Blair Books

I needed this book quick, ordered it at a good price, and received it quickly!

This is a book whose time has come -- what with the Bush administration riding roughshod over our constitional rights and all. And their never-ending expansion of executive branch powers. It all seems disturbingly reminiscent of "America 2014." And now that people like Rudy are being taken seriously as a candidates, the more chilling the scenario presented in this book becomes. A fascinating read.

The book's haunting vision is real; or maybe it's real and I don't know about it--yes, exactly, that makes it even more real.

America 2014 captures reality more closely than George Orwell's 1984--where the ideas like Newspeak and one global mega-state might have been too much for people living in 1948.

For instance, last week I was waiting for train at Great Neck, a small train station in Long Island. It's a peaceful town in the outskirts of New York City, and in the waiting area only advanced technology is a big electronic screen saying "If you see something, say something" and every minutes or so a monotonous voice echoes throughout the station "If you see something, say something."

Why is that monotonous voice and screen so reminiscent of "we're watching you" propaganda in 2014; the voice I was picturing while reading the book is the exact same-the sense that people around you are suspicious, the sense that we're all under constant danger, the sense that we need an almighty figure--like the government who's feeding these messages--for our protection.

Not to mention thousands of monitoring cameras watching us every step of our life, not to mention mega-billion wire tapped phone records NSA allegedly has--these are happening right now at this moment.

Media conglomeration is another big thing; News Corp (which owns Fox, Myspace, you name it) resembles the pervasive, fear-mongering, totalitarian media outlet we see in 2014; every time I walk in the streets of New York, I see Fox declaring themselves The Most Powerful Name in the News--well, not much different from the Only Truth media we see in 2014, ain't it.

And tortures. We have already seen evidences of our government torturing people not only in the United States but in other parts of the world as well. And common sense tells us that what we see about government is only inkling of what actually happens behind the scenes; think about it, how much we don't see about what our government is doing; yes, we see the President giving speech and footages of the Congress making decisions and what-nots but that's just a teeny-tiny bit of what's being planned in White House and in Congress, right? So we see these pictures of our government torturing people abroad, who are you to say brutal killings and abusive prison environment in 2014 are not happening?

The year 2014 is approaching, and will we see things happening in 2014 actually happening? They might be happening, but we might not know about it--and that's the most dreadful implication.

This is a quick and "fun" read. Its targets are squarely hit, if a bit tpp obviously so. The adventure story thrills, regardless of its purported relationship to the Orwell classic, and the characters, though not extravagantly developed, are credible. This satirical volume is a true and valuable cautionary morality tale for our age.

Good ideas rarely go far unless they're executed well. In this story, the author has a good premise for a story, but the whole concept would probably have worked far batter as a comic book. Villains with sardonic smiles and grotesque ideas vs. the nebbish anti-Hero learning only too late what lies in store for someone who follows the party line is a caricature of the Orwell original and far more suitable for the "graphic novel" world than mainstream literary efforts. This isn't written well enough for a "summer-reading-at-the-beach" list, but could easily be re-cast into alternative literature.

On the other hand, if you know going into it that it's written like a comic book, you can make it through to the end, and the journey is mildly entertaining. On the other hand, if you feel your reading time should be spent reading works that have been meticulously crafted (AND edited!), then please look elsewhere. You won't find that here.

A little known book. This could be the American novel that transends time and place. The characters and descriptions are of the depth that is rarely described in modern literature.

This could well be the great American Novel that was anticipated. The ideas are powerful and cross racial bounderies. Ellison is a master and re-creates moods with skill. He glorifies the commonplace.

A novel about the truth as seen through the eyes of a fiction--indeed, the truth, to Ellison, was always suspect to the lie and again, as in the phrase the emancipation myth, where freedom wasn't given by the law but the law was only subject to the people who inforced it as truth, and thus Juneteenth, as the title of the last great work by an even greater artist, seems to be apt, for it suggests this dichotomy that Ellison was to work in all of his career.

Always a symbolist at heart, Ellison demonstates in Juneteenth the potential of words to turn even the most innocent of scenes on its head, fleshing out the meaning of slavery in something so unrelated as a circus as when Daddy Hickman takes Bliss to the circus, and Bliss innocently asks how come the lions don't catch the trainer, and Daddy Hickman explains that the lions are mastered. And with that small amount of information, the reader is instantly transported into the real scene Ellison wants his reader to notice. Of course, the genius of all this is Ellison's use of the word "mastered" instead of "trained," as that one word becomes the window through which we begin to see the ritual of the circus as having the potential to speak to us about the deeper convention of race.

And that is Ellison par excellent, for he is always using unrelated events to talk about other things.

There are so many things that can and should be said about Juneteenth that I could never exhaust the subject. Not that I am trying to, but one thing is for sure, those who have an intimate knowledge of Shadow and Act, and Going To The Territory and of course Invisible Man will see the influence of those books on Juneteenth. In scene after scene, Ellison calls up his references like a bandleader calls on the Brass section to riff on the beat, to live in the music, and Ellison, in Juneteeth, is more than anything else, living inside himself, inside the basement of Invisible Man, inside all of the history of literature and once in a while he peeks out at us, peeks as from a glass darkly to see if it okay to come out and play.

Although Ralph Ellison's prose is masterfully, I found the body of work within Juneteenth to be disjointed and nonlinear in scope. Perhaps in someways it parallels Joyce's Ulysses, but falls woefully short of the mark.

Much of the attention surrounding this posthumously compiled and titled novel Juneteenth, has focused on it's unfinished nature. True, in many spots the prose is difficult and plot trasitions are hard to follow. However, Ellison's mastery of the language and his awareness of race relations in the US, make this novel, though unfinished, a poignant follow up to Invisible Man. Ellison, via Callhoun's splicing, delves into the possibilities for equality among races, and the hope that one day we might all, black and white, be led out of the bonds of slavery and into a glorious promised land. Unfortunately, in Ellisons rendering, that Moses is sick and dying, and desperately in need of remembering who he is and where he came from. The end of the novel, although it may be abrupt and full of more questions than answers, might actually be closer to the truth than Ellison might have hoped to achieve. It leaves us as readers to ponder who we are and what we think the outcome might be (infact the last of his notes suggests this kind of relationship of this novel to his redaers). Is racisim truly an eternal bond that we shall never be free of? As in the novel, the answer is up to you.

I originally read this story in a book borrowed from our local Library. I enjoyed it so much, I knew I had to have it for my own. WWhen I saw it on your website, I purchsed it - read it again - and now, I have my own copy to "re-read" whenever I want! You don't have to be Irish to love this book - but it helps !!!

Sister Ignatius has returned to Ireland with Tom Kelly to search for a song they left behind, while one Seamus Sullivan also searches for his first love from an orphanage. WHAT MATTERS MOST follows very different journeys that end in miracles, and is powered by a fine narration by Blair Brown, an award-winning performer. Any library strong in audio stories will find this poignant and winning.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

If you are looking for a "happy ever after" book, this one is NOT for you. If you are looking for a "tug at your heartstrings" book, this one IS for you. For me, it all made sense and I wouldn't have chosen a different ending. After all, how often is reality happily ever after??

Rice, in Bernie, developed a believable, conflicted women who was able to hold onto her beliefs and commitments. Some readers were disappointed in the choices that Bernie made. I was disappointed to an extent but also glad that Rice made Bernie strong in her faith. I guess only a Christian or a Catholic may be able to grasp the magnitude of the choices that Bernie made.

I have yet to see anybody comment on the message to Bernie toward the end. I do not want to give away plot details, but the message was "Be ready". I did not understand this at all and was a little frustrated! I don't know if I was tired or if the conversation between Bernie and Seamus was not written well but I finally grasped what Seamus was getting at.

The end of the book did seem a little rushed. I wish she had taken the time and pages to work through Seamus' angst and Bernie's pain over the events at the end. I feel that she brought John, Honor and the girls into the mix too much in the end. I would have rather seen the words devoted to Bernie and Seamus.

I don't feel that you have to read Sandcastles to appreciate this book. There's a part toward the end of What Matters Most that pretty much sums up the gist of Sandcastles (without all the emotion of course).

This is a good read - Luanne Rice at her best. Loved the characters, the settings and the story line.

I decided to give Luanne Rice another chance after I trashed her book Blue Moon. What Matters Most is incredible. I loved it and would recommend it to anyone! What a great story! Just keep the kleenex handy; you will need it. Great job!

I really enjoyed reading this book and purchased it for one of my closest friends. The sisters of perpetual disorder had me cracking up laughing. And there were tender moments when I had to put the book down to stop from crying. I would recommend this book to just about anyone who wants an honest read and a look into a writer's life.

I found this book when perusing thru the library and I wanted to read it because the author had lost her adult daughter. A very good friend of mine lost her daughter just a few months ago and I wanted to try and understand the grief process she was going thru and hoped that this book would give me some insight. For the most part, I did like this story and it was interesting, but for some reason the author thought we all needed to have the liberal agenda spewed out to us over and over again throughout the book. I won't get into all of it here, but most disturbing was on page 239 where she talks about how Christians oppose abortion, but do not mobilize against war or the death penalty. She apparently wrote this with a straight face, oblivous to the irony that the liberals oppose the death penalty and war, but actively promote abortion. Yeah, that makes all kinds of sense. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I'm getting weary of the fact that so many authors and other celebrities think we are interested in their political views. I was very much looking forward to this book, but the fact that she took the opportunity to get up on her soapbox ruined it for me.
Needless to say, I'm glad this was a library book and not one I paid for.

Isabel Allende's memoir "The Sum of Our Days" is the much awaited sequel to "My Invented Country" and "Paula." Together they provide insight into this brilliant writer's very real life which crosses three continents. Numerous challenges, a sometimes dysfunctional blended "family," incredible coping skills and heartfelt family connections reveal a truly complex human being imbued with soul. Having read all of Isabel's novels, it is inspiring to know the genuine person within. Thank you Isabel!

I loved this memoir and could hardly put it down. Allende is honest, open, and emotional. She touches your heart and makes you laugh at the same time. I love getting to "know" her family. I wouldn't recommend this as first Allende book, however.

Isabel Allende's book "The Sum Of Our Days" bring both extraordinary insight and what I consider thoughtful availability to her memoir that touched me deeply. I got to "be" a part of her story, her family...it was truly intimate.

Her conversations and storytelling throughout the book, with her deceased daughter Paula, are both beautiful and haunting. Watching through Isabel's eyes, her family life unfolding around her, and dealing with their grief was amazing. It aided me personally in my own grief over the loss of my daughter Martha to breast cancer in Febuary of 2007.

Isabel gives hope in sharing her memoir. We can move forward through all of life's changes, both joyful and sorrowful. After all, we are the sum of our days...

Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende is very interesting. The plot had many twists and turns that really spice it up. How the plot weaves together and who the bad guy really is was awesome! How the Golden Dragon really works is brilliant! All of the settings, from India, to The Kingdom of the Golden Dragon was interesting. The author portrays the love and compassion of the Nepalese people that they show for each other. She also shows how they can be cruelly exploited. This among the best children's books I have ever read. By JJ

I loved this book on tape and its two companion stories. I've always been a fan of Isabel Allende and listened to Daughter of Fortune and Portrait in Sepia in the car. Then Id purchased Kingdom of the Golden Dragon and the the two other books in this series on tape. I really enjoyed them although they are very different from Allende's other books. I imagine that a 10-13 year old child would really enjoy these books and have set them aside to give as a gift to a special young person in the future. Despite the more simple story line I loved the tapes and couldn't wait to get back in the car to listen. Books-on-tape are, I think, the complete answer to road rage. When I'm listening to something good I don't care how long it takes to get where I'm going.

I enjoyed reading this book because of Isabel Allende's ability to recreate and capture the desolate and harsh environment of the Himalayas. This is present at the beginning when the two Monks are traveling about the mountains and discover the Yetis for the first time. I also liked the idea of having the protagonists evolve in terms of their courage and attitude towards protecting the statue. This is important because you should always fight for what you believe in and sometimes making the decision to go on is difficult, but in the end, it can make a huge difference.One of the few things that I disliked about this book is that sometimes the story moves at a slow pace and the plot becomes predictable to the reader. Overall, I would highly recommend this book.

Reading this book was painful for me. This is coming from a reader of the English version. The idea of this story could have been good, a chase to save a forbidden treasure from a greedy man with a lot of wealth, but I did not find it at all interesting.

I can understand why this author is well liked, some parts of the book were well thought out and described. The problem was that the main story was not well planned out. All of the story fit together awkwardly and made it uninteresting to read.

Mystery and fantasy are not a category that I believe should be written by this author. The magic in this story seemed to far-fetched and too all-powerful to make it fun. Although some may have been interested to find out who the villain was, I thought that it was painstakingly obvious from the moment the character appeared. If you never have read a good mystery novel in your life, you may be fooled.

I have read books that were translated into English before and I understand that some of the creativity may have been lost. I think one star is appropriate for the book since I do not understand how the amount of creativity this story lacks could have been lost in translation. If the story is lost in the translation, I feel that is should not have been translated in the first place.

Only after I finished this book did I realize it was for young adults! (My reaction before I found out was that Allende had gone seriously downhill.) But from the young adult perspective, it's not a bad read. The second of three mystery/travel/adventure books by Allende, written for her grandchildren, this is an entertaining tale set in a thinly disguised Bhutan. An irascible, mid-60's-ish travel writer named Kate Gold invites her grandson and his friend Nadia from South America to join her on a trip to the Himalayan Kingdom of the Golden Dragon. There they meet up with the King and his heir, a seven-foot tall monk trained in the martial arts, the secret Sect of the Scorpion, a plot to steal the Kingdom's most valuable treasure, etc. No sex, not much violence, and lots of traditional values. Probably good for the 12-13 year old set, but, unlike Harry Potter, definitely not for grownups.

Ann Tyler skillfully weaves her story about two families,an upscale, politically correct American family and the other, an Iranian immigrant couple and mother-in-law. Both adopt Korean orphans and begin an unlikely friendship that spans the children's growing years. The reader comes to appreciate how inspite of profound cultural differences, the families forge genuine ties of friendship, caring and love. I found this to be a truly heartwarming story and would heartily recommend it.

This is the 4th Anne Tyler book I've read and I think it is the best one. It covers so many different aspects of life in this country including foreign adoption, friendship, assimilation, love, and acceptance. The characters are so gently nuanced they just jump off the page.

American couple Brad and Bitsy adopt a baby from Korea and as they are at the airport awaiting the arrival of their little girl, another family, the Yazdans, also American but of Iranian descent, are awaiting their little Korean bundle of joy as well. The two families become friends through this common bond and a shared desire to help their kids maintain a link to their heritage. The way Tyler describes the different approaches of the two families to childrearing and the way the Yazdans view all things "American" is humorous and thought-provoking. The point of view shifts between the characters and it is interesting to see events through such diverse eyes.

The book is small for all the territory it covers, under 300 pages. I wish it was longer, I wanted to keep reading about these characters.

This was a great book. It was a good story with interesting characters. Once I started reading, I could not stop. I'm looking forward to reading more of Anne Tyler's novels.

Ann Tyler is like Baltimore's version of a modern Jane Austen; she writes minutely observed stories about family, alienation and small accidental turns of fate.

In this case, she describes a large family waiting in the airport. From the signs and banners, it is apparent that an American couple is adopting a Korean baby. When the adoption official appears with the child, pandemonium ensues and avid relatives capture the whole thing on videotape. Almost unnoticed in the shuffle, a quiet Iranian-American couple receive their own baby. A year later, Bitsy Donaldson, the American mother, remembers the unusual name and contacts Ziba Yazdan to see if she would be interested in celebrating an "Arrival Party".

Gradually, the two families draw ever closer together. The children are one point in common but when Bitsy's mother dies of cancer, her father subsequently falls in love with Ziba's widowed mother, Maryam. These two, close in age and experience, are separated by culture and by Maryam's solitary habits.

The novel begins and ends with coincidence that creates change. The author writes with a sure hand that holds a magnifying glass to the small things that create friends out of strangers, home out of exile and America out of an oddly assorted yet strangely sympathetic group of people. A grand book on a small scale.

I have never read a book by Anne Tyler before, and probably won't read another.

The characters were pretty boring. Some of them seemed to have interesting internal lives, and the sections of the book where the reader encountered a character alone were the best parts. But when interacting with each other they lost all dimension and the dialogue was flat and cliched.

The two little girls could have been given a lot more depth, considering they seemed to be the central characters of the book when they are first introduced. However, as the book goes on they have little interaction with the adult characters and seem more like stage props or pets. I guess, given the cover art, I thought the story would have been about the girls and that the reader would have been given more insight into their thoughts on being adopted, on growing up in American culture, etc. Just because they are children doesn't mean they can't have interesting perspectives on their situation.

Overall, it wasn't entirely poorly written, it was just boring and unengaging. Not to mention having to trudge through the pages and pages devoted to the "binky party," which really seemed to have no bearing on the rest of the plot at all.

I have read two other Luanne Rice books and was looking forward to another compelling story...this was NOT it. The dialog was stilted and very contrived. After reading Beach Girls I thought Rice was a gifted author, but this book sounded completely different -- like it was written by an amateur.

Though at the beginning of the story, I was inclined to believe it was written more towards a younger audience, I plunged ahead and was surprised to see myself speeding along. Luanne Rice does a brilliant job of making the main characters believable. I love the relationships that form between the young teenagers, their parents and the other influential adults- though I still believe 14 is too young to have a romantic relationship.
I had trouble understanding why the snowy owl was so important to the characters, but believe it was due to "everything falling apart" in their lives that they just wanted "one thing" to go right. The snowy owl parts were a bit too detailed and I found myself skimming over them- which I never do in books.
Also, though it was essential to the plot of the story, I still failed to grasp just how important the U boat was- it became aggravating to read so much commotion about it, when I just couldn't see what the big issue was- it turns out the U boat important information was as the near END of the book. It took a little too long to get to it, I think.

Overall, I was hooked on the story. It has written toward a younger audience, I think, but overall it was a good and easy read.

This was a nice little story but slow. No real climax and though it was uneventful it wasn't bad. It was kind of refreshing to read something that wasn't trying to shock you each page. Although, I will say that Rice's writing style leaves something to be desired. This book is a must read if you are into war history and/or birds.

I have chosen this book for my book club to read. It will be interesting to see if the reviews are as varied as here. I loved the story and the characters, and still think about them. I read alot of books, and this one really stuck with me.

Like a beautifully woven tapestry, The Edge of Winter brings together a multitude of disparate strands to produce a deeply satisfying finished product that glows with warmth and meaning. Any of these strands would lmake a good story in itself - the gorgeous, threatened snowy owl, the gifted artist destroyed by memories of wartime cruielties, the coming of age of two sensitive kids wrestling with misunderstanding and life-changing dedication, the loss and discovery of love, the putting to rest of old wartime hatreds, the battle between greed and environmental preservation- what a rich, evocative range of tapestry threads! Even at their most stubborn, Rice's characters are likeable, and we want them to succeed, both in the larger drama that involves them, and in the personal rekindling of faith and passion. One of my favorite books of the year!

It was surprising to read lukewarm reviews of this book, because I love it, and I like to think I'm a fairly discriminating reader. The story of Frank Levering and Wanda Urbanska's odyssey from Los Angeles, where they were trying to live as writers, back home to the family apple orchard, with its rich but suffocating mix of family and religious and rural values, is a story that many will warmly relate to. It will appeal especially to those who have made livings in the creative arts, have wearied of the rat race and commercialism, and have decided to seek something simpler, more authentic, more affordable...it is a special kind of American story, for we habitually celebrate upward mobility, but only rarely focus on what the Shakers called our quest for "the place just right." I have a number of friends who have enjoyed a few years in large cities, but have become intrigued by the simplicity movement (if it is that) and the possibilities of making a rewarding life in a more remote location. I should also like to say that this isn't a book by Yuppies, about Yuppies...clearly, the locals are valued as highly as the ex-pats. and the attitude is respectful and refreshing. I give this book as a gift and congratulate the authors on writing a story I've enjoyed reading more than once. I don't know what financial rewards, if any, they achieved from writing the book, but I really believe they've done something more meaningful than the LA screenplays would have been. A closing thought...though home schooling is far from my particular world, I think this might be a great selection for the home schooling community, because it gives a glimpse of modern urban life, but affirms in a fresh and interesting way the values of family and community right under one's nose...

i don't know if i'm more thankful to wanda and frank for writing this book or to my friend kurt for passing it along to me. either way, it helped change my life.

the book tells the story of how wanda and frank transformed their LA lives. mixed in with their narrative are vignettes of other peoples' searches for simplicity in their lives. maybe the word "simplicity" has become overused and its definition washed out. for me, the book showed how different folks found peace of mind on a daily basis. how they realigned their goals and actions with their values. how they stopped competing and started living.

after i read it, i took a trip to Levering Orchard with my friend kurt. we wanted to meet the authors, to let them know that their book had touched us. so we took some time off from work, drove to virginia and found the orchard. when we arrived, frank was working at the pack house. we bought some apples and told him why we were there.

frank called wanda, who was up at the house, and told her that some "fans" had arrived at the pack house and wanted to meet her. and over time, kurt and i became friends with frank and wanda. we visited them on several occasions and kurt even helped them pick apples during the last week of the season that year.

i saw how they lived ten years after the move from california. i understood what they were writing about in Simple Living, and i began changing my own life. i wouldn't say that life has become "simple", but it sure is more peaceful than it used to be. my daily actions reflect my personal values and i have learned to live well with less stuff. i even moved from california to north carolina, in the blue ridge mountains, not too far from Levering Orchard.

so thanks, wanda and frank, for writing this book. and thanks, kurt, for letting me know about it.

maybe couples shouldn't write books together. i don't know if they were complimenting themselves, or more likely each other, but it got very tiresome. we all have to build up a certain degree of belief in ourselves, but it is not fun to read other people doing this. i thought the Goldstone's books (a couple who write about book-collecting) suffered from this, but this book really got on my nerves. i like the life they describe in the book, i just don't like all the ego that came with the description, it greatly distracted from the information. they also go on about how great their friends are, but they manage to make this annoying as well. i recommend your money or your life by dominguez & robin, or living the good life: how to live sanely & simply by the nearings instead of this book.

If you want to read the experiences of a couple of yuppies "simplifying" their lives, I suppose this is the book for you. I guess there is a place for that. However, they apparently had so far to go that simplifying for them is anything but for some of the rest of us.

I found the writing style very irritating. Referring to themselves sometimes in the first person, other times second, over to third, then back to first, it really got on my last nerve.

Some of the stories were interesting, but only as stories, not as inspiration or information on simplifying. The best parts of the book were when they were talking about the simple living solutions of other people, almost all of whom had more interesting stories than the authors'.

The snide shot they took at the Nearings was completely uncalled for and unnecessary, as was the equally mean comments about the couple who were former nuns, although not for the reason you may think but because they had simplified too much, in the eyses of the authors. I think this is revealing, and underscores my impression that they only think people should simplify so far.

And the fact that they see Sam Levering as being only of modest income even during the heyday of his orchard indicates they really have no clue about economic reality for most Americans.

Lastly, to have a chapter on frgual living only to turn around in the next chapter and describe a completely unnecessary upgrade of a kitchen was the last straw. Do they even know what frugal IS???

I second some of the other recommendations for alternative books. Read the Nearings THE GOOD LIFE, which combines their two classics on back to earth living, and YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE, by Dominguez and Robbin. You also might go to the Simple Living website, based on the latter book, and get some good info. It's at simpliving.net.

This one? As I said, if you are a yuppie or are otherwise wealthy and don't want to stray too far into the land of simplicity, you might actually find some use for this book.

Simple Living is the true story of Frank Levering and Wanda Urbanska, a couple whose constant craving for more of the trappings of materialism while living life in the fast lane encroached upon their sanity and well-being -- until they chose to revert to a simpler life running a family orchard on the Blue Ridge mountains. An inspirational guide to taking charge of one's life and prioritizing what truly matters, Simple Living is thoughtful and occasionally inspiring reading which is heartily commended to the attention of anyone feeling that there contemporary lifestyle is disadvantageous to their truly livingk and are looking for something better -- something simpler.

Jones also did a series of "documentaries" on the Barbarians aired (predictably) by the International History channel. He portrays Rome as a bunch of murderous thugs while the Barbarian tribes are portrayed as honorable, honest, highly cultivated philosophers, smart, sophisticated, high-tech people! With very little evidence (?), Jones builds a series of entertaining programs. Yet, the historical evidence he presents is so thin one wonders why real historians are not denouncing him. But if you watch his series very closely you'll understand: Jones is actually equating the US with the blood-thirsty Rome of his program. The other cultures, unfairly called Barbarians according to him, are all for "diversity" and "respect other cultures." Yup, Assyrians, Babylonians, Arabs, Goths, Visigoths, Gauls, Huns, Vandals, etc, were just too busy creating their wonderfully "civilized" nations to take care for defense... and the murderous Roman took advantage of these good-hearted intellectuals... Jeez, his trick is so transparent one wonders how long it will take until this clown is unmasked!

Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame, prolific writer of fiction and non-fiction, has written a very funny book on current affairs, composed of articles he wrote for the Guardian and the Observer from 2001 to 2004.

He shows the real reason for the attack on Iraq quoting the Project for the New American Century's `Rebuilding America's Defenses 2000': "The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein."

The same report admits, "adversaries like Iran, Iraq, and North Korea are rushing to develop ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons as a deterrent to American intervention in regions they seek to dominate." So they want nukes to deter American aggression - sounds reasonable.

Terry is not very nice to Mr Bush. He cites an undersecretary in Bush's administration as saying, "George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the U.S. [That bit's right, anyway!] He was appointed by God."

So was it God who wanted to take health insurance off four million Americans, and jobs off two million? Did God want to withdraw benefits from working families earning less than $35,000 a year, by cutting Medicaid, supplemental health insurance, nutrition assistance and welfare? CNN reports, "Half of all Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck - effectively one paycheck away from poverty." But then he (He?) balanced all this by generously awarding tax breaks worth $50,000 per person to America's richest one per cent.

It's only fair that Bush's crony Blair gets some stick too. In `Grading Tony's latest essay', Terry writes, "Tony's uncritical acceptance of information supplied by the U.S. reveals a naivety that would be surprising in any sixth-form pupil, let alone one who has hopes of going on to university and then government, as I know Tony does." He ends, "To be quite candid, Mr. and Mrs. Blair, it's lucky that your son is not in a position of power; otherwise his lack of insight and his crass ignorance would place us all in appalling peril." Other classics include, `I'm losing patience with my neighbors, Mr. Bush' and `It really isn't torture'.

Jones has the kind of cheek to make almost anything medieval seem fresh and exciting - however, for truly incisive, biting and dead-on accurate contemporary political and cultural commentary read Christopher Hitchens. If we could find a way to weaponize Hitchen's intellectual and verbal firepower within a missile system there would be no more to fear from Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Quaeda, the Baathists, Syrian and Iranian insurgents, or any other group only too happy to strap bombs onto their children and send them into a crowd of civilians.

Read Hitchens, period, literally for anything!

Ordinarily, I would not take the time to write a review, but if I could get my money and time back for having purchased and read this book, I would. I love Terry Jones' work, along with the rest of the Pythons, and I was excited when the book arrived. I expected something entertaining, and at least insightful, but what I got was one rant, retold a dozen slightly different ways. It's all based on one web site spelling out some possible right wing conspiracy, and the fact that one web site is cited again and again...and again makes me wonder what the publishers thought they had to work with? At the very least, *do not* pay full retail price for this turkey, buy it used or check it at the library.

This is just what you'd expect from a member of the extraordinarily literate and politically aware Monty Python. Jones shows that the years have not dulled his wit, skewering Bush, Blair and their minions with a thousand razor-sharp barbs, and showing up many of their absurdities by extending them to everyday life. Whether he is debating killing his neighbors because he suspects that they are up to no good or "justifying" the chaining of his son to a radiator because, after all, his _intention_ was to obtain information, not to torture, he makes us unsure whether to laugh or groan at the fact that this _is_ the real world of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al.

Not all of these columns (which they were originally published as) are classics, but they are always informative and most of them take a different perspective on issues that are all too often portrayed by the mainstream media with a mind-numbing sameness. Since they were published at sometimes widely-spaced intervals and of necessity repeat a lot of information, I would recommend not reading the book straight through, but picking it up and reading a chapter or two at a time.

Highly recommended chapters: 1) The Grammar of the War on Terror; 3) A Bag Over the Head is Worth Two for George W. Bush; 10) I'm Losing Patience With My Neighbors, Mr. Bush; 11) How To Bomb and Save Money; 20) If Fish Feel Pain...; 28) The War of Words in Iraq; and 32) It Really Isn't Torture.

I did not buy this book for months because of bad reviews - but I liked it. This book has 4 short stories with cute sport guys who find romance - what is not to love. I like the paperback price - great book to pick-up in the crazy holiday season and enjoy a morsel of romance! Enjoy !

I would also recommended;Dinner First,Me Later? by Candy Halliday,
Squeeze Play by Kate Angell, Causing Havoc by Lori Foster, My Favorite Witch by Annette Blair and (my favorite),See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson.

Lucky Charm by Julia London

Kelly O'shay hosts a sports show on the radio. Mets shortstop, Parker Price, is the current object of Kelly's comedic bashing. Parker has had enough of Kelly putting him down and he's convinced that she is responsible for his bad luck on the field recently, so he heads down to the radio station to confront her.

Kelly and Parker hit it off instantly. When Parker starts hitting better, he thinks Kelly might be his good luck charm and when things get bad between them and he starts hitting bad again he's convinced that Kelly really is good luck.

With Handsome baseball player Parker, and witty and sexy Kelly, Lucky Charm hits a home run with this romantic and fun story! I was cheering for Kelly and Parker from start to finish!

Same Rink, Next Year by Deirdre Martin

David Hewson is the goalie for the Buffalo Herd hockey team. Once a year the Herd comes to Chicago for a game. They stay at the Barchester hotel where Tierney O'Connor works. For that one night, Tierney and David have hot passionate sex then part ways until next year, but this year things change when a snowstorm keeps everyone stranded in the hotel. As the days press on, David and Tierney get to know each other better, changing their relationship from mysterious to familiar and they're not sure that's a good thing.

I adore David and Tierney in Same Rink, Next Year. This incredibly romantic and sensual story is heartwarming and sexy. David is such a great guy and Tierney is a real sweetheart. They are magic together.

You Can't Steal First by Annette Blair

Quinn Murdock and Juan " Tiago" Santiago met as kids playing in the sandbox and ended their relationship after losing their virginity to each other in high school. A surprise meeting thirteen years later on Tiago's party train stirs up more than just lust for Quinn and Tiago.

You Can't Steal First is such blast! It's a sexy and romantic story. Tiago surprised me. I pegged him as a real player at first. Quinn is a lot of fun; she's witty and pretty. She and Tiago make a great team.

Can't Catch This by Geri Buckley

Lindy Hamilton is attending the Florida Moccasins football game, courtesy of her cheating ex boyfriend. She caught him cheating and took the season pass tickets that she got him, for herself. She meets handsome Josh Weldon at the first game and instead of being down about her ex, Lindy is warming right up with Josh by her side, but with her history of picking bad boyfriends Lindy wonders if Josh will be the same.

Josh could charm the pants off any woman. He's handsome and witty and so good to Lindy. Lindy is a great girl whose luck changes when she meets Josh. Can't Catch This is a ton of fun and a really romantic story.

Take four hunky guys, four beautiful women and combine them with fun, sensual, and romantic stories and you get Hot Ticket, a fantastic anthology with each story as good as the next. It's a winner in my book!

Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I read this in one sitting. The stories were a fast and fun read. What a nice way to spend a cold day here in Chicago!

Each story in this book was a one-sitting read. All were great. Not a dud in the bunch. Blair's had a twist I didn't expect, a surprise twist, but I read hers first and bought the book for her story. The rest were icing on a great cake. You can't go wrong with this bunch. Excellent, entertaining reads.

While I read this for Blair's story, You Can't Steal First, because Tiago had been introduced in My Favorite Witch, I have to say that the entire book was a delightful surprise. Quinn and Tiago were hot, funny, quirky, romantic, the perfect pair of stubborn high school lovers reunited.

But every story was entertaining in its own right and allowed each author's voice to shine through. I can see why Deirdre Martin and Julia London are so successful. And there's no doubt in my mind that Blair and Buckley are stars on the rise. Home Run! Touch Down! Winning Goal! Hot Ticket is a keeper.

I had no idea that anthologies could be so much fun.