Arkansas Books

This is one of the best sports books I have ever read. The author does an excellent job of presenting alternating points of view without bias. I really felt like I was there, on campus with the players and students and fans, captivated by everything going on in 1969. The book is entertaining throughout and even inspirational at times. It would make a great gift for a teenager or high school athlete with college in their near future.

I was seven years old when Texas and Arkansas met in their 1969 battle. While I remember little of the game, my father was a big college football fan and I do recall sitting down with him to watch it and seeing shots of President Nixon arriving at the game. As a typical seven year old, the game was all I cared about and I had virtually no appreciation for what our country was going through. The author does a great job of describing the social setting including war protests, the draft lottery and racial unrest (as reflected by a controversy surrounding the playing of "Dixie" by the University of Arkansas band). Horns, Hogs and Nixon Coming is a great recipe mixing one part football and one part history to create a gourmet masterpiece. If you have any interest in football or American History you will enjoy this book. If you like both subjects, it surely will be one of the best you have ever read.

Frei has an amazing way with words. He has been able to paint a picture that with such clarity that I could almost smell the Fall air... This book falls into the category of books that makes you lose sleep as it becomes impossible to put down ("... I'll just read one more chapter... and THEN I'll turn off the light...")

Any football fan or anyone who is a student of the 60's will appreciate "Horns, Hogs and Nixon Coming." If you're both, you'll be twice-blessed!

Mr. Frei, thank you for an exciting and well-painted story! Please continue to supply us with historically accurate sports-related stories.

P.S. I felt compelled to provide a review about this book after reading the one and only "yawn" review written about this book. I'm certain this review was provided by someone whom thinks he/she is an avid Denver sportsfan and didn't appreciate one of Frei's columns or something. I'm doubtful that "reviewer" ever opened the front cover to the book...

I was a grade schooler in Colorado when this game was played but I still remembered it when I saw the book. I grabbed a copy, and much to my wife's dismay, I couldn't put it down. Finished it off in a couple of days and have loaned it to several friends, each of whom has thoroughly enjoyed it! While I remember the game and the subsequent tragedy involving Freddie Steinmark, this book provided interesting background and history on the coaches, the teams, and the game as well as great insight into the changing socials conditions of the late 60s and the seeds of integration into Southwest Conference football. For those of you who are true college football fans, this is a MUST READ. But for those of you who aren't football fans, the surrounding social events will be of interest to you as well. I've heard the author has another book coming out shortly on the Wisconsin football team and the members of that team who ended up serving their country in World War II. I will be watching for its release and recommend that after finishing "Horns, Hogs and Nixon Coming," you look for his new one. Mr Frei is a talented author!

Having spent 4 years as a manager for the Longhorns, I search out books on UT sports. Imagine my surprise in finding one with my picture (in the team photo) on the back of the dust jacket! Seriously, a well-researched, well-written book. How do I know? For starters, I was there at some of those conversations, both as an observer & participant. Many of the incidents Frei describes brought back many memories. I knew the Texas players & coaches very, very well. Some of them I still see on occasion.

I particularly enjoyed Frei's delving into more than just the game itself. For those of us in college during the late 60's, it was a tumultuous time. Sports often was a "safety-valve release" for the on-campus tensions that raged around us. Gathering in stadiums across the country was one way of forgetting about the social unrest threatening to tear our country apart. Frei made all of those memories come alive.

I commend Terry Frei for his book. Sure, he could have gone for pumped-up sales by getting into the "dirt" (& every sport has it!), but instead he chose to do a more serious work. I congratulate him for that. The book both gets across the intensity of the game - & of the rivalry between UA & UT - & its connection with the times. I heartily recommend "HHNC" to all sports fans. It will be enjoyed by all who love college athletics, especially football.

i love this book!!! personally my favorite people in history were the vikings and the japanese. i got so much info from this book that i found 12 mistakes in my textbook. i still read it today and it never gets old. on stormy nights i read it untill the storms over. you will like it too!

This seires of books are the best history books I've ever read. I am 12 years old and I still use these books to suprise my teachers(Did you know pyramids contained toilets). I read these books over and over again. These books are the best you can buy for all ages, American or English.

I must say that my kid is sort of an expert on the medieval period and enjoys anything also about the Vikings. This one even got his sister hooked and she is no history lover. The descriptions are fun and the tidbits are wild...your child will enjoy it!!!

I am a big fan of this series and own tons of them. I am a history buff and also love comics and this book has both. If you are looking for a book that is easy to read but is also very fun to read, buy a horrible history. Terry Deary makes a bunch of facts about vikings into a very fun book. The comics are really funny and have great bits of puns and sarcasm. These books are designed to make history fun for people who don't like history. If I hadn't loved history before I picked up one of these books, I sure would love it now.

Have a hankerin' to know more about Vikings? Check out "The Vicious Vikings" one of the horrible histories series.

Horrible history books are geared towards kids but are filled with tons of fun and interesting facts about the periods in question. In this case.... Vikings! From clothing to food, you learn more (than you wanted to know), about Norsemen...The illustrations by Martin Brown are great, and Terry Deary's writing is quite entertaining. 5 stars for a fun and amusing read. 5 stars all the way!

I just found this series (2006) and I love it.The stories are very real.
The only problem I had with the series, is book 2 is out of print.I did mange to get a copy from the libary, but it took two weeks for them to find it! Ebay had a copy for $99.00. Didn't want to read it that bad.

Lily Bard cleans the homes of some local residents in her Shakespeare, Arkansas town. Part of her success as a house cleaner is the fact that she keeps to herself and doesn't interfere with the private goings on she may be privy to cleaning private residences.

When the town trollop and one of Lily's clients, Deedra, is found murdered in her car on a remote road, the town of Shakespeare is once again turned upside down. With so many men that had been in and out of Deedra's bed, the list of suspects is lengthy. And for some reason Lily can't get this murder out of her head, no matter how hard she tries.

I was bothered a little by the insensitivity Lily shows towards the death of this woman. Yes she was 'easy', to put it nicely, but she didn't deserve her death and I thought Lily could have shown a tad more compassion for the woman.

I can honestly say the ending took me by complete and total surprise. I had an idea, a hunch, towards the end, but the way the mystery played out... while my suspect was correct, the reason behind it was a total fricken shock.

I was feeling a little under the weather today so I grabbed this book, curled up on the sofa with my favorite afghan and a couple hours later, here I am. I was so completely absorbed and engrossed in this book that the day just kind of slipped by me. Charlaine Harris in a very short time has cemented herself as a favorite author in my life and an automatic buy. I have yet to be disappointed by one of her books; instead with each book I am newly delighted.

Shakespeare's Landlord
Shakespeare's Champion (The Second Lily Bard Mystery)
Shakespeare's Christmas (Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 3)

Cherise Everhard, March 2008

Oops, this is the first Lily Bard mystery I have read and I realized when I was almost half-way through it (it's a quick read!) that I really should have waited until I had them all. Oh, well - I'm sure that will be easy enough to correct, and definitely pleasurable to have a new batch of Charlaine Harris books to enjoy. Wonderful mystery, great characters and I can't wait to learn more about them.

I was unable to obtain the previous three copies of the Lily Bard series and had to settle with starting with Shakespeare's Trollop. I don't like to read series books out of order, but I love Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series and wanted to give one of her mystery books a whirl. Shakespeare's Trollop was a fun, engrossing novel that kept me guessing until its final pages. Lily Bard is a thirty-something cleaning lady and karate expert who has discovered the dead body of a woman whose reputation was not the greatest one in Shakespeare, Arkansas. The townspeople are disturbed, albeit unsurprised about Deedra's awful demise. Lily has to find the man who raped and killed one of her employers. She hadn't anticipated opening an unexpected can of worms...

The mystery was well done and nicely presented. Charlaine Harris kept me guessing. I liked the southern town backdrop of the story. Harris has brought out the same southern charm she had done with the Sookie Stackhouse book. I only regret not having gotten reacquainted with the colorful characters with the earlier books. It seems that there has been a lot of history between Lily and various characters in the series. I hope to be able to read the first three parts at some stage in the future. Lily is a great character. I like the whole reluctant sleuth thing. She is someone I want to read more of. The overall story was well executed despite its shortness (only 194 pages). All in all, I enjoyed Shakespeare's Trollop and I only hope to be able to read all of the books so that I could get a better feel of this promising mystery series.

Poor Deedra Dean is Shakespeares latest victim in this 4th Lily Bard. And who better to find the body than Miss Lily herself?
Shakespeares Trollop was an entertaining read, but compared to the previous books in this series,I thought ST was a little predictable and not as gripping, but it did have some rather juicy moments such as a riveting little tidbit involving Bobo. I just love Bobo. I know hes just a college boy ,but wowee what a cutie. Anyways, back to the story...a quick enjoyable read, but nothing that got me wild. I of course plan on finishing the series, but for now, I think Im going to take a break from Shakespeare.

Arkansas is a book. It has pages between a front and back cover. Arkansas is printed on the spine.

I've mostly been reading nonfiction this year; Arkansas, however, made me VERY glad to have tried something new. Between the book's immediate, taut, non-stop (and sometimes gruesome (and I mean that in a good way-- I still can't look at a coat hanger the same way)) action and its hilariously twisted characters, it very quickly roped me in. In terms of style... I don't get out as much as I'd like, so I guess the best I could come up with today is that Brandon strikes me as a southern-fried, Americanized Brookmyre. Looking forward to his next one!

arkansas is really fast moving and action packed (eyeballs being gouged out and cars being sunk into swamps), yet it doesn't feel rushed. you swiftly gain a relationship with the characters and strangely find them oddly relatable. not to mention this is the funniest book i have ever read.

A power-packed first novel set between 1974 and 1998 in the southern US. The distinctive characters are mostly involved in drug running but not taking them. All have eclectic tendancies, none symbolic or easily labeled. The title ARKANSAS refers to the focus of the multi-layed operation, a nondescript state park with visitors, rangers, and animals. But, closer inspection would uncover buried bodies in the swamps. The main duo are the unlikely friends Kyle and Swin, who have drifting in common but their park ranger aliases bring them towards friendship, and a nurse in a clinic Johnna offers Swin the possibility of stability and fatherhood. Some terrifying scenes are balanced with humorous interactions; philosophical quibs and poetry come out of unlikely characters, and characters run hot and cold, a mixture of noble and base impulses. After the horrific bathhouse suspense, the final chapters evoke lyricism and realism as major characters show their strengths and indicate the likelihood of a sequel (set in Oklahoma?).

Arkansas is a book that is unapologetic about breaking rules. It's full of unimportant details, irrelevant backstories with dialogues that don't always move the plot, a narrator who speaks in third person, but also in second, and then finally in first. Arkansas throws you off center, destroys your sense of balance. It makes you struggle and curse at your own inability to determine who exactly the good guy is.

And yet, you tolerate it. You tolerate it because it's different, because you can tell it's doing something new, just like Robert O'Conner's 'Buffalo Soldiers.' The same old elements are being combined in ways you never thought were possible, in ways that aren't fair. You're just starting to get hopelessly disoriented, pissed off, fed up, when John Brandon switches to second person. You. `You, Ken Hovan,' he says, and suddenly you don't get to be a confused reader anymore, but rather a confused character, inside the book, and you're not just watching the action, but in fact, you're the mastermind, the Godfather, the drug dealer who is responsible for everything. It's all your doing. Your fault. Your problem.

Once that happens, it's harder to put down. You want to know what it is that you, Ken Hovan, have been up to. So what is this book about? Objectively, it's about a bunch of drug dealers, criminals, and murderers who clearly weren't meant to be drug dealers, criminals, or murderers. They're too smart or too dumb, too sensitive or too insensitive, too comical and too harmless for the brutal, twisted, and gross things that they do. They like to cook. They have families. They fantasize and exercise and waste time in front of the tube.

You expect whores, torture scenes, overdoses and big cities from drug dealer books. You don't expect hilarity, mythical characters, meta moments, or philosophizing, and Brandon gives you all of those things. And then he does more; he gives you failure, and loss, and hurt, but not in a mushy gushy, call-you-mom-and-tell-her-you-love-her way. Instead he gives them to you in a choking, empty, silent way, a way that makes you question what you're doing here, and why you're doing it. `What's the plan for you two? You know, in life?' someone asks of one of the central characters, Swin. `We try to keep the meat on the bones and keep the bones moving,' he says, as if it's all that simple.

And when you're stuck in the middle of Arkansas, when you're alone there and trying to figure out what the hell is happening to you, and to the people around you, and to the life you've constructed, you start to think that maybe it is. Maybe it is that simple. Maybe it is that sad. Characters here feel what everyone has felt some point, guilty `to have life and not know what to do with it.' Some of them have ideals, but most of them don't. They get caught up, purely by luck, in the right things (friendship, tentatively, and love, vaguely) and, also by chance, in the wrong things. Somehow or another, that's what we all do- we fall into and out of things - while we ramble around in this confusing world, trying to keep the meat on the bones and keep the bones moving.

Meanwhile Brandon keeps coming back to the main man - you - and telling you how you feel. You (as the character) are an omniscient presence in the book, the Head Honcho, God, but you (as the reader) are also under Brandon's direction, at his mercy. "You can acknowledge the injustice and the absurdity of life," he says, "while never getting weighed down by these things." You realize that it's true. You can read this book without letting it keep you awake at night, but you can't read it without feeling its effects, now and then, when you go about performing your own mundane routine, dissecting your own predictable life. I couldn't relate to the drug deals, the murders, the being-a-fugitive-in-a-park. But I could relate to that one central question, and that, for me, was enough.

I HAVE READ SEVERAL OF THE MAGOODY SERIES NOW AND I WAS NOT CRAZY ABOUT THIS ONE. THE OTHERS WERE FUNNY AND LIGHTHEARTED WHILE THIS ONE WAS TOO SERIOUS. HOWEVER I'LL KEEP ON READING MORE OF THE SERIES.

Like all the Maggody mysteries, this one was wonderful. The mystery part may not be that hard to solve, but the laughs are on every page. Joan Hess never fails to write a fantastic Maggody mystery--I just wish she would write more of them. The people who inhabit Maggody are wonderful. The Buchanons, Brother Verber, police chief Arly Hanks. I want to stop at the Dairy Delicious and get to know all of them!

This is just what police chief, Arly Hanks, needs. A militia of homegrown super patriots have camped in Maggody, trying to recruit new members, and playing war games up on Cotter's Ridge. With deer hunting season about to begin, guaranteeing drunken, brazen good old boys shooting at any and everything that moves out there in the woods, she figures it's only a matter of time before somebody will end up getting hurt. And that's exactly what happens. Not only does militiaman, Dylan Gilbert, get shot and killed on the first day of maneuvers, but it seems that the bullet is not what did him in. Add to that the disappearance of the ever-creepy, Brother Verber, a very pregnant and missing Dahlia Buchanon, a rash of burglaries in and around Maggody, and a couple of wayward ostriches wreaking havoc, and you could say that Arly has her hands full in a very big way..... Joan Hess is back with another hilarious, manic romp through Maggody, and this is a series that just gets better with each new installment. The story line is entertaining, the writing, crisp, witty, and engaging, and the dialogue, irreverent and full of down-home colloquialisms and backwoods humor. But it's Ms Hess' unique cast of wacky and quirky characters that make this book stand out, and once you've gotten to know Arly and company, you'll be hooked for sure. With an ending that brings all the plot lines together, and ties up the loose ends into a nice, neat, satisfying package, The Maggody Militia is a delightful and humorous mystery that shouldn't be missed. For those new to Arly Hanks and Maggody, Arkansas, start at the beginning with Malice In Maggody, and read them all. For those of you who are already fans, Joan Hess definitely doesn't disappoint this time out.

'Magoddy Militia' is the kind of book that is a chocolate bon-bon. You can't stop at one. If you read one Maggody mystery, you gotta read them all. Joan Hess and Janet Evanovich are the grand dames of the humorous murder mysteries. If you like Southern-type humor with backwoods colloquialisms and a smathering of Ellery Queen, Dragnet and Mayberry R.F.D. then you'll just love Hess series of Maggody mysteries. Joan Hess has written eleven Maggody mysteries, as well as twelve Claire Malloy mysteries. she is also the current president of the American Crime Writers League. The series is set in Maggody, Arkansas a peaceful little town snuggles somewhere in the heart of the Ozarks. These are the best laugh-out-loud whodunit of pure rollicking fun.

Start with this one and then follow with:
Malice in Maggody
Mischief in Maggody
Much Ado in Maggody
Madness in Maggody
Mortal Remains in Maggody
Maggody in Manhattan
O Little Town of Maggody
Martians in Maggody
Miracles in Maggody
Maggody and the Moonbeams

Hess credits her information in writing 'The Maggody Militia' from the 'Armed and Dangerous: The Rise of the Survivalist Right' by James Coates. And pretty much what this story is related to. Our sleuth heroine of Maggody, Arkansas is Chief of Police Arly Hanks. It isn't until a group of camouflage-clad patriots march into town with practice maneuvers-and mayhem and murder. It starts when the widow Kayleen Smeltner lets a group of demented miliants use her pastures for paint-ball war games during the first week of deer hunting season. Then all of a sudden all mayhem breaks loose. Burglars are breaking into houses. The Mayor Jim Bob turns up missing. And, Dylan Gilbert a survialist has been killed or so it seems. If that isn't enough two unpredictable ostrichs have the town up in arms. Arly Hanks has her hands full to find a motive, a means and a murderer. With her wise detective instinct she reckons there isn't a secret government conspiracy behind all this,nope just your average human evil-doers of blind ambition, greed, and deadly obsessions. The story is hiliarious and entertainingly engaging. The dialogue makes for alot of that down-home flair and much humor. I've had fun reading 'Maggody' and look forward to reading further episodes. You're sure to have a good time with the 'Maggody' gang.

Joan Hess and Janet Evanovich are the two most enjoyable mystery writers in America. If humor in a mystery novel offends you, avoid them like the plague. But if you read for fun, if you read to escape for a few hours from the drudgery of a job or the drivel of television, read a Joan Hess mystery set in Maggody, Arkansas, or a Janet Evanovich mystery set in New Jersey. These two ladies have a way of putting words on paper that is simply and purely entertaining. In The Maggody Militia, a few paranoid members a rightwing militia decide to hold exercises in the woods near Maggody. As usual, Chief of Police Arly Hanks has to solve a murder while dealing with the strangest set of characters ever to appear in a mystery.

The Moaner's Bench by Mars Hill is the southern United States boy hood experience that Angela's Ashes is to the upbringing in Ireland from a young boy's perspective. The book, Hill's first, is filled with witty stories, excellent contrasts and an unfortunate realism of the Southern United States in the first part of the 20th Century. The book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Mr. Hill's vivid explanations and interesting character development gives the reader a witty look at a strong and principled African-American family living in Arkansas in the early part of the 20th Century. Sun, the storyteller here, gives us the picture of a preacher father who could have a laugh with his children despite the difficulties surrounding him. Hill let's us laugh alongside Sun when he describes how his "papa" (M.A. Hughes) would play practical jokes on his children at their own expense. Keeping a child humble was an important part of M.A.'s job in the Moaner's Bench.

The contrast that Hill draws between a gritty old southern black smith "do-it-your-selfer" named Mr. Durbey and M.A., a smart supervisor of work gives us a vision of the time-honored Christmas classic it's a wonderful life where Frank Capra contrasts the likes of Mr. Potter and George Bailey so well. Durbey, as portrayed by Hill, is not as mean-spirited toward others as Capra portrays Potter, but the idea of how you live your life will impact what is said and who shows up at your funeral comes thorough loud and clear. Durby has no mourners at his funeral; Hughes has a packed house filled with spoken highlights of his positive life by folks who were bettered by MA.

Hill also vividly portrays the unfortunate reality that took place only a short time ago in the country that promised that all men are created equal. While the witty story unfolds though Sun Hughes, we begin to understand, as Sun does, that living in Arkansas as an African American in the early part of the 20 the Century means abiding by a different set of rules.

"Separate but equal" isn't even close to describing the mistreatment that African Americans received as told by Hill. For instance, Hill relates an event where Sun and his older brother, Elbert, are crossing a bridge with a load of wood for market. Some whites who are unable to cross first insist that Sun and Elbert back their wagon up and let them (the whites) cross first. Realizing that disobeying may result in their death, Sun and Elbert comply; it results in the wood and wagon falling down into a ditch. The reader's understanding of this event is vivid as Hill takes the time to bring the reader through the earlier part of the day where Sun, Elbert and their Dad cut and load the wood for delivery. Hill's vivid description of Sun's silent emotion sums up what any person consistently treated this way would feel:

"Bitter-tasting gall boiled up from my guts and seeped into my mouth. I was consumed with a sick anger I had never known. I felt as if I was unclothed in the middle of the street with hundreds watching. But, most of all, I felt the swelling need to get even for the evil down by those beastly devils for absolutely no reason."

It's good, it's witty and, it's sad, but you won't regret reading it.

i really enjoyed this book, it was great. I liked sun's humor when describing people. I also enjoyed mr. derby's characther. i wish the book could have ended on a happier note though.

I looked forward to this book because I have known the mourner's bench. Sadly, the book did not meet my expectations. While the descriptive details are on the money, the story develops slowly. For too long, the book simply aggregates a series of nice short stories.

I loved the opening chapters which feature tremendous conflict for Sun such as: If he will find the miracle, how to express his love for his cousin, how to escape his uncle's wrath. Also, the use of dialect was superb. Unfortunately, the remainder of the book indulges in too much memoir like description of Sun's early life without resolving so many of the issues around Sun's need for love and healing.

I enjoyed this book very much. It showed in-depth the hardships of Africa-Americans in the South during the Depression. The stories in the book were realistic and moving. It brought back memories of my childhood. The ending is tear-jerking but entertaining. Great story. I recommend this book to any reader.

This was a really good book. I could not find it in any of our local stores after a friend recomended it. I got the book in a very timely fashion and it was in good shape.

The story of Ronald Gene Simmons and the worst family mass murder in US history. These murders actually happened in my hometown of Dover, AR when I was 8 years old. The book does very well at bringing the craziness of Simmons to the forefront and will give you chills. An excellent read.

Until I picked up this book, I had no idea about the crimes committed by Gene Simmons not the Kiss musician but a man who tortured, abused, traumatized, dehumanized, etc. of his own wife, children, and relatives. Gene Simmons was a war hero who earned a Bronze Medal for his services during Vietnam. Despite a military career, Gene's obsession with order and documentation and the control of his own large family. On December 22, 1987, the book begins with an introduction of the crime about a man murdering his own family before Christmas in the Ozarks of Arkansas. The book and it's writers should be commended for writing about this case after Gene's death by execution in 1990 which is suitable punishment for his crimes which are not just murder but cold calculated murder. When you read how he planned and plotted for months for this crime spree, you just get chills to think this is how he treats his own family and people who loved him regardless of the constant abuse, heavy workloads, and a kind of life more in tune with a German concentration camp than with a normal family life. The children never got to be children but slaves to their father who forced them to work over school activities. They were barely allowed to communicate outside the family in facing their father's wrath of terror. Poor Sheila may have been the favorite daughter because she was the oldest but she paid dearly by being her father's mistress as well as the favorite child. She had been unwilling to play the mother and wife role to her own father. Even though they have a child together, Gene never believed he had done anything wrong in raping his own daughter and impregnating her. Unfortunately the New Mexico authorities never caught up with him in time, he fled to the Ozarks. No matter how much he tried to keep his children under his control, it would be more reminiscent of John List who murdered his family in Westfield, New Jersey but at least John never looked them in the eyes. Gene even had his children dig up their own graves prior to the crime spree that not only shocked the town, the state, and perhaps the world before he got caught. Gene purposely and unconsciously murdered his own family because he could not control him and that's a coward. He was afraid of disorder in the family.

I have been reading true crime for as long as I can remember. And although you always feel frustration, anger, disgust, and a wide variety of other emotions toward the murderers and sympathy for the victims and their families, this particular book hit me harder than any I have ever read. Often times I was unsure as to whether I could continue reading; not because the book was boring or not well written (quite the contrary, actually), but because of the emotions that the paragraphs describing the heartless, brutal, selfish crimes commmited by Gene Simmons evoked from me.

For writing style, detail, and organization, this is one of the best books I have ever read. As for the crime that is the foundation, it is the worst about which I have ever read.

Zero at the Bone is without a doubt one of the most horrifying accounts of family massacre ever written. Williams very clearly gets across to the reader the contents of Ronald Gene Simmons' twisted, sick mind. His obsessive lust/love for his daughter Sheila is horrifying; and the detailed steps Simmons took to wipe out his immediate family detail him as nothing less than totally mad. The reader cannot help but feel saddened for Sheila, for she is truly a victim of her father's depraved actions. Simmons' wife Becky is a tragic figure, yet she possesses a core of steel which sustains her up until her murder. Simmons is nothing short of a monster, and Williams spares no words in getting this point across. A note of caution: DO NOT read this book before bedtime!! It is capable of producing some of the worst nightmares, and I would not recommend it for those with weak constitutions. I am an Arkansas native, and remember very vividly these murders. And 15 years later, it still sends shudders down my spine.

This book fills in a gap in historical research about an exciting time for the American Circus. The book is extremely readable and extremely well researched. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the circus, the Civil War, or history.

Dan Rice: The Most Famous Man You've Never Heard Of is the fascinating and informative biography of a circus man whose fame became so great (seen as he was by more Americans of the time than just about anyone else) that at one point he ran for presidency of the United States. This compelling and superbly presented biography traces the life of Dan Rice, his rise in the public eye and the reasons behind his eventual descent into total obscurity. An amazing cultural history of America in the mid-eighteenth century as well as a close personal look at one flamboyant man who struggled through the roiling times, Dan Rice: The Most Famous Man You've Never Heard of is a biography especially recommended to circus buffs, as well as students of 19th century American life, culture, and politics!

This is a quality biography (academically), well researched and reliable, but also enjoyable to read. Its listed at 500+ pages but the text portion is 416, with a picture about every 4th page, so it's really in the 350+ range of actual text. I think the fact that Rice was an in-person spontaneous crowd entertainer of magnetic charisma, before audio/visual and scripts; it's difficult to really grasp what made him so great without seeing him in person. Reading his dialog transcripts are flat, painfully so, you had to have been there in person. I wish Carlyon had taken more artistic efforts to convey what a circus was like, what Dan was like, more time is spent on controversy and conflict with his professional peers than what actually made him so appealing. There are occasional hints of what sound like fascinating episodes in his life that never get developed. It often feels like Carlyon spent months pouring over newspaper microfiche collections, following Dan's life through the newspaper controversies (which may very well be the only way) - but as Carlyon says, Rice knew that controversy sells! One of the strengths of the book is its examination of the changing zeitgeist of America in the 19th century - this is important to understand why an entertainer is a star one decade, and yesterdays news the next, even though nothing had changed - as Dan said one day to the crowd: "What did I do wrong?", Carlyon, through the story of Rice, does a good job of conveying the changing character and nature of America between the 1840s and 1880s. This is also vital work for any student of Mark Twain or fan of Huckleberry Finn.

Indispensable for any fan of circus or clowning and
important and highly intriguing for anyone interested
in the evolution of American popular entertainment,
DAN RICE: THE MOST FAMOUS MAN YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF
is an exemplary biography.

Culled from an unbelievable amount of research, this is
the story of the rise and fall of one of the acknowledged
masters and true geniuses of American circus comedy. It
cuts through the mythology and humbug to give you the far
more interesting story of a man who embodied his era and
rose to a level of national prominence that few comedians
(let alone circus clowns) ever come close to.

Even if you have never heard of Dan Rice, you will find this
book an absolutely fascinating read from start to finish.

If you love the American circus and it's clowns, this book
is a little slice of heaven. -- EXCELSIOR!

An excellent book about an amazing American! Dan Rice is an important part of Americana and also a fascinating individual. I highly recommend this book.

Joan Hess is always a great read, but this Claire Malloy adventure wasn't up to her normal standard. Luanne and Caron were the actual stars this time, which was lots of fun, but Claire's lackadaisical parenting and business skills were just too prominently featured for me to enjoy the plot (would China Bayles give her the time of day? A smidge of personal growth wouldn't be too out of place in this series!) -- and the ending didn't make any sense, not because of the "who dunnit," but because the logistics were very questionable. Finally, not a single character mentioned the the baby to the police, even in passing? I guess I'll have to wait for the next installment to have a better "Joan Hess fix".

Potboiler; passes the time when there was nothing more interesting at the library. The cop boyfriend is a really cardboard character. A bunch of weird excentics. Won't check out any more. Try Ann Cranger or Deborah Crombie for a GOOD read.

Joan Hess is one of my favorite authors, so my opinion of Out on a Limb is biased by the fact that I was sure I would like it before I bought it.

The best part of this book was the unique storyline. As you have no doubt read the description supplied by the publisher, I won't rewrite it here. I will just say that while other humorous mystery writers use the same storylines over and over, Hess comes up with fantastic new ideas each time. I loved this story about the Green Party, and I love the recurring characters in Claire Malloy's life -- in this case, Miss Parchester.

Even if I had guessed the ending of Out on a Limb before the last page of the book, I enjoy the style of Hess' writing so greatly that I cannot wait to see what Claire will do next.

If you like the Maggody books or have read the other Claire Malloy books, I recommend this one. It's a light, easy read that will at times make you Laugh Out Loud Caron Malloy-style.

this was a fun book to read & it kept you guessing.

Claire sure knows how to get around a question when the police ask her something. She kept everyone guessing through the whole book & the ending is a surprise.

Another wonderful book by Joan Hess

Claire Malloy, bookseller and amateur sleuth, is a person I would love to have living next door. She is wickedly funny and incredibly sharp. With a cast of supporting characters who weave in and out of the main storyline, her neighborhood seems the most interesting in Farberville, Arkansas. Humor and an intriguing storyline make this a welcome addition to the Claire Malloy series which seems refreshed with every entry. I recommend them all for fun reading.

I just finished this book and thoroughly enjoyed reading about the travel adventures of this couple. It provides great ideas of places to see and places to eat when you visit in a very amusing, easy-to-read manner.

Get one for yourself, one for your friends, give it as a gift...spread the fun and joy of travelling!

This book reads like a junior high school student's "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" essay. About every third paragraph starts with "Anyway...". In fact, in Chapter 21, three paragraphs in a row start that way. It's full of redundancies, misused words, poor punctuation and typos. The author invites you to blame these inadequacies on the editor, and refers to the reader "who actually spent money on this book without knowing the mess they're getting into by reading it." I thought this was self-deprecating humor, but it should serve as an actual warning. As should the picture on the front cover. I learned almost nothing about the couple's relationship, and very little about the places they visited, other that what they ate at each restaurant, and how long it took them to drive to the airport. (That's a slight exaggeration, but not by much). This book was very disappointing.

This is the best present you could give your newlywed friends!!
It is funny, charming and teaches valueable lessons on communicating and exploring with your new soulmate. I would even recommend it for those who wish to strenghen a long term relationship. Its the best [money] you will ever spend!!!

This book was quite possibly one of the funniest things I have read in a long time! The author, Dominick Miserandino, is a very wise newlywed--it's much easier to be married while traveling to different places instead of hearing the wife nagging to take out the trash! They did travel to many different places, almost as an extension of the Honeymoon this first year. It also offered a good perspective on travel stories, which at times can be bland and boring. I can't wait to see the next installment--maybe How to Raise Kids While on the Road????

I bought 3 copies of this book for friend's of mine getting married. Beyond they travel story aspect, it tells about marriage and relationships from the perspective of the guy.