CAD and CAM Books

It's an endearing series about christian faith and small town living. I have read the entire series. The characters become more and more lovable as you go along.

I am currently working on finishing the rest of these series, but I must say this one is a total and complete charmer! Being a fan of the whole small-town vibe I was very much taken in by the pure sweetness and hilarity of this book. Jan Karon is rather sentimental in her writing, but if the reader is all right with that then this book will be sure to please. Its lead character is a priest of a quirkly little town that does not even have a Wal-Mart. His life is changed when his a new neighbor enters the town--not to mention the quirky lives of a dozen loveable characters. It's smartly written and a pleasure to read.

Wonderful book. Best fiction I have read in many years. Light, friendly reading about a town you would love to be from.

I'm giving this one five stars even though I did not personally care for it. Why? Because the author has rendered a magnificently-written, coherent story (albeit, a pretty unreal one) which achieves a high enough level of literary excellence that I'm compelled to call it "American Christian Literature". I believe that the writing is equivalent in quality to that of some past great American authors, say James Thurber, Lloyd C. Douglas, etc.

Some people are simply tired of reading filth and trash (not me -- I LIKE filth and trash in terms of seedy characters, furtive activities and lewd language, except I'm not a fan of pornographic writing nor do I like stories where anything bad happens to kids). If you are a person who's had enough of smutty dynamics and you'd like, for a change, to read a story of fiction that is targeted for adults and yet does not contain foul language or deviant characters, then "At Home in Mitford" might just be for you.

Of the various dillemmas which arise for "Father Tim," I can definitely state that I'd personally solve them all in 30 seconds without a second thought, although not in the thoughtful, concerned, sensitive way that he does *.* These are NOT monumental problems that we're talking about here... they are (from the reader's view) humorous little enigmas for the most part, but clearly important to the lives of the potentially affected characters in the book. The level of melodrama in this book definitely did not make my heart pound but that's what comes of my having worked in law enforcement for over 25 years -- I've seen it all and have pretty much gotten numb to the worst of it.

So, this is a nice, charming, warm, little story which I think many life-long Christians will find some relief in. The moral lessons do not really interfere with the story and, in fact, provide more of a "covert undertone". And the good news is that this one is but the first entry of a series. Some might compare this author's literary posture with that of C.S. Lewis -- I think that Karon's work here is far superior to anything that Lewis ever published -- that's just my opinion and perhaps Lewis fans would not agree.

In summary, for me, this book was as boring as a box of Quaker Oats. BUT, my tastes in fiction are hardly in line with those of regular, normal people (I loved "Fight Club"!) and I must, to be fair, award credit where I feel it is due. This work is nicely presented and I would highly recommend it for appropriate readers... those Christians (or other spiritually-oriented people) whom are seeking some really light escapism.

I was looking very forward to reading this book and desperately wanted to like it. I threw in the towel three quarters of the way through. I respect Karon's goal and believe it was sincere, but the novel fell extremely short in many ways. Mitford is a picturesque town filled with people that ALL get along. There are no disagreements among them. Every thing is sweet, too sweet, right down to the dialogue between the characters. They speak too perfectly. Everything seems to work itself out in an almost perfect way. I understand that this is a Christian based novel, however as many Christians know that prayers aren't always answered in the way we expect or want them to be. Answers to prayers don't always come wrapped up and neatly tied with a bow. One of the deciding factors for me to give up reading this book involved Barnabas the big black dog that bounded unexpectly into Father Tim's life. Father Tim finally takes to him and adopts him. Some time later, the dog is snatched into a car (appeared to be the possible owner, may not have been- didn't read any further to find out). Everyone in the town begins to contribute to a reward fund. Okay fine. Father Tim adopts the dog, never trying to locate the dogs possible owner. Even when the reward money is being collected no one mentions this. This town of hypocrites is collecting reward money for a dog that doesn't actually belong to the "church" rector. Nobody ever gives a thought that there could be a little kid crying his eyes out because his dog ran away. I'm sorry if I gave some of the story away, but in all honesty, consider it a favor. This book is just a poorly written adult fairy tale. I give it one star that is on the brink of burning out! If you must read it, save your money and borrow it because if you make it through, you're not reading again.

Although not the first one written, this is the first one I read. Again - stranded at an airport. It's interesting and made me laugh. The characters are so unbelivably unbelievable! I could've done without all the Florida preservationist hooplah, but a great, funny read, nevertheless.

This was my first Hiaasen. Gotta say, I was captured from the first paragraph. Really, get out of your robe (or even better, stay in it) and go to the bookstore right now and read that opening page. You'll thank me later.

I've seen some other reviews citing that our lead good guy here isn't as compelling or developed as he should be. Perhaps, but I didn't have a problem with that. He is more of an action-based character anyway and Hiaasen generally focuses this tale around the bad guy, Chaz. And Yow! what a great depiction of that doofus. Hilarious!

Hiaasen writes well with simple language that gets straight to the point quickly and effectively. His pacing is great and the man is just a crack up to read. To break up some of your more serious dramatic fiction, Skinny Dip is a perfect answer.

This is a funny, comical novel about a selfish, arrogant biologist (said loosely) name Chaz, who pushes his wife, Joey, off a cruise ship because he thinks she's figured out he has been doctoring water samples from the Everglades he tests for his job with a local farm. What he doesn't know is, she doesn't die. She is rescued by a former cop, Mick, who is living on an island off the coast. Joey decides she wants to seek revenge on her husband and recruits Mick to help her. Add to the mix Chaz's girlfriend, Ricca, the investigating detective, Karl, and the bodyguard/babysitter, Tool and you have yourself a slapstick comedy. I enjoyed this book. It is full of wit and humor with a little bit of political rant regarding the protection of the Everglades. It was subtle enough to not take away from the enjoyment of the novel. I recommend this and may try another one of Hiaasen's novels.

Carl Hiassen's latest blend of satire and crime fiction is no better or worse than his previous efforts. It's basically more of the same. Same cast of loveable losers, including the noxious cad, the thug with a heart of gold and the feisty, sexy woman who is really a man's fantasy. Same loose plotting and topical environmental themes. Same overbearing, ironic humor that undermines Hiassen's occasional attempts at poignancy. The biggest problem with "Skinny Dip" is that it never picks up steam after a semi-interesting "woman left for dead" premise. The most entertaining character in this revenge fantasy is the hapless, much put-upon bad guy. The other players remain types. If you want taut, crisp crime fiction with bite, pick up any novel by Elmore Leonard or by Hiassen's fellow Floridian Charles Willeford.

If you have ever wanted to get even with an ex-boy friend or ex-husband, this book will give you some laughs. Although Chaz does enough damage to himself with his own stupidity. Mick Stanahan helps Joey understand why her husband Chaz tried to kill her. Then there is Ricca the hairdresser and Chaz's sidekick, who ends up with a thirty-eight-caliber hole in her leg and dumped in the swamp only to be saved by a Vietnam vet with one eye and I'll let you read the end to see how Chaz feels about meeting this same character. This is a fun/fast read, great to take on a vacation.

Who would believe a mini-series about a woman living in the Stone Age could be so fasinating. I for one would not had not a friend insisted I would enjoy these books. I am now reading the fourth book in the series and my friend was on the money. What a wonderful writer.

Wow, this book comes alive with the reading aloud on this book CD. I read the other books in the series but this is so easy to listen to and I can listen at any time.
I would recomend this book on CD to any one who likes to read but doesn't have the time to.

Awesome research of this time period. Description of daily life very vivid. Sexual content is NOT for children, though describes a unique view of family life. Ayla is one of my favorite women who can do anything!

What a mixed group of reviews! This, however, ranked as my favorite in the the series.

In this series I felt each book has been better than the previous one...until Plains of Passage. I feel that the novelty of these characters and pets and wonderful inventions are beginning to wear thin. I don't want to read any more paragraphs that begin with Jondalar saying "Ayla, my Ayla!" and how she was the first, and only, woman that could 'take his all' (reference to the huge size of his 'manhood'). I did enjoy this book but it's becoming a bit hard not to poke fun at all the repeated sex scenes and wonderment from the different peoples that they encounter. I loved the first three books in this series but now everything seems to be repeating on itself. I liked the anti-racist tones of these novels but feel a little uncomfortable at the authors obvious admiration for people that mother-nature has made beautiful/tall/well endowed/blonde/naturally gifted etc. At first we rejoice in these things because Ayla and Jondalar were both given a tough time in previous novels, and we cheered them on. But now in Plains of Passage, they plod along doing the same things and the novelty's wearing thin. But still worth a read. (flip past any paragraphs beginning "Ayla, my Ayla")

I like John Grisham about every 4th or 5th book. His Rainmaker was terrific, and The Firm was rather sweet too. This novel, his third after The Firm and A Time to Kill, was crap--serious diarrhea. Grisham has stated in interviews he writes a book every six months. Reading the prose of this novel, I'm surprised he didn't do it in six weeks or even six days.

Where do I start in listing all the horrible aspects of this novel? I don't know but here goes:

- The flat, flat characters. None of the characters have any personalities to speak of--no distinguishing traits, no quirks, no hobbies, nothing. They simply exist to move the plot along.

- The boilerplate, cliched dialog. This is the novel where characters say stuff like "Let's go for a walk," followed up, "Wow, this is a nice walk." It's THAT bad. And when people get mad, they say stuff like, "I'll sue you for a million bucks if you touch me." Ohh, God, reading the dialog must've lowered my IQ to Forrest Gump levels.

- The dead prose. Buildings are either "small" or "big." And people, when mad, "snort" and "sneer." Of course, some people might say, "Well, Grisham's going for a minimalist approach." Well, there's good minimalist prose and there's crap minimalist prose--Grisham's the latter. If you want GREAT, unique minimalist prose, read James Ellroy. If you want to read prose apparently written by a high-schooler, read Grisham here.

- The plot. This story is essentially one entire chase sequence, and not a very interesting one at that. I won't dis the totally unrealistic nature of this story--it goes with the thriller territory--but I don't want to spend how many hours reading about flat characters hiding in hotels and saying stupid, kindergarten stuff that are in really bad B-list movies.

So . . . in conclusion, this is a really terrible, terrible novel. It's not as terrible as, say, a James Patterson novel, but it's close. If you haven't read Grisham before, stay away from this novel and read The Rainmaker instead. And The Firm and The Innocent Man. Everything else you can pretty much ignore. And if you're a masochist, well, why don't skip Grisham altogether and read James Patterson or Clive Cussler or Allan Folsom.

If you are thinking about going to law school, this wouldn't be a bad novel to read to get a sense of what the profession is all about before you commit yourself to three expensive (and potentially boring) years of education. I don't recall a book that displays so many of the corrupt sides of legal practice and education in a single fictional tale. If that weren't enough, the book also delves deeply into the international assassination genre and creates a modern-day fictional version of investigating a government cover-up at the highest levels, a la Watergate.

But a pure heart among all the jaded ones can make a difference . . . that's the morale of this story as beautiful, dedicated, and brilliant law student Darby Shaw speculates on what motive might tie the assassination of two Supreme Court justices back to a pending legal case. Improbably (the weakest part of the story), she sniffs out the potential that no one else does -- that this is an attempt to fix an appeal.

The Pelican Brief as a title is a misnomer. Darby writes her thoughts (a crude essay, not a brief) about what might be going on and shares them with her professor lover who passes them along to a counsel for the FBI. Pretty soon someone is taking her ideas seriously, and the pages will fly through your fingers as fast as you can read until you get to the end.

John Grisham doesn't quite have his genres down in this book, and apparently the success of The Firm meant that his editors were more interested in getting The Pelican Brief published than making it better. You could fix this novel into a five-star effort with about two hours of editing to reduce the improbabilities and speed up the slow parts.

But if you don't mind having unlikely events pull a riveting story together, you'll have a lot of fun with The Pelican Brief. I listened to the reading by Alexander Adams and felt that the story worked better listened to than it would be if read silently.

I admire John Grisham for the imagination to conceive of such a wild story. He kept surprising me with his plot developments, and the trip was almost all fun.

Rather shocked to see any negative reviews. This book is a wonderful page turner. I was lost in the world of small intelligent law student, fighting for her life inside the world of DC powerhouses and the elite rich. Gripping. I still think about the book often, and I read it about 6 years ago. Great read.

Washington wakes up to the gruesome news that two members of the Supreme Court have been murdered overnight. The shocking part was in their diversity. The old, should have retired years ago, Democrat Justice Rosenberg and the younger Republican Justice Jensen. The fact that they were almost always on opposite sides of any issue left law enforcement with no clear political motive. The only clues left behind seemed to be ones of the killer's choosing. A nylon cord used to garrote Jensen as he sat in a movie house watching a porno film. The Rosenberg affair was messy - three people dead, three 22-caliber bullets to the head of each victim Rosenberg, a guard and an aid.
Down in bayou country Tulane University law professor Thomas Callahan on hearing the news got roaring drunk to ease the pain. Rosenberg was one of his idols and he couldn't believe the end had come.
While the whole country pondered the reason behind the killings Darby Shaw, a bright law student and bed partner of professor Callahan turns sleuth. Ms. Shaw pores over the current Supreme Court docket and eventually comes up with a promising case. And for the next four days she shuffles through pages of affidavits detailing lies and abuses by lawyers and their clients.
In the end Darby Shaw writes an eight-page draft of what will later be called the Pelican Brief. Shaw is only half convinced that she is on to something, however, in spite of her skepticism she turns the pages over to Callahan.
Callahan attends the Rosenberg funeral in Washington and passes the brief along to a colleague. And once copies of those pages get into the wrong hands Darby Shaw becomes the hunted.
John Grisham takes us through a fast paced cat and mouse investigation, and in the end solves the puzzle to everyone's satisfaction.

Tom Barnes author of:
`The Goring Collection'
`The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle'
`Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone'
The Goring Collection
The Hurricane Hunters And Lost in the Bermuda Triangle
Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone: The Life and Times of John Henry Holliday

Grisham is a great writer and started great with his first three novels with this being his third. I give a five star rating when I can't stop turning the pages and do not want to put the book down. The story has backgrounds in New Orleans. Washington, D.C., and New York City.

This story was non-stop action and suspense with rivetting excitment. It has a heroine, Darby Shaw, who is beautiful and smart. She is a law student who does a Brief on the murder of two Supreme Court Justices. This causes a lot of people to be murdered and puts Darby on a run for her life. This all started with an injunction to stop oil drilling in the marshes of Louisiana and try to save the home of the Brown Pelicans.

This should be given to all young women when they graduate high school. (Not before, because it's long and smart and you need a full grown brain to get the most out of it.) It is both inspiring and truly useful in everyday life. I love it!

Some good information from Dr. Northrup but some of it has been said before too many times. I would recommend Saudra Pelletier's "Awake at the Wheel" to inspire you for work/life balance as well. Saddle Up Your Own White Horse: 5 Principles Every Woman Needs to Know

I didn't find much new in this book but found the information
correct. It is good for answers to your health questions.

I bought this book after hearing the author speak on TV. I was a bit skeptical that a medical doctor would really present this broad subject with a personal and more than medical view. I was wrong - this book has been a long read, taking bits and pieces as I ahve time and thinking on them. I wish I ahd this book before I had a hysterectomy. In a time when people are finally beginning to ask questions adn actually expect their doctors to give an answer to them that is real, serious and personal - this book proved to be a light of hope for our medical profession. I am personally more in line with the wholistic person view and using nature as much as possible, as well as the mind body spirit connection - so it appears is this author - a real doctor! I wish she were closer.

I recommend this easy to understand book for those who want to know more about their own bodies and their own mind, body connection. She presents both the medical side - simplified to easy to understand terms - along with the more emotional and what some might call more New Age view of womens bodies, but none the less a real aspect that modern medicine and many people are tuaght to ignore or deny. Stop it! It isn't a curse!

I even gave a copy to my sister for her birthday as well as a few friends.

I recommend it and her other books as well - even if you don't feel they offer you anything - they will open your mind to a different more open way of thinking :)

This book should be mandatory for all girls and women to read. The information is so valuable. I have recommended it to all of my friends and the ones who purchased it are very grateful. If you're a woman and you have questions about the many changes we go through, get this book!

I enjoyed listening to these 7 CD's. There were several plot twists that I did not see coming. Who lives, who dies, is not settled until the very end. However, the story does have a very high body count. Be prepared.

Again, another literary winner from James Patterson. Judge and Jury will keep you riveted to the edge of your seats. Patterson is so fabulous, that I always pre-order his books before publication and as far as i am concerned he can't write fast enough.

D. Sellitti
Staten Island, NY

I enjoyed the book very much. You cannot predict the ending until you get there. Therefore, a person feels
like you have to keep on reading until the end. Very good suspense novel.

This book has it all - murder, mayhem, romance, and a thick plotline that kept me engaged all the way through. Patterson's characters are well-developed and their motives believable. He's created a couple of villains that had me cheering once they met their ultimate demise.

There are enough loose ends here to warrant a sequel. There had to be some repercussions from Nick and Andie's actions, and I think those could be the foundation for another visit to these characters.

Patterson's writing style is spare and he doesn't waste a lot of words. I appreciate that quality and always find his books to be a quick, yet worthwhile read. 'Judge and Jury' is no exception.

If you love Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, or John le Carre (as I do), I recommend that you steer clear of James Patterson; but if what you want is a distraction for a few hours, "Judge and Jury" might do it for you. I've only read one other Patterson ("First to Die"), so I can't rank this book among his many others. ("First to Die" did not make me want to read more of his books.) I picked up "Judge and Jury" in the process of researching books in which jurors appear as significant characters.

The book begins slowly with the jury-selection process for a mob trial. I probably wouldn't have finished the first 20 pages if it weren't for my interest in juries. However, I was hooked when the issue of jurors at risk from defendants and their associates popped up. (I served on a jury where this became a serious concern for me.)

Here are some of the elements that engaged me in "Judge and Jury": romance with minimal, graphic sex; a bright, gutsy heroine and a principaled, strong hero; multiple, unusual settings, including Israel and "the End of the World" (Terra del Fuego); one villain so unappealing that I actually wanted the protagonists to punish him severely; another villain who defied all cliches; and a couple of clever, believable plot twists.

I should say I don't believe in reviewing books I hated, and I can't think of any purpose for a bad review of any fiction. Every novel has an audience, even if it's a small one. Warning people off a book that might be exactly what they would enjoy is unnecessary. (However, I do think that nonfiction ought to be red-flagged, especially technical nonfiction in which factual errors and typos are inexcusable.)

Why four stars? I give five stars to a perfect book (which this is not). I give four stars to a book I actually finished and enjoyed reading (like this book). I give three stars to a book I wanted to enjoy but found to be very, very flawed. I would never review a one-star or two-star book--mainly because I never finish reading them. The fact is that I picked up this book expecting not to enjoy it, but I couldn't put it down once I got past the "Prologue" (yawn) and "Part 1" (the jury section).

"Judge and Jury" is far from perfect. I can find fault with some "technical" issues in it (and have done so in my blog at

http://blog.ccmambretti.com.)

But these are details that I was able to overlook in the end, because the plot was compelling, and I liked the characters.

If you like short chapters--so you get a sense of accomplishment even after a five-minute bus-ride to work--then this book should satisfy you. (At first I liked the chapter length, because it helped keep the plot fast-paced, but eventually I just felt a bit cheated on description and atmostphere.) The prose is very terse, too.

If you like gritty, graphic violence occasionally, this book has it, including what I consider to be gratuitous violence against minors. I excused it because the violence justified the ending, and it was brief.

That said, the short chapters, shifting point-of-view and narrator, and the "child at risk" scenarios are all among the list of "absolute-must-never-do's" that certain of my writing colleagues and coaches warned me against when I started writing fiction. It just goes to show you--never listen to people who make up rules about art.

I recommend you buy the inexpensive Kindle edition: Judge & Jury

I would really have liked to have listened to this audio book while driving. Unfortunately, it can only be heard on a computer, therefore, the only thing I can say about this product is that I would have really liked to have had the information before ordering.
Compulsive Reader

Book was shipped quickly. There was cracking and damage to the spine. Indside was in good shape.

Absolutely love this series, have read every book twice and can't wait for the next one to come out.

I have to say that this wasn't one of my favorites, but I think it was me, and not what Nora wrote. I just couldn't get into the plot until about halfway through. I tried. I read the first few chapters and put it down for MONTHS. I thought maybe I was distracted, but when I started it over a few days ago, I just realized that the subject matter was dry to me. Hard to get started.

I loved the personal dramas, as I always do, and the scenes in the delivery room were great, as were the tense scenes between Eve/Roarke/Whitney. She handled that really well.

I had this one figured out early on, but I do with some of them. This just wasn't my favorite, but it was still good.

As usual, J.D. Robb delivers.
As usual, it was very difficult to put this book down.
As usual, I can't wait until the next book comes out.
My only disappointment, was the number of typos that I found in this book. J.D. Robb's editor needs to do a better job proof-reading.

Bob Woodward's inability to push Felt before old age rendered Felt unable to answer the questions about why Felt chose to provide information about Watergate.

Woodward's excuse about honoring Felt's brushoffs during the late 70s and early 80s ring hollow coming from a reporter who pursued Felt during the Watergate scandal. Woodward knew that the day would arrive when Felt would be exposed as Deep Throat and American's would want a detailed answer to why Felt decided to become the inside source that helped Woodward and Bernstein expose Nixon's involvement in the cover-up.

Woodward should have pushed Felt to record his reasons with the promise they would not be revealed until Felt's death or he decided to go public.

Since Woodward had kept Felt's identity secret long after Watergate had faded into history, Felt should have felt comfortable enough to provide such information. However, for his own reasons, Woodward did not pursue Felt and it leaves the Watergate scandal an unfinished product.

So Woodward and Berstein used Felt's advice and guidance to unmask the Watergate cover up in the White House. Since this book was written by Woodward, I often wonder what portion of the feelings/viewpoints can truly be attributed to Mark Felt and what can be attributed to Bob Woodward. Felt had a ax to grind with Nixon for politicizing the FBI and being jumped over twice for FBI Director. Felt is also praiseworthy of Hoover's efforts at the FBI. That in a nutshell tells that Felt has his own agenda for the agency. The tapes reveal that Nixon also probably knows Felt is feeding information to Woodward and Berstein. Yet despite that, former President Nixon testifies in defense of Felt/Miller at their felony trials in the eighties. Nixon sure did turn the other cheek for Felt when the going got tough.

There is a lot of information in this book. I am not sure all of it is praiseworthy of W. Mark Felt. It does show the atmosphere this country was in following the sixties, and the breakdown in trust of the political leadership of the country. I find it unusual that Felt could justify his own authorization of illegal breakins on Weathermen families, when this was what got Nixon in trouble.

The book should be re-titled "What Mark Felt, felt and when did he feel it?" Not only does "The Secret Man" reveal the complex interactions between Woodward and Bernstein and "Deep Throat," but, Felt's motives and the wrenching and tortuous feeling he went through as he betrayed the agency he loved.

Bringing to account a Presidency whose corruption was out of control, was only one of many motives that drove the second in command of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI to place his career and his sanity at risk. The others were: protecting and stopping the manipulation of the FBI; his love for Hoover and for the game of clandestine political operating; and finally, last but certainly not least, as a way of exacting revenge for being passed over repeatedly for the top job because he was a Jew.

As the cliché goes, hindsight is not only always 20-20 but evidently is also much more relaxing, as this is a much smoother read than "All the President's men." It puts the final punctuation marks around the political scandal of our era, and that mark is an explanation point.

Except for explaining the 18 and a half-minute gap on the Nixon tapes, this book pulls together the remaining dangling threads of the Watergate saga. Four Stars

It's hard to believe that this book was spawned by a "book length draft of the Deep Throat story" that Woodward had prepared in advance. It reads like a Memorandum of Findings, with scattered episodes thrown in that contribute incidents of minimal revelation or all too lengthy confirmations of Felt's later senility.

One would expect more of a co-author of "All The President's Men." Woodward seems bored, writing obligatorily so as to rush something out at the time of the announcement. While he tries to force in some emotion, he fails to convey it to the reader. Woodward would have done history a favor by taking some time with this to reveal the real intensity and drama that took place, rather than rushing and doing it so superficially.

[John] Dean made the sort of mistake that Arthur Conan Doyle warned of. He theorized that because Deep Throat knew the Nixon White House, he must have actually worked within the Nixon White House. After all, Dean's own formative experience was at the Nixon White House. He never could get around that. Like many people who worked in the White Houses numerous administrations, Dean could not appreciate that an outsider could see, know and piece together its true nature. Those who are in the orbit, but nonetheless on the edges, can often be the real discoverers. It is why at times, the journalist, the historian and even the novelist paints the fullest picture of an era (Woodward 207).

No book could have been more in contrast with my engagement last week. Karnow's Vietnam: A History was a big book, fact filled, epic in scope, from a top down perspective - removed mostly from the story of "small people." Arguably, it would be difficult to say that the Watergate break-in, the resultant fallout, and Mark Felt's critical role are less than epic. However, what I am arguing in this review of Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward's The Secret Man is more about perspective, point of view, and people that, "... paints the fullest picture of an era" (Woodward 207). To paint this era within the huge and significant era of Watergate in its totality would be futile and unproductive - in this venue it would prove untenable. In an era that arguably has more written about it, a President so dissected, a time so vilified, this Rashomonic evaluation will eventually focus on the one angle I can come at it from - asking if Mark Felts is a patriot or traitor. In the process of doing that, with Woodward's help, I will: 1) examine the issue of crisis and its relation to power, 2) how under such times power is abused, 3) how in these times real people are forced to make painful decisions about whether to blow the whistle or not, and 4) will eventually zero in on the question of Mark Felt's position as either a high minded hero in waiting or in reality a low minded and bitter apparatchik who was simply passed for promotion. In the process of doing all this, it is hoped that we will all gain some insight into a bygone era.
The "Weathermen" story (Woodward 126 - 130) paints Mark Felt as a mid level public servant with no agency, "Felt and Edward S. Miller, the head of FBI intelligence, decided to authorize break-ins by special FBI teams. Clandestine entries into the homes or offices of relatives and friends of Weathermen fugitives seemed a good way to develop leads for locating them. On at least five occasions, Felt approved black-bag jobs - FBI break-ins - without consulting [then FBI Chief L. Patrick] Gray" (Woodward 127). The justification, of course, for the break-ins was that in 1969, 1970, and 1971, the U.S. was at war. Felt will eventually be indicted, tried, convicted, and later his case expunged from the record on a presidential pardon by Ronald Reagan (Woodward 163) - situating him right in the middle of all the things he argues he was challenging.
Watergate is many things to many people and where you stand depends, of course, on where you sit. At the very least, the Watergate era is emblematic of the arrogance and downfall or a corrupt administration that thought it was above the law. Mark Felt, the man we knew only as "Deep Throat" In a public revelation by his daughter Joan Felt and attorney John D. O'Conner in a Vanity Fair article, "I'm the Guy They Call Deep Throat" in 2005 (Woodward 221), things quickly changed. Finally, after all these years, this article put a name and face to an urban legend.
Legendary whistle blower "Deep Throat" provided insider information to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein during the crucial early years after the discovery of the Watergate complex break-in. The break-in, being the tip of the iceberg that will eventually reveal an administration involved in obstruction of justice to cover up an investigation into wiretapping and spying on political opponents. More importantly, the case will reveal a corrupt White House in the process of undertaking the same. In a clandestine exchange of information - which will be the inspiration of the X-files "Cigarette Smoking Man" - Felt will, according to Woodward guide and direct the investigative reporting of two young reporters at the Washington Post. The stories will open up all sorts of leads and ask all sorts of questions that will break the case for the FBI. Mark Felt's part in this will become legend but forms the tension of the relationship under consideration - a relationship based on a foundation of confidentiality.
What is being considered here? If Woodward was pressured into revealing his source, what implications would that have on the person, his family, the Washington Post, and journalism? The struggle Woodward was facing was that he so badly wanted not to be scooped in what he thought was the greatest story of the time - the identity of a "deep" informant, before someone beat him to the punch. In this writing, he struggles with the issue of keeping his word to the man he formerly knew as Mark Felt.
In February 27, 2000 Woodward visited Felt in his Santa Rosa home (Woodward 167 - 174). He is not the same man, Woodward argues. Suffering from dementia, Felts remembers very little. Woodward argues with himself. Am I bound to this man - a shell of a man I made a deal with close to 30 years ago? That he even asks the question in my eyes lowers rather than elevates Woodward in my estimation. Consider, as he did, the implications this would have, at the very least, legally on Felt and his family. More importantly, if Woodward betrayed this trust, will others in a similar situation have the courage to provide information in the future?
Careful examination of the text reveals more about Felt than it does about Woodward. That Woodward is a rat in my estimation, even considering revealing Felt - is of lesser significance when one asks why Felt acted the way he did. Who was Mark Felt? Why did he do the things he did? Speculated on for decades, his identity and motivations will become stuff of legend. Woodward, catching him a state of near belligerence, is too late. This will not stop Woodward from speculating. He argues that one of the motivations for Felt to guide both him and Bernstein was that he was afraid of the Nixon abuse of power going unchecked through their efforts to obstruct justice. Woodward writes, "In his own memoir, The FBI Pyramid, which received almost no attention when it was published in 1979, five years after Nixon's resignation, Felt angrily denounced the effort to assert political control of the FBI through what he called a "White House - Justice Department cabal."" (Woodward 33). At the center of this rant is the, in Felt's eyes, his being passed over for promotion by Nixon in the appointment of L. Patrick Gray to replace J. Edgar Hoover (Woodward 46). Woodward writes, "Pat Gray's appointment added to the bitterness. "I was resentful that an outsider was taking over, yet at the same time I was impressed with the strength and sincerity of the man."" (Woodward 46 - 47). Later in the book, Woodward picks up the narrative, "In other words [in reference to the amount of paperwork generated in the FBI], Gray got to be director of the FBI, and Felt did the work. Hoover had been founding director of the Bureau in 1924, serving an incredible 48 years; including the entire 30 years Felt had been in the Bureau. The directorship was coveted, the director almost a god. And it had been handed to Pat Gray, and FBI outsider with feet of clay who smelled the hallways, in order to assert political control. Felt sent only about 10 percent of the paper flow to Gray but even that overwhelmed the new acting director" (Woodward 51). With this setup in place, it both protected Felt but also made him vulnerable - he knew too much, or did he?
On the one hand, we have the story of a man fearful of a Nixon White House running roughshod over the law. On the other hand, we have an embittered FBI apparatchik passed over by a Nixon White House for an outsider with no experience - Felt had 30 years. Woodward is very descriptive about Felt's insistence on confidentiality. Certainly, he needed to protect his job and was worried about the safety of his family and the possible violence on himself. How to resolve the dilemma? The answer would come in the form of a chance meeting with an eager neophyte reporter in Bob Woodward. He could, through Woodward, direct attention to the H. R. Halderman run White House (Woodward 84 - 105). We should not forget that before he retired, this man did order, illegal break-ins, arguably on orders without due process. Woodward speculates that Felt kept his identity under wraps because he may have been concerned about legal action against him. Woodward to may have been keeping Felt's secret not because of any high minded need to preserve the integrity of the source but was also worried about the legal ramifications to both himself and Felt. Concerned about the possible reversal of the presidential pardon, everyone seemed to have a low brow reason to keep things, in the common parlance of our time, on the "down low." It leaves us with the question: Is Mark Felts a patriot or a traitor?
Crisis, I started this review arguing, provides a space for abuse of power. Someone, usually with access and motive, I scribed, has to stand up to those with the monopoly of power, and maybe even the monopoly to effect violence; in this case, that man was Mark Felt. There is the, the right of that individual to expect a certain amount of protection and safety - or else the risk consideration tips significantly to not say anything or not act. So, in this regard, the musing of Woodward's boss Ben Bradlee is relevant. Woodward writes, ""You've got one problem, pal," Bradlee said. "Do you owe allegiance to a man who is no longer that man who you knew and gave your word to?" He let me hang on the question for a moment - a question that I had already considered, the one I was weighing. "The answer is yes - an unequivocal YES."" (Woodward 202). Do Felt's motivations - based on being by-passed for promotion override what could be seen as the courage to speak out - even if was under the consistent insistence of confidentiality? I would argue that no matter what, Felt took the risk and in a lot of senses that is all that should matter. It was a different time, in a separate section called "A Reporter's Assessment" Carl Bernstein argues, "After all, that was what the Watergate reporting had been about - partnerships. My partnership with Bob, and ours with Bradlee, and Bob's strange and incomplete partnership with Deep Throat. In all, it added up to a feeling of solidarity. Today's Internet bloggers and television talking heads don't have that. No safety net. No brakes. No one there to question, doubt or inspire. No editor" (Woodward 232). As we deliberate on the "time" we still need to remember that it all boils down to people, "small people" that provide a richer perspective on an era.

Miguel Llora

easy to follow, & informative but has a few 'typos' in it--also I couldn't get the tool library to save right.

It is very difficult to write a text suitable for tecnical
school and college undergraduate level at the same time.
The authors have accomplished this.
With this text you can begin learning to program in Mastercam
from the first chapter.
The CD included makes familarization work without the expense
of buying the full program.

This is an excellent book. It is very easy to understand but it spend 4 chapters to teach how to make a drawings, few minor mistakes but it is critical to new user (you got lost and you need read again and again to understand it was a mistake),and few exercises we can not do it because of the demo disk. I still can follow through whole book even the mistakes and/or I can not do the exercises.

Most of us use other professional cad software. I will recommend the author concentrate how to convert other CAD software, how to rotate or translate the axis, and do the measurement on the converted drawings.

I recommend you read this book first if you are new to MasterCam like me.

I am not a machinest and I learning this just to see I can produce G code for machining. I don't know which book I should read after. Any recommendation?

I must agree with the other reviewers. The authors have managed to produce an excellent title that will help all of us cnc novices. The diagrams, instructions, as well as the included cd made for an excellent hands-on experience. I would strongly recommend purchasing this book from a cncbookstore. Thank you for this great manual, now I have a strong grasp of mastercam.

As a conplete novice I found this book very useful.I liked the note like style of the writing and found the general setup information time saving.

I would recommend this book to just about anybody. It's hot and it's thrilling. And it's about time there's a woman they can't survive without! Without her skills, they've got nothing!

this book was just not as intersting. I skimmed the last 100 pages. As another reviewer mentioned, Hunt was very much an alpha male - hard to believe the lawyer would fall for a jewel thief.

I love all of the T-FLAC books I have read. I started with this one, then read The Mercenary(which was very short) and fell in love with Ms Adair heros and the women they fall in love with. This book has suspense, main characters that like to argue with each other and then they fall in love. And the sexy parts are sexy, not all flowery and sweet.
I have now started reading all the T-FLAC books from the begining.

Love Cherry Adair! Her books are filled with action--believable, exceptional humor and steamy couplings. Love the intricaties and all tied together with ongoing characters.

I won't write about the story because so many reviewers have done that already. I usually love Cherry Adair's style of writing. It sucks you right in the story. It is a nice read that I can only recommend.

The love story between Taylor and Hunt was pretty well written too. I enjoyed that he had to hunt her down on different occasions. It was pretty funny that she didn't made it easy on him.

I also enjoyed the plot - at least that was till the very end. I didn't understand why the whole place was secured with codes and Dante's Hell if you can just walk in the back door??? That is also the reason why I only give 4 stars.