Collins Books

I have just received this book but have noticed that Pericles, Prince of Tyre has been left out - I wonder why? Haven't read the book yet; when I do, I'll add my opinion on it here.

This book does an excellent job of describing the plots, settings, and characters of the stories of all Shakespeare's plays. The author also provides good background detail of the time, relevant facts from Shakespeare's life, and some not-excessively-detailed analysis where appropriate. My one small complaint with the book is that the author is so deeply in love with the works and the very idea of Shakespeare that she rarely lets an opportunity pass to tell us how wonderful he is. (The level of fawning and gushing is sometimes reminiscent of listening to a fourteen year old girl talk about Justin Timberlake.) But apart from this minor complaint, I heartily recommend the book -- it's quite readable and the overall scholarship is outstanding.

I used this book successfully to help negotiate top grades in an Ivy League Shakespeare class more than 30 years ago, and I still use a copy to reorient myself and my family to Shakespeare's works. An invaluable guide to the essence of each play, including all significant aesthetic themes. Indispensable as a quick read before seeing a Shakespeare play that hasn't been read or seen for some time. I've come across no other book that is so helpful yet concise.

Margaret Chute's Stories of Shakespeare uses an novel technique. She writes treatments for 36 of the plays (those in the First Folio), a present tense chronology of the plot in simple, eloquent language. This book is useful for actors, students or the casual fan. The book also appreciates the beauty of Shakespeare's language by offering selected excerpts. Further, it recognises the humor, the history and the tragedy of the story and gives concise summaries so the reader can always follow the action. This is an excellent book.

Chute's book provides a basic summary for each of Shakespeare's plays. Her writing is as lyrical as it is complete for such a book, which makes it a handy, enjoyable reference. Her main goal is to make the stories digestible, and to that end, the essence of Shakespeare's plays emerges brilliantly, freeing the average reader of dusty Elizabethan language. Unlike other books that give choppy scene-by-scene summaries (though helpful in their own way) or brief plot highlights, Chute's summaries seamlessly tie the play's entire action, principle and otherwise.

The plays are grouped by comedies, tragedies, and histories, with comedies and tragedies in the likely order they were written and the histories arranged chronologically by reign. She includes an illuminating introduction that sheds light on Shakespeare's genius and innovation as well as how best to approach his work. An index of characters is also included. One of the many things I appreciated about this book is Chute's resistance to overemphasizing popular texts. With the exception of "Titus Andronicus," she devotes a fair amount of text to each play, though some do receive added attention.

Those looking for a more detailed or critical reading of Shakespeare's work would not benefit from Chute's book. There are numerous (non-academic) guides for those desiring more than a casual read and study of the Bard. ("Shakespeare for Dummies," "The Pocket Companion to Shakespeare," and "The Age of Shakespeare" are all books I've consulted for more background and a better understanding of the author and era.) In her introduction, however, she points out that the purpose of her book "is to give the reader a preliminary idea of each of the thirty-six plays by telling the stories and explaining in a general way the intentions and points of view of the characters." On occasion she gives critical analyses of characters and plays but in an informative and unobtrusive manner. This book is not Cliff's Notes or a substitute for the actual play, but it does make Shakespeare understandable.

Reading this book, I got to share a fascinating life with people who lived adventures I never dreamed of. I wouldn't have considered going to Moscow State in my early 20s! I have followed international news over the past 40 years, sometimes more closely than other times as "life" allowed. And I was aware of Russia, but my images were formed by tne nightly broadcasts from Moscow....only to learn, duh, what a huge and diverse country Russia is and was.

Naomi's rich descriptions of sparse student lives, charming (who knew?) villages, life as an expat, and the bravery of the U.S. diplomats is captivating. Regardless of one's interest in Russia, this is a fascinating story told by a keen observer and skilled writer.

Her book and story is too important (now I know that) to call an "airplane" or "beach book" but it is that engrossing of a read.

The book makes the whole experience come alive. The best part was the parallels between the changes in Russia and the changes in the author. And I liked the way Ambassador Collins' chapters provide a context for the work at the beginning and end.

This review was just sent to me in a letter by another American in Moscow who does not use Internet.
"I have just finished the book and am in awe of the writing. The book masterfully conveys the multi-textured Soviet experience over changing decades as well as evoking the challenges "wife of" has to surmount. Once I picked it up, I couldn't stop reading. It transported me to living in the days of the Soviet Union."

Naomi Collins helps the reader walk the tightrope between the private and personal life of the individual and the massive presence of the Soviet/Russian state. It is both a personal diary and a political essay that takes the reader through the recent past as perceived by a talented and sensitive observer of her world. The personal narrative creates the focus through which to take hold and grasp major events of our time. The author's willingness to share with us thoughts and emotions originally intended for personal journals and close friends and family is a gift to her wider audience. It is beautifully written. Her poetry, written during periods in Russia, is truly evocative of time and place.

Invite Naomi Collins to your home. Ask her to relate her experiences as the wife of a Foreign Service employee who eventually becomes the Ambassador to Russia. The night before her arrival prepare some bifstek and kvas so that she will feel at home. Be sure to listen intently to her every word as she shares the last 40 years of her life in and out of Russia. If she is either too busy to visit or you cannot make or purchase kvas, do the next best thing and pick up a copy of her book "Through Dark Days and White Nights". I assure you that her story will captivate and fascinate you as if she were sitting in your living room. Her style of writing is as natural as her speech. Her observational skills and her careful documentation of events help to paint her story with passion and realism that could only be matched by someone traveling along with Naomi. I shivered as she described the winters in Russia and cringed at the description of the putrefying matter found in the unkempt bathrooms. You need not be interested in Russian history or politics to enjoy this book. The 4-decade memoir transitions from life as a student at Moscow State University, to wife of the American Ambassador to Russia at the Spaso House. It is a quick read and disappointing that it ends so soon. I await the writing of another book by Naomi Collins.

This book is an absolute winner. Every little girl I give it to accepts it immediately as a firm favorite. It all started with my memories of not wanting to return it to the library. Modern little girls like to carry it about with them (Hoping that someone new will read it to them? As an opportunity to admire it in public? Because they can't bear the thought of being parted from it?) Who knows. All I know is that this is a great book.

My fiancee bought this book for my daughter and I was a little doubtful at first, but she loves it and knew it off by heart by the time she was 18 months old! we read it over and over again and she even says good bye, good bye, good bye, good bye to the tiger on the very last page. This was an excellent buy and I'm looking forward to my younger daughter reading it too.

I was a little unsure when a good friend insisted on buying this book for my then 16-month old daughter at a local book shop. Firstly, it wasn't cheap so I was afraid that it would be a waste if my daughter didn't like it and it wasn't a board book (although my daughter did have some paperback books, she had mostly board books at the time). However, my friend said that she'd loved the book as a child and her own 2-year old loved it as well. So, she got it...and I needn't have worried at all. My daughter loved it from the get-go and was willing to sit through the story at least twice at each sitting, which amazed me as it is not a short story. I decided to try another book by the same author - "Mog, the forgetful cat" and my daughter enjoys that too (it's an even longer read!). As an aside, I have found that the best books to get are the ones that you yourself remember reading as a child or ones that someone else you know remembers from their childhood. It's obviously left an impression and it'll do the same again.

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK! I'M BUYING A 2ND COPY TO HAVE A MINT CONDITION BOOK FOR LATER. OUR TODDLER WANTED THIS READ 7 TIMES IN A ROW UNTIL WE FINALLY SAID IT'S NAP TIME. IT'S NO SURPRISE OVER 3 MILLION COPIES HAVE BEEN SOLD!

It took me nearly twelve years to locate a hardbound copy of this book, and was well worth it. I remember this book vividly from my childhood. My mother read it to my sister and I on rainy days. It is the story of a girl named Sophie who is visited by a hungry tiger with a voracious appetite for tea and biscuits. He ends up eating everything in the cupboards to satisfy his appetite.

It is a sweet story that is easy to follow and read along with your mom, or if you are like me, read all by yourself now that you are an adult. It made me not only want to have a pet tiger, but it made me want to travel to Europe, where the book is set. Sadly, I still do not have a pet tiger, but I have traveled to Europe!

If you are lucky enough to find it in stock - snatch it up quick - they go really fast!

I read True Detective after reading several of Collins' later Nathan Heller books. Collins writes this series as an amalgam of historical accuracy with his protaganist (current private eye, former Chicago police detective Nathan Heller) interacting with the real characters of the era depicted. In this one we are in Chicago and meet the likes of mobsters like Capone and Nitti, crooked cops, grafting politicians, and good guys like boxer Barney Ross and Elliot Ness to balance the score.

Collins knows how to tell a good story. The historical detail is accurate and adds to the feel of the tale. The pictures he paints of the World's Fair, the shantytowns, etc., put you in the book. The plotting is thorough, the situations believable, the dialogue true, and the characters feel real, especially Heller as he struggles to do the right thing in a world full amibiguous situations where "right" can be tough to figure out given the conflicting viewpoints.

To say that the characters feel true sounds odd given that most are public personalities. Yet, a less skilled writer could make them hackneyed and two-dimensional. Here they have depth enough to carry their roles naturally, without forcing situations. You learn enough about each of them to make sense of their motivations and behaviors, yet the story never gets lost in irrelevant details.

When I'm done with a novel of his I feel I've learned more about the characters from history and more about myself as I go through the moral rollercoaster with Heller. And before I forget, there's plenty of humor, sex and violence to keep things interesting.

Read the series, in order if you can. This is one of the best going.

True Detective is the first faction in the Nate Heller PI series-
which I think is in a class by itself;it's a crime that this series hasn't landed-at least as a TV series-forget that,it would make an incredible movie.But I still have a bone to pick with Collins;after the first few novels in the series(be sure to
read True Detective,True Crime & The Million Dollar Wound),just about my favorite real-life character-and Nate's best buddy-real
life Hall of Fame boxer/war hero Barney Ross is used less and less;I could punch Collins for that.

Max Allan Collins' first novel in his acclaimed Nathan Heller series, True Detective, is a stunning mix of fact and fiction. The setting is 1930s Chicago and Collins paints the city of that time with a bold brush. Heller is a city cop who gets roped into a messy situation by his fellow officers. When he ends up killing a man with the same gun Heller's father used to commit suicide, Nathan's own, that's the last straw that leads to Heller quitting the force, despite the efforts of the higher-ups to get him to reconsider.

But working as the president of your own detective agency (called "A-1" so it will appear first in the telephone directory) is by no means boring -- not when your best friend is Eliot Ness and you have connections to Frank Nitti, Al Capone, mayor Anton Cermak, Walter Winchell, George Raft, and a young future actor who goes by the name "Dutch" Reagan.

Collins took five years to research the place and time and this, combined with his immense storytelling skill, make True Detective an immersive experience. The World's Fair comes alive in his hands, as do the characters, who have never seemed so real (even in The Untouchables) as when they are dealing with the fictional Nathan Heller. I plan to repeat this experience soon with the sequel, True Crime, and I think I'm about to become very familiar with the exploits of Nathan Heller.

From the first few words, I knew that Max Allan Collins had written one of the best crime/detective novels I had ever read. Before long, I dropped "one of" and decided it is THE BEST! Characters rise off the pages into "real" life, while the action grabs you and carries you along. If you like the tough, but believable, private eye, this is a landmark book for you. Don't just read it. Buy it!

Collin's novel is the ultimate re-examination of the 1930s private detective. It is full of drama, action, and deep historical context.

Should be required reading for the human race.

a simple short and well written story which is appealing to any age reader, if you enjoyed books like "all creatures great and small" or "charlottes web" you might enjoy it. Contrast to "I am the Great Horse" another horse story but written creatively from Alexander the Great's Bucephelus' point of view, which is more child like.

Michael Morpurgo's WAR HORSE tells of war horse Joey, who began life as a farm horse with a gentle boy master and was sold into the army during World War I. Fans of Black Beauty and other classic animal stories will find this first-person horse's eye story of war and change brings to dramatic life all the conflicts and struggles of battle.

I recommend War Horse because it is a story about dealing with death, and growing up.
Joey is a horse that is taken by a farmer. Then he is sent off to war.
This book will interest many people especially people who like horses. You never really know what will happen next.
When I read War Horse it was like I was there, and I felt like I knew him all my life.
The characters are explained so well that I could see all of them perfectly in my head.
This book only has 21 short chapters, but they have so much information in such small chapters. My favorite part is when...never mind, it will give it away. To find out what my favorite part is you have to read it your self. It might be your favorite part too!
I enjoyed War Horse, I hope you do to.

Wow! What a thrill to find this book still available after over 40 years! I read it repeatedly when I was in about 4th grade. It says a lot about the quality of the story that it has stuck with me all these years. It really showed me at a young age the suffering that some animals must endure, and the quiet patience and courage with which they endure it. I can still picture Joey struggling in thick mud to pull his load. And even as young as I was, it made me understand more what my older uncles had experienced in WW1. I am definitely getting this for the kiddies, but before I give it to them, I am going to read it again myself!

I decided to pick up War Horse after the nice, new cover caught my eye in a local bookstore and immediately brought it home, cracked open the cover, and allowed myself to be swept off into Joey's story.
I love the fact that this book comes directly from the "horses point of view," which is similar strikingly familiar to Black Beauty by Anna Sewell as to compared to Michael Morpurgo's War Horse.
The story starts out with the description of a painting of a horse, and than jumps into the horse painted in the picture, Joey, who is bought by a farmer and brought home to Albert, who loves and cares for him similar to Joe Green did in Black Beauty. The stories end similar, with different twist. But we aren't focusing on Black Beauty here...
Joey ends up being sold into war, where he learns the task of bearing men through the machine fire of war, dragging the dead away in carts and even being used to pull the cannons to the front lines. His life is hard, but he does the best he can under many different owners, the majority of them kind and caring, from going to the English to the Germans themselves, we see the innocence of the Deutschlanders struggle to fight the war against the British and the French. Joey also makes close friends with a fellow war horse called Topthorn, a tall, black stallion that seems a lot like Ginger. The two remain together for a long time, always partnered up and never too far away from the other.
All the while Joey wonders about Albert.
This is a nice story to read to anyone whom loves horses and there point of view on things. The war that Joey took part in was a frightening one and isn't for young children. I found this a nice read and a nice companion to Black Beauty. So if you love World War I, and horses, try picking up and reading War Horse.

i bought this book for my grandson who wants to be a marine biologist.ithink this will be a good start to his study.

overall the book is a great guide to identifying whales and dolphins. one thing about the book that i am not so happy about is the small text size.

From the great illustrations and quick-reference title bar that includes taxonomic, habitat and population information, to the range maps and behavioral information, this book was such a steal. I received this book shortly before starting cetacean surveys in the south pacific and it was an incredible source of information. I have used many field guides and, although I never tested its 'water-proofness", it is simultaneously concise yet complete. It not only gives identification keys for individual species, but also keys to identifying individual animals. If you are a teacher, student, biologist or enthusiast, get it, wherever you are in the world.

I work on a whale watch boat in Kona, Hawaii and this book has been extremely helpful in my work. It is an excellent handbook on these mammals, a great in-depth introduction book for beginners and a great concise reference book for veterans as well. Very well made and designed with some photos and excellent illustrations. Very easy to navigate through the info and select what you need to know and refer back to it.
The best first whale book you can get until you are ready to go to a much more detailed study of these mammals.

This book is breathtaking. I had no idea there were 80 or more species of Cetaceans! While I may never have the opportunity to see any of these wonderful animals alive except in captivity, this book is a wonderful addition to my nature reference library. It is fascinating to read, and even scientists have not seen all of these cetaceans alive (some have been named by skeletal remains), or if they have reported seeing them alive, have possible doubts about the exact species observed. I will read this book over and over just because it is so fascinating. Beautifully illustrated, including maps of the individual species ranges. It also has an exact format, page to page, with clear, concise identification keys. Population numbers are shown where known, threats, habits, diet and habitat are also in a keyed format for each species represented. A wonderful book for anyone nature lovers, and especially good for children because so much information is provided about dwindling populations due to various types of assaults made on either the animals or their habitats by people. Even children who may not be able to clearly understand all of the text will find the pictures and the text that they can understand to be very enjoyable and educational. It is a book that most anyone will reach for again and again through the years!

A wonderfully written book exploring the universal themes of parenting, mother-guilt, love. The characters are real people who took hold of my thoughts even after I put the book down.

Well written, fast and easy to read. I could not put it down. Honenberger shows true insight into emotions of a mother who loves her child very much.

This is an enjoyable and important book. The author has beautifully combined an expose of a tragic national issue with the impact it has on the lives of the protagonist lawyer, her family, and the woman and child she represents. The characters are alive, and the settings of towns and courtrooms are believable because they are drawn with such exacting care. But it is the story itself that is riveting. The struggle to get justice for a child hopelessly damaged by medical incompetance and bad policy is told competently and quietly, and will not fail to engage and enrage the reader. This easy-to-read and hard-to-forget book belongs on every parent's bookshelf.

This book has an absorbing plot; many interesting characters and character development.
Legal and medical points of view were well presented. AND, it has a happy ending which made me feel good.

One of the major pleasures in reading 'first works' by unknown writers is the discovery of great writing in the nascent stage. With WHITE LIES Sarah Collins Honenberger steps onto the stage with a securely written, well researched 'mystery', a novel based on fact that is played by actors so well defined that by the end of the book we feel as though we know each of them - the 'heroes' and the 'villains' - so well that from every angle of each the character motivation is fully detailed. No mean feat this, especially when dealing with a subject matter that is by nature controversial. That Honenberger succeeds in making this fast paced intrigue a truly memorable novel places her in the upper echelon of new writers.

WHITE LIES explores the lives of two disparate women: Jean is a divorce lawyer, happily married with three children, and Lacy who is the product of the poor Carolinas, a women with a history of childhood abuse, bad marriages, but most importantly a mother who has a twenty year old child Danny who has been a vegetable since age 3 months, the apparent result of a reaction to a DPT vaccination. Jean becomes Lacy's lawyer and confidant and friend and the story revolves around the preparation of the case against the drug company who produced the DPT vaccine - a too many years' hidden mystery of deceit that has devastated Lacy and her now fairly normal family life. The manner in which the case is investigated is as well researched and as well written as, say, 'Erin Brockovich', but Honenberger does not stop there. There are fascinating sidebars involving the families of both women (one of Jean's sons, Stephen, may be having a drug problem - a finely tuned story in its own development) that make this also a fascinating story of the trials of parenting. This is a thorough-composed novel that is startlingly well written, a book that can be recommended to every reader without reservation. We will be hearing more from Sarah Collins Honenberger! Grady Harp, November 07

Amazing and informative - could not have picked a better book to guide me through my vacation. I highly recommend...

We have always been fascinated by Darwin's adventures in the area and the fauna to be found there. This book is very complete and will give us a good idea of what to expect during our own voyage there this coming Fall, where the book will serve as a reference to guide me in my photographic explorations for my forum. During last year's trip to Italy I made almost 900 photographs. I expect to make at least twice that number this year with the aid and guidance of this book.

I just returned from the Galapagos, and this book was invaluable!!!! It was a great resource and I referenced it quite a bit. I would definetly recommend it to anyone going or thinking of going to the Galapagos!!!

This book and a highlighter made it possible to keep track of the many birds and mammals, plants and invertrabrates that we saw during a recent week in the Galapagos. I would highly recommend it.

Anybody planning a trip to the Galapagos Islands needs to have this book in their pocket while on the islands. The photographs of plants and animals alike are as realistic as you will see on the islands and such reality will allow one to easily identify the wealth of species you will encounter. Descriptions of individual species include a listing of which island(s) the plant or animal is typically found. Added features in this book include maps of the islands with trails and listings of what to look for; tips on photography; and guidelines for respecting the national park and being a responsible visitor to the islands.

I own a large pile of how-to-write books. Many of the books do not get you from here to there in terms of acquiring writing skills. Most give you a destination, but only a vague sense of how to get to that destination. It's like trying to go from your house to Oz, on a clear & sunny day.

Meredith's book is simple and excellent because it provides very clear directions & instructions for how to get to your writing destination.

When I was given this book, I had never been paid for my fiction. Now I make a living at it; in fact, since I started applying these principles to my fiction, I've never FAILED to sell a novel. I've sold nine so far.

This book contains everything you need to know.

When I first read this book, I was expecting it to be about writing stuff that publishers would buy. Well, it had that all right, but not until it went through what they ARE buying, what other genres there are, how others broke in to the business, etc. In other words, stuff you could find pretty much any other place you look. On the other hand, when it does get into the actual "writing" of the book, it gives good information and good techniques that I believe any good writer could use. Whether or not you actually want to get published is beyond the point - you can skip that part if you want to.

First appearing in 1950, and a hilarious 1974 introduction by the redoubtable Arthur C. Clarke, pioneering literary agent Scott Meredith's (I923-1993) Writing to Sell is an excellent tool for the aspiring writer. Meredith has a deep understanding of the marketplace (although some of his observations have become dated), as well as of what makes plots work (his original aspiration was to be a science fiction writer).He generalizes the successful plot as one in which an initial conflict is complicated to a climax, makes useful distinctions (e.g., between "incident" and "story") and gives many practical suggestions on novel writing and revising. (There is one chapter devoted to nonfiction.) Perhaps reflecting Meredith's financial success, there is a tendency to equate literary success entirely with sales reminiscent of Mickey Spillane's comment that what intellectuals don't understand is more people eat peanuts than caviar-or Tom Clancy's comment not to "commit art." Meredith's clients have included Norman Mailer, Ellery Queen, Robert Silverberg, and Philip K. Dick; and he was mentor to many agents and editors. With the qualification that his "just-sell-it" tonic may quash artistic originality, there is a lot to learn from his distillation of the American writing experience-which is no doubt why this book remains in print with Writer's Digest Books half a century after its initial publication. From the need to start off in a recognizable genre, to the importance of not skimping on the first draft and presenting likable characters with seemingly impossible problems, Meredith's work is a highly readable primer on the basic attributes of a salable novel. In short, although somewhat mercantile and dated,Writing to Sell is an excellent craft of writing work.

Now that I've read eight or nine how-to books on novel writing, I can say with certainty that this one, along with Sol Stein's, has had the greatest impact on me. Both of these men have significant experience as literary agents, so it behooves aspiring writers such as myself to pay greater heed to them than to writers who merely let us in on their personal secrets or academics who publish scholarly papers about fiction, but are unable to sell any themselves. Editors and literary agents are the ones who must be sold on the script in order for it to be published, after all.

This is a great and entertaining book! The Characters all have well thought out personalities. The same goes for the plot. I enjoyed the book very much.

By the time I was finished with that book, I was very attached to the main characters of the story; a feat that not all authors can do. Usually, there is a lot of characters and it can be difficult to relate to all of them. Here, there is principally four of them and of course, two love stories. Fortunately, those love stories do not take away the drama from what could be the end of human life on the Darwath planet.
The only drawback that I could say about this trilogy is that there is not a lot of information about the Dark. I was much in the dark about them. They are so much different from humans that it could be hard for the author to make them "talk" but in Lohiro's mind, some of their thoughts could have been expressed.
This book is a great addition to any fantasy library. The only thing left for me is to find the two next chapters.

It took me reading an anthology that Barbara edited to realize that yes Lovecraftian horrors from beyond the stars and undescribable, unthinkable by human brains were alive and well and living beneath the frozen lands of Darwath. When I need to count sheep or go to my happy place it's to the Vale of Dare that I go.

Second in the series. If you bought one you'll need to get them all (Including Ice Falcon's Quest and Mother Winter). Development of the politics of Darewath & Karst, Church and State, Ingold and Gil, Ingold and Rudy, Ingold and the Bishop, Ingold and ...you get the idea... continues. The quest across the winter plains (ON FOOT) to the wizard city of Quo brings news of other survivors. And always...the Dark.

Always thought it must be rough to be a writer's creation. This book makes no exception.

fin

In the early 80s, I read the Darwath Trilogy, then, over the years, I read it again, and again, and. . . well, you get the gist. Unfortunately, in one of our frequent moves, the box of books in which I'd placed the trilogy turned up among the "missing."

By then, the books were out of print. I've dogged the book stores since in hopes it would be brought back. It looks like the trilogy finally is. THANK GOODNESS. Along with Asimov, Eddings, and Tolkien, Barbara Hambly is one of my favorite and most re-read authors. I've not met anyone who hasn't loved the Darwath, and doubt that I will. I'm sure you will, too.

This is one of the first books I read by Barbara Hambly, and I think that this is one that made me fall in love with her. She was a way of weaving spellbinding stories that hold a reader captive throughout. I personally fell in love with Ingold and Gil. I was so happy for the two of them, you would think that I had fallen in love instead of them. A stunning ending to what then was the trilogy, thankfully now she has revived these characters and brought them back to life in "Mother of Winter" and "Icefalcon's Quest". A little bit of romance and a story that sticks with you, what more could you ask for?