Burke Books

This is a review ONLY of the abridged CD audiobook read by the author James Burke. Relative to the book and the video series, each of which have ten chapters, the abridged CD audiobook is missing chapters 4, 6 and 8. In addition, the 3rd CD has sections out of order. The 3rd CD order is:

Chapter 9, Part 2
Chapter 10, Part 3
Chapter 10, Part 4 (the end)
Chapter 10, Part 1
Chapter 10, Part 2
Chapter 9, Part 3
Chapter 9, Part 1

If you copy the content of the three CDs to your iPod you can rearrange the parts as necessary, but the order as it stands is totally confusing.

I happen to think the D.U.C. video series (not available commercially except for a school/library version for $750) is the finest ever created, and the accompanying book is nice because it echoes the videos without repeating the exact same content. But this CD audiobook is missing three of ten chapters and has the last two chapters scrambled. It cannot really be recommended highly.

Just a comment about the title of this book...."changed the truth?"....Well, truth never, never, never "changes"....beliefs do, though. Galileo's telescope did not change the truth, but changed beliefs....big difference. The truth of a round earth was always true, whether people believed it or not. Galileo's telescope changed beliefs and understandings about the absolute truth of a round Earth.

Say, consider the resurrection of Jesus Christ.....we may believe it or we may not, but the truth remains the same, that it actually did happen....the truth is the truth, regardless of what we believe....as for me, I choose to believe in solid truths, like a round Earth and the resurrection of Jesus, the latter making an eternal difference.

This review is based on the first American edition, which was published as a companion to the PBS program, "The Day the Universe Changed". I am assuming that the book is identical with the original British edition.

This is another in the series of excellent popular science and technology books by James Burke. The title is a little misleading, though, in that it does not deal with a specific day, rather with the overturning of paradigms (although the term paradigm is never used in the text). The book is lavishly illustrated, in the mold of the books that are companions to PBS series. (In this regard, I do not know if the original edition is also as lavishly illustrated.)

Each chapter begins with a view of the world before "The Day the Universe Changed", for instance, a world in which the sun revolves around the earth and the sun, moon, planets and stars each reside on Celestial Spheres. The book then shows how this view was changed by the observations of Copernicus, Tycho Brahe and Kepler, then how Galileo and then Newton synthesized this data into a new view of the heavens. The same sort of approach is given to chemistry, medicine, geology, biology and other fields. The main theme of the book is that the view of the universe is not static. While Newton's view of light prevailed for over 200 years, it was eventually changed by Einstein. The book shows how the retrieval of the philosophy of the Greeks from the Arabs started these changes. It shows how many factors interact, for instance and how the development of perspective drawing and printing affected the development of science.

The last chapter of the book is the most thought provoking. It proposes that there is no objective truth, but that what we see as truth is actually a construct of the current structure of thought and that "truth is relative" to this structure. The "truth" of an earth-centered universe was framed by the prevailing structure of reality. When this structure was changed by the development of experimental data and scientific thought, the view of the universe changed, but Burke maintains there is no basis to believe that the "scientific" view is any more valid. "The truth is relative." Fortunately, one can skip this chapter and view this book as a history of the evolution of the ideas of physics, chemistry, geology and biology, which it is.

In view of the current controversy over intelligent design, the chapter on the changes in the geological interpretation of the earth and how it spawned the theory of evolution is particularly enlightening. It draws into clearer perspective why the theory of evolution and the geological view of an earth that is billions of years old is such a threat to the paradigm believed by fundamental Christians.

Burke has a way of making history, science, and
the human condition fun while telling you something
that makes you think about it.

The Day The Universe Changed shows, as Burke has
become known for, connections between many aspects
of human life, the universe, and those odd, sometimes
silly bits of everyday life.

James Burke is one of the better popularizers of science,
his prolific works (all the while being the consumate "geek"
in big glasses and almost balding) make for, not just fun,
but learning. Great stuff, and even better for kids who
will appreciate his quickness and ability to get to the point.

James Burke's book traces history backward and conceives of progress as a series of brillant achievements that create in their influence outstretching ripples that set off the strides humans have made throughout time. The witty Burke explores these watershed moments that took humanity forward, each setting others in motion, crafting a ladder upon which, rung leading to rung, our species has reached the places where it is today. Several key thinkers are focused upon and certain events, some overlooked by popular history, are highlighted. This book makes for an enlightening and mentally-provocative study of the achievements of the human past.

Vachss' fiction stalks starkely across the pages. It's a spreading shadow across the imagination of the reader. His sparse and Spartan style is in the best tradition of American language, terse and precise like Hemingway but tight as a drum. In a word, "laconic" like the character Burke himself.

But for his disturbing, lurid and morally horrifying content, Vachss would be recognized as one of the best stylists of our day.

I love Vachss, all of his boooks. I find them interesting and quick reading because the writing flows.His characters are sometime very different and crazy , together, in the same body. I am very partial to sucessful endings.

Great. Just love the entire series. The staccato writing style just works for me. Would love to see this on film, just can't imagine who would be Burke.

Some years ago, I read "Flood" and "Strega" and enjoyed them. As a casual fan of Mr. Vachss, I enjoyed the quick pace and grit of "Down Here," though I wished he'd developed the two female characters - Laura and Wolfe - more. There were the makings of a really interesting anti-love triangle here. Instead, "Down Here" is essentially an investigation/mystery story, enjoyable if a bit forgettable. I won't rush out for another dose right away, but Vachss is still one of the writers I know will entertain without demanding too much from me.

Andrew Vachss's character Burke lives in a gritty underworld most of us will never encounter outside the pages of a book. A fact for which we can pretty much all be grateful. DOWN HERE brings that world into our living rooms and rubs our faces in it, if only for about 300 pages, which is long enough.

Burke's unrequited love for the beautiful crime fighter Wolfe is what brings him and his family of choice back together, working to figure out who framed Wolfe for murder, and why. Wolfe has been arrested for murdering John Anson Wychek, a rapist she put away, who is now back on the streets due to some technicality.

While the plot will satisfy all but the most demanding of puzzle seekers, it is Vachss's characters who bring Burke's world to life. Long-time readers will recognize Burke's family: Max the Silent, the Prof, Pepper, Mole, and Michelle. Pansy has been replaced (sort of) by Bruiser, although there will truly never be another dog like Pansy.

I would not recommend starting to read Andrew Vachss with DOWN HERE; there are earlier books in the series which would be less convoluted. Reading DOWN HERE can be an exercise in reading between the lines because the back stories of the characters are important but not always well-explicated. There is almost a shorthand used by Vachss which, if a reader isn't familiar with the language, makes for some difficult connections. However, if this isn't the first Vachss for you, you won't be disappointed. DOWN HERE is Vachss at his best, working the language to death and wowing the reader while he does it.

tHIS BOOK SHOULD BE READ BY SOMEONE WHO ALREADY HAS READ MUCH ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR, iT IS CHOCK FULL OF PERSONAL INFO,BUT WILL BE CONFUSING TO THE A READER WHO IS NOT FAMILAR WITH THE CHARACTERS AND PLACES

I have been a Civil War buff all my life and thought I knew a fair amount of detail on all of the major engagements of the war. However, until I read "Sherman's March", I really didn't know anything about his post-Atlanta campaign except that he marched to Savannah. Presumably his soldiers fought battles along the way and presumably they did something after capturing Savannah but I guess my curiosity never led me to find out more. It was in the Atlanta campaign that my great great grandfather was captured so I thought I should find out what happened after that.

What the author, Burke Davis, chronicles is what exactly DID happen after the fall of Atlanta. He has put together a fascinating account of the March to the Sea (and beyond) by compiling first-hand accounts of the events of the campaign. Sherman's men found little oppostition after Atlanta but their march had a devestating effect on the South. The brutal, unforgiving thievery that his foragers and "bummers" committed led to a great loss of resources and morale for the Southern folks. What few battles there were did not register on the richter scale of war but the destruction wrought by his troops was of tsunami proportion. There is much about the various communities put to the torch (beginning with Atlanta) and focussing on Columbia, SC. There is also much to suggest that Sherman was guilty of oversight by not maintaining tight control over his troops. His attitude was that the South needed to learn the consequences of their wrongly conceived rebellion. The sooner their morale was broken, the sooner the war would end and the fewer number of soldiers would become casualties (on both sides). While the reader may find truth in Sherman's attitude, it is hard not to become enraged at the extent of the mayhem.

Davis also presents a fair amount of information of the slaves that were freed along the way and the attitude of the different Union Generals towards their emacipation. In the 21st Century it is pretty commonly felt that the Civil War was about slavery. However, a significant percentage of the Union's fighting men felt the issue of the South's secession from the Union was the cause they were fighting for, Sherman included. Nonetheless, they used the freed slaves whenever it was to their advantage and abandoned them when it wasn't.

Sherman's concept of a large army invading deep into enemy territory with no lifeline of support was a challenging concept at the time and its' success influenced military strategy thereafter. Although Davis documents that the soldiers were able to take far more than they needed, it was still an impressive campaign. There were plenty of things the men did without for roughly six months; clothing, pay, letters from home, and many other things that the Army of the Potomac took for granted.

After Savannah, their march through the Carolinas spelled the defeat of the South and Davis does a good job of detailing Sherman's significant involvement in the war's end. There was controversy surrounding that and Sherman found himself at odds with the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. Davis concludes by giving us a brief synopsis of the rest of Sherman's life after the war.

During the first chapter I was apprehensive about Davis's style of writing but the rest of the book made me appreciate his approach to the subject. His frequent use of primary sources was helpful yet not overdone. His writing gave way to some editorial comments but, overall, I thought the book was pretty well balanced. I gave it 5 stars because, after the first chapter, I couldn't put it down and because I learned so much about an aspect of the Civil War that no one else seems to make much mention of.

Make no mistake.

A large army of servicemen, who had not seen women for extended periods of time, will and did rape - and by necessity, drunkenness and accessibility- murder civilians with total impunity. This was especially true the more removed they were from the main column, where there was virtually no supervision by senior officers.

Those civilians, although structurally a part of the southern system, were innocent. Brutalizing and killing women and children is the type of action that should and will leave a scar in the history of a nation and the history of warfare in general.

The proof of its inherent evil is that even if it may have worked for the purpose of wining the civil war- according to Sherman's rationalization- it also became the seed of what ultimately led to its inevitable conclusion: the atomic bomb.

Lets not be distracted by Sherman's brilliant character as a military man and his talent as a writer: once you purposely approved the hostile action by desensitized military veterans against innocent women and children you have mangled your legacy and left a gift of unaccountability and hopelessness for humanity.
Something we would learn much too well in the 20th century and today.

This book is easy to read! The author does not write above or below the reader. It's a great straight forward book filled with a large amount of information. The information presented will be appreciated by Civil War buffs of any level. He covers both the military and civilian angles.

Based upon civilian, military, and reporters eyewitness accounts. Davis' wonderfully written account of this mercurial Union general's march through the South moves along at a fast pace. There are those who would have us believe Sherman was just a troubled man and his military actions were inhuman; he may, in part, had these attributes, but we shouldn't disregard his compassion. His brilliance as a military leader is unquestionable; ruthless against the enemy but sensitive to the woman and children. I found myself shaking my head with sorrow through one paragraph only to switch to a chuckle on the very next. The bibliography is extensive.

Beginning with the fall of Atlanta, we follow the unrelenting aggressive slash and burn total warfare of General Sherman's Union troops, and then the final march into Raleigh. The strategy was to beat the Rebels into submission----a quicker end to the war. Although not stated in the book, I think the "march" introduced the creation of mobile warfare. Sherman to wife Ellen: "there are some very elegant people here who I knew in better days and who do not seem ashamed to call on the 'Vandal Chief'. They regard us just as the Romans did the Goths and the parallel is not unjust. Many of my men with red beards and stalwart frames look like giants". In battle was not the only way a soldier lost his life: many union troops died after a forced march back home; despicable and troubling. The finale march was a victory parade through Pennsylvania Avenue.

There are stories of rescue and caring among the carnage, such as the feeding of confederate families. Davis does a good job of showing the human side of the lives of the confederate people. Atrocities occurred on both sides; alcohol and the lax in discipline were no doubt the culprit in the burning of property. Sherman made the mistake of overextending negotiations for surrender; he was relieved, but Grant kept him on; only small changes were made in negotiations. Sherman to a friend: "General Grant is a great general. I know him well. He stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he ws drunk; and not, sir, we stand by each other always". Just a note: the free press aided the enemy then as it does so today.

"It was to be almost a century before military scholars proclaimed the general as the most original and influential of Civil War field commanders, whose concepts forecast developments in the twentieth century."

Wish you well
Scott

I ordered Heaven's Prisoners by James Lee Burke on July 15th, 2008 using "Standard" delivery and received the book on July 17th!! I know this is "uncommon", but I was pleasantly surprised. The book was in great condition with only "typical" paperback "aging" coloring. I was extremely satisfied with my purchase and will, most definitely, buy again from Amazon.com!

James Lee Burke is an amazing author, No one I've read puts you in the moment like he does. Being from the south I can relate to so many situations he writes about, it's like reading a memory of my youth. Love this author!

I think readers want to know whether or not a book is worth reading, rather than my telling the story. I think it is a really good book in this series. As a woman, I think he went from Annie, his wife that is killed, into another woman's bed a bit too quickly. I think the ending could have been made clearer. All in all it is a good, moody book. Dave has a lot of intelligent insight into his own psyche. May help us to have a peek into our own. From reviews, I can see the movie made from this novel is a loser, so I will skip it.

This is the second in the Dave Robicheaux series and continues the story after The Neon Rain...I started out with the 7th in the series (Dixie City Jam) and liked it so much I went back and started from the first to get the character's background etc. Mr. Burke does describe real violence and you have to get used to that but he is a wonderful writer. Having lived in New Orleans (before Katrina thank God) I have loved the books for the descriptions he gives on the city and area. His books are really "good reads"...

Though I am definitely hooked on Burke's writing, this was not his best effort. In fact, I couldn't help but feel this book was written to eliminate Annie so the series could continue unencumbered. I don't think Annie could survive in Dave's world with any real contentment as they have such polarizing personalities and sensibilities. The scene where Annie gets killed but Robicheaux survives was a bit too convenient to be convincing. Nor does it seem that the man I've come to know as a tough straight talking introspective thinker like Dave would so quickly get over the likes of Annie and take up with a woman like Robin. This was a bit of a stretch and made me dislike his character for using others as he engaged in what appeared to be self-indulgence. I didn't see any real remorse or sorrow over Annie's passing--no period of bereavement, as I would expect from a man like Dave.

The scenes regarding alcoholism and the demons that plague Dave are very believable and appear to be drawn from the author's own experiences. But, even in this regard, Burke went a little too far to the dark side. While we want a believable likeable protagonist we don't want to spend most of our time feeling sorry for him and in this novel Robicheaux seems to be wallowing in his own self-pity and using his wife's brutal murder as an excuse to act out.

Burke has a special way of turning words into flowing prose unmatched in his genre. This book was no exception. While it was a gritty and horrific story, the setting, mood and dialogue sparked like electricity, leaving the reader panting for more. The prose is poetic in a lot of places and written so you're compelled to go back to taste it again and again.

Burke also brings in characters that we care about, such as Alifair as well as characters that are vile and/or twisted--all of them fully fleshed out and multi-faceted. Again, Burke brings us into a place where we can feel the humidity and smell the bayou. At this, he is a master. He also has the potential to reminisce about the good old days and we remember along with him as though we too had experienced his history and it becomes our history. Burke creates a storyline that is tense, layered, and filled with complex characters and even though I felt this book was a bit of a filler for what is to come, it was still a exciting action-packed read that will keep you turning the pages far into the night.

publisher error forced return of 2 books - haven,t found good copy yet
will buy when found.

The street word on this Burke novel was that it, like FALSE ALLEGATIONS and CHOICE OF EVIL, was spoiled by an excess of didacticism and a paucity of plot and action. When I finally located and read a copy, which was not easy, by the way, I found the word to be exaggerated.

There is indeed a plot, which blends white-supremacist movements with the societal problems of stalking and spousal abuse. To help out old friend Herk and new friend Crystal Beth, Burke and his "family" find themselves needing to murder a couple of bad guys in cold blood and put all their lives on the line to derail a plan to level a Federal building in NYC with half a dozen truckloads of explosives.

Burke finds himself working with an enigmatic undercover figure who calls himself Pryce, and who is multiply connected to the local and state police, and Feds, in extraordinary ways. There is a hint that Pryce may enter Burke's life again, once he gets a new face; let's hope he does.

In summary, this is another chilling Vachss tour of the underbelly of our society. If you have a strong stomach, it's a tour you won't regret taking.

This is another Burke story. Burke is a formidable man who has surrounded himself with a vast network of professionals. But Burke is a criminal and a highly organised one at that.

This story starts off with a favour for a fellow ex-con. The ex-con has accidentally killed an abusive husband whom he was supposed to be warning away from his battered wife. The story then quickly progresses to the safe house of the book's title and the battered women who are sheltered there. At first it appears that the rest of the book would be about Burke and his partners providing protection for these women, but before you know it, the focus shifts on to a neo-Nazi movement. With the constant changes of focus, I found the plot a little hard to follow as I tried to remember the motivation behind what was taking place.

This is hardboiled all the way as Burke displays a willingness to do just about anything as long as it means getting the job done. A little more attention to explaining what was going on and a little less to attitude would have gone a long way.

"Safe House" sets the tarnished hero Burke in pursuit of a stalker with a neo-Nazi bent. Anyone who has read previous Burke novels knows that this type of work is right up his alley. Along the way he hooks up with another exotic femme fatale in Crystal Beth, one of Burke's more interesting leading ladies. Andrew Vachss's writing reads like broken glass and barbed wire with its sharp cutting edges. He also knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat. His stories are hardboiled rather than fast paced and they have a strong moral center that would not be obvious to the average square. Vachss is simply one of the best "detective" fiction writers working today.

There's something mildly comforting about a new
Burke novel, because you should know what you're buying by now.
A twist on the hardboiled detective, an antihero with a heart
of pyrite, a hard exterior protecting a tough interior protecting
a broken inner child.

I've been in on the Burke novels since the first one, Flood,
was dropped in my lap. I kinda liked the half-assed detective
character, and I was willing to go along with Vachss' evolution
of the character and his environment, but this novel represents
a definitive "mining of the old".

It's just short of becoming a parody of itself, and I don't
like it. Vachss has stripped down his usual dialogue and
character interactions down to the bone; it's really as if he's
now writing these novels from a template, where he plugs in
the scenario and picks from the usual menu of plot devices.

Perhaps I'm simply tired of Burke's world. The Prof's rhyming
is truly awful now, and I no longer find it a simple thing to
suspend disbelief during most of the book. I think the only
character preserved from my broad brush happens to be Max,
and I suspect it's partly because he doesn't speak, but mostly,
because Vachss now treats him as a deus ex machina and as such,
he's mostly an object rather than a person.

I know this is not good news for loyal readers. However,
I have to write 'em like I see 'em, and this world has run its
course. Perhaps Vachss will take some time off, re-examine
where Burke is and where should be, and come up with something
fresh. He needs it.

The Burke novels present some of the bleakest urban fiction to be found anywhere, and this book is no exception. Burke and his ragged but deadly crew of assistants are up against the Ghost Van, which prowls the mean city streets at night snatching prostitutes and other nocturnal unfortunates, never to be seen again. Furthermore, the Ghost Van is protected by a shadowy death fighter who may even be a match for Burke's compadre Max the Silent.

Burke has to play this one alone, as the Prof is hospitalised by the death fighter, and Max is iveigled out of town. The story loses some of the rich interplay between these characters and becomes a straightforward duel to the death between Burke and the Ghost Van's protector. The loss of character interaction makes the dark violence stand out even more, not to the story's benefit.

Burke, the ex-con, gambler, criminal, private eye is approached by an exotic dancer, Belle, to stop a rash of prostitute murders. The murderers are 3 serial killers who travel in a gray van and film the deaths of prostitutes for their own twisted entertainment and profit. Part of Burke's problem in tracking them is that they begin to track Burke. One of the killer's is a martial artist named Mortay ("death"). Mortay kills and cripples with his bare hands often just to make a point. When Mortay threatens Burke's chosen family, Burke has to take matters into his own hands to stop the killer.

In the world of hardboiled mysteries, there is hard-boiled and there is HARD-boiled. Andrew Vachss's Burke stories definitely fit into this latter category; they teem with a tough grittiness that is rarely exceeded in the genre.

In this tale, Burke is asked by a pimp named Marques to take on a bounty for the operators of the Ghost Van, a vehicle that is patrolling the streets and killing prostitutes. His contact with Marques is initiated through Belle, a stripper with a past filled with abuse and incest. She is definitely damaged and she appoints Burke to fix her, becoming his lover with a dedication that borders on obsession.

The search for the van brings an even more vicious evil in the form of Mortay, a psychotic killer who is an expert martial artist and is virtually unbeatable in hand-to-hand combat. Mortay wants to face Burke's friend Max in single combat; while Burke knows that Max might win such a fight, even a victory could have bad repercussions. For Burke, therefore, the task is to avoid such a duel to begin with.

There are some nice things about this third novel in the Burke series. In particular, we get a better look at his inner demons and see that is toughness is partially a façade to keep those demons at bay. The principal flaw is the same as with the other books: the world portrayed in the story is so dark it is not as much real as surreal; I think that this diminishes some of the impact of the grimness. Another problem, the plethora of eccentric characters who also reduce the stories plausibility, is toned down in this book.

Despite the imperfections, I do enjoy reading these stories but they are definitely not for everyone: they are loaded with explicit sex and violence that could turn off some readers. If you have not read any in the series, I recommend starting with Flood, the first in the series, as there is continuity between the books. But even as a standalone, this is a good tough guy mystery.

The best book by Vacchs that I have read is "Stella," which is very similar to his Burke books but is about a true loner, so we don't get the constant, overly sentimental scenes of Burke's "family" of fellow misfits. But this one is almost as good, mostly because it keeps a leash on the cuteness. Highly recommended.

Andre Vachss' "Blue Belle" is my third Burke novel. All three book are excellent, but Burke, the man, and the strange folks who people his world and call him" friend" are what keeps me a faithful fan. They are my focus, whatever the plot. And the plots are good, fast-paced and riveting. However, this far-out group of characters has me hooked on the series. Burke is as complex a figure as they come, and he grows, evolves and changes with each book. I have never encountered anyone quite like him before in fiction. He is a hard-boiled, in-your-face, ex-con detective, who still isn't sure on which side of the law he prefers to operate. A survivor, at all cost, he is also a stand-up guy. Vachss delves more into Burke's past here, reveals more about his various prison stints and what he learned there. Fascinating stuff. If you are a Vachss/Burke fan, or become one, I would suggest that you try to read the books in order - at least the first 3 or 4. Of course, every novel stands on its own, independent of the others, but the character's development is continual. There are also references to past events, and for a richer reading experience it is helpful to know the history. If you're just looking for a good read, and not interested in becoming a Burke maven, then by all means, read at random.

"Blue Belle" is one hard-hitting novel, reminiscent of crime fiction in the 1940s and 50s, though much more disturbing. Burke, as always, is our narrator. Everything and everyone comes under his cynical, seen-it-all scrutiny. I have never learned more about the underworld and the seamier side of life, the one most people rarely observe, than through the author's narrative. Burke's expert eyes take in details of life on the street that mine never would. His gritty urban world is one where "citizens" dwell side-by-side with "maggots."

A "ghost van" is terrorizing New York City's prostitutes. A gang of fiends, traveling in a big, smoke-colored van, are brutally murdering teen streetwalkers, young girls, only thirteen and fourteen years-old. A group of pimps put together a war chest and hire Burke to take the van off the streets. Pimps are, after all, businessmen, and lost merchandise and declining profits are bad for business. When the Prophet, a friend, mentor and "colleague" of Burke's, "scopes the scene" for information concerning these killers, he encounters a psychopathic martial arts freak by the name of Mortay, ("muerte"). As a result, the Prof winds up in St. Vincent's Hospital with two broken legs, in a world of hurt. Mortay has been hitting the city's dojo's and challenging each sensei to a death match. He will not allow anyone to walk away, and has killed everyone he has forced to fight him. He gave the Prof a message. He wants to fight Max The Silent, a mute, 20th century Mongolian warrior who calls Burke "brother." Max and his woman have just had a baby daughter, whose life Mortay threatens if Max refuses to accept the challenge. Burke senses a connection between the van and Mortay. He just has to find out what it is and how to eliminate both problems....while protecting his brother's family. Grim.

New developments occur in this novel which will have a long term effect on our protagonist. Burke has a lifetime history of living a loner's existence. Belle, "a big sweet-smelling girl with a snake tattoo on her thigh" meets our man to set up an initial appointment with Marques, the pimp. Burke and Belle act on a mutual attraction, which then begins to grow into a relationship. She is a voluptuous exotic dancer, a superb getaway-car driver, and she loves our man. Her past is dark. So what else is new?

The usual suspects are all present, including: Max the Silent, now a father, who "makes his living as a courier, moving things around the city for a price. His collateral is his life;" Pansy is a warrior of another species - she's a Neapolitan mastiff, just like the kind that came over the Alps with Hannibal; the Mole, a pasty-faced genius who lives in a bunker beneath a high-tech junkyard; the Prophet, a scam artist who speaks in rhyme; Mama Wong, group doyenne - a Chinese Jewish mother and restaurateur, "keeps her prices high and the ambiance foul to discourage yuppies." She cares for the gang, takes Burke's messages and holds his stash; Michelle, a gorgeous transvestite who is about ready to go to Denmark for a life-changing operation; I should add here that our hero drives a souped-up Plymouth, another important character. It usually looks like it's been painted with rust. That's the fresh coat of primer it almost always sports - "the Mole makes sure to change the car's color after it is used on a job."

Mr. Vachss' writing is bleak, gritty, disquieting. His chapters have gotten shorter, his prose choppier - it adds to the ambiance. The author is a lawyer, who specialized in prosecuting child abuse cases. He has worked as a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a caseworker in New York, and managed a maximum-security prison for violent juvenile offenders. Vachss calls the child protective movement "a war," and considers his writing as powerful a weapon as his litigation. He openly admits that he writes about the abuse of children because he wants to raise people's awareness of what's going on, and he'll reach a wider audience with fiction.

"Blue Bell's" grittiness may not be for everyone, but it is one fantastic novel. Highly recommended!
JANA

So I just got done reading this book for a class in ArcObjects. I have to say that I was very impressed. Each chapter introduces a new concept and contains exercises that the reader can easily follow along with. The beginning of the book focuses on Visual Basic ...errr basics, then the reader gets introduced to object-oriented concepts, before launching into using ArcObjects. This book is definitely a good starting point for the budding ArcObjects programmer, but by no means teaches you everything. As you will find out when you lay eyes on your first ArcObjects model diagram, there is a lot of ground to cover!

I have used this as as workbook in a class that introduces students to Visual Basic and ArcObjects. Book has a good combination of information with cookbook examples that covers many key points in ArcObjects. Students can do these assignments on their own. If you supplement workbook with open ended assignments students learn how to combine VB with ArcObjects. This combination has lead to student success.

It is really a useful book. Following the instructions in this book, you may learn VBA for GIS without a teacher. I gave 4 stars because I found another cheaper one several days later... Anyway, book is great!

the book I have purchased is useful for those who need to get started with the ArcObjects programming

Is this book updated to 9.1 and 9.2 Arcgis releases?, is the last update of this book?

This is the second Irene Kelly mystery that I have read and I found it quite enjoyable. The plot of this book was unique. Hocus is a small group of people (two in jail and two active characters) who kidnap Frank Kelly to try to get justice where they found none in their lives. In some sections, it is far fetched but it is never dull. Irene Kelly is one very interesting character.

While I have enjoyed all of the Irene Kelly mysteries up through the next one, Bones, it is Hocus that is my favorite thus far. I found the characters, both the good guys and the bad guys, to be very interesting. They have depth. They're complicated and sophisticated. And thus very interesting. The intensity of this plotline is very strong throughout the book. I find all of the Irene Kelly books hold my interest, but this one was exceptionally compelling.

JAN BURKE DOES IT AGAIN.......I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. I WAS ALREADY HOOKED ON THE MAIN IRENE KELLY CHARACTERS BUT WITH THIS BOOK SHE TOOK ME ON A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE OF EMOTION WITH BOTH THE OLD AND THE NEW CHARACTERS............BRILLIANT!!!!

Wow this is worth every penny i spent.
It starts off with a bang and keeps going.
VERY good writer.
I really enjoyed this and my only disappointment is: it finished.

This is the first book in the Irene Kelly series that does not include the main character's first name in the title. I read an interview with the author in which she explains that it took a lot of courage to change that pattern, due to the fear of people not recognizing her books anymore. She should not have worried, since the quality is still there and the series has become even a bigger success. "Hocus" starts a series of books by Jan Burke that have a one-word title, creating a contrast between this succinct title and the excellent ability the author has for describing different scenes and setting up engaging dialogues.

Irene is a reporter for the Las Piernas News Express and is married to detective Frank Harriman. Since they met they have had a great relationship and they have only been married for a little while, but at the start of this novel things are rocky. Frank has just finished blowing a case wide open against two men that are supposed to be the ringleaders of a group named Hocus; a story has appeared in Irene's newspaper with information that should only be known by an insider. Even though Irene did not write the article, the department is putting pressure on Frank and blaming him for the leak. This in turn has created some strain in the couple, and to make matters worse there was the issue of an old girlfriend asking Frank to visit her.

When the action starts Irene has not heard from Frank all day and thinks he is blowing off some steam, but when not even Frank's partner, Pete, knows of Irene's husband whereabouts, things start to turn south. Is Frank in trouble? Is he alive? Besides these questions, Irene has to deal with the recent discovery of a troublesome secret on Frank's family. When she learns soon enough that Frank has been kidnapped by Hocus and that their demands are very peculiar, she has to embark in a dangerous and complex investigation to save her husband.

As has happened before, Burke delivers a high intensity thriller that does not lack an outstanding use of narration and three-dimensional characters. One of the important aspects for me in a mystery series is how well the author develops the characters from one book to the next, and I am happy to say that Jan Burke excels in this area. In "Hocus" we advance considerably in our knowledge of Frank's family and the relationship they have with Irene, and we also get a glimpse of several events from their past. The different aspects mentioned in this review make this book and the series overall a great choice if you are looking for a good mystery to plunge into.

This book doesn't have that much plot, but great character development keeps it moving. That's why I ended up liking it even better than the first novel in the Grafton series, "Flight of the Intruder", which dragged at times.

At the outset, Jake Grafton is stationed stateside in 1973, a few months after the events described in the previous book. The aftertaste of the Vietnam War is still bitter in veterans' mouths. A barroom brawl earns Grafton reposting to a carrier, in the (to squids) undesirable company of jarheads (Marine pilots) whom Grafton must teach the fine and dangerous art of carrier takeoffs and landings.

Grafton's copilot is the obnoxious, jive-talking Flap LeBeau, an African-American with a serious attitude. But Grafton learns the surface is deceptive and there is far more to LeBeau, also a combat vet.

Grafton endures the monotony of carrier life while agonizing over his future with Callie McKenzie. He is about to propose, but leaves for the sea on awkward terms following a tiff with her antiwar father. The long ensuing silence forces him to reexamine his life and goals.

The action climax of the book is more realistic than that of the first book. There, Grafton's unauthorized bombing run over North Vietnam strained plausibility. This one doesn't. And the book still has all the harrowing realism of a carrier pilot's dangerous existence. It's well worth your time. I got into the Grafton series through the later books based on espionage and spookery, but must say I enjoy Jake Grafton's character much more in these earlier books.

I got suckered into buying this book at a huge clearance sale. The picture of aircraft carrier and the blurb on the back attracted me. I like a good air war story once in a while (Blue Max or Piece of Cake remaining up there at the top). I quit reading after 160p of no plot, one dimensional characters, and boring simplistic conversation. I rate the book one star for its knowledgeable descriptions of airplane handling on an aircraft carrier.

"The Intruders" is one of the 10 books in Stephen Coonts' very good series of thrillers about Jake Grafton of the U.S. Navy.

Exactly where "The Intruders" fits into the Jake Grafton series depends on how you look at it. Judged by the year when the story takes place, "The Intruders" is book number two, following "Flight of the Intruder", Stephen Coonts' first book.

But Stephen Coonts did not write this book immediately following "Flight of the Intruder", published in 1986. Instead, "The Intruders" was published in 1994 following the publishing of four other Jake Grafton books: "Final Flight" (1988), "The Minotaur" (1989), "Under Siege" (1990) and "The Red Horseman" (1993).

"Flight of the Intruder" was set in 1972 during the last part of the Vietnam War, while "The Intruders" is set in 1973, shortly after the end of the Vietnam War. (All of the remaining Jake Grafton books are set in contemporary time, i.e., around the time when they were published.)

So what we have here is a young Jake Grafton who has done his stint in the Vietnam War and is still in the U.S. Navy. He's very unsure about what he should do with his life. He's courting Callie McKenzie (mostly by writing letters to her), but fears that he will not win her hand. He feels that he is not in control of his life, that the Navy is making all the decisions for him.

Unlike all of the other Jake Grafton books (except to some extent "Flight of the Intruder") this book does not have any real story. A lot of things happen, but they are isolated episodes spanning an eight-month period, not a single continuous plot.

Actually, the main story in this book is simply the story of Jake Grafton finding himself and making decisions about his life. Plus the story about his relationship with Callie, with its ups and downs.

One of the things I liked best about "The Intruders" were the many descriptions of how naval aviation works. Flying high-performance planes from the deck of an aircraft carrier is a very exciting and dangerous endeavor, and Stephen Coonts describes it all in detail. The only slightly negative point is that these descriptions are somewhat dated now, since the aircraft have changed since 1973, and presumably the procedures too, to some extent.

Stephen Coonts writes with wit and intelligence, and some parts of the book, where Jake and his buddies talk about life and death, are quite philosophical. There are also touching passages about what love really is, and interesting insights into the concept of leadership.

Highly recommended. The lack of the fifth star is due to the silly adventure in the last five chapters, presumably added because the author or the editor or the publisher didn't think the rest of the book was exciting enough to be a Jake Grafton story.

Rennie Petersen

I remember walking down the aisles of a bookstore and I literally chanced upon this book. Was this a sequel to "Flight of the Intruder"? It was a dream come true! However much I liked Coonts' follow-up Grafton novels, they lacked the original book's magic. And since I'm a sucker for marketing, I thought the cover wasn't half bad either.

There are plenty of reviews here that will tell you what the book's about. Seems to me most people don't care all that much for it. I wasn't looking for something incredible. I just wanted young Grafton again, and I got him. The flying, the power, the wind... I was happy.

Ever wonder who does those covers? In this case, it's Dru Blair who paints aircraft, tanks, helicopters, eagles, and Star Trek book covers of all things!

"Intruders" was commissioned for the cover of this book (sadly his own website gets the title wrong): http://www.drublair.com/portintruder.html

"Intruders" was exactly what I was looking for: a fast read, fun, slick, and Coonts as I grew up knowing.

Too much flying! Too little plot. This book just fills in some details missing from other books in the series. Fill. That's it. It was an enjoyable read, but only because I had read (and enjoyed, more or less) the other books in the series.

An Innocent Man condemned to death! A guilty man walked free!

When Detective Frank Harriman was assigned the cold case of Phillip Lafavre's (Sp?) death, he was told about the legendary cop who took a payoff from a mob boss and stole incriminating evidence, killed a witness, and disappeared. But as he starts to investigate, he's more and more convinced that Lafavre wasn't a dirty cop, but that he was framed, and then murdered to keep his nose away from the real killer. Now, Frank thinks that somebody in his own department is the killer, and the killer wants him dead!

I must admit that the first 80 pages of the book were rather slow, but then the book picked up and didn't let go. It was mysterious, and the plot was well developed like a true mystery. But unlike a typical mystery, the story was rather moving. In the end, I felt sorry for many of the characters. I felt bad that Lafavre was killed and then shamed when people believed that he was guilty. I felt bad for Seth, that after surviving a murder that left his sister and father dead, he was killed afterward too, just when he was recovering. I felt bad for the other Seth, and that he never got to meet his father. And I even felt bad for the killer (but I was also glad to see him in jail, with all those germs!).

The characters were entertaining, and I would love to see more of all of them. This book was great and I highly recommend it.

This is the first Jan Burke book I have read. I am now looking for some of her older Irene Kelly stories and newer ones than "Flight". I thought this story was great from start to finish.

The development of Detective Philip Lefebvre was very good for the few chapters allowed. It made me like him and feel for him. The startling murder on the yacht with the setup of brother/sister conversation/squabbling made the violence all that more intense. When Det. Lefebvre finds Seth Randolph who is clinging by a thread to life it is heart-stopping. I won't give away all the elements but suffice to say when we come back to Las Piernas ten years later, it is very shocking to find Lefebre suspected for murdering Seth who was a witness. Frank Harriman is also a well-developed character. I could see his frustration as he tried to deal with the cops who had been around 10 years ago and formed their own prejudicial opinions. Lots of twists and lots of surprises!!

A great read!

Edgar-award winner Burke departs from her Irene Kelly series with "Flight," featuring Irene's homicide detective husband, Frank Harriman, on the trail of an old case, given new life when the body of Detective Philip Lefebvre, missing ten years and labeled a murderer, is found in the wreckage of his plane.

It all began before Harriman's time in the Las Piernas (Southern California) Police. A father and daughter were murdered on their yacht and the surviving son identified a local crime boss, only to be murdered in his hospital bed days later. Since he and a box of crucial evidence disappeared at the same time, Lefebvre has been blamed for the murder and the disgrace to the department.

Soon convinced that his colleagues condemned the wrong man, Harriman is further isolated by his growing suspicion that a cop - but not Lefebvre - is guilty. The narrative, primarily from Harriman's point of view, is punctuated by the obsessive Looking Glass Man, the murderer with a mission, and also by Irene's view, though more as Harriman's wife than in her job as reporter.

The story is absorbing, complex and well constructed, though the cops sometimes seem a little heavy handed. Harriman is not as lively and impulsive as likable Irene and the villain is diabolically clever but hardly unique in fiction.

I discovered this author when I happened to notice that "Bones" won the Edgar. So, figured it had to be good and it was.
Afterward, I have bought 7 of her books (reading them in order) and they are all terrific.
I believe, however, that FLIGHT is one of the best mystery thrillers that I have ever read. This is one of those proverbial " I can't put it down" books.
I am not much for discussing plot and characters in a review as I think that is part of the enjoyment of reading the book to begin with.
FLIGHT is every bit as good as Edgar award winning BONES and, in my opinion, much better.
Run, do not walk, to your local library or bookstore and pick this one up. Better yet, start with the first one and ready them all.

I won't launch into a narrative of the book since I am sure it has been well covered by other reviewers. I will only say that this book (and this writer)is fantastic and if you have never read her or this book, give yourself the treat. I just finished it for the third time tonight and it was still a supremely satisfying read. Such a good story, well thought out and flat out entertaining, even when you know the ending. If you have read Bones by Ms. Burke, you will appreciate the reconnect with some wonderful characters although this will not detract at all if you haven't. All and all, one of my all time favorite books and writers.