O Books

Chances are if you're reading the reviews for this book then you've read at least one Capone biography and walked away, like me, thinking, "Great story, wish I knew more about the Northsiders." Well Rose Keefe has heard our collective wail and has provided us with one of the best books on both Chicago gangland and one of its most interesting characters. There is much more to the O'Banion/Northside story than just being fodder for Capone's gunmen. If you're into Chicago's gangland past then this volume is a must.

A great bio on the Chicago gangster gunned down in his flower shop during the "Roaring Twenties". The book focuses on the rivalry between the Northside Chicago mob and the Southside Torrio-Capone mob.Obanion and his cohorts are literally devoured by the inter-city "big time" mobs with connections to New York city.From reading this book I don't believe Obanion knew what he was up against,he was a small town boy who moved to the city of Chicago, yet he tried to run his crime empire like a small business. Cavorting around a flower shop by day,shaking hands,(without an enemy in the world?),with little to no protection,meanwhile engaging in criminal activity that would include murder.That's just asking for it,and Torrio's mob,later inherited by Capone,was only too happy to oblige. It seems Torrio's mob when they arrived in Chicago was already an experienced hard core criminal transplant from NYC and cites thereof.How could Obanion honestly think that when the control of rackets,gambling,bottlegging,and the millions of dollars at stake, there was a "moral" line that shouldn't be crossed?Especially when dealing with the mob and seeing as the mob eliminated its own so what could a rival gang expect.Capone listed his profession as furniture dealer but I doubt you would see him lifting furniture into trucks.His furniture business was a fort.The short baby faced Obanion never had a chance in dealing with the NYC mob. this book really brought this out as I read it.An excellent work on crime history but it sort of makes Obanion look like a "farmer".

This is about the people who nearly beat the Capone Mob for control of the Chicago boot-legging business. They were led by a florist and included a war hero, a cowboy, a bigamist and a practical joker who starred in an early stag film in the middle of a gang war. The wild Northside Gang is today best remembered for being the victims in the St Valentine's Massacre but in the twenties they were household names. This and Rose Keefe's book about Bugs Moran are both fascinating. A must read!

I'm so glad to see some really well-researched books coming out these days about the legendary figures of organized crime. Dean (not Dion) O'Banion was one guy I never expected to see a full-blown biography on, yet here it is. Rose O'Keefe must have done a lot of digging to come up with all of this material, and virtually none of it can be found in any other book; certainly none that I've ever heard of. She scores well as a writer, too, telling O'Banion's story in a way that will keep you turning those pages, eager to see what's coming next. There's a lot of context here about the various gangs of 1910s-1920s Chicago, and O'Banion's place in that jungle, which is helpful. If I had to name one small criticism, I'd have to say that the author's tone betrays a tiny lack of objectivity about her subject. He just seems like a vicious thug to me, though a fascinating one, but the book empathizes more with O'Banion than with his victims. But overall this is a must-have book for anyone interested in the history of organized crime in America. You'll be so entertained in reading it that you won't mind the education you're getting!

This is the most comprehensive and thoroughly researched biography of Dean O'Banion and it has been justly recognized as definitive. Rose Keefe's greatest accomplishment is that her meticulous research has refuted dozens of journalistic half truths, embellishments and canards that have become commonly accepted as the truth simply because of constant repetition over eight decades. The actual Dean O'Banion is a far more complex and interesting character than his newspaper stereotype.

Many sources have characterized the Prohibition battles between the Northside Gang and the Capone/Torrio mob as simply a territorial battle between the Irish and those damned Dagoes. Keefe correctly points out that the Northsiders were, in fact, an exceedingly diverse group comprised of Irish, Italian, German, Jewish and Polish hoodlums. The reality was more complicated than the widely accepted conventional wisdom.

Although O'Banion could act in an utterly ruthless manner if circumstances warranted, more often than not he relied upon his quick wits. He possessed superior intelligence and had an engaging personality that inspired great loyalty from his comrades even long after his death.

Despite his humble origins, O'Banion had the ability to put people from various walks of life at perfect ease and to form lasting friendships that allowed him to move easily in political and social circles despite his criminal background. O'Banion was a contradiction: he was a devoted son and husband. One could envision the industrious O'Banion succeeding in almost any field of endeavor that he tried. The loss of his beloved mother to tuberculosis and a childhood accident that left O'Banion partially crippled with a permanent limp were traumatic episodes, but rather than contenting himself to be sidelined by his handicap or to endure a life of economic hardship and privation, O'Banion chose not to be pushed around as he hit back hard with both fists in order to survive in the rough and tumble, dog eat dog environment that was Chicago in the early years of the past century.

If you are living from hand to mouth, it always pays to be ambidextrous and O'Banion was, figuratively and literally: his custom tailored suits contained multiple pistol pockets which allowed O'Banion to draw concealed revolvers using either his right or left hand or both hands simultaneously. The same hands that O'Banion could and did use to fire pistols, crack safes, stuff ballot boxes or slug out rival newspaper hawkers would also cut flowers into lovely arrangements for weddings and funerals. As a bootlegger, O'Banion prided himself on selling quality products as opposed to the rot gut handled by his rivals.

Keefe relates the many occasions on which O'Banion performed acts of charity. Some of these kindly acts were calculated, however, since O'Banion was also interested in reaping votes come election time. By performing good deeds, he could call in favors when ballots were being cast by his neighbors. Unlike Al Capone who coupled brutality and with openly lewd and lecherous behavior (Scarface allegedly gained his trademark after making crude remarks about a woman's shapely posterior in the presence of her protective and knife wielding older brother), O'Banion was noted for behaving in a courteous and oftentimes chivalrous manner.

Keefe's writing is factual and entertaining. The O'Banion who she describes in such great depth proves to be such a charming and larger than life personality that it is entirely possible to imagine his immortal soul awaiting forgiveness and redemption in Purgatory. I was reminded of the Warner Brothers crime melodrama "Angels with Dirty Faces" in which a priest played by Pat O'Brien called upon a group of juvenile delinquents to "pray for a boy that who couldn't run as fast as I could" after his childhood friend who failed to escape the corrupting influence of the mean streets died at an early age as a result of embarking upon a criminal career. If this sounds like a mere Hollywood screenwriting cliche, consider the fact that a Roman Catholic priest was disciplined and transferred for leading graveside prayers for Dean O'Banion despite orders from the Cardinal to deny Christian burial rites to known gangsters.

The only serious fault that I found with "Guns and Roses" is that the book lacks proper footnotes. There is a bibliography, but Keefe ought to have provided footnote attributions to the excerpted materials that were previously published elsewhere. There are also some minor geographical, historical and typographical errors that Chicagoans may catch in the text, usually on minor details, but the book is otherwise solid. Despite these shortcomings, this book is nevertheless a significant addition to the true crime history of Chicago during the Prohibition Era.

Review by Sherry North, Author, Because You Are My Baby

We are in the process of adopting a child from Kazakhstan, so I bought this book to help us collect information and memories for making a lifebook. While the text is a bit haphazard- information is often repeated and the topics seem to jump around - I would still recommend the book. It has given me a new perspective on how to talk to our child's caregivers and which tidbits of information or mementos to look for while we are in Kazakhstan. It also has sample lifebook pages, which will be a wonderful guide when I sit down with our child to make her lifebook.

This is such a great book. Wonderful ideas for adopted children internationally or domestic, children of any age, foster kids. She covers everyone. She does a fantastic job sharing and guiding. This would truly be a treasure to a child. Easy read and quite enjoyable as well. Wonderful tips and ideas!!

This book is wonderful. It gives step by step directions on how to start a life book. It explains what it is and why they are good for the adopted child. I highly reccommend this book to all adoptive parents!

This book gives practical ideas, with examples to follow broken down into a user-friendly format for those of us who are journaling-challanged!

I am currently writing my childs LifeBook. Without this book for guidance I would be lost. I am lucky enough to have a few photo's of my son at various ages from 1 month to 18 months, including one of the birthmom and him at 5 months of age. This book is helping me tell his story without my emotions getting in the way. This is truely his book and very personal.

Great book. As a mom of two girls (and a boy) I loved this book. The girl and boy are equally matched, and the girl will not let the boy getting away with the Princess just sitting around waiting for the dude to rescue her. My girls (ages 6 and 3 1/2) LOVE it. We read it several times a week. I wish there were more stories like this.

Great story for kicking off a class writing project. Very humorous and written from a child's perspective. My classes were enthralled and couldn't wait to talk about it! I would highly recommend it for read aloud.

I check this book out from the library and have read it at LEAST 15 times! I read it to my son's kindergarten class not once but, THREE times. I only stopped because the bus came. All of the kids were yelling for more, I felt like a rock star. Very fun book!

This book won the North Carolina Children's Book Award in 2007 (students vote for the winning book from a list developed by children's librarians). I read it to my Pre-K through 3rd grade classes when it was a nominee--they ALL loved it. (I'd have read it to grades 4-6 if I'd had the chance!).

So when I went on a librarian interview and had to give a 5-minute presentation at the end, I knew what I'd do--a read-aloud of Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude. I had to present to about 6 adults--both librarians and non-librarians (Human Resources, etc.) I know it went beyond the 5 minutes and I stopped partway through to double-check, but they wanted me to keep going. At the end, they immediately asked the children's librarian if they had that book in their collection. I then became the top candidate for the job, too!

I'm going to a conference to meet author Kevin O'Malley--I can't wait!

Child-recommended, librarian-recommended. Buy this book!

So here I am wondering what to read to my jaded fifth graders. They don't go in for the ultra serious, they yawn through the books beloved of second and third graders. They groan when I mention poetry or nonfiction. And then this book falls into my lap. One read through and I'm hooked--and so is my fifth grade audience! Kevin O'Malley has brilliantly joined artistic forces with Carol Heyer and Scott Goto to create a book that is a commentary on story telling, the battle of the sexes, and a great graphic novel picture book yarn!

The premise of this tale is easy to absorb; two characters, a boy and a girl (probably classmates at school) are telling the readers their own made up fairy tale. Each takes a turn at the story, and offers commentary on their partner's part of the tale. The girl starts off with a flowery story of a princess and her ponies and the giant that comes and steals the ponies away. No prince seems up to the challenge. At this point, our male narrator has become heartily sick of the way the story is being told and takes over the narrative. No prince may be up to beating the giant, but a motorcycle-riding Dude with a sword just might be able to win the day. The boy continues on with his tale of action and adventure and finishes off the tale--leaving the princess doing nothing but spinning gold thread. The female narrator has her own idea of how the story should end, and it takes some work for the two to come together on an ending that satisfies them both and delights listeners. The narrative is broken into actual story text, and dialog bubbles, combining traditional picture book style with graphic novel sensibilities. This book will most likely appeal to readers already familiar with comics and graphic novels and who will be delighted to find a picture book in the same format. While this break up of text can be challenging to read aloud, older readers will have no problem following the story on their own.

But the text is hardly the whole story. The pictures are what make this book so delightful, and hysterical. A veteran artist and illustrator of over 25 children's books, Kevin O'Malley's flair is found in the cartoon style boy and girl that speak in dialog bubbles that appear throughout the main fairy tale, offering extra commentary. Mr. O'Malley's characters speak directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall and pulling the readers/listeners into the story crafting experience. Carol Heyer is an award winning fantasy artist who has illustrated several fairy tale books for children and her talent shines through in gorgeous romanticized images of a lovely princess and her ponies. Everything is in royal hues shaded to pinks and purples. The pictures are lovely, but very "girl" and extremely saccharine--which the readers will figure out fast enough. The menacing giant doesn't look all that mean or foreboding, and the princess inhabits that "magical fairyland" quality that would be at home in most "girl-centric" advertising. Carol Heyer knows just how to play this up without making the pictures themselves comical or caricatures--they're lovely, but funny as hell when added to the text. Scott Goto also has a fantasy background to his art, but his style is bold, sweeping over the whole page and defining itself with strong colors. His Dude has a modern touch that hints of world wrestling while still managing to capture a more Conan-like spirit in the battle. Goto's giant is monstrous and hideous--in keeping with the male narrative of grossness. "And his breath smelled like rotten, moldy, stinky wet feet!" The combination of these styles as our narrators battle for control of the story highlights the differences and encourages the laughter, while giving some great artwork for the reader to enjoy. Some of this stuff would be at home in any high fantasy collection!

This book manages to highlight what could be considered traditional differences in the way male and female narratives are handled. The girl's narrative focuses on emotions and names of the ponies and more descriptive elements of the text while the boy focuses on action and big events without necessarily finishing the narrative tale. It takes both of them working together and taking elements from the other's story to come to the conclusion. Of course nothing remains in agreement for long! I will be the first to admit it is a hard book to read aloud. If you're really good at voices and humor however, this book is the perfect read for older, more cynical listeners. It took me several tries to get it to read well, but now it's the book that all my kids request. They love hearing it as much as I love telling it!

Those who enjoy this book might want to take a look at the Captain Raptor series also by Mr. O'Malley. Likewise, "Mars Needs Moms" by Berkely Breathed may appeal with its similar whimsy and powerful illustrations. And don't miss "Superhero ABC" by Bob Macleod. This comic-book style art alphabet book is sure to please those with a love of action heroes and humor.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

My 2 1/2 year old toddler loves this book since she was less than a year old. The rhyming captures her attention when she was younger, and now she loves to count with us. It's catchy, and cute with wonderful illustration; fun read for mom and dad too. The board book ironically has lasted through her teething phase, so it will need to be replaced for her little sister.

My almost-three year-old can't go to sleep without having this book read to him at least twice. Not only does it teach you numbers and how to count, it shows you not to be afraid of silly monsters! The rhymes are clever and the illustrations so fun and detailed you'll find something new to point out almost every time--and it's always good for a laugh. This is one of the few books that I can stand to read to my son as often as he wants to hear it.

After reading this board book edition and then comparing the board book to the paper edition that has been much loved, I verified that the current board book edition is incomplete. Thus, I would recommend purchasing the paperback edition as the board book edition stops short and is not fulfilling in its prose. This incomplete board book printed edition is especially irritating when reading to intelligent children who have memorized the complete story and expect that the adult regurgitate it completely.

Me and my 2 1/2 year old boy just LOVED this book. He is very much into numbers and has been counting for a few months, so I got this book for him. It's one of the few books he sits for through the whole story. He especially loves the page for "four" ;).

It is also good for his older brother, who is in kindergarden and learning how to read / spell the number words.

Our toddler loved this book for months-- and I never tired of reading it. The pictures are terrific, the rhyme fun and it also helps encourage counting and number sense skills. We give it a thumbs-up!

The Jan 1 entry exposes his bias. Princeton Seminary bad. Westminster Seminary good. Guess which one he went to? Modernism bad. Fundamentalism good. Still, there's lots of interesting stuff in here. Just don't expect it to be even-handed.

This book is arranged by date and tells many well known as well as little known events in the history of Christianity. In reciting events that concerned both well known and little known Christians, it emphasizes two important things: that God controls history and that He uses ordinary people to accomplish His purposes.

This book offers something you won't get out of just about any other devotional: it gives you glimpses into how God has worked through the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people all throughout history. Most devotionals give you good thoughts or introduce you to some significant people, but this book will give you a broad introduction to scores and scores of Christians throughout the ages and how their lives reflected God's plan. If you ever thought that God wasn't doing much with you, reading the stories in this book will remind you that God's plans often unfold over the long term, and that He uses unexpected people in order to do great things.

The Rustens have an entry for each date, but they don't just give you a little snapshot of an event; they give you an overview of the life and achievements of the person involved - all in two pages! These stories are helpful reminders that the Kingdom of Heaven is worked out little by little through many different people who simply did what the Bible taught them to do and who listened to God. This is far from a "trivia" book. Instead of dry facts, you'll get a great introduction to lots of wonderful Christians whose stories you might not know, and you'll get to see how God worked through even their most painful and discouraging times in order to bring about great blessings and spread the light of Christ to others.

The best part is that the Rustens have put a lot of effort into telling the stories well. Although you will pick up a lot of knowledge about people, places, and events, the entries are interesting to read even for those who don't want to try to remember a bunch of facts. I had trouble keeping myself to one entry a day! But for those who want a source for information, you'll be glad to know that footnotes and sources have been provided.

I got this book for my in-laws who really enjoyed it last year, so I got a copy for myself and am finding it a wonderful way to digest a little piece of history each day. The two pages per day can be read in 5 to 10 minutes and are very informative.

What a remarkable and inspiring book this is on some of the historic events of Christianity and of Christians, both famous ones and not-so-famous ones! I read this book daily in 2007 and was inspired each and every day to continue to stand for what is good and right in this world. We bought this "textbook" of Christian history for my husband's parents for Christmas, and they are already enjoying it and being blessed by it. I should not be, but I am, amazed every time such evil and unjustice is done to those who call on the Name of Jesus ~ I should not be, because He told us in His Word that we WOULD be persecuted. This book helps me to know I can stand strong just as those others before me did, even those who ended up in martyrdom. It's an amazing "read" ~ be blessed by it.

This is a lovely version of the classic Rumpelstiltskin. I enjoyed reading it with my third graders. The illustrations are beautiful and spark the imagination. A good story demonstrates struggle and challenges the students to compare present day expectations with the past.

The pictures in this book are very nice. My 5-year old loves to hear it as a story before going to sleep. The ending of the story is also suitable for this age, since Rumpelstiltskin ends up flying out the window, instead of something more tragic happening to him.

I wanted a classic children's fairy tale story with handsome illustrations. I got just what I wanted with this book. I have a 3 1/2 year old and it is the perfect length for bedtime.

I read the book Rumpelstiltskin. It is about a poor miller's daughter who is very kind. One day the miller sees the king and says, "My daughter can spin straw into gold" The king said" get her over her right away" So when she got there the king said" if you don't spin this straw into gold by tomorrow you will die" So the miller's daughter cried and cried until a strange person comes in and says" I will spin this straw into gold for you. But you need to give me something". So she does and the next day she goes to another room and he comes again. She gives him something again. Then the next day she goes to a bigger room and he comes back and says, "you will give me your first born baby So the next day she gets married to the king. She has a baby so the man comes back and she says" if I don't find out your name in three days you can take my baby. So she sends out a servant to find out the mans name. So the servant finds out his name it is Rumpelstiltskin. Then he comes and she says" is your name Rumpelstiltskin. Then he was never heard from again.

I liked the book because it had bright detailed illustrations. I liked the picture of the king and the miller. The message is don't trust strangers because she talks to him. The theme is karma because he tricks her and then she tricks him. There is good vs. evil because Rumpelstiltskin is bad and she is good. I know this because he tricks people. The conflict of person vs. person is interesting because she is ahead and then he is. It keeps going back and froth. I think kids should read this because it will teach them to not trust strangers. There are no more versions of this story that I have read.

I READ RUMPELSTILSKIN BY PAUL O. ZELINGSKY.
THERE ARE THREE CHARACTERS ONE IS THE KING ANOTHER IS RUMPELSTILSKIN AND THE LAST ONE IS THE MILLERS DAUGHTER. THE MILLER SAID TO THE KING MY DAGHTER CAN TURN STRAW INTO GOLD.
I DID LIKE THE BOOK BECAUSE OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS. I LIKED THE ILLLUSTRATIONS BECAUSE HOW THEY MADE STRAW INTO GOLD IT WAS COOL. THE CHARACTERS WERE NOT GOOD BECAUSE THE KING THREATENED THE MILLERS DAUGHTER AND RUMPELSKILSKIN SAID I WILL SPIN STRAW INTO GOLD IF YOU GIVE ME SOMETHING. THE CONFLICT IS PERSON VS PERSON BECAUSE RUMPELSTILSKIN TRICKS THE MILLERS DAUGHTER. THERE ARE NOT ANYMORE VERSIONS OF RUMPELSTILSKIN,
THE BOOK WAS EASY FOR ME. IT COULD EVEN BE FOR MORE THAN THIRD GRADERS. THE THEME IS DON'T TELL LIES BECAUSE THEY CAN CATCH UP WITH YOU. PEOPLE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK SO THEY WILL KNOW HOW HARD IT WAS BACK THEN.

If you want help undoing your ego this is your book..I read a course in miracles, then disappearance of the universe ,and finally this book and i get it . this book answers all your questions in an easy to understand written format...I will read again and again..also if you have read a new earth this is an excellent follow up to that book!

Take me to truth is one of the few A Course In Miracle related books that teaches the essential practice of trust. Within its stories, sharings and gentle wise guidance, we come to see ourselves beyond our shadows and learn to accept Holy Spirit's guidance as always leading us to the light within. Trust indeed is the essential component for every Teacher of God, yet it also is the most essential component for inner peace beyond any spiritual path. Here we come to learn, not just through Nouk and Tomas' own journey, how trust is the key, but how each of us can choose to step beyond our own challenges and desire to know the light within ourselves as real and life affirming. The lessons and sharings within Take Me To Truth are practical, real and ego-destructive! So warn your ego before you choose to delve within its pages... it just may not survive. I am proud to own this book and highly recommend it to all not only on the path of ACIM, but to all who genuinely seek to awaken.

This book was wonderful. It explained the process of letting go of ego nonsense with enormous clarity. After reading it I finally understood that my ego is not me.

Rings of Truth all the way through.

The description of the (negative) ego logic system -- and the inevitable existential consequences -- is right on the button. Once described, it is much easier to see it for what it is, let it be, and move on.

I found myself wondering what our world might be like if we were exposed to such powerful Teachings at about age 10.

I felt grateful to have the opportunity to read such a clear, profound, yet practical Spiritual Transmission -- so obviously written by two people that are walking their talk.

I HIGHLY recommend this book.

This book is a great for those who are looking for personal or spiritual growth and have the discipline to apply the principles contained within it. Without the application, the knowledge itself is meaningless. As a person who loves the "Disappearance of the Universe" I find this book to be an excellent book as it goes in depth on exactly what the "ego" does to express itself in a rather detailed way.. I believe this book is a great complement to Gary Renard's book and the two when read together are powerful tools.

This book is also great for those who are into personal growth but have ego resistance to religious references as this book keeps the religious references to a minimum and focuses more on ego behaviors and mannerisms and specifically what should be done to undo them.

There are some enneagram references and other references that may or may not help you.. if they don't, just forgive them and move onto the next section. As a general rule.. do what works for you.. discard what doesn't.

I loved this book. It really made you think about "could this actually happen?" I love the bits of history, the attitudes of people in different times, the extraordinary amount of research that Mrs. O'Day must have put into this. She is just an awesome story teller.

I read this book many years ago and fell in love with it. I just found it again and re-read it- yep, still love it! I don't really agree with the last review about the "rape" scene. It's a fictional book and I took it as that- fictional. It was an important part of the plot, although it may be disturbing to some, you soon forget about it as Constance weaves her magical spell. I felt transported back in time with Brianne and almost wished it were true. I hated that the book ended, and the ending was fabulous! I wish there was a part two and I could continue reading about Brianne and Ryan's life. Not to be, but at least I have this copy and I can pull it out every few years and get swept back in time once again and try to pretend I don't know how the story will turn out. I love this book and highly recommend it to all those who enjoy an easy read that will make your heart flutter and your cheeks flush!

THIS IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOK! I HAVE READ IT OVER AND OVER. A TRUE ROMANCE NOVEL...AND A VERY HARD ACT TO FOLLOW.

and I still think about the storyline quite frequently. Not only did I love the characters and how they developed throughout the book, but I'm very much into the New Orleans: it's such a great setting for a romance to take place. "Timeless Passion" also includes many dualisms, like North vs. South, being a modern career woman vs. being an oppressed wallflower wife, etc. For me, the time travel genre is a great expression of clashing ideals and interests, which can be both hilarious and shocking depending on what's encountered. From a person that reads just about anything she picks up, I'm still a very harsh critic. This book, along quite a few classics, I swear it makes me want to be a writer, too. On a side note, it was clever of O'Day-Flannery to make Brianne so short in comparison to Ryan. We need more characters that aren't portrayed as supermodels so that more people can enjoy these types of novels.

Everybody raved about how good this book was, so I decided to give it a try. I didn't get very far.

When the hero (who up to this point despises the heroine) has sex with the heroine WHILE SHE'S DRUGGED UP ON LAUDANUM and passed out, not really aware of what's going on! His reasoning? She's dressed in pants and must be a prostitute, therefore he's not doing anything wrong. He's got a right to use her because she's a whore! I was so disgusted that this book flew across my room.

Yeah, yeah, I know such things were just par for the course in many 80's romances, but this is sick, sick, sick! Hello, people! Sex without a woman's consent is called RAPE!!!! That's why they call it the "date-rape" drug, and not the "seduction" drug! I can't believe people actually find this romantic.

This disgusting "love" (RAPE!) scene appears just 50 pages into the book. So it's not like they hero and heroine have had any time to fall in love with one another. In fact, they hate each other. I don't like such early sex even between consenting adults, let alone a rape scene (which is NEVER acceptable!) Skip this book!

For some reason I didn't think this was going to be a very good book when I selected it. Boy was I wrong, it's a great book. My husband who is not a reader, unless its something to do with sports, is reading it.

Sue O'Neill brings home all the craziness of being in a war. This collection gives a firsthand account of just what it was like to be there and reveals the humanity on a new level. I especially recommend it for the children of vets whose mothers or father may have never come home or never have talked about the war.

Other Amazon customer reviews have done a great job of outlining the subject matter of these stories. But the stories, which are fine pieces individually, are also wonderfully orchestrated in this collection. Some stories are poignant, some are dark with flashes of humor, and 'Monkey On Our Backs' is laugh-out-loud funny from beginning to end. The stories benefit from both a common thread and great variety, and the overall effect, with recurring characters, is a bit like reading an episodic novel.

Above all, Susan O'Neill is an excellent storyteller, a writer who has mastered her craft. I hope we're going to see more stories from her. I would expect her narratives to be compelling whether set in a war or not. Highly recommended.

I live in Indonesia (where I grew up), and do most of my reading during fairly frequent and extended surf safaris on boats. I ordered DON'T MEAN NOTHING from Amazon, and when it arrived, I read the first couple stories and then forced myself to put the book away, saving it for precious boat-time reading material. I just got back from my latest trip, and I tell you, I read two stories a day, taking them like a illicit drug. And like an addict, when the book came to end, I was severely wishing there were another dozen to read.

Anybody who's reading this review already knows the collection is set in Vietnam during the war, told from the original perspective of medical personnel working with war casualties. But as with all great stories-or at least, the kind of stories I really love-the authentic and intriguing details of setting and scene only serve to enhance the characters, and it was this assemble of ordinary folk (acting pretty much as ordinary folk would in extraordinary situations) that made the collection such a riveting read for me. The story "Butch" made me-macho surfer dude--misty-eyed, and "Monkey on Our Banks" made me laugh out loud, because I knew a monkey just like that one in my boarding school (it once stole and ate a bunch of candy laxative, with predictable results in the girls' dorm).

As an oftentimes struggling and paper-ripping writer, I marveled at author O'Neill's way with words that don't get in the way yet do immaculate service to the story. But mostly, I so enjoyed the reading that my inner critic never made a peep.

Highly recommended.

Sue O'Neill along with Mary Reynolds Powell (A World Of Hurt) and Sharon Grant Wildwind (Dreams That Blister Sleep) is one of a rare breed of women who not only flew 10,000 miles into a war zone to support an Army whose average age was 19 (in WW II it was 26), she also had the strength and the vision to write about her experiences.

Don't Mean Nothing is an essential Nam book, along with the late Lynda Van Devanter's Home Before Morning. While I don't accept that the war was literally unwinnable, I totally agree that the way it was being fought, with no sense of a Win Scenario at any time, resulted in a mindless and sickening waste of human life - on both sides.

President Johnson, the simpleton who put more than 500,000 US troops in harm's way, yet never defined a Win Scenario or Exit Strategy, once boasted that the Air Force "couldn't even bomb an outhouse" without his approval. Similarly, the target selection for the Rolling Thunder bombing campaign in which the US lost 922 aircraft, was carried out at cozy White House lunches, without a single Air Force commander being present.

Sue's anger at a mind-numbingly incompetent Government, who denied Ho Chi Minh a fair crack at democratic elections (which he may well have won) by installing the hateful and corrupt Diem in the South, is well stated.

These stories take you under the hood, behind the propaganda and the lies and put you right there in the middle of a war that either should never have happened or which should have been fought very differently at the very least.

A great writer. A great human being.

This is yet another one of the books that was required for my Arts & Humanities class "The Horror Story"...I must say that I'm quite glad that I was introduced to this novel.

This book houses some of the greatest horror stories since the genre came into existence. I have a new appreciation for Edgar Allen Poe. Algernon Blackwood is an AMAZING writer, quite possibly my new favorite. There is even a story written by O. Henry!

This book could easily be considered a bible among those who are horror-genre fans. I can't say much else about this book other than IN MY OPINION it is worth the money you will spend on it and the time you will spend reading it.

They quickly notified me when they were shipping it and it showed up fast. The book arrived in excellent shape. I am very pleased with the level of service provided.

This book is, quite simply, the best collection of 19th and early-20th century short fiction of the dark variety in existence. First published in the 1940s, this single (albeit fat) volume is a goldmine of the roots of modern horror, a great way to see where today's horror heavyweights got their inspiration and influence.

Some authors whose stories appear within: Bierce, Blackwood, Dickens, Faulkner, Hawthorne, Hemingway, James (both Henry & M.R.), Kipling, Lovecraft, Machen, Poe, Wells, and many more, a good mixture of horror genre regulars and more conventional or 'literary' authors to whom dark fiction was a departure from the norm. If many of those above names are unfamiliar to you and you consider yourself a fan of dark fiction, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

[Sidenote: The book also contains two of my all-time favorite short stories from two slightly lesser-known authors: Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," and W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw." As far as I know, this is the only single volume that includes both. The latter story is, in my humble opinion, THE most perfect scary story of all time.]

Once again: Wagner & Wise's collection is the best thing of its kind.

If you're looking for a little fear on your pallet, this book will dish it out in buckets. The authors are old world craftsmen who wrote these stories on dark and stormy nights. As you read, the wind will howl, dead children will laugh, and the scurry of rats will make you look around your room. Drink a glass of wine, eat dark chocolate, and curl up to this one in bed. Dead men do write good tales.

There's little to add to what earlier commenters have written. But I do want to note that not only are the stories themselves awesome, but the collection as a whole serves as a broad and useful introduction to spooky stories. Many representative authors of the 'old school' are included, like Sheridan Le Fanu, M.R. James, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Benson, and the much neglected Oliver Onions. Lovecraft is, of course, there, too. The editor couldn't have chosen better examples to inspire readers to seek out more of the represented authors' works.