Burnett Books

I found this book for free and read it based upon the rating of 4 stars that Amazon.com readers had given it at the time. I'm sorry, but it's definitely not worth a 4. Even giving it a 3 is being generous. It's a decent book, but, given all of the other better things out there to read, this book isn't worth your time. The story has some interesting twists. But, for the main, it is contrived, lacks energy, has flat characters, and lousy dialogue.

Higgins has pretty much mastered this genre and has been known to "phone a few in, but COLD HARBOUR does a nice job within the confines of Higgins' rather straight forward style. Playing around with the typical conventions of cross channel warfare, identical twins(never a good idea), and a foray into LeCarre territory, a nice thriller emerges. The story does have its flaws with a rather obvious villain and a few too many twists to hold onto the realism that Higgins generally strives for but overall it works its way to its inevitable conclusion effectively. Other than the ridiculous cover on this paperback, as astutuely mentioned by another reviewer-a U-Boat which has nothing to do with this tales of an E-Boat and espionage, this one's a rather nice page turner and not bad for a quick thriller to fill in on the plane trip or at the beach.

...and that is precisely what I did with this book. The characters were laid out, then they subtley changed and then yet another twist altered your perception again. I was constantly flipping the pages, ready and as nervous as the characters themselves, to find out what would happen next.

Buy the book to save the cover. It display a German U-Boat. There's a partial photo of a submarine on the back page. And, each chapter is signaled with a small image of a submarine. So, it's about a submarine, right? Wrong. The only boat in the book is a German E-Boat. The cover designer didn't know the difference between a German U- and an E-boat! :-} One has to wonder how this got past the proof readers!! Meanwhile, the story is fair, but in places it leaves the reader saying, "Naw, that wouldn't happen."

This is not a milestone book on the scale of Higgins' "Eagle Has Landed" but it is, in my opinion, a little gem of a book. Higgins - who, let's not forget, lives in the Channel Islands - has a strong sense of place, and well captures the sometimes melancholy feel of that stretch of water. Sure, some of the story is a little soapy, but what do you expect in a WW2 French Resistance/British Navy wartime adventure? Solid stuff.

THIS IS A GREAT BOOOK THERE ARE ACTUALY 6 BOOKS IN THE STORY AND I WILL READ THEM ALL. THIS BOOK WILL KEEP YOU ON YOUR TOES.

I had high hopes for this book. I was hoping for a good 'ol Western. Boy, was I disappointed. The story should have been a good one - a man on a vengeance trail, roaming the West to kill 7 men who murdered his parents and sister. The author took this promising story line and completely butchered it. The book was total trash. I cannot believe the number of times the hero got shot or stabbed. Every time you turned around he was getting shot up. Not close to being realistic.
The author has a most limited vocabulary. There are countless references to varmints, bushwhackers, owlhoots. You get so tired of his repetitions.
I would not recommend this book to anyone. It reads like a serial professional wrestling story.

This book reads like it was written by a high school dropout who posesses a very limited vocabulary. There is no character development at all. The story only moves along by the most convenient of happenings (finding two of the killers names in the newspaper, when neither of the characters were interested in the newspaper for the entire first quarter of the book! Suddenly, luckily there just happens to be the info they need on the day they are looking for it! Horrible.) I would like to buy this author a thesaurus so he wouldn't have to use the same words/phrases over and over again until I got bored and stopped reading for the day.

If you want bland "Saturday Afternoon Action Movie" story, dialog, and characters then this is your author, otherwords stick to the nonfiction of the real west, it is much more worthwhile and daring this trite piece of waste.

There are six books in this series and I loved them all. The protangist, Nathan Stone, became very real to me. I shed buckets of tears reading this series. Truly classic.

I am a rabid fan of Louis Lamour, and like many others have been searching for another author of his stature. Eureeka!!!!! I have been successful in my journey. Mr. Compton has captured the imajination of yet another avid western novel reader. I was totally engrossed in this book, I felt all of Nathan Stone's triumph and pain, each and every bullett and knife wound. I am so excitedly looking forward to reading, "Autumn of the gun" and "Killing Season". I tremendously enjoyed this character.
SUPERB!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW THE PICTURES ARE THE BEST BUT WE NEED MORE PIC. THE INFORMATION OF THE EVENTS, CHAPTERS, WEB PAGE, THE ROSWELLIANS AND OTHERS THINGS.I LIKE THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHAPTERS WAS JUST NICE.

Good book for fans of Roswell and the growing fanbase that missed the show because of lack of access to the WB and/or UPN. (Thank goodness for DVDs!)
Includes timelines and lots of info on the show, cast and Roswell.

To fans of the book series, the television show and the books are distinctly different, though a similar premise and same characters. They should be each looked at on their own merits - don't knock the televison series (or give this book only one star) because you don't appreciate the television series. Yes, the show was based on the books, but did you know that the show was picked up by the WB before the books were even done? (see The Roswell High featurette, Roswell Season 1 DVD set)

OK...I know that a lot of people love the Tv show Roswell, but before the show was created, I was a hardcore fan of the books that the show was supposed to be based on. I was so excited when I found out they were making the show, but I could not have been more disappointed. Seriously, if you want to read something good, read Roswell High by Melinda Metz. It's the original story about Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, Alex, and Isabel. It's an awesome series and it's soooo much better than the show ever was!

This book is filled with information that any Roswell fan or anyone interested in how and why a television show could have such a dedicated fan base would love. It is obviously written by a fan whose painstaking research created a thorough tribute published in 2002, the same year Roswell ended.

The book begins with a breif, yet detailed history of the Roswell incident that many believe proves the existence of extra-terrestrial life. This information is vital to anyone interested in the show because it is what the show is based on.

There are decent mini-biographies of each of the major cast members including how they got their roles on Roswell and what they had done previously. Accompanied to the biographies of the stars are biographies of their characters and their relation to the other characters.

There is a detailed account of the fan participation, the reason that Roswell remained on the air for three seasons instead of only one. This is relevant and exciting because most of the information regarding the various fan events and efforts is scattered and different depending on who one talks to. It is nice to have an account composed of various sources in one location.

There is a chapter dedicated to the "shippers," or fan groups who have given themselves names according to which people or groups they are affiliated with.

This book included a section for several fan websites. This information loses reliability as time goes on because of the instability of fansites, but it is nice to have in case the sites are still available.

There are quizzes to judge one's knowledge of the show which are very fun, especially for fans who want to prove their obsession.

There is a "Why did the chicken cross the road" section with responses by each of the characters, including minor ones. It is mildly funny and makes sense only to the hard core fans, but pays tribute to the creativity of the fans on www.crashdown.com, the main Roswell website from which the idea was taken.

The pages are littered with photographs, both in color inserts and black and whites. Many are from private collections from fans, meaning most are rare candids.

The bulk of the text is the synopsis, review, and fun fact section for each of the episodes. These include the air dates, the guest cast list, alienisms which refers to references of aliens or powers used, soda moments which refer to pop culture references and their explanations, cool facts which include behind the scenes information, and the music played during each episode. This information was published before the DVDs, so the music listed is that which was played during the television air date, not on the DVDs.

Finally, the book includes a detailed and organized bibliography that includes all of the many sources that Burnett derived her information from.

Overall, this is an excellent book and tribute to a wonderful television show with dedicated fans.

I bought this book because I couldn't remember the details of all of the episodes and I wanted to learn more.
For your money you get a chapter on the history of the real Roswell crash, told just a little differently than what I'd read in the past. This is followed by cast biographies & pictures (this part is now getting just a little out of date), chapters 3-7 consist of things about the fans, conventions/ charity work inspired by the show, a few websites (one of which identifies film locations)& trivia stuff-and quite a few pictures.
The bulk of the book is an episode guide for all three seasons, complete with air dates cast ,guest cast, episode synopsis and various little sections on different aspects of each episode. I liked the fact that the author would often put in a little criticism of script flaws and I especially liked the way some episodes were identified as having mistakes (a couple of episodes have film crew members at least partially visible).
I liked having a listing for the music on each episode but this may not be of much use to DVD owners as some of the music will be changed from the broadcast version of the show.
My main gripe is that I would've liked more information (some of the stuff here was obviously written during the shows run but not reedited)but this book will certainly get you by.

This was a gift but my son loves the westerns by Louie L'Amour, and whatever it takes to get men to read, IT's GREAT!!!

This is my first Louis L'Amour book and certainly not my last. I prefer short stories because I can read each quickly and not be caught up for too many hours, trying to find out what happened. All ten short stories captured my interest and each was very different from the other, altogther a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The main appeal of this compilation for me is the wide range of stories that occur within unique settings: Hawaii, Tibet, Brazil, Mexico, and the Southwest, USA. There are several stories about boxing/prize fighting, which amazingly, I enjoyed. The key to this author's writing is how he builds suspense, gradually reveals his characters, and keeps the reader hooked, wanting to know more, as the story unfolds in unexpected ways. The author has a keen grasp of human nature. He knows the human condition which he reveals in its myriad of aspects in each story.

One of my favorite stories is "May There Be a Road" which is about the courage shown by Tohkta, a young Tibetan, when he is planning to capture his future wife, but ends up unexpectedly fighting the Communists, and doing a very daring deed to save his village. Serendipty strikes, as I read the words, "Yol Bolsun", an old Tibetan greeting, meant for those who took the old mountain trails. It means, "May there be a road" and is the title of a recent CD by Sevarah Nazarkhan (Uzbekhistan) which I bought [and reviewed]. The other favorite is "The Cactus Kid". Reading this story is like watching an old TV Western from the 1950s. It is just as satisfying. Nesselrode Clay, aka, "The Cactus Kid", inadvertently stumbles upon a dastardly plot by the Uncle of a beautiful senorita. He plans to swindle her out of very expensive land. Of course, "The Cactus Kid" saves her from this awful fate. My highest recommendations. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

Sadly the legacy of the great Louis L'Amour is being tarnished by members of his family who have dug up stories that, in some cases, were never published, and released them under the title May There Be A Road. It becomes rapidly apparent as to why they were never published. My hope as I waded through this dreary offering was "may there be an ending!" May There Be A Road is an unfortunate effort to posthumously profit from the L'Amour name while offering nothing to the reader. L'Amour's masterpieces are readily available in paperback and continue to offer the best in western story telling. Don't waste time on May There Be A Road when you can enjoy The Shadow Riders, Crossfire Trail, The Last of the Breed or Haunted Mesa.

Louis L'Amour is never going to be considered one of the great literary geniuses of our time, but the man does know how to tell a story and pull a reader into a story.

So you don't need to stretch your mental powers or keep a thesaurus handy to enjoy his work. Consider the stories from this collection as the Hardy Boys on an adult level. This is thin writing but fun nevertheless.

There are ten stories in this book, and the quality varies. It gets off to a weak start with "A Friend of a Hero", a yarn about a detective who investigates the murder of a buddy from the Korean War. It picks up with some good tales about boxers on the fix - "Fighter's Fiasco and "The Ghost Fighter" - if you can believe in the latter case that one boxer so closely resembles the other that he can take his place in the ring. The best piece is "Wings Over Brazil" in which soldier of fortune Ponga Jim Mayo discovers some nasty Nazis have stolen his cargo ship and plan to overthrow the government of Brazil.

In all cases, however, the stories entertain. If you have a need to think, read Steinbeck or Hemingway. If you have a need to take a mental vacation, you'll love L'Amour.

If the name Louis L'Amore was not on this book it would not sell one copy in my view. The writing is merely adequate. The tone is out of date. Instead of being satisfied with the honors and the fortune generated by the late Louis L'Amour, the publisher and the author's family continue to publish old stories from the author's youth, milking the name for every cent it can generate. I am a died-in-the-wool L'Amour fan and have purchased just about every book he has written. But watching these poor early efforts being published with his name is agonizng. Let the man rest in peace; God knows he wrote some wonderful stories. But the ones in this collection are not worth purchasing or reading unless you are a L'Amour biographer or critic.

I guess a little revolution every now and then is a good thing, because the "advice" dispensed in here mainly belongs in the dustbin of history.

Just finished the book (which took me a couple of hours) and I have to say it was an interesting memoir of the great admen of all time. The book pinpointed certain questions and tired to find some correlation between the greats (and I think it succeeded in some ways)

But do not let the title of the book fool you to believe that it will help you in any shape or form in becoming a finer copywriter. In fact, the book will most likely only offer you a good read on a Sunday afternoon.

On a particular note, the interview with Reeves was the most interesting part of the book. A worthy buy indeed but do not expect to become a super copywriter after or you will be very disappointed.

I love anything that is an interview with a person. It allows us to hear the information from the horses mouth, as opposed to a journalist paraphrasing him or her. My favorite interviews were with Bernbach and Rosser Reeves. However, I don't think this book is really about the "Art" of writing advertising. I think the book should have been called "Conversations about Advertising." Because the book isn't made to be a teacher, it's simply a good book to read and enjoy if you're interested in hearing another perspective about the business.

The book is very helpful in that is gives you the thoughts behind some of the builders of today's advertising industry. I had read "Ogilvy on Avdertising"; the interview with David Ogilvy presents the same kind of thought. But I had never read anything by Burnett, Gribbin, Bernbach or Reeves and that is where most of my benefit from this book came.

There's pleanty of useful info here to help you write better copy - look for the inherent drama of the product, if in doubt ask the manufacturers why they make it, do your research, keep stuff simple. You just have to look for it. Great photos too.

Some very good ideas in this book. But, the book would be much better with an introductory chapter on the materials specific tools needed. For example, Proulx mention how with the right screws and the correct blade, you can make solid joints and chip-free cuts with Melamine PB - but he doesn't describe the screws or blades! Also, it would be nice if the materials lists gave total quantities, such as number of sheets of PB, approximate screw count.

There are some good ideas in this book, he uses a lot of particle board. I need to remember that it is just shop workstations, cost is most important.

A sound and sensible approach to building workstations for your shop. If you have the perspective (as I do) that workstations are inthemselves "tools", you will find this book valuable.

Like previous reviewers I found this book extremely useful - very good sound practical ideas, a very clear approach to construction of workstations, excellent drawings and photos accompanied by easy to digest text. Additionally, and most important for someone who lives outside the USA and who fnds it hard to source even the most basic of fittings, its very good to be provided with designs based on easily obtainable and relatively inexpensive materials with a minimal amount of hardware.

This is one of those books where a sceptic might say 'I could have thought of that simple idea' but the truth is most folks don't and it takes someone like Mr. Proulx to stimulate one's mind.

I particularly like the idea of mobile workstations - whilst Mr Proulx may not have reinvented the wheel he has pcertainly provided a variety of ways of putting it to good use and in turn (no pun intended!) has helped me solved the layout problems I previously had in my relatively small workshop.

In summary, a great 'ideas' book and well worth the purchase.

Thanks to the writer and the editor - and of course to Amazon!

Each project is relatively simple to build and well described by step by step intructions.
Each step is illustrated by a picture.
Most are based on using MDF or MPB and simple hardware which make it perfect for the budget limited hobyist.

Every project have measurement both in inches and centimeters.

I would have given it 5 starts if I didn't face a problem while building the router table due to some missing explanation. However, I sent an email to the author and received an answer promptly.

I was on vacation in Arizona, and being out west left me with a very strong desire to read Louis L'Amour book. Luckly the local Library in Glendale AZ , Had this book for sale for a Dollar. It was exactly what I wanted, Good book. I give it three stars because, It is kind of unbelievable, I could have lived with the Man who raided their land back home, and was running for office, and she wanted to stop him. The fact that he also was the one who killed her husband??? Just little too far. Also it is kind of wierd she acts like she wants to hide from this guy but then tells everybody her real name, and tells them her life story??? That aside I really did like this book. My favorite story of his is the Iron Marshal

The Cherokee Trail is the story of a Civil War widow who travels west to run a stage coach stop in Colorado. The book had the suspense and flavor of a run-of-the-mill episode of Gunsmoke: interesting enough while it lasted, but hardly anything compelling.

This is a really good book. The main character is a woman. I would really give this Book 7*s. She is widowed and has a little girl to take care of. She runs a guy out of the stage station with a whip so she can take over.

This is one odd Louis L'Amour novel, and not just because the protagonist is a lady. Here's a story where a tense moment involves if a kitchen can be cleaned up and enough calico laid out in time to impress some incoming stagecoach passengers with a homey interior.

Civil War refugee Mary Breydon arrives in Colorado Territory to help her husband take charge of a stagecoach depot along the Cherokee Trail, a major overland stage route of the 1850s and early 1860s. En route, her husband is shot dead by a man he recognizes as a dastardly Confederate guerilla, and Mary takes on the assignment herself, with only her young daughter, a mysterious stranger named Temple Boone, an Irish maid, and an uppity boy for company and a slew of bad guys lining up to take her down.

Published in 1982, "The Cherokee Trail" seems L'Amour's way of acknowledging not only the past but the then-present, as feminists agitated for more recognition of female strength and importance. L'Amour's regular readers may be put out a little by this, but in truth he does a lot to bridge the distance between his usual frontier fiction and telling the story of an emancipated woman.

To start with what I liked about this novel, L'Amour develops his concept and central character quite well. No, it's not "Giants In The Earth," but L'Amour's interest in the less glamorous aspects of Western life are vividly hashed over, and he makes the story of the stagecoach depot more exciting than mere household chores, with believable suspense and a nice relationship between Mary and Boone that avoids romantic cliche.

Mary's strength of character is a constant theme, and L'Amour manages to bring this out without making it labored or tired. "What I like about this country is that nobody thinks anything is too big or too hard," she says. "If they want to do something, they just take it for granted they can do it, and then they just naturally go ahead."

If only L'Amour had left out the part about the husband's killer coming back, which turns the promising plot south on a dime. Jason Flandrau isn't just NOT laying low, he's getting ready to run for governor, and decides if Mary recognizes him, she'll deep-six his candidacy. Never mind that there must be other people, war veterans and what not, who would recognize an infamous enemy commander in their midst.

Also, what this Johnny Reb is doing in Colorado with the Civil War still raging is a question L'Amour doesn't address. I sense L'Amour originally set the book after the war's end, then realized the Cherokee Trail was largely bypassed by rail after 1865. Perhaps feeling disengaged or just in a hurry, L'Amour winds matters up very abruptly, with a denouement that's sudden and out-of-left-field even for him. Maybe he was rushing to return to his regular world of half-breeds and bronco busters.

L'Amour is a tricky author, the kind of guy who seemed to take Mark Twain's famous putdown, "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses," as a personal to-do list. Yet he also served up some great stories and interesting characters, and for a few pages at the beginning, you think you are getting more of that here. With L'Amour, as with the Old West, you learn to take the bad with the good.

THE CHEROKEE TRAIL is one of the few westerns that treat woman as main characters in a realistic manner. Mary Breydon and her daughter Peg struggle to survive after her husband is murdered.
A previous reviewer took issue with a Confederate being in the Colorado Territory while the Civil War as raging in the East. For the answer to that one I will refer him to Hampton Sides, BLOOD AND THUNDER (Life of Kit Carson) and a little known incident of the Confederate foray from Texas into New Mexico and Colorado. Mr. L'Amour's research and knowledge of western history was on the money.
Writing as a Small BusinessQualifying Laps: A Brewster County NovelGuns Across the Rio: A Texas Ranger in Old MexicoBlood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West

I for one am truly enjoying these books set during the Second World War. Most of the battle action is set in the Pacific, and this book is set during the latter part of 1942 when the Americans were facing some real problems on Guadalcanal. Although there weren't as many battle scenes in this book as in others, it does advance us further into the war, and we really get to know the main characters. There are some surprises here. for example a very young corporal who acts very bravely on "Bloody Ridge". These books, I think, display a real pride in the United States Marine Corps. Griffin handles this tribute to a great Corps very well. And he writes wonderful stories!

Griffen is one of my favorite authors, and this novel didn't change my opinion. The book is well balanced, in that it concentrates more on the interaction of military people, their foibles as well as their strengths, and not just the violent battles. It, like all his others, is hard to put down. He makes his characters so real that a person with a military bent will certainly recognize many of his peers, and superiors. It is the kind of book that the Berkeley crowd would enjoy burning.

I picked up these books hoping to gain some insight into the actions of the Marine Corps in the Pacific during World War II. What I found instead was a sort of soap opera that rambles on for hundreds of pages without getting around to much actual fighting. For example, The Marines don't even get to Guadalcanal (their first major offensive) until the end of book III, some 1200 pages into the story. Those 1200 intervening pages are mostly conversations (ad nauseam) between stateside Marine Corps officers as they sit around headquarters, or go out on the town chasing skirts.

The small portion of the books that is devoted to actual battles is done in such a cursory fashion that you're left with the impression that the author either finds this aspect of the Marines' mission distasteful, or doesn't understand it well enough to write about it. Mr. Griffin could have deleted about 80% of his material, and would have ended up with better books, albeit still not good ones.

If you're the sort of person who likes to watch daytime soap operas, then you may enjoy these books. If, on the other hand, you're interested in military history, the banality of these books will leave you screaming in frustration.

I really like this series as well as "The Brotherhood of War" series. The stories are great, the characters are very likeable and the little bit of history you can get from the books are nice. I have read each of Griffin's series at least twice. I like them that much.

However, I AM REALLY GETTING TIRED OF THE SAME OL' THING. Follow me here. Have you noticed:

1- The guy always gets the girl
2- The girl is always "so ... beutiful"
3- It is nearly almost always love at first sight.
4- The main characters generally start out young and enlisted
within a few chapters they are being gererously promoted.
Most are promoted to officers, some right out of boot-
camp or basic training. It appears promotions are handed
out like meals.
5- The girls are all easy, but they are still "nice girls".
6- None of the main characters die or become handicaped.
7- They all drink scotch (famous grouse)
8- Most of the main characters are rich and of course from
Philly or near there.
9- They all make wonderful and reluctant heroes.
10- etc... etc...

All-in-all, I would recommend Griffins series to anyone who is male. I don't think women would much like them.

Griffin pulls off what so many writers get close to but never quite seem to manage -- an authentic, if slightly romantic, portrait of the US military during the 1930s, 40s and 50s. True, many of the protagonists are wealthy, but many are not. For example, Ken Mccoy is dirt poor until he marries up. There are a lot of promotions to keep things moving, but there's also a number of guys who stay enlisted. What is captured accurately is the look and feel of serving in the pre-Vietnam US military. The Brotherhood of War and The Corps both remind me of Bernard Cornwell's series about Richard Sharpe, tracing his advancement from a Redcoat private and then sergeant in 1799 India to his elevation to Lt. of the 95th Rifles at the Battle of Assaye, and then through the Napoleonic Wars in Portugal, Spain, Denmark and ultimately Waterloo. He retires a Lt. Col., which was almost unheard of for someone raised from the ranks of the British Army, but the chronology is plausible, particularly given the wartime death rate. all in all, I go through the Griffin novels like Doritos and beer -- you can't read just one of them. He is indeed the poet laureate of the American military. Read the Sharpe books too -- you will really enjoy his ability to put you in the action of a 19th century battlefield. They also were made into a first-class series of fourteen 2-hour movies by the BBC, starring Sean Bean as a very convincing Richard Sharpe.

I think W.E.B Griffin(his real name is William E. Butterworth)is the best current day writer. I highly recommend this and all of his other books. This book is number 5 of 10 in the Corps series

So far, I have purchased through Amazon seven of the ten books in the W.E.B. Griffin series "The Corps". They are great and I intend to read his other series of books.

The books written by WEB Griffin are good reading and enjoyable. They have kept my interest and look forward to the next book everytime I end reading one. I spent several years in the Corps and come from a family of Marines so these book certainly keep my interest.

I've read all the WEB Griffin novels several times. The Corps series is the best although the Argentina series (Honor Bound) is close. The best novel standing alone is the first one, Semper Fi. The next two or three are an obvious series and do not stand alone as well. They all provide insights that straight history may overlook. Griffin knows some of these people. He served in Korea so the later Korea series gains authenticity. Some object to the progression of Corporal McCoy to McCoy the super linguist. There is a touch of the comic book to some of his exploits but this is fiction. The story of the Inchon landing in Under Fire is true. The story told in Behind the Lines is true. I have a copy of Eric Feldt's book about the Coastwatchers. That was true. Griffin is the best source for military culture in fiction. His details are accurate. Maybe the Magic intercepts weren't quite as complete as he tells us they were but that was all based on truth and he brings it to life. If you are interested in World War II in the Pacific, these books are indispensible. The only thing that touches them is Once an Eagle.

This book is all about the Marine code of never leaving anyone behind. Fleming Pickering puts together a team to pull two of their men off a tropical island. They have been left there for quite some time in order to be part of the Coast Watchers that were placed throughout the South Pacific. Their purpose was to keep an eye on what the Japanese were doing in order to maintain the US position in Guadalcanal. The thing I really like about these books is the characters that Griffin has portrayed. I feel like I know each and every one of them. I like the history lesson about the war in the Pacific as well. I have to admit - I am hooked on this series.

The concept of a private security outfit is great and fitting our times, but here both the story and the too positive characterisation of the heros are just too un-realistic. Good entertainment, but the good are too good and too lucky for the novel to appeal to grown-ups.

There is more to this story than a thriller. But, before getting into this, I commend the authors for accuracy. Spreading biological agents into a Western population is difficult. Pandemics only occur when environmental conditions are right. Most bio-agents have a very short life once released into the atmosphere. Anthrax is the exception to this rule. I especially enjoyed the story because it is factual. The real bio-agent threat is crop diseases: wheat and rice rust. Hoof and mouth disease for cattle is next.

There are several subtle messages buried in the story. Our self induced vulnerability--no profiling--in order to be politically correct is one. Another is our insane fear of offending Muslims. Today, just as portrayed in the story, the U.S. can't send troops into the tribal regions of Pakistan to hunt down and kill the Taliban and al-Qaeda personnel.

In the story, the government hides all information pertaining to the Marburg attack. Instead of releasing all of the gory details and scaring the pants off our complacent citizens, the government covers up the facts to maintain the notion that we are safe from attack. Unfortunately, this is probably what would really happen. As the author's say in their Author's Note, "The fact that no overt act of terrorism has occurred since 9-11 must be attributed at lease in part to a great deal of good luck. Of course, that situation could change tomorrow morning. And some morning, it will" In this they are correct. I am afraid we will not come to our senses until we suffer an attack many times worse than 9-11.

Strategic Solutions, Inc., is a fictional Professional Military Corporation, hired by the government to do what the CIA and military should be doing, but can't because of our obsession with political correctness. Unpleasant things have to be done when at war, who does them only matters from a perception point of view. The story does a splendid job of pointing this out.

Lee Boyland, author of the first two books of the Clash-of-Civilization trilogy, the story of the next terrible attack: The Rings of Allah and Behold, an Ashen Horse.

I haven't read Coyle before, but I've read several of Tillman's aviation books. His trademark is meticulous research to get the technical stuff right. There is no nonsense about silencers and safeties on revolvers, no foolishness about medical procedures. If Tillman writes that this is the way a Hind helicopter works, then that's how it works. If he says this is how Marburg disease is spread, you can trust him. As a former drum corps player, I can verify that he even got that little part right! Admirable attention to detail. The male characters seem like action heroes, but in fact, the guys in this business really are action heroes. I, too, wish the female protagonist had been merely good at her job; it was not necessary for her to be a hot babe. (For example, was the Derringer character handsome or ugly? We don't know, or need to, because it doesn't matter to the story.) OTOH, there is no ridiculous Penthouse letters-type sex "to help sell the book." (Tom Clancy's gratuitous sex scenes are so embarrassingly awkward, you have to wonder if he's ever been on a second date!) The plot is plausible and clever. The dialogue (usually) rings realistic. One thing I really appreciate is that luck plays a big part in the plot, as it does in real combat. Sometimes the good guys lose and the bad guys win. That helps sustain the suspense. Right up until the end of the book, you still think there is a possibility that the good guys might lose. (It's a book -- the good guys are going to win, right? But... Better keep reading!) I presume Coyle's job was developing the story line. Whatever role each of the authors played, the collaboration works. This book is a breath of fresh air for the genre -- actual intelligent story-telling, instead of just brainless shoot-em-up drivel. Bravo!

This tale of bioterrorism and cloak and dagger conflict begins well enough, and establishes the scene and the dangers competently enough, but then falls on a couple of logical inconsistencies. The terrorist network is just too competent to be believable, and there is no reason to use SSI operatives once the action leaves Pakistan.

The mercenary company SSI is hired to investigate and kick in doors in Pakistan to find the terrorists during a period of tension between the US and Pakistan governments. A sensible premise, yet the interaction between SSI and the Pakistan military is smoother than I would believe possible during an outright love-fest between our two countries.

The world-wide terrorist network is so competent, and so universally supported by muslims everywhere, that it can instantly locate an imam in any city willing to knowingly hire hit men or give a bioterrorist a ride to his target in his personal mercedes. This gives jihadis too much credit and at the same time insults every muslim in this country. Providing hospitality to travelers is one thing, but I just don't buy the willing participation the enemy got from Americans in this book.

Then, after the action headed back to the US, I didn't understand why the problem of tracking the bioweapon didn't move from SSI to the full force of the US government. Why sweep anything under a rug at that point? Scream the facts to the ends of the Earth and get the willing cooperation of every government the bioweapons passed through. Marburg would kill their populations as readily as Americans, so why not give them the information they'd need to defend themselves?

The book just doesn't ring true to me.

I did like the military take on recent US politics, though. Tailhook really was a disgrace. I'll give it an extra star just for that.

Like the other reviewers I found the plot realistic. Using Professional Military Corporations, PMC's, seems to be the new thing.

However I found the characters to be too stereotypic. The lead female character was a world renowned doctor from England (hard to believe no US doctor was qualified), a world class rock climber, a runner, etc. After never having fired a gun she was judged proficient after only 15 minutes. And of course she made Miss America look like a dog. Couldn't we just once have a female who is not perfect or would that not be PC. The rest of the team was made up of the usual jokers, caring medics and ex-Marine gunnys and so on.

My other criticism was predictability. You knew ahead of time when the team was heading into an ambush, which they managed to do quite often. If I were running the place I'd think about firing the team leaders who were out planned throughout the entire book. I'd even think of firing the president of the corporation, e.g., a rent-a-cop to guard a building whose business often included killing people and it never crosses anyone's mind they may want to get even. You often say things to yourself like, "the receptionist is history" and you're right. You want to scream to the female lead as she bends over the wounded bad guy to hear his whispers, "you putz don't get near him". Ditto for the border scene where you know five pages in advance what is going to happen and it makes you just want to tell these people what idiots they really are and what to do. They never listen.

Overall realistic plot, but not a unique one. Characters are just too stereotyped.