Oregon Books

WOW! I never knew what was going to happen next. I couldn't put it down. The characters were real,and full of the struggles we all face. Francine Rivers is a Christian author, so if you know that we cannot live without our blessed Savior, and the truth of His Word, applied effectively in our life, then you'll be glad to have read, The Scarlet Thread. Enjoy!!

I thought this was a fabulous book! I love how the two stories of Sierra and Mary Kathryn are intertwined and how you go from one to the next, they flow so well together. I spent the first 3/4 of the book mad at the husband chracter of course, *laughs* but it worked out and I am glad we did this book for our book club.

The first half of the book was really good, I really liked both of the stories, but the end was pretty cheesey and I didn't love it. Worth reading, but not on my favorites list. (Mark of the Lion and Redeeming Love are much better)

Let me begin by saying that I loved the Mark of the Lion series and enjoyed Redeeming Love. But as I was reading this book and witnessing a realistic picture of a family falling apart I felt as though a black cloud was hovering overhead. I HAD to finish this book in one day or else I would have been scowling at my husband (of no fault of his own, merely the actions of a fictional man!!!) while feeling a darkness in my heart. For, as always, Rivers writes with such emotion that you can literally feel the pain of the character. If you want a feel good story THIS IS NOT IT!!!

I LOVE historical fiction so I thought I might enjoy this contemporary laced with a historical story. Interestingly enough, I found that the historical story bored me. It was sad but, I suppose it's because it was in a diary format, I didn't really get too into the characters... therefore I didn't get into the story. I was half tempted to skip it entirely. Instead I just scanned the journal entries to get back to the main story athand.

Boy, and that story... what a depressing story. First this Jerk of a husband makes life-changing decisions without consulting with his wife and then seems stumped by her bitterness!! He doesn't even make an effort to try and console his wife. They were both exceedingly selfish characters, neither caring a lick for the other's feelings. She continues wallowing in bitterness and resentment instead of trying to make the best of things.

Before long things spiral out of control!!! And her mom!! I don't want to spoil the story but the loss Sierra faced--all alone!!-- broke my heart.

The adultery aspect... wow. I don't want to give away the ending so I will just say this. I wouldn't blame her if she never took him back. I certainly would not be able to. And if she did she is a more gracious person than ANY of the ladies I know.

Great book and story line --- God can use us even when we are having an attitude problem, Both women in the story realized the blessing God had already given them.

Brad Cunningham was clearly the epitome of delusional narcissism. The classic sociopath/psychotic, without conscience, he cared for no one's feelings but his own. His personality disorders deemed him dangerous, placing him beyond any woman's worst nightmare. Lack of empathy and compassion combined with total self-absorption may make it difficult to see what anyone would find attractive about him; however, that is what characterizes people like Brad Cunningham as pure evil. He seeks out the perfect victim. He makes her feel important or needed or beautiful or whatever. There is a reason women fall for these men. Most are victims to begin with. I hope people do not judge Brad's victims too harshly. Sometimes others have a tendency to wonder how women could fall for guys like that. Men like Brad Cunningham know exactly what they are doing. I have read all of Ann Rule's books. I tout them as "must reads."

This is a gripping book from start to finish. It's hard to believe that there are real life 'psycho' people out there like Brad. He had to just be so charismatic to lure these normal, unsuspecting woman into his life like he did. This was a great book and had me up late turning pages- then cuddling up next to my wonderful husband and thanking the Good Lord above for my blessings!!!!

This book is excellent. Ann Rule really develops these characters to the extent you can feel the fear that was instilled in them by this man. Seldom have I ever felt such a rage towards anyone like I did Brad Cunningham when I read this book. Evil is too nice a word to describe Brad Cunningham. This man is nothing short of a monster and Ann Rule is at her best in telling the horrific evil he dispensed on everyone who came into contact with him.

This book was superbly written. I've read a lot of Ann Rule, and in my opinion, this was the best. There was a sick, ominious feeling throughout, because you knew it was going to get worse, but I couldn't tear myself away. I am amazed at Ms. Rule's ability to weave a story, complete with each of the many characters' backgrounds and present situations, without it seeming choppy.

A sample of her superb writing in this story: "...the enmity in Cheryl's relationship with Brad was intensifying. And as it did...the essence that was Cheryl had begun, finally, to disentegrate. As water eventually erodes stone after an eon of continual dripping, Brad's relentless seige against Cheryl was working its devastation."

Hard to believe that what I read in this book actually happened. I can only hope that somewhere deep in Brad's warped mind, he knows what a complete loser he is. I hope he has only female jailers who tell him what a piece of "garbage" he is every single day!

After finishing this book, I can only think of Cheryl as a martyr. Her unwilling sacrifice saved so many people from being tormented by Brad forever. At least in jail, his victims know where he is.

READ THIS BOOK!

I just finished reading 8 of ann rules books i dont know why I just found her - but i am so glad i have!!!! So many of the men/women who commit the crimes she relates are really so fascinating. I think Ann does an incredible job of weaving the history of the people involved, the psychological profiles, and the trials with updates and pictures...it's all good...

The people who perpetrate these crimes are such charming "users" - it is quite overwhelming to read 8 of her books in a row - i am watching neighbors to see if any of them seem psychotic!! Can make you a tad paranoid, but hey, these books are true and we should all be a bit more careful out there.

So I'm a new fan, cannot wait to buy more of her books!!!

I have read this entire series and just cant get enough. Wen Spencer has to hit my to 10 sci-fi authors list with this series. An absolutely killer twist with character development on steroids. If you buy this book be ready to fork out for the rest of the series. Its like MM's you just cant stop at one.

I just want to know when the next book in this series comes out.

I really enjoyed this novel, and like other readers, it inspired me to get two of the other two books in the series. The characters are sympathetic, and the book is well-paced. If you like scifi and werewolf stories and mysteries, you'll probably like this.

Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. This is a series that pulls you in and engages you with the characters and plot. Very well thought out. I hope Spencer continues with this character, I'm impatient for more of Ukiah's adventures.

I've just finished the series of four Ukiah Oregon novels - twice! READ THEM IN ORDER!!! Detective stories aren't usually a reread for me, especially right away, but I've reread these before they are due back at the library, and I think I'll buy my own copies sometime in the near future. I've loved her other works, and now I think I'll make her an autobuy. Wen Spencer is a good author who doesn't find one successful universe and stick there, rewriting the same type of story over and over (see Tinker), but I'll definitely read more about Ukiah!

I don't "do" literary analysis, but I didn't find the writing style bad, as some have. It must be a matter of taste. I also won't review the plot, as has already been done.

The mystery of discovering who he is drew me in despite the gruesomeness of some of the scenes. The relationships were good. I like characters who I can respect and who are, at the same time, not perfect. I like the slow character maturation.

Warning, the third novel in the series has some "off-camera" violence against very young children.

This is definitely worth a try, and I think you'll be sucked in as I have been by this excellent and inventive writer.

When I first saw this book, I thought, "Wow, this looks really cheezy, but I'll buy it anyway as a quick read."

Then I got into the premise. "Wow!", I thought, "I was wrong, "This could be really cool." The idea of a tracker who can do what he can do because of a feral upbringing by wolves seemed to be working out well, and some of the plot twists were great.

But as I got into it, character development for all but the main guy seemed to stop dead. Further in, I found the actions of the characters less and less believable. It started with the tough FBI agent who considers Ukiah, the lead, a suspect one day, and is madly in love with him the next. The casual acceptance of Ukiah's real story by all concerned in the book at their first hearing seems even harder to accept.

Having said that, the plot is good, although there are some leaps that seem a bit sudden and poorly contrived. The concept is good, and it would have been a better book if it had been covered in more space so the characterizations and plot twists didn't seem so forced or wodden.

This is one of the best books I've read. It has all the elements of a great read - scary plot and great characters. I've given this book to friends to read - we all agree this is a top 5 book.

The Girls He Adored

A rather thin and predictable story. So many holes in the narative about a multi personality murderer that in the end the device only served to show the authors flaws in plotline and suspense. Don't waste your time

This book is masterfully written, if you like thrillers without a lot of romance and fluff. But full of beleivable scenerios then you want this book.

The Girls He Adored is a great novel! It has you turning pages almost faster than you can read! I could not put this book down; move over Hannibal, Max has come to town! I loved this bad guy...I mean guys...I mean guy. Max is a whole bunch of bad guys all rolled up into one. Max, Christopher, Mose, Useless, and Kinch Oh My! I wasn't even finished with this book when I got online and bought every other book the author has written. If you like nail biting suspense, with a little gore, and a really complex bad guy thrown in you'll love this book!

I very much enjoyed this book. I was bored the first 1/3 of the way through(hence the loss of a star), but after that it get's interesting. So if you decide to read this one, just hang in there, okay.

Max was absolutely fascinating. I loved the way his charachter was developed. And the writer explains the details about the disorder (DID/MPD) in such a way as to be interesting rather than boring and over my head. This book was without a double one of the better thrillers I've read in recent months. I CAN"T WAIT for the sequel.

The indomitable crew of the Oregon has just relieved the Iranian navy of a couple of Soviet missiles and delivered them to the USA when they see a ship where a ship shouldn't be on their radar, apparently foundering. Thoughts of a fat salvage fee disappear immediately when they get close enough to see that the cruise liner, Golden Dawn, is a ship of death, with hundreds of bodies littering her decks. They rescue a lone survivor before a series of explosions sinks the vessel and they barely escape with their lives. Once back aboard the Oregon, they find that second-in-command Max Hanley's son has run off with a cult called the Responsivists. Corporation Chairman Juan Cabrillo is intrigued when they also find that the ill-fated Golden Dawn was filled with Responsivists when the tragedy occurred. He starts to think there's a lot more to the organization than their belief in population control when the Corporation's snatch of Max's son Kyle is met with such well-armed resistance. Their investigation uncovers a sinister plot to be perpetrated upon the entire world, and the Corporation must find out how to stop it.

I often wondered, while reading this book, if Clive Cussler wasn't actually doing about half the writing, because it felt like the height of the Dirk Pitt series in many ways. Du Brul's Phillip Mercer books lack the technical descriptions of engines, aircraft, and boats that always spiced up a Pitt adventure, but this book bristled with them. I also suspect du Brul must have immersed himself heavily into the world of Pitt before writing this because the book was chock-full of fun Cussleresque similes. This series, which I have liked since its inception, really hit its stride with last year's Skeleton Coast, but this book seemed to take it up a notch, delivering nonstop action with character development all around. We spend most of our time with Juan Cabrillo, but we also get to know several members of the crew through their exploits. Lovers of adventure thrillers should sail through this novel like the Oregon on a glassy sea. It's a class act from beginning to end, and featuring a dynamic duo of the well-seasoned talent of the patriarch of the genre, Clive Cussler, and the only other writer I know of with the same amount of talent to carry on when Clive sadly one day retires. Thank goodness that day seems a long way off. For now, this has become THE series to read if you love adventure fiction. Everything else pales in comparison.

The cd is great for the first time listner. It gives a lot of history on the creation of the Corporation and the Oregon. There are intimate details on the crew and how they joind the Corporation. The only problem is I was shipped only 12 of the 13 Cd'd. Now I am in limbo. I don't know what to do.

I haven't read a Cussler book (which is almost every one) that I haven't enjoyed and I put Plague Ship on the top of my list of favorites. I didn't want this story to end. Very timely and not too far fetched plot delivered in an action packed story that I read these books for. After getting wrapped up in the story and characters I stepped back and looked hard at the premise of this book. It will make you think. I don't know where he gets his ideas from, but hopefully they are more fiction then reality.... I have recommended it to two Cussler fanatics that I know as a must read. Can't wait for the next one in November!

One of the best Cussler novels yet. Could not put it down. The suspense just kept going one problem after another. Good Job Clive Cussler. Keep them coming!!!

Great book. Cussler just keeps getting better. Looking forward to his next one. The price and fast delivery made it even more enjoyable.

This is one of the earliest books written by Ann Rule, and one can tell. Ms. Rule hasn't yet honed her talent for drawing the reader into the world of the victim and the criminal. That's not to say that this is a bad book - far from it! It's just not quite as polished as Ms. Rule's later books. I have always enjoyed Ms. Rule's books, and I recommend this one, with the caveat that it is an early book.

I am a huge fan of Ann Rule's work and this is another good read....I couldn't put this book down. Rule does not disappoint with this book or any other of her books for that matter.

The book was good. Just read it. If you know Ann's writting then you won't be disappointed at all. If this is your first time reading Ann, then hang on. Ann is able to take you to where horror lives. Her descriptions of the killings and killers are intriguing. The worse part is this is all true crime. Ann having the back ground in law enforcement is how this author is able to get so detailed. I won't write about what's in this book because you just need to read all of Ann's books. This may not be helpful but, you know what. I got started on Ann because I picked the book up and just started to read it. Now, go out there and read !!!

I enjoyed this book but didn't find it as interesting as Ms. Rule's later works (e.g. Small Sacrifices, Stranger Beside Me). Perhaps it is because the investigative/legal aspects of the case were relatively trivial. It could also be that Ann's writing has improved but who am I to judge?

In any case, if you have read her later books first, you'll still like this one, but lower your expectations a bit.

Joel

Before serial killers were even "serial" (generically referred to as "mass murderers"), Jerome Brudos was collection women's shoes and undergarments. And when that wasn't enough, he collected the women themselves!

Ann Rule does a great job of detailing the crimes of sexual deviant Brudos as he escalates from stealing women's undergarments off clotheslines to raping his victims' lifeless bodies repeatedly. His crimes are so demented that even seasoned detectives (and true crime readers!) blanched at the things Brudos had done to his victims and his lack of remorse when confessing to them.

Rule also gives readers a glimpse into the effects of a perverts crimes on his family; specifically, Brudos wife, Darcie. This young lady was tried and convicted by neighbors and others simply on the grounds of "guilt by association." Despite suffering the humiliation of her husband's crimes, coping with the stress of knowing these things occurred within feet of her backdoor where her children played, and figuring out how to start over as a single women with no income and two small children, she was charged as an accessory based on blantant lies of gossipy old bitty who's sister lived next door to the Brudos'. Fortunately, a jury did not convict and Darcie was reunited with her children to begin their lives again.

A very interesting read. A bit tedious in places, but overall an excellent piece of true crime.

Kent Anderson is one of the most clever writers I have come across. I first read Sympathy for the Devil years ago and have read it numerous times since. Anderson tells an interesting tale in a uniquely humourous way, but he also injects into the book an ongoing commentary on the human psyche and his understanding of it is nothing short of brilliant. Hanson is also a very likeable character.
I bought Night Dogs recently and I have only one very great regret about the book .... that it had to have an end. It is a work of true genius. Anderson again gets inside your head and chronicles all of your inner hates, prejudices, fears and rage. Typical of this was the scene where Hanson hammered the dog to death with his torch. You could feel his pain and rage. He wanted to kill the dog to spare it the pain of living just as he wanted the pain of his own life to end. The dog only knew that Hanson was hurting him and he felt revulsion towards himself for doing it, but he had to do it because if the dog suffered as Hanson himself did it was better off dead. Just do it and stop the pain.
I'm glad he used the Hanson character again because it made Night Dogs all the more enjoyable. But do yourself a favour, don't read Night Dogs until you have read Sympathy for the Devil. If you don't, you may not enjoy Night Dogs because you won't be able to identify with Hanson and his experiences as a cop won't have as much meaning.
I can't wait for the next Hanson book.

Lots of raw, in-the-trenches writing about a street cop. Over 500 pages long (paperback), I was impressed how the narrative hung together. Not sure it's a police procedural although much of the action takes place during the cop's work day. All in all, a terrific read that goes fast. And I like that the loner cop takes in a dog.

I first wrote a review of this novel over six years ago when I was a brand new police officer. I had problems with the book. But back then what did I know about police work? Nothing.

Skip ahead to the present and I find that this book is more truthful than I realized. Though he was only a cop for a few years Anderson manages to capture the essence or truth (that's an overused word)of police work.

Now I haven't been involved with any questionable shootings and I don't carry a throw-away piece, but the changes that a person goes through after a few years are accurate. The anger, the sense of isolation and disgust that one comes to feel towards the citizenry are dead on.

A cop gets to wade chest deep int the ugliest areas of our society. A cop isn't loved like a firefighter. It's inevitable and we all tell ourselves that we don't care, but there are times that it sets our teeth on edge. Almost nobody really likes or isn't bothered by hatred or disdain. the anger that comes from this situation is made even greater when people who are so vocal in their criticism of cops are the first to dial 911 when something bad is going on. Hypocriscy at it's finest.This and other situations will affect a cop and how he approaches things.This book shows that and more.

The novel is set in the early seventies but nothing has changed. Its a grim job and Anderson captures it. It's also a job that I won't ever quit even during the worse of days Anderson dosen't see it that way, but nevertheless it's an accurate book. Read it and you'll have a better idea of what cops experience and feel.

I don't read cop books, or anything in the crime genre, including detectives. Just no interest. I started 'Night Dogs' working a graveyard shift and bored to tears and I took it home with me and finished it in one sit. Kent's is not an average cliche-ridden cop tale. His portrait of Portland and cops and perps is gritty and brutal and beautiful and feels through and through authentic. The story builds to it's climax without skipping a beat and I thought it was frankly unnerving. Kent's writing is easy and confident and he spins his story well. I don't read cop books because I find them so horribly cliche-bent and bland and predictable. This was none of those things. If more cop books were written to the tune of 'Night Dogs', I'd read them all. Great read.

There are a lot of reasons not to read Kent Anderson's "Night Dogs". Aging Viet Nam War protestors, dusting off old placards and tired slogans to recycle for the War in Iraq, will be infuriated with Anderson's laser-focused skewering of the liberal mindset. Those wishing to maintain a romantic view of an idyllic northwest paradise will risk having these illusions shattered by Anderson's Portland's mean streets of depravity and violence. If you prefer neat little stories ending with the bad guys rightfully dispatched, you'll find little redemption here. And anyone with the slightest affection for dogs or kids will cringe in the raw reality of this unvarnished tale of a street cop's nightly grind in post-Viet Nam America. So while there are lots of reasons not to read "Night Dogs", you'd be missing a powerful example of American fiction at its best, a gut-wrenching and emotionally draining dissection of pop culture disguised as a crime novel.

Street cop "Hanson" is a unique and tragic hero - an Army Special Forces veteran from Viet Nam, returning to test his well-honed skills for survival and violence in Portland's worst neighborhoods. Loosely autobiographical, the two decades that have passed since the end of the war and the writing of "Night Dogs" have done little to blunt the ferocity and passion of Anderson's lean prose. Far from Dirty Harry, Anderson's stoic and cynical loner Hanson delivers his brand of street justice without theatrics - he is simply the cop on his beat doing his job while doing his best to bury the daily horror show of his life with drugs, alcohol, and rough sex. Non linear with little allegiance to a central plot, the reader is led in stops and starts from the jungles of Viet Nam to the night shift in a Portland patrol car. Make no mistake - this is not a "pleasant" read. Brutal and violent - the "dog lab" is one of the most disturbing chapters of fiction I've ever read - Anderson pulls no punches and offers no apologies. "Night Dogs" may shock you, it may enrage you, it may make you cry, but it will also make you better understand and appreciate a period of American history many of us would just as soon forget.

It's one thing to write a warts-and-all memoir, but this one seems at times to be all warts - at least as far as it goes, to Said's early years as a young man, when he was still a graduate student at Harvard. During those 25 or so years, Said represents himself as being a mostly hapless loner, with a record of troublemaking and lack of self-discipline, compounded by a confused identity as a Christian Palestinian growing up in Cairo and spending long summers with his family in Lebanon. For readers looking for the origins of the man who became known as an exponent of Orientalism, he's here, but they certainly have to connect all the dots for themselves. There are only hints of the scholar and critic Said would become.

Heavily under the influence of his parents during all these years, Said devotes considerable time to a portrayal of both of them, his father a successful, demanding, and emotionally remote businessman, his mother a constant solace to him but almost willfully manipulative. Their worried and oppressive presence continually erodes his confidence in his abilities, while making him even more deeply dependent on them. Sent to America for his education at the age of 15, his isolation is intensified and his "otherness" keeps him at a distance from peers who might have provided companionship and support. Meanwhile, the protected world he has known gradually disappears as political realities (the establishment of Israel, the rise of Nasser, the 1967 war, the civil war in Lebanon) make of him finally a man without a homeland.

Focusing as it does on the years of his youth and young manhood, the story makes an interesting contrast with Israeli writer Amos Oz's memoir, "A Tale of Love and Darkness." Each is a very personal, self-critical story written late in life (Said was dying of cancer) retrieving an inchoate self from the past and reconstructing the origins from which both men emerged in later life to pursue an almost unpredictable career.

As an Arab living in the West, reading through this book was like a practical guide to de-construct and attempt to reconcile the many conflicting elements of my identity.

"With so many dissonances in my life I have learned actually to prefer being not quite right and out of place." This last line in Edward W. Said's memoir Out of Place is a fitting end to book that takes the reader on a journey from his childhood full of uncertainties and anxieties about being different, to embracing individualism at the end of Said's painful, yet privileged life. Said's memoir is chronologically dated from his childhood to the present, but interwoven amongst his life are stories about his family, colleagues, friends, and even himself that juxtaposition him in such a way that sometimes it is hard to follow how old or where Said is. Central to his memoir are Said's parents: His mother who demands his unconditional love, while often cruelly pointing out his faults and throwing wrenches into his relationships with his four sisters and girlfriends. His father starts out as a shadowy and silent, yet dominant presence in his youth. As Said grows though, their relationship becomes more interactive. This paradoxal relationship is demonstrated through his father's actions: paying for his son's elaborate trips to Europe, prep schools in Cairo, Beirut, Princeton, and Harvard, but chastising him for spending sixpence on a program to a play they once attended. Said's memory for his youth is astounding, remembering details of his schools, people he encountered, and descriptions of places he visited as if he wrote them down in stored away journals (he does not mention that he kept any journals), While Said is part Palestinian and grew up pre and post Israel, he often comments on the subject very fleetingly, or at least he seems not to want to go into the subject, suggesting only slightly of him being disgruntled with the situation. Said grew up in Cairo during the pre-WWII period, a time in Cairo he successfully describes as a romantic place for foreigners and is ruled under British sovereignty. In comparison to Tobias Wolfe's This Boy's Life, Out of Place depicts a Christian, part Palestinian, part Syrian male growing up in Cairo Egypt and vacationing around the Mediterranean and the Middle east while enjoying a privileged life of schooling and living Initially Said depicted himself as a misfit, but eventually growing into a strong intellectual who observed the great changes of Islamic culture during the 20th century.

Edward Said is famous for being a Palestinian and being a leading polemist on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Visciously anti-Israel he has caused many scnadals and was a renowned thinker. His memoir, written when he was sick, is insightful a true tale of what the Palestinian Arab elite looked like on the eve of the 1948 war. Said was born in Jerusalem, according to him, and was raised in Egypt, with a nanny and drivers, his father was American and had served in WWI, both his families came from Baptist protestant and Anglican backgrounds. His father made good money in Egypt in a stationary business, employing many of the diverse people that lived there then, including Armenians, Greeks, Copts and Jews. Today that community isd gone, as is the elite neigborhood where Said grew up and the private schools he attended. Said was in Jerusalem in Talbieh during 1948. He recalls the war and its aftermath. He also writes about Lebanon, about the village where he stayed there and travelling in the Middle East as a young boy. His was a life of luxury, a life that was 'destroyed' by 1948. His uncle was murdered by the Egyptian police for being a communist. His parents didnt talk politics, he makes up for that.

An interesting work, helpful for anyone interested in what the Palestinian Arab elite looked like in the 1930s.

Seth J. Frantzman

Not only this Edward Said autobiography is breath-taking in its style, it narrates the story of every Palestinian who displaced after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
Unlike the other Said works, this one is personal in which Said recounts his memories since childhood: His early days as a boy in Jerusalem, his school in Egypt, his college and adult life in the US and his family gatherings since he was a little kid.
Said's wit imposes itself as he discovers the origins of his name, how his grandmother used to call him Edwad (without the R) and how his father used to shop everyday at the nearby grocer during their summer stay in the village of Dhour Shweir in Lebanon even when the Said house did not need any missing items.
This book can be easily mistaken for a novel but Said makes sure to capture his disorientation, after he and his family loose the sense of home, and puts it in context.
The bottom line message of Said, after his long stay away from his Palestinian homeland and in the US, was that he couldn't find his identity their after. With Arabs, he felt American while among Americans he felt Arab. After his death, Said - a Palestinian-American feeling always out of place - had willed that he be buried in Dhour Shweir in Lebanon, perhaps to illustrate how Palestinians, whether alive or dead, will always be displaced.

I found Dark watch to be a terific read with great suspense action and drama. Well worth the time to read.

I have always been a Clive Cussler fan, I have been enjoying the "Oregon
Files" since the begining. But lately they have become a fast fovorite.
I am also a Jack Du Burl fan. Teaming him with Clive Cussler is one of
the best ideas that have ever come along. Action adventure fans will find
thees books a wonderfull read. I highly recomend them. I have started my
frends and family reading all the series, Dirk Pit, Kurt Auston, Juan Cabrillo, and Phillup Mercer, wouldent it be fun if Dirk Pit and Maercer
had an adventue togather.

This was my first encounter with Cussler's Oregon franchise - one that resembles yet is also distinct from his older and well known NUMA franchises.

"Oregon Files"? That's right. "Oregon" is the name of a tramp freighter, a sea-going wreck that is alo loaded with tons of high-tech and hard-hitting weaponry, capable of zipping over rough seas with next-generation engines using electromagnetism and carries its own contingent of SEALs. Owned by the shadowy "Corporation", the Oregon stands ready to handle various clandestine operations that freedom-loving governments themselves are unable to handle. (If you've seen the orginal James Bond movie "Thunderball", imagine the "Disco Valente" and you'll get the idea.) "Oregon" is very much a profit-making enterprise, but one that chooses only assignments that its "Chairman" can live with. In short, Oregon is the epitome of the term "Freedom isn't Free".

In "Dark Watch", the crew is asked to look into reports of piracy in the Sea of Japan. What they find is only the tip of the iceberg. Cussler and Du Brul link the piracy to a huge operation involving crooked bankers, human smuggling on a vast scale, an industrial-sized ship-breaking operation, and your typical character who embodies evil.

If "Dark Watch" is any indication, then "Oregon Files" can best be considered a more determined and gritty version of Cussler's "Dirk Pitt" books. Not even the "Chairman" himself (the nominal hero of the story) quite captures the story the way that Dirk Pitt does. Cussler ditches the "Camp of Pitt" (in "Valhalla Rising", Pitt manages to locate and rescue a beautiful woman from the heart of a burning cruise liner; the next morning, he introduces himself by apologizing for his "tardiness) but doesn't really replace it with something new. It's like "Diet Dirk Pitt" - fewer calories or taste.

As for the story itself, "Dark Watch" has a bunch of interesting threads that just come together without ever becoming a truly epic story - instead, one story leads into another once it's had its compulsory adventure scene.

That said, this was still a great read (great beach reading in the finest Cussler tradition), with riveting action sequences and fun/disposable bad-guys. In know I'll be packing some more of "Oregon" the next time I head for the beach.

It's too bad that Clive Cussler changed collaborators on his "Oregon Files" series. This was terrible! I couldn't even finish it. I read a lot in all different genres so I feel that I'm a little qualified to comment on a book I have read. It dragged, some of the characters were changed and even though I know you have suspend disbelief, I couldn't keep my eyes open. Golden Buddha and Sacred Stone were much better.

I was very disappointed in the last Oregon book. This was a fun read and the character development that makes a Cussler book worth reading.

This book was recommended to me, and I am glad I took the recommendation. Kenny Moore, who wrote the screenplay for Without Limits, one of the two Prefontaine movies, does it again. One cautionary note: once you pick this book up be prepared to read for long periods of time without wanting to put it down.

This is THE book for anyone who ever ran ladders or repeat quarters (if you don't know what that means, you're still going to enjoy the story).

Had the opportunity to get my copy signed by Kenny recently. I told him that nearly lost my composure when I read the intro; if I would've had someone to tell me to slow down during training, I wouldn't have burned out at age 17.

I was bummed that he didn't include the picture of himself and Frank Shorter after the '72 Olympic Marathon; that shot has to win the award for best athletic facial hair by a duo.

The stories are woven together so masterfully, and it's hard to believe that the book covers a full century in time.

In the acknowledgements, Kenny's small note to the runners of Oregon really speaks volumes; namely, he apologizes for compressing and diluting their stories in order to fit them into the book. Anyone who has lived the life will surely understand the significance of that statement.

"Bowerman" is a collector's piece.

Being a native Oregonian, I loooved reading about the Bowerman family history. As a former runner, I enjoyed reading about the races. The book is very detailed and thorough. It's very well done. Enjoy!

I "raced" through this book and now plan to re-read in a more "paced" manner. I had read the excerpt printed in Runner's World magazine (Rodale publishes the magazine and also is the book's publisher) and looked forward to the book with high interest.

I very much enjoyed getting to know much more about Bowerman than I had previously. He was a multi-talented, caring (if somewhat imperfect) individual to whom all of us recreational runners owe a huge debt of gratitude.

I was surprised by the sections on Prefontaine, since Mr. Moore was co-author of the script for the movie "Without Limits". The movie painted a slightly darker picture of Pre than does the book. I was thrilled to hear of Pre's charitable interests and his work in bringing the Norwegians to Oregon.

Like other reviewers, I found some of the track info a bit technical for me, but enjoyed it. Also, I was a bit confused by some of the early Bowerman family chapters.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, however. It is a must read for runners of all types and anyone interested in the life story of a truly exceptional person.

Bill Bowerman lived an extraordinary life by any standards. He was a top college track coach who won four national NCAA track titles, the Olympic track coach during the fateful Munich Olympics, a decorated officer in the mountain/ski battalion during WWII, a co-founder of Nike, and with his millions from Nike, a generous philanthroper.

Bowerman seemed destined to live a life the generated great fascinating stories. Examples: He was coach to the stormy and supremely talented Steve Prefontaine. He (Bowerman) took on the American Athletic Union and its hypocritical stand on amateurism. He was in love with a woman who love him when he was a quarterback for the University of Oregon at the same time that she also loved the quarterback for the University of Southern California--a man who eventually become president of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. (The woman decided to marry the winner of the UO-USC football game! I won't tell you how that came out.)

As a result, this book is amazingly enjoyable at multiple levels. The stories are fascinating in their own right, but especially because Bowerman's life had as its backdrop some of the most amazing events in American history: the settling of Oregon, the Olympic movement, the running explosion that helped Nike become a multi-billion-dollar company, World War II, Viet Nam, and unrest among black athletes. The stories are skillfully written by Sports Illustrated writer and Olympic runner Kenny Moore, whom Bowerman coached. The book is also a story about character, integrity, and the winning spirit.

Bowerman and the Men of Oregon is more interesting and exciting than fiction. It's a must read for all athletes, especially runners, and it's a great read for everyone else. I highly recommend it.