Clinton Books

While a very interesting book with a few enjoyable stories about bootlegging this book was also a bit of a disappointment.Firstly the authors own feelings about certain bands and performers is rather clear.For example its fairly obvious that the author has a great love of The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan and is not to fond of The Beatles,a point of view I admit I do not entirely share.I love Dylan and The Stones but The Beatles will forever be my favorites.Granted its clear that while not involved in bootlegs himself at any point the author is a big fan of them thus a hard core music fan and hardcore music fans do tend to have even stronger opinions than most people.Still I must say it would be nice to have a book that gives an overview of bootlegs from a more unbiased point of view,maybe thats to much to ask but I am still hoping to find a book like that someday.I don't need someone that loves The Beatles to write such a book(since there are already such books out there)simply someone that can keep themselves out of the book a bit more so to speak.At times the book reads a bit more like a critique of rock music and thats not what I was looking for in this particular book but an overview of the history of the rock bootleg industry.
The other problem with this book is at times Clinton Heylin also has a habit of going off into long explinations of the workings of national and international copywrite law.I would understand at least some of this being in there as it relates to the subject but he goes a bit far with it and it makes the book drag at times(unless of course you want to study copywrite law that is).
Overall this is a fairly enjoyable book and worth reading with a number of worthwhile stories in it but it could have been better.Personally I am still looking for the book that will give a real insightful look at the history of rock bootlegs.

Growing up in Los Angeles. I remember going into music stores that had rows of Bootlegs. I did have Zeps (or not zeps) Blueberry Hill. Lots of Deep Purple & Alice Cooper. It was true! You could see a show,10 days later? Thar she blows! RECORD WORLD in LA PUENTE did have the best! You can tell the world was Bob Dylon for Clinton Heylin. Listening to the Beatles fart was about the leval of most Bootlegs. But thats what we wanted to get a wiff of,right?,lol! }:-D My step-brother Rick had at least 200 or more! But for me nothing like the real deal.

_Bootleg_ is a fascinating, enthralling book, which I expect would be interesting to anybody regardless of their particular position on the morality of bootlegging. To be sure, Heylin comes solidly in the corner of "let the music be free," but is hardly obstrusive about that fact. Small research errors aside, Bootleg is an amazing look at a once-thriving musical subculture.

Which is, I guess, my one point of reservation here. The bootleg scene has changed so massively and, perhaps, immeasurably, during the past ten years that _Bootleg_ begins to read as more of a pure history book on days long past than as a record of something vibrant. The advent of CDRs, in particular, has totally changed the dynamic in which bootleg recordings are distributed and manufactured. A 21st century update which recognizes the birth of these trends would be very appreciated.

I was excited when this book came out, but it fell short of my expectations. I was hoping for some great stories from the good old days of bootlegging, but this reads more like a history book and is, sadly, written by someone who wasn't even involved in the business.

This book is good for someone who is interested in learning a bit about bootlegging, but I'm holding my breath for the day that a first person account of the world of early bootlegging comes out!!

I really like this imperfect book about the beginnings of rock and roll bootlegging -- as distinguished from the jazz and opera boots which are another, equally interesting story.

This story will have resonance with those who know the theology of rock music from the '60s and '70s -- why Dylan or the Stones were so "important" to so many people. If you know what I'm talking about, you will enjoy this tale of serious fandom.

In the interest of full disclosure I must admit I know a couple of people written about in the book -- their reaction to it was a good deal more ambivalent than mine, and I'm sure the author did get some things wrong. After all he wasn't there, and they were.

But if you are at all interested in this topic (there must be a few out there) by all means buy this book.

P.S. I'm happy to see from the last (and only!) comment that Scandinavia remains a bastion of serious pop music fanatics.....

This ballzy account of the Clinton/Lewinsky affair is a quick read and quite entertaining, even though, as a reader, one never gets introduced to the more developed or sophisticated thoughts of our ex-President. In the Clinton Diaries, author Fred Petrovsky hi-jacks President Clinton's mind, revealing sexual urges and surface thoughts that could easily come from the diaries of any ordinary man. To be honest, early in the book, the lewd comments or sentiments of President Clinton come across more like something LBJ would have said. I suppose one expects more from a Rhodes Scholar. Of course, that's the danger when one writes a novel from the perspective of a famous human being.
Still, as the novel moves along, Petrovsky manages to keep the voice of Clinton consistent, to where you feel like it's him, and he is actually sharing the intimate details of his darkest secrets. And though very little of it might be true, with the scattering of historical facts and settings intersperesed throughout the novel, the story moves along nicely, becoming believable while shedding light on what goes on in a horny President's life.
By the end, I actually started to feel sorry for Mr. Clinton. After all, it was his hero and predecessor, President Kennedy, who had his way with the babes in almost every room, and on top of every artifact, in the White House. Back in the 60's, a powerful man expected and reaped rewards for his political victories. Staff members and reporters turned a blind eye.
In Mr. Clinton's case, with an ever more vigilant paparazzi, and too many political enemies to count, he was forced into sneaky sexual encounters with a pudgy intern in the dark corners and hidden areas of White House offices. Certainly, the spoils of the office are not what they used to be. JFK and Marilyn Monroe are laughing in their graves.
As a reader, I prefer less of the provacative Jerry Springer scenes. It's just too hard to watch your President involved in such despicable acts, especially with pornographic detail. The phone sex incident at the Baltimore hotel was a bit too much for me. Petrovsky could have written the scene much more carefully and cleverly, allowing us to figure out the extent of Mr. Clinton's self-satisfaction through the conversation itself.
Even so, I enjoyed for the most part the three or four hours it took me to read the novel. The pace is good and never falters. Mr. Petrovsky took on a difficult task by taking on one of the seediest moments in presedential history. Like the cable show, "Dirty Jobs," Petrovsky's, "The Clinton Diaries," teaches us that somebody has to do the dirty work, and somebody has to do it right. It's just too easy to sweep it all under the rug.

"Intriguing" 4 stars
What was going through Clinton's mind? Why Monica? Have we not all wondered that? Petrofvsky gives us an idea of that in The Clinton Diaries.
I am a conservative who has never been a Clinton fan. I actually felt some empathy toward him when reading this. Petrofvsky shows how conflicted he must have been. It shows the love/respect for his wife, yet the longing for affection that kept him in turmoil.
Some of the scenes are fairly graphic, so they are not for the faint of heart. Overall, this is a good book.

Well, if my lack of respect for former president Clinton wasn't solidified before, it is now.

In Petrovsky's novel based on Bill Clinton's sexual escapes with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the affair is shown in a more personal light; though the story is told from the view of Clinton, it does evaluate both sides of the issue, including the public's quickly-changed opinion of their Commander-in-Chief due to lying and perjury, and Clinton's insatiable, unquenched thirst for sexual fulfillment. Okay, the latter goes a bit too deep for my tastes, but it does rather thoroughly demonstrate what Clinton's motive was behind his actions, no matter how gruesomely detailed.

Still, the neutral view goes only so far, as there is progressively more and more pushing of how his actions were wrong and how his perjurous response showed his lacking suitability as the leader of the United States. A closer look at Lewinsky's point-of-view on the issue might've curbed the conservatism and brought back the neutrality.

Though Petrovsky's writing style is strong and supported by beefy, realistically dialogue, there is a certain emotion lacking from the words, something that might've made Clinton's supposed guilt more believable. Nonetheless, the story seems dead-on with the actual happenings, and just proves that none of us really know what goes on behind closed doors...

- T.C. Robson

It hardly seems possible that it has been almost ten years since Bill Clinton's impeachment and Senate trial but we are rapidly approaching those milestone dates: December 19, 1998 for the impeachment and February 12, 1999 for his acquittal in the Senate. Fred Petrovsky marks those rather dubious anniversaries with his new novel, The Clinton Diaries, an account using excerpts from Bill Clinton's fictional diary to illustrate the events leading up to the impeachment and how things might so easily have turned out differently were it not for the bad luck that Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski would someday, against all odds, cross paths.

Frankly, before I started reading The Clinton Diaries, I was not really sure that I wanted to relive those destructively painful days. Let's face it, no one involved on either side, certainly not Clinton, Lewinski or Clinton's head-hunting opposition exactly covered themselves in glory during those months. Having carefully watched the actual process, I still carry negative impressions of just about everyone involved in it, in fact. But, of course, the ultimate blame has to be placed squarely on the shoulders of President Clinton himself, so I did not expect to come away from the book feeling the slightest bit of sympathy for the man. But, surprisingly, I did.

That happened because the Bill Clinton character of The Clinton Diaries is a vulnerable and self-aware man who admits to himself, if to no one else, his own weaknesses and the fact that his lack of control over certain of his appetites dooms him to be less than the man he could, or wants, to be. The voice that Petrovsky has given to Bill Clinton sounds eerily like that of the man that Americans have come to know over the last two decades, so much so, in fact, that it is easy to imagine the real Bill Clinton saying and thinking the very words attributed to him in the novel.

Now perhaps it is time for someone to do the same for Monica Lewinski although I suspect it will be much more difficult to make her into as sympathetic a character as Petrovsky has managed to make Bill Clinton.

The Clinton Diaries, I have to say, is not a book that I enjoyed reading but that is not the fault of the book itself. It is more that I would like to forget the annoyance of those months and what this fiasco cost all of us in terms of "what could have been" and the book all too vividly and painfully reminded me of that.

Has it really been more than ten years? The Clinton Diaries by Fred Petrovsky, with dates, brings back memories as fresh as yesterday's for many of us. What more could be said? For those who lived through the months and years of daily news announcements, together with the sordid jokes by late-night shows, we had heard enough about Monica Lewinsky's role in the life of our President.

Still, when I saw the title of this new novel--a work of fiction, parody and satire, I was curious. Are you? Let me first tell you that the entire book is not in diary format. There are periods of dialogue and action of the events, combined with much internal dialogue that was imagined by the author. Other than the short, initial dialogue between Lewinsky and Clinton, which to me was somewhat stilted with the overuse of "nice," I found Petrovsky's novel to be totally believable as "the real story." The novel is fiction--some might even say alternative historical fiction--and includes actual happenings as well as narrative in support of events.

Having read a number of books on sexual addiction during my years of reviewing books, I think Petrovsky has written an excellent representation of the agony that is felt by those who attempt to deal with internal struggles that many individuals face (no matter what addiction is involved). At the same time, the role and the rationale for Lewinsky is not so well defined. Readers discover that she had earlier been involved in a similar relationship and that she appears to have been the aggressive participant with Clinton. Was her thirst for Clinton just the thirst for those who frantically seek to be tied to power? You decide.

The interpersonal actions within the Clinton family are realistically presented, including a variety of assumptions on the intimate life between Bill and Hillary and references to marriage counseling. The book should definitely be considered adult content--even if these issues at one time were headlines!

Movement into the final time period when Congress was considering impeachment contains the most dramatic disclosures as, for instance, Clinton's counseling sessions with Reverend Tony Campolo are presented.

This novel is available exclusively through Amazon. Petrovsky, who has a MFA in Creative Writing, has done an exceptional merge of his research efforts with his creative talents. It is written in first-person, as written by President William Clinton. This novel, although fictionalized, presents a significant historical event. I believe it presents the material in an unbiased, informative manner and is recommended as significant in exploring this traumatic event in America's history.

"It began on a bitter November day in 1995." (p. 6.)


G. A. Bixler

This book should be required reading for every registered voter. The issue is not sex -- the issue is purjury, buyoffs, and attempting to influence the testamony of others. Clinton has some pretty tough charges to answer once Congress gets its mind off sex and partisanship.

Regardless of your opinion of WJC and Starr, there's too much here to blame it on the vast right-wing conspiracy. There's the "hero". He has a tragic flaw. That flaw leads to his downfall -- purjury. No matter how the sequel turns out - impeachment or no - this is enough of a page turner to occupy an afternoon.

It isn't about sex. It never was about sex. But, unless a sane person owns their own television network, the truth will never air on national networks. This manuscript is a piece of history. Many Americans believed that Clinton's first term in office was basically a free ride on the successes of his predecessor (Bush pushed for the balanced budget). Many Americans also believed that his second term would be littered with personal problems and make him ineffective as a president. In light of these facts, he was elected to office. Many of the votes came from undiscerning Americans that believe the media. This entire affaire in the life of a president and the impact on this country is a reflection on the power of the media, the poor quality of public education, liberalism versus conservatism, destruction of family values in America, the advancement of evil humanistic values, and the average citizens inability to choose a man with strong character and the right principles. The warning signs have been there since the beginning. He didn't serve his country in time of war and certainly hasn't done so in time of peace. The ideals and bills he has passed for his own agenda will undermine America permanently.

The report and the consequences are weighed against America, not the individual man that has been set upon a pedestal and judged openly. It is a testament to bad times in America.

Just taking a look at various Starr books and this seems to be the cheapest one. However, sales rank contradicts that. Why

I think that people should form their own opinions of the Clinton scandal AFTER reading the Starr Report. Extremely well documented. This should be read by every American in order to get the story straight as to why Clinton is being accused of perjury. The report has been damned for being too sexually graphic. However, this is a necessity since the details refute everything Clinton said during the Paula Jones deposition. Instead of saying Clinton is guilty or innocent based on one's emotional feelings for the man, an opinion should be formed after reading the Starr Report. I have passed on my copy of the book around in the office and am encouraging everyone to read it.

I absolutely love it when I stumble across a find like this. The third novel in a series starring Wyoming state agent Antonio Burns finds Anton climbing peaks in Jackson Hole as he guards lovely prosecutor Cali Morrow, who's been threatened by a stalker. Cali is the daughter of movie star Alana Reese, who owns a ranch in Jackson, and she is currently prosecuting her ex-boyfriend, a big cop named Charles Wokowski, for using excessive force on a suspect. Wook is Anton's chief suspect for Cali's stalker, but there is also another guy, a squatter who's been arrested on similar charges before, whom Anton must investigate. Meanwhile, Anton's got a couple of personal issues: a girlfriend who seems to be on the verge of leaving him, and a brother who's wanted by the authorities for his nefarious activities. Roberto and Anton couldn't be closer, though, so `Berto keeps showing up at Anton's cabin at night, begging him to go climbing with him one more time before he turns himself in. Anton also owns a half-wolf named Mungo who seems scared of her own shadow, but Mungo starts getting in touch with her wolfish side through the course of the book.

McKinzie describes mountain climbs I would even think of attempting in a way that makes them seem little more difficult than ascending a flight of stairs. He describes the rush he feels when doing so as "feeding the Rat," a very apt expression to explain the thrill of doing something dangerous and special. Unfortunately, Anton's girlfriend Rebecca doesn't understand, and when she agrees to come to Jackson, her behavior is very strange. As Anton navigates the twists and turns of protecting Cali, which isn't as easy as anyone thought, it seems like the assignment itself might break his fragile hold on Rebecca. Or, he just might wind up dead.

Combining a delightfully engaging cast of characters, from Anton and `Berto, who grew up in Argentina and seem to have been born climbing mountains, to Antonio's boss, described as "a demented Santa Claus in a pinstripe suit," to muscular, soft-hearted Wook, these are all lively, colorful characters I hated to leave behind when the book ended. The mountain climbing scenes made me wish I had the ambition to do it, and the story was constantly moving along its twists and turns. This is definitely a must-read series.

I have to admit it, I was surprised by Clinton McKinzle. I picked up his first book, The Edge of Justice, thinking it was another lawyer turned writer yarn, when I realized it was just another cop novel, with the added twist of this cop being an avid mountain climber, I was kind of disappointed. I am not much of an outdoorsy type, I'm happy if I find a way to climb into my pants everyday, and didn't think I would enjoy stories about a cop chasing people around a mountain. Then I read the book and he hooked me in (I guess that's a pun). McKinzle has created a great character in Wyoming Special DCI Agent Antonio Burns. In his latest novel, Trial by Ice and Fire, McKinzle continues to develop his hard luck protagonist. With his reputation being picked apart by an unscrupulous defense attorney and his girlfriend becoming distant, Burns takes on a case involving the stalking of a beautiful actress's daughter, who also happens to be a local prosecutor. While the twist and turns aren't particularly surprising, McKinzle whips together a highly readable and exciting tale ending with a true trial by fire.
While enjoyed this book, it was the weakest of the three Burns novels, specifically for one reason. The first book had some truely hate-able, despicable, obvious bad guys that just had you salivating for the page where they finally get there just deserts. Here McKinzle trades off some of this blunt evil for an attempt to make a more surprising ending. He took the risk, but the payoff just wasn't there. I really don't need to be surprised if I hate the bad guy enough. McKinzle even missed a few opportunities to develop some peripheral bad guy characters, especially the Hollywood hotshot Danny Gorgon character, who had the potential to be a real pest.

Antonio Burns is a Special Agent for the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. He tends to live on the edge of danger as a lawman and when pursuing his hobby--mountain climbing in the extreme. His current assignment is to provide protection for Cali Morrow and find the culprit who's stalking her. Cali just happens to be the daughter of a popular movie star who shunned her mother's glitzy lifestyle to become a prosecutor in the Teton County Attorney's Office.

High on the suspect list is Cali's ex-boyfriend, Wook. He and Antonio are a fistfight waiting to happen. Next on the list is a weird loner living in a hovel on state land very close to Cali's Mom's ranch. When they find pictures of Cali plastered all over the interior of the makeshift `home', the guy crumbles and they think they've got their man. The next thing Antonio knows is Cali is in the hospital because the stalker attacked her. With egg on his face, Antonio seeks to regain his credibility. By this time I had figured out who the stalker is. The stalker is out to get Antonio as well...to keep him away from Cali...and puts Antonio through trials by ice and fire, both of which stretch the imagination and credibility factor quite a bit.

I enjoyed the author's first two books, The Edge of Justice and Point of Law, but this one got too carried away with the unbelievable human feats. I hope this won't continue in the next book.

McKinzie's first book on SA Antonio Burns was enough to get me hooked, then the second was still good but not as good as the first, and this third book is the best yet. You like Antonio as he is an adventurous but grounded 30-yr old cop who is reevaluating his life and work after a series of mishaps that erroneously puts his reputation in a bad light. He fights for what he believes in but he's no superhero. Anton is given the task of protecting a prosecutor who is being stalked, and he is also dealing with his own personal issues: trying to figure out why his girlfriend has been cold and distant lately plus worrying about his drug-addicted fugitive brother. The prosecutor, the daughter of a famous movie star, is being stalked by someone, possibly her cop ex-boyfriend. The adventure starts with an icy mountain ascent and ends with a dangerous rescue operation on a mountain being consumed by a raging fire. I love reading about Antonio and his brother Roberto's climbing adventures, and I really like the romantic sub-plot. I look forward to seeing Clinton McKinzie's name in the spotlight again.

Trial by Ice and Fire hooks you from the very first page and doesn't really let you go till you finish. I tried to slow down my reading, savor the time I was spending with these characters but couldn't---I had to finish it and then go back and reread it again. This was an outstanding follow-up to last year's The Edge of Justice. Anton and his brother Roberto are back as are Anton's boss, McGee Ross and his lover, Rebecca. In this installment, Anton is bodyguarding a prosecuter from a stalker who seems to want to hurt her very badly. There are other subplots including his brother 'Berto who shows up to offer escape the only way the Burns brothers know how: climbing. Also, there is the trouble between Rebecca and Anton that in end seems a bit rushed to me;everything between them resolved a little too quickly. McKinzie will go very far with his writing and I look forward to his next novel. Run to get this book. If you enjoyed the first one, you'll love the second one. I read this book in a day if that says anything---wonderful page-turner. Highly recommend and my grade would be A-. New fans, the book does stand alone quite well but do read the first one, The Edge of Justice when you get the chance. It was a great debut.

Initial disclaimer: This copy was sent to me by the author asking for a review. Now my book buying appetite is larger than my book digestion, but I was interested enough to not just throw this book into a corner and ignore it.

The book is purportedly a one year "Journal" at the realease of Bill's book, which covers the start of his book tour, Bill's heart surgery, and the Indonesian relief work that he did. It describes -- from a fictional point of view -- the ex-President's actions, thoughts, feelings and fears from mostly a first person perspective. It also touches on his relationships with his wife and daughter.

I *expected* a slapstick/satire mostly at Bill Clinton's expense. I was surprised that it was not. While the book had some wry humor it was in the style of an actual diary and if you suspended your disbelief somewhat, it *could* almost have been Bill's diary (though it is far more honest than any contemporary autobiographical book would be these days).

I'm nowhere near a Clinton fan (though I hope I'm not a hater) and think that anyone's personal opinion of Bill Clinton shouldn't affect the enjoyment of this book -- which is actually quite touching.

This melodrama is a "highly original spoof journal" of former President Bill Clinton as imagined by author Harry Disco. The slim volume consists of journal entries made by a fictitious former president during his book tour to promote "My Life." The spoof Clinton writes about his feelings towards Hillary, his distrust of Chelsea's boyfriend, his reaction to book critics, and his relationship with celebrities, brother Roger, and the public. The diary is imagined from one man's viewpoint on our forty-second President, and it no way does this parody capture the mass sentiment of either Clinton's fans or foes.

I looked at the cover of this book and thought not more Clinton, boy was I wrong. I guess I never thought about what life after the presidency would be like for this disgraced president, but I have to say after reading this I have alot of sympathy for Mr. Clinton.

This first page caught my attention and I could not put it down. It may be someone else's thoughts about what he was thinking but it is so close to what he probably was thinking in some parts. There is a great deal of humor and tongue in cheek, but some of the political thoughts are right on target.

The interaction with Hillary, Chelsea, Chelsea's boyfriend, fast food, ex-presidents, his assistant are just laugh out loud good. But the dealings with his brother Roger had me rolling on the floor. I think it may even change the way you percieve this president.

I loved it and I am sure even Mr. Clinton may be amused.

The author of this book sent me a copy and asked me to review it. It is a fictional diary by Bill Clinton about his book tour in support of his autobiography. The author actually does a good job of capturing Clinton's personality. Bill comes across as a sensitive, compassionate person who gets his feelings hurt easily. The book is mostly serious, but it does have humorous moments, like when Bill plays pranks on Chelsea's boyfriend (that he doesn't like). I'm not really sure why someone would write a fictional diary of Bill Clinton, but I did enjoy it.

Amazon sent me this requesting a review. OK. It is not something I would normally buy. It is edited entries from journals claimed to have been kept during Bill Clinton's book tour after his time as President. On the back cover there is a statement that it is a "highly original spoof journal," but that statement is hidden on the back cover. Much of it seems to be entries by his "personal assistant" who was traveling with him. I give it a three-star review (neutral). It may be of interest to people wanting alleged thoughts by or about a politician. I would put it in the same genre as supermarket tabloids. Some people like them, some people don't. It may depend on your political viewpoint.

How can you go wrong with drinks like "A Girl Named Margarita", "Intern-al Investigation", and "Lamented Liaison"?!! This is the perfect novelty item to take to a party and show off. The recipes are really good too. No doubt that the best way to start off a night on the town is with a "Skirt Chaser", courtesy of the coolest president ever! I love the cover of this book.

This book is great! As a commie-lib, I'll have to warn fellow left-of-the-aislers that this is not a Clinton-favorable book, but the notes at the end of each recipe are downright hilarious. I highly suggest "Gordon's Government Shutdown" to all interested parties. This book tends to be slanted toward Clinton's personal indiscretions, but regardless, it's a book any fun-loving American will appreciate.

If you are looking for a book about bartending, look elsewhere. This is not it. If you are one of the millions of conservatives who can't think for themselves and thus consider themselves "dittoheads" ("Think for us, Rush! Think for us!") then this book will be right up your alley.

This is one of the funniest books to come out this year, if not the funniest. I'd like to be a fly on the wall when (and if) Bill sees it. This book should've probably come out a couple of years sooner, but with the pardon investigations looming, maybe it will turn out to be well-timed after all. But certainly I agree that a Bill Clinton Bartender's Guide is the surefire life of any party or a day's conversation at the company water cooler. I guess there's not much danger in America forgetting Bill Clinton anytime soon! Very original, and well written humor.

In no uncertain terms, this is the best book around for those who wish to catalog Bill Clinton and his numerous escapades. This is THE best Clinton humor book I've ever come across. Those with the curiosity should check out "Midnight Marijuana" - a very funny recipe.

This fascinating book would make an excellent companion volume to Roni Sarig's The Secret History Of Rock and In The Fascist Bathroom by Greil Marcus, especially since Marcus' book mostly ignores the New York history of punk rock.

It details the origins of the US punk and art rock scene, like Patti Smith, Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell & The Ramones who were the originators of many stylistic and musical traits evident in later bands. It's an American punk Who's Who and a rock 'n roll What's What, a detailed history and a valuable reference work.

Starting with the Velvet Underground, it also covers The Stooges, MC5, Modern Lovers, Electric Eels, Suicide, New York Dolls, Wayne County & The Electric Chairs, Blondie, The Heartbreakers, Talking Heads, Pere Ubu, Lydia Lunch and other seminal artists.

This is done in the form of interviews with the artists concerned, so you hear about the times in their own words. The famous venues CBGB's & Max's Kansas City also get their due. The bibliography provides a cross-section of the most useful published sources on American punk and there's an extensive discography. Black & white photographs (some very rare, like a pic of Patti Smith's graduation) enliven the text. Highly recommended for fans of intelligent rock music.

I enjoyed the coverage of the Cleveland scene and there is a nice chapter on Suicide, but on balance this book is irritating. Much of it reads like a wrinkly love letter to Patti Smith, Heylin absolutely loathes British punk and the book ends with a "Postlude" that is both a bilious screed against any and all other writers on punk and also a frank mash note to Smith. That's hardly writing on "The Birth Of American Punk Rock," as per the subtitle, but rather some kind of personal emotional problem better suited to a therapeutic setting. See p. 331 for Heylin's sad description of Jon Savage's "England's Dreaming:" this is just unforgivable. So: find a used copy and pick out the interesting bits, ignore the rest.

Clinton Heylin's FROM THE VELVETS TO THE VOIDOIDS is another of the essential oral histories of punk. Unlike Legs McNeil's PLEASE KILL ME, this work is a bit more scholarly and opinionated. It doesn't offer the vicarious lurid glitter of PKM, but it does fill in a number of the blanks in the story, and the two works together present an authoritative portrait of the birthplaces - New York, Cleveland and Detroit - of punk.

The primary value here is the extensive digging into the otherwise skipped-over Cleveland scene - home to key groups like the Electric Eels, Mirrors and Rocket From The Tombs - an amalgamation of musicians some of whom later morphed into The Dead Boys and the incomparable Pere Ubu. The Detroit sections are similarly valuable.

Highly recommended.

-David Alston

From the Velvets to the Voidoids is an insightful and very detailed history of the birth of American punk rock...Heylin starts right where he should, with the seminal influences on the first wave of punk rockers... the Velvets, Stooges, Dolls, Suicide, etc.. and the often forgotten Cleveland scene... Then it's a fantastic ride through the history of Televsion, Patti Smith, Blondie, the Ramones, Richard Hell, Pere Ubu, Heartbreakers and even the No Wave....Included with quotes from all the players is an excellent discography, bibliography, and even a CBGB's chronology... While you may not agree with all his opinions,, anyone who loves any of the aforementioned bands should thoroughly enjoy this book....

its people like the guy from the 1st review that unfortunately dominate our culture today. This book and punk music is extremely important!! It has the heart and soul of essentially what music is all all about. Clueless idiots like the this guy should noit post reveiww on topics they no nothing about. Great book that fetures all the eaearly punk stuff even covering insanely obscure bands like Rocket From The Tombs whose members went on to the Dead Boys and Pere Ubu!! Great stuff!!

Killer's Choice is a classic western tale by one of my facvorite western writers, Jack Bickham, aka Jeff Clinton. (Most of his westerns were published under the Clinton name)


The protagonist, a man with gunsmoke in his distant past, is a small but respected rancher with a wife (who abhors violent men) and a son. When a range war breaks out tht takes the life of his best friend, he is torn between his duty to his friend, his need to keep his past a secret, and his fear that his wife will reject him if he straps on a gun. And when it becomes clear to him that the killer is a professional gunman that only he has the skills to defeat, the conflict intensifies.

Add to that an element of mystery.... was the killer hired by the logical suspect, or are there more dimensions than appeat?

Clinton is a good writer and a master plotter.

If you like Westerns, this is well worth your time.

This edition is particularly enjoyable as it includes an introduction by the author talking about introducing Hawes to the series. Reading the 87th precinct books is always a delight; tight plots, crisp dialogue, well-drawn characters, good humor and excellent sense of place and time; all in fewer than 200 pages. McBain's books are truly a master class in detective fiction.

Inside a liquor store, a girl is shot to death with a Colt .25 automatic. The detectives of the 87th Precinct are faced with two mysteries: Who was the killer and who, really, was the victim?

Add to that a separate case involving a slain 87th Precinct detective and a new guy on the beat named Cotton Hawes who wants to prove himself, and you have the recipe for a top-notch Ed McBain mystery. Pity the cook brought this to boil a bit fast.

Published in 1958, just five books into his signature series of police procedurals, McBain (or alter ego Evan Hunter) was still easing into things, figuring out what the mythical city of Isola and the detectives of the 87th were all about. As usual, Steve Carella is the main detective here, but Meyer Meyer and Bert Kling (introduced as a uniform cop in "The Mugger" and described at one point as young-looking as Elvis Presley - golly, this is an older McBain!) put in some quality time as well.

There's also Hawes, a series regular for the next five decades who debuts here, a transfer from a more genteel Isola precinct who doesn't understand that harder rules apply, i.e. don't bother knocking at a suspect's door. "Politeness is something you have to be careful about," is how Meyer puts it to his wife later.

The central mystery develops quickly and well, as the murdered woman is described in different ways by the people who knew her. Her ex-husband says she outgrew him, while her own mother seems to think otherwise. One boyfriend recalls a good-time girl who knew her way around a pool cue, another describes her as meek and mild. Only the liquor store owner seems to have no opinion of his dead employee, at least at first.

This "many faces of Eve" angle promises more than it delivers, especially as it has less bearing on the mystery's resolution than you expect. McBain was still sorting out the 87th Precinct and the demands of writing mysteries that worked both as whodunits and "whydunits," the latter a term coined by McBain critics as his mysteries deepened in complexity and reader involvement.

Series fans will enjoy this for the introduction of Hawes and the chance to see a younger, more innocent version of the 87th Precinct, before McBain's dark and gritty imagination really took off. But those wanting early McBain stories that hold together as mysteries and as stories will more enjoy checking out his classic debut "Cop Hater" and even better "Mugger."

This annal in the history of the 87 police detectives will keep you rivited from page one thru the end. Its smart and well done, and you really care about the characters. Cotton Hawes comes to life in this book and grows with us through out the years in succeeding stories. Like all his books, this is a quick read and roller coaster ride.

I have really liked all the 87th Precinct books I have read. This one is really two stories in one. Meyer Meyer, yes, that is his name, Bert Kling, Steve Carella and newcomer Cotton Hawes are after who ever killed a young lady at a liquor store and also who ever killed a cop. They are two different people and the work takes two different paths. McBain writes so it holds your attention. You feel like you are part of the investigation. The book is short and reads quickly. It is hard to put down.

Bob Barr is obsessed with the hatred of the Clinton's. We can disagree on issues but not on personalty. President Bill Clinton despite everything will be recorded in history as the only American President that ever created over 22 million new jobs. He presided over the best US Economy in history. A man of peace with very high intelligent quotient perhaps in the history of US presidency with most powerful and persuasive speech.

Bill Clinton made America a country everybody all over the world wanted to associate with during his presidency. The first US President to receive a standing ovation at United Nations general assembly. Over 2 million people waited in line to greet Bill Clinton in Ghana during his visit to Africa.

Bill Clinton is still loved all over the world. He is a man who love life and women. He appointed women as judges to US courts a friend of the African Americans and the poor whose government almost wiped away welfare and unemployment from America. Despite his shortcomings as a human being Bill Clinton was the best President US ever had after JFK. Bill Clinton said "let us not be offended about our critics because they bring out the best in us". Even to his enemies he was generous in words, in all his books, he never destroy even his critics he always has something good to say about everybody.

Bob and his fellow right wing writers most of them say they are Christians may want to destroy Bill Clinton legacy over his honesty that related only to his personal life in which most of them "Republicans" were equally guilty if not worse off. Clinton in his work as President was honest with the poor, honest with social security, honest with world like David in the Bible who God so loved that he said "I could have destroyed Israel but for my love for David" Clinton dishonesty never led to the death of 3000 US soldiers in any war.

I KNEW before reading this book that Mr. Clinton was a President we would NOT call great, and never call honest... I was so floored that an IMPEACHED president could remain in office as he did, thoroughly thumbing his NOSE at ALL of us Americans who he was TRUSTED to serve. Bob Barr, sure lays it on the line , tells the truth, kindly, but truthfully. Everyone should really read this book, even if you have your own ideas about Clinton, this is an EYE opener for those who think he was a "great" president.

Meaning of Is...
House Resolution, 5 Nov 1997 (Familiar Date, Barr's Birthday)

Scholarly, bare knuckled honesty, dead serious with a flair for well timed, subtle, and outright humor. On the road to Impeachment, unlike a Mike Moore documentary!

Superb intellectual honesty and analysis. Evenhanded criticism of Democrat and Republican leadership alike. Down home, home-spin candor. Insider renegade who takes the moral and principled high ground to the next level. Genuine, open, and frank delivery of a defining moment in our Nation's history. A true patriot, sharing with us the inside and behind the scenes of this epic American saga and political tragedy--- the squandering of a presidency; deliberate national security breech; and intentional unraveling of our God given constitutional rights as American citizens.

Bob Barr has written an excellent book. Using clean, spare language he gets his points across and builds a convincing case. He uses specific images and anecdotes that are sometimes funny, sometimes disturbing and always work to their best effect and stay with you. In a highly readable fashion, Bob Barr also gives you a good understanding of how things work in Washington, D.C. If you want a better understanding of how government works, if you care about National Security, if you care about the future of America, I strongly recommend this book. I was walking in lower Manhattan this morning and I stopped by to look at historic Fraunces Tavern and to remember where a different kind of terrorist group set off an explosion and injured and killed innocent people almost 30 years ago. I found it chilling to read in Mr. Barr's fine book that the Clintons didn't seem to have a problem offering clemency to members of this terrorist group during Mr. Clinton's final days in office.

This is a great eye opening book in to how the impeachment of Clinton should have removed him for office because of his criminal activities in the areas of sellling out our national security to China, repeatedly violating American citizens civil liberties and repeated stonewalling of investagators of his criminal activities (Monica Lewensky was only a minor thing in the grand scheme of things). He explains how the impeachment process was hampered by both Dems and Republicans who were more interested in not rocking the boat so they can keep getting easyly reelected (Don't stop the gravy train). He is not a partisan hatchet man but a man of principle that recently said in reply to a question on the campaign trail as the 2008 Libertarian Party candidate for President that if he had to choose nither George W Bush or Bill Clinton to be president he would have to take Clinton. This from a man who was the lead man on the impeachment of Clinton and who served Reagan and was a 8 year Republican Congressmen. Also check out this book on our lost liberties A Nation Of Sheep By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano!

HONOR THE MEMORY OF COLONEL ROBERT GOULD SHAW AND THE FIGHTING MASSACHUSETTS 54TH BLACK REGIMENT IN THE CIVIL WAR

FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Those familiar with the critical role that the recruitment of black troops into the Union Armies in the American Civil War usually know about the famous Massachusetts 54th Regiment under Colonel Robert Gould Shaw which has received wide attention in book, film and sculpture. Those heroic black fighters and their fallen leader deserve those honors. Glory, indeed.

Although Shaw was hesitant to take command of those troops after suffering wounds at Antietam when he accepted he took full charge of the training and discipline of the regiment. Moreover, as the regiment marched into Boston to cheering crowds before embarking on ships to take them South each trooper knew the score. Any blacks captured (or their white officers, for that matter) were subject to Southern `justice', summary execution. Not one trooper flinched. Arms in hands, they fought bravely at the defeat of Fort Wagner and other Deep South battles, taking many causalities.

I have remarked elsewhere (in a review of William Styron's Confessions of Nat Turner)that while the slaves in the South, for a host of reasons, did not insurrect with the intensity or frequency of say Haiti, the other West Indian islands or Brazil that when the time came to show discipline, courage and honor under arms that blacks would prove not inferior to whites. And the history of the Massachusetts 54th is prima facie evidence for that position.

I should also note that the Massachusetts 54th was made up primarily of better educated and skilled freedman and escaped slaves unlike the black troops recruited from the plantations in the Deep South in the 1st and 2nd South Carolina black regiments. Thus, one might have suspected that they would not be up to the rigors of Southern duty. Not so. After reading a number of books on the trials and tribulations of various Union regiments, including the famous Irish Brigade, the story of the 54th compares very favorably with those units.

However, so as not to get carried away with the `liberalism' of the Union political and military commands in granting permission for black recruitment it is necessary to point out some of the retrograde racial attitudes of the time. It took a major propaganda thrust by Frederick Douglass and other revolutionary abolitionists to get Lincoln to even consider arming blacks for their own emancipation. Only after several severe military reversals was permission granted to recruit black troops, although some maverick generals were already using them, particularly General Hunter. As mentioned above there were qualms about the ability of blacks to fight in disciplined units. Moreover, until 1864 black troops were paid less than their white counterparts. The Massachusetts 54th is also rightly famous for refusing pay until that disparity was corrected.

One should also not forget that the North in its own way was as deeply racist as the South (think of the treacherous role of the Southern-sympathying Northern Copperheads and the Irish-led anti-black Draft Riots in New York City, for examples). This reflected itself in the racial attitudes of some commanding officers and enlisted men and well as the general paternalism of even the best white commanding officers, including Colonel Higginson of the 2nd South Carolina. It was further reflected in the disproportionately few blacks that became officers in the Civil War, despite the crying need for officers in those black regiments and elsewhere. Yet, all of these negatives notwithstanding, every modern black liberation fighter takes his or her hat off to the gallant 54th, arms in hand, and its important role in the struggle for black liberation

Okay - so hear I am once again reading a kid's book. However, it is for my classroom library - I try to read them all so I can make recommendations.

For those not in the know, this is a brief history of the 54th Massachusetts - the first official regiment of blacks in the American Civil War. The unit was immortalized in the Academy Award winning film 'Glory', starring Denzel Washington.

Cox has the great majority of his facts straight (I have some quibbles, such as when he claims that a good soldier could load and shoot a civil war rifle in about 45 seconds, when the reality was that a competent soldier could do it up to 3 times per minute.)

The larger problem goes from being factual to the problem of being written in such a way that young people would be interested. Cox tells the story, but rarely in a narrative form. From time to time it becomes merely a series of facts written in a plain, simple style rather than a gripping tale of history.

I give it a rather high score as I am grading on a curve today. 4 out of 5 in this case means that it is readable, factually correct book, but written in a rather uninspired manner that is unlikely to spur on a reluctant reader.

It was about war. It was educational book for children. This book was kind of interesting. The genre of my story was mystery. [Eulalia Aparicio]

It was about war. It was educational book for children. This book was kind of interesting. The genre of my story was mystery. [Eulalia Aparicio]

This book basically proves that without the help of black freedman, the war against the South could not have won. It's the story of the 54th Regiment, the first colored regiment. Colonel Robert Gould Shaw was commanding officer of the 54th regiment. The Civil War was at first a white mens war, but that didnt last long.The colored men came from 22 states, north and south. Most were in their twenties, some as young as sixteen,and many were in their forties. These black men risked their lives for the Union cause. At first they were treated very harshly because they were a colored regiment. Although treated like second-class soldiers, their gallant assault on Fort Wagner erased all doubt about their ability to fight. By the end of the civil war, however, tehy proved their courage and determination as they fought to free their brothers and sisters from slavery.