Blair Books

This is not a casual, oversimplified or high school-level history tome. The reader will find no novel-esque account of the perils of underwater warfare and the tragedy that Döenitz's U-boat campaign unleashed upon the britons. Instead, the reader will be given an impartial, well-written and thoroughly investigated historical account that provides great insight into military strategies and tactics, helping to dispel common prejudices and misunderstandings associated with this part of the conflict.

This is a great book for military history buffs or for the casual reader who is really interested in knowing the actual history in facts and numbers. For thrills and suspense, stick to the Discovery Channel.

This a very good book about the U-Boat history in the Second World War!
I recomend!
Best regards,

I've always enjoyed Clay Blair's writing style. Probably because he was a journalist instead of an historian. However, as with his book Silent Victory, he can't help injecting his personal biases in the narrative. Blairs interest in U boats came about when his boat the USS Guardfish was docked next to Erich Topp's U 2513. That was later used as a target by the U.S. Navy. The U 2513 was a type XXI boat that was ahead of its time technologically. The torpedo tubes were designed to operate like a revolver shooting bullets! Blair tends to down play the achievements of the Kreigsmarine in the early years of the war, and the technological advancements put forth by Doenitz and his staff. A fact Mr. Blair conviently omits.

Clay Blair has done an outstanding work on his first volume: "Hitler's U-boat war, The Hunters". The appendix alone contains a large sum of information about the first half of the U-Boat war. No one book should ever be considered as "the definite volume", but these works are about as close as it is possible to get. While Clay Blair describes on every U-boat operation, he also sets on destroying several myths about the U-boat war (such as the unnecessary criticisms on Admiral King).

His style of writing can sometimes be "dry" as he tends to repeat the same words over and over but that would be the only negative part about this otherwise wonderful book.

This book is highly recommended for anyone seeking for an exhaustive book on the evolution of the U-boat war and of the people involved.
I would give this book 4.5/5 but since it's limited to either 4 or 5, I'l go with the 5 stars.

Sadly, the 2nd volume of Hitler's U-boat war doesn't seem to be available on Amazon.ca... I guess I must go look elsewhere to purchase it.
~Shc~

This is definitely a must-have for anyone seriously interested in the U-boat war of the Atlantic. Actually, this is the first book I've read on U-boats but I can imagine that this may well be the all-encompassing reference text. The book is well written and gives an excellent account of what happened. For a novice wanting to get the general idea it's perhaps a little too detailed. The accounts of the exact amount of tonnage sunk by each and every U-boat gets a little tiresome after a couple of hundred pages, but what can you do? You don't have to memorize them. Nonetheless, it's interesting to see how most U-boat commanders overstated their kills.

I got to this book after reading SHADOW DIVERS which is absolutely the best book on diving written so far. (You do not have to be a diver to dig this)

There are two parts to Hitler's U-boat War, The Hunters 1939-1942, and The Hunted 1942-1945 and I have no idea why both volumes aren't available by the same publisher. The second volume is only available used at approx. three times the price of a new edition of the first volume(?) It took me a while to figure this out so I got the second volume from Weidenfeld & Nicholson military who sell only the second volume. Here at Amazon the title of this second volume is merely given as Hitler's U-Boat War which is confusing because from that you don't initially know that there are two volumes and which one this one is. Only when you see the actual photo of the bookcover you see that it says The Hunted 1942-1945. Why make life easy?

I agree with other posters critical of the ending. You get to about 20 pages left in the book and you're thinking, "no way is Hearn going to finish this series this book, is she?" Well she does, and it's disappointing. Otherwise, all in all, the series was entertaining enough to warrant the time and money.

I ripped through this, a much better book than Grass for his Pillow, and a worthy book to match Across the Nightingale Floor. This book legitimizes the trilogy in my mind. I highly recommend this book for fun sci-fi/fantasy!

The Brilliance of the Moon concludes the Tales of the Otori trilogy that began with Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori, Book 1)and Grass for His Pillow (Tales of the Otori, Book 2). It's important that you read the series in order, and, unless you have a lot of Japanese friends and a great memory, have read the earlier books recently.

The tales of the Otori are fantasy based on a feudal Japanese milieu rather than the more common medieval European setting. Hearn (a pen name, by the way) lyrically depicts the sights and sounds of Japan, and imbues the characters with Japanese values and beliefs. Takeo and Kaede, teenagers in a time when men and women came of age early, marry in defiance of their overlord at the end of Book 2. In order for them both to survive, Takeo must regain his domain and hers, and hold them against enemies. The wheels for these events have been set in motion in previous installments.

Takeo is a great main character as he has conflict eight ways to Sunday. He was born into a peasant family, adopted into the noble Otori clan, and also has heritage of the Tribe and the Hidden. It doesn't matter if you don't know what these things are; you can see there are a lot of influences in this young man's life. He's also struggling spiritually, at odds with the rest of the Otori, most of the Tribe, and trying to figure out his relationship with the Hidden. Meanwhile, he's trying to protect Kaede, win battles against steep odds, and interpret a prophecy about his life and death.

Truthfully, The Brilliance of the Moon isn't the strongest in the series, but the writing is spare and evocative, the main characters are vivid and true to their culture, and the story is engrossing.

This is the third and final book in the "Tales of the Otori" trilogy, in that it wraps up the main plot of the previous novels, Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori, Book 1) and Grass for His Pillow (Tales of the Otori, Book 2). However, there is a forth installment that is set fifteen years after the conclusion of this book, that deals with a couple of plot-threads that were left dangling here (namely, the prophesy that claims Takeo will die at the hands of his own son). However, for all intents and purposes, this is the grand finale of the story that has been gradually building up throughout the previous books, and Lian Hearn brings the semi-epic tale to a satisfactory and bittersweet conclusion.

Being the third novel, there is a huge amount of back-story and intrigue already set up, and so it seems pointless to summarize it here. Let's just say that there's no way you can understand this story without already having read the previous novels, so if you're thinking about buying, you need to backtrack a little bit. Basically, our main character Otori Takeo is a young warrior with allegiances to three opposing factions in the Japanese-inspired world of the Three Countries. Attempting to negotiate his ties with all three of them (both within himself and in the world itself) makes up the crux of his character, as he is torn between the honourable Otori Clan (into which he was adopted), the pacifist Hidden people (who bear a resemblance to Christians) and the devious Tribe, a secretive and devious faction who instigate their near-supernatural abilities in the art of spy-craft and assassination. Told in first-person narrative, Takeo's story is suspenseful and poignant, as the young man is called upon to make some *very* difficult decisions throughout the course of the tale. The saying that there can be no peace without war is especially apt here, as Takeo deals with a range of betrayals, alliances, intrigues, enmities and battles that threaten his attempts to secure peace. Several times I found myself asking: "What would I do in that situation?" Hearn doesn't hesitate to make his protagonist undertake some very dubious activities, which adds to the richness of the story itself.

In the final chapter of "Grass for his Pillow", Takeo was wed to his beloved Shirakawa Kaede, something I felt was a surprise move on Hearn's part (usually weddings are postpones till the *end* of a story). Unfortunately, I never felt that the romance between them was handled particularly well, but having a married couple as a story's main protagonists is an interesting change. As in the previous books, Kaede's chapters are told in third-person narrative, although she has a lesser part to play here. Hearn seems to have lost interest in her slightly, as Kaede's development from a timid young girl into an independent and powerful woman is undercut in this installment when she becomes a prisoner of a malevolent lord - remaining there for most of the book's length.

However, one cannot say the same thing about Takeo, who has fully embraced his role as a war-leader and all the responsibilities that come with it. Hearn captures the burden of leadership perfectly, as Takeo struggles to maintain power whilst placating those that answer to him, seeking out allegiances whilst knowing he can trust no one, kill those oppose him whilst suppressing his own distaste for violence. Hearn handles the action sequences and the atmosphere of war extremely well, and though we don't fear for Takeo himself, be certain that all of his friends and comrades are up for grabs. Takeo has grown convincingly from boy to man throughout the course of the three books, capable of both compassionate and merciless actions, something that finally makes him a fully three-dimensional character (being rather distant in the previous books). He struggles, he doubts, he succeeds and fails, and although I would have liked a bit more commentary on Takeo's internal thoughts (often I wasn't sure whether many of the events were due to his own upbringing, or part of the Japanese culture itself - such as the many "honour suicides" that take place, something completely foreign to Western thinking).

Although the violence and randomness of war is captured almost-perfectly, I felt that the final confrontation with the Otori was rather abrupt and anti-climactic. Perhaps this was simply because it was building for so long, but it seemed to be over quickly, with very little effort on Takeo's part. However, though I have not yet read the forth book The Harsh Cry of the Heron: The Last Tale of the Otori (Tales of the Otori, Book 4), this is certainly the best book of the trilogy, with action, suspense, intrigue, revenge and a good wrap-up to what has gone before.

I like this book( and the series) because it was not predictable.

I am a big fan of Fairstein,however, this book did not live up to my expectations. I'm getting sick of the "formula" and this book wasn't as gripping as the others. It's a decent read but I do not think it is a must read.

I have been a fan of Linda Fairstein and her Alexandra Cooper series for a long time. I don't know when I started reading her books, but I've read all of them and thoroughly enjoy each one. I think this is one of the best mystery series out there - great characters and relationships, interesting and unique situations, along with great mysteries that are both realistic and interesting.

The latest in the series is Killer Heat. This was a good addition to the series, but not the best. The mystery kept me intrigued but not glued to the book as it has in the past. And this one is definitely a 'series book' as you don't get any back story on the characters, nor are the relationships explored very much.

Any good mystery has at it's core a great plot and this book does that very well. However, the great mysteries, whether in a series or not, has good character and relationship development. In my opinion the previous Alex Cooper novels do both plot and character well, while Hell Bent left me wanting a bit more.

I am rating this as four stars because it's an interesting plot that keeps you wanting to know more, but it's not five stars like I've rated the last few in the series due to the lack of further character development.

If you've not read any of Linda Fairstein's novels and are a mystery series fan, I do highly recommend them! Start with Final Jeopardy. I promise you will enjoy the series. If you are already a fan of this series, I do recommend reading it. It's a good addition to the series, just not a great one.

[...]

I don't recommend it as your first Linda Fairstein novel, because you'll enjoy it more if you have background knowledge of the characters. There are nuances on Mike's side that you will not get - at all - if you don't "know" him. Start at the beginning - it's worth it! The plot itself is typical Fairstein, with lots of New York history. Frankly, the only time I've ever found that particularly interesting is when she explored the work of Edgar Allen Poe, but that's not why I read these books....the writing is good quality, the legal aspects are interesting, and the tension between Mike and Alex is so much fun!

In this Linda Fairstein novel "Killer Heat" you are taken to a hot summer in New York with Manhattan District Attorney Alex Cooper. She is celebrating because she just closed her rape case. The celebration ends quick due to a phone call about the body of a woman who was beaten and raped. Then again another body shortly after also turns up murdered in the same manner, so this case becomes top priority. Time adds additional pressure to the case because the news reporters were all over it.

"Killer Heat" is a great thriller because of it's complex story mixing Alex's career as a D.A. with some of her personal life when she meets a charming restaurant owner. So she is juggling it all and then the body of a third victim turns up. All of these incidents take her to the islands around New York Harbor with a new development in the case. I love the way Fairstein mixes intriguing facts of forensic science, legal issues, and personal life battles making this novel one the is really outstanding.

Linda Fairstein's books are always excellent. Her plots, characters, the New York City landscape continue to fascinate. I have been a fan since her first book, Final Jeopardy. Killer Heat is another great book by this very talented writer -- a superb story. I'm eagerly looking forward to her next title

After 5,000 years, the Minotaur has established himself as a line cook in the south, residing in a small trailer park. Out of the labyrinth, he has become a docile and somewhat unassuming figure, only standing out due to his appearance. His is a life of solitude, though he enjoys the companionship of his co-workers and neighbors. However, he is distanced from everyone due to his physical differences, and even he cannot relate to humanity. He is a patient being, preferring routine and working with his hands.

This novel plays the Minotaur as a tragic figure, always having to compensate for his inadequacies and being generally viewed as a freak or monster. The book follows him as he plods along on seemingly normal days, running errands, at work in the kitchen, fixing cars, observing his neighborhood, and even pursuing a relationship with a waitress from the restaurant, Kelly. Of course, good intentions can be misconstrued by narrow-minded people and the overall conflicts the Minotaur face is due primarily to his unfortunate appearance. My only wish is that Sherrill had elaborated on the Minotaur's history. He does mention his time in the labyrinth, but a creature who has roamed the earth for 5,000 years surely has extraordinary tales to tell.

I cracked the 'Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break' with an eagerness and fervor that I reserve for very few books, which might be one reason why I was so disappointed. It's a book of many neat ideas that just don't pan out.

This book starts with the question "what if the Minotaur, among other classic mythological creatures, were forced to live in our society," and doesn't go very far with it. We follow the minotaur as he works in a Southern steakhouse and on his rundown car, and listen to his internal monologue about his relationships with the people in his life.

From the start of the book, it seemed that the people accepted the Minotaur as a slow-witted human, which opened up an overarching theme of society's perceptions of outcasts. I found this to be creative and exciting: "people overlooking reality based on preconceptions, etc, etc."

I soon realized that I was looking way to deep into this. It turns out that everyone just sees him as a giant bull-headed man. They make jokes about his horns. They talk about branding. They moo.

Instead of speaking in words and sentences, the Minotaur only grunts and moans to communicate. His dialog is literally 90% the word "Mhnnn." This was another neat idea that gets annoying when every conversation becomes one-sided narration.

The Minotaur runs into a couple mythological characters throughout the story, but like so much else in the book, their interactions don't go anywhere. This was one of the biggest disappointments. There is so much to pursue here- the relationships between mythological creatures, those with that common, ancient bond, forced to live in our modern society- and yet the author skips right over it. He also skips over why these creatures can't use their powers to get better jobs (Medusa as a $1 side-show attraction. Great.), why they are not famous (even though they appear in encyclopedias), or even how the Minotaur survived his death at Theseus' hands.

Homosexual themes appear throughout the book, but also go nowhere. Is the author trying to approach the topic of homosexuality in the southern United States? Is he searching for parallels of homosexuality in mythology and modern society? Does he just like to describe muscular men in tight underwear? It's really unclear.

The final thirty pages of the book seem rushed and lost what little faith I had left. It's like someone forced the author to condense a hundred page ending into three brief chapters. It breaks from the meandering story and I found it really hard to swallow (in a book about a Minotaur chef, which is saying a lot).

Overall, the author had a lot of great ideas, but he simply failed to develop them. That's probably the most reccuring aspect of this book: storylines, ideas, themes that don't come anywhere close to their potential.

If the idea of defunct gods in modern society interests you, I recommend American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It examines in greater detail the relationships and ideas skimmed by this book.

I was fascinated by the premise of this novel but felt that it wasted many opportunities, passing over what struck me as fascinating narrative sidelines (the other survivors of the mythological world who cross the Minotaur's path) with an odd incuriosity. Sherrill does a fine job of building a vivid picture of the world in which the Minotaur lives - it's just a pity that what happens in it isn't terribly interesting. In a similar vein (mythological beings living in the modern world) I preferred Neil Gaiman's American Gods, which is less of a literary novel but considerably more sympathetic and entertaining.

This was a most intriguing book - I would go so far as to say it could easily become a classic of modern surreal literature. The Minotaur survives to this day, where he is a cook in a restaurant somewhere in North Carolina. Other immortals live and work among the mortals, such as Laurel, who is met during a trip to Florida taken by M and his landlord Sweeney. Interestingly, it seems that while people are occasionally taken aback by the Minotaur's appearance, no one seems terribly surprised by his presence.

I felt that, to me, this work spoke to the fact that there is within all of us a little bit of the freak that causes us to feel outcast and alone; this allows us to empathize with M. He lives very much in the "now" and has tended to forget much of his past and this is shown - among other ways - by the use of present tense in the narrative. M's search for love and acceptance is heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time.

Definitely an interesting bit of literature for anyone who is looking to broaden their horizons a bit.

I say often that I'm not big on magic realism but if it all could be as Sherrill's fabulous novel, I'd happily snuggle up with the category until kingdom come. In any case, this novel consumed me entirely on more levels than I can count. There really aren't any cardboard characters here, even the minor players are drawn well (maybe two exceptions). Required reading for those who enjoy mythology, have a restaurant fiction fetish or a southern novel fixation and just anyone at all loves a really good book. Finest kind of reading; miss this one and be so sorry.

Simply put, this is the best book you can buy about Garcia & the Dead.
It is well written, enjoyable and well balanced between the artistical side and the dark side of the man and his friends of the road.
Buy it together with the book from Lesh (more on the music) and the one from Scully (more on the gossip) and you'll have a good picture of the whole history.

I took to this book with a degree of hope given the position of Blair Jackson as a long time fan of the Grateful Dead, hoping that this biography would avoid the sensationalism of other books on the same subject and present the life of Garcia from the position of an informed, yet hardly disinterested, observer.

As I have turned the last few pages of the Epilogue I have to say that after a strong start the last few chapters of the book have left me rather dissatisfied.

This book offers a well researched, and somewhat detailed account of Jerry Garcia predominantly from the viewpoint of a man and his music. As to being a man there is no doubt, a man like the rest of us with his peculiarities and idiosyncracies, his strengths and his weaknesses. What comes across strongly throughout this lengthy account is a man who's love for music took him to great heights of virtuosity but who, in the process, suffered the fate of many in music, to become a celebrity drawing unwanted attention wherever he went whilst longing for the privacy to be that ordinary guy like everyone else.

Jackson's strengths in the book lie in the historical details of family life and upbringing, Garcia's life as a young man and the twists and turns of the musical developments. There is clearly a lot of factual and well documented material from a wide variety of sources from which we can derive some interesting perspectives of the general millieu of the life and times of the Grateful Dead and the larger community.

The people who knew the artist best of course, are those who were closest to him, the wives and the lovers but most importantly, the musicians who spent the most time with him. It is a sad reflection of our crazy corporate world today that we spend most of our lives at work and in the company of our colleagues and in the case of musicians that is probably truer than most. This however, points to, in my mind, the greates deficiency of the work altogether, the lack of insight into the mind of Garcia the man which can only be provided by those closest to him. To be sure the facts are there, especially the broad outlines but the intimate details are sadly lacking. One of the most telling moments in this regard lies in the epilogue where the lawyers for the last Mrs. Garcia argue that the marriage with Mountain Girl should not be considered a true marriage because of the couple living apart, only to fall flat when it is disclosed that this was the situation to with the last marriage. What insight into Jerry's mind can be gathered from those intimates who were close emotionally but separate physically. What is lacking are views from the bandmembers aside from the noticing of his health and well being.

The latter chapters of the book concerning around the last ten years of garcia's life are somwhat lighter than the earlier chapters signalling some loss of interest in the band by the author himself at that point?

The matter of fact treatment of the drug abuse issue is to be welcomed in stark contrast to the approaches of other books on the subject. It is better to be honest than to overlook or sensationalise and the truth of the matter is that many people in our society, for many reasons, have problems with some form of dependency and it is disingenuous for many to disappove without examining their own behaviour.

Overall I think that there is a place on the shelves for this book along with those of McNally and Lesh. It helps give us a broader picture of the life and times of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead but in many ways it raises more questions than answers but it is well written and easy to read and in general the pros outweigh the cons.

Recycled from when I was just a"reader":
For anyone who has been to a Grateful Dead show, the phrase, "there's nothing quite like a Dead concert" was as much a truism as "chances are pretty good that the sun will in fact rise tomorrow." Jackson's biography of the band leader (as this book makes clear, Jerry Garcia was the leader of the Group, as he was the leader of all of his side projects) explains clearly and insightfully the tremendous amount of energy that was put into their shows to ensure the uniqueness of each concert. Jackson also describes (but can't really explain) the almost bipolar nature of Jerry Garcia's personal life that led him to a life of drug abuse and heartless infidelity while at the same time being very lucid about his ideals. He was always clear about what he saw the band doing but was unable to envision a happy life for himself. The historical references are often interesting but there is an exhaustive discussion of his funeral at the end of the book and there's a lot of gossip that perhaps could have been deleted. I suppose there are people that like that kind of stuff.

It turns out that writing books about The Grateful Dead is a lot like writing books about the Beatles; highly speculative, frequently pointless and ultimately frustrating, unless you're somebody like Ken Kesey or Ed McClanahan, writers who were there with the Dead from the start and speak the language. That said, Blair Jackson gets as close as anyone totally caught in the Dead's warp can to writing a definitive book on Garcia. Jackson's Deadhead banter sometimes gets in the way of, you know, communicating about why the rest of us should consider Jerry Garcia one of the greats. Mind you, I think he is, but the proof is ultimately in listening to one of the Dead's many live albums (and some of the studio ones as well) or Garcia's other records and HEARING why, not reading much of what's here. What IS worth the time is the extensive discography Jackson has at the end, which is a reliable signpost for what a non-Deadhead fan or a Dead newbie might find worth the time and money.

In sum, a good book for Deadheads or Dead admirers, not so great if you don't know what the fuss is/was about...but want to.

What a disappointment this book is. For one is very poorly written. Blair Jackson is simply too much of a fanboy and too little of a writer with this particular book. Its presents itself as a biography of Garcia and far too many times it drifts off into a simplistic Deadhead's review of Garcias various tunes. Way too many pretentious references to Hunters lyrics and really his put downs on Weir and other members (thinly veiled but non the less put downs) reek of Garcia worship. He finds no faults in any Garcia tunes and plays up his ballads (which were often low points of Dead shows) like they were the shimmering representation of all that is the Grateful Dead.

He also glosses over many aspects of Garcias personal life, which is silly for a biography. There are more reviews of Hunter and Garcia tunes then there are facts presented about the man the book is about. If its something that can be said without bringing up anything critical then Jackson carries on about it, but if its a low point then he will place a sentence or at most a paragraph. Garcia is a complex man and his biography should have been more complex. I dont want to read another book chiming in with English 101 poetry reviews, I wanted to read a book that chronicled Garcias life in an unobstructed manner. Jackson turned out to be way too much of a fanboy of Garcia to make an effective book.

Judith Minthorn Stacy, the author of "Maggie Sweet", lives in my hometown of Mooresville, North Carolina. How thrilled I was to find "Maggie Sweet" at the library in Myrtle Beach, S.C. I read the book from cover to cover in one sitting and have told so many friends about it. You have to be from the South to really appreciate the dialect of Ms. Stacy. I could not find
"Betty Sweet tells all" anywhere. I ordered from "BordeeBooks" and it was just as wonderful as "Maggie Sweet". I cannot wait until Ms. Stacy writes another book, she is a wonderful author.

The book is short and "sweet" but definitely a fun read. While "Maggie Sweet" will never be confused with Southern literature such as Faulkner, or even Lee Smith, Stacy does an excellent job with making us laugh and earning our sympathy by the third chapter. Fans of Fannie Flagg and Adriana Trigiani will love this book. Maggie is a "desperate housewife" of a sort, and her struggle to have her childhood dreams is what propels this story along. With the obvious cliches scattered through the whole book,this is forgivable and you won't be disappointed. The characters are like those in your own community. If this book is intended to be the first of a series, it is a striking and stirring beginning. Funny, memorable, and unpretentious.

I couldn't put this book down once I began reading it. It was such a fun read! Maggie Sweet is a great wife, mother, daughter, etc. and had thought that she was happy doing all of the things that "good 'ole Maggie Sweet" should do. (A description she overhears her husband tell one of his historian society friends.) Her 20th high school reunion is coming up and she begins to question her life as she is living it. Will she ever get to realize her life long dream of becoming a hair stylist? Or, will she continue to live the life her husband expects her to live? The characters that Ms. Stacy has created in this book are delightful! I can't wait to read her next book!

I absolutely loved this book! Maggie Sweet sure stood up for herself and took charge in the end! I just can't believe that she stayed with that awful husband of hers as long as she did.

This is the story of Maggie Sweet...a woman in a crappy marriage to a man years older than her (he was one of her teachers in high school), who finally gets to the point that she's had enough. Especially when the high school love of her life, Jerry, returns home after his divorce with his wife.

Will Jerry and Maggie live happily ever after? Will the kids ever forgive her for her final decision? And will Maggie finally get to have a successful career doing hair?...I'm not sure, but I'm really hoping the next book gives us a look into the new life Maggie has planned for herself.

I definitely recommend this as a great southern read. There's tons of gossip, drama, and sweet tea! I'm gonna read the next installment the second I get my hands on a copy!

I loved this book from cover to cover. I love our main character Maggie Sweet. I identified with her very well. Although, I was hoping that things would have turned out better for her and her husband, I hope that she finds true love wherever she may end up. I can't wait to read the next installment! I would have loved the other characters to have more of a female closeness but this book still delighted me!

I found the the story excruciatingly boring, virtually pointless. After Jean marries Don, the next sixty years of their lives are dealt with in ten pages. Ms. Glock may be a gifted writer, but she is a poor storyteller.

I live across the river from Chester, WV; however, I did not grow up in this pottery area. This book helped me to understand what life was like in an area that was once part of the pottery center of the world. I do not feel that the author denigrates the citizens. The story is a memoir. It is her view of her grandmother's life circumstances. Poverty and joblessness are still part of this area's history; to deny this is also to deny the kind-heartedness and character of its people.

Well, I don't know what the negative reviewers were reading, but they clearly took some offense to components I did not see in this beautiful book. Having grown up in the mountains of North Carolina, I am always on the lookout for books about life in Appalachia, and "Beauty Before Comfort" has to be one of the best in recent years. The honesty, reality, humor--they recall Dorothy Allison's "Bastard Out of Carolina" and the poetry of Kathryn Stripling Byer. Glock deserves a place at the table of strong, stunning Southern women writers.

Allison,

You're a great little writer. That you evoked this much emotion from people reading your book says that you have the gift of telling a story passionately. You have stirred up some powerful emotions that goes to the heart of your ability to write. When people who can't spell or put a sentence together are moved to write a review of your book, you're doing something right. Either they love you or they hate you, but they are reading you.

I went to school with your mother, until I was one of the ones who got out of Hancock County when I moved to California. Your mother must be very proud. I sure would be.

Your book brings back many precious memories, even memories of some of the hardships grabbed something in my heart. You have written a very accurate description of the people and the area, and you have been able to tell it like it was while also conveying a loving image of your grandmother and the times.

This is your first book. Incredible!!! I gave you four stars because I'm saving that fifth one for your next book.

Sharin (Fletcher) Bowers

I came from an industrial town in Tennessee, and Allison Glock's wonderful story of her grandmother, who lived in that kind of environment, really resonated with me. Aneita Jean Blair's life is not the kind that usually gets the full biographical treatment, especially from a granddaughter.

The second outstanding part about this book is the writing. Lines such as "Just walking through the house required lurching effort," written about the death of a family member, make the story more real.

Having read some of the reviews here on Amazon, I cannot understand the hostility that some people convey about this book. My favorite line from an angry reader was this one: "I think if you right (sic) a book you should actually know what you are talking about."

That line--complete with spelling that shouts ignorance--says it all. Allison Glock does know what she is talking about, and tells it very, very well.

Very good book! I recomend!
Best regards,

Having read dozens of world war era books, I would rate this an
easy 5 star and a tribute to the author who has written honest
unbiased detailed books on the submarine wars. For anyone who
picks up these volumes the dedication is obvious. I would also recommend
his book on the pacific submarine war and the earlier book the hunters.

Clay Blair's two volume history of the U-Boat war in WWII is truly magisterial in scope, but it has suffered from the absence of a strong editor's hand in its preparation. Consequently it is too long and very hard to read.

As an example, the author's has chosen to include a mass of additional detail by way of footnotes, often as many as six per page. Much of the information in these footnotes should have been in the main text, and the approach taken makes for a very disjointed, and protracted reading experience.

The author also has a strange obsession with the ages of U-Boat captains. These are endlessly reported, whilst the ages of Allied personnel are almost never mentioned. I suspect this is because he had access to a single Kreigsmarine archive on U-Boat personnel, and included the age information solely because he could, and not because it adds to the prose in any way. Quite the reverse, and if he wanted to make a point about the relative youthfulness of U-Boat skippers he would've been better advised to do so by way of a couple of paragraphs, or another column in one of the multitude of statistical appendices.

These books are probably required reading for any student of the U-Boat war, but would benefit greatly from a savage revision, to improve readability and cut down on useless minutiae.

A massively researched book, packed full of details yet drawing all the wrong conclusions. If the Kriegsmarine was a bumbling bunch of cheats who vastly overclaimed their meagre successes, you would have thought that the war at sea will be over in 1941.

Mr Blair provides exhaustive indepth statistical and technical information on the events that occurred. The information is too technical for casual reading, and yet not ordered properly for any useful research. For example, if you wanted the detailed events on the unfolding of Convoy Battle SC7, all you will get a a bunch of mumbo jumbo of who shot who, during that period. In the end, you still won't know what happened to Convoy SC7.

Very often, the author also gets carried away and begins to discuss totally off topic meterial. While describing the "Happy Time", suddenly the topic drifts to the "Battle of Britain" and what the Luftwaffe were doing. Then during another convoy encounter, suddenly the topic drifts to what life is like aboard a u-boat. Then he goes on to explain about some technical details about torpedoes. After all that, he comes back to the convoy battle again. This is what is meant by the lack of proper categorization of details. You won't be able to see the "big picture".

Finally, the biggest let down, as what another reader described as "bitter", I agree that his views are very biased. Being a submariner himself in the US Navy during WWII, Mr Blair seems to hold a grudge against the u-boat's success and could not make a fair and objective assessment of the battle. At one point, the author implied that German submariners are murderers (see The Hunters, 1939 - 1942, Foreword, Page XI, last para). Furthermore, the German elektroboat, which was a revolutionary submarine and leaps ahead of its time, was described by Mr Blair as "hopelessly archaic". This was because he was comparing the German WW2 electroboat to the US nuclear submarines of the 1950s and 1960s. How can that be a fair comparison? Also German losses were exemplified, whereas the author completely forgot to mention the tactical errors of the allied forces, or barely scratched the surface (eg. the failure of hunter-killer, british naval code compromise, etc). Too many examples of such biased conclusions are sprinkled throughout.

I fully agree with the previous reader, that if all you want is statistical information, then you might be able to find it here. Otherwise, I did also find it interesting to read like a story book, but for the historical buff doing research work, you will find the information, but it is scatterred all the book.

Very, very compressed book -- 250 pages to introduce the dominant theories of the time, sketch the characters of some of the people involved, outline the bones of the story, and describe the utter revolution in thinking and beliefs brought about by the discovery (realization) of the Ice Age.

What struck me most were these petty, bickering, status-conscious scientists resolute in their refusal to acknowledge new information even when seen with their own eyes -- refuting obvious conclusions, choosing pride over reality. The bitter rivalries, the entrenched positions, the profound egos of these people, ... you can see it today in the debate over man's role in climate change.

Today, you have scientists and true believers gripping so hard to the theory of anthropogenic global climate change because their personalities and egos are wrapped up in their belief. The book underscores the staggering refusal to consider new evidence on the part of highly esteemed scientists.

I think the book's connection to today's world is glaringly obvious -- the reader *must* conclude that it is an exoneration of global warming "deniers". I'm shocked that it was published.

I'm a fan of the explorer-discoverer-adventurer-survivor genre. This is not the best book I have read of its type -- I liked Endurance better, for one. But as far as describing the theories, personalities, and conflicts of the time as the setting for the exploration, this book is great.

Although the title is a stretch (the poet, philosopher, politician stuff), this is a great read. The author not only is a very good writer, but also a very good storyteller, an expert at weaving his way back and forth between the Swiss Alps (and the Juras) and the glaciers of the west coast of Greenland. Swiss geologist Louis Agassiz is the biggest star, although I often found myself wanting to get back to the trials faced by Elisha Kent Kane and company on the coast of Greenland.

I learned a lot, all in the context of a great story.

Fun to read, well-organized, and sprightly in style. We are lucky to live in a Golden Age of writing about the history of science. The Ice Finders is about explorers both of extreme environments and extreme realizations. One such realization still has power to change our culture: the evolutionary implications of the ice ages and the corollary age of the Earth. Like poor Louis Agassiz, who propounded the ice-age theory but rejected Darwinism, an amazing number of people today still stand with one foot in religion and one in science.

Edmund Blair Bolles' "The Ice Finders" is an insightful little book that gives a slight, yet penetrating, overview on the sociology of 19th Century science. Here Bolles is interested in the impact creativity has on science; or more simply put, how imagination coupled with facts can propel scientific research. Here he has interwoven the careers of the three who were most responsible for establishing the fact of an Ice Age Earth: the "politician" Charles Lyell who advocated a uniformitarian view of the Earth that was often at odds with "professor" Louis Agassiz's vision of a catastrophic Ice Age that had covered the globe, wiping out life, and finally the "poet" Elisha Kent Kane, who found evidence for the Ice Age in the massive continental glaciers of Greenland. Bolles is interested not only in the facts behind the development of an Ice Age scientific theory, but also in the motivations of all three men, which led them to accept parts of the geological and climatic evidence that they had observed. Although Agassiz was the first to recognize the possibility of continental glaciation, it was only after Kane's observations of the Greeenland ice sheet, that geologists and others recognized the possibility of an Ice Age. Bolles' narrative is told in a crisp, lucid style that occasionally sounds like a well-written mystery. Although this is not the definitive history of science tome on this subject, it is nonetheless a fascinating little book that should be of interest to anyone intrigued with 19th Century exploration as well as the history of 19th Century science.

Dava Sobel's Longitude seems to have established a new trend for science and technology writing. Instead of trying to produce broad histories, more books are coming out that focus on a specific area or development.

This one, for example, covers the development of the theory that there was once an "ice age," an era when glaciers covered much of the earth. This was heady stuff for the geologists of the 1830s, already reeling from evidence that the earth was millions or billions of years old, rather than the thousands indicated by the Bible. In fact, one of the tales of this book is the sometimes irrational resistance of established scientists to this radical but evident new concept, as Louis Agassiz turns himself from an establishment figure into a maverick by championing it and guardian of the orthodoxy Charles Lyell, author of the authoritative textbook of geology, first resists it and finally adopts it in a way that suggests he was right all along. The making of science is not always a pretty sight and is often rather different from the tidy displacement of an outdated theory by a more current, better supported one. It's frequently much more of a fight than that, and the theory of an ice age is an example of such.

But that's just one of the threads of this book. The other is the adventure of explorer-poet Elisha Kent Kane, who ostensibly seeks the remains of Franklin's polar expedition, gets stuck in the ice for two years (a harrowing experience related in painful detail), and finally returns with clear documentary evidence of the massive ice formations that Agassiz needs as the final justification for his theory.

The two threads are related in episodes, which gets a little confusing, particularly when one notes that the Kane expedition narrative covers a time period well after most of the Agassiz narrative. However, one quickly gets used to this and moves on.
All in all, it's a very interesting story that shows how science is made.

My Favorite Witch was a quick, entertaining read. It's fast-paced, light and has fun, snappy dialogue. Very high level of sensuality. Hot, hot, hot.

I really and truly did not expect to like this book, I picked it up on a whim but I was beautifully(not a strong enough word) surprised. Kira, Jason, Gram, Travis and Zane, even Billy. It's not.... this book has left me speechless I can just say it was a great read and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Slow to start and confusing to read. I literally had to look at the page numbers to make sure that I didn't skip a page the writing was so disjointed. I skimmed through the parts that I didn't read and laughed out loud at some of the horrid dialog. I read my husband the declaration of love from the male protagonist to the female and we both laughed until we cried.
Yucky book.

I had always considered myself "not a romance fan" but, I must confess, I have been converted. This was a great book, hard to put down. I know a work of fiction is good if I find myself cheering for the fictional characters in it, as if they are real.
This is the second book in a series and I especially love how it expands on a character introduced in the first.
I look forward to starting the 3rd.

A light hearted wonderful read from an author that speaks to the reader like she is speaking to a friend. This is one of the few books I've read that has characters who talk like you and me, or at least what we wish we would say.
Kira has had her share of problems and heartbreak but a jock is the last person she wants in her life. In walks recently injured hockey great Jason Pickering Goddard and her life as she knows it gets turned upside down. Together they need to help out Pickering Foundation and especially an orphanage.
This book has it all! Wonderful story line you will never get bored with. There are moments in this book where you will laugh out loud and moments where it will steam up you windows. A heart warming ending witch I hope will leave you with tears rolling out of your eyes as it did me.