New Jersey Books

I knew Matthew H. My family knew Dick and Dawn. I've LIVED thru this horrible mess directly and have read this book. If you want to support Denise Lang and support a double murder then buy this book. I urge you to read it, absorb the horror this "person" inflicted not only on his own family, but the families who knew Dawn, Dick and Josh. Matthew should enjoy every day in prison, he will never be free thank God. Death would have been the easy way out for Matthew, and I pray every day his life is full of misery, horror, and violence he inflicted on the two people who so lovingly supported him. I hope Matthew suffers each and every day. I hope God offers him a long, long life so he can reflect daily on the horrific crimes he committed. Long life Matthew, until the day he dies and goes straight to hell.

I enjoyed reading this book and found it well written and detailed. I personally don't buy the "Adopted Child Syndrome" as an excuse for murder, nor do I think most readers will, but it was the last resort of a desperate defense team. Some of the trial scenes toward the end got a bit dry, but all in all, this book is worth reading.

I have read the Book "The Dark Son". I have also personally written to, spoken to, and visited the famed Matthew Heikkila. In my opinion, the book does not do Matthew justice, as it is written from a point of view that wasnt very well informed. The author "forgot" key points of the crime, making Matthew out to be a cold blooded, heartless murderer. Today, he is a man regretting his past, and only looking for someone to accept him for who he is now, and not who he was on a cold January day in 1991.

In this fifth book of the series, we find McLeod Dulaney again teaching her writing class in Princeton (great life: working in the South as a reporter and one semester a year teachin in New Jersey). Her emotional entanglement with the Vice President - George is over and now she is leaning into a relationship with the local police lieutenant Nick Perry.

While teaching this semester, the police come in and nab one of her students. This starts one of the two storylines in the book. Actually, this one is not original as it copies pretty well the story of James Hogue who really did get admitted to Princeton on false premises as a track star. But to get back to our story, the person who reveals Greg Pierre's real name is found dead shortly thereafter, so naturally, all suspicion resides on the student.

Well, McLeod does not believe that any student of hers is possible a murderer so she starts investigating. She goes around and asks lots of people lots of questions and the amusing parts are that the murders take place in the Chemistry department and as an English major, McLeod has no idea what chemists do. Reading some of her interviews and seeing her complete non-understanding of what she is being told is quite funny.

One of the things that I liked about this book is that it showed McLeod for what she is: a meddler who does not always get it right. About one third of the way into the book, it becomes quite obvious who the real murderer was. However, I kept trying to make someone else be the murderer as I could not believe how obvious this was. Well, McLeod has a similar problem and she ends up accusing someone else to her police paramour. Luckily, the Police have figured out who the real murderer is based on what is described as solid evidence, namely fingerprints and alibis.

the world of scientific academia is briefly explored with the author touching on how scientific labs work; the pressure to publish and the results of either publishing or perishing; the pressure to be the first and the rewards that accrue to the first to publish; and how seriously graduate students take their world. Although I have to admit, the funny line "who would want to kill a graduate student?" is repeated several times and is funny each time it's read.

I only rate this a three star as the plot was too obviously copied from the real life Princeton Impostor and otherwise clumsily entwined around a murder mystery; a murder mystery that really isn't; and a completely gratuitous second murder. Oh well, I hope the next one is much better!

We follow Professor McLeod Dulany in her 6th adventure in the vicious depths of the academic world. McLeod spends part of the year in Tallahassee at Florida State University and the other part in Princeton as a visiting professor of writing. When her prize student of the semester is escorted from her class by the local police, McLeod is justifiably upset. Following class, she confronts her friend and landlord George, a higher-up in the University administration, about the hullabaloo, only to find out that her student, Greg Pierre, is wanted for parole violation in Wyoming. McLeod works to free him from the charges, but when the informant who turned the information about Greg into the authorities is found dead on campus, even McLeod is wondering about the innocence of her favorite pupil.


Greg has an interesting story on how he got to Princeton, and McLeod believes him. She sets out to prove his innocence, only to have him turn up as the number one suspect in the murder of another student. Determined that her prize student shall finish out the semester, McLeod figures out a way to get into the chemistry department to research the murder suspect, and manages to work her way around campus providing meals for various students, digging up background information. When another chemistry student is found dead in off-campus housing, everything takes a different turn for McLeod, because now the detectives know she's been investigating - and so does the murderer.

This is my first Death is Academic murder mystery with Prof. McLeod Dulany, and most likely my last. I had a lot of problems with the naivety of the characters, but most with McLeod. Her character is a former reporter, and she's now a professor. She believes people at face value, with little or no evidence or logic applied to the situation. Having lived in the academic community for years, naïve is not a word I would use sparingly for professors, despite the author's valid point of the cloistered world of academia.

This cozy was not to my personal taste, but those who don't favor a lot of action or simply want a light read may enjoy this plot, and will probably relate to the humanities' world trying to comprehend the scientific world.

McLeod Dulaney is a Florida journalist who has landed a great gig: teaching writing at Princeton University one semester a year. Coincidentally, every time she's up in New Jersey, she's involved in a murder investigation on campus. Inquisitive by nature, McLeod makes every attempt to solve the murder. She gets close to the truth but often comes to a slightly incorrect conclusion.

In this fifth installment in the series, we learn more about the class McLeod teaches and the students she comes in contact with. Greg Pierre, her best writing student, has evidently enrolled under a pseudonym to avoid legal charges from his home out West. After a grad student alerts school authorities to Greg's deception, the informant is found murdered in the chemistry lab. McLeod comes to Greg's rescue and tries to find out who was responsible for the murder. A second murder follows, and McLeod keeps asking questions. Will she figure everything out before she's next? And what's the status of her relationship with police investigator Nick Perry? How about her housemate and host, George Bridges?

The episodes in this series are like bags of potato chips: you can't stop at just one. Though the general writing style and the unraveling of each mystery won't set the world on fire, the books are entertaining enough -- especially for folks who are connected to Princeton or to any academic atmosphere where similar circumstances could certainly arise.

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS ONE. IT'S NOTHING MORE THAN A SERIES OF BOORISH, BOASTFUL, AND SENSELESS RECOLLECTIONS.

During a time when memoirs are quite popular, it is refreshing to read one about a man whose life was truly interesting. Herbert L.Shapiro's honest, heartfelt, accessibly written memoir captures the essense of America during mid 20th century. Although the book begins at the turn of the century with his parents' arrival in the US, it Shapiro's journey during WW II and his amazing business career that began in the l950's onward that shows us the American dream. The book is both the personal and the universal in the telling of a life.

This book is what you need to become a police officer in New Jersey in todays society. Everything is clear and easy to understand and study. "This is the book we've been looking for!

NJ Civil service change its testing format, i believe back in 1998 0r 1999. It is now similar to NYPDs test. The other way to get hired in NJ is through the NJ Chiefs Association test, which is covered briefl in the book.

we also have the ny and nantucket books and this is a great addition --can't wait to get more.

We own numerous states in the collection of "good night" books and was excited to finally get the New Jersey edition as that is where I grew up and I wanted to teach my little guy a bit about the Garden State. Well, what a true dissapointment. I have loved all of the states we own, each offers wonderful sites to "visit" and some fun and interesting information about each place written in a way that really engages the child to not only look and listen or read themselves but also ask questions. The New Jersey edition is not only so incredibly repetitive and BORING but I grew up in New Jersey and I had never heard of half the places mentioned in this book, it was such a joke. PLEASE don't waste your money as I did, pass on this one, it's a complete waste. A much better alternative is the book G is for Garden State: A New Jersey Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)

These books are great! People can give directions etc, but there is
nothing like seeing it in map form with all the surrounding street
names to become familiar. When you're nearing your destination it
doesn't come up as a fast surprise, you'll know in 3 more blocks thats
my destination. These books are great helpers and I own many of them
for different areas. Won't leave home without them.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of mistakes in the outdated 2000 edition, including misspelled streets, missing streets, circles that are now intersections, and much more. Some mistakes are downright dangerous, as is the error on Monmouth County Map 10 that shows a ramp to the GSP South off of east-bound Rt. 520. If you follow the map, you'll probably get into the wrong lane. In 1997, I began to communicate with Hagstrom about some of these errors, and sent them a list of about 200 or so. Many of those changes found their way into the 2000 edition, but by then, my list had grown to well over ten pages. In 2003, I began to send Hagstrom illustrated lists concerning all three counties. However, illustrating all the mistakes proved to be extremely time-consuming, and I was only able to send them about half of the thirty pages of changes needed for Middlesex and Monmouth Counties before the Research Department told me that they were done. Although there are less than 100 actual mistakes in the new 2006 edition, the maps do not show the dozens of the many new communities that have been constructed in the last six years. I would like to create a forum for frustrated map users. If anyone is interested in linking to such a website, please email me at lagateway@gmail.com

An excellent and carefully researched study of this misunderstood and much maligned entity. Standard oil lowered the cost of kerosene so everyone could afford it - not just the wealthy. The organization was also involved in a big trade wr with Russian producers - a litle knon and very interesting story which puts "big business" in a different light.

stupid......very much so poop brain

Dentist Kenneth Taylor murders his wife Teresa 4 months after she gives birth to their first child and then drives for several days with her body in the trunk. This author had Taylor's cooperation and tries to give the story from the father's point of view. Even though Taylor cooperated with the author it couldn't dredge any sympathy for him. The real trouble starts when Taylor, after he is convicted, has his parents take the child back to their home and illegally adopt him to keep him from his wife's sister. It was almost two books in one book. I have also read In a Child's name by Peter Maas for the same story and found that book compelling also.

A good read, however, there are many references to other criminal cases for comparison. A crime buff would enjoy this, but the casual reader may not. More pictures for reference would have been interesting, but again, all in all, a good read. I would recommend it.

I like to read local/state history covering the Civil War era. There are not too many books dealing with New Jersey. Jersey Blue though is a decent book, worth a read for any Civil War enthusiast. Gillette's main contention is that New Jersey was a loyal state, not a Copperhead dominated border state similar to Kentucky. Jesey voted McClellan in 1864, the only northern state to do so, but it elected a Republican governor in 1865 and was not dominated by Peace Demoracts, but war supporters like McClellan.
Yes, it is a little dry and a little too concerned with proving Jersey's fialty to the Union cause, but Jersey Blue is still worth a read.

I find Dr. Gillette's book to be very informative of the state of New Jersey during the Civil War period. However the book, comparing them to the likes of James McPherson's Battle Cry For Freedom, his book isn't very exciting, it is that there seems to be no enthusiasm about anything. The book's writing style is what needs work, that it to any average reader would find the book boring and dry. If there was something to grab one's attention or more excitement in the writing style it would be a better book.

Riverol's research and preparation for writing this book seems almost exhaustive, but his presentation is unexciting and repetitive. With only 96 pages of text to read, 25 pages of photographs, 15 pages of footnotes, 9 pages of "works cited" and 5 pages of index , the book seems unbalanced, but Riverol admits in his foreword that this is a "scholarly" study. The most interesting portion of the book is his "Preliminary Thoughts" which speaks of how and why beauty pageants arose in history. After this initial chapter, he goes through each decade of the pageant, beginning with the 1920's. We learn from him when talent became a factor, when the "Miss Congeniality" Award began and why it was stopped in 1975, and other important changes along the way, but he only lightly discusses incidents with the contestants and winners and there is almost no dialogue in the book. Instead we see repeated program lineups, lists of preliminary winners, and finalists, in at least six key pageants. The changes that TV brought are shown as well as how the pageant survived ups and downs such as the Vanessa Williams Penthouse incident and the feminists' protests. This history of the American icon which is also the largest scholarship program for women ends at 1992, the copyright date of the book.

If you are looking for a coffee table book, this is not it. If you are looking for a book on tips for winning pageants, this is not it. If you are looking for a detailed, fully documented history of the Miss America Pageant then L.F.A.C. is your book. It is not only specific and insightful, but also looks at the pageant's evolution as a media event. It is scholarly in its approach.