New York Books

I love this book. The origin of X-23 is a much better story than I was expecting - better than Target X. There were several plot twists that I didn't see coming, and the death of Sue, X-23's "mother" at the end is one of the more poignant moments in comics. As for NYX, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but as a teenage mutants on the loose in Alphabet City discovering their powers, I found the Runaways-esque feel of the book to be right up my alley. The main character is a great blend of street smarts and just plain cuteness. Some very adult themes in both stories. I loved every page and will definitely read it again.

...Would be soo good. I mean, Wow! that was a pretty stupid idea to make a Wolverine's daughter. But ut actually came out great! don't believe it? Just try it out!

A must for every X-Men fan.

To me, this is an X-Men-ized & far darker version of `GunslingerGirl.' (which is already quite dark) of the age-old question, `Who is really the monster?' & the reverse of an age-old question, `At what point does a man become a machine?'

I've never been one for super heroes; nothing against them, they simply aren't my genre of interest. However the X-Men have always been an exception for me, with their captivating villains, back stories, & genuinely complex social explorations. & with its thick science-fiction atmosphere & heavy, suffocating subtext, I can sincerely claim that X-23: Innocence Lost is a must read for all X-Men fans, maybe even for all comic book fans in general.

Dr Sarah Kinney has been called to a science institute to assist with the assembly of a new `weapon X', a clone of the escapee human-engineered super mutant `Wolverine'. But Sarah's been numb for a long time now, emotionally detached from humanity, & doesn't realize it until too late--she is creating a child, not a weapon.
The story's backbone is of parental love & loss of freedom; with perhaps the most monstrous villain I have ever seen for the fact that we watch him grow from an envious & arrogant doctor into something not human who doesn't even realize how truly evil he has become, & even more chilling is that he is not an over-the-top villain but someone who you could actually & unfortunately meet; & is aided by a grimly black climax & surprisingly upsetting ending.
There is a potent emotional & disturbing power behind this work & it haunts you long after closing its covers.
Despite some flaws in the art, the bizarre yet vivid color palate somehow intensifies the cold, lonely feeling of isolation, & the characters are given soul-filled eyes that pierce.

So what is the answer to this question...?

4.5 stars rounded up.

I would also recommend the rare-to-find series 'NYX: Wannabe', the first 2 exhilarating volumes of `New X-Men: childhood's end', as well as 'X-23: Target X' by the same authors, though all pale in comparison to this inspired gem.

What a story. Ugly & brutal and yet heart-wrenching. This is truly an extraordinary graphic novel. If I had one complaint, it would be that the artwork definitely follows the anime tradition, and I personally prefer more a realistic style.

First of all, I am new to the X-Men, so I can't very well judge what the seasoned fanatics will think of this. After all, the X-Men themselves don't even appear- except for a flashback showing Wolverine.

But make no mistake- this story is brilliant.

Here's what you should note:

1.) The drama is very real here. It is a highly emotional plot that works so well that it would probably make a darn good movie.

2.) There is plenty of action, all of which is wonderfully illustrated- and note that there is more than a little bloodshed.

I hope this is enough to help you make a judgement. But please, even if you don't read it now, read it SOON. The story is absolutely engrossing and I believe that the character X-23/Laura has the potential to become exceptionally popular among fans.

i knew mike and his mom for a few years and this is a beautiful book, real and touching....i know what its like to loose a parent and i wish i could write something as beautiful as this....

I knew Mike, (MDR) or M. Dylan Raskin in college. I always knew he loved his mother, Fran, and what a way to to bring her memory to life.I read this book in a couple of hours and did not have a dry eye as i read it . The love that Mike had and has for Fran is inmeasurable.

I lost touch with Mike over the years and how truly sorry I am for that . Mike is a special writer and was and will always be a great friend to me.
If you are reading this Mike, I would love to hear from you..
Michelle Schnepf
softballlover27@verizon.net

I read this book in an hour and a half - couldn't put it down and had tears streaming down my face towards the end. Highly recommended.

I read the book in just a few short hours. More people should write books the way he does.
What an amazing way to pay tribute to someone you love more than anything in the world. By far, one of my favorite books.

I just finished Michael's book last night. Wow! Was that powerful. If at some point you get a chance to speak with him, please let him know how much I was moved by his book. Not only did he give me a chance to see into a part of his life that is also so personal to me, but it was so well-written. He truly has a fine mind. I was so amazed by his candidness and how in touch with his feelings he is. He must have been a great support to Fran during her illness. His love for her leaped off every page. Fran was always so special to me. I always looked up to her. She was so beautiful, witty and bright. What a great love story. Please thank him for me. Love, R [Fran's cousin]

I really enjoyed this book. Gold's writing style is very unorthodox but I think this allows you to feel the emotion in his words. This story really makes you appreciate the issues that these poor Jewish immigrants faced and confirms that the American Dream certainly is possible as we have the luxury today in 2007 to evaluate the situations of many of these character's descendants. These people worked hard and helped each other and therefore made better lives for their future generations.

A book you won't be able to put down. Gold does an excellent job in conveying to the reader the very hard lives of immigrant adults and children who lived in poverty. This book should be part of the curriculum in high schools. Although I was raised in NY I knew nothing about the hardships that immigrants went through in NY.

The only thing marring this important work is the introduction by Alfred Kazin which maligns the novel and Michael Gold and leaves the reader wondering if the publisher is really trying to promote the book. The introduction probably is the result of old grudges from bygone politically motivated "cultural wars" between Jewish writers. The author's widow was deeply upset by the underhanded and cowardly introduction.

"Jews without money" seems to me far more remarkable for its political positions than for its writing. Gold is, to put it bluntly, not a particularly skilled wordsmith. His limitations are obvious from the first page. Nevertheless this novel/memoir makes for fascinating reading. The book consists of a series of loosely connected vignettes from the life of a child growing up in the Lower East Side at the turn of the century. Gold wants to capture the sights and smells and sensations of that world, and while his prose is not quite up to the task, the reader still comes away powerfully moved.

What seems to be unique about Gold's account is his political bent. Rather than softening or sentimentalizing his experiences, he picks at scabs and pulls back the curtain to reveal horrors to his readers. As a devoted socialist, he wants to expose the evils of unrestrained capitalism. What that means for him is, rather than denying anti-Semitic stereotypes, he revels in them. Gold he wants the reader to understand that they are the result, not of Jewish culture, but of the effects of American ghetto poverty upon the Jews of his neighborhood. Povery, he aruges, turns potential into corruption. His is a world in which people will do anything for a few pennies, often all that stands between them and starvation. On the other hand, his world is also populated by characters who remain strong despite their suffering: his mother, who would rather go hungry than see a stranger starve; the foolish store-owner, who loses her livelihood because she cannot stand to turn away the poor. There are also desperate prostitutes, rapacious pawn brokers, crooked businessmen, and dreamers and schemers of all sorts.

This book lacks the literary ambition of Henry Roth's "Call it Sleep" or the narrative power of Abraham Cahan's "Rise of David Levinsky" (in my opinion, the finest novel ever about the Jewish immigrant experience). This is a political tract, and sometimes its dogma is rather irritating, even offensive. Nevertheless, it is a significant and important document of early 20th-century Jewish culture, and deserves to be read.

This is a masterpiece that has lost none of its power since it was first published 70 years ago. The book hooks you from the first paragraph and never lets go.

The news about public school education has been bad for almost 30 years. Statistics published by city, state, and federal information banks show that kids are just not learning what they need to know, schools are overcome with violence, teachers are demoralized, and yet billions of dollars are literally shovelled into the system. Where does this money go, we have all asked,as we walk down our children's school hallways and have seen the paint falling off the walls and ceilings, the broken desks and chairs, and we have heard about the lack of services and resources going to our kids. There has been little documentation of the misappropriation of these funds until now. Lydia Segal has written an excellent and important book on this topic that will become THE textbook on corruption, theft, fraud, and patronage within the Board of Education not only in New York City, but also in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Lydia Segal, a former Investigator of the New York City public schools, says that very little of the dollars allocated to students in our public schools actually gets used by them. She details how coding problems, the procurement process, compartmentalization and opacity of information leave administrators with only two options: good corruption (which ultimately helps the kids) and bad corruption (which never helps anyone but the perpetrator and his/her allies and accomplices). Indeed, the system fights those who try the good corruption route. Ms. Segal describes in graphic detail the "godfathers" and "godmothers" (the school board members), who obtain jobs for their "pieces". Furthermore, no one who reads her chapter "Lessons From Local Political School Control", with the sub-headings "How Language Illuminates the Pathology", "No Real Accountability", "The Ease of Building a Patronage Army", "Controlling the Tools For Patronage", and "Exploiting Parents' Poverty" will ever listen to a school Principal, Superintendent, or School Board official in the same way. Our perception of public school education is changed forever by this book.
The pathology of this corruption suggests the remedy, Ms. Segal says, which is decentralization of power into the schools and the hands of the Principals. The 52 pages of footnotes, interviews, and reference materials as well as the easy reading style make every word Ms. Segal writes believable, although depressing. There is no question, however, that anyone who is interested in school reform and/or who works toward a goal of establishing an education system that puts children first must read this book.

I almost did not buy this book. I would like to understand why our schools are doing such a bad job at educating our kids. The title to this book suggested a narrow focus on issues such as bribery, which, while interesting to a District Attorney, do not seem central to the problem.

What I discovered, however, is that this book really covers alot more ground that the title suggests. Yes, Segal is a lawyer, and she started out in this area by investigating honest to goodness corruption. She is concerned about bribery, waste and abuse, all of which are larger problems than I had realized.

The book goes way beyond those relatively small issues, however. It really gets to the heart of WHY our schools stink, in a way that I have not seen anyone else do. What Segal really gets into are the reasons why our largest school districts are such ossified bureaucratic dinosaurs. She tells a number of really hair-raising stories about how totally the system does not care about efficiency or educational quality, and, perhaps more imporartant, she explains WHY the system can not care. It is a very interesting story. It goes back to the early 20th century when the Progressive Movement was fighting urban corruption, and scientific management was all the rage. The bottom line, however, is that our large systems have fundamental, systematic problems that make it astonishing that they teach as well as they do. As Segal makes very clear, tinkering around the edges with curriculum reform and such like will do next to nothing, until the organizations are fundamentally retooled so that basic efficiency and educational quality become a focus again. As things stand, there is so much red tape, so much administrative ho-ha and general bureaucratic nightmares that there is no possible way that the system can deliver a quality product at a reasonable price.

Very important book.

As a mother of two, facing the tough choice between public and private schools, I found this book full of critical insights as to how the public schools really work. Segal's analysis of the perverse incentives, corruption, and overwhelming bureaucracy that are dragging down our schools is compelling and persuasive. Her suggestions for what should be done to fix the system are intelligent and long overdue. Everyone with school-age kids should read this book now!

A real eye-opener, this very well-written and powerfully argued book finally helped me understand why
urban public schools never seem to have enough money
to educate our children despite repeated national and local efforts to change that. Ms. Segal contends that waste and abuse are the primary culprits and offers thorough and persuavie doumentaion that this is indeed true.
Because she concludes that the problem is with
pathological systems, not people, she spends a good quarter of the book discussing how to overhaul the systems.
The suggestions are overwhelmingly intelligent, inspiring, and above all, realistic.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking for concrete and specific ways to improve our educational system.

A real eye-opener, this very well-written and powerfully argued book finally helped me understand why
urban public schools never seem to have enough money
to educate our children despite repeated national and local efforts to change that. Ms. Segal contends that waste and abuse are the primary culprits and offers thorough and persuasive documentation that this is indeed true.
Because she concludes that the problem is with
pathological systems, not people, she spends a good quarter of the book discussing how to overhaul the systems.
The suggestions are overwhelmingly intelligent, inspiring, and above all, realistic.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking for concrete and specific ways to improve our educational system.

I was a police officer in Maryland in the fall of 2001. I was privileged to command a group of officers from my agency for three days in New York during the relief effort.

Being there was a life-altering event. Reading this book brought all those feelings back. It is a cliché but in this instance an apt one, this book is a MUST read.

The book captures the "being-there" feelings that relate to the 9/11 event and directs these feelings and experiences into paths that can bring the reader closer to God.
The author makes the story personal without being too personal. It's a "just right" way to tell a story that would make any writer wonder where to begin. Amy Bartlett's recollection of her own 9/11 day was a good way to set the scene and to introduce herself and her pertinent thoughts. She provides a selection of personal stories gained from interviewing others, a fair sampling of the many many stories that this day caused. We will all remember "where we were when..." This is a good gift book - especially for a New Yorker to give to a non-New Yorker.

As one who was THERE, laboring for two weeks at ground zero as a firefighter and chaplain from Colorado, I can say without hesitation that Amy Bartlett captured the moment within the pages of her wonderful book.

I was moved to tears over and over as I read her descriptions of New Yorkers' reactions to this disaster. Amy allowed us to get inside her skin and relive this event as one who actually lived in Manhattan. I came as a volunteer, and only briefly touched the lives of ordinary people who lived through this. While my time was with the rescue workers, her focus was on the thousands of ordinary people who lost loved ones, and had to find the strength to go on living long after the last body part was recovered, and the last wreckage was removed.

Anyone who desires to drink deeply from the cup of sorrow endured by so many, and yet also drink freely from the waters of hope and renewal, should read this important book. History will record the facts of this tragedy, but Amy's book will forever capture the heart of the people, and their struggle to regain that which was lost. Her words give us strength to rise out of the ashes of the rubble and take the hand of God, who will never let go.

The best book I've yet read on the September 11 attacks.
Amy Bartlett makes me feel I'm there. Great writing, a moving style, and genuine insight into the tragic events of that day. By all means pick up a copy and read it!

This book is a must read. Once you pick it up you won't be able to put it down. The author has captured the essence of what really happened at ground zero. The stories are very intense. She has interviewed survivors, police, rescue workers, fireman and Lisa Beamer.

Beebo Brinker is a one of the best of the lesbian pulp fiction novels from the 1950s, and is here reprinted in all its original steamy charm and vivacious energy. Sensual, with a timeless insight into love, lust, and relationship conflicts between women, Beebo Brinker is an enduring title as erotic and compelling today as it was when its was originally published some fifty years ago.

First things first, I'm still in the process of coming out...

Secondly, I have been a bookworm ever since I can remember. I grew up reading the likes of Nancy Drew and Babysitter's Club (Ann M. Martin) and daydreaming about the heroines, wishing they weren't straight.

I am so happy I found this book. I absolutely loved it. It was very descriptive, from the pizza place to her night watching the girls dance.

I could not put it down until there were no more pages left to devour.

The characters were strong & deliciously human.

I wish I knew about this series when I was a teenager; I would have gladly snuck over to whatever side of town just to get to these books, hid them underneath my mattress with my diary...

[...].

I love how some people can make their life a living hell. Beebo is that person. I only wish that there's more information on how Beebo's relationship with Paula went and gone. I read all of Ann Bannon's books and its been a great read .

This was one of the 1st books I read when I came "OUT". I'm not a real reader & it held my attention as well as made me laugh out loud.

Although not a very difficult read, this book glimpses into the lives of gays and lesbians during the period before Stonewall, and the sexual revolution. I felt that it was a very interesting way to learn to about the lifestyles of gays and lesbians during that time period, and on top of that it was a great story that makes you want to read it from cover to cover.

Great pictures of old New York!
Very good comanion to New York Changing since not all the images Ms. Abbott captured are in there.

This book is a great choice for those who love great photography, Berenice Abbott fans, those who are interested in the history of New York in the 1930s, and those who would like to enjoy a little nostalgia about their formative years in that magnificent city.

Berenice Abbott returned from 8 years in Europe at age 30 in January 1929, planning on a short stay. Instead, she was transfixed by the changes in the New York City scene, and became obsessed by the opportunity to capture it photographically. For the next 10 years this was her focus.

During the depths of the Depression, she was able to obtain a grant from the WPA to work with the Museum of the City of New York to create an exhaustive photographic essay of the city. This book contains the finest flowers of that remarkable assignment in 305 black and white photographs, a biographical essay about Abbott, maps of where the photographs were taken, and extensive notes on the locations and the photographic perspectives used.

The biographical essay was made more interesting by describing Abbott's strenuous financial and promotional efforts to support Atget's collection, while staving off poverty herself. The many fights over how to do the New York City project also make good reading as background for the images. Independent by nature, that quality of Abbott's probably improved the result in this case.

The presentation of the images is organized around the different geographical sections of Manhattan and the other boroughs, especially Brooklyn. As a result, you get a sense of neighborhoods as well as of individual images and locations.

As someone who learned photography from Man Ray, Abbott is a good student of abstract methods, and she subtly captures the surreal and the predominant design feeling contained in these subjects. Her works that are most like Man Ray's were the ones that most attracted me. I am very impressed by the encyclopedic knowledge that she must have developed of New York City to locate so many rewarding sights for us to consider.

My only quibble about the book was that in some sections the reproduction was too dark, so that details were unnecessarily lost that would have been of interest. But the page sizes were good for the images being presented, the design is solid, and the overall print quality was good.

My favorite images in the book were:

Immigration Building, Ellis Island

Theoline, Pier 11, East River

Tugboats, Pier 11, East River

City Arabesque

Brooklyn Bridge with Pier 21, Pennsylvania Railroad

Henry Street

Manhattan Bridge

Gunsmith

Hot Dog Stand

Wrought Iron Ornament

Doorway, 204 West 13th Street

Fifth Avenue Theatre, Orchestra, Boxes, First and Second Balconies

Father Duffy [wrapped like a Christo], Times Square

Gramercy Park West, Nos. 3-4

J.P. Morgan House

Murray Hill Hotel, Spiral

Billie's Bar

Wheelock House

Watuppa, from Brooklyn Waterfront

Even though your photography may not be as good as you like, there is a lot of human value in making such a pictoral history of where you live. You can use this volume to get ideas for compositions and shooting angles. In this way, you can deepen your appreciation for Abbott's work.

Capture the important truths around you for all to see!

This book is a fascinating pictorial history of New York during the '30s as shown through the beautiful duotone plates that Bernice Abbott took between 1935-1939. These pictures were taken as part of the Work's Progress Administration sponsorship of the arts. The clarity of the pictures combined with the excellent reproduction in the book makes this a must have for anyone who wants to see exactly what New York was like right after the Depression and before the war. It is like stepping back in time and seeing life as it was. The high contrast of the plates brings out tremendous details and these pictures beg for closer examination to really pick up the feel of the era - the signs in the windows for 10 cent haircuts or the hardware store with all of the goods splayed out on the street with handmade signs showing the prices. All of this adds to the visual wonder of this book. This book is far more than a coffee table edition. It is a reference unlike any other about New York.

Granted this is an expensive book (or the hardback edition is), but to anyone interested in what New York City looked like in the latter half of the 30's, or fans of Abbott's work, or of WPA photography, it's well worth it. You'll notice details here that you missed in the Dover reprint "New York in the Thirties" and there are many more photos here as well, quite a few seeing publication for the first time. There's loads of ancillary information too, including maps that indicate exactly where in New York each photo was taken. This book is a treasurehouse.

This book is wonderful. The author has produced a perfect book. It is very faithful to Abbott's vision. Abbott has an unerring eye. Notice all the signage. It is everywhere. On sides of buildings. In windows. Above buildings on the roof. By comparison, we live in a visually impoverished age.

I was staying at 60 Thompson and our concierge suggested the BlackBook guide. It was extremely useful in finding hot spots around the city. BlackBook guides also make great gifts for friends who are going to the city.

Often stuck in a rut when deciding where to go out at night, I picked up the BlackBook Guide to New York upon a recommendation from a buddy of mine. As a resident New Yorker, I must say, I was definitely impressed. This book truly captured the essence of my favorite local spots and helped to open my eyes to many other night-spots that I never would have known about otherwise. Ignoring the countless tired, old, been-there-done-that types of places, this book seems to include only those places that I actually would enjoy. It certainly makes Zagat's seem geriatric in comparison.

The BlackBook Guide to New York is better than any other I've read. What I especially like about it are the detailed maps that it provides, marking all of the spots that it reviews. Other excellent features include subway directions for each location, something that most other guide books don't provide.

The guide is organized in a very logical way. Tabs on the side divide it into larger regions, while it is further divided into neighborhoods within each region. All you have to do is choose the area you want to visit, and it lays out several excellent options for dining or partying.

Probably my favorite feature is its extensive listings for Brooklyn, which is a really hip and up and coming area that no other guide book is covering. The fact that the Brooklyn entries are almost as extensive as the Manhattan ones really shows that the people at BlackBook know what is happening right now in New York.

Really the only drawback I can find is that it is not terribly comprehensive. It has far fewer listings that most other books, but the reviews for the places it does list are really helpful in deciding where to visit. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to go out on the town in New York.

I love the BlackBook Guide series (used to be the BlackBook list), because the entries are pre-selected by the editors of BlackBook Magazine as the best restaurants, bars, and clubs in the city. Each entry gives you a really good idea of what type of food, service, decor, crowd the venue has, and the writers add humor to the reviews so that they are fun to read. Unlike Zagats, which lets customers rate, the BlackBook Guide is like always having that one cool friend around who always knows just where to go.

As someone determined to squeeze everything possible out of any trip, I can honestly say that BlackBook produces the best city guides I've encountered. I've lived in NYC for two years and I decided to check out BlackBook's guide to New York. As I expected, this guide is spot-on accurate. The reviews evoke the atmosphere of my favorite places in a few words: The Indian restaurant Banjara is "genial and dusky" while Café Gitane's "soothing pastel colors" make it comfortable lunch spot. Although the descriptions in this guide are short, they're right on the money. The editors call Café Gitane a "Europhile's wet dream" (true), and point out that while electronic/world music club Nublu has a "clever, mellow space and lush, jungly back garden," the lack of sign out front is the ultimate purveyor of the club's cool.

The observations in these books, along with the array of other necessary information that they provide makes these guides credible and useful. For restaurants, the guide includes the average price of a two-course meal and a drink at the end of each review, as well as symbols indicating which places are new, cash-only, really inexpensive, or editors' picks. They also factor noise level, elbow room, and the clientele into the reviews. I agree with the judgment in these guides: BlackBook definitely has a New Yorker's perspective, but the editors pull back and see each neighborhood in the larger context that most New Yorkers have forgotten about. They point out that while much of Nolita/Little Italy's has been gentrified, "a distinct Old World Charm lingers," and they recommend a night trip to Chinatown for "delectable, exotic and well-priced" meals, where the fun is enhanced by Chinatown's mysterious nightime aura. I also agree with BlackBook's naming of the Bowery Ballroom and Northsix as among the best places to hear live music. This is a selective list, so the guide doesn't include every bar, club, or restaurant that I like. I do wish this guidebook was a little more comprehensive, but I think they're trying to give you a review of noteworthy places. Although BlackBook's lists (like BlackBook Magazine) seem to be geared toward a cutting-edge readership, these guides are accessible. No matter who you are, I think you can gauge from the write-ups whether you'd like a place or not.



4.5 out of 5 stars

The novel is an interesting story about a man's experiences in the financial industry and his struggles with himself given the ethics of that industry. The author does an excellent job of explaining basic financial concepts so that the reader gets an education in that world, and this makes the book more interesting.

This book has it all--terrific locations, love, sex, and greed, with a main character--Nick Larson--that you just have to root for as he struggles with right and wrong. The author hits the nail on the head with the backroom shenanigans of the financial market. He clearly knows the ins and outs of the financial world. The story portrayed could easily be tomorrow's headline.

Having a background in the securities industry along with twenty five years in he oil and gas business, I was astonished at how Mr. Issacman wove such a realistice story that was so thoroughly enjoyable. I literally could not put the book down.

Even though I have a background in both industries, this book would be of interest to anyone seeking the enjoyment of a well written novel of intrigue that also captures the timeliness of corporate coruption in business today.

max isaacman did a great job describing the pump and dump of a houston oil stock--he also showsthe very human side of a stockbroker who is searching to do good--he is lonely but has to make a living--a onetime big producer -sucessfull broker but when his wife dies --things begin happening to hime--a very human story--a fast exciting read that you can not put down--mr isaacman is the louie lamore for stock traders and investors--

I've read a couple of books on investing in the stock market by Max Isaacman and found them interesting and informative. The problem is that books about the market go out of date quickly, depending upon the cycle. Max's latest is a novel, "Blizzard of Money," and while also about the stock market, it isn't going out of date anytime soon. It is a thrill a minute ride through the world of international oil intrigue, wheeler-dealers, financiers, analysts and stock brokers with a heroin, Nick Larson, whom you can't help but like.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book is that I feel I know, or at least recognize, many of the characters. From Nick Larson to his special friend, Linda, deceased wife, Julie, oil tycoon, Bret Wells, money manager, Lenny Zellon and so on, I've believe I've met them all. Another thing that amazes is that the author weaves a yarn with a topic that is, or certainly could be, current news. It is sort of a cross between the old film, "Wall Street," and the more recent film, "Boiler Room."

In our current world we have been swamped with news of boardroom antics and financial manipulation. The headlines have screamed Enron, WorldCom and Tyco. This novel is so real you feel you can almost add the name Nugget Petroleum of Houston to the current roster. Does a Houston setting have a familiar ring? When you add in other wonderful venues such as San Francisco and Buenos Aires you have a novel that has real glamour locations as its backdrop.

This author knows of that which he speaks. He has constructed a story of suspense that is both timely and interesting. It will appeal to those people who are not in the financial arena as well as those that are. While you may not read the entire book in one night it will certainly keep you enough in suspense to finish it in two.

I found myself overlooking the rough edges in this book and simply enjoying experience of being held in the hands of a true storyteller. I am not a boxer and don't frequent Hell's Kitchen but after ten pages I was completely invested in the lives of the characters. The author's compassion and heart come through in every scene. Buy this book and enjoy it!

This is a strong, compelling first novel written by an author who brings compassion and heart to each of his characters. I recommend it highly.

Matt Bloom has created not only a tale of moral struggle, but has evoked disturbingly real, multi-faceted characters that draw one in not by
contrived heroism or allegory, but by unflinching attention to gut realism. He does not sweeten his characters or scenarios to make them artificially sympathetic, but displays a finely honed sensitivity and courage to face and evoke the emptiness and search for authenticity of his range of characters and experience. This is all accomplished with the skill and depth possessed only by a true writer, one who yearns to and succeeds at creating new and genuine realities.

I not only had the pleasure of watching Matt immerse himself in disparate lifestyles in order to feed his writing over the years, but I boxed lots of rounds with him. It is an honor to have seen him turn his cultivated, unpretentious talent, his hours of training and taking (and slipping - he's really good in the ring) punches, and his uncompromised immersion into life, and turn them into literature that is both memorably fine and a pleasure to experience. Highly recommended.

In Blue Paradise, Matt Bloom creates a vivid landscape of stragglers and ragged souls - but you could never call them losers, for one of Bloom's gifts as a writer is that his characters live within the real world, where hope is always a choice, for those who reach for it.

This novel is full of great characters populating a world the reader can see, hear and almost touch. It's a difficult, painful world - one might even say it's sordid in many ways, but I have to say that the author's sympathy and understanding,not to be confused with sentimentality, for his characters brings a strong sense of realism and complexity to this work.

Of course, it's fundamentally a great story, with a good dose of suspense and an ending that, quite frankly, gives me goosebumps.

I just can't resist checking out fresh young voices whose books deal with New York City sleaze and whose main characters are named Nick.

Nick is a young bartender in a working class bar in the west 40's. He is a boxer who is training for his big fight. Naturally, the local mob figures want him to throw the fight. His best friend, Jimmy, is a loser who patronizes massage and porn parlors, drinks too much, and always is trying schemes that don't work. The author uses simple words but yet gets into the heart and soul of the characters. I felt their reality as they moved about in their world, breathed the dust on the West Side Highway, smelled the beer in the bar, felt the mugginess of the summer heat wave. More characterization than story, but I still couldn't stop reading. A good first novel and an author to watch. Recommended.