Cameron Books

Then this is the book you have to get! I loved the film, ALMOST FAMOUS (so much, that I went to go see it at the movie theaters towards the end of it's playing by myself - usually, I go to the movies with at least one other person). ALMOST FAMOUS is really the best film I've ever seen in my life. I can't believe it only won one Academy Award and didn't get nominated for Best Picture! Oh well, if you wanna see the exact Oscar-winning script from the film than this is the best thing you can get. I went out to the bookstore recently and bought this and I was not disappointed in the least! I loved every moment of it. In fact, I am trying to memorize the script so when I buy the video, I can repeat every single word they say in the film. This script captures all of the highlight moments from the film and if you missed a line or two while watching the movie, you can probably find it here in this book. Also, the intro written by the author is pretty cool, too. Also, the author has an interview with Cameron Crowe himself, and Crowe explains many parts of the film that were most confusing to you. Plus, there are some great memorable photos directly from the shooting of the movie (though they are all in black and white) to add to this true ALMOST FAMOUS collectors' item. A great read and a must have for all ALMOST FAMOUS fans! Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

As good as the movie. Well, okay, better. (Isn't the book always better?) This includes details the movie left out and tells the story just as well. Also includes interviews with Cameron Crowe. EXCELLENT Book.

After seeing the movie I couldn't wait for the book to come out. I got it the first day of November and read it in like one day. I am now reading it again and picking up more then I did before, not because I read to fast but because you just do. If you are a fan of the movie and want a little behind the story look then get this screenplay (book).

When a film becomes the darling of the critics and viewers alike, you can be quite certain a good script is at the core of the success. Almost Famous is no exception. The screenplay is remarkably close to the final edit of the film, with only a few scenes that will probably make it into the DVD release of the film. These scenes fill out the characters even more, and in at least one case, anchor a wayward reference in the final cut of the film.

Several characters in the film will become immortalized by their dialogue, and savoring it in the context of the entire screenplay is a real treat. In addition to the screenplay, there is an interview with Cameron Crowe that covers many of the questions you or I would like to ask Crowe about this film. Yes, almost all of it really happened, and Crowe gives his take on a world and lifestyle that albeit passing and circumstantial, became real for the people who lived it. I recommend it highly.

Upon becoming blind at 8 years of age, Jacques Lusseyran discovered a deep inner joy that henceforth illuminated his entire life and never left him, not even in the horror and despair of Buchenwald. He was a daring, courageous French Resistance fighter who taught people not just to see but also to experience that life beyond all life and that joy that surpasses all human understanding. Even the evil of Nazism sweeping throughout France could not dim this ever-shining light. Jacques lived life to the fullest every moment of his waking hours with an enthusiasm that is astonishing, energizing, and almost unbelievable. To read this book is discover anew that light which the darkness has never been able to extinguish.

This book was recommended to me in 1970 by Marshall McLuhan. He was greatly impressed by this book, as was I. Lusseyran's experience with the human voice was particularly intriguing. I tried to contact him at the university, but he had left. Does anyone know what happened to him?

It shows that we all, by remaining open and without fear, can remain in touch with the Light within. I admire J L tremendously, as a writer, a poet, a spiritual person, an antinazi, and an all around good guy.

Startling in its intelligence, moral power, and sheer beauty, this text is a treasure for both the seasoned wise and the passionate young. Lusseyran was a man of rare talent and courage; his untimely death in 1971 saw the loss of one of Earth's freest and wisest souls. May our children and our children's children have the privilege of reading his remarkable story.

I love this calendar. I was just looking for your ordinary calendar book for the new year but when I came across THE BAD GIRL, I couldn't resit. The calendar itself is large enough to add notes and the stories are interesting to read. I've shown almost every woman I know this book and they love it too. It's so praticular and I look forward to buying 2007 edition next year.
I also brought the business (wink, wink) card.

I love Cameron Tuttle's woman inspiring views -- this callandar is so much fun.

This diary is not only practical, but it offers fun, risque, and hysterical advice and helpful hints on every page!

I just received this item and I'm so happy with it. It's little and cute and compact enough to stick in your purse, but there's still plenty of room to write on each page with space for notes to self in the margins.
If you're looking for a calendar to make each week a little more interesting, this is the planner for you!

Cameron has achieved somthing remarkable here. He has produced a superb scholarly work, and infused it with a warmth and humanity which beggars description. He evokes the sense of awe, of wonder, of sheer disbelief felt by these European visitors. He revels in their confusion, laughs as they grope their way through a world of which they have no comprehension. And is completely sympathetic. That is not to say this is a lighthearted book. He can be savage in his critique, and his description of the Opium Wars will anger many. Still, for a balanced, lively and superbly scholary book, you can not find better. I recomend it wholeheartedly.

If you are not interested in China you should read this book, to understand more of your own country. If you are, then you will find it insightful, erudite, empathic, and comfortably delivers the quality you would want when reviewing the scope of 13 centuries of western engagement with traveller. Based on my reading of innumerable other books on the subject, one of the best informed. Except maybe about the Last Empress.....such a small point. This writer has lived for decades in the region, and it shows. Highly recommend.

I have made China, its history and future, a dedicated hobby. It also helps that my work requires me to covers Greater China. As such I have read 100's books, and visited many times, and published - although nowhere near the scholarly work of this. It is a great work, very well researched, sympathetic, and empathic - rare in the case of a western writer in my experience. He has spent decades in the region, and it shows. A project on a broad scale, 13 centuries of China's engagement with western travellers is readable, insightful, human, and even if you do not have an interest in China - it will change the way you think about your own country[men] and the geopolitical landscape. However, you should know about China, it is now a major player on the world stage. Highly recommend.

Through the accounts of representative Western travelers -over thirteen centuries- in China, the author provides a historical thread of encounters between West and East, starting with the christians-nestorians in the year 625, and continuing with Marco Polo and the Mongols. Then, the great saga of Jesuits scholars and Dominics during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The author moves on to the 19th century with detailed accounts on traders and diplomats intertwining with the Opium War and the Unequal Treaties, finishing with the boxer attack of the Foreign Legations in 1900 and the Sun Yat Sen's first republic in 1911 .

In the background one reads of the comings and goings of the Chinese dynasties dealing with increasing waves of "ocean devils". In the forefront one finds the portrayal of a gallery of actors : sages and villains, missionaries and eunuchs...The underlying clash of cultures enhances the reciprocal fascination and disbelief of two worlds, each one convinced of his own superiority but nevertheless enthralled by the other.

Nigel Cameron -- in a well documented exposition of hundreds of historical clues, with over 100 illustrations-recounts the introduction of western astronomy to the Middle Kingdom, the enchantment of Jesuits with Confucianism and the subsequent conflict with Christianity, the antiforeignism as official Chinese policy confronting the Western "gunboat" extraterritoriality.

History repeats itself ?.I am writing this review in Beijing, July 1999, myself a " bearded barbarian" European staying in China since early 1989. A few weeks ago I saw in Beijing demonstrations of Chinese students stoning two western embassies. Recently we have seen on the news the emotional confrontations between Chinese and Western (Americans) diplomats and political leaders regarding atomic espionage. At the threshold of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the New China and the upcoming China entrance into the World Trade Organization, the story of the East and West, face to face, is an unending and fascinating one .

A copy of its out of print 1989 edition has been on my desk as a special reference book, so I am glad that it has been recently reprinted.I would recommend it for someone who has more than a mild interest in the subject matter, and mainly for the next barbarians coming to China in the next millenniums...

Comprehensive coverage of the subject. I had little previous knowledge of the Roman Empire of Charlemagne and I find it critical to an understanding of European history, as well as that of the Roman Catholic church. Well written, but it does not read rapidly because of the quantity of important facts it contains.

Barbero's recent text on Charlemagne is by some called "the most important work on Charlemagne in a generation." While I don't feel qualified to make such an assertion, there can be little doubt in my own mind that Barbero's work is a solid, scholarly, and ultimately, successful addition to the collection of works available on Charlemagne.

I ran across this book in Paris in 2004, right after the book had come out in print. A brief perusal of the pages told me that this would be a book in which I would be interested. This was not only because I was interested in Charlemagne per se, but because I was wishing to study more about the educational reforms and policies Charlemagne initiated during his reign, and the effect those movements had on subsequent history. I was delighted to discover that Barbero's book had much of its text dedicated to Charlemagne's educational reforms, and the volume has served well in learning about this important aspect of Charlemagne's reign.

The book is scholarly in its approach, and there can be little doubt that it will serve as a foundation work for subsequent scholarly investigations on Charlemagne. In addition, the work is translated from the original Italian. These two facts - a scholarly orientation and a work translated from one language into another - tend to make the text a slightly more difficult read than a truly popular history. This is in no way to denigrate either: Barbero's scholarship and authority on the subject is easily established, and the translation is first rate, nearly flawless. Nevertheless, there is a somewhat "elevated" (for lack of a better word) style at work here that can make moving through the volume a bit slower than one would expect. Perhaps this is not bad, because there is so much content present here that reducing the speed can bring about greater rewards. But it is indeed something that the reader should be aware of before diving in.

Ultimately an excellent addition to any medievalist's library (or anyone else wishing to learn more about "The King of the Franks"), Barbero's Charlemagne is worth every penny spent and every minute invested.

Mr. Barbero has produced a comprehensive and insightful work, while keeping the book relatively brief and accessible to those who have only rudimentary knowledge of the early Medieval period. The book is organized thematically, not chronologically, but the author maintains a consistent perspective on events, with the result that the reader does not feel as though he/she is wandering aimlessly in a period of time of more than forty years. Mr. Barbero occassionally references modern scholarly debate, adding to the issues his own viewpoints, which are usually quite convincing.

I have found only two caveats:

(1) The book is fairly breif; it is not an expansive guide to Charlemagne's life.

(2) The author spends a great deal of time on the social history of the period, leaving the king far behind. In this respect it is more a history of the kings reign; it is not strictly biography.

All in all this is a solid piece of scholarship.

This book at times seems dry because of the descriptions of bureaucracy,government,etc. and at time comes off as being like an encylopedia,although one on a specialty subject,specifically:the reign of Charlemagne.It is a thorough job on his reign and I can see the reason for the subtitle,"Father of a Continent",since Charlemagne put into motion most of the organization and ruling qualities that eventually evolved into a European nation.The first part of the book shows how closely Charlemagne was tied to the institutions inaugurated by the Roman Empire and added Frankish tribal mores into these institutions.While Charlemagne spoke Frankish(a celtic-germanic type dialect) he was also fluent in Latin although he couldn't write it.i was never able to figure out how Charlemagne managed the numerous reforms whether he "micromanaged" of just picked good legislators.At times the reforms seem like they were forces by themselves and Charlemagne was smart enough to flow with the tide.The case could also be made Charlemagne was another "petty tyrant" from which Europe would recover from and rise to the status of today. The stereotype "Dark Age" ruler is too often portrayed as a greasy bearded,wine inbibing,concubine chasing,warlord who every once in a while lets "common folk" into his prescence for an amnesty or to give out presents.Then the ruler rides off into the sunnset with a pack of hounds for the hunt all the while making ribald jest.However this book shows an intelligent,justice seeking,education minded,artistic side to the "Dark Age" ruler.As a matter of fact after reading this book,I don't see how Charlemagne could have possibly had time to squeeze in a concubine as pressed for time as he was.In regard to Charlemagne and the pope,the book says that this relationship was not as close as dramatic accounts have previously said.Instead Charlemagne and his counselours primarily looked to their own interests when it came to political issues and church doctrine,and the author suggests that Charlemagne's reverence for the pope was more due to King Charles magnaminous nature than to fear or superstition of divine wrath.Or maybe with all that barbarian cunning he was smart enough to not "upset the apple(or plum) cart.The book is fine tuned down to showing how Charlemagne's administators dealt with the "Darkage" equivalent of today's "draftdodgers" to the details of how slavery issues were treated.I found it interesting how small livestock animals were back then before steroids and that by 800 pretty much all of Europe was settled and claimed so there was little room for hunters and pillagers to operate "riskfree"without stepping on someone else's toes.This is basically still a"barter" economy,coinage not very marked.This book is not a critical bio,because of the lack of sources from this era to compare Charlemagne to so if you lived before the era of the "critical bio",you pretty much have a cakewalk on your position in history due to a lack of or complete abscence of records beyond some scribblings of monks.While the monk could no doubt do a good critique,there would considerations of keeping a good head on one's shoulders.

This book is totally awesome! I feel like I have a highly skilled Chinese art instructor right at the table with me. Ms Cameron learned from one of the best and now I am learning from one of the best. Like I said, totally awesome book!

This is a wonderful instructional book for anyone looking to begin the traditional art of Chinese painting. The author is a westerner who lived in China when she was young and was taught the techniques of painting by masters. Using her book is the next best thing to having an instructor by your side. Each technique is carefully explained and clearly illustrated in a way that makes learning fun and easy. Using this book should give you the skills and confidence desired on your way to learning the art of Chinese painting.

This book is excellent for beginers in chinese art and art in general. Taking you step by step from the beginning by illustrating the basic rules for strokes, techniques and compositions necessary for a well deveopled authentic piece of chinese art. Ms.Cameron shows you what to do and what not to do in a conversational manner that builds confidence. In a short period of practice i was very pleased with my progress. If i can do it any one can. Buy this book.

This book is excellent for beginers in chinese art and art in general. taking you from the beginning by illustrating the basic rules for strokes, techniques and compositions necessary for a well deveopled authentic piece of chinese art. Ms.Cameron shows you what to do and what not to do in a conversational manner that builds confidence. In a short period of practice i was very pleased with my progress. If i can do it any one can. Buy this book.

Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao, 2006., edited by Cameron L. McNeil, Gainesville: University Press of Florida (ISBN 0-8130-2953-8) represents the most comprehensive study of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) published to date. The breadth and scope of this important reference source is impressive. Contributions include research and analysis involving various methodological approaches, anthropology, archaeology, art history, conservation biology, and epigraphy, to explore the role of cacao in ancient and contemporary Mesoamerica and its origins as a domesticate. Scholars from a variety of fields provide new evidence on the domestication of cacao, its ancient use in foods other than beverages, its significance in Mesoamerican religion, and its role in elite feasts. Contributors also discuss: the value of cacao; the artistic conventions concerning cacao and its use; and the archaeological identification of cacao, including the recovery of seeds in archaeological context, residue analysis from ancient ceramics, and the hieroglyphic markings on ancient ceramic containers. These studies pose various questions such as: where beverages made from cacao pulp or only the seeds? Was cacao associated with the ancient elite and consumed primarily as a beverage? Was cacao widely available to individuals and societies of non-elite status? Some researchers study current religious practices involving cacao, especially in Mexico and Guatemala, in order to determine if these practices may provide clues to ancient associations of this plant.
The volume Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao is divided into four parts: Part I explores the origins of cacao, how was it domesticated, its chemical properties, it biogeography and identification of and its close relatives in other regions of the Neotropics. In Part II, archaeologists, art historians, linguists, and epigraphers document the pre-Columbian uses and importance of cacao how it was consumed and by whom, a truly multidisciplinary perspective. Some contributions explore how cacao became interwoven with later Spanish diet and culture, eventually spreading into the cuisines of most of Europe and the rest of the world. In Part III, ethnohistorians and archaeologists sixteenth-century documents to provide an understanding of the role of the colonial Spanish governments in altering the cultivation practices and consumption of cacao among indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. Some contributors document the incorporation of cacao into Spanish cuisine. In Part IV, archaeologists, ethnobotanists, and ethnographers record the many uses of cacao and how its continued to be cultivated by Mesoamerican communities in the present. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Chocolate and its role in the foodways of the world, and to students and scholars focused upon its Pre-Columbian past and how remnants of this history continue to the present.

If you are a chocolate lover, this is the book for you! So many books about this topic look at how chocolate developed outside of Mesoamerica. It is nice to read about cacao in its original cultural context. Interesting and well-organized. A nice addition to any chocolate connoisseur's library.

This volume includes papers by a number of experts on chocolate and Mesoamerica. The chapters are well written and form the most complete coverage of this domesticate in a single volume. The papers consider cacao from multiple perspectives including botany, iconography, ritual, politics, and economy. They also cover a broad geographic area including a number of pre-Columbian and modern cultural groups in Mesoamerica.

This book is a great contribution to the field of Mesoamerican studies. When I ordered it I wasn't sure what to expect, but I have really enjoyed it. The interdisciplinary approach allows for a thorough examination of the role of cacao in the cultural life of indigenous Mesoamericans, past and present. I appreciated the diachronic examination of the subject as it allows the reader to better understand how cacao was and is culturally important to Mesoamericans. Additionally, it demonstrates how this seed become significant to the colonial economy as well as the larger world market. The history of cacao's Native American origins is fascinating. Cacao or chocolate has become an important part of many cultures foodways however its Native American origins are largely overlooked in its contemporary context. McNeil's compilation of current scholarly research about cacao nicely demonstrates the origin and development of this Native American resource.

I was very pleased with the delivery time and the perfect condition my book arrived in. I also was pleased with the price. I recommend this book!

The exercises in the first part of this "trilogy" is more than worth the price of the book. If you choose to do the exercises, your creativity will be released/unblocked. What a positive response this book is for really anyone who wants to live more creatively. If you want to think of yourself as an artist, or if you never thought of yourself as an artist before, this book is for you. I have already given it as a gift and I'm not even half way through with the reading/journaling/pondering. It would be a tremendous book for your local library. Then, use it on a solo journey or work through it with a group. Gigi

"Was there any issue this week that felt significant to you in your self-discovery?" Cameron's questions and exercises are very helpful for someone getting started in an artistic pursuit - or someone who needs to reactivate after a period of not working in this arena for a time. The book is written in short essays, some of which have tasks to do. The exercises help reduce the rigidity of our mental constructs, and so open the spirit path. It is a book one may pick up and read at any moment... find a gem of an idea to build upon, or an understanding of what's at work in all of the arts. This book is a treasure for me. It never fails to remind me of the creativity that is always ready to be stirred in every human being.

The Artist's Way books are inspiring, and this pretty book containing three of them is worthy of a prime space on the bookshelf (while keeping it handy for check-ins!). Nicely done.

I was intrigued by the title and sure it would be on my reading list before I ever checked reviews or sales rankings for Dinner with Dad by Cameron Stracher. A lawyer, professor and author in New York, Stracher tells the story of his hurried life, saying:

"As my salary increased, my appetite grew, until I needed every dollar I was making and lived from paycheck to paycheck. I was trapped in a cycle of my own making from which the chances of escape appeared dim. But I could stop the carousel if I wanted. I could get off."

The author is caught up like so many in chasing success and avoiding life but eventually promises to turn it all around. With his wife and two young children at home, he deeply desires to return not only to his family, but to his favorite pastime: cooking. The book is framed through the story of planning for, preparing and cooking dinner, and then sharing meals together at least five nights a week including weekends, for one year.

I thought he presented the experiment beautifully, even without possessing a basic appreciation for the Zen of cooking myself. I underlined several well-told lessons that I found intermittently woven throughout his story. He tells of the inescapable trade-off between family and work, later alluding to Eugene O'Kelly's Chasing Daylight (another one that I'd recommend), and speaking of the inability to control the future or the outcome of one's own dreams. He describes his role as father: "Who [my children] were what they would become, [was] a function of who and what I was and how I lived."

At times the book takes long stretches to describe the process of preparing meals with detailed descriptions and list of ingredients that I've never heard of, and also at times feels like grandstanding for his recent noble efforts, sometimes minimizing his wife's attempts to contribute to family meals, and making sure to describe the newfound admiration he receives from others. But if the reader shares Stracher's passion for cooking and his promise to be a better family man, then the book might be a most inspiring.

Here's the best excerpt for making the correlation between cooking and working:

"Unlike my jobs, which nourish my family in their own way, putting a plate before my children is direct, visible, and tangible. The results are immediate and clear. Working is abstract and conceptual, while cooking is concrete and corporeal. Work takes me away; cooking brings me home. The former is necessary but not sufficient, the latter essential and primordial. One is absence, the other presence. On his deathbed, no one has ever prayed for more work. Plenty have died from hunger, however."

When I first heard of this book,the concept was not all that unusual.It was something I was familiar with, raising kids,putting together meals,what I did not expect was the candid honesty and humor that made this book a great read.It should be required reading for those of us who try to balance work and family and end up with less of each

Workaholic attorney Cameron Stracher braves a mega-commute in the New York area to only wonder, "Is that all there is?" Determined to better his life and reconnect with his two kids and wife, he resolves to dial back his work devotion to fixing dinner for his family.

He finds this is almost as much of a challenge as practicing law. This first-person memoir is touching and absorbing as Stracher details the emotional and financial tradeoffs that bedevil us as we strive to find more balance in our lives.

A very good read!!!!

Cameron Stracher's "Dinner with Dad: How I Found My Way Back to the Family Table" chronicled the author's attempt and journey to be a good dad by having dinner with his two kids. Cameron lives in Westport, Connecticut but works as a law professor in New York City and he typically spends two hours travelling to work each way everyday. In addition, he also works as legal counsel for an organization out in Kansas City. Needless to say, he hardly shares a meal with his family at dinnertime. One night, he made a decision to be at home for dinner during his kids's new school year and he would even cook at least half the time. This decision proved to be a lot harder especially since he had to leave work early and at the same time get his work done. Cooking at home proved to be even more of a challenge especially since his kids refused to eat most of what he cooked and they had developed weird eating habits. It became a personal challenge to Cameron to make sure his kids share his love for diverse and ethnic food.

This was a great read for me as it was fun and witty and the writing was very conversational. The author provided valuable insights into family life and how the simple of act of eating dinner with family made a difference. Many would be able to identify with Cameron's situation and how the pursue of wealth had replaced the importance of spending quality time with one's family. Highly recommended!

I was unaware that this was the fourth book in the series. It felt like a stand-alone. Wonderful characters, great suspense, and a terrific plot make this a book I won't forget. I shall now proceed, with much anticipation, to read the rest of the series.

Archaeologist Emma Fielding goes to a fellowship in Western Massachusetts for this mystery. Emma had recently completed excavation on the home of an eighteenth century woman named Margaret Amalie Chase Chandler. Emma becomes the newest fellow at the Shrewsbury Foundation, where she will study the coded diary of Chandler. Emma meets several people, including an officer with an attitude, a sarcastic dean, an alcoholic professor, and Faith Morgan who is a very angry divorcee.

While jogging, Emma comes across Faith's dead body. Before Detective Sergeant Kobrinski arrives on the scene, Emma sees Officer Gary Conner (the one with the attitude) messing with the crime scene and actually taking something from Faith's body! Soon the killer is after Emma. She must run for her life and, somehow, solve an old mystery.

***** This mystery will keep you guessing. At the same time you will be kept fascinated by all the action going on. The book is very fast paced and the secondary characters are extremely interesting! You do not have to read the previous mysteries of Emma Fielding. Each mystery is a stand-alone story. But this novel will make you rush out to find first three! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Archaeologist Emma Fielding goes to a fellowship in Western Massachusetts for this mystery. Emma had recently completed excavation on the home of an eighteenth century woman named Margaret Amalie Chase Chandler. Emma becomes the newest fellow at the Shrewsbury Foundation, where she will study the coded diary of Chandler. Emma meets several people, including an officer with an attitude, a sarcastic dean, an alcoholic professor, and Faith Morgan who is a very angry divorcee.

While jogging, Emma comes across Faith's dead body. Before Detective Sergeant Kobrinski arrives on the scene, Emma sees Officer Gary Conner (the one with the attitude) messing with the crime scene and actually taking something from Faith's body! Soon the killer is after Emma. She must run for her life and, somehow, solve an old mystery.

***** This mystery will keep you guessing. At the same time you will be kept fascinated by all the action going on. The book is very fast paced and the secondary characters are extremely interesting! You do not have to read the previous mysteries of Emma Fielding. Each mystery is a stand-alone story. But this novel will make you rush out to find first three! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Emma Fielding is an archaeologist. She knows quite a bit about the dead past. In her fourth outing, A FUGITIVE TRUTH, she is digging into the past again, but not the dirt. She has received a fellowship to The Shrewsbury Foundation to study "Madam" Margaret Chandler, the wife a wealthy early 18th New England patriarch and judge. Through reading her diaries and letters, Emma finds out that Margaret Chandler was accused of witchcraft and put on trial for murder. Strangely, unsettling things are happening at the Foundation. The other three fellows are a odd lot: Michael, a charismatic, handsome but moody scholar; Jack, an alcoholic blocked academic; and Faith, an acquaintance from Emma's graduate days. Faith is murdered. Why? And who did it? There are plenty of suspects: Faith's estranged husband, the unpleasant security guards, the administrative manager, the scholars, and the librarians. There's quite a bit of tension and action.
The setting of Massachusetts is nicely realized. The world of professors, scholars, and research is also marvelously depicted. Dana Cameron's books are fun! The main character, Emma, has a wry humor. There is a good mixture of pop culture references combined with academia: from American transcendentalists to Buffy the Vampire Slayer from incunabula to the Klingon-English dictionary. It's wonderful blend. It's a wonderful read.
Those who love Elizabeth Peters' books, especially the Peabody and Vicki Bliss books, will enjoy the Emma Fielding mysteries as well.