the best at capturing it. If you love the game and great storytelling, then this book is for you.

-- John Nemo, author of the baseball novel The King's Game

Somewhere along the road the phrase 'if you build it, they will come' has come to signify a sort of brainless reassurance. In fact, the message of the book is that if you build something with a clarity of vision and purity of heart, there will be results worthy of your effort.

Reading this beautiful book about baseball (and make no mistake, it's really about baseball)will liberate you from the power of that cliche. It will also give you a haunting, beautiful model from which to build your own fields.

Lynn Hoffman, author of the novel bang BANG

Shoeless Joe is an inspirational novel about a baseball fanatic from a small town in Iowa. Ray Kinsella the main character, is a struggling farmer economically. One night Ray hears a voice while on his farm saying, "If you build it they will come". Ray the dreamer he is, decides to knock down his valuable crops and build a baseball field, in hope of bringing back his favorite player Shoeless Joe Jackson. So Ray follows the voices and goes on a long journey from Iowa to Boston to Minnesota in search of answers to finally find the answers to his dreams and his economic problems.

If you are a fan of dreaming and hope then this book is for you. This book is very similar to the movie, Field Of Dreams. However, in the novel W.P. Kinsella elaborates a lot more on the settings and it is a lot more enjoyable. If you are a fan of non-fiction I do not reccomond this novel. The events in this book are farfetched but really inspiring.

The theme in this book mistaken by most is not baseball. Kinsella brings up the idea of hope, father-son, and to not give up on your dreams.

Well it's supposed to be about dreams, magic, life and not about baseball...wrong it's about baseball and an American understanding that baseball is a way to unlock dreams, magic, and life.

But I am not an American follower of Baseball so along with Underworld by Don DeLillo it went over my head (although DeLillo's books first chapter was a stunning, lyrical depiction of the centuries' baseball World Series final moments). So is Shoeless Joe...stunning, lyrical writing? No, assume wooden, workaday.

Think I am being harsh? Well I look forward to a story based of a brickie who puts a goal up in Norfolk. George Best then appears to help him build the football pitch and gradually all the world ** players appear (Lev Yashin as goalie, Carlos Alberto Torres, Nílton Santos as full backs, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Moore as centre backs etc for one last game with the Brickie's long lost father as the ref. That I would understand so Nick Hornby get writing it.

But for the moment I am sticking to the film of the book-Field of Dreams. And making a mental note to be wary of any book that has a sports theme!

** run past me again how in Baseball one country = a world series whilst the 2006 World cup has 198 counties competing and over 700 million people watched the actual finals

Imagine listening to Peggy Lee singing "Is That All There Is" and feeling like you need to sleep for a week to escape the inane, predictable world. And then imagine youself feeling inspired by a short but magical novel that seems to say that just about anything is possible. If you're in the doldrums and tempted to become a cynic, read W. P. Kinsella's SHOELESS JOE. Peggy won't sound so convincing after you're finished.

Yes, of course, the plot is slightly different from the movie's, but not by much. A few scenes from the book are omitted for the sake of pacing, and Hollywood made J.D. Salinger into bestselling writer Terence Mann for legal reasons in case the recluse got his shorts all bunched up. But the storyline of FIELD OF DREAMS is quite faithful to the novel. So why read the book, you ask.

First, Kinsella's style is quite poetic. Although it becomes a bit saccharine in spots, it nevertheless has an easy feel to it. The paragraphs flow with a descriptive grace that is a bit magical in itself. There are some very long digressions, but even these are interesting as they slip nicely into Kinsella's tale of baseball as the saving grace of America--and one man in particular: Ray Kinsella.

The best reason to read this book, however, is to have the author's original words, as opposed to the resulting screenplay, sink into your soul so that you can feel the magic of the prose-poetry at a deeper level, where it can take root.

Kinsella manages to do two things in this novel: he speaks of the importance of the simple things in life: a farm, a pitcher of lemonade, a kiss, baseball. Simultaneously, he implies that there is a magic woven into the very fabric of reality, a magic that can happen to anyone. Paradoxically, it is this magic that ultimately makes the simple things accessible to us. Maybe that's why kids can have fun with rocks, sticks, and carboard boxes--kids who also believe in magic and baseball.

So "is that all there is"? No, Peggy. There is a mysterious world in the cornfields of Ray Kinsella's farm, a world that can touch our own if we allow ourselves to once again believe in dreams and possibilities.

THE JUROR is an older novel, written in 1995, by an author named George Davies Green. In his short career, Green only wrote two novels, CAVEMANS VALENTINE and this one. Both were made into big-budget movies and Green's debut netted him the Edgar award for best first novel. THE JUROR was a big bestseller and a major selection of the Literary Guild. So why did Green make THE JUROR his last novel? It's an unsolved mystery of thriller fiction.

I did enjoy THE JUROR, which is a brutally effective thriller. I wouldn't describe Green as a particularly subtle writer -- his prose is lean, graphic, and direct. The sex and violence in this book is pretty much of the in-your-face variety, but it's all very well done. The plot is rather silly and melodramatic, and the characters struck me as on the cartoonish side. Still, Dawes knows how to pace a book, and this is a thriller that really thrills. I read this novel in a few sittings.

I put this novel in the "fun but forgettable" category. It's enjoyable reading, and better written than your typical James Patterson or David Baldacci. If you enjoy those writers, you should definitely give Dawes a try, if you can find one of his old novels available. Just don't expect any future books from him.

Three and a half stars.

It had been probably ten years, right around the time the book was originally published, that I had first read The Juror. At the time, it was one of the most "grown-up" books I'd ever read, and I immediately fell in love with it. I found it brilliant and would constantly refer to it as one of my all-time favorite books.

Very recently the thought occurred to me that I should read it again and have The Juror prove to me that it was still worthy of being one of my "favorites" after all those years. So I began again...

And it DID NOT disappoint. If possible, I love The Juror more now than I did back then, reading it with the new appreciation of a person who has lived more of her life and read many, many more books.

The raw power and emotion, the thrilling pace, and the pure evil of the character still remained. The power -- that was always what drew me to this book. The raw power. I have often heard books or movies described as "psychological thrillers" and I am always disappointed that they never live up to the name and that they never live up to The Juror. This book truly parallels those words and it never disappoints. It's quick, jumping from scene to scene in sometimes less than two pages. It reads well. It's exciting; it's scary. There is a cutting humor, an intense use of language, and a story that, again, might feel like it's been done, but I assure you, it has not been done like this. The Juror, in short, is a truly brilliant book.

If you've seen and enjoyed the movie, I ask you to please read the book. I had read the book first, and while I loved the movie, I of course remained partial to the book. The characters that don't appear in the movie, Slavko and Sari, were always my favorite characters, and remained so in my second read. Amazing characters, and a wonderful plot, with so many twists and turns. I knew the story in advance, and yet I still didn't see everything coming.

All in all, I am very pleased to say that upon my second reading - ten years later - that The Juror doesn't only deserve a place in the list of my favorite books, but in fact, it deserves to be in the top five.

Don't pick it up unless you're prepared to not put it down. With the first page The Juror grabs the reader, taking him on a spine-tingling suspenseful trail of tips and tricks as the artfully crafted plot thickens and excitement builds.

Annie Laird, a single mother and aspiring sculptor, is Juror 224 in the case of the people vs. mob boss Louis Buffano. Innocent yet intelligent, Annie agrees to serve, in part, because she has always taught her 12-year-old son, Oliver, to be responsible.

Before the trial's opening statements, Annie falls under the spell of an urbane art dealer who professes an interest in her work. On their first date she is told that she must return a not guilty verdict or else. The man threatening her is actually known as the Teacher, a brilliantly ruthless mob thug who begins to electronically follow Annie's every move and conversation. The excitement mounts as Annie tries to think of ways to protect her son and outsmart her dangerous predator.

This legal thriller is top-rate entertainment, packed with superbly honed characters, especially the treacherous Teacher.

THE JUROR is a humdinger of a novel, filled with some really nasty characters, a strong heroine, a gifted young child, a PI with a heart, and several plot twists along the way. Single mother Annie Laird is called to jury duty -- for the trial of a mob leader. An aspiring sculptress in a dead-end job, she sees jury duty as a kind of break from her humdrum life. Then one day she sells three of her sculptures to a mysterious man; he's charming, handsome, rich and sweeps Annie off her feet. He's also "The Teacher" and tells her she can have her career, her life, the safety of her child and friends if she says two words: Not guilty. From there she is thrown into a maze of deceit, lies, and ultimately bone chilling fear. A subplot involves a polish detective helping out the Teacher's girlfriend, who thinks her lover is cheating on her.
The pace of the novel is great and even after the trial is over, it's not over for Annie.
Fine good thriller.

Very interestingly, the author is able to grip on to your attention with its constant change in the plot and switching between characters. I am baffled by how a twist in one's life can result in so much change.

Initially, I had thought what a weakling Annie was for having succumbed to the pressure and demand of "The Teacher" but to soon realise that she is in fact stronger than I have thought. Her want to protect Oliver (her son) is a testimony of her inner strengths and courage! This is clearly shown towards the end when the author clearly depicts her emotions; which also resulted from the chains of events that had happened.

I am particularly intrigued by the charms of Zach Lyde ("The Teacher" - known with several other names in the books) of his strong instincts, his wealth of knowledge. The author managed to develop this central character of the novel to an extent that makes one feel terrified, and really hoping that there's wouldn't be such a person that exists in this world who can work powerfully on the psychology of others.

The light touch of the book, and yet a strong point driven across was about the greatness of motherly love - how much a child means to his/her mother and to what extend she will be there to protect the child. Such an important lesson and yet so succinctly put across by the author.

A great novel for a good weekend read. You find it hard to put the book down once you start reading it.