Luke Perry Books

Perry Miller is one of the great founders of the whole academic enterprise called 'American Studies'. In this work he considers the way the religious conceptions of the Puritans and their successors helped form a new society in a new land.

For those wishing to begin learning about Puritan theology, this book is probably the best starting point there is. The book is a collection of essays covering different aspects of the Puritan experience and their belief system. This is intellectual history, and some chapters are quite difficult. Most chapters, however, are highly readable and easy to comprehend. An excellent follow-up book, which disputes the idea of a decline in Puritan piety over the generations, is Harry S. Stout's "The New England Soul." Recommended for any college level reading person.

Perry Miller's collection of essays ranges from his stomping ground of the Puritans to Virginia and elsewhere in colonial history. Throughout, the most blindingly brilliant American intellectual historian of the twentieth century displays his craft. Unlike his magisterial histories of the New England Mind, these tend to be somewhat easier to follow, as his themes were more compact. If you haven't read Perry Miller, you're missing a first-class thinker; at the least, there's no more important colonial historian, although many are more easily accessible.

When I was pursuing my Ph.D. in American history more than twenty years ago Perry Miller's studies of Puritan New England represented required reading on this religious group and its settling in North America. Having just reread this volume, originally published in 1956, Miller's work still offers insight into the Puritan mindset. He argues in this book that the Puritans came to America not so much in search of a better livelihood so much as in search of a better world. The quest for a perfect society motivated them beyond all else. I recommend "Errand into the Wilderness" both as an important statement of the intellectual history of the Puritans and an enthralling reading experience by one of the masters of American colonial history.

"Errand into the Wilderness" is a collection of ten essays, mostly previously published, on various aspects of colonial intellectual history. All but one of them deals with Puritan thought, but the one on the Virginia colony also emphasizes the religious/intellectual nature of the "errand" to create a more perfect society in North America. The Puritans explicitly accepted the mission of an "errand into the wilderness" to establish God's kingdom, serving as a beacon to England of what it should become as well. Essays with titles like, "The Marrow of Puritan Divinity," "The Puritan State and Puritan Society," "The Rhetoric of Sensation," and "The End of the World" trace an overriding concern for the salvation of humanity through increasing "perfection" in this life. The utopian element of Puritan thought comes through clearly in these essays, and they present a compelling element of the American experience. Making the world a better place has long been the "stuff" of the American character.

Miller asks several fascinating questions at the conclusion of this volume. "Can an errand, even an errand into the wilderness, be run indefinitely?...Can a culture, which changes to embody itself in a nation, push itself into such remorseless exertion without ever learning whether it has been sent on its business at some incomprehensible behest, or is obligated to discover a meaning for its dynamism in the very act of running....What will America do--what can American do--with an implacable prophecy that there is a point in time beyond which the very concept of a future becomes meaningless? Protestant America, as well as Catholic, has an implicit commitment to this event. What then happens to the errand?" (p. 217) The Puritan sense of the errand into the wilderness is pervasive in American society to the present. Miller's analysis resonates still.

The Star Wars Saga has led to many novels based of the events of the films. This novel follows our favorite characters as the prepare to save poor old Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt. The novel shows the happenings between the Episode V and VI. To me, the novel shows Luke's transformation to a full-fledged Jedi.

This novel is a great book for fans of the films and fans of epic stories.

PARTY ON, DUDES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the untold story of the events that took place between Star Wars, Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi: a novel in which Darth Vader still lives and battles a villain as powerful and evil as himself; Prince Xizor the leader of the crime syndicate Black Sun.

A passable Star Wars read, but storyline needs more depth and intrigue.

Shadows of the Empire takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Han Solo is frozen in carbonite but has not yet been taken to Jabba's palace. Leia, Luke, Lando and our two favorite droids are on a quest to find Boba Fett and retrieve Han. They are joined in this quest by Dash Rendar, a cocky hotshot pilot, very reminiscent of Han Solo himself. Three very significant characters stand in their way - Darth Vader, Prince Xizor of Black Sun, and Xizor's amazing apprentice Guri.

Prince Xizor of the Falleen race is an intriguing character. He is the ultimate crime lord, and his life is filled schemes and double-dealings as he runs the huge crime syndicate of Black Sun plus some other legitimate enterprises. He is considered to be the third most important person in the galaxy behind the Emperor and Lord Vader, and he wants to move up. The point of all the Machiavellian schemes he develops during this period is to get rid of Vader and become #2 in the Empire. Even that would not satisfy him. Xizor's self esteem is extremely high. He has never met an individual who is his equal. Of course, he and Vader do not see eye to eye on most things.

The key individual in the story is Luke Skywalker. The Emperor fells that Luke is strong enough in the Force to pose a real danger to the Empire. He wants Luke out of the picture. Vader wants to keep the boy alive and turn him to the dark side. Xizor sees an opportunity here to cause trouble for Vader, so he puts out orders to have Luke assassinated. He also sends Guri to meet with Leia and to bring her back to Xizor's palace in Coruscant. Guri is an extremely advanced droid who looks completely like a human female. Her fighting skills appear to be unmatched. Leia and Chewie end up at Xizor's palace being used as bait to draw Luke in. Of course, Luke does come to the rescue. Luke, Lando, and Dash Rendar have memorable scenes making their way through the sewers below the palace and making their way up through the palace to find Leia. The last few chapters of the book tie things together very neatly and leave us set for Return of the Jedi. Maybe they will rescue Han at last.

Shadows of the Empire is an excellent tale, and Mr. Perry has done a good job with it. The story fits nicely in the time period between Empire and Jedi. I highly recommend this one.

In 1996 the marketing team at Lucasfilm developed an innovative concept for a major cross-channel promotion: they proposed Shadows of the Empire, a Star Wars movie without the movie. What did this mean? It meant all the trappings of a movie were released: a novelization, a full orchestral score, a videogame, comic books, toy lines, statues, and sundry other widgets, but there was never an actual movie for them to center around. Each aspect of the campaign emphasized different aspects of the story, but the core tale was contained in Steve Perry's novel. The idea seemed to meet with mixed success, as the Shadows toys, statues, and some of the other odd products lingered on the pegs a terribly long time, but the Nintendo 64 videogame is fondly remembered by many and the score by Joel McNeely is absolutely terrific (pick up a copy if you haven't heard it before!)

Shadows of the Empire fills in some of the blank space between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, a year left largely untapped except in the Marvel comic series. Perry works hard to build a strong bridge between the two films and succeeds beautifully, exploring some of the emotional aftermath of the climax of Episode V and setting up the opening section of Episode VI. Of course, Han Solo spends the duration of this novel frozen in a block of carbonite, but the majority of the other main film characters all get a chance to shine.

The novel introduces us to Black Sun, the galaxy far, far away's leading organized crime syndicate. Black Sun is headed by the brilliant, charismatic, egotistical Falleen Prince Xizor, the third most powerful person in the galaxy after our old favorites Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. Xizor's constant preening and self-admiration make for slightly tiresome reading, but he does play a role distinct from the usual Sith and Imperial villains in other Star Wars novels. Being the third most powerful person is not quite enough for the Prince, and so much of the plot of Shadows of the Empire is driven by his scheming against Darth Vader and his attempts to kill Vader's son. The Falleen species is endowed with some slightly creepy abilities to attract mates, and Xizor almost leads Leia, newly separated from her love Han Solo, down a very unpleasant path. Fortunately stalwart Chewbacca is on hand to help Leia escape Xizor's pheromone-driven trap. This sequence was unusual reading for a Star Wars novel, and although it is deliberately rather icky, I give Perry credit for exploring these themes rather than sticking solely to action sequences.

The other main new character is Dash Rendar, virtually a "carbon" copy of A New Hope-era Han Solo. Dash is a smuggler and superb pilot who was doing a job for the Rebel Alliance when the Empire struck the Hoth base. Dash always looks out for himself first and drops sarcastic wisecracks right and left. However, maybe Dash isn't as shallow as he first appears, and perhaps by the end of the story he'll find the need to look out for others and the ability for self-sacrifice. Sound familiar? I didn't really mind this character but Perry could have made a little more effort to make him less of a second-tier Han Solo.

The story itself is a rollicking thrill-ride. Perry takes us all over the galaxy as our heroes try to track down Boba Fett and Vader and Xizor try to track down our heroes. We learn the back story of the "many Bothans" who died procuring the Death Star II plans, how Leia got the Boushh bounty hunter disguise she uses in Return of the Jedi, how Luke spent time enhancing his Jedi skills and constructing his new lightsaber, and many other interesting tidbits. The characterization of Vader maps well with the new information we learned about Anakin Skywalker in the prequels, and it's nice to see a new element introduced to the Emperor/Vader plotting in the form of Xizor. R2 and 3PO have a hysterical sequence piloting the Millennium Falcon across Coruscant (it's rare that a Star Wars novel makes me laugh out loud). Perry writes in a brisk, cinematic style, and it is quite easy to picture this novel as a good film, an Episode Five-and-a-Half, if you will.

Shadows of the Empire does a terrific job of detailing the story between the final two films in the saga. Depending on which stories a reader considers to be canon, there are either many or very few tales set during the original trilogy. Personally, I would love to see more novels covering this period of time, as well as the three years between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. These years host the only stories with the opportunity to directly explore the Vader-Luke dynamic, an element so central to the films. The ancillary products such as the toys, comics, and especially the soundtrack further enhance the Shadows experience. This book is highly recommended to everyone, including readers trying their first Star Wars novel.

I really enjoyed this book. I always wanted some link between the Luke at the end of ESB and the beginning of ROTJ - one broken and fragile, the other darkly confident and calling himself "Jedi." And since he is my favorite character, I love that this book takes him through that process, albeit in less depth than seems warranted.

Inconsistencies in Luke's character abound, however, which jarred with the character arc I had been longing to see. His attitude and dialogue in places seem more juvenile than in Episode IV. I realize that these things change by the end of the book, but they do not match the characters we leave at the end of Empire Strikes Back; this takes away much of the book's cred.

Glitches in style also undermine it - while the author has great pacing, and I don't mind his switching between characters with a jerk for that cause - he FAR too often ends a segment with two or three more lines than necessary, degenerating into hilarious cheesiness where it could have been compelling. Sigh. "Luke hoped Leia was okay." "Luke had to think of something. Something fast... What?" These things cause eye-rolling after the tenth time. So do many thinly derived conclusions on the part of characters who should have needed more evidence.

Dash is annoying, I'm sorry, in life and in death. His only merit is giving Luke a Jedi-worthy crisis of conscience towards the finale. And Leia, while a great gal here, needed to fall for a lizard while Han was frozen WHY?? Her newfound love for Han is a bit tarnished in a plot arc for no good reason.

Having said all that, Shadows is truly an irresistible read for a die-hard Luke fan, and Vader is handled very well, without goofiness or excessive sulking. In fact, Vader's take here on his relationship with Luke enhances all future read/views of Return of the Jedi. This puts Shadows on my must-borrow list and Perry on the thank-you-for-not-butchering-my-Star-Wars list with Zahn, somewhere. :)

The Smoke Jumper is another one by this author that keeps you on the edge of your chair, wondering how it will end. Its another stay up until 2 a.m. to finish it-type book. I have read 2 of his other books and really liked them as well.

I have read this book several times and i have to say I dont ever get bored by it. One of the many things I find appealing about this book is the way you can relate to the characters on a personal level. The emotions are so vivid that when you read the book, you find feeling what the charcters feel. The stories depth holds no boundries. The author is not afraid to get a little sappy at times, most authors I find try to avoid this and I think it robs the characters of personality and even the readers sympathy towards the characters.
My favorite aspect about the book is that it is extremely easy to follow and read. I hate it when authors try to impress you by using uselessly big words and complex structure. Not that this makes the story uninteresting, but that I find them exhausting to read. You find yourself stopping on a regular basis to figure out what the hell is going on, but not in this book. Evans is able to draw a picture with crystal clear detail, so much so that you could believe your are there. At the same time, he is able to say what he needs to say without wasting time with complex language.
The first time I read the book I got so absorbed that I read it in two days. The book is filled with twists and turns that leave you itching for more. Ranging in settings that take you from the mountains of Montana to the jungles of Africa, this story will leave no reader disapointed.

I read this book over 2 years ago. It is by far the best book I have ever read. I can still think back on the book as if it was a movie. If anyone is considering reading this book, I urge you to do so.

This is the kind of book that you will never forget!

Connor Ford is a beautiful loner with an enchanting talent for photography.

Ed Tully is an exburent musician with dreams of fame and fortune.

They're best friends and every summer they smoke jump with an elite group from Missoula,Montana. This one summer shall be one that either of them won't forget.

I loved the book so much. I felt like I was really seeing Montana,Bosnia,and the many reaches of Africa. Nicholas Evans used so much imagery that I actually felt like I was seeing the suffering that Connor photographed. All of the characters were well written and I felt that I was friends with them as well. I could almost hear Ed's laughter and bad jokes,see into Connor's pale blue eyes,and see the determination across Julia's face. The one thing that bothered me was the death of Ed. Why did he have to die? Every scene he was in almost made me laugh out loud. I loved him so much but I had a huge crush on Connor. I loved this book and I highly recommend it.

I enjoyed this book from the first page until the last of it. Ed, Connor, and Julia were the three musketeers that made up the story. Ed met Julia early on in the book, and the two fell in love and planned to marry. Julia was a child psychologist, and Ed a musician. Ed always had serious diabetes problems, and throughout this book events will change their lives. Connor was a photographer, and interestingly, when he and Julia meet after she and Ed travel to Missoula Montana, Connor and Julia find an instant attraction to one another.

One of the saddest events of this book was about a child, Skye McReedie, who is lost, and her stepdad is very abusive to her. So she is a runaway, and gets into trouble with the law. Skye is then placed into a program called the WAY, for disturbed youngsters, or those that have been in trouble. Julia runs this group and does wonders with these kids. Skye is a bitter angry person, but Julia is finally able to reach out to her. Then something happens with one of the boys there on the campsite and Skye, and this frightens Skye and makes her run away again. But not without danger. A big fire starts there on a hot day in the campsite, and Julia tries to run after Skye and rescue her, knowing she is in danger with the fire. And unfortunately, as she tried to rescue her, or herself, Skye burns away. This was about the saddest part of the story, and Julia carries the guilt forever.

Life goes on though of course with the three of them, and Ed is sadly blinded after this horrible fire takes place. But that is not all coincidental; his diabetes played a big role in this. In spite of his blindness though, Ed is a happy man. He and Julia want a child of theirs after this happens with Ed, but of course, he is unable to biologically be a father. This is where Connor steps in, and after much careful thought, they have him be the sperm donor for their child. Julia finds herself pregnant shortly, and 9 months later she has Amy, a beautiful girl.

Amy is a delightful child who brings them a lot of joy, and loves Ed dearly. Ed's health continues declining as he goes into kidney failure and needs dialysis. This continues through the story.

Connor withdraws more and more, especially after making Amy possible, as he feels like he doesn't want to interfere and is not comfortable. So the friendship with he and Ed falls apart there. Connor goes over to Africa to be a smoke jumper there, mainly rescuing kids that were injured and held hostage there.

Sadly, Ed has a major heart attack, and he dies later in the story. Julia has an ambition to travel to Africa, so after she finds work there as a teacher for underprivleged children, she and Amy leave. They know Connor is there, and he doesn't even realize that Ed has passed on. her real motive is to try and find him there, which she does. And it is in the middle of a huge fire that they cross paths again. Connor rescues many people there, but unfortunately many die.

Julia and Amy along with Connor return to the states. Amy is traumatized for many months. Julia and Connor try to pick up the pieces and move on, which in time they do, and have the romance that was so meant to be.

This book would make a great movie no doubt. It is one of the best books I have read to date.