Blake Books

A good reference for model ship builders and the history enthusiast. Numerous photo's, drawings. diagrams, a good glossary of sea terms.

Written as an addition to Nelson's navy the ships, men and organization 1793 -1815. Both books give a very thorough history of the Royal Navy of the time.
Worth the price.

I fail to understand why I should pay attention to a review that pans this book ,(Richard Lawrence) which has been praised and enjoyed by many, myself included, and pans it on the basis of what clearly must be a personal or professional grudge against the publisher or co-author. Bizarre to say the least. I think for the reader of Hornblower or the Jack Aubrey novels, this book opens up a world of fascinating and most useful knowledge that wonderfully complements the reading of these novels. It also stands alone and a comprehensive and richly detailed glimpse of this remarkable period of naval history. I'm sure a second edition would set to rights the occasional factural errors. Cheers, Peter Lower, Port Hope, Ontario Canada.

Simply a must-have. If you are a fan of the period, or actively read 18/19th century sailing novels, this book is very helpful.

I needed a primer on warships in the age of sail, and needed it on short notice. This was available, so I bought it. All in all it wasn't too bad. The book covered a wide range of subjects, and I walked away with the feeling that I had acquired a good base of information. In this the book excels.

Still, for me the heavy use of period naval jargon hindered my understanding of the subject matter, and the illustrations weren't the best. As other readers have noted, there were a number of technical inaccuracies, many of which could have been caught through better proof-reading.

Still, all in all I liked the book, and will keep it around for future reference.

--Jeff

The illustrations in this illustrated book are without detail and almost useless. If you are using this book for reference purposes forget it. It looks like the author passed the origional images through an imaging software program to distort them enough not to have to pay royalities or something. I'm very disappointed.

I had never heard of Crouch before picking this book off the shelf but after finishing it, I'm definitely going to track down Desert Places and anything else Crouch has written. I like the fast paced style of Crouch and the graphic details he goes into along with the fact he's not afraid to kill off characters. And who didn't feel a slight bit if satisfaction with Luther's response to bad customer service from Daniel at Wal-Mart, bad service which is becoming more and more frequent everywhere these days.

In Locked Doors successful writer Andrew Thomas is living life in the remote wilderness on the run from the authorities after being framed for multiple murders. Luther Kite also wants to track Andrew down to reap his vengeance so sets out killing and abducting those Andrew was close to in an attempt to draw him out. One of the best books I've read in years.

Blake Crouch, Locked Doors (St. Martin's, 2005)

Locked Doors continues the storyline from Crouch's first novel, Desert Places, and does something I've wanted to see for a very long time: shows you what happens after the pseudo-happy ending where pretty much everyone winds up dead and you end up thinking to yourself, "our hero's got a lot of 'splainin' to do..."

We open seven years after the events in Desert Places. Andrew Z. Thomas, our hero, is a suspected serial killer on the run. He's been living under another identity in a very small town in the Canadian wilderness, working off and on at the town restaurant and writing a book about his experiences (in true meta fashion, the book is entitled Desert Places). He is being tracked by an ex college student, Horace Boone, who recognized him in a bookstore and has aspirations of writing the Great American True-Crime Book. (Yes, American; he spotted Thomas in a bookstore in Alaska.) The problem is-- and this is a spoiler if you haven't read Desert Places, so beware-- Luther Kite, whom Andrew left for dead in Wyoming, is still alive, and determined to settle some old scores. In order to get Andrew's attention, he kidnaps and murders Andrew's ex-girlfriend, as well as kidnapping Andrew's late best friend's wife, Beth, and killing the family next door to Beth's house just for the fun of it. Andrew takes the bait, of course, and heads back to North Carolina to see if Kite's parents can tell him anything-- just as detective Violet King (Viking for short), who believes that Andrew is responsible for the new string of deaths and disappearances, heads from the same place to talk to the same people after a partial fingerprint of Kite's is found at the murder scene.

A lot of people seem to have thought of Locked Doors as being over the top, but then I'm a Cormac McCarthy fan. Over the top doesn't bother me much. I'm pretty much willing to swallow anything as long as I've got some decent characters backing it up and the pages keep turning. And we get that here, though Locked Doors requires even more suspension of disbelief than Desert Places did; this is almost, but not quite, camp. It's Mickey Spillane meets I Dismember Mama with a dash of the aforementioned McCarthy thrown in thanks to Crouch's usually muscular prose. And for most of the book's three-hundred-odd pages, it successfully treads the line between gross and unintentionally funny, because Crouch has a gift with not quite making things ludicrous enough for you to laugh at.

Then comes the ending. Oh, my, the ending.

Without spoiling the book, I hope, I'll say this: Crouch has pulled the same cheap trick on us twice, with no variation whatsoever. While the rest of the book is the cross I described above, the ending is pure B-movie Hollywood thriller junk. You know how, when you watch a movie that's half-decent but still straight Hollywood, you know there's going to be some sort of silly extraneous shot at the end that sets you up for the inevitable sequel? Yeah. That. In book form. It's horribly disappointing.

Still, it's a decent, readable thriller. If you liked the first one, you'll probably get a kick out of the second, as well. ** ½

In Blake Crouch's riveting debut novel Desert Places his protagonist, suspense novelist Andrew Thomas, is framed for a series of gruesome murders committed by a pair of psychopaths, one of them Andrew's twin brother Orson. The physical evidence against Andrew is too strong for him to come forward and explain himself to the authorities. Thus Crouch's sequel to Desert Places, the equally compelling Locked Doors, finds Andrew hiding from civilization seven years after the murders in a remote cabin in the Yukon. He's come to appreciate his solitary life in the wilderness, and he has some small hope of one day clearing his name: he is at least working on an autobiographical manuscript, an account of his brother's killing spree, which turns out to be the text of Crouch's first book. But Andrew's calm is interrupted by a second spate of killings, similar in style to the first, which the press is blaming on Andrew himself: the victims are people he was close to in his past. He is thus lured from his safe haven to reenter the nightmarish world of serial killer Luther Kite, his brother's accomplice, whom Andrew had left for dead at the conclusion of Desert Places.

It takes all of six and a half pages for readers to experience their first jolt of electric fear while reading Crouch's second Andrew Thomas novel. After that the scares come thick and fast. This is a book that will fly by if you let it, its seductively short chapters flashing past in an adrenaline rush of reading. But it's worth slowing down, if you can, to enjoy some of Crouch's prose and the lovely, subtle way he sometimes has of getting information across: "She peered out the window and saw the fog dissolving, the microscopic crawl of traffic now materializing on Broadway through the cloud below."

Well-written, heart-thumpingly exciting, and nearly perfect in its execution, Locked Doors is definitely a worthy successor to Desert Places. It is in fact a little easier to enjoy than its predecessor, which was so steeped in gore as to almost be unpalatable. There is more room this time around to breathe between eviscerations and hanging carcasses. But it'll still scare the pants off you.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

From the beginning, only bits of the plot are revealed in this suspense thriller, new characters introduced in short chapters that move the storyline along. Through the actions of one sociopath it is clear that quantities of blood will be spilled before the tale is told. The very stylized chapters ratchet up the tension in a series of tantalizing clues, as an evil design is put in place to lure Andrew Thomas into an elaborate trap. Accused of serial murder, Andrew has been in hiding for the last five years, dead bodies buried at his river-front home in Davidson, North Carolina. The police have every reason to suspect the formerly successful crime writer is the perpetrator of the recent crimes near Thomas's old residence.

While Thomas has been hiding in a rustic cabin in Haines Junction, Yukon, his books continue to sell, but the author remains secluded, guarding his privacy with the established patterns of a loner in a desolate part of the world. Recently, Andrew has been writing a new manuscript, one that makes the case for his innocence in the serial killings, postulating that he was framed. Even in his exile, Andrew hears of the recent crimes, so heinous that even his Yukon neighbors are discussing the details. At this point, Thomas realizes that he must leave the security of his hideout and make an attempt to rescue Beth Lancing, who has been kidnapped, the wife of Andrew's deceased best friend, Walter. Beth believes Andrew is responsible for Walter's death until she is confronted with the violent intentions of a stranger. After the abduction, Thomas realizes that Beth's kidnapping is a calling card from an old nemesis.

Everyone is searching for Luther Kite, including a detective from Davidson, N.C., Violet King, where an entire family was murdered and Beth Lancing abducted on the same night. With few clues, Luther's name at least gives the police a place to start, their small village wracked by the implication of the murders, indicating the return of the infamous serial killer. In subtle twists and turns, the story assembles the protagonists, with no inkling of who to trust or what horror lurks beneath the face of a stranger. Nothing is what it seems in this nightmarish plot, where the innocent are collateral damage. Taking inspiration from Anne Sexton's "Locked Doors", Crouch has created a chamber of horrors where death dwells in every corner. Eerily seductive, creepy characters lend an atmosphere of implicit danger, the rapid-fire action leading to a bloody confrontation, unleashed by a depraved mind with a will to kill. No holds barred and unsophisticated, this is terror served raw, with its blatant brutality and ongoing menace, even after the last page is turned, a scorched earth treatment of the criminal mind. Luan Gaines/2005.

Locked Doors picks up seven years after the conclusion of Crouch's debut novel, the compulsively readable Desert Places. Having barely survived the events related in that harrowing thriller, famous writer Andrew Thomas, now one of America's most wanted criminals, has settled in the Yukon after many years on the run. Believing his ordeal over, Thomas is stunned to learn of the murder of a friend's wife and the kidnapping of a former flame. Apparently, someone is trying to send him a message that the trials that commenced seven years prior are not over, and that a reckoning must occur. Thomas travels to North Carolina and the Outerbanks island of Ocracoke to confront his adversary, setting the stage for an epic battle between the author and a man who can only be described as a relentless killing machine.

Crouch's sophomore effort, a tense, violent, fast paced work of suspense, proves the author has not lost his ability to enthrall and surprise his audience-Locked Doors is just as slick and twisted and entertaining as Desert Places, perhaps even more so. What distinguishes it from that novel is Crouch's focus on ancillary characters like homicide detective Violet King and would be true crime writer Horace Boone, which, rather than diverting readers' attention from the main battle, actually intensifies the experience once the blood starts to fly.

Crouch's chief talent lies in dropping his characters into untenable, sanity threatening situations, and then letting all hell break loose. This affinity for mayhem wreaks havoc with the reader's expectations, as neither the heroes nor the villains ever act predictably. The relentless pace of the narrative and Crouch's clean, taut prose allows for a certain suspension of disbelief, making for a book that readers will be loathe to put down once they've begun.

If you are looking for an interesting/inspirational book about the day that Donny woke from a coma with the details and science behind it, this is not the book for you. The majority of the book is spent building the case for why this was a tried and true religious miracle. The book rambles on and on listing parish leaders/people and their involvement in the miracle. Finally, I just skipped to the 5 pages that detail the awakening and called it a day. Not the book I thought it would be.

While this book doesn't have a typical "happy ending" it ends with closure for the family, and is a very interesting and fairly well written book with a lot of backround information about the families and the struggles this couple experienced. Very good!

I could not believe they would let their dog run after their car all the way out to a suburb and I could not read anymore after he apparently got confused and lost the scent.

What kind of end did HE come to ?

The very idea that someone could wake up from a Rip Van Winkle like coma is amazing enough, but that the family could converse with him was astounding. I was left wanting to know a little more about Donny's eventual death and the effect of the waking on his family, but I suppose that story is still waiting to unfold.
Donny's story should make us think about the kind of care we render to minimally conscious and comatose patients.
I preached about this story one Father's Day.

As a firefighter this book hit close to home. Also, the fact that I am a member of a fire department who unfortunately shared a similar case in which a firefighter was comatose for 13 years made this book extremely interesting. If you, or someone you know is a firefighter, buy this book. It it an easy, quick read yet it makes a person realize just how fragile life is. It also brings back memories of fires I have fought where just such an accident could have happened to me or my fellow firefighters. If you happen to be Catholic, the story is even more interesting. I highly recommend it.

Omnibus volume 2 of 2 in the Library of America edition of the "Leatherstocking tales"

JFC disinters and resurrects his hero Natty Bumpo nearly 15 years after sending him off into eternity from "The Prairie", the third installment of the Leatherstocking tales. "The Pathfinder" picks up the tale as a sequel to "The Last of the Mohicans", and the first quarter of the new tale is a virtual repeat of the earlier plot. Leatherstocking, now called The Pathfinder almost exclusively in this tale, guides the daughter of a British officer and her companion through the wilderness of upstate New York to a British fort.

The variations on the theme in this installment arise from placing most of the action on Lake Ontario and its islands, and giving The Pathfinder an active romantic interest in the female lead (while the movie version of "The Last of the Mohicans" made much of the love interest, the original story did not). This takes The Pathfinder out of his natural element and gives Cooper new opportunities for farce and romance. While these scenes sometimes seem quaint or stilted today, the story holds together, and Cooper's handling of chase and battle scenes still holds up well today.

Not so for the finale. "The Deerslayer" is the worst by far of the series, Cooper over-indulging in his tendency for repetitive, wordy asides with no editor willing or able to trim the mess down to readability. Very little action takes place on this account of Leatherstocking's first time on the "warpath." Your best bet is to skip it, unless you are determined, as I was, to complete the series.

Better idea: Go back and re-read the stories in James Fenimore Cooper : The Leatherstocking Tales I: The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, The Prairie (Library of America).

Excellent, high-quality binding, paper and typeface make this volume a joy to handle and read. The classic Leatherstocking Tales have never looked better. The time line and notes help place the readings in historical perspective.

Excellent, high-quality binding, paper and typeface make this volume a joy to handle and read. The classic Leatherstocking Tales have never looked better. The time line and notes help place the readings in historical perspective. In re-reading the widely-known "Last of the Mohicans" as an adult, I am surprised at the level of violence and racism expressed. Cooper's introduction warns women and clergy from reading it - an early 19'th century view, but also modern in that one must have a sense of the historical period of the story, and of the author's times, to appreciate what has changed, and what unfortunately remains unchanged in our society and in human nature.

The Pathfinder and The Deerslayer are great stories well told. Natty Bumppo (a.k.a. Pathfinder, Deerslayer and Hawkeye) is the archtypical American hero. He is brave, honest and selfless, yet still humble. He is a model for us all. Young people in particular should read about him as an antidote to the rampant braggadocio that too many modern "heros" exhibit.

Omnibus volume 1 of 2 in the Library of America edition of the "Leatherstocking tales"--five novels by Cooper that cover the live of a great woodsman in the 18th and 19th centuries. The most well known of the stories "Last of the Mohicans", was neither the first written nor the first in sequence, as Cooper compiled his life-work in scattershot style.

Library of Amerca Volume 1
written in
1823 "The Pioneers"
1826 "The Last of the Mohicans"
1827 "The Prairie"

Library of America Volume 2
(James Fenimore Cooper : The Leatherstocking Tales II: The Pathfinder, The Deerslayer (Library of America))
written in
1840 "The Pathfinder"
1841 "The Deerslayer"



Books in the Library of America series deserve praise for their quality binding and paper, portable size, minimal but useful supporting materials, and reasonable price. I was fortunate to find this 2-volume set at a library book sale brand new (still in shrink wrap!) for $4 (total list price of $75).

First, lets address the order in which the reader may choose to read the books--as written by Cooper, or in chronological order of the character Natty Bumpo. After some internal debate, I chose to read them as Cooper wrote them, looking for changes in his character and his writing style to see if either the books or the character notably improved or regressed. To read them in chronological order of Natty Bumpo'ls life, read in this sequence:

"The Deerslayer"
"The Last of the Mohicans" - set in 1757 near present-day Glen Falls, NY, during the French and Indian War (the story references historical events and characters from the war).
"The Pathfinder"
"The Pioneers" - set in 1780s in upstate New York, farther west than the events in "Mohicans"
"The Prairie" - set in 1805 in the American midwest.

Cooper started with "The Pioneers", placing the aging Bumpo close to the end of his scouting career as the pioneers of the title crowd into and cut down his wilderness in upstate New York. The pioneers clear out the forests that Bumpo knows and loves. and drive away the wildlife he knows and respects and on which he earns his living and his livelihood. The series starter is at once more philosophical (Cooper--through the voice of Bumpo--comes across as a thoroughly modern environmentalist) and humorous (much of the book centers around the comical characters of the pioneers) than "Last of the Mohicans". Cooper's environmentalism is best expressed by Bumpo in "The Prairies", where he prophesies with the wisdom of his 80 years:

"Look around you, men; what will the Yankee choppers say, when they have cut their path from the eastern to the western waters, and find that a hand, which can lay the 'arth bare at a blow, has been here, and swept the country, in very mockery of their wickedness. They will turn on their tracks, like a fox that doubles, and then the rank smell of their own footsteps, will show them the madness of their waste."

We have lived to witness the fulfillment of his prophecy.

"Mohicans" is 2/3 of a ripping fast adventure story, that bogs down in the last 1/3 in arcane Native American politics. Cooper makes much--too much--of the political differences between and among Native tribes, distinctions made by a 19th century writer of an 18th century tale, distinctions based on 16th-century white European biases, none of which are meaningful or accurate to 21st century readers steeped in 20th-century revisionism to try to correct the tragic history of those last 5 centuries.

That said, it is easy to see why "Mohicans" is the centerpiece and most popular of the books, and the one most accessible to Hollywood (12 movie and television versions, including some foreign language films, most recently starring Daniel-Day Lewis in 1992). Cooper knows how to write a chase and a cliffhanger which that best screenwriter would have trouble improving upon, and his main characters (Bumpo and his native partners Chingachgook and Uncas) are not only strikingly modern in their environmentalism, but also in their laconic heroism. Clint Eastwood surely must have studied and copied their delivery to create his anti-heroic Dirty Harry Callahan persona.

"The Prairie" may be the strangest to read, as the reader progresses through the tale with the foreknowledge that he will see the end of the life of Natty Bumpo the person, but not the end of Natty Bumpo the literary character. This, and Cooper's writing style that now reads as wordy and stilted, take some of the edge off what could have been a great deathbed ending. Plus, like "The Pioneers", this book returns to the semi-comic style, with characters inserted for comic relief who engage in long monologues that just don't hold up as well today as when written 150 years or more ago. The Library of America notes on the texts says that "Mohicans" was aggressively edited to accelerate the pace of the narrative, and it shows.

"The Prairie" as the title suggests, was set on the flat grassland at the western edge of the "settled lands"--but still east of the Mississippi when Cooper originally wrote the novel! A measure of how quickly America was expanding west is evidenced by notes in revised editions just 20 years after Cooper's original writing that the setttlers had now overcome this territory and that "the 'settler' preceded by the 'trapper,' has already established himself on the shores of that vast sea [Pacific Ocean]."

Natty Bumpo is now a very old man (regularly admitting to four score years, and at one point referencing four score plus seven winters, or 87 years old) for his time. He is weak, shaky garrulous, forgetful and losing his eyesight, but still smart enough to think before acting, and wise enough to lead the motley crew of characters who stumble across his path out of harms way.

I would rate "Mohicans" five stars, "The Pioneers" four stars, and "The Prairie" three stars, and thrown in a bonus to Library of America for its aforementioned virtues. In general then, the experiment in reading the books in the sequence written didn't show a falloff of the quality of Cooper's writing, but rather reflects the writing style of the time and demonstrates the value of judicious editing in the case of "Mohicans." Interestingly, "The Prairie" was written and published during an extended stay in Paris, at a time when Cooper's financial straits demanded financial more than critical success. While born into landed wealth in upstate New York (Cooperstown is named for his family), Cooper endured periods of financial and critical failure during his career, and embroiled himself in several lawsuits that, won or lost, cost him money and reputation.

One interesting thing I took away from these three novels was how Cooper's writing preshadows (and possibly influenced?) J. R. R. Tolkien

1. The use of landscape and weather as characters and portents. The weather moves, predicts, and influences the actions and attitudes of characters.

2. The role of the "hidden king" taking his rightful place when identified after proving his worth as a commoner and a warrior among his people (Uncas in "Mohicans" and Aragorn in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy).

3. The use of names to impart different meanings, perceptions, and purposes to a character based on the names others used to describe them- for example

Nathaniel Bumpo - given English name.

Natty Bumpo/Bumpho - informal English name.

Leatherstocking - English nickname for his long soft-leather leggings and moccasins he was known for wearing.

Hawkeye - name given by English-ally Indians for his accurate shooting aim

"the scout" or "the trapper" - names used often by Cooper to identify the character by his role

Longue Carabine - name given by French-ally Indians for his long-barreled rifle (which in a critical confrontation about which white man is really about

After writing these notes pointing out ways in which I found similarities between Cooper and Tolkien, I found this hit in Wikipedia:

"Cooper's work has greatly influenced J.R.R. Tolkien, whose Elves have many elements of Cooper's portraits of noble Native Americans, while some passages -- like the journey down the river Anduin in The Two Towers -- read like passages from The Last of the Mohicans."

[...]

However, finding additional hits to confirm this was difficult, and would make a worthy subject for future research for a English or American literature masters thesis.

Blake Nelson writes in the here and now, nude, crude, and stark, and this is the most fascinating feature of the book. It is more or less nothing but the chronicle of a month or so in young post-slacker's life. The title, I think, is pretty misleading, because the main character, Mitch, is not a heavy drug user, and skag makes its appearance only in the last part of the book, involving him kind of marginally, as an experience to brag about. I felt the focus was more on Mitch's lack of any capacity of expressing the emotions and thoughts of worthlessness that he has learned to bury deep inside. His on-and-off love interest, Amy, appears through the book as, either a possibility for "redemption" from a pointless, hedonistic, disconnected existence, or a symbol of what Mitch really wants (intimacy, a committed relationship) but is afraid to admit, because it would be uncool. The end is totally puzzling and leaves the reader with many options open.

this is a Nelson's indie book. it is a little darker, a little funnier, a lot sexier than his normal stuff. check it out

I read Blake Nelson's book Girl a few years ago and thought it was pretty good, so when I bought User I expected an okay read. Unfortunately I was sadly mistaken. User is the worst piece of crap I have ever wasted my time on. Did Nelson want me to hate all of the characters and assume they are all stupid, annoying turds? There was no plot, no character development, no interesting characters. There was however, a bunch of idiots running around saying things like "We just did heroin! We are so cool!" Seriously. Please, Blake Nelson, give me the 2 hours of my life back that it took me to read your pathetic excuse for a novel.

Someday some is going to write a dissertation on Nelson's youth obsession. In his other books he writes mostly about over-sensative young people, in this book he goes to the other extreme. These kids are brutal, drugged, sex-obsessed and yet still sweet in that special Nelson way. I like all his books but this is a special favorite.

User is Blake Nelson's own answer to his first novel, Girl. This time it's a boy, a young man a few years older than the teen Andrea of that book. Mitch is 23, in between menial jobs, not in school, and generally going nowhere. His family involvement is minimal and with no encouragement from those around him to do
anything, he does nothing. User refers not so much to the familiar drugs and booze of twentysomethings but to the use and attempted use of those around him.

The problem is, Mitch isn't even good at it or good at anything for that matter. The thing he does most expertly is smoke a cigarette, as Nelson writes repeatedly,
"He smokes." ..., which would sum up the main character. Broke, bored, and with little personality to get him more than sex with people he doesn't even care about, there is no request for sympathy and none given. Stealing something here and there, bumming a ride, trying to get into a club for free ("I used to work here") all sum up the not-as-cool-nor-fun-as-it-seems life of a slacker.

Nelson has a smooth writing style that makes this a fast read. However, it comes off as a watered down version of the kind of young and the useless stories that Bret Easton Ellis began in the 80s with Less Than Zero. Ellis is both loved and reviled, but one thing has become clear. In the years since Less Than Zero, Rules of Attraction and even American Psycho, he looks that much better compared to the competition.

Not to say that User is going for the same thing. The reference to Less Than Zero on the back cover is ill-advised but undoubtedly inserted to sell the book. (Hey, I bought it!) And that's part of the problem. Don't expect a Less Than Zero for the end of the century. This book basically meanders through the few weeks (or was it months?) in the life of Mitch. There's no real plot and there is no pretension on the flip side. No larger statement that is present in Ellis' work (even though that author prefers the sledge-hammer to the head form of subtlety to get his point across.) As a slice of post-grunge youngsters with nothing to do and nowhere to go (through their own doing I might add) this is harmless enough. It's only occasionally insightful but actually seems less mature. Mitch is a less consistent narrator than Andrea in Girl. There are moments, however, where Blake gets right inside the mind of a twentysomething guy with perfection.

I'd recommend it to anyone interested in novels about the young and disaffected. However, be aware that you could do better. Nelson is a writer for Details, which may tell you as much as you need to know off the bat.

Valuable things are not easy; easy things are not valuable. I don't know if that's a quotation from the Tao-Te Ching, but it ought to be. William Blake's longer poems, the so-called Prophetic Books, are legendary in their difficulty. Each of the two great epics, "Milton" and "Jerusalem", is a world in itself, taking years or decades to explore. Everyone who has made the effort considers it time well spent.

Blake wasn't shy about the importance of his own work. In a letter he described "Milton" as "the Grandest Poem this World Contains". But these immense, unique hand-engraved, hand-coloured cosmic-spiritual epics found no buyers in Blake's own lifetime. Only one coloured copy of "Jerusalem" is known to exist.

The Illuminated Books have been reproduced in colour before, but this is the first time all the plates have been printed full-size in a single book. Blake is fascinating even in black-and-white, but to read these books in the form intended means entering a new world. By depicting spiritual principles as People, Blake shows us the meaning of all ancient gods.

After the lyrics of the "Songs of Innocence and "Songs of Experience", the best place to start is the "Book of Thel", then the "Visions of the Daughters of Albion". When reading the long books, a plain text copy of the "Complete Poems" will come in handy: difficulty in reading Blake's graceful orange script for "Jerusalem" may be one difficulty too many. The remaining shorter books, with their anguished mythical narratives, rely more than the others on their illustrations, printed as if with fire, rust and soot: images of an age of Revolution.

Blake's aim was nothing less than "to open the immortal Eyes/ Of Man into the Worlds of Thought, into Eternity/ Ever expanding in the Bosom of God, the Human Imagination". Astonishingly this is not exaggeration nor plain craziness: he can actually do this.
If a book I admire gets five stars, this one deserves fifteen. It's a marvel, a rectangular treasure, one of the most precious books ever printed.

I'm so glad I bought this; although it's expensive and hard to come by, I am pleased to finally have a copy of Blake's complete pictorial works. Of course I also bought a copy of his complete written works. If you are a lover of Blake's work and strive to understand him fully, this is a must-have.

William Blake - a genius before his time - created powerful words and images. Reading his works, and studying his pictures, will have a positive effect on your ability to design and communicate. Since purchasing this book, I've found increased attention to details, ways to eliminate clutter, a better ability to write succinctly and creative ways of looking at problems. I recommend this book for all readers wishing to improve their communication, design and creative skills. You won't be disappointed.

I'm currently working on a graduate thesis on Blake, so it was with great eagerness that I hunted down this Illuminated Works compilation. I love Blake's poetry and it's hard to say anything bad about it, and I thought that if I could see the poems in the way Blake meant for them to be seen I would gain some sort of deeper insight into his words. However, as I eagerly opened this volume I was greatly disappointed. Certainly, the color of the images is breathtaking and the artistic detail put into each image is outstanding. The transcript of the poems at the end was a nice addition. Still, none of the pros could outweight the enormous con - the illuminated works were printed in small sizes, sometimes taking only 1/4th of the page, sometimes taking 1/8th of the page, and sometimes taking less. It's sad to see paper wasted in such a manner.

If you're looking for a Blake anthology look for his complete poetry and prose with Harold Bloom's introduction. If you're looking for his Illuminated Works in print, go elsewhere.

Where is a good book on Blake that has color large reproductions of his actual paintings and not just his illuminated books?? Sigh. I love Blake, but am not happy with this book so I returned it.

The book is simply fantastic. It gripped me totally and was read in one sitting -I couldn't put it down! The story is about a regular guy who gets well and truly caught up in something that most of us would prefer to ignore the existence of - the drug underworld. The story begins with sunshine and a living dream - sunshine, sand and sangria....unfolding step by step to reveal the harsh reality of a living nightmare. John Lightfoot tells this chilling drama with humour and real story telling ability - a winning combination!

compelled to read faster and faster with the turn of each page, the author insists you journey with him into a seedy underworld mere mortals can only imagine. gripping stuff - and to think this is a true story full of suspense, intrigue, deception and very nearly the ultimate sacrifice - one's life and family. this book leaves one asking which underworld is seedier - the drug barons' or the government agencies' ? makes one wonder.

Lightfoot perfectly captures the seamy underbelly of the Spanish Gold Coast. His "adventures" there lead him to the experiences which inform this exposure of the realities of French prison and the corruption of the English drug enforcement agency. The author's colorful descriptions take you through a heartfelt understanding of the emotional, economic, and life-changing upheavals this author's flirtations with the international drug trade caused. In the book, if not in the eyes of the British establishment, Lightfoot remains the well-intentioned insider who was grievously wronged.

I thought that John Lightfoot's account of how he tryed to help the system very interesting, here we have a guy trying to help and he basically risks his life and his families happiness to help the authorities and he is locked up and they lie and don't even try to help him, it's a wonder if this is they way that they treat people who are trying to help, when they ask for help from the public do they wonder why nobody is jumping to help. The amount of red tape that he has had to go through is amazing and disheartening it would seem that why all this time was being wasting the only one's profiting were the drug lords and the lawyers. I really enjoyed John Lightfoots book and I felt I could relate to some of the red tape hassles he has had.

Well researched, detailed account of ones man experience in the underworld most of us will never know. From the sunny coast of the Mediterranean to the depth of a French prison the reader is escorted down the seamy side of drugs and corruption in this fast reading true story of crime and governmental ineptitude. The reader must ask could this have happened to me?

It does not have as much rhyme as other Dr Seuss books, but like "Hop on Pop" it is designed to be a simple read for beginner readers.
What is unique about this Dr Seuus book, is that it is illustrated by Quentin Blake, commonly known for his illustration collaborations with Roald Dahl, and later in his own children's fiction such as Little Greats: Mr Magnolia.

Dr. Suess's scansion and made-up words annoy me. My tri-lingual children have a hard enough time differentiating and isolating Standard English words, so I generally avoid Suess.
The volume is a rare welcome exception (there are a few Suessisms) and is an excellent book for first readers.

The story is plain, with the major intention of teaching your child to *read* his or her first words in English (in this case the word is "up").

But Quentin Blake's illustrations are superb and worth the price of the volume alone.

The conclusion is a bit silly, and has a rather lazy aspect to it that parents need to guide their children on (no, it isn't okay to sleep in bed all day like the boy in the story, this is just a silly book"), but mostly this is unobjectionable.

Ya, ya, ya so this book teaches about the meanings of the word "up". But, to me that takes a backseat to the fun rhythm and rhymes that make a child WANT to be able to read the book by themselves. The small vocabulary, phonetically spelled words and visual clues are wonderful for early readers. My step-son enjoys reading this book together at bedtime and can actually read it to US now. I love the "bright and early" books from Dr. Seuss for building early reading skills.

The book was about everyone waking up, getting outside, and having fun. All the characters interacted together, the played outside, and everyone made new friends. I enjoyed reading this book, just he way Dr. Seuss wrote it makes you want to keep reading it. It kept me entertained even though I'm not a little kid. Children between the ages of 4-8 will love this book. It teaches kids to wake up, get out and play, and just have fun; instead of just wasting their time inside doing nothing and watching T.V. If the kids couldn't read then this would be a good book to help them out with because there's not a lot of writing and the words are easy. I loved the ending of the book but you'll have to read it to find out!!

"Great Day for Up" is a unique Dr. Seuss book and you can tell this just by looking at the cover. That is because while the book is written by Dr. Seuss it features the jolly drawings of the English artist Quentin Blake. Until this point every time I have read a book written by Dr. Seuss it was also illustrated by Dr. Seuss and when somebody else did the drawings Dr. Seuss used the name Theo. LeSieg (which is "Geisel" backwards). So the fact that this is a real "Dr. Seuss" book drawn by somebody else is pretty special.

This Bright and Early Book provides rhymed text and illustrations introducing the many meanings of the word "up" as Seuss and Blake show beginning readers that this is a "Great day for up!" You get the point half way through the book but little kids should be able to hand on longer, especially when they are reading the book for themselves. Besides, by the end of "Great Day for Up" we get to the point where "EVERYONE on Earth is up!" (with one very important and rather ironic exception).

As with all of the Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners what you have here is a brief and funny story, where the words are few and easy, there is a catchy rhythm, and the pictures are happy and colorful clues to the text. These are designed for an even lower age group than the Bright and Early Books that followed "The Cat in the Hat," which was the "Harry Potter" of its day when it came to encouraging even pre-schoolers to discover the delights of reading for themselves. This is not one of the most interesting volumes in the series, but overall these books were a delight.

The Parent Killer is unlike any book I've read; its a fictional story of abused children, and the man who takes it upon himself to help them.

Due to my background in working with abused kids, anything written about the subject is something I want to read..no kids should ever have to suffer what abused children do. I've read a lot of books; both fiction and non about the subject, but none have ever taken the path this one does.

The story is tragic and uplifting, heinous and beautiful all in one. As I read it I was forced to examine my own ideas of right and wrong and of good and evil. While it was a fictional story, there were many times througout the story I found myself wondering what I would do..

The book is realistically written, honest and raw and entertaining as well. I couldn't put it down, I needed to keep turning those pages to find out how it would all end. Two thumbs way up!!

Ashley Blake, as a new author of fiction, may not be perfect, but his choice of revenge for the parents of these abused children was perfect---gruesome, and very much deserved!!! Congratulations to you, Ashley, for having the sense of right and wrong to create such a story. The subject of child-abuse is on TV every time we turn on the news. Many times it is the subject of prime-time as well as movies.
I am not an advocate for 'modern-day vigilante' tactics,
however, the lay-out of The Parent Killer, as fictional as it is, reflects the views of many who believe the government should use capital punishment on these sick, evil-minded people.
I truly believe, after reading Ashley's preface, that his heart is in the right place. He was touched very deeply by this child's death "at the hands of her very own parents." He chose to put his thoughts on paper in the form of a thriller. I highly recommend this book to those of you who feel child abusers should be given the maximum penalty of death, if proven guilty by law. This book is a wake-up call--a must read book. I give it 4 stars. Ashley has a bright future as a new upcoming novelist. I'm looking forward to reading his next book.
Another Published Writer

From the root to the fruit, The Parent Killer is a solid read.

Beginning with the first scene involving the little girl and her horribly abusive parents, Ashley carefully paints a picture of an unexamined aspect of life that, unfortunately, a lot of kids in both America and abroad experience.

By the time you are introduced to all three of the central kid's parents and bare witness to their horrid actions, you'll be rooting for Mason as he embarks on his vigilante spree. I know I was, and I'm far from ashamed to admit it.

The setting of North Louisiana is layed out and described very well. Supporting characters such as the town sherrif and the almost disturbing school principal help to bring the town of Sutter Springs to life.

Go buy a copy; the book is well worth your money.

When a book draws me in as strongly and completely as this one, takes me to the heart and feelings of the characters so completely, I am hooked on the author.
Blake has that wonderful ability to make you feel just what these innocent children are experiencing to the point where I would have to put the book down for a while. But I couldn't stay away long. The dark and compassionate Mason is a remarkable and very different kind of hero, and though this is a work of fiction, it makes me wish more of us had the heart and guts to take more action to help abused children escape the horror. (Of course, I found myself wishing that Mason had just used his great riches and taken the children and his love, Rachel, and disappeard, all living happily ever after, while the monster parents wondered for the rest of their lives ... but then there wouldn't have been much of a story, now would there.)
What an incredible debut ... I will be looking out for his next novel.

I just have to counteract the puffery below - the writing is laughably, throw-the-book-across-the-roomingly bad. The editor is asleep at the wheel, for example (no spoilers, I promise, this book comes pre-spoiled) - Page 12 - his parents car was found in the river the next day. Page 24 - same car is wrapped around a tree. Never mind examples - I'll be at it all day - heed the PW review and don't bother with this one.

I love to read, but the writing style of this book is so amateurish, it was like pulling teeth. Hundreds of names of insignificant people, and events that added nothing to the story. The Blake family should have hired a professional writer. A great story exists here but, the writing style is so annoying, you lose focus

I think the book was excellent in terms of its exposure of the infamous drug hustle game that so many get caught up in. The book serves as a true testimony for others to learn from. I however was very disturbed about the amount of grammatical errors in my book. Was it just my copy or is that just how the book is.. if so? Please think about revising the book and coming out with a 2nd edition. I also think a screenplay for this movie would be ideal.

I agree with Big Mu Ha's review. I feel Duane Blake didn't go into enough details about the events that took place. I am sure for legal reasons it makes sense to leave a lot of detail out. The book went into details about people. The beginning of the book is very strong, it kept me the reader very engaged. Towards the end, during the years of prison seem very high-level - not too much detail. I def recommend this book to anyone who enjoys organization crime, gangs, murder stories. Esp if you are Jamaican, you can relate to much of the content. Great story to remember..

This was a good inspiration for my friend. I was a gift to him.

You know there are a lot of books that come out saying that certain groups were the most notorious. I heard of these cats coming up, but I am not 100% sure that Shower was the most notorious. I know they were hustlin strong in Philly and were doing things in D.C. and what not. I like Duane's writing, but I just dont think it was enough details. Jamaican gangs were a dime a dozen back in the 80's. And I think it is a bit biased because he is writing about his Pop which I can respect. Good job anyways