Burt Reynolds Books

When I listened to this book on tape, it was better than a movie. The various characters were each represented by a unique voice thanks to the excellent reading of the narrator. His ability to provide accurate spoken accents and dialects for sailors and other characters was wonderful.
His reading made the more difficult passages become interesting, rather than sticking points where a reader might lose momentum and put the book aside. It truly highlighted the masterful writing of Melville.

This book took me a long time to get into, but once I did, it seemed to hum right along. The only problem I found was with the personal problems the main character was having. They seemed to be a bleed over from another book, perhaps? You weren't really getting enough of the story for it to be part of this story, so it was annoying and distracting (I understand that the main character has to be somewhat distracted by personal problems, but for goodness sakes, explain them well enough that we understand!). Also, at the end, there was a line that, to me, indicated that the story was not so "wrapped up" as the author would have you believe. I think there was more to it.... Not in a sequel sort of way, but in a "well, there could be more but we're leaving it to your imagination" sort of way.

The Margin
I took a short hietus from Connelly's mysteries in favor of Stuart Woods. I like Woods and plan on reading all his work, but recently completed Michael Connelly's Angel's Flight and had to write this review.
AF is another well researched police procedural. Mix Harry Bosch, and his down to earth crime fighting perspective, as well as authentic social events of the decade and you have the makings for a thought provoking, complicated mystery chuck full of the dark places we readers like to go.
Howard Elias is a successful LA attorney who made a name for himself filing and winning law suits against the beleaguered police department, mostly for excessive force during arrests of suspected criminals that happened to be black, Elias himself an African American.
Bosch is tapped to investigate this potentially volitile crime, although the murder didn't occur in his district. Why? Because his boss knows the cops are prime suspects and Harry's relationship with the rank and file is different, sort of a love/hate relationship. He didn't have many friends on the force, only a partner or two, and he didn't have many enemies either, but he did have almost everyones respect. A claim IAD couldn't make. This investigation had to be done right, no room for error. Bosch gathers his team and they begin the arduous hunt for the killer.
Don't start this novel at bed time, you might end up late for work.
Marvin Wiebener, author of The Margin, a mystery.

This is another winner from Connelly. I have been reading through the Bosch books out of order and have enjoyed every one. Each has its own rhthym and twists. Angels Flight has the tension of Harry's marriage, the internal LAPD conflicts and racial tensions. It remains suspenseful to the end.

This is one of the best Connelly novels yet, he is a master. I have them all and I keep pacing myself so that I do not read them too fast.

This novel is the latest in the "Harry Bosch" mysteries. Mr. Bosch is a hard boiled Los Angeles detective, whose life is far from perfect. His detective skills though, are wonderful.

I loved this book. The police procedures were entirely believable, and as an Angeleno, I enjoyed the accuracy of Mr. Connelly's descriptions of L.A.

I highly recommend this great read. It will not disappoint!

This movie is a timeless statement of the stupidity of human nature and the nature of Government Representatives. Some so-called 'doooo-gooder'decides that the house of pleasure must be closed and brings it to the attention of a nation. The Establishment has only been in existence for a hundred years and locals are gobstopped that there a 'whorehouse' in their town. Well hush my mouth!!!
Dolly Parton fans will love this movie - the part was made for her and she was gorgeous in it.

The greatest thing about it is that it not really that far off from the true story! The real name of the TV watchdog is Marvin Zindler, who passed away recently.

Just buy it and enjoy!

This movie is a classic! The music is wonderful and entertaining, the acting is subperb! I have loved this movie since it's release!

This is a replacement DVD for one I purchased some years ago, that didn't work properly. I absolutely LOVE this movie - it makes me feel glad when I'm sad; calmed when I'm ticked about silly Government stuff! This DVD is top quality - in A-1 condition.

My husband really enjoys Dolly Parton and had been looking for this film on the cable channels. No luck there so I checked Amazon and there it was. I got it for his birthday and we had lots of laughs watching it and remembering back to the time we first saw the movie.

This movie is a timeless statement of the stupidity of human nature and the nature of Government Representatives. Some so-called 'doooo-gooder'decides that the house of pleasure must be closed and brings it to the attention of a nation. The Establishment has only been in existence for a hundred years and locals are gobstopped that there a 'whorehouse' in their town. Well hush my mouth!!!
Dolly Parton fans will love this movie - the part was made for her and she was gorgeous in it.

The greatest thing about it is that it not really that far off from the true story! The real name of the TV watchdog is Marvin Zindler, who passed away recently.

Just buy it and enjoy!

This movie is a classic! The music is wonderful and entertaining, the acting is subperb! I have loved this movie since it's release!

This is a replacement DVD for one I purchased some years ago, that didn't work properly. I absolutely LOVE this movie - it makes me feel glad when I'm sad; calmed when I'm ticked about silly Government stuff! This DVD is top quality - in A-1 condition.

My husband really enjoys Dolly Parton and had been looking for this film on the cable channels. No luck there so I checked Amazon and there it was. I got it for his birthday and we had lots of laughs watching it and remembering back to the time we first saw the movie.

When Spenser's old friend Rita Fiore hires him to investigate a case where she believes her client was framed, he pokes a hornet's nest. The man in jail is a career criminal and no one wants to see him out; the young woman who was killed was dating a young up-and-coming tennis star who is the adopted son of a very wealthy man and there are two eyewitnesses who swear that they saw the murdered woman being pulled into a car by the suspect.

To make matters worse, an assassin is called in who is good enough to get a drop on Spenser and puts Spenser into a coma. When Spenser wakes up, he finds that his friends have put out the word he is dead and he, Hawk and Susan head to California where he spends almost a year rehabilitating himself before he returns to Boston; first to take out the Gray Man, then to finish the case he had started.

Confronted with his own mortality, Spenser and Susan have to come to terms with the fact that this is his life and that it is not going to change.

I strongly recommend this book - it was one of the best in the series so far.

This may be the pinnacle (or nadir) Spenser novel dramatizing an ultimate personification of Evil. An investigation of that concept seems to be Spenser's underlying and ongoing pursuit. SMALL VICES, # 24 Spenser, deals with the primary issues of Life, as individuals within the human species are struggling to get through it, comprehend it, and relish it (as often as possible), in the transition into The Third Millennium.

Hawk's analysis of a dichotomy of desires between Spenser and Susan deserves a Grand Prize for capturing the core of conflict here. Of course any fan of the series would know that Hawk's conclusion would be drawn in a couple short statements including the perfect phrases in blue. It was amazing how refreshing it could be to have precise differences stated in such dry, clear terms.

A scene with an apparent Shirley Temple type child took the show for humor, even though no one could one-up The Highest Dark Child of The Species (who was neither young nor female, in this case). The Gray Man was possibly Parker's most complexly captivating character. The battles between Good and Evil in SMALL VICES were of the best I've read in Literature. FYI, an equal (yet different) exposure of the essence of Evil Incarnate was in the film, Suspect Zero (Widescreen Edition) (See my review), in which the dank presence reduced itself to boneless worm jelly. The difference is that Parker's evil character was given solid strength and deadly substance (in varied shades of gray).

Dealing with the issues of types of parenting and the heartbreaking, absolute lack of it in all types of ghettos, a cop named Jackson voiced the lack of awareness of "Do Gooders" without a clue about how impoverished families live. A small sample of Jackson's "right on" diatribe: "Like there's a bunch of white Anglo kids in the inner city, walking around looking for the f...ing malt shop. So I say, you people simply have got to stop talking `bout f...ing inner city when you mean black."

In reality, a quintessential Malt Shop did exist in a small town in Colorado, a light in a desert of dark styles of poverty, with a single Mom who was a parent, see the Amazon Short, Coal & Coca-Cola.

As is the case with each Spenser novel, many excellent quotes could be listed from this # 24 in the series. I couldn't help but notice a change in mood here, in the dedication (quoted below) to Joan, Parker's wife. Of course I wondered how Parker evaluated and passed through the road forks in his life, in contrast to what Spenser chose in SMALL VICES, in the issues brought forth between Spenser and Susan. It's obvious that the Parkers are parents with full presence, and that they love their children. This # 24 in series is worth reading for Spenser's takes on these issues alone.

In contrast to the always flowery dedications to Joan in Parker's novels, the dedication in SMALL VICES read: >> For Joan: You may have been a headache, but you've never been a bore. <<

A scene of Hawk washing his hands in Spenser's office was very telling of the above quote: >> He (Hawk) dried himself on a white towel that hung beside the sink. The towel said "Holiday Inn" on it, in green letters. It was one of my (Spenser's) favorites. I had picked it up in Jackson, Mississippi once, when I was driving back from Texas, with Pear the Wonder Dog. Whenever Susan came in she replaced the Holiday Inn towel with a small pink one that had a pale pink fringe, and a pink and green rosebud embroidered in one corner. As soon as she left, I put out the Holiday Inn towel again. <<

During a conversation with Susan, Spenser narrated to himself: >> The way I loved her never varied. But how I liked her could go up and down, and it went down most when she was being professional. <<

After the long days and months were done here, Spenser and Susan were again at one: >> "I'm not criticizing you, in all of this," Susan said. "I know you're not." I said. "The confusion of guilt and innocence just looks a little starker in this case and it interests you."

I believe that Spenser's comment there explains one of the reasons many readers, including me, retain a high degree of curiosity in how this series separates good and bad guys, good and bad acts. Stand-up-and-cheer support surfaced in SMALL VICES from various bad guys, in ways and in dialogues which added warmth, and continued discriminations between what's admirable and what's disgusting in examples of our species.

Once again, the author prevailed and the tale fell deep and rose high,
Linda Shelnutt

Robert Parker writes like a skater on ice who floats effortlessly. He may put a lot of work into his writing, but he does not groan and grunt for our benefit. He presents the reader with polished pieces. This is elegance.

I have read a dozen of Parker's books, and enjoyed every one. However, I would say Small Vices is the most heroic, in that this book deals with grand themes. Academics may sneer at mystery novels, or come slumming, but these are our myths for the modern world.

If you haven't read the book, please stop reading this review here, because I wouldn't want to spoil anybody's enjoyment. The book has the classic Spenser scenes: the Threat, Displaying the Weapons, Pearl the Wonder Dog, great dialogue, vivid character sketches, and so forth. Spenser is careless, though. He shouldn't have been out running alone with the Grey Man on his trail.

Curious. In the end, everybody gets off. Spenser gets off with wounds, the Grey Man gets off without jail, the parents get off, the murderer gets off, the wronged prisoner gets off, and Hawk gets off with no pay for ten months' TLC. The only person who really loses is the victim, and she died happy.

This is my second reading of 'Small Vices'. I'd read it before, years ago, and all I remembered was that this is the one in which Spenser gets himself shot and very nearly killed. (The beauty, I guess, of having so many Spenser novels is that it is hard to keep them all straight so I can go back and re-read them like they're new every few years).

If you are familiar with Spenser, most of your favorites see some action. If not, this may be a good one to start with, although I would recommend some of the older ones to begin.

The never-aging Spenser lives through an entire year of his life in this one, but don't worry, he still doesn't age. Neither do Hawk or Susan. They're like James Bond in that respect. It used to bug me but I know that I don't want to read about Hawk and Spenser's adventures in a nursing home.

Advance the clock forty years from Chandler's Philip Marlowe series, and voila, we have Spenser! (Actually Parker is an admitted Chandler fan and even finished one of his books {"Poodle Springs"} for him and authored a sequel of Chandler's first novel, "The Big Sleep.") Like Marlowe, Spenser's tough-guy, private-eye work is his definition, and without it, he is nothing - a lesson that alternatively threatens then rejuvenates his relationship with lover Susan.

This was our first Spenser story, so we have no background on the characters nor does "Vices" offer much. But the plot sizzled, the relationship with Susan provided interesting byplay, and in the end, things worked out in a satisfying fashion, with the exception of the man freed from jail, who was a total ingrate. The premise is that an innocent man was framed for a co-ed's murder, and a law firm hires Spenser to double check the outcome some four years later. That all the witnesses are lying, and that Spenser starts to get pushed around for his snooping, makes it seem likely right off the bat that something is awry. When a mysterious contract killer, the "Grey Man", nearly offs our hero, Susan, Hawk, and Spenser take a year in hiding to rehab (probably the least plausible portion of the story in terms of careers, money, etc.). Spenser then turns the tables by hunting the Grey Man while continuing to work the original crime to an entertaining conclusion. Suspense builds all the way to the end, keeping those pages turning briskly!

We can see why Spenser and Parker enjoy considerable success. The writing is fine, the plot amuses, and some stuff on the side provides a thought provoking moment or two. Our only quibble is that we didn't particularly care for how the women in the book threw themselves at our leading man; while allegedly he's a "hunk", women tossing their clothes or thrusting their assets at him so readily seemed unseemly, though possibly that was a ploy to prove his fidelity to Susan. All-in-all, a good mystery -- good enough to encourage us to seek out more of Parker's lengthy bibliography.

I don't normally get audiobooks. I like reading more than listening. But I'm a longtime fan of Vachss's work, so I made an exception--and I'm glad I did. I don't know what other audiobooks are like, but what Burt Reynolds did here feels more like a performance to me than a reading. His range of voices is terrific, and he really taps into the themes in Vachss's writing. And the bonus track, "Placebo," is not to be missed. Never heard of the actor before, and I haven't found any other audiobooks by him, but I'll be looking.

Being a long-time fan of Vachss' work, even I was skeptical that Burt Reynolds could bring the right voice to his short fiction. But "Proving It" proves that the combination of Vachss' hard-hitting truth and Burt Reynolds' range makes this a winner. This isn't the Reynolds of his comic capers, think hard-boiled like "Sharky's Machine," reading some of the best written and honest short fiction around.

This 27 story collection includes a chilling portrait of a family gone horribly wrong ("Anytime I Want"), a loyal warrior sacrificing it all to honor the life he couldn't save and protect the ones he can ("Mission"), and the frightening result of an abused child who isn't heard ("Witch Hunt"). But my all time favorite has got to be the title track, "Proving It." Burt Reynolds brings a haunting and beautiful voice to a story of true love and loyalty that only Vachss could write.

And finally, don't miss the bonus track of David Joe Wirth reprising his stage role of "Placebo." The liner notes say he's been involved with Vachss for a long time and his performance here shows his knowledge and feeling for the material and the message. Mr. Wirth should certainly be a name we all know, hopefully this brilliant performance will make that happen for him.

There are so many more, too many to list in fact, but all winners. Everyone who hears this collection will find something that speaks to them.

I just listened to Andrew Vachss' audiobook PROVING IT performed by Burt Reynolds with a bonus track "Placebo" performed by David Joe Wirth. WOW! What great material! 28 of Andrew Vachss' short stories filled with surprising and sometimes terrifying twists. Mr. Reynolds does a wonderful job. You can feel the love and pain behind the material. He also commendably varies his voice to give a suggestion of character, helping to illuminate the stories as well as entertain the listener. However, I do think the audiobook would be better if more actors were involved. Although Mr. Reynolds is excellent on some stories, he seems to run out of steam in places, and lapses into a delivery that unfortunately does not serve the material as well as it could. Due to the enormous volume and constantly changing nature of the stories, it might have been more effective if the stories were read by a number of actors, rather than just one. David Joe Wirth's "bonus" track reading of PLACEBO is a perfect example of a welcome change of voice and delivery style. PLACEBO is truly a bonus because, as it says on the inside cover, Mr. Wirth has been closely involved in Mr. Vachss' work for the past ten years, and it shows. The reading not only demonstrates a deep understanding of the material; it is clear, direct, and extremely well paced. Bravo to David Joe Wirth, I hope to get the opportunity to see him on stage or in films soon! Bravo to Burt Reynolds for doing this audiobook! Bravo to Publishing Mills for producing a tape of Andrew Vachss' short fiction!

A magnificent book. It's about so much more than just a whale and a captain. It's an encyclopedia of whaling. The story is told in such beautiful prose that many times I found it hard to believe that an actual person wrote it. The only challenge is the very complex writing structure. I've never seen so many semicolons.

Moby Dick is a classic....a book that you'd have to have lived in a cave on a remote island for your entire life to have not at least heard the name of.

The book has sat on my bookshelf, as part of a series of classic novels I had been given, for some time now. I always knew that 'someday' I'd open it and read it...being one of those 'I really should read it at some point' books.

Apparently I enjoyed this book a lot less than many others who have read it and reviewed it here....because I have to admit that it is one of the most dry, turgid, tedious experiences I have ever had to wade through this book, and it's under 500 pages long.

Perhaps what deterred me from enjoying it was the endless chapters that provide detailed descriptions of the size of a whale's head....or the length of a whale's tail....or the distance from a whale's head to its tail.....chapter upon chapter upon chapter that did nothing to move the story along, did nothing to flesh out the characters any better..and did nothing to hold my interest.

While the book is filled with interesting characters, the infamous Captain Ahab, the strange and curious Queequeg, the immortal 'Ishmael' who provides the narrative of the story, and who seemed, upon reading his story of life upon the Pequod, more like a clumsy, giddy little schoolgirl working on a fishing boat than an 'able bodied seaman'.

The cast of characters alone could have been far more interesting, at least to me, to explore than the wrapt appraisal of a whale's jawbone....and left me feeling as though I was reading a non-fiction work entitled 'Everything you'll never need to know about whales'.

'Call me Ishmael' may start off what for some is their favorite written work of all time. Call ME bored.....and unable to really recommend this to anyone other than someone who for some reason really desires to know more about the anatomy of a whale.

There is a direct correlation between time spent reading this book and respect for the work. Those who don't want to spend many hours on this book will not appreciate it. Those forced to read it for a class will resent it. Those who skip lots of chapters and go straight to the action will be dissatisfied with it. But those who read this book thoroughly will respect it.

I chose the word "respect" because I can't say that I "love" it. I have very conflicted feelings about it. There are flaws with this book. There is a lot of depth to this book too. It can stand up to numerous re-readings. It can be interpreted a million ways. With this book, more than any other I know, who you are affects how you read it. I don't think anyone can ever fully understand Moby-Dick. Ishmael didn't, I didn't, and I'm pretty sure Herman Melville didn't either. And that's sort of the point.

It is a work of art and deserves its title as a classic.

Herman Melville dedicated "Moby Dick" his 1850 epic masterpiece to his good friend Nathaniel Hawthorne. Like that Salem sage, Sailor Melville was a man of dark brooding genius. Both of these men were opposed to the sanguine philsophy of transcendentalism whose chief exponents were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. And as Joseph Conrad explored the dark side of the human heart in "The Heart of Darkness" so too does Melville takes us to the hell of a demented captain's monomaniacal pursuit of Moby Dick the great white whale.
The long 600 page novel is narrated by Ishmael a sailor on the Pequod
captained by Captain Ahab. As his biblical namesake was a wanderer in the wilderness being forsaken by his father Abraham so to does sailor Ishamael consider himself an orphan abandonded to the winds, storms and high seas of lonely life on a whaler. The Pequod whaling ship is named for a village of Pequod Indians who were massacred by white settlers. Thirty men are aboard the doomed vessel which is symbolic of the thirty states in antebellum America. The novel says Andrew Delbanco, in the introduction to the Penguin edition has many symbolic resonances with the then current political scene. A wigwam is built on deck symbolizing the corruption of Tammany Hall in New York politics. Pip the African-American cabin boy is used as a slave by Ahab reminding readers of the Compromise of 1850 which made the fugitive slave law a reality. Throughout the book we see Melville portraying how humankind wantonly kills animals, descretes nature and practices a survival of the fitness amorality.
The Pequod is a microcosm of America and also the world. We see all types of humanity portrayed among its crew from the savage Queequeg to the humorous Stubbs and Flask to the rationalistic first mate Starbuck.
Towering over the pages of this monumental work of genius is Captain Ahab. His leg was severed by Moby Dick and he may also be sexually impotent. He is driven to the killing of Moby Dick forsaking his young family and driving his crew in his relentless quest to wreak revenge on the great whale. Who is Ahab? Like the biblical king of that name he worships an idol which in his case is the dream of revenge against Moby Dick. Delblanco points out that he closely resembles Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina who was a staunch advocate of chattel slavery and an ardent opponent of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. Ahab is a devlish fiend of a man whose quarter deck speech in which he enlists the crew to join him in hatred of Moby Dick reminds us of dictators skill at crowd manipulation and oratory from Hitler to Stalin to Saddam Hussein.
Moby Dick has been interpreted in countless ways by literary critics. His whiteness may represent the nothingness of nature and the indifference to human suffering seen in a godless universe. Moby Dick stands for any idol we humans worship in our hearts and heads.
The vision of life painted by Melville is harsh, bleak and pessimistic. Perhaps by clinging to the coffin of his Indian friend in the epilogue Ishmael is giving us some hope for resurrection. Pick your own interpretation.
Moby Dick contains many chapters dealing with the life and anatomy of whales, life on a whaling boat, the tools used in the whaling industry and other materials which may bore the reader. I, however, found these chapters fascinating as Melville opens our eyes to this vanished way of life.
It is hard to believe the book was published so long ago! In it you will find existentialistic despair, poetry, song, psychological plunging into the depths of the human soul as well as Melville's thoughts on various subjects and ways to view life.
"Moby Dick" is a big shaggy dog novel which may well be the best novel ever written by an American. No one aspiring to be a literate reader should refrain from devoting the time and energy required to complete it. Herman Melville deserves our respect and appreciation for inviting us to voyage across the seas with him and mad Ahab!

I own the Penguin published version of this book as well as the Kindle "Penguin" version. While MOST of Melville's "Leviathanic" work is here, there are some serious omissions and problems with the Kindle version of this publication. Here they are, in the order they occur to me as I write this:

1. There is no cover art
2. There are none of the very useful diagrams and drawings present at the back of the actual Penguin publication
3. There is no table of contents (This is VERY annoying in a book that begs frequent reference to various chapters, especially one already divided into 100+ chapters)
4. None of the textual emendations are enumerated
5. There are MANY textual mistakes, including wrong words, repeated words and other typos
6. The glossary from the Penguin edition has been eliminated and the Kindle stock "OAD" Dictionary is nearly worthless
7. The explanatory notes from the Penguin publication has been omitted (especially vexing given the hypertext possibilities of the Kindle)

Whether this is your first time with this seminal work, or you just want an electronic copy for your portable library, I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS RENDERING. Overall the Digireads "Penguin" version feels as though it was carelessly rushed into being.

I purchased this for my 10 year old son to listen to in the car. He really liked it although he didn't understand some of the car and motercycle stunts. Now he thinks he knows what to do if he encounters an alligator or shark. Adults may not find it as fasinating.

The odds may not be very good that you'll end up in some of these situations, but if you ever do, you'll be glad you read this book. If you never need these skills, then it's great for a laugh.

Extreme and extremely funny. Some are more plausible than others but all are thought provoking.

I read the book. I saw a car accident. I can't go into further details because it is illegal to perform medical procedures without a degree in medicine. The boy didn't survive (he was brain dead immediately (happens when your head takes a cars bumper)) but his body did and was used to keep two other kids alive.

My worst case scenario, as a former SAR (Search And Rescue) team member, is recovering some poor jerk who had this book in his pack. Hmmm, now why didn't he survive? This book is entertaining, but I'd no more read it for survival information that I'd read the Enquirer for news. Has the author ever tried to punch anything underwater? Not very effective on sharks or anything else for that matter.It is downright dangerous for the person who feels this skimpy book gives him/her the knowledge to survive their way out of a paper bag let alone a real survival situation. The fact that it sells well is an abject lesson in the miracles of marketing and the desire of people to feel secure in their "knowledge" without actually doing anything. Being prepared takes effort!

As a son of the south, reading another child of the south is always an interesting adventure, and "Tobacco Road" was one of the great forbidden books of my childhood, along with "To Kill A Mockingbird," and forms a fairly neat flipside for that enduring and endearing tale of justice and innocence. "Tobacco Road" is that story from the Boo Radley house, plus some.

Caldwell's grotesques (you can hardly call them characters) are clearly cartoons and yet speak to a sad Southern truth that those of us who grew up in the 1950s and 60s knows always dwells there right below the surface ... that maddening ability to hear at astounding and intricate length grand designs for success while the shingles fall off the house, as well as the tendency to blame every misfortune on everything short of one's own rotten front door. The sultry sexuality, which Caldwell no doubt used to move mountains of books, is about as natural and animalistic as it comes, while also having an odd whiff of indifference and inconsequent confusion to it. Caldwell takes his particular variety of stereotypes (that die-hard defenders of the South yowl long and hard about) down the same steamy, dusty, bloody road that such other great Southern writers as William Faulkner and especially Flannery O'Conner do, but at a wholly different kind of remove that lets you know this is the wellhead for this school of writing. It's lean, taut writing (imagine Hemingway reborn into the Piedmont) counterbalanced by a keening repetitiveness when the characters run up against the same old fences that they have day-in and day-out for years. Menace always hangs slightly above the ground like spring-burning smoke, and that is a genuine Southern thing. It doesn't play the same in the North or the West. Caldwell finds that distinct Southern nerve, and hits it with a ballpeen hammer.

You may love it, you may hate it, but you cannot deny that with "Tobacco Road" you're at the very start of something lean, mean, and cruel in its unvarnished honesty. Mayberry be damned, this is the real South.

Don't waste your time on this book!

While I certainly didn't expect it to be cheerful, given its look at the life of subsistance farmers in the depression in the deep south, I was unprepared for the utter lack of redeeming quality in any of the characters, the plot, the themes, or the writing.

The characters in this book are utterly selfish, coarse, and debased. They are barely human beings, seeking only to satisfy animal needs. They kill and maim and destroy thoughtlessly. While out on a joy ride, two of the characters kill a man; they later kill a family member. There is no remorse. The characters repeatedly make fun of physical deformities. They revel in destruction of property. They're racist and ignorant.

This could be thought of as a type of satire, a hyper-exaggeration to produce comedy (as others reviewers have suggested) except that there is a problem with that. The writing, 99% of the time, isn't funny. Humor comes from the same word as "human" and with such grim material, there's little there to recommend it.

Still trying to purge this from my memory (sadly hard to do) and I'd suggest you pass this one by. Literature is suppose to uplift, or if it cannot uplift, it should educate, or illuminate. This just debases. Read Steinbeck instead.

I'm not easily offended, but found Tobacco Road obscene. Not for the sex, for the protrayal of poor, white Southerners without compassion, or, in my opinion, any real understanding. Is making the same joke about physical deformities again and again and again satire or even good dark comedy? Not in my book. In well-drawn humor we are able to see our own wekanesses reflected and recognize the human link between ourselves and the most foolish. But Caldwell's characters are so devoid of humanity that poking fun of them just seems juvenile and cruel. Additionally, I found whole passages of the book poorly written and repetitious. I confess to being a Southerner and from poor stock and perhaps that colors my view. But I love Faulkner and O'Conner. I think Caldwell is best forgotten.

Note: Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks

A good review doesn't have to be long. I like reading long reviews after I read the novel. So here is my highest recommendation--read these books.

It's been a lot of years since I read "Tobacco Road," but I thoroughly enjoyed it. "This Very Earth" and "God's Little Acre" are two other great reads. These are all short novels about down-and-out families, or those living at the edge of society in the South.

You'll love Erskine Caldwell--very rewarding.

I find it rather humorous to note that not only do the majority of the people getting offended by this work of literary brilliance hail from south of the Mason-Dixon, but also that no one seems to have hit on his primary intention. It's been how many years now and we still can't forgive the poor man? Tsk, tsk. At any rate, if you're interested in a book that you can read at face value and take a story and then go on to another book, look elsewhere. Caldwell's always-controversial characters, particularly the men, represent not a backwards view of the South or an attept to persist a stereotype, but the abstraction that humans are little more than hairless animals. This work in particular needs a lot more study than the casual reader is usually willing to give it. Someone else said it earlier: if you want a pretty picture, read Steinbeck. If you want to take a look at the true, ugly, primal nature of man, pick this book up, especially if you're writing a paper...lots of material here!

James Arness, Matt Dillon? The names are almost interchangeable. James Arness, however, was a much greater man than his television persona and he's still very much an iconic almost mythical being not only in Hollywood, but in the minds of almost every young boy who grew up watching his western "Gunsmoke" or any young girl who wanted to marry just that kind of man when she grew up.

James Arness, the ultra private actor, has surprised many by writing his autobiography with the talented writer James E. Wise, Jr. The book's foreword was written by a onetime Arness costar and a long time fan, the legendary Burt Reynolds. When I recently received this book, it came as a surprise. Not that publishers don't send them all the time, but for years everyone in the industry wanted to hear the story of Jim Arness. I've known another cowboy icon, Clint Walker, for many years and he and Jim are the last of the two great cowboy stars made in Hollywood. But they are also one-of-a-kind men, who are patriotic, honest, strong and loyal. They remind me very much of each other and I know that each man would be honored to be compared to the other.
James Arness was born May 26, 1923, in Minneapolis. As he was entering college, World War II was beginning and he dreamed of being a naval aviator. Young Arness's hopes were dashed when informed that his six foot seven inch height disqualified him automatically. He wrote his draft board asking that they call him up as soon as possible and so he ended up as a private in the famed Third Infantry Division where he earned a Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Because of his stature, he was chosen to be first off the landing craft (to test the depth of the water) when his division landed at Anzio, Italy. He was subsequently wounded by enemy machine gun fire and spent 18 months recovering overseas in stateside hospitals.

Mr. Arness gives a full and honest account of his early years, his family, his military career, his film work in Hollywood which included appearances in the cult favorite SCI FI movies "Them!" and "The Thing." He had a long run on "Gunsmoke," a role in the highly popular television series "How the West Was Won," and his post-theatrical period is also covered in great detail. The book is not dull at any point. Arness is obviously an exciting but private person. But every page is full of new information about the iconic star. Today we have pip squeaks calling themselves stars. Arness is the real deal. Not just because of his stature, but because he is a true patriot and a real American hero.

The long anticipated, never-before-told account of one of the icons of 20th century television is well worth the read.

Some of Jim's legendary costars said the following things about him and his work. Edward Asner said, "It was a lovely company to be in. An excellent show, to sit back and let the guests do the kind of situations and problems that would be found in an anthology show: Thus giving it its lasting power." Beverly Garland said of "Gunsmoke" and Arness, "I felt it was a fine show for the kids, which made it great for the whole family. There was always a sense of family on that show." And the legendary entertainer Ruta Lee also guest starred on "Gunsmoke" and said of her appearance on the series, "In one episode Matt Dillon was to interrupt my seduction of him by picking me up out of the bed, slinging me down the hall to Miss Kitty. He did so, and in the process slammed my head against the door frame, knocking me out cold. I came to in the arms of the big Jim Arness, frantic with worry- tears in his eyes, asking if I was all right. Not everyone could bring tears to Jim's eyes. I loved it!"

This was not the most detailed autobiography I've ever read, but that in itself seems to be very telling about the man. The book, like Matt Dillon and ultimately like James Arness, was short on words and didn't say anything unkind about anyone. We could use more Hollywood role models like this one!

What an interesting life James Arness has had. His account of his experience landing at Anzio in 1944 was the best account I've seen or heard because he was a private and first out expecting not to survive. His experiences during training and up to when he was wounded were so interesting. and his care afterword also. Being a lifelong Gunsmoke fan I found this book full of exciting, interesting facts and had to re-read it immediately as the first time I was up all night reading it and was tired and thought I might have missed some facts. The second reading was even better. Mr Arness's book could have been two or three times as long. I feel he could add lots more.
Maybe he'll write a sequel. I'd buy it in an instant.

As a longtime fan of James Arness, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've had a crush on him since I played with Barbie dolls and Silly Putty, and his book gave me the opportunity to learn more about this grateful, humble, private man. I would have enjoyed a little more about his Gunsmoke years, though. Especially since he's said to be such a cut-up and prankster. But his autobiography is filled with nice photos, fan letters and lots of special memories. I was also pleasantly surprised that he'd saved so many gifts and mementos sent to him by fans. It's gratifying to know that this big man--a hero to so many--is also very real and sentimental. I look forward to his next book.

I was given this book as a gift and like it. However, on 2/8/07 I discovered the "Museum Of The American West" (at Autry National Center, Los Angeles CA) has a website where you can Special Order this identical book --personally dedicated to you and signed by 'Matt Dillon' himself!-- for the same price ($39.95). Just go to their web page and type JAMES ARNESS in the search box. It'll lead you to the right page (listing is under 'Feature Items', not 'Books'), where you can enter your personalization info and pay online. Lacking an autograph, this book here ought to sell for less.