K Books

If you want to learn about one of the great economists of our time before you delve into his work or you simply want to expand your knowledge of Schumpeter, this is certainly the book to read.

Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative DestructionSchumpeter, for whatever reason, is not as well known as he once was yet he should be. His important theory building about the dynamism of the the economy (creative destruction) is as important as Smith's "bull headed brewer" or Hayek's theory of knowledge.

This is a long book but not at all tedious. I read Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy in graduate school and heard some of the stories about Schumpeter's curious life. But Professor McGraw filled in those memories in wonderful detail both the theories of this economist and his life. Both are fascinating. This was an unexpected joy.

When I received a BA in Economics from one of the top 20 economics departments in the country back in 1976, I had never heard the name Schumpeter. All of our professors were Keynesians and all of the students worked on little computer models where you fed the perfect tax rate into your model and got a perfect growth rate in return. We had one monetarist, but after a year in the department, he announced that he had been "brainwashed" at the University of Chicago and physically threw a friend of mine out of his office for daring to request advice on the Austrian School of Economics.

It wasn't until years later that my brother, then an economics instructor at West Point, introduced me to him. Schumpeter is a perfect subject for military intellectuals, whose starting line of inquiry is always the world as it is, as opposed to standard academics who always begin with the world as they would like it to be.

And Schumpeter introduces you to the world as it is. With his combined diciplines of history, sociology and economics, Joseph Schumpeter would have been amused at the idea of creating the perfect economy merely by setting the perfect tax rate. This book combines a solid history of Schumpeter's life with an appreciation of Schumpeter's ideas on innovation and capitalism. It is probably not surprising that this, destined to be one of the classic biographies of an academic for many years to come, was written by a business school professor, another field where flights of academic fancy are tethered firmly to the real world.

The author is helped, of course, by his subject. Schumpeter had an extraordinary and adventurous life, developed ideas far in advance of his contemporaries and suffered triumphs and tragedies in equal measure. This is that rare biography of an intellectual which is also something of a page turner.

Many economists are suggesting that the 21st Century will be the Century of Schumpeter. We'll see, but I can guaranty that no economics department worthy of its name will allow its graduates to learn about Joseph Schumpeter from an army officer.

During my Graduate School days, I took a course on Economic history. It was there that I was introduced to Joseph Schumpeter and his History of Economic Analysis: With a New Introduction. My reaction to it remains the same today as it was then - a masterful piece of scholarship.

Thomas McCraw delivers a biography worthy of his subject. Beautifully-paced and throughly-researched, Prophet of Innovation conveys the originality and excitement of Schumpeter's life.

Schumpeter's thinking underwent three subtle shifts. His Pulitizer Prize winning biographer splits his treatment into three parts to correspond to those intellectual shifts. First, Schumpeter focused on capitalism's economics. Despite his subject's love for precision, McCraw spares the reader the math.

Secondly, he discusses capitalism's social structures. Finally, in a tribute to the subject's most satisfying thoughts, McCraw details its historical record.

Schumpeter's life was no less fascinating than his message. McCraw weaves the two into a story that captures Schumpeter's energy and creativity. Prophet of Innovation is a biography worthy of the 20th century's finest economic thinker.

McCraw(M)has cleverly organized this biography of J A Schumpeter,a well known ladies man, around the five major women in his life-his mother Johanna,his first wife Gladys Seaver,his second wife Annie Reisinger,who died in childbirth a few weeks after his mother had died,,Mia Stockel,his secretary,and his third and last wife,the economist Elizabeth Firuski.McCraw shows that Schumpeter's involvement with these women is tied in with many of his intellectual endeavors.
M demonstrates that the foundation of Schumpeter's analysis of a dynamic,non stationary world of innovation and change,leading to " creative destruction" and the " regular irregularity " of investment spending on capital goods ,which was the source of the unstable boom-bust business cycle,was a clear understanding of the extreme importance of differentiating between risk and uncertainty.The great tragedy here is that this emphasis on the great importance of decision making under uncertainty,as opposed to risk ,which is only of tertiary importance,particularly as it relates to spending on durable,fixed,long lived capital goods, was also the foundation of Keynes's General Theory.Recognition of this point by an economist is required for admission into this reviewer's pantheon of great economic thinkers.Only the Scholastic-Thomist philosophers,Adam Smith, T Veblen, F Knight, J Schumpeter,J M Keynes, B Mandelbrot,and N N Taleb have recognized this fundamental point.G L S Shackle and F von Hayek receive honorable mention.

It is here that McCraw fumbles away the football as he was heading into the endzone for a game winning score.M could have spent some time considering why it was that Keynes did not cite either Knight's or Schumpeter's work on uncertainty.It is certainly the biggest intellectual blunder of Keynes's career.There has been no work done on this question by any economist or philosopher in the 20TH century.
Unfortunately,Keynes's blunder was returned by Schumpeter.Schumpeter's 1936 review of the GT for the Journal of the American Statistical Association(JASA) came to the truly bizarre conclusion that the major thrust of the GT was Keynes's supposed advocacy of a policy of government deficit finance.Nowhere in the GT does Keynes advocate a policy of deficit finance.Keynes was a life long OPPONENT of deficit finance.This is obvious to anyone who has read pp.210-425 of Volume 27 of the Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes.On these pages one finds Keynes locked in intellectual combat with James Meade,a later Nobel Memorial Prize winner and advocate of deficit finance.Keynes returned to the wisdom of A Smith,whose work on money,banking ,interest rates,usury ,and speculation represented an updating of the work of the great Scholastic philosophers.Keynes's policy recommendation was to fix the long run rate of interert at a low level permanently over the long run.This would be combined with a policy of credit restriction that would prevent speculators and rentiers from getting their hands on bank loans(Keynes,GT,1936,pp.321-327,338-353,and 374-377.)How Schumpeter came to his conclusion about Keynes's alleged support for deficit finance is a mystery that has also not been addressed by a intellectually confused economics profession that has also concluded,contrary to all the facts,that Keynes was a suporter of deficit finance.
Overall,this book is worth buying and reading.It demonstrates that the life of an economist does not have to be constrained to pretending to be scientific by manipulating variants of the normal probability distribution and publishing precisely wrong answers in economic journal articles that look scientific but are equivalent to the manipulation of epicycles by Ptolemaic astronomers.

This book was interesting and certainly kept one's attention and raised some interesting issues. The only objections I have are that the logic was inconsistent, the picture of university politics not realistic, and a very, very minor one - its "Columbia" not "Colombia" University.

A very good read from the first page. I liked this tremendously. Characters are well-defined and have depth and the action is unpredictable; this book is all it should be - absorbing and fascinating. Five stars.

I really didn't expect to like this book much based on the cover flap synopsis, but I could not have been more wrong. It grabbed me very quickly and kept me glued throughout to the last page. Even though the author was bold enough to set up overt clues early in the book about what would happen, I couldn't predict any of the twists and turns in the story. It was like being in the ring with a professional boxer, with blows landing at will from every angle. Unbelievable effort for a first novel. I am definitely looking forward to T.K. Kenyon's future work.

Rabid, by T.K. Kenyon, was released by Kunati, Inc. in Spring, 2007. It is an amazing book!
One word for this book: riveting. No, two words: riveting, compelling...actually, Rabid would take more words than I even know to use, and I'm a wordsmyth myself. I could not put it down.
T.K. Kenyon's Rabid is an amazing story. Masterfully woven plotlines and an absolute commitment to truth and utter refusal to play the complacency game left me feeling as if I had gone on an "explore" with the author. Kenyon has the gift of pulling the reader in to the world of her characters. She manages to make an untouchable character like Leila a sympathetic one.
I look forward to Kenyon's next novel. Can't wait.

I bought this book on a recommendation from a well-read friend, and after recently reading "Special Topics in Calamity Physics," "Saturday," and "Never Let Me Go," this book was exactly what I needed. At first blush, with its delightfully raunchy characters and turbo-charged pace, "Rabid" seems like a here-today, forgotten-tomorrow mass-market thriller you'd pick up in the front of an airport bookstore. However, this intelligent book has some intriguing, unusual themes stuck inside its highly digestible prose. The dialogue is, in my opinion, some of the best I've seen in any novel. The conversations amongst the characters are illuminating and entertaining without being unrealistic. Furthermore, as someone who has degrees in Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering, I relished Kenyon's many references to laboratory culture.

Kenyon does an impressive job of juggling the four intertwined characters, and I was happy with three of the four endings. One of the character's endings just seemed abrupt and unfinished based on everything that had happened, but this didn't make me enjoy the book any less. This is an amazing and inspiring first effort. Kenyon skillfully teeters on the edge of absurdity with several of the elements in her plot; one almost expects her to take this plunge that many first-time novelists would indulge in, but she keeps the story firmly on the rails despite navigating amongst disparate settings.

If you're weary of a lot of the overwrought and unnecessarily obscure fiction that's been on the market lately and want a read that is unashamedly enjoyable yet thought-provoking, you won't go wrong picking up "Rabid."

I just finished the Poldark Saga (all 12 books) and can't recommend them enough!! I was able to secure 10 of the 12 from our local library system but had to buy the other two due to unavailability, and they are well worth their purchase price. I'm a lover of Brit lit and this series takes you to the Cornish coast and proceeds to envelop you into the lives of an engaging family and their friends and foes. Great descriptions of the coast and the weather, both of which figure greatly into the story lines, and the characters are indeed people you would enjoy knowing.

The quest for the 12 books was well worth the effort. Go forth and enjoy!!

These books have no equal in historical fiction. I have read them several times and am starting over again. The writing and character development are the best I've ever read. Start at the beginning and end with #12 - Bella Poldark - which was written a year or two before the author passed away. This series could provide a book group with material for an entire year!

I have recently been introduced to this series and started reading books which were originals from the 40's. It is a wonderful series and I have now read 10 of the novels and wish it would never end. Great piece of history and family. It is so nice to be able to read "new" books, even though I enjoyed the yellowed pages of the old ones I have. Don't miss it! Also have the BBC Video set which is in black in white, but interesting, none-the-less.

In 1783, Ross Poldark, the title character to the opening volume (published in 1945) of the magnificent Poldark series, the great undertaking of Cornish writer Winston Graham's ninety-three-year life, is first introduced to us as a young man in his early twenties, a de-commissioned infantry officer, recently returned from the brutality of the War of Rebellion in Colonial America. Given up for dead and in fact wounded almost to the point of death, Poldark returns to his native Cornwall, a scarred, limping figure, still spirited but aged and hardened by the horrors of war. Grimly, the adventurous risk-taker Poldark discovers his father, the local squire and something of a lothario, is dead, his fiancée, Elizabeth, believing Ross killed in combat, is now engaged to wed Ross' cousin, Francis, and that an ambitious family of rising commercial entrepreneurs, the Warleggans, are in the process of trying to persuade Ross's uncle to sell them the mines that would have been Ross's has his father's will been penned without the apparent tragedy of his son's death foremost in his mind. The story spreads like the branches of a massive tree and before the conclusion of this, volume one, we come to meet the sort of characters that will never be forgotten, and find ourselves witness to scenes and situations that stir the imagination.

What separates the dozen Poldark novels from so many other historical works is firstly the intricate, good-natured, involving plotline Graham sustained throughout the sixty years he was writing about these characters, but above that, there is within each Poldark work a sense that one is entering a past time, not merely reading of it. Life as Graham writes in any of these books is a near three-dimensional voyage two hundred years backward, and he leaves few stones unturned. When one reads these novels one learns about the mining industry of the era, the banking industry, social customs, warfare, and contemporary attitudes on an encyclopedic range of subjects. One witnesses the rise of Methodism, and grasps its role as an outlet to quell ill-will among the English lower classes, as nothing did among the violent-minded masses of 1780's France. Graham tells us what people in those times wore, ate, drank, what they would have felt, witnessed, heard, smelled, thought, and feared. He takes a modern person into what might very well be described as a psychological/sociological time machine. These books boil with the gamut of human emotion and passion, from hate to lust, to love, to desire for all manner of possessions.

Ross Poldark and the eleven other novels that follow it are storytelling at its old-fashioned greatest, and this book launches what I truly feel is the greatest historical saga in the English language.

This is the first Poldark novel introducing Ross Poldark, Cornwall mining owner/farmer/squire and his extended family.

I especially enjoyed listening to the audiotapes narrated by
Tony Britton; his chararcters' accents are humorous and entertaining. I love the Poldark series and after I read or
listen to all the novels I'd like to see the videos.

Wonderful stories and characters, highly enjoyable. Hard to
put down.

Shadows on the sea was a great book to read. It is about a girl named Jill Winters who goes up to her grandmother's cottage in Winterhaven, Maine. She soon finds out that her mother has to pass through the dangerous waters of the atlantic to visit her brother. The Atlantic is filled with dangerous "u-boats" or german submarines. Jill also finds out that in the town of Winterhaven there a germans hiding adn waiting to attack. Will she save the town of Winterhaven or not?

Shadows on the sea was a great World War II book to read. It gives you the real life of an actual person who lived in the world at that time. It was very suspenpensful with all the action. It gives you a taste of what it felt like in the war. In my perspective I would have been terrified if I was Jill. Hopefully there is a sequal to this book. Another book similar to this is Private Peacful.I would recommend this book to anyone!!!!!!

My 11-yr-old daughter, 5th grade advanced reader, was assigned to do a report on an Historical Fiction book regarding its symbolism. I gave my daughter this book and she enjoyed it very much and is doing her report on it. I was worried that it would not have much symbolism in it but I read it myself and found that it is chocked full of symbolism. She only had to come up with 8 symbols, but there are many, many more in this book. I'm very happy about that.

This book changed the way i think now of all life i am so happy i decided to read this book from my school library. Its packed with action the beginning is sort of boring but keep reading it gets so much better.

decpite the fact im a boy and this is about a girl i boght it at my school fair.and i truly loved it.im a history geek and this was very accurate to what civailains went through.i do know that this would 99.9 of the time this would not happen.although the gerry's did send sabouters (who were cought.)overall this is a very good book and a nice way to show school kids what civalians went through during the war.

Shadows on the Sea takes place in Maine during World War II, and it is the year of 1942.
This is an intriguing book about a girl named Jill Winters. Her dad, Drew Winters, is a famous singer. When her Uncle Cliff gets sick, her mother needs to go see him and Jill's father arranges for Jill to go by herself, by train, to Maine, to see her Nana. Ever since Jill's mother went to see her Uncle Cliff, Jill has been listening to the radio to hear if a German U-boat torpedoed the ship her mother went on.
On the train, Jill meets a rich girl named Wendy and she and Jill become friends. From there the story begins. The two remain friends for a time then Jill meets a boy called Quarry and he introduces the girls to a group called the Crystals. You have to be voted in to the Crystals and Jill was voted in because her father was famous. Wendy wasn't and, so, Jill and Wendy's friendship broke up. Jill and Quarry remained friends though. Then Jill found Sarge, her Nana's cat eating a pigeon, she found a flask attached to the pigeons leg, and in it was a piece of paper with "sonnabend IV" written on it. Jill told Quarry about it. This is the mystery part; from there you will start staying up at night to read. This book is good for people that are interested in World War II and are ages 9 and up. I really enjoyed this book; it is historical fiction. If you are not a fan of reading, this book will get you reading. If you are looking for books to read, Joan Hiatt Harlow is the author of this book and many more great books.

I'm not sure what book the "two-star" reviewer read or the scope and depth of those "15 years" of experience. I was a trainer for 21 of my 31 years in law enforcement and for that past 10 years since retirement as a consultant and I find this book very useful. I only wish I'd had something like this 35 years ago.

This is as succinct, understandable and straightforward an explanation as I have seen of survival stress, motor skill and response. Anyone with a background or interest in police firearms training, incident analysis or situation-response training should find this book relevant and will recognize much of this, as I like to say about myself, but "never knew what to call it before."

This is not a book for cowboys or wannabes. There are no quickie "isms" here, but I recommend it to serious police trainers.

Great book in many respects. The book seems to be an abbreviated Master's or Doctoral thesis written for the layperson. I'm okay with that; most people don't have advanced degrees and the average person reading this book isn't necessarily to be considered "well educated". So, the writing style is welcome. I was not looking for raw data with regression and correlation analyses - and I doubt such a text exists.

The second thing I like is the references at the end of the chapters such that a person can research more material if he/she is so motivated. I am and I did.

For those of us who have competed in sports at a high level some of this you'll realize that "you already knew this". To me this is a warm confirmation. For those of us who have been in life-threatening situations his material will "resonate" with you and I found myself laughing out loud at some of the material because I've experienced some of it prior to even being aware of this type of study.

I cannot wait for the next edition of the book as surely there has been a plethora of study since this book has been published.

Thanks, Bruce.

As an unarmed self-defense and firearms instructor with a degree in Psychology, I found Siddle's book to be excellent on many points. The Book deals with training in such a way that works with the body's natural response to grave threat, rather than against it, or without reference to it, as is the approach of many shooting schools.

Although some of the research is dated and some is inaccurate, in aggregate, the book is an excellent aid to those tasked with training others in self-defense.

Siddle's work has been a staple for developing the Defensive Handgun classes for Northern Virginia Tactical.

If you are a firearms or self-defense instructor who is responsible for teaching "real world" self-defense, Siddle's book should be in your library.

These in-depth instructions will teach you important fighting techniques. You'll also learn how to train others to make them better fighters.

As a tactical physician on a SWAT team, I originally purchased this book to get some training ideas for the men on my team. The medical aspects of the book are fascinating, and although I am a doctor, the average reader should have no problem grasping the concepts. This book clearly outlines the physiology behind stressful situations, and why some techniques work, while others don't. We will be integrating some of the ideas into our training, such as increasing the pulse rate, and then performing various tasks. I would highly recommend this book as a learning, and potential training tool.

I got this book after the First Gulf War. Rhonda Cornum's courage as a POW is inspirational, especially under the circumstances in shich she found herself. It is well-known how the Ba'athists rotinely employed torture (real torture, not redefined torture) in order to get airmen to make statements critical of the Coalition war effort. In fact, the enemy we were fighting against at the time were barbarians who had no scruples when it came to the men and women who fell into their hands.

An awesome book about an awesome Soldier.

I thought I'd let readers know that now Col. Rhonda Cornum was nominated for promotion to Brigadier General today.

I express my deep respect, admiration and gratitude for Colonel Rhonda Cornum's service to our country and the medical profession. She is a soldier's soldier. Her book is as entertaining and as inspirational as her career. Read it and it will change your life forever.

I'd heard that there was a female soldier captured during the first Gulf War, but I didn't know anything about her until I read this book. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Rhonda Cornum's strong personality comes through the pages of this book. Just her description of how she coped with her untreated injuries is impressive, and I second the person who admired how she kept her spirits up by singing in her prison cell. I hope if I ever found myself in as adverse a situation as she did, that I would be able to remain as courageous and confident throughout. Her description of the struggles she faced as a woman in the military is blunt without sinking into self-pity. An interesting and impressive slice of the first Gulf War, and a courageous role model and heroine.

I pinched COL Cornum's book from my boyfriend, curious to find out more about his boss. She jogs by my workplace almost daily, she seems frail and full of girlish energy. Recently,I met her at a LRMC function and she IS full of girlish energy. As she's a former POW, I was unsure what to expect. Since then, I've been even more curious about the woman my old mentor COL Ron Blanck described as "a woman to watch". That was back in '91 - we'd been following her release on AFN-TV from FARMC HQs during Morning Report. I was hungover but jolted out of my stupor by the respect in his voice. He later made it 4-star and respect was never something he's doled out like party favors.
I've just finished her book (coincidently on the anniversary of her release thirteen years ago). It was staunchly pro-military and pro-American without resorting to gush-mode. It made me laugh unexpectedly, it made me run to my PC and download Lee Greenwood, it made me understand my former mentor. I took it to bed, I took it to breakfast and finally, I took it in the tub with me where I cried so hard at the reunion passage that I dropped it in the water. It was the autographed copy which she'd recently presented to my boyfriend on his birthday. I hope her sense of humour has rubbed off on him. If not, I'm in big trouble. Buy this book. Buy your own copy and buy some for your family. Then buy some for your neighbors. I need the karma points.

This is a great story of the magic that Christmas brings each year.

A dear teacher friend recommended this book and said she couldn't read it to her class without crying! I thought I would be able to read it to my grandson without tearing up, but alas...he had to finish the last few pages! (Much to his delight!) It is such a gentle, tender story. Even when you KNOW what the outcome will be, you can't help but FEEL the emotions the writer conveys so well! Outstanding illustrations put this book in a rare class!

This was a beautiful story written and illustrated. It allows one to discover how people can reach into the hearts of so many with a simple act of kindness. It also reassures children that one does not have to have a lot to change the lives of another. And that dreams do come true.

Karen

I like Chris Soentpiet's book called Silver Packages. The pictures he drew were OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! The book was outstanding! I like the part when the boy is holding his first one in front of the Christmas tree.

If you want to read a great book then read Silver Packages because it will just touch your heart. It all started when no one had anything so every Christmas a man came and threw silver packages out the back of the train. Chris Soentpiet's illustrations are colorful and interesting.

Having lived as a child in the '60s, I found Sister Anne's Hands to be a authentic mirror of this era's racial biases and a gentle reminder that education is our best hope for an end to "isms."

Marybeth Lorbiecki takes a situation of racism and turns it around. She shares with the reader how a negative can become a positive between two individuals, even if the community at large stays negative. And with that, human lives are changed forever.

First, this is an outstanding book. It has substance and a wonderful message that makes its point without being preachy. Second, it is still a children's book that kids will enjoy reading or having read to them. Finally, the artwork is first rate and a joy to look at. It is the complete package. With so much mediocre childish children's 'literature', this is the real deal: a quality, substantive, enjoyable book. Enjoyable to read for parent and child.

Sister Anne's Hands is an incredible picture filled book about a girl growing up during the time when Blacks and white's were still at war. She learns through her teacher (Sister Anne) that it doesn't matter what's on the outside it matters what your like on the inside. Through this heart warming book your child will learn important lessons on building good character. I liked reading this book because it gave me inspiration to follow my heart through everything I do. Your sure to love Sister Anne's Hand!!! Author of Sister Anne's Hands: Marybeth Lorbiecki

The 1960's possibly brought about more change in the American psyche and way of life than had occurred before or even since. This little tale addresses issues of tolerance, brotherhood, and compassion in a way that primary/elementary children can understand.

Sister Anne comes to a Catholic school with as much wide-eyed enthusiasm about teaching as those in her charge have about learning. When an unnamed student leaves a derogatory note for the nun to find, the sister decides its' time to make her students aware of the racial conditions in America.

From the lesson, her children become better citizens, ultimately paving the way for a more humane society.

This book can be used to stimulate discussion about race, loneliness, individuality, and civic responsibility. It definitely cuts across the curriculum

Five stars do this book an injustice. It's a superior work, deserving of attention and placement in the classroom.

Greville and Clarissa had concealed their love affair for three years.

Greville was a middleman, who had traveled the world to search out reliable sources of semiprecious gemstones. The successful London company he founded would have the stones cut in Antwerp, Tel Aviv, New York, or elsewhere, then distribute the gems in quantity to creative designers and producers of fashionable jewelry. Greville also owned racehorses, starting when someone had given him one in settlement of a debt.

Clarissa was the attractive wife of an older British lord, who had pursued her. Greville became Clarissa's first love, as she became his. When he was not on a trip, and she could come to London, they would meet. When apart, which was most days, they had agreed to pause at a set time of day to think of each other, knowing that each was doing the same.

A sudden accident ended all this. Greville had been walking down the High Street next to a construction site, when collapsing scaffolding from high up, struck him, sending him to the hospital, where he never regained consciousness and soon died.

Here are Dick Francis's very first words of the story: "I inherited my brother's life. Inherited his desk, his business, his gadgets, his enemies, his horses and his mistress. I inherited my brother's life, and it nearly killed me."

The speaker is Greville's brother Derek, younger by nineteen years. Too tall for flat racing, Derek is a steeplechase jockey, which is especially dangerous because of the jumping. In the story he is, in fact, on crutches recovering from a broken left ankle injured in a race.

Derek's racing world and Greville's business world collide throughout the book. Derek must pick up the complex gemstone business traces, while undergoing continuing pressure from racing owners and trainers to hurry up and heal.

The company employees tell Derek that Greville did not deal in diamonds. In going to the bank, Derek discovers otherwise. The manager tells him that three months earlier the bank had loaned Greville a million and a half U.S. dollars, specifically to expand into diamonds, and would soon be looking to Derek to start repayment.

Where are the diamonds? Stolen? Who are the customers who wanted them? Greville's company business and his house are broken into. Derek is assaulted and shot at. The action is nonstop. The book is a fascinating, literate page-turner.

Note: Probably all of us readers like to notice where a book's title appears in the text, and to see the meaning in context. I frankly lost count after more than a dozen instances, many of them different -- from Intensive Care Unit monitor lines going flat, to straight thinking versus labyrinthine, to honest test reporting versus shadiness, just to name a few. And a big one near the end of the book, which I wouldn't want to reveal here. Your reading will have to decide which of the many applies most strongly. Or perhaps they all do?

This has to be one of my all time favorite Dick Francis novels. It has everything a mystery should have in it - murder, missing jewels, mayhem... In my opinion, it's going to be difficult for Francis to top this one, but I can't wait while he keeps trying!

Straight takes the reader behind the scenes of the jewel trade and it's not an industry that's always on the up and up. Derek Franklin has been on a roller coaster ride of late as his steeplechase jockey career is nearing the end with him sustaining yet another injury. During his forced leave to heal, Derek finds out that his older brother, Greville, has been attacked and is on his deathbed. After his brother succumbs to his injuries, Derek is told that he has inherited his brother's business. Too late to protect himself, Derek realizes that his brother was a target and Derek suspects it has something to do with a fortune in missing diamonds.

This isn't a direct "who dun it" but also has a few subplots that are enjoyable in their own right. When Derek is summoned to his dying brother's hospital bed, the interaction (or lack there of) made me very thankful for the close relationship I have with my brothers and sisters. This thankfulness was reinforced throughout the story, as Derek learns more about his older brother and begins to understand him.

One of my favorite parts of the book is when Derek is sure that a clue is hidden in his brother's computer, but he is unable to access the correct password. Greville's secretary comes to the rescue. After hearing the clues left by Greville, followed by a brief mind struggle, she comes up with the correct code word and up pops a message on the computer screen congratulating her and promising her a raise. Now that's the kind of boss I want - he sounds fun!

The only negative some may have with this book is that it is a detour for Dick Francis. As most of his books revolve around horseracing, his devoted fans have come to expect that background. In Straight the only reference to horseracing is the fact that Derek is an injured jockey.

Want to read a mystery that will have you guessing until the end? If so, then this is the book for you to read next! It's very enjoyable and will have you wondering until the very end.

A reader knows what they are getting with a Dick Francis book. The mystery will be well plotted, the hero (usually a jockey or former jockey) will bravely face whatever trials that face him overcoming his troubled past and/or secret sorrow and the action will center around the some part of the racing world. Every once in awhile though a surprise pops up, this time the jockey is thrust into the totally alien world of gems.

Jockey Derek Franklin has been sidelined by a broken ankle, shortly after his brother Grenville is murdered. As Derek tries to settle the estate he finds himself drawn more and more into his brother's world of finance, gems and quirky little gadgets. Gradually he begins to sort out the mysteries surrounding Grenville's life and death but soon discovers that there are others who are determined to keep him from the answers. In the end, of course all is revealed.

This is a well plotted and clever mystery. The clues are all there for the reader to follow. The characters are well written, and draw the reader into the story.

Dick Francis's Straight is a great read. The mystery in this book is very gripping. The characters are realistic. Derek the jockey was the hero. He suffered several physical and mental setbacks. But in the end he saved himself and his brother's gem trading business. Even though Francis's heroes are always in one way or another noble, the villains are not always as real as the heroes. In Straight, the cocaine drug dealer was almost a stereotypically bad guy. He wasn't therefore very real.
Dick Francis did an excellent job of research for this book. The details of the gem trade are astonishingly believable. In fact, I learned many interesting tidbits, for example, cubic zirconium is 1.7 times the weight of diamond. It's a really good book. I recommend it to readers who like mysteries or detective stories.

I just discovered the world of Dick Francis novels with To the Hilt and was impressed enough to try some more. Straight is another well written, fast-paced novel with great characters and plenty of suspense. The book goes fast so if you are a quick reader have another book handy because you will cruise through this. I highly recommend.

Yes, you must read it. This book tells about two girls that live 100 years apart that think that life in 100 years or 100 years ago will be better than the life they lead. So, while Amber is transported back in time, Ada is transported forward in time with the help of a mysterious wishing well. Both girls must go to orphanages, as they have no family in this strange time, and both figure out that life in either time isn't what they thought it would be. Now they long for home. But they have one problem. How in the world are they going to get home?
A book filled with suspense and fantasy is the best book, in my mind. The only thing wrong with this one: the author never reveals what creature was in the well. Still, I would highly recomend this book for anyone who loves fantasy.

Switching Well is one of the best yet most confusing novels I've ever read. As they switch times through chapters it was kind of confusing. Peni R. Griffen sure has a way of grasping your interests.
The quality of the book on a scale of 1-10 would be 91/2. Most of the characters are almost real. You can feel the emotions they face and the hardships they endured. My favorite character is Ada because as she experiences the modern world it is just one more discovery after another. This character is special to me because even though her father believes women are inferior she still tries to earn his respect. The author did a masterful job in development of characters. Peni R. Griffen was able to grasp my interests and hold on throughout the entire novel. As she switched off characters she would leave you with many questions such as: What about Ada? Will Amber be in trouble? etc. My favorite scenes in the book are when Ada and Mrs. Bauer hang out with each other because they were interesting. I wouldn't have made any changes. I think Peni R. Griffen's way was the only good way this novel could have been written.
From this book I learned to take nothing for granted and that you never know how important something is to you until it's gone.

Switching Well, written by Peni R. Griffin is an outstanding narrative about two girls who switch centuries in a magic well and can't reach their times. Ada is a 13 year old girl with a peaceful and normal personality. Amber is a spunkier girl but feels sad when she finds out her parents are divorcing. They meet new friends, people that aren't very nice, and have to lie along the way, but somehow tell the truth. The girls learn about one another because people think they're missing. I recomend this book... it's absalutly fastinating.

Switching Well by Peni R. Griffin has two main characters. The first is twelve-year-old Ada Bauer, who lives in San Antonio, Texas, in 1891. Women in her time are not considered as important as men, and her father thinks so. Her teacher was tempted to fail her essay about a woman's rights. So she goes to the Haunted Lot and wishes in the well to live a hundred years in the future. The second main character is twelve-year-old Amber Burak, who also lives in San Antonio, but in 1991. Her parents are thinking about getting divorced, and she seems to be the last to know. She, too, goes to the Haunted Lot and wishes in the well that she lived a hundred years in the past. Ada and Amber switch places and are completely confused in their new lives. They try to wish themselves back home, but it doesn't work. The longer they stay a hundred years away, they wonder if they will ever be able to get home.

Yes, you must read it. This book tells about two girls that live 100 years apart that think that life in 100 years or 100 years ago will be better than the life they lead. So, while Amber is transported back in time, Ada is transported forward in time with the help of a mysterious wishing well. Both girls must go to orphanages, as they have no family in this strange time, and both figure out that life in either time isn't what they thought it would be. Now they long for home. But they have one problem. How in the world are they going to get home?
A book filled with suspense and fantasy is the best book, in my mind. The only thing wrong with this one: the author never reveals what creature was in the well. Still, I would highly recomend this book for anyone who loves fantasy.