Bonds Books

La extrema derecha toma el poder en Sudafrica y lanza una guerra racial que debasta al pais. Sudafrica invade Namibia, la cual es defendida por las fuerzas cubanas acantonadas en Angola. Con ayuda de la URSS, Cuba contrataca desde varios frentes. Las fuerzas enfrentadas utilizan sus arsenales de destruccion masiva: bombas nucleares y gas nervioso. Una fuerza anfibia anglonorteamericana desembarca en Sudafrica. Boers, anglosajones, cubanos y nativos se enfrentan a lo ancho y largo del pais.

"Voragina" es una obra de Larry Bond, al estilo de "Fenix Rojo", "Caldera" y "Tormenta Roja".

Bond is much better than Clancy. I just cannot tear myself from any book that Bond has written. A true author of modern realism in today's world.

From Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising collaborator and best selling novelist in his own right, in his first novel Red Phoenix, we are treated to Larry Bond's second masterpiece in military/political thriller fiction in Vortex. Larry Bond once again proves his research capability in his studies of all of the cultures of South Africa and their strengths and differences. He has once again, melded his research, his fluent and poignant writing style into a classical work of fiction. In Vortex, he has essentially taken almost every conceivable aspect of a world crisis situation and crafted it into this masterpiece.

Where Tom Clancy draws all of the accolades and acclaim, Larry Bond continually produces superb military/political thrillers that are of the same caliber and in the case of Vortex, much larger in scope and overall detail.

If you're a Tom Clancy, Harold Coyle, Dale Brown, Stephen Coonts, or one of the many other fine military/political thriller author's fans, you would do well to pick up on Larry Bond and his superior work.

The premise:

Taking into consideration that this novel was written in the late 80's and early 90's, Larry Bond absorbed the headline news of the time to craft a conceivable real world situation where the boiling point of South Africa could've turned into the very Vortex, of the title, and brought the entire worlds attention to its internal struggles. There could've been no more apropos title for this novel than "Vortex." Vortex as defined in the Webster's dictionary (A situation regarded as drawing into its center all that surrounds it.)

Essentially, Vortex is the story of one man's twisted desires to bring total apartheid to its maximum fruition in Karl Vorster. Through chance and his own machinations, he effectively seizes control of the South African government and begins to bring to realization his perverted dreams of total apartheid and the destruction of his opponents or anyone else who gets in his way. Given South Africa's mineral wealth and that strategic importance to both Western and Eastern powers, this quickly draws their collective attentions.

What follows is a tour de force of flurried action, suspense and outstanding military fiction, which brings many players to the table to include; the United States, Britain, Israel, Russia, Cuba and Libya. Hence the title of "Vortex." Where these many players are all drawn to South Africa and its mineral wealth. {ssintrepid}

A competent but dry effort that dragged through the 2nd half. A real lack of intensity and action compared to Bonds Red Phoenix.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the end of the U.S.-Soviet confrontation created both a problem and a challenge to "future war" novelists: how do you create believable scenarios in which America and her allies fight against possible real-world enemies? After all, with the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the scaling back of U.S. forces in Europe, a Red Storm Rising-class World War III novel was obsolete. But at the same time, the military-fiction genre was still very viable...as long as writers came up with credible adversaries to cause havoc in the world.

Vortex, Larry Bond and Patrick Larkin's second collaborative effort, is set in early 1990s South Africa before the white minority relinquished its death-grip on power. It paints a dark scenario of a desperate Boer-dominated government using its military and police to destabilize neighboring "black" African nations and fight a Marxist-leaning African National Congress and its armed guerrillas.

Vortex starts out, as many techno-thrillers often do, with a seemingly isolated event. In the prologue, a team of South African Army commandos and a black ANC turncoat execute a raid on an ANC safe house/headquarters in Gawamba, Zimbabwe. Led by Capt. Rolf Bekker, the South African commandos wipe out an ANC guerrilla cell and capture a safe full of documents (which they photograph and leave apparently undiscovered), then return to their base without serious loss.

In Bond's alternate history, years of sanctions and diplomatic isolation have failed to end apartheid and white rule of the Union of South Africa. Instead, the Boers (descendants of South Africa's original Dutch settlers) who dominate the government have become more repressive and paranoid. For their part, the ANC's leaders have grown weary of waiting for the West to press for change by peaceful means, and Marxist hard-liners have come up with a campaign code named Broken Covenant. Its goal: to win by force what years of negotiations and international condemnation have not...the end of white rule and the establishment of a black-dominated government. And by the end of the novel, South Africa's internal strife becomes a conflict pitting Anglo-American forces against various opponents, including Cuban Army units sent by Fidel Castro.

Bond's depiction of a war in South Africa now seems a bit of a stretch, but given that he was a former naval intelligence officer (and designer of the Harpoon war game), perhaps his research into apartheid-era South African affairs gave him insights that most of his readers didn't have. At times the depiction of the South African "bad guys" reminds one of Hitler's Third Reich, especially when Bond and Larkin write about the more die-hard racist government ministers; Karl Vorster, a South African Hitler-like figure and Marius van der Heijden, deputy minister of Law and Order, who seems to have studied under Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler, so extreme are his racist views. But as in many World War II novels, there are "good" South Africans who, when push comes to shove, find the courage to rise against the injustices that they have previously defended.

Of course, it helps to have a little mix of romance, youthful rebellion and a healthy dose of American firepower, and as in Red Phoenix, American weaponry and military units play a huge role in Vortex's plot. In some ways, it's formulaic and the reader knows things will have a rosy ending, but in other ways Vortex is fascinating. Readers will be surprised to know how puritanical the Boer society was (a friend of mine who visited South Africa in the late '70s said Playboy-style magazines were not sold there) and how tense relations used to be between the Dutch- and English-descended whites. The officers with English surnames are often distrusted by their Boer counterparts and are often more critical of apartheid than is healthy for their careers. But just as there are "good Germans" in WWII fact and fiction, there are also "good Boers" who join forces with American and British troops to end the bloody conflict that threatens to end their country's very existence.

Great price $01. plus shipping! This is a timeless classic for all mutual fund investors.

If you're going to read one book on investing and one book only, this is the one! Really, you won't need any other - it's that complete and that good. Not everybody can invest in index funds, but you can and you very probably won't get a better result any other way.

One of the best books about mutual funds in the market even though it is over a decade old.

"There are intelligent ways to go about investing and less intelligent ways." So says John Bogle, one of the most influential money managers of the last 50 years.

Bogle was one of the leaders in making index mutual funds available to ordinary investors. Bogle's index funds, and others that followed his example, helped turn very, very ordinary investors into very, very rich investors. This book essentially explains why Bogle's investment philosophy succeeds so well.

The book concentrates on the three basic types of mutual funds: stock, bond, and money market funds; describes the three important characteristics that all investments have: risk, return, and cost; explains why different categories of assets -- stocks versus bonds, for example -- have different risk and return characteristics; and shows how to construct an intelligent, balanced portfolio that will help you meet your investment goals.

One of the keys to Bogle's strategy is the idea that, while investors don't have direct control over risk or return, they do have direct control over cost; and by choosing low-cost funds (index funds are very low cost!), investors can dramatically improve their results. One of the other keys to Bogle's strategy is the efficient market theory, which, among other things, supplies an important part of the theoretical justification for relying on passively managed index funds. Those aren't fun, sexy concepts, and Bogle's methodical discussions don't do much to make them more entertaining. On the other hand, they will help you make money if you understand and apply them, and making money through investing is both fun and sexy!

This book is over ten years old now, so it doesn't have much to say about exchange-traded funds, sector funds, or some other, recent developments in financial management, but the basic principles it describes can easily be applied to those new-fangled inventions too.

This is one of the best books I've ever read about investing.

I thought that this was a very thorough book on mutual funds. Bogle brings to light many things that I wouldn't have known. The only problem is it requires good concentration to get through parts of this book as it can be a bit dry at times. Very good source of information overall. I would recommend it for someone to have as a reference.

This little book is easy reading, and gives a testament to the relationship the author has with his Maui. I've enjoyed reading it, but it is not really a textbook on meditating with your dog.

I love this book!! I'm so much a animal lover and James did such a good job at showing his love for animals through this book. We do have such a speical connection with animals and I do know the healing effects they can have on our lives. The Cd is so relaxing and really helps the first meditation experience for someone who is meditating for the first time to understand the process. What a wonderful gift to give to any animal lover!! Sherry ( From Michigan )

How to Meditate With Your Dog: An Introduction to Meditation for Dog LoversThis book has really been a great reference in helping bond with all 4 of my bichon frise rescues. The steps are very simple and become almost effortless over time. The skiddishness of a rescue is waning and the 2 newest are beginning to trust and open their hearts. I thank you..

This is such a wonderful book! Like most, I lead a very hectic and stressful life. I had tried meditation in the past, but it never seemed to "click". But James and Maui have just the magic to make it work for me. They take the mystery out of meditation and make it very accessible to everyone. Since reading this book, I have meditated more consistently than ever before, and am slowly finding the peace and clarity that James speaks of.

The meditation CD has been a great help. James has such a soothing voice! His gentle guidance really helps get me beyond the stress. I've even loaded the 10 minute meditation on my iPod, so I can take a meditation "time out" during the day if things get too overwhelming.

If you want to get better in touch with yourself and your dog read this book. It is a fun easy book to read - nothing difficult - only rewarding results occur. I know that Storm is more relaxed after meditation and that is good. It took this little guy a long time to get used to his new "mom" and surroundings. This has been a very positive book for both of us.

King chronicles the careers of two French artists, Ernest Meissonier and Edouard Manet, during the late 19th century. Meissonier, the darling of the Paris Salon (the organization that could make or break an artist's career during that time), was the most famous and highest paid painter of the day. In contrast, Manet, heralded as the father of the Impressionist movement, struggled with constant rejection by the Salon as well as the critics. Manet's popularity came later in his career and following his death while Meissonier's work has since faded into obscurity. King gives a fascinating look at the politics and history of the turbulent time period. My only criticism: while the book provided some illustrations of the paintings, there could have been more. King went into great detail about the minute details of many paintings, which was wonderful when the painting was illustrated in the book, but a bit frustrating when it was not. All in all, a good read.

I loved this book. I just got back from Paris and I am an artist so I felt right at home reading about the art world in Paris over 100 years ago. Nothing changes much in the art world. In 2008 there are exhibitions with so many restrictions and rules, the art is lost in the Museum/gallery politics. The book reads like fiction, it is a bit over researched, but I do feel completley at home visiting the M room. Good job!

This is good book on its own, but a great reference for those who wish to know more about the area. The is so much emphesis on the Impressionist Movement itself that there is very little information about the times and events that made the movement such a revolution. Art historians talk of the Salon, but a laimen may not grasp its importance, which King does. The only regret I have about the book is how little King speaks of The Commune. It was a devestation to the people and city of Paris and again very little is known. King addresses it, but fails to deliever with respect as to how the artists responded to the disaster.

My husband read this, and passed it along. While I finished the book, I found slightly infuriating: Chapters are short, occasionally the book reads like a guest list at a fancy party and nothing is treated in any kind of depth. To top it al off, there are too few reproductions of the art discussed. In all, a decent view into the rise of Impressionism but, not one with great soul.

Author Ross King's "The Judgment of Paris" is a painstaking look at an interesting period in French history when a new political system was born and, more interestingly for the rest of the world, a new approach to art was set before a skeptical public. Both events were accompanied by enormous turbulence and resistance, but both have endured to this day.
The book's focus on two painters of the time--Ernest Meissonier and Edouard Manet--to chart the progress of change is arguably a little exclusive, but author Ross effectively argues that they are good choices as representatives of the spectrum of extremes present in the decade covered by the story. What was particularly interesting to me about this book were the details of the annual or biennial salons that were make or break for art and artists in the 19th Century. Ross has amassed some amazing details that clarify that process, but also make clear why impressionism finally flowered and flourished in such an important way.
"The Judgment of Paris" takes a bit of slogging through because of the denseness of its details, however the author's skill in pushing his story along makes for very interesting reading for anyone interested in art or 19th Century European history.

This lively book defines the personalities of the British leaders prior to WWII on both sides of the fence: the appeasers as well as the few realists.
A short 20 yrs after WWI, the British were in no mood to go to the slaughter again. Yet a few courageous men believed that there was no other choice, if England and, indeed, the world was to be saved from the aggressors. The personalities on both sides are exposed with all their human frailties as well as their unselfish bravery.
Are we right at this very threshold again?

Olson describes British politics in the years leading up to World War II when Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and most of his country were in denial about Hitler's intentions. Olson focuses on a small group of Members of Parliament (MPs) who see the Nazis as a growing threat but who struggle to persuade the government to do anything about it.

I had long known of the Munich Pact and Chamberlain's false hopes for "peace in our time" which served only to encourage further Nazi aggression. But I did not know how dictatorial Chamberlain acted with regards to his own government. As Olson describes it, Chamberlain apparently felt he had sole responsibility and authority for British foreign policy. It was almost as if he didn't trust anyone else for fear they would see Hitler differently.

Olson's story powerfully illustrates the folly of peace-at-any-price mentality which had an unbreakable grip on Chamberlain and most people in England. Having survived the bloodbath of World War I, people were afraid of an even deadlier conflict. They sensed England was woefully unprepared to fight, although the government suppressed most information about this. There were also a number of leaders who liked Germany because it was anti-Semitic and anti-Communist. I was surprised to learn that British newspapers saw their role as not to question the government but to support it. The result was that most citizens did not know the facts about Nazi brutality.

The British government so badly misjudged Hitler and Mussolini that at one point, Chamberlain sent an important, unencrypted message via regular mail to Italy. When asked why he did not use more secure means, Chamberlain responded, "Gentlemen do not read each others mail." The message was of course intercepted by Mussolini.

In the tension-filled days leading up to the Munich Pact, as Chamberlain deliberated fighting Hitler over Czechoslovakia, the Czech ambassador Masaryk told the British government, "If you have sacrificed my nation to preserve the peace of the world, I will be the first to applaud you. But if not, gentlemen, God help your souls." The appeasement policies pursued by England and France not only delayed war but made it all the more savage when it finally came.

The book is well researched and thorough. I withheld one star because Olson devotes too much space (in my opinion) to the personal lives of various actors in this drama. While I found myself skimming through those pages, other readers may find them fascinating. The story as a whole is interesting and at times fascinating

This is a story that has needed telling for some time, and the author does a tremendous job of telling it in an entertaining and highly readable manner. The lesson that these troublesome young men brought to the world needs to be told and re-told again and again.

The difficulty is that the lesson of these troublesome young men and their extended fight against appeasement, however so wonderfully told by Ms. Olson, for she mostly allows the words and deeds of the troublesome young men to speak for themselves, is very quickly forgotten in the last chapter, the aftermath of the book.

It is easy for her to propagandize for most of the book, for her proselytizing is exactly in line with theirs. With the history of the 20's, 30's, and 40's behind us, it is easy for the preaching of Ms. Olson to end up on the side of light and reason, for who, now, cannot completely agree that Nazism was the great evil that had to be fought and that could not be negotiated with.

In the aftermath, she departs from historical certainty, and preaches in favor of appeasement, which is quite unbecoming for this tome, shines an unfortunate light on the analytical capabilities of the author, and points out how horridly history can repeat itself and that appeasement is still a clear and present danger to Western Civilization and Democracy.

In briefly recanting the history of the troublesome young men postwar, she ever so briefly recants the tale of the 1956 British/French/Israeli Suez war against the IslamoNazi (my term), Gamel Abdul Nasser, who helped the Nazi Odessa organization post WWII and modeled his regime on the structure of the Nazis.

"Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, the lessons of Munich and appeasement were wrongly applied to a later international crisis. Hitler had been a real threat to Britain's security and survival. Nasser was not." - P 358.

The actions of the USA, to put a halt to the confrontation with Nasser, emasculated England and France. It emboldened the Islamists of the Middle East and North Africa to be able to confront the now decaying powers of the West and believe that they could win. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, shortly before leaving office at the end of his 2nd term, said that interfering in Suez was his greatest foreign policy mistake, and that he should never have done it. It helped to embolden the Baathist IslamoNazis of Syria and Iraq that bedeviled the USA for over fifty-five years, and that in Syria, still bedevil us today. The threat was not just Nasser, it was Islamists, and Nasser was a symptom that needed curing. If Hitler had been stopped at the Beer Putsch -if only the USA had allowed England and France to stand up to Radical Islam in 1956.

Although much more slowly moving than the crisis before World War II, by a factor of 15, this was one of the early events that made Europe turn away from the USA, and turn to the Middle East. This helped form a partnership between Europe and the Islamist world that allowed unbridled immigration into Europe, that will result in England, the rest of Western Europe, and Russia lose the most important war of all, not just that of Democracy and Civilization, but of mere existence, as demographically England and France have already surrendered to the radical Islamist and will be 100% Islamist countries by 2100.

So Suez was not like Munich, it was more like the re-arming of the Rhineland. Approving that first step enabled the steps that followed for Hitler, and for the Islamists.

Now the USA needs its own troublesome young men, or troublesome men and women of all ages, and it needs a Churchill to save the USA from the onslaught of Radical Islam, partially brought on by the ignorance and appeasement of authors like Olson who cannot recognize any threat other than the one in the past that these troublesome young men so ably vanquished.

Those who enjoy this book should read a newly released book that brings back into print some of the writings of G. K. Chesterton. He was, by the 1930s a "troublesome old man" who (like Churchill) got little respect for warning about the menace that Germany posed to European peace. He had done so as far back World War I and continued to do so, despite the fuss he created, during Hitler's rise to power and up until his death in 1936. It's no exaggeration to say that Chesterton was `Churchill before Churchill.'

In September of 1932, four months before Hitler took power, Chesterton wrote a scathing article for the Illustrated London News. Referring what was once called the Great War, he notes that it had become a commonplace to discuss how "the young were embittered when they realised how their elders had brought the world into a horrible catastrophe and a hideous mess." He goes on to issue a stern challenge to those young men: "Since then, the first batch of Young Men have themselves almost become Old Men; but they are still saying it. They are still saying it without seriously thinking about it."

After devoting most of his article to defending the decisions those Old Men made, he turns again to the Young Men of that war now growing old.

"I think this worth mentioning now, for a simple reason. We are already drifting horribly near to a New War, which will probably start on the Polish Border. The Young Men have had eighteen years in which to learn how to avoid it. I wonder whether they do know much more about how to avoid it than the despised and drivelling Old Men of 1914. How many of the Young Men, for instance, have made the smallest attempt to understand Poland? How many would have anything to say to Hitler, to dissuade him from setting all Christendom aflame by a raid on Poland? Or have the Young Men been thinking of nothing since 1914 except the senile depravity of the Old Men of that date?"

All this was but a continuation of a criticism Chesterton directed at all those in positions of leadership, young or old, who lack the courage and will to stand up to evil. Chesterton had been warning about such people for some two decades. In 1918, he would say this about a new breed of pacifist that had appeared just before World War I.

"There still lingers--or rather, lounges--about the world a special type of Conscientious Objector who is luckily in a minority, even in the small minority of Conscientious Objectors. He might more properly be described as an Unconscientious Objector--for he does not so much believe in his own conscience as disbelieve in the common conscience which is the soul of any possible society. His hatred of patriotism is very much plainer than his love for peace. But, just as the instantaneous touch of ice has been mistaken for hot iron, so the unnatural chilliness of his personality is sometimes mistaken for fanaticism. The most horribly unholy and unhappy thing about him is his youth. Most of the more representative Pacifists are old men and indeed, saving their presence, old noodles. But they are kindly old noodles, and their pacifism is mostly a prejudice left by the last sectarian eccentricities of people who could not wholly cease to be Christians even by being Puritans. These people had always disapproved of what they rather vaguely called militarism, regarding it in some mysterious manner as a form of dissipation. As they had been taught not to look on the wine when it was red, so they were taught not to look on the uniform when it was red. They disapproved of bullets rather as they did of billiards, from a hazy association of ideas that connected it with having a high old time. Whether the experience of war is really a giddy round of gaieties, there are probably many to-day who could testify. The point here is that this sort of conscientiousness was a most comical perversion of the Christian tradition; but was still Christian, in the sense that it was a perversion of that and of nothing else. Some sincerity, some simplicity, some sorrow for others, dignified the dying sect."

"But no such lingering grace clings to the remarkable young man I have in my mind. He is cold, he is caddish, he is an intellectual bully, and his intellect is itself vapid and thin. He is marked by an imaginative insufficiency which can be compared to nothing except to finding a Commander, in the thick of battle, looking into a pocket-mirror instead of a field-glass. I remember a debate nearly four years ago in which some followers of Mr. Norman Angell tried to persuade me that, by our moral progress, we had outgrown the very notion of war. When I pointed out that even to abandon war, merely to make money, indicated no moral progress at all, a young Cambridge man put his head on one side and said, "My ethics are not at all ascetic." I can see him still, with his eye cocked up at a corner of the ceiling, and the white light from a high window falling on his funny little head. It happened to be the very day when the Austrian ultimatum went to Serbia." [Chesterton on War and Peace, 294-295, from the Illustrated London News, May 11, 1918. With Austria's harsh ultimatum to Serbia, the long slide toward a Europe-wide war became almost unstoppable. In 1933 Norman Angell would win the Noble Peace prize and tell his many followers that a now Nazified Germany posed no special threat to the peace of Europe.]

As Lynne Olson describes in her book, a few of those Young Men of World War I did take up Chesterton's call to stand up to Hitler. Unfortunately, there were too few of them and they acquired power too late to dissuade Hitler "from setting all Christendom aflame by a raid on Poland" in September 1939, unleashing the war precisely as Chesterton had predicted in 1932.

--Michael W. Perry, editor of Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements that Led to Nazism and World War II

This is the story of the men who brought down Chamberlain and installed Churchill as prime minister--an outcome that seemed unlikely at best when World War II began. Lynne Olson's account of these men and their times reads like a finely-crafted and eminently readable novel. Here are the coming out balls, the wire-tapping, the hostile press, the exclusive clubs, the public school mentality--the whole glittering world of upper class Britain with its extravagances, suspicions, and contempt for the masses. The men who brought Chamberlain down belonged to that world just as much as did the men who supported Chamberlain. (Indeed, Chamberlain's supporters and opponents were often close friends and relatives.) And for that reason, voting against the Government felt to these Tory Rebels as a betrayal. And perhaps in some sense they had betrayed that glittering world with their vote.

But if betrayal it was, it was certainly not the first time these men betrayed one another. Boothby carried on an affair with Macmillan's wife for twenty years; none of the rebels would defend the Duchess of Atholl who, as a result, lost her seat to Chamberlain's yes-man over her anti-appeasement stance; Churchill himself (once he was in Chamberlain's Government) would hear no word said against Chamberlain--thus betraying his erstwhile companions, the Tory Rebels.

The Rebels were very fallible humans not angels. And they were disorganized, often uncertain, and lacking a credible strategy. As a result, things had to come to a nearly catastrophic point before they could act. But in the end, it was a Tory Rebel (Leo Amery) who stood up in the House of Commons and told his friend Chamberlain, "In the name of God, go!" Amery did that, knowing full well that if the Revolt did not succeed (prior to that day Chamberlain had a 250-vote majority) his career and perhaps England were doomed.

In the end, of course, the Rebels and their Labour and Liberal colleagues did succeed. Though it was a close thing. This is the story of that one success and their many, completely human failures. But more than that, it is a story of how very fallible individuals can and do make a difference even when faced with a seemingly insurmountable machine. I highly recommend it.

Detailed coverage of one of the Civil War's lesser known and stranger episodes. Includes informed speculation on why the endeavour was undertaken, thorough recital of the events of the raid itself, and extensive coverage of the raiders in the following days, as they were moved between prisons and, eventually, returned to the North. This latter portion is an aspect of the story which has not previously been told, and is fully as interesting as the events of the raid itself.

In no part of this book did I find myself wanting further detail, or wondering what events had been omitted or compressed for brevity. It is rare to find a book which is so complete in it's story.

This book is incredible in its detail of happenings of this spy mission during the cival war. Kudos to the author for the masterful amount of information presented here. this is a good book.

"Stealing the General" is a good story, but it seems to have gotten a lot more billing as an adventure in movies or books than it actually was. Maybe some of that comes from the fact that the heroes were unsuccessful. However, even in Bonds telling of the story, he reminds us of such things like the pursuing party wasn't as armed as the Union soldiers thought.

That said, I was interested in the story. I didn't like how Bonds would jump forward out of the flow of the story to tell the reader something that would happen years down the road to a character or story.

I found myself more interested in the story once the soldiers were captured and what happened to them. There they suffered various treatments from torture to being forgotten. They staged multiple jailbreaks.

I also thought what happened to them afterwards may part of what is wrong with the story overall. The actual players in the story seemed to have worked to build up their roles and heroism. In that way, it is like a bunch of fishermen talking about their catches.

Still, the undercover operation earned most of the men involved the Medal of Honor. For that alone, the story of these men should not be forgotten and Bonds does a good job of sorting through the fact and fiction of the story.

If you like stories of Navy Seals, Green Berets or commando operations like an Alistair MacLain novel or Jack Higgins, this book will fascinate because it is a real story about real men with all the flaws of real men. This is the grandfather of commando stories and worth the read.

An enthralling true-life history that richly deserves (1) a better cover; (2) a better title; (3) a paperback edition; (4) more publicity; and (5) a faithful big-budget film adaptation from a major director. Apart from the challenging size of its dramatis personae, this is well-nigh perfect.

I had completely forgotten the old Fess Parker movie "The Great Locomotive Chase" when I saw this book. The book captured my interest quickly and was easy to follow. It was an excellent account of the lead up and conditions of the raid to steal a locomotive and wreck the supply lines for the western confederate armies in 1862. It followed the participants from when they volunteered, their trip deep into Northern Georgia, stealing a train under noses of a Confederate Army camp and then the dash to the north. Then came the relentless pursuit by the train crew to get their train back! This lead to the capture of the Yankee Spies. The book follows the Andrews Raiders through their capture, jailing, trials, executions, escapes or exchanges and their post war experiences. It also included the celebrity of certain participants and their efforts to glorify and enhance their participation.
Maps were scarce but the maps that were provided greatly helped me follow the story. Lots of pictures of the participants during and after the war were interesting also. Other pictures of sites, buildings, bridges, and monuments all added to the story. I would rate the author very highly in being able to track down pictures of related items in various archives.
I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Civil War. It presented an excellent picture of the early chaotic stage of the war and gives a good picture of the passion Southerners and Northerners felt.
I think that this book's focus on the Great Locomotive Chase from the first thought to the death of its last survivor is a unique perspective on the Civil War.

I bought this book for my father when my mother was going through a long bout of depression about 2-3 years ago. I could tell the situation was wearing on him and I thought from reading the reviews of this book that it would help him. He was skeptical at first but realized I had been through a similiar circumstance and decided it couldn't hurt to read it. He was astounded at how similiar all the stories and stuggles were to his. He said it helped him so much and made him feel better about himself and the situation. I could see the difference in him after he read it, it was a sense of relief that he was not alone. Now he has a friend who is going through the same thing with his wife and he just gave him the book. He told him it would certainly help him.

A sign of a helpful, informative book is one that gets passed along to others in need. This is defintely one of those books.

It's been almost 8 years in a relationship with a depressed spouse and finally a breakthrough for what I go through daily as a supportive spouse. Many times I wanted to call it quits because of the confusion, resentment, anger and demorilization I felt being on the other end of the depressive cycle. Now I know millions who support face the same challenges and there are tools to cope or help to move on in life. Great information compiled from various points of view. This book literally saved my mind.

I purchased this book for my husband who over the course of our marriage has experienced the challenges and set backs of my depression. I was not depressed when we married and was not aware of the numerous family members who suffer from depression because it wasn't talked about. I read the book first and find it difficult to believe that someone who claims to suffer from depression could have written it. This book seems much more accusatory and places a great deal of blame on the depressed person without any sign of empathy at all.

Depression is not a choice. It is a debilitating illness. The stigma of depression needs to be removed so that families like mine and millions of others are not ashamed to talk about it. I am not ashamed of my depression because I know it is not my fault but many people are and that keeps them from getting the help they need.

It is difficult for any person to live with someone who is depressed and I admire those who do. But the accusations and criticisms made in this book lead me to believe the author has unresolved anger toward that person in her life that was depressed. I think this book is terribly misguided and will unfortunately do more harm than good. I believe there must be better, more objective references out there for the spouses and loved ones of those suffering from depression.

This book is a godsend. I thought I was having a breakdown until I read this book. I learned that my symptoms were being caused by the depressed person in my life. This book explains how your depression fallout mirrors the depressed person's own illness. You get dragged along for the ride (so to speak). If you are having difficulty in a relationship due to depression, you must read this book.

While the author's stages of depression that a couple goes through seemed to be pretty accurate, I was very disappointed by the overall tone of the book. It seemed to me that she basically advocated that the non-depressed partner leave in just about all situations.

I recently went through an injury which took over 3 months to heal, and during that time, my partner and I went through the stages as described. That's why I was excited about getting this book for both of us to read, so that we could understand why I was depressed and why he was feeling the way he was feeling about our relationship. Instead, the book advocates eventually giving up on the relationship and getting out.

Needless to say, my partner didn't need to read that! It didn't really offer any advice about how to work your way back to what you had before the depression-causing event, so I'm giving this a big thumbs down.

Although I read a great number of Agatha Christie books as a child, I never came across any from her "Tommy & Tuppence" series on my mother's bookshelves. So I thought that it might be fun to try the first of them to see what Christie's "other" series was like. And this first in the T&T series is like is a strange mix of John Buchan and P.G. Wodehouse -- it's an espionage story, but often reads like a parody of one. The title's play on the Joseph Conrad novel hints at a certain tongue in cheekiness, as does the use of every possible spy adventure cliché.

The story opens with a prologue aboard the sinking Lusitania in 1915, as a mysterious man entrusts a secret diplomatic packet to an American teenage girl. We then leap forward to 1919, where we meet Tommy and Tuppence, a pair of lovely young adults who are somewhat adrift and broke following their wartime experiences. Running into each other in London, the childhood friends cook up a scheme to advertise themselves as "Young Adventurers" for hire. Thanks to a wildly improbable coincidence (a snatch of overheard conversation), they find themselves in the midst of a plot to destroy England.

It seems that some secret mastermind has managed to unite all of England's enemies (Bolshevik Russians, defeated Germany, Irish Republicans, and the English working class) in common cause. All they need to do is provoke a general strike that will topple the government and unleash anarchy (exactly how or why this is the case is left murky) -- and the packet entrusted to the girl on the Lusitania is the key. Apparently it contains some kind of draft treaty whose contents are so explosive that public revelation would throw England into just the desired state of unrest (again, just how this old treaty would do that, or who the signatories are are left to the reader's imagination).

In any event, Tommy and Tuppence take on these plotters on behalf of the British government (who presumably would have more qualified people for the job), and there's much tailing, eavesdropping, impersonation, and general thrills and chills as first Tommy, and then Tuppence are captured. Naturally, neither hero nor heroine are simply killed by their captors, as that would make too much sense. Amidst all this toing and froing, they come into contact with a cast of colorful characters including an energetic young American millionaire, a crafty lawyer, a sinister society lady, a spunky kid helper, and Inspector Japp from the Poirot series. Since the reader knows full well that the plot will be foiled, the real mystery is the identity of the unknown mastermind, Mr. Brown. Alas, careful readers will realize less than halfway through, that barring some kind of "locked room" shenanigans, the identity of Mr. Brown must be one of two people.

So it's rather an odd book, perhaps best read as parody, but enjoyable as an old-fashioned ripping yarn with two engaging leads -- who naturally fall in love. Definitely left me curious to read further adventures of Tommy and Tuppence.

I've been an avid Agatha Christie fan for decades now, but had yet to read one of Ms. Christie's novels with the characters of Tommy & Tuppence until now that is....

Tommy & Tuppence are a nice, refreshing change from Miss Marple & Hercule Poirot. They are young upstarts in this novel looking to earn a decent living in an era where the economy isn't great.... So, Tommy & Tuppence, whom have been life long friends, decide to embark on a new career as the young adventurers in search of new adventures.

They end up doing under cover work, off the record, for the British Government, in search of some important documents lost in World War I. These documents if recovered by the enemy, could have dire consequences for the allies now that the war is over.

The Secret Adversary is a nice, tightly written novel by Ms. Christie and this novel keeps you guessing until the very end which character is the bad guy.

Great light beach reading in this little known series of Agatha Christie's Young Adventurers. In this first appearance, the soon to be husband and wife team of Tommy and Tuppence cast off their post-war boredom by hiring themselves out as adventurers.

They soon find themselves Britain's only hope against an unbelievable collection of thugs, unionists, and socialists bent on destroying the empire in ways that can only be spoken of in whispers. The chrismatic yet unknown Mr. Brown is behind all of this, and no one knows who he is. Join our heroes as they chase him down with several false leads and misidentifications. After almost a century this tale still holds up well. The sinking of the Lusitania and other events of the Great War play a prominent role as Victorian life provides our setting.

"The Secret Adversary" is the very first adventure of Tommy and Tuppence, Agatha Christie's pair of amateur sleuths, and what an adventure they have. Tommy Beresford and Prudence 'Tuppence' Cowley manage to solve a threatening international crisis, by luck and intuition it would seem, rather than more ordinary methods of detection. As an introduction to the pair, who would have further adventures after their marriage, "The Secret Adversary" is fast-paced and intriguing.

Having met each other once again by chance, Tommy and Tuppence, old childhood friends, decide to advertise themselves as "Young Adventurers" who will take any charge that's well paid, no matter the danger. But before they can even post their ad, they are drawn into a mysterious web of intrigue regarding a missing draft of a peace treaty and a young girl named Jane Finn. By what seems like sheer coincidence and luck, Tommy and Tuppence, together or apart, are able to come across clues as to where Jane Finn may be, and what knowledge she has about the missing treaty. As they uncover clues, they also uncover danger that threatens their lives and friends who may just turn out to be the very adversary they are searching for.

As usual with an Agatha Christie mystery, just when you think you've figured out the final twist, she throws even more at you. "The Secret Adversary" is a smart, well-plotted thriller, a testament to Christie's brillance, as this was only her second published novel. While the book may seem dated in language and certain expressions, it is only at a surface level due to the very real nature of the modern intrigue that moves the plot.

Tommy and Tuppence were sparkling creations by Agatha Christie (and their ability to transfer deliciously to the small screen is also a proven fact.) But sadly they were never given as strong mystery material as Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot were and have, therefore, languished on the literary sidelines to a great extent. Their first appearance, in the Secret Adversary, is a good example of this problem. Christie is weakest when politics are involved and the story is hopelessly naive with the fate of the world being controlled by one man, Mr. Brown, who ultimately is rather easily bested by those two crazy kids of the flapper Twenties, Tommy and Tuppence. The author never, ever, succeeded in achieving anything remotely approaching a spy thriller. Still, this book will hold interest for anyone wanting an early glimpse of the crazy duo who are always a pleasure to spend some time with.

Maybe I'm becoming too PC, but having listened to this book, I found the idea that McKnight was better at surviving in the woods then his friend Vinny who is a full blooded Ojibwe (and professional guide) to be just a little hard to swallow. At a couple of points in the story when they are lost up in the Canadian wilderness, Vinny is about to give up the ghost but Alex keeps pluggin' along. Boy, I wouldn't want to be stuck on a hunting trip with Vinny if things went wrong.

Also, at times when Vinny is speaking, he's like a cross between Mr.Miyagi and the Great Manitu (give me a break). Specific to the tape, all the Indians speak with this spacey (East) indian guru voice, like they are filling in for Deprak Chopra. All the Indians immediately take a backseat to anything that McKnight says, like whatever he says is the most intelligent thing going.

Anyway to the story, it's actually very engaging, except that 'da too guys from Detroit' sound like they stepped out of a "Sopranos" episode. Know whatimean you jamocke. The Canadians must all be drinking water with something in it because they are as mellow as a bunch of 1960s anti-war demonstrators, ey.

Lastly, did anybody NOT guess that at sometime in the story, Alex would find a way to soften Natalie's heart (key the violins and cellos) so that she would see him in a 'better light' (tear, tear,tear!). Ugh. If you are going to find him a love interest, just do it, don't get all "Wisteria Lane" about it. Ok, I'm done. Hopefully the next book (gee do ya think Natalie will be in it) will be better.

I've read all of Steve Hamilton's books right when they've been published and I've loved them all. I'm now re-reading them, and just finished "Blood is the Sky" for the second time. I love Hamilton's relaxed, easy-reading style and I think Alex is a great protagonist. I also love the northern Michigan setting of his series; although I've never been to the UP, I live in Maine and have spent a large part of my life in northern Ontario (where most of this book is set), so I can relate to his descriptions of life in the North. I do have two quibbles with this book. First, a couple times Hamilton has Alex saying road signs mention someplace is X number of miles away--in Canada, road signs are in kilometers, not miles. Second, there are lots of references to "Canadian" beer, such as when Alex gets a cold "Canadian" or asks a bartender for a Molson. In the first instance, does Hamilton mean a generic cold Canadian beer, or does he mean a Molson Canadian (a specific brand, and the best-selling beer in Canada), and in the second, you don't go into a drinking establishment in Canada and ask for a Molson; you ask for an Ex or a Canadian or another specific Molson product. As I said, these are quibbles. Steve Hamilton is a great author!

My wife kept raving on how good the books were. She was up to four read and kept talking about them. I finished another novel and decided it was time. What a interesting story. Especially living in Michigan all my life I found so much research had been done on all of Michigan and Canada also. We in Michigan always have a close relationship with Canada. Many of us have one side of the family from Canada as the auto industry had once brought them here. The book certainly was interesting and the plot gave you great cause to wonder almost to the last pages. I would recommend it highly.

In this Alex McKnight mystery, Hamilton pairs Alex and Vinnie LeBlanc to search for Vinnie's missing brother in the forests of Northern Ontario. Tom, Vinnie's brother, led a hunting expedition for four Detroit businessmen and then disappeared. Together Alex and Vinnie must find out what happened to him and why. This is Hamilton's best McKnight adventure since A Cold Day in Paradise. Alex's dogged nature shines through, as he remains fiercely loyal to Vinnie and is willing to sacrifice everything for the truth. Get ready for a great outdoors expedition in Canada. Hamilton is an excellent writer, and there's nothing better than reading an Alex McKnight mystery. It is my favorite mystery series.

This is my first reading of Hamilton. He writes well, offering strong descriptions and throwing in some fun Native American lore for legitimacy. His writing style is fairly sparse, favoring lots of short declaratory sentences--James Lee Burke he ain't--but that style of writing is often popular with the mainstream public.

I was less impressed with his protagonist, Alex McKnight, who, in this novel at least, is a reactionary far more than an instigator. It often takes his sidekick, Vinnie, to get things happening. He is definitely not a series character I would remember or long to read more of.

And then there is the mystery, which goes like this: mystery->280 pages having little to do with the mystery->resolution. And when the mystery is part of the story, convenience plays a big part. Don't read this novel thinking you have any chance of figuring a piece out, because I don't think the author knew how he would resolve it until page 280 or so. Mysteries don't have to reveal themselves to you but they owe you enough tantalization that you feel close to some part of it. No so, here.

I would like to read more Hamilton, but if I am to believe the jacket blurbs by several prominent authors, this is his best. Other reviewers here at Amazon, however, suggest Hamilton has done better work, so maybe I'll try one more.

Bought as gift for my son. Was a little dissapointed in the condition of the book. It was suppose to have been new but it looked used.

So, it's over the top, outrageous, ridiculous even. But, it's so dang funny -- And, you'll actually root for the serial killer, who's not all that bad.

You absolutely must have a sense of humor to read Dorsey. It's not cartoon-y, more of a futuristic Keystone cops on bad dope, perhaps?

Anyway, the Florida historical information is rich and believable and Dorsey includes enough truth in his work to make you think maybe the Sunshine state residents are sniffing the Coppertone a bit too enthusiastically.

If you need an escape and can't afford a plane ticket or the time to get away, try this book (or any of the other Dorsey novels) and you'll emerge refreshed and perhaps a bit stunned, but you'll know you've been somewhere.

But humorous. This tale is too complicated to even begin to describe. Serge and his dopehead buddy Lenny never grew up, and take a wild romp through Miami under the guise of a tourism business. Lots of gangsters, shootings, diamonds, trying to find out what happened to grandpa Sergio, etc. The plot jumps back and forth over a 40 year span and becomes way too hard to try to follow.. just enjoy the pointless laughs.

In the last Dorsey book we finally found out what happened with the suitcase full of money, but now there is a new target for Serge and his "friends". In 1964 there was a big heist in New York and most of the jewels were recovered in Miami Beach, but there are twelve large diamonds that were never found. Guess who will go after them? In this case though, Serge's ultimate goal is not the valuable merchandise, but to find out what really happened to his grandfather. Serge believes his death is related to the diamonds and that he did not kill himself, but that he was murdered instead.

As is normally the case, Dorsey starts the book with an illogical scene, and then without warning us, goes back in time to explain how the characters got there and what is the logic behind the events. A group of salesmen visiting Miami for a convention decide to play a prank on an old friend. But being drunk, they grab the wrong person, who ends up dead in an accident during the "kidnapping". The fact that the victim was a member of the Palermo organization, one of the most powerful families in the Florida mafia, and that Serge was driving the limo, complicate things a little.

Serge has teamed up with Lenny, the weed fiend, and decided to put his knowledge and special personality to use. They start a tour business, which is intended to show the other side of Miami to those willing to take the risk. Once again, besides the hilarious comments and situations, we get a collection of eye-opening tidbits about Florida's history, in this case focused on Miami. The vast amount of things that bother Serge are also a treat to rejoice in; especially because he is right in most of them. For example, he is bothered by bait and switch tactics and by the last episode of "Seinfeld", among many others.

As those that are familiar with the series know, Dorsey consistently delivers an array of outrageous situations that make us laugh out loud. But in this case, there is much more, because part of the book focuses on the past. Yes, on the time previous to the death of Serge's grandfather, who by the way was named Sergio. We get to see who shaped Serge's personality and also the origins of this charming serial killer. I still can see him in my mind as an innocent little boy running around the tables in strip joints. For the Dorsey fans, this is as good as it gets, and for those that have not tried the series yet, I just have to say: What are you waiting for? Go and pick up "Florida Roadkill" right away and embark on this wonderful journey.

So - It was an impulse buy.

There on the local Barnes & Noble, remainder rack.

Cadillac Beach - Ok! It was the cover art that made me pick it up; apparently this Tim Dorsey has written a slew of books. I figured if Tim was keeping the publishers happy (they are a notoriously, bottom line lot) he may be worth a "look."

Pretty damn good!

Serge, the main character, is thought to be criminally insane.
A fictional example of genius having its curious, other side.

Set simultaneously in 1964 and the present day Miami - Serge feels compelled to bring back the heyday of a bygone era - when Miami was America's southern jewel; exotic, trend setting, and notorious.

Throughout - it is difficult to determine whether Serge is a genius - appearing crazy or a lucky lunatic. Perhaps both.

What's good:

Insightful, historical backdrop - very funny - ingenious plotting- great characterizations

Not so good:

Sometimes over the top, a few, seemingly senseless killings, lengthy rants - the true genius of Dorsey's, inspired, plot twists may appear confusing

Somewhere towards the end, this novel seemed to run out of gas. I set it aside and thought about not finishing it. Gladly that was not my mistake!

Serge has a master plan that he never divulges. He links bizarre events and issues. With the main character's reasoning so horribly flawed that only humor can respite, the final product is simultaneously dirty and elegant.

I appreciate an author who brings more to the table than clever verbiage. Spoiled by writers who teach as well as they tell - I highly recommend Cadillac Beach!

Caslo