P Books

I was living in Cambodia when I came across this book, following the recommendation of one of my English friends. I bought the book, opened it... and could no longer put it down! This book came as a complete eye-opener to me, on both how America had conducted its war across Indochina, but also on how Cambodia's history had/has been so intimately intermixed with Sihanouk's.

If you are into learning the backside of what we could all dub "official history", then this book's for you. You will no longer look at Kissinger, Nixon or Westmoreland with the same candid, obedient and servile eyes after reading it. Packed with previously unheard-of accounts, reports, testimonies, following a clean, highly intelligent argumentation methodology, Sideshow acts as a real bulldozer on the reader, repeatedly confronting him/her with loads of devastating illustrations of unsound decisions, hidden political actions, secret wars of influences etc. It is certainly one of the punchiest, journalism-based historical account I have ever read, whatever the subject.

It shed a completely new and intense light onto the poor -though touching- little country I was living in then, and forever changed the way I looked at politics, diplomacy and intelligence.

Shawcross gets into the minds of Kissinger and Nixon so well. His is a book to be read over and over again to see the working of the U.S. Government and how it can destroy a country. He talks about the 25 pound shark at the bottom of a swimming pool full of children -- and we understand how the USA's leaders destroyed a country. It is a lesson to be learned over and over again as we go about destroying other countries. This is one great read - worthy of the time it takes to understand it. A victory for the author over Mr. Kissinger.

This book has managed to live on, which is perhaps unfortunate - historically speaking, it's far more relevant to contemporary geopolitics than it should be.

In any case, SIDESHOW has managed to stand as one of the better books on Cambodia, and America's involvement in Cambodia (Elizabeth Becker's WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER is a must-read as well). One could debate Shawcross' perspectives, but his research is meticulous and has withstood many attacks, and his depiction of the machiavellian darkness that can creep into foreign policy is chilling and ruthless, and - for better of worse - makes for hypnotic reading, all the more frightening as it's drawn straight from history, research, the Freedom of Information act.

Now more than ever, this is essential reading.

-David Alston

On Junior Day, 2006, I would recommend SIDESHOW by William Shawcross. It contains information about the twentieth century that could be applied to situations that America faces in the world in 2006. The global superpower naturally thinks that everything will be resolved by the application of hyperpower, as Japan suffered a humiliating defeat at the end of World War II when it discovered that the United States was not just fighting a war against Japan, it would nuke their cities to bring about whatever result it wanted. When American troops openly invaded parts of Cambodia, Congress responded by imposing limits which were still in place on April 30, 1973:

"The justification for bombing Cambodia had been to protect Americans in Vietnam. Since October 1970 the Congress had included in every military appropriation bill a proviso expressly forbidding bombing in Cambodia except for that purpose. By the end of March 1973 there were no American troops left in Indochina. Still the bombing of Cambodia increased. The administration now based its case on Article 20 of the Paris Agreement. Rogers now claimed that American withdrawal from Vietnam did not affect the situation in Cambodia, and that Article 20 legalized the bombing `until such time as a ceasefire could be brought into effect.' " (p. 277).

One of the strange things about the invasion of Cambodia was that Nixon made an announcement on April 30, 1970 which attempted to keep all previous secret activities secret:

Ignoring Menu, Nixon began with the lie that the United States had "scrupulously respected" Cambodia's neutrality for the last five years and had not "moved against" the sanctuaries. This falsehood was repeated by Kissinger in his background briefings to the press. That same evening he told reporters that the Communists had been using Cambodia for five years but, "As long as Sihanouk was in power in Cambodia we had to weigh the benefits in long-range historical terms of Cambodian neutrality as against any temporary military advantages and we made no efforts during the first fifteen months of this administration to move against the sanctuary." The next day he said of Sihanouk's rule, "We had no incentive to change it. We made no effort to change it. We were surprised by the development. One reason why we showed such great restraint against the base areas was in order not to change this situation." (p. 146).
In his announcement of the invasion, Nixon stated that his action was taken "not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia, but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam"; he would give aid to Cambodia, but only to enable it "to defend its neutrality and not for the purpose of making it an active belligerent on one side or the other." (p. 146).

Currently Iran has a militia of five million, and if Iran were to officially enter a war in Iraq as a result of bombings by Israel, as urged by Vice President Cheney, to remove Iran's nuclear capabilities, even if a bomb based on plans provided by the CIA wouldn't work, Iran has other ways it could strike back. Being subatomic is very much like Cambodia was in 1970, but we shall soon see what issues are about to be submitted to the UN security council, and if it helps or hurts. A blockade created by Iran so American supplies might have more trouble reaching Kuwait and Iraq; oil exports from the region could end; American dollars could fall; the interest on bonds could rise so high that the U.S. government couldn't balance a budget; and some of the world's banks might then be alarmed.

SIDESHOW by William Shawcross is the only book I have in which I can look up Lon Nil in the index. Lon Nil might well be Cambodia's forgotten man. His brother, Lon Nol, declared himself Chief of State as well as Prime Minister and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces when he dissolved the Assembly in October 1971 and assumed emergency rule. (p. 229). In December 1971, an American psychiatrist in the U.S. Army found "his close associates indicate his mental faculties have deteriorated markedly as a result of his February 1971 stroke" (p. 208). On April 1, 1975, at the urging of his brother Lon Non, Lon Nol took half a million dollars and moved to Hawaii. (pp. 357-358). But for me, the best picture of events in Cambodia is the final page of Chapter 8, The Coup, in March 1970, when Lon Nol overthrew Sihanouk, using the hostility of the urban elite and military officers to Sihanouk to justify a power grab by a former Minister of Defense who "had been the principal scourge of the Vietnamese Communists while privately profiting from the thriving covert business that they brought through Sihanoukville." (p. 113). Sihanouk responded by forming a government recognized by Peking on May 5, 1970, shortly after the American invasion announced by Nixon. Sihanouk had flown from Moscow to China on March 18, 1970, but Lon Nil was still in Cambodia:

Rioting broke out in several provinces; opposition was strongest in the market town of Kompong Cham, Cambodia's second city, fifty miles northeast of Phnom Penh. After Sihanouk's radio broadcast, the town filled with peasants, fishermen and rice farmers from the neighborhood. The townspeople refused the government's orders to remove the Prince's portrait, and they burned down the house of the new governor whom Lon Nol had appointed. Demonstrators gathered in buses and trucks to march on Phnom Penh. They were halted by an army roadblock, and after that . . . About ninety people were killed or wounded. (pp. 126-127).

The most vivid display of anger against Lon Nol occurred, again in Kompong Cham, when peasants seized his brother Lon Nil, killed him and tore his liver from his stomach. The trophy was taken into a Chinese restaurant, where the owner was ordered to cook and slice it. Morsels were handed to everyone in the streets around. (p. 127).

Really bad decisions made by the Nixon administration toward Indochina and the Vietnam War are now fairly obvious. However, we must remember how difficult this type of investigation would have been back when Shawcross did his intensive research back in the late 70s. Here Shawcross builds a very hard-to-dismiss case against Nixon and Henry Kissinger, in terms of how their problematic military and diplomatic strategies at least indirectly led to the hideous destruction of Cambodia (in fact, one of Nixon's documented strategies was to make the Communists think he was a madman, assuming they'd get scared and give up).

During the earlier years of the war, Cambodia was a relatively tranquil nation that was trying to remain neutral. But the country was being used as a hideout by North Vietnamese soldiers, leading to bombing by the Americans. Here Shawcross shows how Nixon and Kissinger made use of political trickery and overhyped threats to keep the bombing going to an extent that was far more destructive than necessary. As a bonus, this book also documents the wire-tapping paranoia and unconstitutional shenanigans in the Nixon White House. Shawcross is especially tough on Kissinger, finding that he disregarded the integrity and safety of Cambodia (which he had only ever visited for four hours), in favor of short-term political advantages and unyielding ideology. The relentless bombing destabilized Cambodian society, leading indirectly to the hideous genocide and societal destruction enacted by the Khmer Rouge a few years later. It is difficult to argue with Shawcross' heavily researched conclusions, and the hellish wholesale collapse of Cambodia (of a type never before seen in modern history) becomes all the more poignant as a result.

Be sure to get an edition of this book from 1986 or after, in which Shawcross adds materials from the political firefight that the book ignited. Kissinger was obviously upset and went to great lengths, through articles written by his lackey Peter Rodman, to try and disprove Shawcross' assertions. If your copy of this book contains these articles, you'll be quite bemused by Rodman's evasive, dissembling, and downright condescending rebuttal attempts, which are easily shot down by Shawcross. This war of words in itself proves that Kissinger had, and always will have, a lot to answer for. [~doomsdayer520~]

I read this book when I was fifteen, and still think it's one of the greatest works of literature I've ever read. This is the store of Alan, and his blood brother Hal, as they struggle to fight against an evil king, find the women they love, and fulfill their destinies.

This novel has some great characterization, and Springer does a great job of portraying the complexities of life in Isle. I only wish they could reprint this series. This is one of her best books!

A must read for fantasy lover and for readers who enjoy complex characterization.

When I was in 7th or 8th grade I came across a book called The Silver Sun by Nancy Springer. I read the book multiple times and it wound up being one of my favorites of all time. I don't think there was one day through 7th and 8th grade that I wasn't carrying it around with me and engrossed in it in study hall.

The Silver Sun is a fantasy novel set in the land of Isle, ruled by the tyrannical King Iscovar. The main characters are Hal, the son of the king, and Alan, his half brother.

Throughout his childhood, Hal was hated by his father and physically tortured and kept in dungeons. He escaped and has a quest to take the throne from his father and rule the land peacefully.

At the beginning of the book, Hal finds Alan, who has been robbed and beaten in the forest. Hal nurses him back to health and they soon become blood brothers and partners in the quest to take the kingdom from the evil King, building alliances with local outlaws and building an army in order to do so.

The book is filled with, and basically built around, a whole mythology. In the land in which the book is set, there are many gods. Hal worships the god called "The One", which is, in his belief system, the true god. There is a lot of mythology built around The One- and elves, the original peaceful rulers of the earth, who are immortal until they marry or are killed. Elves are not univerally believed to exist, however within the mythology surrounding The One, elves were once believed to rule the earth until humans took over and corrupted it. The elves are peaceful beings and are believed to live in a land without corruption - a perfect world that they created when the humans took over the earth - that is sheltered from the evil of the human blight.

The One also has an appointed "messiah", who is referrred to as "The Very King". Throughout the book the prophecies surrounding the coming of "The Very King" and the return of the elves begin to come true and piece by piece you begin to realize that "The One" truly exists and The Very King is soon to appear, as the prophecies laid out in the "Book of Suns" are slowly fulfilled one by one.

The Silver Sun captivated me as a young 13 year old with the detailed world it created and the mythology of hope and peace that slowly builds throughout the book. It is truly my favorite book of all time. While it has been out of print for a while, I have actually bought second copies (used) through amazon in order to make sure I always had a copy that wasn't falling apart.

Apparently it is back in print, as I have found it again on Amazon (this is the only book that I actually periodically check Amazon for to see if copies are available). So I recommend that you grab it while there are still copies available. The world that Nancy Springer builds is very engaging and inspiring and her stories are just a pure joy to read.

There are four books in the "Book of Isle" series. The White Hart, The Silver Sun, The Sable Moon, and the Black Beast. The Silver Sun makes many references to the White Hart, as it is the story of the first "Very King" to come to the land before evil took over the land. The Sable Moon continues where the Silver Sun left off, which I cannot explain further without giving away the final pieces of the Silver Sun.

I really hope this write up does this book justice and gets people to read it. I know I have tried to get Kelsi to read it a bazillion times to no avail. She's not a big fantasy book reader.

I'll definitely keep trying to convince her to take one of my copies though.

This is without a doubt the best book ever written. Known by another name The Book Of Suns Nancy Springer is my favorite author and love everything she has written she is what made me want to become a writter myself.

This is perhaps one ot the best written fantasy novels of the decade. The storyline is superior, writing style is captivating, and the reader becomes a part of the manuscript.

Being a fantasy novel author, I fully appreciate the great efforts that Nancy Springer put into creating characters that the reader can relate to and understand. Her descriptive quality of writing is fantastic.

I highly recommend this book to readers of fantasy of all ages.

Dave

This book, which is among Ms Springer's earlier works, is a great read. Springer is a great storyteller, so while I was not surprised at the story's end, I didn't mind taking in the sights along the way.

I enjoyed Springer's references to the religious/cultural customs of past societies, without bogging the story down with largely unnecessary explanations. They simply add a backdrop which gives the story a richer and more believable flavor.

While it is now out of print, the paperback version can be inexpensively obtained from a number of used sources. Give it a try.

This was a favorite childhood book for me and I was thrilled to be able to buy it for my boys (2 and 4) this Christmas. It has quickly become a favorite of both, especially my two year old. Here's to many happy readings!

I love this book as it is a classic from my childhood and was excited to read it to my two year old son. He also enjoys it and I imagine will like it even more once we get some snow here and he can relate more to the images in the book.

I bought this book for my three boys (aged two to four) hoping it would be as good as the most excellent book "Summer". Sadly, "Snow" is not in the same league. Indeed, it's a bit on the boring side, with forced sounding rhymes that aren't nearly as much fun as those in "Summer". My boys never ask me to read it. Summer, on the other hand, is a frequent, favorite request.

Still, it fits winter and the drawings are enjoyable. While not a must have it still has a place in our library.

I read this book all the time when I was young and was quite thrilled to have found it for my little one. It's so neat to read what is possible to do in the snow, all the while describing it in a rhyme. My favorite part is when they go skiing and the dog slides down on his tail! He's the first to discover the snow and gets his little child friend to come out and play. They go from there and it is just very, very cute. Especially in the end when they put an umbrella on the biggest snowman so he wouldn't melt, but wind up putting snowballs in the freezer to play with another day. Highly recommend!

Two children, a boy and girl, experiment with the lovely things you can do with snow. It is in simply rhyming verse and is a great beginner book for children readers, the expectation of what words are to come are fairly obvious

I especially love the simply drawn and coloured pictures. They are basic but rich. Each character is roundly appealing. We don't get snow where we live but my children run outside just in case. WE often read the two books (snow and summer) at the same time. The same two children doing nice wintry and summery things.

I can't really add anything the other reviews haven't already covered. I just wanted to add my praise of this classic. This book is very relevant in a lab setting. I would recommend it to everyone to start with, but especially those with experimental problems to solve in an objective way.

I used the Montgomery DOE book as an undergrad...but chatting with a Stat prof freind of mine..she recommened Box Hunter & Hunter over this. I had never covered the entire book..& was reading up on Factorial designs...I went ahead and bought Box Hunter & Hunter...(do wait & buy the 2nd edition due out in May-I think Amazon trys to sell you the old inventory if you are not careful)...nonetheless, the old edition I bought actually is much more intuitive and easy to follow that the "Design and Analysis of Experiments" book by Montgomery....I think its b/c the latter is written by an engineer..no offense to you out there...just that engineers cover so much material that there texts seem more "cookbook" like..here's how...w/ no too much intuition as to why ...probably catering to the engineer who has not the time to care about the why...I am thoutoughly enjoying the read...some of the quotes in hte book are pretty funny yet all the while relevant...

All of the reviews on this book are generally consistent in their praise for the book and the authors. I do not have any points to add to the discussion other than this:

It is a credit to this version of Statistics for Experimenters that it has remained relevant throughout the years as a classic introductory text that has kept selling consistently since it was released in the 1970's. Nevertheless, unless you have a particular reason for purchasing this version, you should purchase the updated version(also available through Amazon).

The full title of the newer edition is:

Statistics for Experimenters: Design, Innovation, and Discovery, 2nd Edition

The 2nd edition, written in the same engaging and readable style as the 1st, contains virtually all of the content of the 1st edition plus advances in design of experiments that have happened since the 1st edition was published.

George E.P. Box, the senior author of this magnificent example of great teaching for adults, is one of the great statisticians of modern times. He is a master at teaching those with experience, especially industrial experience, but not necessarily the most advanced mathematical training. My own background in econometrics and decades of work experience left me in a position of having too little knowledge to apply sophisitcated statistical methods to experiments and too much knowledge to settle for the exposition of statistics in many experimental design texts, especially those for behavioral scientists. I had read some of Mr. Box's "Evolutionary Operation" [with Norman Draper] ("EvOp") (also outstanding, practical, and unusual) and looked at "Bayesian Inference in Statistical Analysis" [with George Tiao] ("BISA") and hoped the book was as practical as EvOp rather than as mathematical as BISA. It has turned out to be so without being unsophisticated.

Once you have mastered this, I am sure you will be prepared for many of the challenges of applying statistics to practical industrial and experimental situations and for more advanced and modern methods that have emerged since 1978 with the ubiquity of very cheap computing power.

What it may lack in the most contemporary methods it more than makes up for by helping the reader develop a good intuition for applying statistical methods and judgment.

This book was published in 1978 but as other reviewers have noted its practical methods and advice are timeless. George Box and Stu Hunter are both very famous statisticians who are also great teachers and lecturers. Bill Hunter is now deceased. All three authors have made major contributions to the design of experiments. The book is written for practitioners and in the simplest language possible. Emphasis is placed on practical designs and not optimal designs because optimal designs are very sensitive to model specification.
It does not include the robust designs of Taguchi which came later and could easily be included if the authors choose to revise it.

As the founder and CEO of a successful market research-based consulting firm, I'm privy to the inner workings of a number of Fortune 500 companies. One of my perennial frustrations with books on business strategy is that the theories they present don't often correspond to the practical realities involved in running a large organization. The beauty of this book is that Vince Barabba's strategic guidance is informed by his first-hand experiences at General Motors. In drawing on his time at GM, Barabba makes compelling and insightful links between theory and practice.

As a business consultant, what I valued most was his 'systems thinking' approach to solving business problems--an approach that better ensures decision-makers identify and address core issues rather than merely tinker at the margins. This holistic approach to problem-solving goes beyond rote McKinsey-esque formulas and is what makes this book so broadly appealing. Using clear and forceful language (no annoying b-school patois here), Barabba gets right to the heart of things with a combination of robust theory and practical examples. Business decision-makers at every level would benefit from a close reading of this book.

I would like to begin by taking exception to the first line in forward by C.K. Prahalad..."The focus of this book is "how to think": not just to survive a large-scale transformation, but to start, sustain, and thrive in a world of continuous change." The exception I wish to take is that Vince Barabba has taken a large organizations problem and translated it in a way that all organizations (large or small) can benefit equally. Organizations are all about having the right strategy,dealing with complexity and risk, making the right decisions, and making the right decisions right.

Vince Barabba has written a book that will find an audience from the executive decision maker, decision support groups, portfolio managers and the myriad of projects that make the right decisions actionable.

Open your mind to new ways of thinking and then right size it to your own organization.

Most books that follow a specific case of corporate strategy tell a "just so" story where the true messiness of the decisions gets masked. I applaud Mr. Barabba for breaking that mold. He lets us see the context of uncertainty that surrounded decisions taken in GM's transformation. He gives us the added benefit of laying-out the theories behind the decision making approach. I found his concrete recommendations on dealing with organizational complexity and identifying key market development assumptions to be very useful. His discussion of deploying a "Sense & Respond" business model in spite of GM's financial stress gives great examples identifying the opportunity costs from alternative strategies. Lastly, his discussion of using the destination-focused, "Anticipate & Lead" business model is an eye-opener of everyone dealing with rapidly changing, turbulent markets. A great read.

The strength of Vince Barabba's "Surviving Transformation" comes in how one personalizes transformations so that she or he not only survives the transformation, but develops into a learning and adapting individual striving to achieve the "Idealized Design." The stories Vince uses throughout the book help the reader to understand the principles and practices that worked and did not work throughout the GM transformation.

Do not be tempted to pass this thoroughly well written and engaging book just because it is about the automobile industry. Regardless of the industry or the bureaucracy you are in, this book will provide you with deep insights into undertaking a transformation journey and not only surviving, but thriving on the other side. Once the journey begins it never ends.

Most case studies on organization transformation simply tell what was planned and what happened, sprinkling in a little theory here and there, but generally as an afterthought. Vince Barabba's book on "Surviving Transformation" offers something different, a well-composed blend of theory and practice. The author enjoys two advantages. First, he was instrumental as a senior executive in designing and orchestrating the changes that occurred at GM. Second, he has a sound background in the "systems approach to change." Combining the two,the author has been able to offer the inside story of the redesign of one of the world's largest corporations while, at the same time, framing it in a conceptual context that helps us to understand exactly why it succeeded. Finally, Vince Barabba offers a model for change that is not unique to his company' situation, but can be used by a wide range of other organizations. I recommend the book highly to those who understand the need for on-going organization learning and adaptability.

I bought six of my favorite childhood books for my great-grandson..."Little Black Sambo", "The Three Billy Goats Gruff", "Henny Penny", "Chicken Little", "The Three Little Kittens", and "Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit". My great-grandie is 2-1/2 and I can't wait to read these wonderful stories to him.

I bought this book on an impulse, simply based on the brightly colored illustrations and a brief refrain that that appears when you look inside the book. I couldn't be more delighted with this purchase. The book is a wonderful addition to my fairy tale library and my kindergarten kids absolutely LOVE listening to and participating in the retelling of the story, especially the rhyming refrain..... "I'm a troll from a deep dark hole - my belly's getting thinner. I need to eat and goat's a treat - so I'll have you for my dinner!".

Timely delivery. The book was great. My great grandson loved it.

Cute book with pictures that keep their attention. My boys walk around all the time saying "who is going over my bridge" in their gruff little troll voice! "Don't eat me... I too little," they say. I am so glad I added this book to our collection.

PS - I agree: How lame that Amazon has mixed together reviews for all these various versions of "Three Billy Goats Gruff." They are all so different and all by different illustrators and authors!

Anyway, this is a comment about Marcia Brown's 1957 version, which I found to be incredibly gory. Rather than merely knock the troll off the bridge, this billy goat gruff graphically dismembers him, poking out his eyes and reducing him to "bits, body and bones." Yuck! There are other, mellower version out there... This one's not a favorite. (ReadThatAgain!)

Town House by Tish Cohen is a light, funny, interesting novel about how our man, Jack Madigan, a famous rockstar's only son, deals with hurt and painful memories he can't leave, can't escape and seems to not want to. He is locked into the town house with them, and this he does completely willingly, except for his problem, he is an agoraphobic (no that does not mean a fear of spiders). He is completely unable to go outside without taking a heavy medication, which lately isn't even doing the trick. Jack's time in the town house is father left him is coming to an end, he needs to sell the house since he is not keeping up with the payments. Will he be able to leave the house and find a job? Will he be able to keep his house?

Two women in his life push and shove him to break through his fears( his naive Realtor, and his precocious neglected 8-year-old next door neighbor girl), but he constantly lets them down. He can't help them if they are standing outside his house, and how can a friendship stand strong when it seems so one-sided at times?His son Harlan, an amazing kid with a true loving heart, is slowly loosing hope for his father. He is a teen, a teen should not be seen with a father who cannot leave the house except to get dizzy, create a scene and embarrass his son (or so Harlan thinks!!!)

Well, read it!! Town House is a perfect book that is not as silly as chick lit, and has much more substance...but it also is very funny. Jack the main character is full of sarcasm, and he will draw you right in, and you will love him, at least I do. So, if you are looking for a book in between reading Tolstoy and Henry James, this is it. The quality is there, the lightness and humor are there as well, and yet it is completely quirky and real. Dive in!

Quotes from the book:

" No, the rood of your problem lies in your lack of a stable childhood home. Lack of parenting. Lack of a solid family life. Your father was and obsessive -compulsive with olfactory issues who left you to sleep in a Coca-Cola crate" (p. 21).

" Harlan would be much better off with his mother, Jack thought. Hell, he'd be better off with this Yale guy, who takes all the vitamins. Only the most selfish of fathers wouldn't see this" (p. 62).

"This house has turned you into a prisoner. It being sold is, like the best thing that could ever happen to you. And me! Let's get the hell out of it!" (p. 81).

"It was all so delicate, so temporary, this thing called life. One minute this was your world; the next minute it was gone" (p. 249).

My mother heard I was thinking of moving into a Boston townhouse, and she sent me this book as a sort of warning, for Tish Cohen lays out all too clearly the perils of getting settled into a town house, no matter how spacious and airy. In this way, the book is rather like the forthcoming Dale Peck novel, in which a young boy who inherits an entire New York brownstone mansion, soon finds himself climbing the walls with loneliness (THE GARDEN OF LOST AND FOUND). Cohen's treatment is rather different, for she mixes the whimsical with the deadly and dangerous disease (or neurosis I suppose) people call "agoraphobia," where you never want to go outside. Jack Madigan has it made, the son of a famous rock star, and the father of a handsome teenage son Harlan, he has it all on the outside, but for him, there is no outside, it is a spooky and unimaginable world to which, as it happens, he has now lost his lovely wife Penelope who, or so it seems from the outset, has just about given him up for there are some people who just don't understand those of us who hesitate before lesving the house.

I heard the author of SEABISCUIT, Laura Hillebrand, recommend this book on one of those NPR radio chat shows where famous authors give tips on what's new and deserving. Hillebrand, as many know, herself is a real life victim of agoraphobia and despite that she did what Tish Cohen has done, built up a whole world out of a place where she has never been.

If asked what the book is like, I would pause and then reply that it is sort of a cross between ABOUT A BOY and PANIC ROOM. It would be a great movie with Hugh Grant and Jodie Foster! And some cute little girl like the one who played Foster's daughter in PANIC ROOM. There's also a good part for a realtor, someone like oh, Thelma Ritter used to play. Dorrie Allsop, the realtor in charge of selling the town house, provokes the crisis in Jack's life, by making him realize that even the safest refuge isn't always the best option in life. A funny chapter shows her perplexed when the ad she puts up describing the town house, that read, "Shelves in Cellar," is altered by the compositors so it looks like "She Lives in Cellar," and people reading the ad stop and say, "Who lives in the cellar?"

It's also a little bit like LOVE ACTUALLY (also with Hugh Grant), but with a Canadian twist. (Although set in the USA, it has some Canadian locutions that give it a strange, though welcome, freshness.

Town House is an amazing story by Toronto author Tish Cohen, whom I met in June with authors Patry Francis and Jennifer McMahon. Not only did Tish write her book in three and one half-weeks, (it WAS fully plotted - but, still - that is an amazingly fast write - even for a writer who writes, as Tish does - everywhere - (on the keyboard or on scraps of paper scrawled while grocery shopping) she soon sold Town House to Fox movies.


Ridley Scott has been signed as the producer; Doug Wright as the screenwriter.

Tish told me recently in an email that filming is slated to begin in Boston in January.

NEWS FROM THE AUTHOR, (Tish herself!)We've had some nice film news--John Carney, who directed the much-acclaimed indie film, ONCE, has signed on to direct Town House. ONCE won at Sundance, it's a great film that's getting a lot of Oscar buzz.


Tish has a fantastically creative and quirky style. That is one reason her book sold so quickly. Another reason? I have no idea. But hum a few bars for me or give me the recipe and I'll try my hand...Hmm. Maybe not. Tish is sui generis, a unique author with a unique story to tell.

On to Tish's book. Admittedly, an agoraphobic herself, Tish's main character, Jack Madigan, is also agoraphobic. He lives in the house his dead, rock-star legend father, Baz Madigan, left in his will.

(This fictional house and the cover of the book is a Boston Town House, the subject of the book. Once upon a time, Tish fell in love with Boston when she was here for a conference. She skipped the conference but toured Boston with its fabulous history, culture, and architecture.)


Like Jack's life, the house is a once-glorious enterprise now in near ruins. Yet, Jack is still way too good looking for his own good and is fast spending the inheritance from his father's royalties. However, in Town House, like in real life, once the money runs out, it becomes time to pay the piper. Jack must negotiate his way through many characters in this fast-paced story. The bank is threatening to foreclose; the ex-wife wants to take their son to California - and a maddening girl next door keeps barging in on his life. Then there is the matter of the real estate agent.

So Jack turns to his ingenuity to save his mortgage, his sanity and his son. And to venture out into the real world beyond his front door. This is a comic read in the best sense - zany characters who seem too nutsy to be real and yet they are characters you recognize as your own neighbors (or, possibly as yourself).

* * *

Excerpt:

This is from the Prologue:

"The pills clung to the bottom of Baz's dry tongue like barnacles. He held his breath, waiting for the nurse's tyrannical bosom to swing away and lead her downstairs, toward the street where her teenage son was waiting, or honking rather, in his shiny new '78 Pinto.

"Swallow," said the nurse, narrowing her eyes.

He opened his mouth to show his empty tongue. "Were you always this bossy?" One of the pills struck the underside of his tongue stud.

"Only with the sneaky ones."

The Pinto beeped again.

"Go ahead, Louisa." Baz's words hung, wafer-thin and dusty, in the stale air of his bedroom. He closed his eyes and swallowed, sending trickles of pain across his temples and down his neck. "I'm going to sleep until Francine comes up with my dinner."

"How that fine woman ever birthed a wretch like you, I'll never know." She gathered his mane into a loose ponytail and stuffed it down his T-shirt. "Your hair smells nice today."

Baz cracked one eye open as she lifted the leather jacket from his shoulders and replaced it with a soft guilt. Having assured himself she wasn't mocking him, he glanced up to admire the giant Bazmaniacs logo on the back of the battered jacket as she hung it on a chair - right next to his Fender Stratocaster electric guitar and three framed gold records."

And from Chapter 1:

" Jack Madigan squeezed his eyes shut. Hard. He wasn't going to cry over this. There were exactly three events in his thirty-six-year-old memory that had brought him to tears, typically life-splintering events; such as his father dying on him while he was away at a sleepover; his son, Harlan, bursting - squalling an bawling - out of the womb and into his heart; and his ex-wife sashaying out the front door of the old Boston town house and wishing Jack a good life.

She'd forgotten the tweezers."

* * *

So will Jack be able to find love? Save his house and child? Venture outside into the real world? All that will become evident in the final chapters of this MUST read!

Although this is a novel, it has the ring of truth throughout. Imagine trying to save your home and maintain sanity and stability while battling agoraphobia (for those not in the know, this is a phobia which makes it nearly impossible for sufferers to leave their homes without feeling extreme anxiety,including panic attacks).

What I found amazing about this book was the humor inherent in a very difficult situation. Jack Madigan has lived within his home in an old townhouse along with his son, a cat and his wife. His wife left him and s already planning her marriage. Whenever Jack tries to leave his home, he has panic attacks, a particular type which causes him to feel dizzy, head spinning,unable to stay upright. While this could be milked for far more drama, I liked the rather wry take Jack has on his condition, even as his son expresses a mixture of emotions, from resentment to compassion to shame.

Of course, nothing stays the same, not even in a seemingly controlled environment and the world comes crashing in on Jack. His income dries up and the townhouse is put up for sale, pressuring him to face the reality of change - and far more change than simply stepping outside his door, something he finds difficult unless he is extremely angry- and even then, his anger generally wears off quickly and he is panicky again. To add to the mix, his real estate agent is a quirky person who is quite chatty, often overwhelming or baffling Jack. But there is more to her than meets the eye.

I thought the author managed to convey the particular traits of agoraphobia quite well, although there are many types and varieties of this condition. Some people can make it outside their home, within a certain area of safety. Jack has a far more severe form than those people, finding it impossible to even step outside to pick up a dead bird. He is known as a "hermit" by many in the neighborhood, even taunted by children.

Few anxieties are cookie cutter imitations of others and depend on the person, their will, their biochemistry and other factors. For those who find the novel a bit contrived or can't relate to Jack's quirkiness, I hope you'll find the writer's style unique enough to balance anything that seems a bit pat. For those who are prone to anxiety and panic, they may find some comfort in a book which acknowledges the realities in a far more accepting and matter of fact way than you might expect.

There's Jack, the agoraphobic son of a late rock star. Dorrie, the ditzy real estate agent whose strategy to try to sell a house is to point out its every flaw. Mrs. Brady, a one-eyed male cat. Lucinda, the girl next door who dreams of becoming an ice skater and barges into Jack's kitchen--and life. These are the characters who populate Town House, Tish Cohen's debut novel.

But Ms. Cohen has done more than simply give us a bunch of quirky characters trying to make the best in less than favorable circumstances. She makes the reader care for them--as flawed as they are. Lucinda is one of the loveliest and most unforgettable characters of any book I've read in a very long time--she made me laugh, she almost made me cry, and at the end I was sorry to say goodbye to her.

Town House is the rare thing: a novel that makes you laugh, breaks your heart, and remains with you long after you've read the last page.

The book was excellent in detail, beautifully designed and gave page after page of hidden items. It provided hours of searching for alphabetic pictures and was very entertaining.

At first I wasn't sure I liked the book. I didn't like some of the darker pictures like 'Y', or the rhymes that didn't really make any sense to me, but I proved myself wrong. This book is sooo addicting! You could sit down for hours scavenging for words. There are so many!
Some people may mistake this for a little kiddy alphabet book. It couldn't be any less kiddy-ish! It's hard because it's not like the 'I Spy' books, where it has a little rhyme telling you what to find. There aren't many guidelines there to tell you what's in the picture. You have to figure it out yourself. Also, a lot of the words are pretty hard.
This book is definitely worth buying. Buy it and you'll never EVER be bored again!

The Ultimate Alphabet is a very good book. It has 26 pages of every word you can think of. It might take looking in a few different books like a flag, animal, fish, bird, and flower book to do the page. The only thing I don't like is they say there is so many words in a letter and I never find close to that many. I don't know if I sould count the word plural if there is more than one of the thing. I mean paint is not the same word as paints is it? The B's, J's, and P's are my favorite. I would get somewhere all those books the flag, ect. and a dictionary. It's very good. Now let me go back and type the J's on the computer.

If you've never seen this book, you dont know what your missing. This is by far one of the best Art / Puzzle / Alphabet books ever writen (or in this case, painted). Mike Wilks is amazing. He paints hundread of things starting with each letter into each picture. Its great because you have to be creative to figure out them all. If you can find this book, buy it, its totally worth it. I hope the republish it sometime soon.

I first heard of Mike Wilks when I was nearly 16. We saw a video about him in my art class at school back in 1992. All the kids looked pretty impressed, I certainly was. The film showed the way Wilks produces his pictures. We saw his studio in the Pyrenees mountains, an obsessively clean, sparkling white room, where the artist works in complete silence. The video made it quite clear that Wilks is a perfectionist, treating every image with the utmost care.

I finally bought "The Annotated Ultimate Alphabet" about five years after seeing the video. The quality of the artwork is incredible, there aren't many books like this around. Not only is this book entertaining, it is useful as well. Apparently Mike Wilks was influenced by Salvador Dali, but I think he is better than that. My favourite page is the letter "S", a room filled with more than 1000 objects beginning with that letter. I still can't name everything.

There are all kinds of objects in this book, ranging from the very common, to the really obscure. Some things are instantly recognisable, others will leave you completely baffled. It would be no exaggeration to say that anyone who reads this book and absorbs it fully will become an excellent Scrabble player.

In these images Mike Wilks demonstrates exeptional ability, particularly with the airbrush. Here we see draftsmanship of the highest order, just about every member of the animal kingdom is represented accurately. Pen and ink drawings accompany the word lists, giving additional nourishment to a growing vocabulary.

This book gives new meaning to that phrase about a picture saying a thousand words.

I was so happy to see that the publisher has opted to do a 3-book large format release for this excellent series by P.N. Elrod that even though I own all the books under the original mass market covers, I am buying them all again in the new editions.

I am also ecstatic to see that they have done a MUCH better job on the cover art than in the original mass market editions. If I had not been running a chain bookstore when the first one came out hadn't gotten a recommendation from one of my customers who loved the book, I would NEVER have picked it because the cover art was so tacky. I think a lot of good books go unnoticed because the publisher harms the book with bad art. Publishers: use a plain colored cover instead of something that makes the book look like tough-guy drivel or something else they are NOT! Good cover art sells books, BAD ART KILLS!

I recommend this series to readers who are interesed in how a 'normal' human might react to the circumstances created by being made vampire unexpectedly. Jack isn't a deliberate hero, and is no part of any 'brotherhood' or 'secret society'; he is instead a Joe Average hack journalist scrabbling to make a living in the depression, a likable guy who bumbles around trying to figure out what happened to him and feeling like he is up to his waist in the quicksand that has become his existence.

In many vampire fiction novels, becoming a 'creature of the night' magically solves a host of probelms and enables the hero to go on a crusade or gain lots of 'powers' which help to cope; this doesn't happen for Jack. He tries to do the best he can under the circumstances he's been handed, but finds himself becoming more at odds with the 1920's organized criminal empire he's become inadvertently pitted against, and finds himself relying more and more upon the few human friends he has who know what he is. His vulnarability is at times wrenching.

These books are enjoyable fiction which make you think about what it REALLY might be like to have the vampiric circumstance thrust upon you. No sturm and drang, no graphic sex scenes, but plenty of emotional response where the reader becomes invested in Jack, his friends, and the trials of his new existence.

I recommend these book Highly - watch out, though: they're hard to put down and you may face the hazard of staying up way too late to finsh and showing up for work the next day with dark circles under your eyes!

P.N. Elrod's Vampire Files are amazing. They take old-style detective fiction, set in post Al Capone Chicago, and merge it with the supernatural in the form of Jack Fleming, former reporter turned private investigator. Oh yeah, he's also a vampire.

Elrod's stories would be great reads on their own, but with the addition of Fleming's status as a bloodsucker, they are absolutely fantastic.

Wonderful settings, filled with exciting action and really cool characters, make these books seem to whiz by. Fortunately this volume includes the first three books of the series.

By the end of the last book, you'll be hooked. Be sure and pick up The Vampire Files Vol. II.

For those who like vicious gangsters, dapper detectives with a dark past, and smart, beautiful damsels in distress, The Vampire Files are a perfect fit. Get this one today!

Set in 1936, our hero finds himself on a shore with a man tyring to kill him. The series of books follow Jack's adventures to find out why someone whats to kill him and his search to find his lover Maureen. Excellent light reads 9/10

PN Elrod's "Jack Fleming, Vampire PI" series is a great read with humour and a fantastic setting in 1930s Chicago with film noir aspects. This collection of the first three stories is excellent value for money.

BLOODLIST
The story begins with "Bloodlist" where we meet Jack Fleming waking up having crawled out of the sea. No sooner has he staggered to the road when a passing driver clips him with his bumper - clearly on purpose. Jack finds himself in discussion with the car driver and discovers that he is supposed to be dead, killed because he wouldn't tell people where an important list was hidden.

Jack realises pretty quickly that he has become a vampire. Fortunately he knows about the vampire life, having had a vampire girlfriend previously, and he prepares his life accordingly (fetching some of his home earth, finding somewhere safe to sleep the day, feeding from the stockyards). Elrod gives her own particular selection of traits to vampires - garlic, crosses and invitations into rooms don't work, disappearing, extra strength and glamour do. What's fun about this story is that we learn about Jack's skills and nature as he does and because he's clearly not evil, just a pleasant and friendly ex-reporter who wants to get to the bottom of his own death.

Chicago is a city of gangsters and other dodgy types in this story and Jack falls foul of several of them. What's great about Jack as a character is that if he were fully human he would have died multiple times as he really isn't quite up to dealing with these characters. However his vampire nature gets him out of a lot of sticky situations and also enables him to have a great time scaring some of the people who were involved in his death. Assisted by the trusty Charles Escott, a brave private agent and sometime actor, the two of them try to find out why Jack was killed and what was on the list. In the course of their investigations Jack meets Bobbi, girlfriend to one of the gangsters and a surprisingly phlegmatic person who seems able to cope with his vampiric nature.

There are a lot of amusing jokes and allusions to various books and films which went over the head of this relatively young English reader but that didn't matter as the story was always enjoyable. The best parts are when Jack is 'haunting' his killers but the fun is interspersed with some serious moments as he slowly begins to remember all that they did to him and to come to terms with his new nature.

This is an excellent first story in the series and Jack is a great new character, both as a vampire and also as a slightly hapless investigator.

LIFEBLOOD
The second story, "Lifeblood", takes place just a few weeks after the first story finishes. Jack and Bobbi have settled into some kind of a relationship and Jack also spends some of his time helping Escott with his private investigations. However they soon decide that it would be wise for Jack to have some more of his home earth stored at Escott's place in case he has a problem with returning to his hotel room so Jack drives 'home' to Ohio to collect it. On the way he realises he is being followed and eventually has a showdown with the two people in the car - vampire hunters. They're obviously both rather loony and have read far too many vampire novels, thinking that they are safe from Jack with their garlic and crosses. He gives them a flat tyre and then continues on his way.

Once he's collected the earth he passes his parents' house to find the vampire hunters are there. He chases them off, then returns to Chicago but worried about his parents. Unfortunately he hasn't completely escaped the vampire hunters and they start to plague him in Chicago; he's worried about Bobbi and whether they will go after her. His attention is also taken by an old woman, Gaylen Dumont, who has responded to his adverts in the papers asking for Maureen to contact him (Maureen is his lost love and the vampire who made him). Gaylen is Maureen's sister, now 74 years old, and she gives Escott some information which might help him to find Maureen. However there's more to Gaylen than Jack initially realises and more danger to Bobbi than just from the vampire hunters. Jack is faced with an impossible situation, one that he realises Maureen found herself in, and it's only with the help of Escott his friend that he can survive at all.

This story is more gritty perhaps than the first as we have more emotional engagement from Jack. Being a vampire makes him mostly bombproof but it doesn't mean that he isn't extremely vulnerable because of the friendships he has made and because of his family. The story is always interesting with some great humorous touches and Jack as a character is always very appealing. I found that as a reader I really cared about what happened to him and wanted things to work out well for him. It's a great second book in the series and possibly could be read as a standalone book although it might seem rather complex. The ending leaves the question of Maureen still unresolved and this is dealt with more fully in the third book.

BLOODCIRCLE
The third story, "Bloodcircle", continues straight from where "Lifeblood" left off. Jack Fleming, vampire investigator, and his assistant/boss Charles Escott are still trying to find out what happened to Maureen Dumont, the female vampire that made Jack. She disappeared five years ago when realising her sister Gaylen was going to force her to make her a vampire. Jack and Charles have a small clue to follow about Maureen's disappearance so they set off on a trip to New York State to follow the clue.

Eventually their search takes them to a rich household of the reclusive lady Emily Francher whose mother died in strange circumstances. Jack goes to investigate and soon discovers that Emily's gigolo lover is rather more significant than he might seem. They follow more clues which culminate in Jack being seriously injured and with a very amusing scene where Charles appears to be a body snatcher. The unmasking of the villain and the explanation of what really happened five years before is no great surprise but is well written and enjoyable nonetheless.

In this episode of the Vampire PI series we learn more and more about Jack's personality, particularly with regard to his morals and his feelings. There are some really interesting little vignettes into his thoughts, for example when seeing coffins sized for children when he is in the funeral parlour. Jack's about as far from the traditional view of the evil vampire as it's possible to get and yet he also has to drink blood and carries out mind control on people. The scene where he's trying to find a meal in a farmyard is an amusing episode amongst some of the darker events of the story.

Again this is a great read, like the two previous stories, and it seems like P N Elrod has settled well into her characters and is slowly revealing more and more about them. It's a most enjoyable series and a welcome change from the usual overblown and sex-obsessed vampire genre tale.

This is a collection of books 4-6 in the Jack Fleming, Vampire PI series and contains entertaining supernatural stories which leaven the 'vampire' moments with the humanity of our bloodsucking protagonist, Jack. He's a great hero because he's fallible, seems to get shot and knocked out rather regularly, cares for his girlfriend Bobbi and his friend Charles Escott and tends to blunder around not being quite sure what he's doing a lot of the time. Perhaps his blundering and being shot may pall over time but at the moment it makes for a very different, and very likeable, hero.


ART IN THE BLOOD
"Art in the Blood" sees Jack coming to the rescue of a man at a party and then being sucked into problems within the art world. Alex Adrian was a famous artist but hasn't done anything since his wife committed suicide; Evan Robley and his sister Sandra are also artists and when more suspicious events start taking place, including a death for which Alex Adrian might be responsible, Jack and Escott have to unravel the plot and work out what's really going on. The Chicago underworld plays its part as usual with more dodgy characters who have it in for Jack and Escott.

This story gives us more of an insight into the relationship between Jack and Bobbi as well as Jack needing to use his powers of vampire hypnosis more and more, leading to more people finding out what he truly is. It's another great read with a lighthearted feel and yet sometimes a darker undertone.


FIRE IN THE BLOOD
The first page in this book is great fun as we meet Jack apparently stripping Olivia Vandemore's evening gown from her and about to sacrifice her on an altar to Sabajajji, the Spider God. Fortunately this is just part of the novel he is writing rather than reality - although reality for Jack Fleming, Vampire PI, is often as bloodthirsty as this novel.

Jack and Charles Escott, Private Agent, are summoned to see Mr Sebastian Pierce, a rich retired Chicago man who tasks them to find a valuable bracelet that his daughter's boyfriend or a friend of his may have stolen. Jack finds himself shadowing the daughter to Bobbi's club and soon enough they stumble into murder and mayhem. A new member of the Chicago Underground, Vaughn Kyler, comes into play in this book and he's a particularly creepy individual who is resistant to Jack's vampire hypnosis. This book also sees the darker side of Jack having an outing after an episode of hypnotising goes rather wrong. Once again Jack finds himself in dodgy situations and only escapes by the skin of his teeth - is this ability going to pall any time soon?

The ending of this book is rather open and in fact leads directly into the next story, "Blood on the Water", although fortunately this episode does reach some sort of a conclusion. However Jack's rather more off balance in this book because of the darker side of his powers and we are learning more about him through it. Another great episode in this excellent series - a series that it probably pays to read in order.


BLOOD ON THE WATER
This story starts directly after "Fire In The Blood" and I think it would probably be rather difficult to understand everything that's going on, along with the fairly large cast of characters, without reading some of the previous books.

Jack Fleming, Vampire, had a bit of a shock in the last book when his vampiric nature got away from him and he nearly killed a woman. He's still struggling with the aftermath of those events in this story and is unwilling to use his hypnosis skills but equally doesn't want to talk about it to the rather perceptive Charles Escott, his partner.

The 'baddie', Vaughn Kyler, who we first met in the last book plays a significant role in the beginning of this story when he gives Jack the ultimatum to leave town or die. This gives Jack huge moral qualms - Jack knows that if he doesn't kill Kyler then neither Charles nor Bobbi will be safe, and yet how can he become a murderer? I think the way that the author showed Jack's fears about this was excellent.

In this story everyone is still chasing the bracelet from the last book and Jack enlists the help of Gordy, another local crime boss who's helped them in the past. Unfortunately a turf war seems to be breaking out with a new entrant, Angela Paco, playing her part as well. The three-sided war looks to be unstoppable and Jack has to decide on his actions with Kyler.

Once again, as in most of the other stories, Jack gets himself into various fixes and nearly dies. His physical limits are tested in a new way and there is more violence surrounding him. In the earlier books there was a lot of situation comedy where Jack was acting like a ghost and it happens again, very amusingly, in this book. However the turf war in this book lends it a darker feel and no doubt sets up for further instalments.

In short, it's another good read and we're getting further and further into Jack's character as the stories continue but this wouldn't be a good first book for a reader in this series.

In Durrenmatt's *The Visit* a hideous--and hideously wealthy--old woman returns to the town of her long-ago youth to avenge a past wrong. Unaware of her intentions, everyone in Guellen is excited at the news of her imminent arrival, but none more so than the old lady's old flame--the shabby shopkeeper Alfred Ill who volunteers to be her personal guide during the visit. Expecting that her return, and Alfred's solicitous attention, will mean a revival of the town's fortunes after years of hard times, the inhabitants of Guellen are nonetheless staggered by the generosity of Claire Zachanassian's offer. But their joy turns to dismay when they discover the one condition the old woman has placed on making them all wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. The good folk of Guellen must deliver up one of their own for sacrifice: her old lover, Alfred Ill.

Will the townsfolk murder Alfred for the money--and the "good" of Guellen--or not? Durrenmatt not only sustains the suspense of this situation throughout most of this rather lengthy three-act play, but, even more surprising, he renders it chillingly plausible. One is reminded of Shirley Jackson's classic story *The Lottery*--a similar atmosphere of claustrophobic, predestined dread prevails in *The Visit,* a sense that there is no escape from the judgment of the community of which one is a member. Indeed, it seems if one is properly socialized one internalizes that judgment and delivers oneself up accordingly for there is no life outside of the community. Such a "voluntary" death becomes a sacrifice and one lives on in the benefit bestowed upon the community. So does society sustain itself by eating its own.

What the old lady wants is justice for a wrong done to her in Guellen long ago. But that desire for justice--and the hurt that goes with it--has hardened over time into an implacable thirst for vengeance that nothing but blood will satisfy. Even within the play, as well as in Durenmatt's postscript, Claire Z. is likened to Medea and it's an apt comparison. Claire is older, wealthier, a confidante of princes and presidents, a serial bride, full of wit and dry humor, and her anger is considerably colder than that of the legendary scorned madwoman of classical literature--colder and thus more lethal.

Aside from Claire Z, who has hardened beyond humanity altogether, *The Visit* is primarily a tale about human weakness--about the temptation for the pleasures of this world and the rationalizations we devise to grab them when the opportunity presents itself. For behind the high-sounding principles and moral outrage of the good people of Guellen is the drive to self-aggrandizement that motivates all of us. Or, as *The Visit* memorably points out--all of us but the rare individual who acknowledges the guilt we all share and prefer to locate solely in our neighbors, the rare individual who, when it's time to point out the source of evil in the world, has the astounding courage to point at himself.

This is as close as you will come to a true depiction of the Swiss. It may be a generalisation but isn't that how generalisations are generally derived? Anyway, the author is Swiss who is supposedly not very popular among the Swiss possibly because it is too close to home/truth.

This book, although somewhat disturbing, is a good read for anyone who desires a look at how humans continually put material objects before their own fellow human beings. Layered in "sick" comedy, The Visit brings the ultimate desire for retribution to life, as well as depicting how even normal people can become vicious with revenge, even when they are not the victim. Furthermore, this book depicts how one person can change the lives of other's lives drastically, because of power and money. When read in the context of seeking the reality of life, the desire for riches, the greed of the desperate, and the need to be "someone" and be defined by worldy possessions, this book truly gives insight, with a bizarre but intriguing tale.

"The Visit" is a play I've never seen, only read. I read it first in high school, leaving me with goosebumps then. It still has that power, now. I can think of no other tale that expresses the power of bitter revenge better than this one. I remember reading somewhere that this was done originally on stage here by Lunt and Fontaine--wouldn't that have been something to see!

I wonder, though, why the 1964 movie starring Anthony Quinn and Ingrid Bergman is never mentioned, and has never been released on video or DVD? I saw it 30 years ago and found it chilling in its own way, though not matching exactly the play.

Like Bertholt Brecht, Friedrich Duerrenmatt (1921-1990) was a proponet of "epic theatre," a style of drama in which the audience is not so much asked to identify with the characters and story but to contemplate them in an detached manner and thereby arrive a certain intellectual and moral conclusions. Although he was the author of several notable dramas, he is not well known outside his native Switzerland and German-speaking Europe--with one exception: Der Besuch der alten Dame, known in English as THE VISIT.

First staged in 1956, it became internationally famous in the late 1950s in a production staged by Peter Brook starring Afred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, which had a successful Broadway run and which toured extensively; it was also filmed, with considerably less success, in 1964 by director Bernhard Wicki and starring Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn. Maurice Valency performed the translation for the Lunt-Fontanne stage version, and for many years his extremely free adaptation was the only English-language version in print. The Patrick Bowles version offered here, however, is much more accurate in translation--and therefore considerably darker in tone.

The story concerns a tiny town which has fallen on very hard times, but which has hopes in the form of a visit from the incredibly wealthy Claire Zachanassian, a woman who was born and raised in the town and who has now decided to make a return visit. Although a distinctly grotesque figure, Claire has a reputation for generosity, and upon her arrival she does indeed announce her intention to endow her hometown with riches beyond imagination. There is, however, one catch: in return, she demands the death of Anton Schill, the lover who wronged her many years ago. The community is outraged and refuses to comply... at least at first. As the play progresses, however, the citizens (including Schill's own family) begin to dream of what they could do with all that money. Is Claire's demand really so unreasonable after all?

Duerrenmatt insisted that his play was a comedy, and it is indeed quite funny, albeit in a distinctly grotesque sort of way. At the same time, however, it is quite obviously a parable on the natures of revenge and greed. Indeed, Claire's revenge is not so much on Schill as it is upon the town itself, as she forces them to faulter through greed by presenting them with a choice between morality and immorality. Although extremely witty, THE VISIT may also be described as deeply cynical, and more than one critic has flatly described it as evil, despicable, and profoundly unsavory. Whatever the case, it is a truly remarkable play, quite unlike the usual fare you'll find haunting either Broadway or the local community theatre. It has also been extremely influential over the years, with perhaps the most obvious example being Arthur Kopit's OH DAD, POOR DAD, MAMA'S HUNG YOU IN THE CLOSET AND I'M FEELING SO SAD. Strongly recommended for fans of far-out theatre.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer