Barrett Books

VERY DISAPPOINTING SEQUEL: This book regurgitates too much of the 1st book. Worth reading? Maybe! But borrow it from a library. You will be happy to return it & not have paid to purchase it.

This book didn't excite me as much as the original (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) but then again, I was a little kid when i read the first and now I am old and moldy so to speak. I think kids will still love this one! 4 stars!

Years ago, my kids had enjoyed the book "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". When I learned that there was a sequel, I immediately ordered it for my two young grandsons, along with the original. Both my husband and I were disappointed with the new book; it seemed downright silly and except for "grandpa" in the story, it didn't have too much to do with the original.

I was surprised to read all the negative reviews of this book so I had to submit my own. My son loves this book even more than the first (also one of his favorites). This one, like the first, has great illustrations, a great story, and never fails to get my little one giggling (even after reading it 100 times)!

I grew up loving the prequel Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, so I bought this book a while back to complete the collection. Upon reading it however, I was quite dissapointed...it is okay as a children's book, but as a sequel it wasn't up to par with the original. I felt that this book lacked the charm that the original had, though the message about sharing is nice I guess. All in all if you're going to buy the book based on the original, expect to be dissapointed...but if you're buying it for a kid's collection it's alright.

I bought this book after reading that this series was comparable to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series (One for the Money, etc.) Sadly, there is no comparison. There is little suspense or tension of any kind in this story. The menopausal humor never made me laugh. The dialogue is stilted, the characters are not particularly appealing. For fun mysteries with lots of laughs I suggest reading Janet Evanovich; for entertaining mysteries in a fascinating setting try Tony Hillerman.

I loved finding a detective who is middle-aged, menopausal, a mom, and employed. She is a delight and so are her friends. And the mystery was satisfactorily solved as well.

I started THE M WORD with great enthusiasm and, clearly, this mystery has its merits. The writing style of the narrative is excellent, though the dialogue often sounds stilted. The premise is clever, though the murderer--no, I won't give away the ending--seemed to be implausible, even as far as murderers go. (A good test of the plausibility of murderers in mystery books, I have found, is whether the reader can begin to imagine that particular character as the wrongdoer. Here, it would be impossible to link the crime to the resolution, and any clues are too few and too unconnected.)

Author Jane Isenberg writes with great passion about her protagonist's love of New York City. This part of the novel, for me, was the greatest display of her writing talent, as well as the part of the entire story that resonated the best.

On the other hand, she places most of the tale in a community college in New Jersey, and that actually begs the question: How many potential readers truly are interested in such a setting, regardless of how well she communicates it? Certainly, it doesn't come close to the Archy McNally mysteries in Palm Beach, or Simenon or Agatha Christie.

Still, Jane Isenberg shows enough skill as an author that I certainly will read another of her Bel Barret mysteries before coming to a conclusion about whether I want to continue with this series.

Altagracia Garcia, President of the local community college is making big changes. She's trying to get a new campus for the college, not renewing leases on several buildings they currently rent, as being unfit for use. Firing useless employee's. So it's not such a big surprise that at the Fall Festival, she drops dead from poison.

The police quickly arrest, Oscar Beckman, a Culinary Arts major who had just returned to school after being suspended for cheating in the last semester.

Bel realizes that Oscar, whose best grade outside the Culinary classes was an incomplete was no killer.

With the help of Illuminade Gutrerrez - an adjunt professor and full-time private eye and Altagracia's assistant, Betty Ramsey, Bel is determined to find out who killed the popular president. Could it be her husband who has a secret. One of the people she fired? One of the property owners who have lost income through the lost leases. Or someone else?

Highlights:

Bel's e-mail. Bel is going through menopause and has an on-line support group. The helpful suggestions they are offering are both informative and funny.

The mystery. Very good. I didn't figure it out and it took real detective work on the part of Bel and her new friends to solve it.

The supporting characters are good, especially, Illuminade & Betty. There are also, Becky & Mark. Bel's two kids. Becky is going to college in Washington, living with her boyfriend and generally keeps in touch through her e-mail. Mark is currently a nanny to two small kids.

The humor. There is a lot of humor in this book, I laughed out loud several times.

Lowlights:

Sol - Bel's live-in partner. This character is so lightweight I don't understand Bel's attraction to him. He's a retired economic professor, who's into preservation and working with Eastern European countries on their economies. Maybe he'll improve as the series goes along.

I had read a short story in the anthology book "Motherhood Is Murder" which got me interested in this character and I have bought the series and have finally started reading. Looking forward to the next book.

I think this is a heroine for our times! This is not one of those young, pouty-lipped, long-legged, blondes with whom every other male character falls in love. This is a real character with whom you want to meet for lunch and dish the dirt. This will be one of those you pass on to other female friends of a "certain age." I don't think men will like this one. They just won't get it. I also like the use of letters and emails to start off each chapter. It really helps move the story.

This was a great read and a welcome return to Ms. Walters writing. Her characters are always interesting, and created with good description. Her protagonists, especially Nancy, were very appealing to me, and I wondered where Nancy and her new relationships were headed. I wanted to get to the end to find out how everything played out; Fox Evil's end was certainly a surprise ( The same thing occurred with Marvin Gaye Sr.--brain tumor discovered after he killed Marvin Gaye, Jr) so it is entirely plausible. I read The Scold's Bridle, and The Ice House a few years ago, so I can't relate this book to either of those. Great summer book for me. Thank you.

Although not typically a big fan of British mysteries and the like, this was "bloody well" entertaining. I enjoyed the characters more in Fox Evil than her other novel Acid Row, which isn't as easy & light as this book and has more challenging complex characters. Fox Evil has good characters though, who you really grow to like...and the evil character is this story really is-you hate him. Scheming middle aged housewife brats, husbands having affairs with spoiled twenty-somethings, it's got it all without going too far over the top. Has all the elements for a good mystery with the twists and turn along the way to keep you turning pages.

I enjoyed that the female lead is not some screaming sod ninny who waits for the knife to descend on her, but is a successful career soldier who's smart-smart enough to be afraid, but also to fight back. This is great vacation or weekend book, a good summer read. I recommend it.

In a small village in Dorset, an elderly woman is found dead on her patio covered in blood. Suspicion is immediately thrown on her husband, Colonel James Lockyer-Fox. The question is what does he gain by her death?
Suspicion soon falls on others including a group of squatters that have moved in on land adjacent to the Lockyer-Fox manor. In this group is a psychopath named Fox Evil who is quite capable of the murder. James looks for his illegitimate and only granddaughter, Captain Nancy Smith. Why? There are many mysteries to be answered in this incredibly complex and confusing mess of a book.
Minette Walters has written several uneven books over the last five years. However, last year's ACID ROW was one of her best works since the incredible THE SCULPTRESS. Her current work sets new standards for complex psychodramas that are so complicated it borders on incomprehensibility. There are still moments of genius in the writing with her ability to set atmosphere and create realistic and powerful characters. . However, the plot is so dense the reader might lose all interest or wrack their brain cells trying

Col. James Lockyer-Fox's wife, Ailsa, died under mysterious circumstances-locked out in the cold, clad in a nightgown and boots. Though James is absolved of responsibility for her death, two middle-age harpies and a mysterious male embark on a campaign of nuisance calls, accusing James not only of murdering his wife, but of other despicable acts as well. Her death and the constant barrage of nasty calls throw the elderly James into a deep depression.

Upon his request, his solicitor, Mark Ankerton successfully tracks down James' granddaughter, Nancy Smith. Nancy was adopted at birth to conceal the fact that she's the illegitimate daughter of Elizabeth, James' self-destructive daughter. Saddled with Elizabeth's alcoholism and nymphomania, son Leo's gambling debts, and a growing suspicion that either (or both) is behind the harassment campaign, James is on the verge of mental collapse. It is up to Mark and Nancy to aid James.

Meanwhile, a convoy of New Age travelers have insinuated themselves in the village, squatting on land adjacent to James' Shenstead Manor. Under the guise of "adverse possession" (ownership of undeeded land simply by use of it), Fox Evil, their self-proclaimed leader, coerces the travelers to guard their patch while he stalks the manor unbeknownst to them. Who is this Fox Evil? What were the true circumstances behind Ailsa's death? Is he connected to her death?

Regarded as one of Ms. Walters' grimmer novels, Fox Evil is a labyrinth of menace and mayhem that could try a reader's patience and comprehension. It did mine. My annoyance stems primarily from an overdose of social ills, behavioral aberrations, crimes and malfeasance covered in the book: alcoholism, gambling addiction, animal cruelty, adultery, child abuse and neglect, drug addiction, squatters' rights, adoption confidentiality, depression, incest, harassment, burglary, fraud, malice, bullying, psychopathy, and a few others I can no longer recall. Call me a killjoy, but to me, it's over the top.

Secondly, much as I appreciate the fact that no one exists in a vacuum, there were just too many events within each of too many characters' lives. At last count, there were at least twenty-four, if not more, characters to keep track of, not to mention what was happening to each of them and how they figure in the mystery. My bafflement increased exponentially as the numbers mounted. Again, over the top, in my opinion. I had to keep reminding myself that the issue at heart is the mysterious death of Ailsa.


Thirdly, the suspense is sub par. If it weren't for the sadistic Fox Evil wreaking havoc every now and then, I would have had to occasionally check my pulse.

Lastly, a convoluted plot has to provide a humdinger of a denouement. At least, that's the standard by which I gauge a mystery. If the author will make me work hard, then by god, I want an ending that'll stun me. I want an ending that'll make me reel from the cleverness of it all. Instead, Fox Evil's denouement was a whimpering conclusion and its antagonists' motives were, to put it kindly, pedestrian.

I admire the fact that Ms. Walters' books are quite original (formulaic is not a word usually associated with a writer of this caliber). Her prose is intelligent and her humor is wicked (e.g., Eleanor and Prue, the gossipmongers, are described as Thelma and Louise going through menopause but without the sex appeal). By her own admission, she does not know whodunit `til halfway into the story. (Agatha Christie is said to have detailed the Who, What, Why, Where, When and How of a story in her head before writing a word.) So, Ms. Walters' alternative style of formulating the whodunit as she writes can be refreshing. However, at the risk of sounding like a philistine or one whose brain has atrophied, Fox Evil made me wish for Hercule Poirot to sort it all out for me.

I did read the whole thing. I must admit that some of the book was apparently way, way over my head...I had difficulty following the twists and turns. That being said, I must say the author is a wonderful story teller and her characters are quite true and well developed. I should suspect that Walters fans will like this one. Possibly I should read more of her work. Overall I do recommend this one, but with reservations.

I liked this book. The list of things to bring, etc. was a good start.

I purchased this book and two others. Quite frankly the others were rubbish. One of the other giudes suggested hints to save money on food, "don' eat", hardly a good guide.

Steve or Uncle Steve as we called him after a week of using his book knows his way around Disneyworld. His schedules whilst not perfect will allow you to see as much as humanly possible in the time you have allocated.

Here is the only problem, can you and your family keep up with his pace? I found that after four days of his schedules we were just about shot. If you are going to go "hardcore" and use his schedule then plan in a rest day somewhere in the middle. You can also just take a time out and miss a ride in the middle. Good ones to do this on are the little kiddy rides. On a rest day just go to the pool and maybe catch dinner and a Disney firework show, then get an early night for the next day.

Last year I went to Disney on 4 separate occasions, one 5 day, 2 3 days and a 2 day. Having Steves book made sure I got value for money. I have been on EVERY ride (except Dumbo) at least once, and my favourite rides 3-5 times in this period.

I truly feel sorry for people who don't use a guide and go to Disneyworld and wander aimlessly through the park. They may get 4 rides in a day, if they are lucky. If you are spending up to $1000 or more on tickets for your family to visit then get your moneys worth.

Buy the guide, read it, read it again and take it with you. It will be one of the cheapest things you buy related to Disney anyway.

As a "no stars" rating is not available, I am giving this the lowest rating possible, 1 star.

There are lots of good guidebooks out there, this cannot be counted among them. This guide seems more cobbled together than anything else. I would recommend the Passporter guide or the Unofficial Guide over this. Both would be money better spent.

I was disappointed in this guide. There is nothing here that you can't find in more depth and with more objectivity in the Unofficial Guides.

While this may be an OK guide, please note that it was reprinted in 2006 withOUT being updated. Much of the information here is no longer true -- there are tips for attractions that don't exist anymore! Particularly troubling are inaccuracies related to ticketing, park hours, special events, on-site amenities, and dining/recreation/reservation policies. Some hints are still applicable and therefore helpful, but unknowing first-timers (or anyone who selects this guide as his/her sole source of information) will be misled in significant ways.

Anything concerning Bill Gates is bound to be controversial (and the reviews below support that statement)

Take the book for what it is . . . simply a spoof on Gates with some interesting book design . . . it wasn't intended to be great literature!

The best part of the whole book is seeing which "keys" change on every page.... otherwise, it's a pretty funny book, but you do have to know what was going on when the book was written to get the jokes.

very poor book. My ex-wife had to have written it

God, what a complete waste of trees! I mean, I'm not a billg fan, but this was an completely predictable, utterly sophomoric effort.

This is the book you take with you to read in the waiting room at the doctor's office; otherwise, don't waste your time. The book's premise, albeit juvenile and narrow-minded, is an anchor for Beard and the gang to spin out some of the most creative stuff this reader's ever seen. (And don't let the laptop-style layout fool you--look closely at the keyboard on every page and you'll find irregularities in the keys.)

The story takes you back in a place lost in time. I really enjoyed reading it. Good job!

Being a historical fiction buff myself, I objectively but honestly must say that I spent more time being confused than entertained.

While I found the notion of an Amazonian women-only tribe of warriors interesting-I was immediately repulsed by the "Queen's" name rooted around the word "Hippo" (even with the knowledge of Amazonians being huge in stature). Furthermore, I failed to understand the benefits of the offered "partnership" with the male-dominated tribe and can easily foresee the treachery surely to transpire.

A main object of my confusion is that Amazonian's and tribes suggest a South American heritage, while the markets of Athens and a sacrifice to Zeus clearly reflects Greek mythological influence.

Even with that-in my heartfelt desire to offer something positive, I returned to the Author's pitch only to find that she plans to immediately kill off three of the characters that she introduced in her excerpt-and offers little to the background of the person whom becomes her main character.

I believe that the story has merit but needs work.

The basic premise of this novel is exciting and I couldn't wait to read the excerpt. However, I have to say I was a little disappointed. Not only is the book brought down by some grammatical errors (spelling and punctuation/sentence structure), the excerpt also contains the phrase "tingling loins" which I think does a real disservice to the story. I also agree with reviewers who say that Klausus's relating the entire history of the Amazon tribe doesn't ring true, however, for me, it wasn't because it was too much information, it was because it was coming from a character who seems to loathe the women he is discussing. He also reveals himself to be guilty of fratricide, and is simply not a sympathetic character. I thought it would have been much better if there was some sort of emissary from the Amazons to these men that disseminated this information. In any case, I feel that it needs to come from the women themselves - even if it is discussed in a round table. I am not opposed to the amount of information - and let's face it, this is historical fiction, so readers are interested in the historical details. What doesn't ring true is the manner in which it is related. I think this is an overarching problem with this excerpt - there is no one character or point of view through which we view these events and characters and develop empathy and immediacy. Perhaps this happens as the book develops, however, from this excerpt I would say there are some major issues. That being said, I would still read the rest of this simply because it focuses on a time period and an area of history that I am decidedly interested in - I am not sure I would continue if I were not. And I think I would still be disappointed, which is a shame, because with a little reworking I think this book could be very readable and highly marketable. Its just not quite there yet....

I found this excerpt informative, because I slept through Greek mythology in school. I also found it entertaining at the same time, so it's kind of like a history lesson and a great story mixed into one. It may be a little heavy on detail, but that is also a matter of taste in reading. Being famous for not finishing many books I start reading, I can say that I would most likely finish this one.

This excerpt really made me feel like I was right there with the fearless Amazons! I really enjoyed the description and feel like I'd like to get to know the characters in more detail. I would really love to read the rest of this novel, the beginning has so intrigued me. I could feel the stress and exhaustion of the situation when Hippolyta was addressing her women and the anger and frustration that Melanippe felt afterward.

Overall, I really liked it and although there may be some areas that are a little rough, I don't think they disrupt the flow or hurt the story in any way.

I read up to page 94. What a horrible book! The conversation is stumbling and non-sensical. The Newlie characters consistently make little sense, speaking in disjointed dialects and phrases. The plot is watery and predictable. My girlfriend, watching me read this "thing" would frequently ask me why I was still reading it. I don't like to put books down, but this just wasn't worth my time.

Writing in the fantasy genre isn't an excuse to do so poorly. Don't buy this by accident. It is an insult to a growing and respectable body of literature.

I've always felt that the biggest problem with the field of fantasy right now is the lack of originality. If you agree, then "The Treachery of Kings" is a book you must read. Endlessly imaginative and inventive, suspenseful, darkly humorous, and at times even romantic, this is a novel that truly has it all.

Our leading character is Finn of Fyxedia, a lizard maker who gets chosen by an eccentric prince to deliver one of his creations as a gift to the King in the rival country of Heldessia. Finn flies over the war zone is a balloon and crash-lands, barely escaping death at the hands of a group of dog-like thugs whose job is to assassinate the King on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Finn's lover, a Mycer woman (that means a half-mouse, half-human, product of an ancient experiment in sorcery) named Letitia Louise, follows him to Heldessia in hopes of protecting him and helping him to complete his assignment. The plot skips nimbly around, never getting bogged down in any one place or idea. I was pleased to find that the ending was the first time in quite a while where I actually cared about what happened to the characters in a fantasy novel.

But most importantly, Barrett's writing is relentlessly clever. He has a gift for perfect word choice, a talent for dialogue, and a cynical sense of humor along the same lines as Douglas Adams. Although he's never been a best-seller, Barrett has an impressive list of works, and he unquestionably deserves credit as one of the best modern fantasy authors.

I read up to page 94. What a horrible book! The conversation is stumbling and non-sensical. The Newlie characters consistently make little sense, speaking in disjointed dialects and phrases. The plot is watery and predictable. My girlfriend, watching me read this "thing" would frequently ask me why I was still reading it. I don't like to put books down, but this just wasn't worth my time.

Writing in the fantasy genre isn't an excuse to do so poorly. Don't buy this by accident. It is an insult to a growing and respectable body of literature.

I finish virtually every book I start, but I only made it half-way through this book before quitting. I'm usually a big fan of sci-fi books, but this just didn't do anything for me.

The main character was quite a pain, and his churlish banter with his friends, probably meant to be humorous, fell flat with me. It's tough to like a book when the main character is so disagreeable. The story itself was slow and never made a whole lot of sense. Yes, I know it's fantasy, but I still expect some logical construct to the plot and the characters.

So, my humble advice is to pass on this book.

Brilliant stuff. If you're already a fan of Barrett's jaundiced point of view and his bitingly humorous novels, this is prime. If you're new to Barrett (and this series) I suggest starting with The Prophecy Machine, which introduces our Lizard Maker, Finn, his comely companion Letitia Louise (who is a sort of mouse) and most importantly, his tart tongued creation, the delightful Julia Jessica Slagg (a mechanical lizard.) The world that these characters inhabit is far from your typical medieval fantasy world. Rather than rehash feudalism, Barrett gives us a fantasy land is reminiscent of England and Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries - post Civil War and Glorious Revolution and just entering the throes of a sort of Industrial Age - all in all, a decidedly Swiftian sort of habitat for his creatures to romp around in. And Swift's influence on Barrett is clear in these works - Man is irrational and myopic, religion is foolish, arbitrary and destructive, politicians and rulers are self-serving and corrupt. The best lines of all come out of our dear Jessica's metal mouth, full of sharp teeth and devoid of any illusions (in my head I can't help but hear Diana Rigg's voice purring out Jessica's dialogue.) Fear not though, this tale isn't a complete acid bath, in spite of the misanthropy that often peeks through, the main character's love of each other, and their desire to simply survive and lead a simple life together is ultimately quite touching. Barrett is often compared to Elmore Leonard in that they both possess the same dead-pan, gallows humor, but while the Bard of Detroit focuses only on crime novels (and with brilliant results) Barrett can do fantasy, SF, westerns and any other genre, all with the same off-hand grace. If you're interested in seeing how Barrett tackles crime novels I highly recommend his "blues" series - Pink Vodka Blues, Skinny Annie Blues, et al. If you're looking for a smart, atypical fantasy (and a fun, bracingly cynical romp, to boot) buy this book.

While I do not agree with all of their theological impliations, this text is a useful reference for Christian therapists. I would recommend it.

This is one of those "must have book" if your studying Psychopathologies.

Very well writtend, insightful, much knowledge, experience and wisdom put into this book.

This book goes a little further than the DSM IV. It gives you the perspective of why these disorders exist. The DSM has now become a politically correct text to appease the HMO's and others who refuse to take a stand to help people manage and live wholesome productive lives living with these disorders. The authors take you a step further with the integration of biblical principles into psychotherapy. Mark this book up and use it to the max.

While there is much useful information in this book, I find it disturbing that these "Christian" authors claim to be speaking for christianity when what they are really doing is advancing right wing christian ideology. A case in point is their characterization of homosexuality as "sin" -- claiming that that is THE Christian perspective. That is not the perspective of many (perhaps not most) christian folk -- and it is not the perspective of some christian denominations.

When you consider how good Herbert can be: Haunted, The Magic Cottage, Moon - this book is a real disappointment. The story begins quite well but starts to drag halfway through, so that by the time you reach the denouement, you are beyond caring. Part of the problem lies with the characterisation, which is wooden and lifeless. The characters are archetypes, never individuals, and so you care neither one way nor the other about them... Herbert's descriptive powers seem to have deserted him. The house of Neath never vividly comes to life. It is like a set on an empty film lot. Yet, the house is central to the story. The horror, despite its gaudiness (which is a lamentable feature of most of Herbert's works), never really horrifies, which for a horror book, is pretty damning. When Herbert writes well, he writes very well: When he writes badly, he writes books like Sepulchre.

I reckon this book is James' weakest. It lacks suspense, the characters are poorly developed and the whole idea of this book is kind of ridiculous. I seem to get the impression that the author hastily wrote this book to make a quick buck.

What a puzzle this book was. I felt it has such potential, but just lost my interest when it went nowhere. I don't know what people thought was so wonderful about the ending (other reviews), I thought it was ho-hum. The story, or plot, should have been interesting, but it wasn't.
The best thing about the book was the Polish driver's history, and the mystery about the protagonist's true nature.

I absolutely loved this one! I picked it up and literally didn't put it down, its that good. The characters were terrific and the end is THE best ending in history (or at least out of the books I've read).

In Sepulchre, there is a house that holds a dreadful secret. "The Keeper", the psychic and the secret serve a force which threatens mankind itself. Judging from the reviews, readers tend to either love James Herbert or hate him. Personally, I believe he never ever gets the praise he richly deserves. I'm a big Stephen King fan, but when Herbert is on form (as he surely is in this book) he is close to unbeatable. If you've never read a James Herbert novel, make this one your first. It's fast paced and intricate, avoiding the descriptive overkill that sometimes blocks the smooth flow of King or Koontz. He has the amazing ability to make characters absolutely terrifying and utterly deplorable and if you like your horror sick and scary but with a vengeful ending this book is a must. It's yet another amazing example of Herbert's highly original mind.

I ordered this book, expecting something entirely different. I am extremely disappointed and I am sorry I spent the money for it. I expected to see more street scenes and tips to help you paint the "old Tuscany" style. There are only landscape scenes, and nothing like I would like to paint! Nothing there looks like what I think Tuscany style is!

I was expecting so much, and received so little! Don't be fooled by the beautiful cover! All the pictures seemed similar in washed out colors and shape, as if the photographer never left one area of Tuscany. He captured very few of it's many facets. Out of the 79 photographs, there was only about 15 that did anything for me. And there was not ONE photograph of the fields of sunflowers that Tuscany is famous for. Only a picture of dead ones in winter!
Tuscany is breathtakingly gorgeous, and vast, with so much character! Very little of that is captured in this book. It didn't do Tuscany the justice it deserves!

There have been a surprising number of negative opinions about this view of Tuscany, comments that may make the potential buyer avoid the book. This reader found something different here, something unique to this volume and view of an area of the world that seems to have become everybody's dream location.

First, the book is soft hued. Joel Meyerowitz is an accomplished photographer who is able to photograph just about any subject and make it more sensitive. Here he walks us through Tuscany along with writer Maggie Barrett during the various seasons of the year. No, there are no color-saturated view of sunflower fields, vineyards, or the glowing sunlight that permeates the summers of Tuscany. Instead we begin with Winter and proceed through Spring, Summer, and Autumn and are given the quality of light that changes with the seasons as much as the crops and produce and landscapes do. The result is a romantic, poetic, fine marriage of image and word that allows us to let the mystery of the countryside and its inhabitants and treasures subtlely come to life.

This is not a book for those eager to find the best travel locales or for those who want some visual information for making paintings. This instead is a book of dreamy visions, images altered by light as seen through different hours and seasons. This is a poet's collection. Grady Harp, November 06

This is not a book about Tuscany as a series of pretty pictorial pictures, instead this is a book about looking and seeing a landscape transformed, shaped almost by a particular light, brilliantly sunny or gloomily misty.
There is a pure humbling feel to this body of work, whose subject Joel Meyerowitz has not re created in any grand graphic sense but simply drawn our attention to. Joel has created such a sense of place that one feels transported to the 'real' Tuscany, but we in turn are asked to look and consider our own surroundings and lives. What is and what could be.
A brilliant book.

If you are familiar with Meyerowitz's gorgeous book "Cape Light" you will be disappointed in Tuscany. The Cape Cod book was published by the Boston Musuem of Fine Arts and contained wonderful color saturated plates. Tuscany, on the other hand, looks like an amateur effort. The skies are washed out, there is little definition in much of the landscape photos and it is simply mediocre and uninspiring. I am assuming this is the fault of the publisher since Meyerowitz is, in my opinion, a first rate color photographer.