Montana Books

I'm not sure how this novel escaped me when first published, but it has pushed to the front of my summer reading. Challenging but worth it.

I loved this book when I was in my very early twenties, it was "must" reading among young men that were into martial arts in the early 80s. However, perspective changes with age and the only well developed character in the story is the main character, the other characters really have no development at all and are very cartoonish. It is easy to get into if you are on vacation and want to relax on a beach.

The protagonist is an interesting, complex man. I had a great time reading about his life and his development. I recommend this book just because of that.

The over-all plot (hero vs. "Mother") is pretty poor, however. Not only are the Bad Guys(tm) made out of thin cardboard, but the flow of the plot itself is too predictable.

This is an amazing book. I read it years ago and lost my copy. When I saw it on Amazon, I had to order it. When it arrived I sat right down and rememberred why I liked this book so much. The story is exceptional, the history lesson, even in a fictional setting is excellent and Trevanian once again captures the readers attention and holds them until the very end.

I reread this book recently and really shouldn't have bothered. Still I learnt some new things.The Japanese atrocities in WW2 were OK, they did it in a very cultured and subtle way whilst playing Go.Members of Basque ETA are funny and fond of caving, very reassuring if you've just been blown up by a ETA bomb. Americans are big,stupid,smelly and sadistic.
The plot has holes in it big enough to drive a bus through and revolves around one man taking on an all powerful shadowy organisation that rules the world. But this is no ordinary man, he is an EXPERT, at everything.Give him a toothbrush, put him in a room full of ninja and they'll all be dead in seconds. Naturally he's an expert lover etc etc.
Much of the book details his youth spent amongst the misunderstood Japanese, pretty tedious. Parts of the book have our hero moralising against all things Western, and this is coming from a sociopathic professional assasin living in a French chateau - it would be nice to think this is meant to be sarcasm, sadly not.Any moral or political message in this book is hopelessly confused and would satisfy only a 16 year old conspiracy theorist. The villains are horribly two dimensional, only Japanese generals deserve the five star treatment.
So Trevanian doesn't like Americans, we get it OK !

I agree with some of the reviewers below who stated that this is a good introductory book. Its well written and very easy to read. That being said, it doesn't contain nearly the level of detail as other books, written by both "sides" (i.e., Bremer's memoir or Ferguson's No End in Sight).

There's not a whole lot of analysis and it seemed that this book focused a lot more on food platters and young staffers than the more substantive issues. I mean, yes, it would have been better to have a more experienced individual in charge of reopening the Baghdad Stock Exchange. That being said, the Stock Exchange was miniscule in importance compared to the more important issues the lack of troops and the disbanding of the Iraqi army, which, in my opinion, needed more treatment.

I think it would be a mistake for us to view the problems we face as a result of the selection of young, inexperienced staffers, and to me, the book gives off that strong impression. The problems are (first) a result of not enough troops on the ground after the initial military victory (Rumsfeld) and (second) the failure to recall at least some of the Iraqi military (Jerry Bremer and Walt Slocombe). These were simply bad decisions made by 3 very experienced officials, with significant experience in both Republican and Democratic administrations.

If people were not dying in Iraqi, the follies displayed in this book could be easily dismissed as a bad joke, just more of the same old well-known superpower hubris. Or as John Le Carre put it so elegantly in the cover notes: "a Black Comedy, set in the graveyard of the neoconservatives dream."

Since it is not merely a case of hubris, all true American patriots must now be worried about the health and continued life of the American Empire. As a "closeted ex-Republican," the incompetence showcased in this book makes even my stomach turn. It is not just the incompetence; which is staggering, that bothers me, but that this book finally confirms what I already knew: that from the President on down, there is no adult supervision in an administration that sorely needs it.

Since I have worked with some of them, I have no doubt that Paul Wolfowitz, Doug Feith, Condy Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and even Dick Chaney are competent, as individuals, and when they are operating under suitable adult supervision; however, this book points to something much larger than mere hubris, or even mere incompetence, with which we are already familiar through the likes of no WMDs, Katrina, Abu Ghraib, the sub-prime lending melt-down, no follow-up plan after the invasion, the healthcare gift to the drug and insurance companies, and the "mission accomplished" grandstanding. What the details of this book suggest is that a lot more than mere world-class incompetence and hubris are "in play": Here is a witches brew of incompetence, cultural insensitivity, ideological arrogance, and a kind of "classism" that parallels and mimics exactly the image that Saddam Hussein himself projected while he was in power. Go figure?

For those of us who did not know it, the "Green Zone," is situated in one of Saddam Hussein's "Republican Palaces," outfitted with all of the opulence of a petty Third World Potentate, but with an American twist: swimming pools, food, water, fruit loops and pork hot dogs (for the Moslem servants to handle) air-lifted in daily, seven sports bars with wide-screen TVs, with most of the soldiers strutting around with 9mm Berettas strapped to their waists. The motto of this "Texas Enclave in the Desert," says it all: "Keep the air in the bubble."

This "Little Texas on the Tigris," is not just obscene, it is an utter embarrassment to a self-confident and mature democracy. It alone goes a long way towards defeating the very purpose of our being there: to bring to the Iraqi people a new sense of what a true democracy means and can be.

With the kind of behavior chronicled in this book, we Americans should not be surprised that ordinary Iraqis would want us out of there in the worse kind of way. But our culturally insensitive behavior is just the icing on the cake of this monumental tragedy for them. Their main reason for wanting us out is that after five years and over 100, 000 Iraqi deaths, even the normal amenities of clean water and sewage, electrical power, and security are still not up to the level of the Saddam Hussein era. How shameful is that? What a nightmare for both Iraq and America.

Because it is just a computer dump of a reporter's logbook, obviously put together quickly, without any in-depth analysis, I give the book four stars.

This is an excellent book that stands out among the host of books that have been written about the Iraq war. The thing that makes it stand out is that it reads like a novel. A scary novel of course. It details the fiasco that has unfolded in Iraq due to poor planning, poor leadership, and the desire to reward loyalty over competency.

This book was on the NY Best Seller list for a while and I finally got around to buying it after the price had gone down. This is a non-fictional account of the beginning of the Iraq diplomacy by the US and the operations that ran inside the walls of the "little america" called the Green Zone.

It accounts of the living conditions, the attitudes, the progress of the consistent and willful, while also documenting the failings of many due to ineptitude of accepting middle eastern culture, lack of knowledge and common sense. Basically trying to bulldoze Iraq with Bush administration's vision and not the people of Iraq's vision.

It is quite interesting who did what and how they did it and why some were somewhat successful and why many failed to bring any stability to Iraq. Also the conditions of the living quarters of our soldiers, contractors and foreign soldiers, the condition of food, constant departmental conflicts and lack of knowledge, planning and funding seems to have set up everyone who has gone to Iraq in the first 3 years of the occupancy to fail. The feeling I got when finishing up the book was that the US government did everything to try to make the reconstruction of Iraq a miserable failure. However depressing, the book is a great first hand account of life in the Green Zone.

Since I lived for a year in Baghdad's Green Zone, I felt it was necessary for me to read what happened before I got there, under L. Paul Bremer, bureaucrat extraordinaire. That is why I recently found myself reading Imperial Life in the Emerald City, by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

To say that the Bush Administration and its chosen Iraq occupation overlords made poor choices during and immediately after the invasion of that country would be an understatement so vast that I have no words to describe how big an understatement I would be making. Reading Imperial Life in the Emerald City reinforced for me many of the reasons why I heard the impact of so many mortars during my 2005-2006 sojourn to Iraq's largest city and at the time one of the most violent if not the most violent city in the world.

I met Rajiv Chandrasekaran in Baghdad in 2006, when I credentialed him for access to military bases. The man was humble, unassuming and patient with the bureaucratic process he endured, which is much more than I can say for Geraldo Rivera, who had sycophants hanging all over him and required that we open for a special session to credential him. In any case, the book itself is superly written in a professional tone.

The damning indictments of cronyism and poor decision making due to a complete lack of understanding of the culture and history of Iraq are presented artfully, without the forced overtones of sarcasm that would have appeared had I written Imperial Life in the Emerald City.

From the story of the Iraqi expatriatate who returns post invasion to open a five-star pizza shop only to find his American customers cannot leave their fortified enclave to the tale of the minor minister who is assasinated for trying to help his country without being politically involved, to the detailed descriptions of the "little America" inside a several square mile compound in downtown Baghdad, this book is well worth reading.

I do not know if L. Paul Bremer has yet publicly admitted how arrogant and stupid many of the decisions made in that first year of occupation were, but he knows it in his heart. If he doesn't that would mean the man has no heart.

Having served in Iraq, and having been to a few locales outside the "Emerald Palace" I called the Green Zone, I still hold pain in my heart for the people I met and for their suffering. Things may be turning around now in that country. But in reading Imperial Life in the Emerald City, it becomes clear that much of the violence that wracked the country and the city of Baghdad could have been avoided if things had been done differently in the beginning. We'll never know how many died because of bad decision making, but it is clear that the numbers are in the tens of thousands and possibly much higher.

If you've ever wondered what was really going on in those first days of the occupation, you owe it to yourself to read this book. Highly recommended.

This is seriously the best book i have ever read. I was upset that the book was over. I wish Nora Roberts would make a sequel to this book. I already bought the movie and i loved it too. This is a must read.

I am NOT a reader but enjoyed the movie based on the book so decided to give the book a try. I was completely hooked after only a few chapters. To the point that I read it in 3 days, I couldn't put it down, I had to find out what happened next. Even though I knew basically what was going to happen since I'd seen the movie. Roberts gives such great detail and makes you feel as though you are there and can almost feel the emotions of the characters. It has a mystery and a great love story that are perfectly molded together. It seems to have something for whatever mood your in. The characters are descriptive and personal and you care what happens to them. The dialoge is witty,very entertaining and sensual at times. You are rooting for the sisters to make it through the year and come out a family. And you definetly want Ben and Willa to find the love they both want and deserve. This book was so captivating that I got several more Nora Roberts books and have enjoyed them all. However Montana Sky is by far my favorite of the 7 or 8 I've read so far.

This was such a great book!!!! I could not wait to turn the page. Nora Roberts out gig her self with this one!!!!!

This story centers around three sisters. Willa has lived on Mercy Ranch her entire life. Even though she grew up with her father, he never approved of her or had a nice thing to say to her. Tess is all Hollywood. She is a writer, and thrives in that environment. Then there is Lily, who is shy, and afraid of her own shadow. She has been running from her abusive ex for a long time, and longs to find somewhere she belongs. When Jack dies, all three are brought to Montana. They find out that they must live together or lose out on their inheritance. If they can survive all the twists and turns, they may have found the family each one needs.

It is a great book, and very intense read. The characters are written very well, and the secondary characters are important to the story also. A little more violence than I am comfortable with, but I think it was necessary to the story.

I have been looking forward to reading a Nora Roberts or J.D. Robb book for a few years now and i finally got started on one...Montana Sky. It started out ok and then I was very disappointed when being the animal lover that I am, i had to read graphic details of how a killer tortured and killed 4 animals and a human in a most grotesquely horrific manner. This has ruined the whole book for me and i am so disappointed that i can not finish the book now. It could have been a good story with interesting characters even though you can see right thru it and tell who will wind up with who, i really wish the author did not ruin it with these grotesque torture and killings of animals. I dont think i would want to read another one of her books because of this. I would imagine the majority of her readers are females and i am not quite sure how many females do enjoy reading of animals being tortured, killed, decapitated. Totally ruined the book and any future books by this author for me.
Big disappointment.

I have read many of Michael Crichton's books and for the most part I have not been disappointed by his works. In Disclosure Mr. Crichton does a super job educating the public about sexual harassment.
The book covers the story of Tom Sanders, and the sexual harassment threat at the work place he is charged with against his boss, and former lover, Meredtih Johnson. The story relates the constant fear men have of being accused, of sexual harassment because even if they win the case their reputation is ruined. The novel moves along at a nice steady pace, relating all the difficulties that Tom encounters. It shows how sexual harassment is a sensitive area in corporate politics while giving plenty of insight into the way corporations work. The characters are great, full of personality. I highly recommend this book. It's a great read.

Will all the guys stand up.
Thank you.
Now to your left is guy who doesn't like to be molested by a sexy superior.
He saves himself by accidentally recording it over the mobile phone.
I just love technology and scandals.

Fairly ordinary mundane sf thriller, with the main element being a nutso boss sexually harrassing one of her tech manager types. After getting shagged and being dumped she then goes way too Fatal Attraction on him. Meant to be a bit on the titillating side, I suppose, but pretty tame for all that.

DISCLOSURE isn't Michael Crichton's best novel, but it's still a gripping read. I read a lot of thrillers, and Crichton does an excellent job in this novel of generating suspense. Although I didn't find this story entirely believable, it is nonetheless highly entertaining and had me rapidly turning the pages. If you enjoy Joseph Finder's corporate thrillers, this novel is very much in the same vein.

Crichton deals with a lot of sexual politics in this story, which may turn off some people. But I thought he raised some interesting issues, and I agree with his general thesis that a claim of sexual harassment can serve as a formidable political weapon (as an attorney, I have seen this a few times myself).

Overall, DISCLOSURE is a fun and thought-provoking read by one of the best thriller writers out there.

I read this book after watching the movie. Usually the books are more enjoyable than the movie. In Disclosure, the movie is much more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong. The book is fun to read, too. Cold Eyes

A spring board to spiritualism... Wow this really opens your mind and gives you a deep understanding of life.

Someone stated that she/he could not stand the thought of reading a book that was written about another book. Since Marianne Williamson, after discovering A Course In Miracles, became a Unity Minister and a teacher of the Course, why should it not follow that she would write a book about the Course and her experience?

A Course In Miracles, for someone who has not worked with it can be very complicated, hard to understand and possibly be put aside and forgotten. When you have someone who understands and lives the Course who can then write a book based on her life changing experiences, then I applaud her.

I am working at "being" as the Course states and Marianne's works have helped me immensely. I have read this book several times and am constantly inspired by it.

I would love to read it... but it has yet to arrive!
It's been over a month!

Marianne Williamson is inspirational, motivational and honest. This book offers and opportunity to change something in ones life by looking more closely at the "Course in Miracles" and understanding how miracles occur and how they can occur for anyone. The book is eay to read, full of good examples. The only reason I gave it a 4 is that I would have liked a few more personal specific examples. That being said, there were enough examples in the book to start me thinking about my own life.

I read "A Course in Miracles" many times but I did not understand it fully. When I started reading "A Return to Love", I could not stop until I finished. The gifted author's style is wonderful. After I finished reading this book, I was able to understand what I was missing in the valuable spiritual manual" A Course in Miracles".
Thanks to Dr. Marianne Williamson.

Who would want to criticise Suzuki-roshi, perhaps the best-loved figure in American Zen, or this wise, likeable book, the result of a lifetime's dedicated practice? Still it does show up the limitations of Sôtô Zen as practised in Japan, and still more when seeded overseas.

Sôtô Zen leads to an open-ended model of practice. You sit for the sake of sitting, not to achieve anything. Your practice goes on and on like a meandering river, now swift and narrow, now broad and slow, and now troubled by rocks and rapids. Whatever happens in meditation you "let go" of it and start again tomorrow with a "beginner's mind".
The notion of aiming at Enlightenment is anathema. That is Dualistic Thinking. Aren't Practice and Enlightenment one and the same?

But read the Pali Canon. You'll find that hundreds of times the Buddha urges his listeners to work with all their strength to attain Enlightenment. Why the contradiction?
From the highest standpoint, of course you can't attain Enlightenment: in Enlightenment there is no You, no Attainment. But this is a level of truth beyond most of us. No-one was ever nourished by pictures of food and no-one was ever enlightened by repeating words like "Nonduality" or "Must avoid Dualistic Thinking".

Have you experienced a Nondual state, with self and world perceived as One? Or a state of pure Unity beyond time and space, without subject or object? Can you "drop off body and mind" like Dôgen-Zenji or "dwell without thought-coverings" as in the Heart Sutra? If the answer is No, then saying that Practice and Enlightenment are one and the same is like someone stuck out in the snow and the freezing wind, miles from home, repeating, "My house is cosy and warm; my house is cosy and warm".

Read the teachings of two Japanese Sôtô Ancestors: Dôgen-Zenji's "Zazenshin" and Keizan-Zenji's "Zazen Yojinki". Both are findable online or in John Daido Loori's book "The Art of Just Sitting".
Better still read the "Practice-Instructions" of Master Hung-chih in "Cultivating the Empty Field". Also purely Sôtô (Ts'ao-tung) in outlook, these haunting poetic paragraphs tell you as much as can be said: and all you need then is the courage to put it into practice.

I was looking for a Zen book to help relieve work stress. Reading this book helpped me understanding my ignorance. I cannot claim I now know Zen since that would defeat the author's goal of teaching "Beginner's Mind". Learning is a continuos process so Zen is a practice, not an end to understanding a subject. Other than the concept of "Begginer's Mind", I thought "No Gaining Thought" is intriguing in looking at the world and doing the things you want to do in life. A great book to go back repeatedly.

Nutshell review - This is a beautiful book on Zen. It is an excellent book both for the novice and the seasoned practitioner. There are some valuable insights and lessons in this little book for anyone interested in Zen.

Again, I'll make this review very quick. A great book, although sometimes comfusing with apparently paradoxical language (which is fairly commen in zen buddhism). That aside, this book can be very helpful for beginner as well as long-practicing buddhists. It is especially helpful for any home-practicing buddhist out there who do not have the added benefit of a zendo nearby. An even better bonus is that it can be found online for free if you look hard enough. cheers.

I can't count how many times I have read this book. this book is the rudder in my life.

I am in midst reading Harold Sherman's book THE DEAD ARE ALIVE: THEY CAN AND DO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU. Judging from the generous reviews I would love to read this book too. Sherman's book has been a revelation. I only recently re-discovered this wonderful writer and humanitarian-scholar of parapsychology and ESP since first discovering his work in the early to mid 1970's. I actually wanted to leave a comment regarding the seller of this book, Home with God: In a Life That Never Ends. The Collecktor gets (5) five stars from me. This seller is honest and has tremendous integrity and care of customers and satisfaction. I had ordered the Harold Sherman book I mentioned. It was listed with this seller but he could not find it in his inventory when he attempted to process the order. I not only received a note of apology and quick refund initially but today in the mail I received a copy of the book sent to me compliments of the seller. Such care of a customer's satisfaction and going out of the way to provide it is rare today. Kudos to this excellent vendor! I am totally amazed. Thank you B.B. of THECOLLECKTOR.
You are awesome and deserving of much success with your business!!!

I'm happy with my purchase, the book was used but in great condition and it was sent in a timely manner.

This book can help alleviate the fear about dying and change one's view about it into being something positive and not something negative. It takes concentration and imagination to comprehend, but it is worth it.

This is an excellent book for those who fear death. You will never think about it in the same way again after reading this text.

I have gone on a virtual rampage of reading books on spirituality, including all of the CWG books, several Abraham-Hicks books, books on Quantum Physics, Reincarnation, etc. but no book has made me more positive about life, and less fearful of death than than Home With God.
Contrary to some reviews I feel that it covers alot of new ground, specifically the analogies provided on the cycle of non physical and physical experiences of each human soul. I've found several quantum theory type books support the simple truths which lends further credence to the message (ie: What the Bleep movie covers alot of this). This is the definitive book of what life is FOR and ABOUT in my opinion. I read it every few months just for the positive charge.

Rather than focusing on the political aspects of a dystopia, Anderson focuses on the cultural aspects. Almost everyone has an implanted "feed" from a very young age which gives them access to unlimited information, but also seems to allow corporations unlimited access to the individual. Everyone is constantly bombarded with offers and news of sales from corporations. This has the somewhat predictable result of dumbing down the population, to the point where all they care about are stupid shows on the feed, and shopping. But wait, that sounds kind of familiar.

There are other repercussions of the feed. People seem to be developing lesions, which continue unexplained throughout the book. By the end of the book, they have become fashion statements, with people who don't have them getting them surgically implanted. But where they come from, and why, is never explained.

Also never explained is the meaning behind the attack that is described at the beginning of the book, causing several characters' feeds to malfunction. Why was the attack carried out? Did it represent some larger faction of society that was disenchanted with the feeds?

Typically, I think, dystopic novels focus on the dissenters or malcontents. Having read this book, which touches on those who rebel only slightly, I can see why that trend developed. Quite frankly, reading about people who buy into the system is just not as interesting. Still, this was a good read, with an interesting premise.

It's been a long time since I read a book aimed at "young adults" since I'm no longer in the age category, nor do I know anyone who is. I think it's always important to keep in mind the intended audience for a book, so I went into this expecting something that was going to try to reach "teens these days," and I think this book, a sort of Philip K. Dick/Anthony Burgess combo, definitely succeeds in doing that, and in a way that wasn't overly preachy or condescending.

Feed takes place in a future America where everyone can have a chip implanted when they are very young that basically streams internet and television inside your head constantly. You can communicate by a sort of combo telepathy/text messaging from one person's feed to another, or instantly look up some fact or watch a TV show. Commercials also play in your head constantly, and in a satire on direct marketing and cookie trackers, the companies that tap into your feed develop a sort of "profile" of your likes and dislikes, and thus the commercials and/or suggestions you get on what to buy are pre-geared toward something you'd likely want. You can, conveniently, also purchase items via the feed using credit.

The story follows Titus, a teen from a relatively wealthy family. He's on spring break with his friends on the Moon, which they "thought would be fun but turned out to suck," when he meets Violet, a strange, pretty girl on the Moon by herself. Titus and his friends convince her to come along to some sort of club--despite the fact that she's a little odd and uses words longer than three syllables--where the group is attacked by a hacker who infects their feeds with a virus.

The rest of the story mainly follows Titus and Violet as they build a relationship. Violet, coming from a somewhat nonconformist family, got her feed much later in life, and, thus, isn't as influenced by the illiterate consumerism as Titus and his friends (and, it seems, most of America) are. She tries to make Titus see what is actually happening in the world around him--politically, socially and environmentally--but Titus would rather tune out and watch something on his feed. If he gets really bothered, maybe he'll buy a new shirt to feel better. The lesson here for young readers is one of warning--if our current trend of text shorthand, instantaneous gratification and absolutely irresponsible consumerism and use of credit continues exponentially, we could develop into a culture similar to the one portrayed in this book. Throughout the book, the America the characters live in seems to be in constant threat of war or just complete environmental meltdown, and yet--no one (other than the few "radical" dissidents) cares. Can we become a culture that gets so obsessed with buying our way to happiness that we completely lose track of reality? Can we get so dependent on modern forms of communication that we forget how to read or speak eloquently? It's doubtful the world would ever devolve so dramatically, but it's not a warning to just quickly forget while you move on to read the newest celeb blog...

It's easy enough to compare every dystopia book to 1984 or "Brave New World". Yet here's a dystopia book directed towards a completely different audience, we, the internet generation - teenagers. Aside from the completely different sort of world, "Feed" touches on a number of entirely different themes from the most famous dystopia novels.

Yet "Feed" does the same ultimate thing "Brave New World" did for me - it made my brain hurt, provided me with some food for thought, and made me a bit nauseous. It takes me to a whole new world full of familiarities yet starkly... worse. For instance, the internet, instead of being a fundamental part of my life, IS my life and is literally jacked into my brain. Fun, right?

Well, summer vacation has taught me that the internet gets boring after a while, as do numerous other services the "feed" provides. Main character Titus tells his story loosely and somewhat confusingly (there's a lot of "modern", made-up slang - there were some words that I still didn't understand until the end of the book), but the world is clear (radiation poisoning is mentioned casually at some point, indicating towards a wider world beyond the small, teen confines of the story).

"Feed" is something of a boy's book, but it's a welcome dystopia, especially in that it's clearly its own story. It's not an easy read and catching onto the made-up slang is a bit difficult, but rather interesting. Some will see themselves reflected in these characters and even in this weird kind of world. The ending is confusing and will make you scratch your head, flipping a few pages back to understand. And while there are messages etched deep into the book, it's also simply enjoyable and thought-provoking.

Highly recommended.

The story in itself is very well written. The launguage used makes it a bit more for teens 13+ years old. I enjoyed this book alot. The ending is very disturbing, but makes you think about the world. I won't give it away, but I would still recomend this book.

In this text directed at young adults, I found myself bereft of compassion and hard to relate to the cold almost robotic emotions and actions of the cast. However, about half way into my forced endeavor (you see, this was a classroom assigned text) I found myself unable to stop reading.

It's the 1984 of a new generation. This book should be on reading lists worldwide, and more specifically on the classroom reading lists of its intended audience. The spoiled, self-centered children we are producing today could greatly benefit from reading about a world which shows the cold, artificial consequences of a consumer-driven society without human remorse. Without love. Without compassion.

This book is subtle and can use the guiding hand of an educated instructor but I truly believe it will survive as one of the great dystopian works of our time. And as much as Free Speech advocates quote Orwell today, I can only hope that my grandchildren will be quoting from Anderson when corporations are deciding the healthcare reforms of a nation so obsessed with capital gains. Then again, I can only hope that day never arrives.

Everything must go.

revenge of the wannabes is a must read for any girl age 11 or up i loved it

In the third book Alicia and Olivia win a contest at the magazine "Teen People" by switching ballot boxes. She wants to find out what it feels like to be Massie. Not only does Alicia and Olivia go to New York City to meet the editor of "Teen People" they get to be models. Massie is furious and tries her best to ruin Alicia's chances at everything.
While the dialogue between the girls in The Clique sounds like what twelve year old girls usually sound like and the parents and chauffer act and sound like the age they are that's not the case with the person at the magazine. She is just as rude, arrogant and mean as the girls in the Clique are even though she's older and holds an important job where she should sound like she's responsible. She doesn't even care when Massie pretending to be Alicia calls to tell her that the ballet boxes were switched
I keep hoping this book is a joke since in real life if an adult whose job it is to meet and greet people ever sounded like she was spoiled and rude to people who are guests at her workplace she'd be fired in a hurry. Even if she was the editor of a magazine.
But the more I keep reading it doesn't sound like the person at "Teen People" will ever apologise or explain herself by telling the girls she's been putting them on by trying to fit in with who she thought they were. Also, that the mesh thing she gave Alicia was a gag and not the next big thing like she let the girls think.
The people who want to read this book will want to see if the person at the magazine has any redeeming quality at all but it'll take some cringing to get to that point.

Again, no mattre how superficial these books are, I can't seem to stop reading them. It is true that girls should not be exposed to such shallowness as these characters, but that's the author's point: who wants to truly be like these girls?

Well, the third book starts off after some time since the Fashion Show in the point of view of overshadowed beta Alicia Rivera. She finds her rightful power as she holds court in dance classes, a refreshing experience away from Massie where she surfaces as the popular girl. With new friends from dance and Olivia, they plan to host their own sleepover, another move against Massie.

With the guilt of cheating during the fashion show, Alicia feels awful, but doesn't do anything about it. Instead, she buries herself deeper inside a whole that she can't get out, which I find stupid. Her friends know what she did, so what's the point of making it worse.

Well, it gets worse. When Massie gets hint that Alicia is starting her own clique, Alicia is declared EW. But don't think that Massie is a power-hungry brat. She felt awful for it, like any friend would if they found out they were betrayed.

So, as Alicia is out, Claire comes in. Together, she and Massie devise a plot to sabotage Alicia and Olivia's planned photoshoot with Teen People by adding themselves into the shoot. Claire has become the new Alicia and couldn't be happier, she has also snagged herself Cam Fisher. But, as always, she'll fall down to rock bottom. Seriously, why can't Lisi leave Claire alone!?

Massie's secret crush on Cam becomes not-so-secret when Alicia discovers it. This makes Massie mad, as well as finding out that he like Claire instead of her. Massie makes Claire choose, and knowing Claire, she's too wimpy to fight for what she wants. Get some backbone woman!

Meanwhile, Alicia and Olivia psychotically deal with their own drama: re-creating a duplicate of their own Pretty Committee, as well as frolicking with 11th grader Harris Fisher, Cam's brother who is old than them by 4 years! Alicia is instantly crushing, and feels that she's Alpha enough to handle him. Good luck with that sister...

The Pretty Committee starts to fall apart: Massie forces Claire to give up Cam, Kristen and Dylan's secrets are let loose because they think Massie snitched, and Alicia manipulates her way to get what she wants. Total shallow-fest, if you ask me.

But really, girls deal with this: rumors, secrets, more backstabbing, boy drama, and even more. Lisi Harrison just puts too much pettiness on top to show the true message.

In the end, the Pretty Committee is reunited once again, due to a friendship fix at the photoshoot. Or should I say, photoshoot destruction. Literally, they destroyed Christmas via fashion shoot.

In the beginning, Massie seemed to lose a lot, but towards the end, she gained back even more: a new crush on Derrington (who has a crush on her), her Beta Alicia back, Claire as a new friend, and her life back on track.

Oh yeah, and Claire is moving to Chicago. Honestly, LEAVE CLAIRE ALONE!!!

Well, all in all, this book introduced more mature themes and foreshadowed problems for the upcoming book. These books are not really my style, yet I am addicted to them.

Alicia creates her own clique that imitates Massie's pretty committee. She is pretty smug after she cheats her way into victory with Olivia. She and Olivia may have fooled the judges, but they didn't fool Massie! The pretty committee is mad and after revenge. That's just what they get! Massie's revenge humiliates Alicia beyond all reason and in the blink of an eye she manipulate and threatens the whole rest of the pretty coommittee onto her side, leaving Massie all alone. Revenge of the wannabes;the thrilling third book in the clique series by Lisi Harrison is told in Alicia's point of view.

The characters in this book are spiteful, manipulative, and shallow. But even worse than that, I feel sorry for them, and sorry for any girl who feels like she has to be fake in order to have friends. How terrible that people won't like them for who they really are.. and how awful that must feel to think that one wrong move and your best friend is now your worst enemy. The author of these books has glorified being cruel and encouraged young girls to be scared of who they are. What a heartbreaking message to send girls as they try to discover who they are. Being kind, compassionate, funny, adventurous -these are the sorts of things that maintain a friendship. Under all the glam and the glitz, Massie's character seems so lonely. She is afraid to be real with her friends, her family, and herself. Girls thinking of buying this book: you are better than this. Love yourself enough to be proud of who you are and read books that encourage you to be the incredible girl you are! Parents, if you love your daughter, pay her not to read this.

All books were new as requested. I was really surprised that the books were received so quickly. Great service! I will purchase from this person again.

I discovered the story about the Indian in the Cupboard when I saw the film based on the book. I think the book is quite good, but I would like to have more illustrations, because I'm teacher of English for Spanish students and if you want to use the story for early ages (6-8) you'll need more illustrations. But in general I liked this book very much.

It was interesting and exciting because the plot was unexpected. I liked the stories told by the characters from the cupboard and that they had past lives. Their daily lives were interesting such as the food they ate and the risks they faced. It's a good book to read for kids.

As an educator, I am appalled when I find out that other teachers still use this book in their classrooms without discussing the egregious misrepresentation of Native Americans throughout this book. While this book has won critical acclaim for its writing, no level of fine writing will make up for the damage it does to the image of Native Americans. This book portrays Native Americans as unintelligent savages who are ready to attack at any moment. I cringe to think of the Native child who reads this book and self-worth is shattered!

It's Omri's birthday and his brother and his friend have gotten him gifts that don't seem like the best gifts in the world. His brother gave him a cupboard that he found in an alley. And his friend, Patrick, gave him a plastic Indian figure. There's nothing too magical about these items and Omri is less than interested in them until he finds a key among his mother's extra keys that fits the cupboard.

He finds that when he puts a plastic figure in the cupboard and then locks the cupboard with that particular key, the figure comes to life! With a little experimenting, he finds that if he then locks the live figure back in, it returns to its original form.

Now Omri has a live Indian (a very small live Indian) living in his room. Sounds pretty neat, huh? Well, Omri soon finds out that it's not so easy to be responsible for another human being no matter how small they are.

The Indian's name is Little Bear and he makes demands on Omri such as asking for supplies to make a longhouse, paint for decorations and - most importantly - food. Omri has to go to great lengths to help Little Bear while at the same time keeping the Indian a secret from his family and friends. When he finally does tell his friend, Patrick, Omri regrets it.

Patrick wants to play with the cupboard but he doesn't care that the figures are occupied by real human beings with real feelings. This gets both he and Omri in trouble.

This book is an interesting look at what happens when something that seems like it would be the coolest thing can turn out to not be so fun once reality hits. It is also interesting to see the empathy that Omri has for these small beings and how he tries to care for them and show Patrick how to care for them too. It also explores the dynamics of their friendship and touches lightly on the familial interactions between son and parents and brother to brother.

While this is a book about boys, the story is not for boys alone. Girls will enjoy this story about a 'magical' experience. Boys will definitely love this and may even try locking up their action figures in every cupboard in the house to see what happens. It's a quick and interesting read for those who are easily distracted.

I am concerned about the descriptions of all the historical characters especially the Native American (as one reviewer has been specific about the 'racist' nature of it.) So I would not recommend this for someone looking for an accurate description of Native Americans, cowboys or WWI medics but perhaps it could be used to start a discussion about stereotypes. Also I would not recommend this to someone looking for a fantasy novel.