Blair Books

I was disappointed in the layout of this book because there seemed to be such a confusing way of hearing the historical accounts out of chronological order. I would not recommend this book to any serious history student.

This book was a gift and an unexpected plaesure. I read a little bit each day, as it is set up like a calendar. It was so much fun to read about my state each day and to have something unusual, fun or sad to share with colleagues. the reading is easy but the content makes you think. I bought a copy and donated to my son's elementary school...but they already HAD one. Great book.

Every Day in Tennessee History is a new concept, at least to me. It is not watered-down, "happy history" for lay persons and is not "techologically unavailable" history for professionals. It tells history to common people in a way that is not insulting. I am African-American. I found more about my history in this little book, than in all of the texts in college. I mean, besides noting that slavery did exist, did Africans contribute anything to Tennessee history? One would not think so, reading conventional textbooks. Dr. Jones' book gave me some small insight into contributions by Africans. For this, I am able to recommend this book. I wish he'd do more books on minorities. Thanks for this opportunity to speak up for a person breaking the mold. I am sure his book is not understood by a lot of people who cannot think of history being accessible to everyday people.

I am a laborer. Never went to college. This books was a birthday gift and I tell you, it packs a powerful punch. This is a great easy reading book. I learned a lot, too. It showed me that Tennesseans are, indeed, a rare and worthy people. Before I had felt that the "average Joe" was not worthy of scholarly research or comment. Dr. Jones' book made me realize that ordinary folk are the backbone of this country. He takes a risk by not following customary wisdom of writing about famous White men and their battles. I am sure he received criticism for this.
However, while I never went to college and worked hard allmy life, this book did not talk down to me. It made me feel that my contribution to my state was worth my long days of constructions work that I do. THIS IS A GREAT FATHERS DAY GIFT.

Dr. Jones has made a positive contribution to Tennessee History with many tidbits of information. Some humorous, some thought-provoking, some serious, and some unusual. The "tell only the positive stuff" history has many books to its genre. Some people protest Dr. Jones'writing about common people, as if common, everyday folk had no part in our history.

This book is not one like that. This is light-but-realistic writing, carefully researched, and interesting to read. Give it as a gift...well, I gave one to Vice President Gore who subsequently gave it a rave review. Negtive? No, only in that it does not glorify the rich and famous. This tells it like it was. It leaves the well-known out, pretty much.

Did Dr. Jones make an error with the KKK and ONE date? Gee, give the guy a break, for pete's sake. This is original work and I thoroughly enjoyed his approach and style. I've given it as gifts many times and will continue to do so.

I understand it also is a standard textbook in many history classes at Middle Tennessee State University. How bad can it be?

I ordered this book on a recommendation, but found it to lack depth and substance. I was also distracted by the numerous editing errors and typos in it. I will give Linda Blair credit for a worthy effort on her part for a first book, and I believe in her cause, but I didn't learn anything new in it. However, that having been said, there is an extensive list of vegan resources which I found helpful, and I also found the typical day's eating for several vegans helpful. She touches on several issues concerning a vegan lifestyle, but doesn't really elaborate on any of them. The book is a little pricey for its content in my opinion, but good if one has read nothing else on the subject.

Linda Blair was the bubbliest, bounciest, actress ever to grace the silver screen. Now it looks like she's really losing it: both her looks and her mind.

There's only two types of vegans: women who are out of their minds, and men who want to get up the skirts of women who are out of their minds.

Eating meat is perfectly natural, it's part of the life-cycle. If we don't eat animals a)something else will or b)they are going to die anyway and the meat will go to waste!

Linda Blair is still hot for her age, way to go! But the matronly haircut makes her look much older than she really is. My fashion advice for Linda, grow the hair out to a women's length and put on some eye-makeup and a little blush-on. You will look wonderful dahling!

Being a woman she should realize that looks are all that matters. Whether or not people want to eat meat isn't really that important. Just looking good and landing a man. Some women are lazy and they let their looks go when they land a man. Then they wonder why he starts sleeping around on them and asking for a divorce!

In short, don't go veg, its silly and people will laugh at you. Also, if you're a woman, have women's length hair and dress up for your man. He'll thank you for it.

*I was so sad from losing two of my dogs and my mother. I had this vision of all these animals sitting behind bars. They had no control and were scared. That's why I got into fostering and adopting animals out.
-Linda Blair

Going Vegan is one book that I will cherish and nobodys allowed to borrow or take out of my house! This book will change you life and the way we all take simple things for granted. After following Ms. Blairs book, I have to say that I dropped a consideral amount of weight and never felt better. And to know that your, in essence, saving an animal on top of that is enough to buy one for all your friends. And my skin never looked better. Linda Blair is on to something. And have you seen her lately? Going Vegan is worth looking into.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wishes for a better, safer and healthier world. I have been a Vegetarian most of my life and now a Vegan for 7 years. So I'm not new to the Vegan way of life and yet, I loved and learned much from this book. Most of the time you see celebrities writing books and you think that they are just using their celebrity to make more money and think "what would a movie star have to say that's intelligent?" Maybe that happens with other celebrities but we as humans shouldn't be so judgmental so fast. I don't know for sure about all other celebrities books but what I do know for sure is that "Going Vegan!" by Linda Blair is not one of these `money making schemes.' No, it's not an autobiography of her life. Someday, as a huge fan, I hope to read an autobiography written by her. "Going Vegan!" is her journey towards realizing that the way our world treats our animal friends on a daily basis is horrible and very selfish not to mention very unhealthy for humans too. You will learn that being Vegan means you don't have to give up any of the foods you love because there are substitutes for anything you would ever want to eat. Plus it's not "expensive" to go Vegan as I hear a lot from people I speak with that this is one of their reasons for not trying to go Vegan or Vegetarian. Plus the Vegan alternatives are better for your health. As a long time Vegan , having read countless books on the subject I found this book special because it's straight to the point and an easy read. Meaning since she is not a Doctor she is using language and thoughts that anyone can understand. Nothing wrong with reading a book about being Vegan written by Doctors, I actually suggest it and within her book Linda does too. What I mean about her book being an `easy' read is that it's a great "first" introduction book to the life of a Vegan. Linda is just a human being like the rest of us and so that's the way she talks to us within her book. She makes learning about "Going Vegan!" interesting and understandable. Plus you will get some wonderful recipes to try, which I have already done and they are yummy! You will also get a very helpful list of the types of ingredients found in everyday food that you might not realize are stolen from these innocent animals and placed within common foods. Some of the book is hard to read due to the tortures these animals go through on a daily basis but I urge you to give this book a chance to teach you. Reading a book about "Going Vegan!" doesn't make you're a radical Animal Activist. There is nothing wrong with being an advocate for the animals, they need all the help from us humans that they can get. But information is the key to a better future and Linda Blair might always be "The actress from The Exorcist - Linda Blair" but with this honorable and intelligent book she now deserves to also be known as a caring, tireless and intelligent human being now turned Author. She spends her time working and devoting her life to helping the animals and thus helping us humans along the way. Thank you Linda for this book.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wishes for a better, safer and healthier world. I have been a Vegetarian most of my life and now a Vegan for 7 years. So I'm not new to the Vegan way of life and yet, I loved and learned much from this book. Most of the time you see celebrities writing books and you think that they are just using their celebrity to make more money and think "what would a movie star have to say that's intelligent?" Maybe that happens with other celebrities but we as humans shouldn't be so judgmental so fast. I don't know for sure about all other celebrities books but what I do know for sure is that "Going Vegan!" by Linda Blair is not one of these `money making schemes.' No, it's not an autobiography of her life. Someday, as a huge fan, I hope to read an autobiography written by her. "Going Vegan!" is her journey towards realizing that the way our world treats our animal friends on a daily basis is horrible and very selfish not to mention very unhealthy for humans too. You will learn that being Vegan means you don't have to give up any of the foods you love because there are substitutes for anything you would ever want to eat. Plus it's not "expensive" to go Vegan as I hear a lot from people I speak with that this is one of their reasons for not trying to go Vegan or Vegetarian. Plus the Vegan alternatives are better for your health. As a long time Vegan , having read countless books on the subject I found this book special because it's straight to the point and an easy read. Meaning since she is not a Doctor she is using language and thoughts that anyone can understand. Nothing wrong with reading a book about being Vegan written by Doctors, I actually suggest it and within her book Linda does too. What I mean about her book being an `easy' read is that it's a great "first" introduction book to the life of a Vegan. Linda is just a human being like the rest of us and so that's the way she talks to us within her book. She makes learning about "Going Vegan!" interesting and understandable. Plus you will get some wonderful recipes to try, which I have already done and they are yummy! You will also get a very helpful list of the types of ingredients found in everyday food that you might not realize are stolen from these innocent animals and placed within common foods. Some of the book is hard to read due to the tortures these animals go through on a daily basis but I urge you to give this book a chance to teach you. Reading a book about "Going Vegan!" doesn't make you're a radical Animal Activist. There is nothing wrong with being an advocate for the animals, they need all the help from us humans that they can get. But information is the key to a better future and Linda Blair might always be "The actress from The Exorcist - Linda Blair" but with this honorable and intelligent book she now deserves to also be known as a caring, tireless and intelligent human being now turned Author. She spends her time working and devoting her life to helping the animals and thus helping us humans along the way. Thank you Linda for this book.

It's about time we had another young gay author who knows what the hell is going on. I used to think I would have to keep reading the same two Thorn Hillsbery books over and over again.

If I had to read one more book about a sad old gay man looking back on his life in the pre-AIDS 70s I was going to lose my fu*cking mind.

I'm sure this book "isn't for everyone" as other people have said. Yeah, it's not for the boring illiterate crowd. However if you want to read something fresh, innovative, and cool you've found your book. And for those who read it and didn't like it...beat it! I don't want you around.

Anyway, I loved it. The book is kind of like me-dark, depressing but a lot of fun! Blair is just a wonderful, intelligent writer and I love what he does. He is the best young author out there right now.

Blair is like a literary Diane Keaton. You know. Quirky and an individual. Yet Blair gets points for not wearing gloves and a jacket during summer.

In his second novel (the first, "Clay's Way", won him the Lamda Literary award for best debut gay novel), Mustbaum sticks with telling the story of a dysfunctional, obsessed gay young man, in this case in the persona of Kurt Smith, a would-be artist/writer three years out of college with an art degree, living in a run-down Manhattan studio apartment. The somewhat naturally shy, introspective Kurt admits being obsessed by his ex-boyfriend, the bisexual and charismatic Billy, who is achieving some fame as member of a popular local band. Kurt's days seem to revolve around getting stoned and either remembering their times together, or fantasizing how he will "win him back" so they can be together again. Billy has made it clear to Kurt that reconciliation isn't possible, although he offers friendship, which is not enough for his obsessed and insecure ex. In between his bouts of depression and fantasies of getting Billy back, Kurt has started on a novel about an alienated young gay man who pushes strangers he desires to their death in front of subway trains. It becomes clear that this has also become a obsession and fantasy of Kurt's, one that his friends fear has become a reality, after several such incidents are reported. Has Kurt's frustration with not being able to have Billy resulted in his not only being incapable of considering a relationship with anyone else, but also compels him to enact revenge on young men he desires, hurting them before they can reject him?

Very well-written dark novel, though not exactly the thing to cheer you up on a cloudy or rainy day. Conveys an excellent NYC "vibe" in its characters and situations, and provides a good case study of how alienation and compulsion can ruin an otherwise promising young life. Not for everyone, but I give it five stars out of five.

Blair Mastbaum has never been one to paint a pretty picture of love as seen in the eyes of today's youth. His first novel, Clay's Way, transported readers to the salty shoreline of Hawaii, where the bitter aftermath of a first love soon became a feeding ground for hysteria and rage. Much of the same tale is evident here, except we're in Manhattan, where a lonely struggling writer attempts to complete a novel without losing his mind over a past love. Quick, fun, and an interesting new twist on fetishes (pushing people in front of trains, anyone?), this is a quick fast-paced read that places you in the deteriorating mind of the narrator, an emo kid destined to track down the right way to love. A great addition to the universe of gay publishing.

I saw the writer Blair Mastbaum read from his novel at a bookstore here in San Francisco, where he gave a good account of himself and totally slipped into the voice of Kurt Smith, the narrator, so that in retrospect having read the book I find it hard to keep myself from collating the two, the man and his fictional invention. I guess the biggest difference is that Kurt is pretty severely disturbed, while Mastbaum seemed no more or less neurotic than any other novelist I've ever known. (He kept his cap on through the reading, claiming he had driven all day from Portland and his hair wasn't fit to be seen.)

Kurt's sort of a mess, halfway between a former career as an artist (well, a Cooper Union student) and a possible future as a novelist. I wonder why Mastbaum decided not to have Kurt continue on with his art, because his art school days and his reminiscences of his practice account for some of the book's sharper passages, while his jealousy of Sherlock, a former friend who is now one of New York's hottest young painters, gives the somewhat heavy book a leavening of good old-fashioned spite. Mostly Jurt just sits and stares (the book opens with him trying to get down the forty-eight wooden steps from his East Village apartment where he has been holed up for over a week), mooning over his former boyfriend, Billy, a talented musician who can't deal any longer with Kurt's Kurtness. Like his name implies, our hero is an unstable combination of Kurt Cobain and Elliott Smith, but picture those two roaming through the NYC subway system and fantasizing about doing away with cute guys by pushing them into the rails.

Up to a certain point we identify with Kurt, for who hasn't lost a lover to the arms of another? Who hasn't seen their dreams of a successful career run off the tracks? But then when the subway pusher plot comes into play, Mastbaum has a trickier game to play, keeping us guessing as to whether or not our little Kurt is capable of the heinous acts of a serial killer. Insofar as we believe it, we draw back from a once comfortable identification, and insofar as we doubt it, well, frankly it gets a wee bit annoying the constant Roger Ackroydism of the narration. It's like Kylie Minogue saud, "Stick, or twist, the choice is yours."

The brilliant David Rylance has put forward a convincing case for seeing US ONES IN BETWEEN as a poetic drama of the real vs. the "non-existent," while another reviewer has torn the book to shreds for its alleged resemblance to Mastbaum's first (a book I haven't seen). I didn't understand how the frighteningly grim and repressed Kurt could be mistaken for any of "us ones in between," but otherwise, I'll be looking forward to reading his previous book now, and any other of Blair Mastbaum's books that come thundering out of his brain like locomotives.

Mastbaum, Blair. "Us Ones in Between", Running Press, 2008.

A Tale of Sexual Obsession

Amos Lassen

I loved Blair Mastbaum's first book, "Clay's Way" so I could not wait to read his new novel "Us Ones in Between" a story of violent sexual obsession. It is nothing like the wonderful "Clay's Way" but it stands on its own. It is set in Manhattan's East Village and we meet Kurt Smith who cannot get over the split with his ex-boyfriend and for him the lines between reality and fantasy become excessively blurred. As we enter the mind of the narrator, Smith, we are taken on quite an adventure.
This is a dark book and Mastbaum explores certain youth cultures which, in their own way, have a great deal of influence on the formation of the individual. As the author examines how certain styles separate people, we see the whole issue of "non-existence". We enter a world where people are desired just by being seen and people seem to be strangled by the need to be themselves. With Kurt Smith, our hero, we find him in a situation where the personality of his "ex" takes hold of him so that he is almost unable to move.
The author also looks at the ennui of people today and their motivations and desperations. Without giving the plot away, I will just say that this is more than a book--it is an experience.

Blackbeard and Other Pirates of the Atlantic Coast is a great book! I love Blackbeard, he was quite the character!!

while other customers mock this book's lack of research, this is what i say to them: lighten up. yes, it is a non fiction and should be accurate but nontheless it is still interesting. i would recommend this book to whoever is interested in piracy. it displays the brutness and darker sides of piracy. it was interesting

while other customers mock this book's lack of research, this is what i say to them: lighten up. yes, it is a non fiction and should be accurate but nontheless it is still interesting. i would recommend this book to whoever is interested in piracy. it displays the brutness and darker sides of piracy. it was interesting

This is a good book for those interested in learning a little about several different pirates. There is not a lot of detailed info but it is a good book to have to figure out which pirates you would like to read more about. It gives some of the major incidents in the lives of the pirates.

If you are looking for detailing information on a specific pirate, this is not your book. But for those just starting to take an interest, I recommend it.

It's one of the best books I've read concerning piracy, and is fairly accurate. The one part I really love about this book, is of course, the one on Blackbeard. Regardless what kind of person he was, anyone can be inspired over the fact, that he was literally fearless. Instead of running from a fight, he would run to them. And when he died, it took a lot of men to bring him down, and even then it was a bloody battle. From Stede Bonnet to Calico Jack, this book brings you the bios of some of the most infamous/famous pirates ever.

I loved the premise of this book, read the reviews, and was sorely disappointed. Making it an Amish romance was a little weird, especially when the "Amish" didn't act Amish at all. I've live with Amish neighbors for most of my life & very little in this book reminded me of their simple & dignified lifestyle. The story jogged all over the place, never staying in one direction long enough to follow through. There were endless unbelievable occurrences--one or two could be reasonable, but when the number that occur in this book show up, it makes you think the author was straining for focus. The love scenes seemed lifted from a typical bodice-ripper romance, and everybody was just too nice in the final scene. Ick.

The Butterfly Garden is a beautifully moving piece of work. It quietly grabs you and immerses you into the lives of these two wonderful people. Sara Lapp is an absolutely wonderful, spunky, loving heroine for the secluded, moody, 'Mad' Adam Zuckerman. They are the epitome of the perfect hero and heroine.

Annette Blair writes with such stunning prose, you step into the lives of these people, they aren't even characters, they feel too real to be. Everyone and everything is so fleshed out in exquisite detail, you feel like you are there, with them, and when you're done, you're taken aback at being in the real world once again.

The book is aptly named with Adam and even Sara emerging from their cocoons to finally be free. I highly recommend you taking a warm and breathtaking journey through this book, it's one you won't soon forget and you'll find yourself wrapped into the safe cocoon of the Butterfly Garden.

I found the writing lacking. It was hard to believe this was written by such an accomplished author. I just felt it was too simplistic and didn't really have enough Amish history or realistic feel to it. Amish children don't say mommy nor do friends call each other by a shortenend nickname, i.e. Ab for Abigail. They call each other sister Abigail or brother Jacob. And the word idiot was thrown around a bit too much. Nope, sorry, can't imagine an Amish person calling someone an idiot unless they were referring to a mentally challenged person (which in this case, they weren't. They were using it as slang).

A better depiction of Amish life in a romance novel is "The Outsider" by Penelope Williamson.

This was such a wonderful book. The characters were so well written and they pulled emotion from the reader. This is a story I will read again and recommend to my sisters. I even learned a little about Amish culture. Please pick up this book it will be worth your time.

As a contest judge, I was required to read THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN. The competition was unusually good, the books I read delightful. Even in this heady company, however, BUTTERFLY GARDEN stood out. Blair's cadence and word choices were like breaths of fresh air, the characters unique. The book placed second in the More Than Magic contest and more recently first in the Published Beacon competition. There is a reason for that. It is a thoroughly pleasurable read.

Wonderful and touching. I loved how we dropped right in the middle-just one week before "ruined" Gillian is to wed Prescott. Every person is well portrayed, warts and all.

The children act real and "not perfect," though near the end, the three year old seems too advanced. Prescott is reserved but only "just so," while still having an adult relationship with his wife. They have lively quarrels. Everyone acts mature, still having fun but not silly as in many Regencies. The extended family members, such as the overbearing mother and sister-in-law, add a superb dimension!

For laughs, wait until you read the Christmas pudding scene! A "not-to-miss" enjoyable read.

Other reviewers have summed up the plot for this novel and, if better handled, it could have been a wonderful story. My problem with this book was that the characters were two dimensional, somewhat over-drawn and the hero was so spineless that I wanted to cringe. Here we have a wealthy aristocrat who seems unable to make any sort of realistic parenting decisions. Therefore, his children are spoilt, ill-behaved and rude (in an era when children were "seen and not heard") and yet he seems to be unwilling or unable to deal with the problem. So Viscount Avery marries our heroine, Gillian, to provide his children with a mother and then refuses to allow her to do her "job". Avery seemed to me to be an unattractive sort of person with a weak personality and no real sexual pull.

I have some quarrels with the fact that the author gets titles wrong - eg. "Lord Prescott Avery" instead of Prescott, Viscount Avery. Also, the author makes a big scene out of Gillian cooking the Christmas pudding. Sorry, a wealthy viscountess would never even enter the kitchen let alone cook something. When Lord Avery considers taking up once more his political career, he is said to be going to the Parliament Houses. Really? It's "the House of Lords" or "the Lords". It was just silly little things like that I found annoying. Gillian's mother was another unlikely character who was very ill-conceived. A harridian to be sure but certainly not the sort of person you would expect to be presented as the wife of a younger son of a duke or marquess (based on the title she was given).

I felt this story showed a lack of any background research and the author showed an inability to develop sympathetic, credulous, rounded characters. I thought the idea for the plot was good but many other writers in this genre have done it and done it much better. All in all a disappointment and this one goes to the church fete bookstall.

Catherine Blair has really grown as an author - I read all her stuff because she has a real sense of humor about her heroines; they aren't just fluttering gamine nellies but people I can really identify with. After a while of reading other romances, the foregone formula of a wedding on the last page can destroy the tension - A Family for Gillian is really different, but still maintains a tight sense of romantic (even sexual) tension between the lovers. Initially I thought having children in the story would slow it down but not at all! They added lovely poignancy in their relationship as well as natural humor. I enjoyed this book best of all of Ms. Blair's!

Ms Blair's latest work "A Family for Gillian" is truly her best yet! She beautifully develops the personalities of the children and their complex interactions with Gillian. Blair's characters' dialogues- which are always outstanding -are magnificent in this work. The book has some surprises too.

"A Family For Gillian" by Catherine Blair is not (thank goodness)the typical Regency romance novel. Our heroine, Gillian, marries Viscount Prescott, an Irish landowner, a widower with 3 young children. Gilly had set out to ruin herself in London to bypass her Mother's plans for a great marriage. While she was indeed "ruined", after recieving a note from Prescott asking her to marry him, sight unseen, she decides to marry him as she senses his loneliness from the letter. Prescott wants to marry again for the sake of his children. Poor Gilly seems to spend her time trying to live up to the memory of the near perfect first wife, Elizabeth. The story focus's in on Gilly's attempts to be good mother to the children (who are not pleased by her presence, except for the youngest, handicapped daughter), and a mate to her husband. Unfortunately Avery (Viscount Prescott)is still in love with his wife and has no intention of consummating the marriage; he thinks Gilly is ruined thereby he is not denying her the chance at the physical side of romance. But she is innocent and does eventually admit that to her husband. He does feel guilty, then, about the sort of odd marriage. But why such an unnatural marriage? A bit too extreme.

What I liked about the story was it was different. Back in that time of history, it was pretty normal for women to marry men not only to give birth to the prescribed heir but also, since women died in childbirth, to become mothers to the widowers children. Regency romances shy away from that. It was not all shy maidens and great matches back then. I was also pleased that Gilly and her husband do sleep together. That was interesting, their relationship before and after. Did he still mourn his first wife after Gilly and he slept together? As in the traditional regency romance, sex is not described at all thereby still being "sweet". Perhaps a detail or two would not have been awful, but you get the sense that Gilly is a normal, desiring woman and her husband realizes this. But he is pretty cool to her and so is Jane, the oldest daughter. In one scene, Gilly is so depressed and lonely she writes to her Mother asking to come home (a letter she throws out). Later, that same day after a fight, Prescott comes to her room and finds the letter he wrote Gilly asking to marry him. It would be have made more sense for him to find the letter Gilly wrote to her Mom. Gilly was so sad. She loved Prescott, and says this horrible cliche, that she loves him and is unhappy but would also be unhappy not to see him so might as well be unhappy with him. Seems so pathetic and out of character for a woman like Gilly who was a rather proactive person. At least Avery would read how sad she was and mabye get off his behind and stop being a jerk. Avery tells Gilly he does not want anymore children. Well, he does sleep with her. She never gets pregnant so he, what, pulls out or something? Did he really not want more children ever and that is fine with Gilly? The story begins with the marraige and ends exactly one year later. And no baby. It would have been nice for the story to end with a possible baby. The baby issue bothered me as well as Gilly sitting around and being so unhappy. And her husband was Irish. Did he have an accent? You would never know it.

I was familiar with the case, which led me to Jeff Diamant's HEIST. Having worked in criminal justice, with a journalist as my best friend, perhaps my expectations were too high... I just think the author could have done so much more with the book.

A Yale-educated journalist with major newspaper experience should have taken better care in prepping his manuscript for publication.

Do not misunderstand me, I still do recommend the book, I only caution readers of the true crime genre not to expect too much. The read is still worthwhile, still informative and entertaining. Worth a read, just not at cover price.

This is an absolutely outstanding book. I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. The book chronicles a down-and-out guy with nothing to lose who attempts the second largest cash heist ever. The author does a terrific job of telling both the criminal and human sides of the story. While painting a vivid picture of the crime, its mechanics, and the ensuing police investigation, one also gets a good feel for the people involved, what their lives were like, and how they came to be part of the heist. Really, an outstanding book, even for folks who generally don't read books very often.

With due respect to the author, I thought this book was a bore. Given the story -- several knuckleheads rob Loomis Fargo of $15 million without giving any thought to keeping a low profile afterward -- I figured I'd be in for a rollicking fun read. I was wrong. The narrative is dull, the plot, albeit true, is tedious, and the occasional attempts the author makes to compare the crime with other infamous heists are sorely lacking in detail. Wait for the movie.

I really enjoyed reading this book. This is a classic beach read for the fact that it is amazing and easy to follow. The biggest problem is that you will be constantly wanting to tell people about the group of people that actually pulled this heist off...albeit for a couple of months.

the biggest theft in u.s. history is chronicled here....to be followed by the biggest choke since the yanks lost 4 straight to the red sox...paul zuvella is spinning in his grave....a bunch of rednecks steal millions, then fail to cover up their tracks which leads to arrests of everyone...the author interviewed all participants in this case, except one, and this allows the reader into the minds of some of the funniest, dumbest people on earth....an excellent read, got done in 3 days...nice job jeff...now expose how the yanks lost 4 straight to the sox...ha,ha....slappy to you...

This is a great package of John Grisham audio books for one low price. Fast shipment. Highly recommended.

The stories themselves are great, however, the discs are all marked wrong. For example, I put in the first disc marked "A Time to Kill" and it was "The Client" instead. I had to use a marker and rename all 11 discs!

I always enjoy Grisham's way with words & a story, even if they're dated, & the three readers plus the fade out music are enthralling, however, RandomHouse Audio made a booboo with the packaging I received. The Firm discs (4-6) are correctly labeled & slotted, while A Time to Kill (discs 1-3) & The Client (discs 7-11) are mislabeled & mis-slotted. Bummer, especially if you're driving while listening.

I HAD SEEN ALL OF THESE IN MOVIE FORM AND WANTED TO SEE HOW CLOSE THE MOVIE SCRIPT WAS TO EACH GRISHAM NOVEL IN THIS COLLECTION. THEY WERE REALLY CLOSE TO THE REAL GRISHAM! BUT AGAIN HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE ON GRISHAM'S WORK? I ENJOYED ALL THREE
AND ESPECIALLY THE READERS WITH THEIR INFLECTIONS! THEY SOUNDED
ALMOST LIKE THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE MOVIES. ANYTHING GRISHAM
HAS IN AUDIO I WILL CERTAINLY OBTAIN. THANKS TO AMAZON FOR YOUR WONDERFUL WEB SITE TO PURCHASE SUCH GREAT PRODUCTS.

I had seen all these movies, so I thought I'd give this set a chance. The price is a steal! All 3 narrators do an excellent job, and the stories will certainly keep your attention. I would recommend this especially for trips. I plan to buy more John Grisham audio books in the future!

The stories in this book are a good balance of the unexplained natural occurrence in the area and the reaction of the people of people to them. Most of the stories are short but left me wishing for more.

I found this book in a small bookstore in Highlands many years ago in my travels through North Carolina. I found it to be a warm collection of good old fashioned bedside stories to capture your interest. I really enjoyed these unusual tales of the region, including a favorite "'X' Marks the Spot" which covers the unusual circumstances behind the establishment of Highlands, North Carolina. All in all this collection is definitely enjoyable, and you will find it to be a great book to have around for a quick read before bedtime. The stories are short, but very interesting and will spark your curiousity and imagination about the wonderful mountains of this beautiful state. I truly enjoyed it.

There are many titles that would have been appropriate for this book but the one chosen by the authors is not one of them. Picking up this book one expects to find an abundance of ghost stories within it's pages but if that is your expectation, you will be disappointed. There are only two stories in this book that deal in any way with ghosts and one of those is the Brown Mountain lights which show up in almost any ghost book dealing at all with Western North Carolina. The rest of the book is just one old legend after another.

Don't get me wrong, some of these legends are intriguing and enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the story of Spearfinger. The writing is good and flows nicely and I ran into no editing problems. Still, this book purports to be a book of ghost stories and that is what I bought it for. A much more appropriate title would have been "Cherokee Legends of Western North Carolina" or something like that. One story doesn't even bother to deal with a legend. It is just the story of a scalawag bushwhacker that people still remember and detest.

Those who like to read about the legends and gods of the Cherokee Nation will generally enjoy this book. Do not bother with it however if you are looking for haunts and spooks for there are none to be found here. If I were a lawyer with too much time on my hands I might file a false advertising suit on this one.

Although I somewhat enjoyed this book, I felt that the title was misleading. A more appropriate title would have been simply "Mountain Folk Tales," because many of the narratives were based on ancient Cherokee legends. The book is well written and intelligent, and appears to be historically accurate. In addition, students of Native American culture will find some great material here. However, if you are looking for a good old fashioned haunting, you will not find it in this collection of tales.

Frankly, I was somewhat disappointed by this book. I picked it up because I am interested in ghosts and because I live just east of the foothills in western North Carolina. I had also enjoyed reading the authors' book Ghost Dogs of the South. Despite the title of this book, the vast majority of the stories collected here have nothing to do with ghosts, and no story deals with a traditional type of haunting. What these stories do contain are tidbits of mountain folklore, local history, and Indian traditions and beliefs. The book is not bad in and of itself; the problem is that this reader was expecting something quite different from what he found. Peculiarities of the mountain environment are the catalysts for many of these tales, and I believe that readers unfamiliar with the North Carolina mountains will probably be more disappointed than I was. You don't need to have visited Clingman's Dome, Blowing Rock, or Grandfather Mountain to enjoy these tales, but having some personal knowledge of the area is certainly a plus for the reader.

Mountain Ghost Stories is a pretty short book, coming in at just over 100 pages. I would have loved to see pictures of some of the locations mentioned, but there are none. If you are interested in mountain folklore, Indian myths/traditions, or North Carolina history, you might find a quick wade in this pool enjoyable. If you are looking for traditional ghost stories, you would do well to bypass this little book altogether.

I'm sorry to say, I just did not enjoy this book much. I felt the author's writing style was too jumbled and her thoughts just didn't flow freely enough for me. It almost felt like several authors were writing as one and I was getting bits and pieces of different people's imagination. I think I would have enjoyed this book much more if it would have been free flowing rather than choppy.

I never could connect with any characters simply because the author didn't *open them up enough* for me. The only character that seemed real, in my opinion, was the father.

There was way too much drama in this one family and I didn't feel it touched on the proper (realistic) emotions that your average person feels during these situations. I wanted to like this book ~ I really did. But, it just made me feel ....... a little bit blue!

This reader appreciates the author's writing style, and would label as quite eloquent. Unfortunately, the story line quickly becomes typical and predictable. In real-life and in fantasy, its your everyday small town girl who marries get guy, great guy fools around, girl leaves boy to start new life. This was just another face; in another town; and getting there via different roads.

On a positive note, the author kept this reader's scant interest and did exit the story with the dignity to not send Nick and Judy off into the sunset (at least not in diction).

Mrs. Spaugh was my English high school teacher. Along with being a great teacher she is an excellent writer. I recomend this book for anyone interested in southern literature. She really captured the south.

I'll start by saying that this is a good but not great book. It was interesting, mostly easy to read, and the characters are engaging and somewhat believable. I did find a few problems with reading it, as the book would jump in time frequently (flashbacks and flashfowards) without warning, so it was a bit hard to tell where I was. I liked a lot of the characters and found them very believable, particularly Judy the protagonist, but I felt like some of the characters like her sister didn't seem to make much sense. The author did a lot more telling than showing in descriptions of Judy's sister and you never really were quite sure what was going on (and I felt like it was crucial to the plot). I didn't find that this book really brought me into the South in any way, and could have taken place anywhere, perhaps because the story is universal. This is like a lot of the books featured by Oprah, a woman who has marital and/or family problems, has some really dark moments, finally has an epiphany, and then goes on to rise above it all and rebuild her life. If you like that kind of thing, you'll like this book. I did as well feel like there were some predictable parts in this book, particularly since I have read many books in this genre. You will probably enjoy reading this, but will not find it earth-shattering or mind-blowing.

I'm one of those people who judge books by their cover. And that is a rather sad thing. It is, really. But my assumptions are correct because most of the time (NOT ALL, But MOST!) I enjoy the books. I chose this book because it sounded rather amusing. And it was.

SOMETHING BLUE is a story of discovery and recovery. Pain and Healing. Loss and Love. Gaining and Recieving. The tale of Judy is one where raw emotions can be related to. Judy lives a rather ordinary life. But when her sister, Tina, decides to marry a man...lifes are changed. Judy rediscovers her passion for architecture and also discovers the secrets hidden by the eyes. Her husband's love for another. Judy must deal with the corruption of her family, trust, love, faith, and life. And the journey is a rewarding one transporting you into an honest world with a true voice.

SOMETHING BLUE is a taking the tale we all have heard of. Girl meets boy. Girl loves boy. Boy cheats on girl. But this one is a quest into the depths of the protagonist's soul so you relate with her even if you haven't endured the SAME type of difficulty in your existence.

I recommend this story to those who enjoy looking at lives of others, relating to others, and those who wish to venture into other lands.