Dunne Books

Hunting The Tiger is an engrossing tale of a charismatic criminal whose life sheds light on Serbia's tragic recent history. This is not an academic history, however. Mr. Stewart's style is almost breezy, despite the dark subject. I would liken it to a very extended Rolling Stone piece, which is not to say that it's not well researched or informative.
Arkon's continued popularity in Serbia is a powerful reminder of nationalism's ability to catalyze atrocities, and subsequently rationalize, or deny, war crimes.
All in all, a stirring, disturbing page turner. Check it out.

This book gives a voice to all of the innocent people slaughtered at the hands of Arkan. It reveals the absurdity of those who are still blind to the horrific deeds that he left behind as his legacy.
The author has clearly taken great risks to bring this story to us. I applaud this book. I recommend it to anyone seeking further insight into what went on in the Balkans in recent years. And let this book serve as a reminder to the brutal outcomes of our tendencies toward war, racism, nationalism and hero-worship. Bravo!!

We have all had at least one of those moments when we know we have made a really big mistake and we may well die from it. Somehow, we survive, rescued by the least likely or sources.

In "Hunting the Tiger," invesigative reporter, Chris Stewart takes us through some of his terrifying moments and leads us into the the horrifying and riveting story of "Arkan," a bank robber and racketeer who murderously rode the troubled waters of Yugoslavia to a violent end as a "rock star" war criminal.

For me, a retired judge, with military experience and time in Cambodia and Iraq, the book is not only a "page turner" but also a remarkable reflection of how vulnerable any culture can be to one determined and sober sociopath. Arkan's story is unfortunately by no means unique, but the fact that Stewart had the courage and the intiative to tell it is unique. The lessons in "Hunting the Tiger" will stay with me--sometimes, even in my dreams.

This book provides a terrific historical perspective as to why the jury system is so important to our form of democracy. A quoted in this book, Thomas Jefferson wrote that it is more important for a citizen of this country to sit on a jury than it is for her to vote in an election. In today's world of out-of-control corporate greed, it is nice to see at least one author taking the bold steps of presenting the truth. Corporate america does not fear our politicians or the government. The only voice that big business fears is that of the jury. It is only the jury that can control bis business in today's society. Why? because it only a jury that can speak the language that corporate america understands - money. Without the jury, we will further slip into a world of the haves and the have nots. This is a must read. I only wish I could buy a copy for everyone I know.

This is for those who know a little but not a lot about why juries are so precious in America. With clarity and brilliance, Dwyer makes the case for the jury. For me, he also, unwittingly I think, made the case that I should not avoid serving on a jury notwithstanding the nuisance value of doing so. Much to everyone's and America's loss, he lost his life at about the same time as this book was published, but he left us with a superb work based on his legal experiences and his long-time service as a federal district judge in Seattle.

Judge Dwyer shows a great respect and insight into the importance of the jury system to maintaining democratic government and liberty in America. In spite of some areas where he has accepted conventional wisdom instead of actually researching the issues involved (such as where he accepts the myth that racist jury nullification was widespread during the civil rights era. The best researched work on this is in Clay S. Conrad's book Jury Nullification: The Evolution of a Doctrine, in which he shows that most of the acquittals in lynching and civil rights murder cases were due to prosecutors, judges and police being unwilling to pursue such cases to conviction, and not to the actions of jurors) the book is an excellent exposition of the importance of trial by jury.

The real question should be: does anyone care? Trial by jury continues to fall into disfavor with a population that doesn't want to do the heavy lifting on its own. Should we depend on government to do the heavy lifting for us, we shouldn't be surprised that our most important rights atrophy and die. The opposite of trial by jury (also known as trial by one's country) is trial by government. So long as we have a panel of citizens acting as a bulwark between us and our government, we have some protection against government excess and oppression. This is the lesson from history that Judge Dwyer colorfully and dramatically brings home.

This is a sensational murder/crime thriller that never gets boring. I will definitely be checking out the sequel Heckler as Killer Material is one of the best books I have read in ages.

Biff Kincaid receives a call from his fellow stand up comedian friend Art Westcott asking if he can fill in at the last moment as the lead act at a club Biff has been meaning to perform at anyway. Biff agrees and is a hit, but discovers the MC Ned Lando, is stealing other comedian's jokes and passing them off as his own. He has taped Biff's and the act of Kelly a comedian Biff has just met and wants to get to know further. This is totally unacceptable to Biff and when he confronts Lando he discovers there's a lot more going on than he realises. When he later discovers the murdered body of Art after finding out Art was also after trying to get his material back he realises that comedy has just got deadly serious. Still he was never one to back down from a fight and no one has the right to steal another comedians jokes.

Like I said you can't put this one down. It is a very entertaining and well written novel. You have to buy it.

I just happened to pick this book at the library and it sounded like it could be fairly interesting. It was good. I know more about the comedy store scene than I ever knew and it's a hard life!! Biff Kincaid is an unsuspecting hero and aguy who likes women and they like him a lot in return!! There's lots of twists and murders in this book and it's hard to put down. I hope Dan Barton writes more books!!

Biff Kincaid, stand-up comic, is filling in as a headliner for friend Art Westcott at the Chortles Club when he sees something that really gets his goat. The opener is recording the entire show in order to steal the jokes. When Biff tries to confront the young man after the show, he winds up unconscious. While trying to track down the tape of his material, he gets involved in the dark side of town and finds Art's body. What did Art know that was worth killing him for? And can Biff find the answers without getting killed himself?

This book was a real departure from the cozy mysteries I normally read. I found myself enjoying it, however. The mystery moves along at a brisk pace with plenty of new information to keep the reader interested, and the characters were truly likeable. Since the book stars a stand-up comic, there are some great one-liners sprinkled throughout the book. I found myself laughing out loud several times and grinning to myself many others. Still, the suspense of the story never lags in favor of the jokes.

If you like your detectives and mysteries with more of an edge, this is the book for you. Pick it up and meet a great new detective in his first mystery.

I chanced across a single copy of "My Summer with Julia" in a bookstore. What a splendid little novel, and one that left me weeping on several occasions. So rich in detail and wise in view, a testament that conventional work can be vibrant. A synopsis would not do the book justice, for its loveliness and insight lie in the eddies. The author does not try to explain more than we can know psychologically or spiritually. I want to know something about the author (e.g., is that a pen name?) and, of course, to read more of her work.

Portrait painter, Annie Somerville, now in her mid-40's lives a quiet existence in an English village with her barrister husband, David and teenage children. Unexpectedly, she receives a letter from the family of a childhood friend, Julia, who she hasn't heard from in nearly 30 years. It seems that Julia has willed her a locked, mahogany box, which she must come to Toulouse, France to reclaim. Annie is puzzled by this, since she has had no contact with Julia for all these years, and her letters to Julia went unanswered.

At the urging of her family, Annie agrees to travel to France to reclaim the box, where she learned that Julia and her husband had died in an auto accident when Julia was driving on a winding, mountainous road near their home. Annie waits until she returns home to open the box, and finds it filled with a collection of letters and postcards, and a few bedraggled pieces of jewelry. She doesn't know why Julia wanted her to have these items, and can't bring herself to investigate the contents of the box at once.

Annie forces herself to remember the events of the last summer that she spent with Julia's family in France, which culminated in the tragic drowning death of Julia's mother. Annie and Julia were both 14 that summer, and were best friends but Julia was often unhappy and sulky and disappeared to be by herself for hours. Annie was just beginning to discover her love of art, and Julia seemed jealous of her talent and aspirations.

Annie is haunted by the memories of that summer, which come gradually back into focus as she sifts through the memorabilia in the box and tries to remember the girl that Julia was and imagine the woman that she became. She is distracted and unable to focus on her work or her family. She attempts to paint a portrait of Julia, but can't seem to bring her into focus. As her troubling memories sharpen, she is finally able to complete the portrait and understand what happened to Julia and why her letters were never answered.

This small book is a gem, intriguing in its simplicity, yet rich in detail.

Annie Somerville is now a middle-aged woman, an artist, living with her family in England...but years ago she was a schoolgirl with a volatile, disturbed friend named Julia. Annie has blocked out Julia and a dark secret about her from 30 years before, until one day she receives a telegram...Julia has died and has left Annie a box. Annie, with much reluctance, travels to France to fetch the box, and suddenly the secret from all those years ago is torturing Annie's subconscious, trying to burst forth. Will Annie let herself remember?
This book started out really slow, and several times I almost put it down. Give it a chance, though. Once you get into the meat of the story, you will be riveted and anxious to find out just what it is that happened with Julia that so disturbs Annie.
This was a very good story, and I am anxious to read more of Sarah Woodhouse's books.

On Account of Conspicuous women is one of the freshest voices I have heard in my account of Southern reading. Dawn Shamp's characters are so original and every sentence is like eating a pomegenate and every sentence is a juicy seed. I never wanted it to end and am greatly looking forward to her second book!

From the first page of this wonderful book, I was "swept into the beautiful dream" as John Gardner would have said and right into the story of Bertie, Guerine, Ina and Doodle and didn't want to leave.

Bertie has a lot of gumption and is not afraid to speak her mind and fight for her beliefs, working to give a voice to those who have none. Guerine is an inspiration, who "built herself on a firm foundation of parental neglect," (one of my favorite sentences of all-time) but never lets that get in her way; instead she looks deep into her heart to find the strength she needs. Ina, who finds the courage to make a life for herself that she never expected after a personal tragedy leaves her broken-hearted, and Doodle, whose heart and hands bare the scars of her difficult life and survivor spirit.

A survivor spirit is what unites these characters. Dawn Shamp is a very talented writer who seamlessly weaves the narrative from four different points of view without ever losing the continuity of the story or the integrity of her characters.

In 1920 following her beloved dropping dead, Widow Ina Fitzhugh moves from Virginia to teach school in Roxboro in Person County, North Carolina. Three natives worry that the out of towner will disparage their community. Guerine Loftis, Doodle Shuford and Bertie Daye hope to sell Ina on the merits of living in Roxboro.

During her first year in town, Ina often thinks about how much she left behind to live in this backwater town. Still she makes tentative friends with the three women. However each has their own goals that they pursue, which has the four females still somewhat friendly but drifting apart.

This tale starts off a bit slow as the audience meets the four females, but picks up some speed once the fearsome foursome get together. The story line is a historical period piece that provides a deep look at a by gone era in the rural south when sophisticates from Virginia were considered foreigners and suffragettes like Bertie at a minimum eccentric. Readers who enjoy a leisurely character driven tale will appreciate this engaging glimpse at four women in the post WWI North Carolina summed up by the opening quote: "Well-behaved women seldom make history" by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.

Harriet Klausner

This Mexican writer is a magician. With the lightest touch he transports the reader into another world - an insane world. And then you discover: it is our own world that he is describing.

This novel might very well be the Philosophy Textbook of our times, and thus, a literary masterpiece. With only eight circus performers, an impresario and a pig, David Toscana explains with wisdom why our societies do not work, why our world is going crazy, why some things I don't want to mention happen. In an allegorical, apocalyptical, and even humorous way, every social issue is covered: religion, sexism, racism, media, poverty, the military, xenophobia, ecology, health, aging, politics, injustice, solitude, despair and more. The human condition -not the circus- is the greatest show on Earth, but just until we all go to hell.

The Amazing Mantecon Brothers Circus, a down-at-the-heels roadshow of freaks, failures, and outcasts, dissolves after its arrival at an abandoned Mexican town. Eight performers and one of the brothers remain behind to "settle" the town and create a home, while the majority continue their haphazard journey through the hinterlands. For the settlers, "A bunch of empty houses was a greater temptation than a life filled with applause..." In this unique "utopia," which they name Santa Maria of the Circus, the "essential" jobs for the community are assigned by lot. The midget, for example, becomes the priest (saying "The hell with it," when he can't remember the Mass), the bearded lady is the surgeon, the strongman is the "puta," assigned to a house on the outskirts of town, and the youthful contortionist is "the Negro," the scapegoat for all.

With no water, no food, no clocks, and no mirrors, the characters in Santa Maria confront, often humorously, the very essence of life and survival. Toscano uses his wild cast to comment on the world at large, revealing man's innate longings and fears, his need to belong, and the sadness of being different. As Nathaniel, the one-eyed midget, says, "If it weren't for my height, no one would know I'm a midget." Gentle satire, whimsy, black humor, subtle and not-so-subtle word pictures, and consummate irony combine with sensitive description and poignant observations by these characters about the world as they, and, presumably, we find it.

Despite the book's warmth and whimsy, however, the overriding belief that "chance is God" pervades this narrative, leading ultimately to an extremely dark and very depressing conclusion, one which came as a huge letdown to me. Though life is not all fun and games, and many problems exist both in society and in human relationships, these characters are survivors in the very weird circus of their lives, despite the curves that chance has thrown them. The ending is consistent with the theme that "chance is God," but I felt it was not consistent with the overall tone of the book, even when that tone became darker and less playful. I found myself wondering if the author needed a way to extricate himself from the thematic corner into which he had painted himself and chose this ending as a deus ex machina. Mary Whipple

This is an insightful meticulous look at a key pivotal moment in history, the twenty-seven year (with some interim periods of peace during the period) war between democratic Athens and totalitarian Sparta for supremacy of the Mediterranean. The work can stand alone but appears to be a wonderful companion piece to Nigel Bagnall's Punic War treatise and not as coffee table book ends, but as an insightful pair that armchair historians will appreciate. Though aimed at military historical aficionados, the late Mr. Bagnall goes into immense at times excruciating (at least to this reviewer) detail of what happened and to a degree why. For instance, readers get a microscopic look at how the Sparta blockade worked to cut off Athenian supply lines in spite of the latter having naval superiority. Most interesting is the lessons learned from this Greek tragedy that apply today as the Athenian democratic leaders forced the confrontation in an attempt to insure the dominance in the region against their rival (much different than what is taught in school). Clearly targeting a specific audience, the PELOPONNESIAN WAR is a well written dissertation on a critical relevant period that impacted the western world we know today.

Harriet Klausner

Bagnall reminds us in this lively history of a long ago war that there are timeless precepts in warmaking. He describes the myriad Greek city states and how they rallied magnificently to draw with and then defeat the Persians. But we also see an interminable fratricidal conflict within the Hellenes.

Unlike most history books, which are written by professional historians, Bagnall warns us upfront that he is not. Instead, he writes from the vantage of a professional soldier that he was for most of his life. Consequently, the book has frequent allusions between events in those distant days and those of the First and Second World Wars and subsequently into the Cold War. This is given at several levels. Strategic, operational and tactical. He does not explicitly say this in his narrative. But the analysis he gives us might well have come from a kreigspeil (wargame) that a bunch of NATO officers took part in.

At the tactical level, he compares the Persian and occasional Greek cavalry and what they could accomplish with modern tank forces. A close analogy. We are also reminded that "train hard to fight easy" was true then and now. And that suprise and deception can often still be the greatest advantages.

Thoughtfully, the book has several good maps of the theatre of operations. The only lack is that perhaps some of the battles could have been shown in extra maps. For those readers unfamiliar with the fractal Greek archipelago and the eastern Med, there might be constant to-and-fro from the text to the main maps, as you try to follow the battle descriptions.

On an aside, do you also read science fiction? Jack McDevitt wrote a wonderful "A Talent for War". Set in the far future of spacefaring humans going to war against a large alien empire. The latter is modelled on the Persians. While the humans are largely divided into small planet states, aka. the Greeks. And the narrative explicitly harks back to the Peloponnesian War.

Ths history of western civilization really begins with the Greeks. Unfortunately also with the Greeks begins the tradition of civil wars, although Athens and Sparta might be considered as separate semi-independent states. The war, when looked at in detail bears a lot of common points with more modern wars:

For one thing, the continual wars meant that by the end both Athens, Sparta and the other city states were greatly damaged. Minor wars continued into the next century for about 70 years, then came Alexander.

Although this war is commonly called the Peloponnesian War, it's more proper name is the Second Peloponnesian War. As with the world wars, the first was not decisive.

Another point worth mentioning is that the Peloponneisan war began when a couple of allies of Athens and Sparta up along the Adriatic Sea began fighting. This is not too far from Sarajevo, where World War I began, and where the Bosnians, Croatians, etc. recently fought.

Finally, this was is the first where a major book was written to give the history of the war. This is the HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR by Thucydides.

The author of this book was a high ranking general in the British Army. As such, he brings an insight to the war that is lacking in many of the other books. Highly Recommended.[...]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and devoured it in as few sittings as possible. It is the kind of book that, for me, has too many extraordinary plot twists and character traits to seem completely realistic, but the writing was so good that I was prepared to suspend belief and just go with the story.

The novel begins with Pippa Lee at 50 years old, married to a man 30 years her senior, and moving into a retirement complex. The first part of the book describes her current life, focussing on her relationship with her husband and two adult children. The second part goes back to Pippa's childhood and charts her wild and self-destructive youth up until she meets her husband and changes her life. The final portion of the book returns to the present day, where all is not right between Pippa and her family, and things have reached breaking point.

I found Pippa to be an interesting if not always likeable character. She seemed to drift through life, easily influenced by others, with little conviction about what she wanted or with any kind of moral compass. Despite this, I liked Pippa. I felt she was very much a product of her childhood and was just a confused, lonely person at heart. I was also interested by a lot of the secondary characters and enjoyed how the author managed to perfectly sum up their personalities in just a few piercing descriptive sentences or lines of dialogue.

Perhaps the one false note was the ending. Part of me feels that the loose ends were all tied up too neatly, within just a few pages, and perhaps the book could have gone on a bit longer to make the ending more realistic. Furthermore, there was also something that happened near the end of the book that just didn't ring true. I won't give too much away, suffice to say that there was almost a metaphysical element to the ending that I found unsatifying.

Overall, I have to give this book 5 stars because it is an intelligent, sensitive novel, and also a real page turner. Who could ask for anything more?

When I heard this book was going to be a movie, I moved it to the top of my to be read list. The book description had me smiling and I was looking forward to getting to know Pippa Lee a little better.

Fifty-year-old Pippa lives a contented life with her much older husband, Herb. However, everything changes when Herb announces that they are leaving Manhattan for a retirement community. Unsettled in her new home, Pippa begins sleepwalking through life--literally. She catches herself on a security camera cooking and eating while unconscious, then finds evidence that her somnambulist self has taken up smoking. In light of her erratic behavior, Pippa reconsiders the life she has built for herself and the example she is setting for her two grown children: raised by a pill-addicted mother, Pippa ran away from home at 17 and struggled with drugs, abusive relationships and her own feelings of guilt before looking for redemption in the family that she now worries is falling apart.

I really suspected that I would find myself rooting for Pippa along the way, as I felt a small part of myself in her. Unfortunately, half way through the book, I found Pippa, and the book to be annoying, and I could not wait to finish it. I did not really enjoy the writing style, and the story line makes me think this one is more suited for the big screen than for the written word.

Pippa Lee is one of the most complex and intriguing creations in contemporary fiction and it is a mark of Rebecca Miller's skill as a writer that what begins as an extremely entertaining and compelling account of a middle-aged woman's marriage to an older man turns into a fascinating portrait of a life lived strangely. The leap back into time that takes you to Pippa's childhood is both abrupt and seamless (if that's not too much of a contradiction!) and by the time she's returned you to the present day your sense of Pippa's many lives has been expanded and deepened in the most satisfying of ways.

This book is a reminder of just how much someone can change in the course of a lifetime and, as well as providing a wise insight into the different courses a life can take, the novel also becomes increasingly page-turning as the book speeds to its dramatic conclusion.

I'm glad I read this novel and I've just learnt that it has been picked as one of Richard and Judy's Summer reading titles which is great for the book and great for readers because now even more people are going to enjoy this superb debut novel. Take your shoes off, kick back and immerse yourself in what is sure to become one of the most talked about and loved books of the summer.

What I liked most about this book is that the majority of the essays are based in Michigan. I gave it an extra star just for that reason. I think if you're from Michigan and you flyfish, then you'll probably enjoy this book as much as I did. His writing style in my opinion is somewhere between Gierach and Lyons. In his essays, Jerry Dennis talks about his favorite fishing partners just like Gierach does. And, the pen and ink illustrations throughout the book are done in the same style as Gierach's books. Dennis writes realistically about fitting his love of fly fishing into an average every day life of a father, just like Lyons does. As far as writing about nature and fly fishing in Michigan I think this book deserves 5 stars. But, I didnt like the few fictional stories toward the end of the book. They were a little odd and had strange endings.

Perhaps it has to do with living in the Midwest or on Lake Michigan, but 'The River Home' hit home in more than one way. Jerry Dennis brings out all the humor, irony and mishaps that anglers experience. I just didn't know these things happened to others until I read about them! He breaks down the pleasures of life and fishing to the simplest forms. Can't wait to break out the fly rod in spring!

"Big trout are greedy," writes Jerry Dennis in one of the nineteen essays and five short stories that make up this splendid collection.

And as a writer, Dennis is as greedy as a big trout. He feeds voraciously on the facts, observations, insights and conclusions which tell him that as a writer he is alive.

Both long-time fans of Dennis's work and newcomers alike will find "The River Home" to be a special treat. Those familiar with his early book of fishing essays, "A Place on the Water" as well as his two books of natural history, "It's Raining Frogs and Fishes" and "A Bird in the Waterfall" will be able to trace his growth as a writer. Those who aren't will be amazed at the style at which Dennis has arrived at this point in his career.

I'll leave the official pronouncement of "a classic form" to wiser and more experienced reviewers. But in this book, Jerry Dennis has elevated the typical "outdoor" essay, usually a mere recollection of adventures while hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing, or pursuing other outdoor activities. He has transcended the typical by blending in elements of "nature" writing: observation, research, speculation about the world in which the sportsman places himself. And for Dennis, this world is not merely part of the background; it is part of the fabric of the experience in which he wraps himself.

For example, in the initial essay, "Home Again," as easily as he'd don a favorite pair of worn blue jeans, he slips into a discussion of the geological impact of glaciers on the part of Michigan where he lives. And in "Big Troug in Condor Country" he takes time out from taking you trout fishing to explain the topography of the Rio Puelo Valley and the lives of the people there.

If you want comparisons, I'll offer: Dennis is like John McPhee in that he speaks with authority based on exhaustive research and experience; the facts have become his own. He is like Walt Whitman who! wrote, "What I shall assume you shall assume." In places Dennis speaks of "we" and you quickly learn to trust his conclusions.

Whitman also wrote: "Do I contradict myslf? Very well then I contradict myself (I am large, I contain multitudes)

Contradictions didn't bother Whitman and they don't bother Dennis. In one essay, with a simple pejorative, he dismisses Thoreau's advice that a person be content to explore a few acres in a lifetime. But in another, whose title itself is a quote from ol' Henry David, "Simplify, Simplify" he paraphrases: "I am determined to live life deliberately. I refuse to fritter my life away on details ..."

Then again, perhaps he's not contradicting himself. Perhaps he is just being picky.

In addition to being greedy, big trout can also be selective.

The title of my review says it all. Resnick is obviously a very strong woman to bite her lip and tell the heartbreaking stories behind her best friend Nicole's marriage/death, as well as the justice sytem's betrayal of American trust with it's handling of OJ. She not only describes it all in great specific detail, but shows the emotion' and feelings she had toward it all, making us feel as if we were right there with her through all of it; that is where the strength of 'Shattered' (and of 'Shattered's' ability to so well expose the untruths and injustices of the whole Nicole/OJ mess) truly lies. I do wish one thing, though-that she could have written more about Ron Goldman and his involvement in all of it because I never have been able to find out much about him. Great book, Ms Resnick!

The truth about how the "Dream Team" was able to buy justice via their questionable-indeed, deplorable- tactics. I admire Ms. Resnick a lot because of her courage and willingness to tell the truth about what went on in and behind "The Trial Of The Century". A must-read.

This book gives an overall view of what truely happened from the time Nicole and Ron's tragic death occured to the time O.J.'s ridiculous first trial took place. I admire Faye Resnicks courage and strength for standing up for her beautiful friend and for what she believes in. Nicole was a colorful person full of life and love, and here Faye shows reality and honesty in the aftermath of Nicole's death. Many people took advantage of this awful crime to benefit professionally or financially, and here Faye tells it like it is.