Dunne Books

Wall constantly intrigues and intellectually challenges the reader with two parallel stories, set 450 years apart. Sean Tallow is a 42-year-old Oxford graduate and the son of a thief, a man who says in the opening sentence that he has just stolen the Hariot notebooks from the university library. He is consumed with his mission to find out all he can about the School of Night, a mysterious group which involved Sir Walter Ralegh, Christopher Marlowe, Hariot, and others, and to which there is only one reference in literature, in Shakespeare's Love's Labour Lost. Sean thinks that the encoded messages in Hariot's notebooks will help him discover the answer to whether Shakespeare really wrote all the plays attributed to him.

At the same time, he is deeply involved in trying to help the family of the recently deceased Dan Pagett, his oldest friend, a man who became immensely wealthy through his mercantile interests. Dan was always very much centered in the here and now, a person dealing with earthly concerns and day to day existence. Sean, by contrast, has always been centered on the long ago, a person dealing with mysteries and intellectual concerns, a night person working the overnight desk at the BBC.

Even the most dedicated symbol-hunter will be kept fully occupied poring over this fascinating novel, as dozens of references to the night, both obvious and subtle, appear throughout both stories. Water, one of the metaphysical elements most closely associated with night, is also a major focus. Sean and Dan become friends while fishing along the river; Sean says at the beginning of the novel, "I never tried to push against the river"; Ralegh was imprisoned in the Tower of London, along the river; and Dan's house is on the river. The satisfying conclusion brings all these references together.

Crisp, concise imagery combines with diverse intellectual discussions of alchemy, the "truth" of history vs. the "tissue" of probability, Freudian vs. Jungian analysis, linear interpretations of Elizabethan literature, and even the introduction of the zero during Elizabethan history. Yet the novel wears this intellectualism lightly. Wall never forgets that this is, first and foremost, a novel, not a dissertation. As such it is one of the most tightly organized novels I've read in recent years, a never-ending source of surprises and intrigue. Mary Whipple

Wall covers oft-trodden ground here and offers little more than a tormented, navel-gazing faux-academic hero to pursue the well-worn conundrum of the Shakespearean authorship "question" -- which is only a question for conspiracy theorists who don't find the intricacies of real history interesting enough. This theme has been much more entertainingly addressed by Michael Malone, George Garrett, Charles Nicholl, Peter Whelan, and many more.

It's amazing that a book as light as this in pages can cover so much. Wall's writing is truly skillful. I thought when picking it up that it would be almost a 'Masterpiece Theater' costume drama. Instead,I found that narrator Sean Tallow's diving into the past into the question of Shakepeare's authorship and the mysteries regarding the School of Night to be subordinate to Sean's present-day activities and state of mind. Sean is haunted on two levels; one with his family life consisting of thief dad and dead mother, and his own un-self-confident and introverted nature, and secondly about the theme of whether Shakespeare really wrote Shakespeare.

The funny thing about the present-day is it is so timeless in this book; the book has very few material accoutrements and I found myself going for pages wondering what year the book was really reflecting (there are but few clues - fleeting references to AIDs, blue plastic, and mobile phones finally narrowed it down). So much is about thought and perceptions and themes that are ageless - idolatry, betrayal, love, and especially knowledge pursuit. Sean pretty much covers what this book is all about when he says "...I was glad that I never learnt to drive, no longer embarrassed by it. After all, noone has ever unthreaded time's labyrinth like this from the inside of a car. You must touch the holy tracks for yourself. The truest pilgrims even take off their shoes and kiss the ground until their lips, along with the soles of their feet, start to bleed."

This book makes palpable the experiences of the dead and how tangible is the quest for this knowledge.

This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine. . . .
The hue of dungeous, and the School of Night.
--William Shakespeare

On this book's dust jacket there is a remarkable blurb by the novelist, poet, and essayist Anne Stevenson: "After reading The School of Night, I don't think there's a better English prose writer living."

The School of Night, however, is not for everyone. Its appeal is to thoughtful readers who appreciate the finer points of metaphysics, aesthetics, poetry, and literary criticism.

Basically the plot of this novel centers on two men, Sean Tallow and Daniel Pagett, who, although greatly different in temperament, form a bond of friendship that endures until they are separated by death.

A realist and pragmatist, Dan greedily pursuing tangible realities. He devotes his energies to the accumulation of wealth and properties, and the cavalier practice of hedonism.

Sean, the protagonist and narrator of the tale, is an idealistic dreamer. Obsessed with a burning desire to comprehend the past, he devotes himself to unravelling the secrets of "the School of Night," a 16th-century society devoted to the Faustian pursuit of knowledge.

In his relentless obsession with the thirty years of English history between 1590 and 1620, Sean discovers the School of Night to be "a group of dark and fearless intelligences, exploring with skepticism everything previously deemed unapproachable in any mode other than venerable credulity. ... Because no text was too sacred for their savage inquisition, they set themselves to gaze anew upon the world and its beliefs. Traditions were mere confusions in which superstitious men unnecessarily enmeshed themselves and reverence was no more and no less than fear of true knowledge."

At the heart of Sean's quest is the conundrum of Shakespearean authorship. Who actually wrote the plays attributed to the man from Stratford-on-Avon? After two decades of intensive study, Sean comes to a surprising conclusion.

The School of Night opens with these words: "Five days ago I stole the Hariot Notebooks," and it closes with a felony even more serious. The biblical saying, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" is given a new and shattering twist.

Along the way, Wall tosses out bon mots such as, "If you want to hear God laughing just tell him your plans for the future."

Although the author throws in some steamy erotic scenes for hoi polloi, his work is slanted toward "high-brow" readers. The School of Night is a intelligent work of fiction by a skilled artist.

Alan Wall was born in Yokshire and educated at Oxford. His previous works include Jacob, Curved Light, Chronicle, Bless the Thief, Lenses, A to Z, Silent Conversations, and Richard Dadd in Bedlam & Other Stories.

Alan Wall has transformed his obvious reverence for Shakespeare and his equally obvious obsession with the "authorial question"--which fascinates legions of the plays' devotees and elicits weary yawns from the rest, who believe the matter prima facie beyond question--into a quirkily absorbing detective story. Indeed, with a bit of clever marketing, The School of Night might give Shakespeare's doubters, or at least enthusiasts of Marlovian authorship, the same kind of rhetorical boost Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time gave to the Ricardians (who maintain crookback Richard III was really all sweetness and light and view Shakespeare's play as based wholly on Tudor propaganda and misinformation).

Wall is a subtle writer who moves adeptly, and with economic efficiency, in simultaneously odd, interesting, learned, and tidily interreleated directions. This is literary writing, filled with symbology, scholarly allusion, and deft metaphor, but all in the most unobtrusive and graceful manner. Moreover, books of this sort must be in good part tutorial, and Wall has done his homework. At appropriate moments, he feeds us the essential elements of the authorial controversy, introduces the various contenders to the throne, and ultimately settles on Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare's great contemporary, as the alter-Bard. The novel then unfolds as narrator Sean Tallow seeks to decipher the secret of "The School of Night," which is at once an obscure reference from the early comedy Love's Labour Lost and, perhaps, a secret society to which Marlowe may have belonged.

Principal characters are closely observed and artfully developed. Bibliomaniacs of all stripes will recognize and root for the introspective antiquarian Sean Tallow and his quest, but the parallel story of Tallow's relationship to a boyhood friend and his increasingly complex--and shady--life does more than allow Wall to space out his revelations. Both stories move in surprising directions, interact nicely, and wend their ways to what I found to be a satisfying conclusion. Moreover, it is a conclusion, even a moral, that I surmise the Bard--whoever he was--would wholeheartedly endorse.

In short, a very rich, very entertaining, very instructive novel, filled with character, imagery, insight, and narrative tension--not exactly sound and fury, but certainly signifying at the very least an exciting writer whose books I'll eagerly search out.

I am a patriot and have gone to war for my country. I would do it again all the while thanking God for the good people that work so diligently, as Linda Hunt has, to keep our government honest and out in the open. This is an intriguing book and there is much evidence that things of this nature are still taking place.

Hunt's book unfairly malign's Wernher von Braun and the German Rocket Team that came to America to develop our embryonic booster program. She lumps von Braun in with ardent Nazis and the historical record shows that von Braun was an apolitical rocket engineer and manager and he was never a goose-stepping Nazi. Neufeld's book, "The Rocket and the Reich" is well-researched but suffers from the author's need to find blame without any evidence. The attack on von Braun and his team by Hunt, Neufeld and others has little to do with accurate history but is rather an opportunistic vendetta to garner attention, fame and book sales. Lost in this smear campaign is the great work done by von Braun and his team for our nation during the Cold War that culminated in landing on the moon. Shame on you Linda Hunt.

Having read many books and articles about the U.S. government's secret recruitment of Nazi scientists and war criminals, I can state - without hesitation - that Linda Hunt's "Secret Agenda" is unusually accurate, painstakingly objective, and well documented. Although her revelations about the creation of NASA by Nazi recruits and documented war criminals may be painful for some individuals who are devoted to, and highly supportive, of our federally funded space agency; the information contained in Secret Agenda should nevertheless be made widely known. Only by learning the truth about the secretive sins of our government's employees and leaders, can we - as citizens - work to ensure that such sins are not repeated in the future.

WHO ARE YOU KIDDING CARVER??

Von Braun was the opportunist NOT Linda Hunt! He didn't care who he built his rockets for as long as he got well paid for doing so.

To even suggest otherwise smacks of the same type of disinformation U.S. authorities have foisted upon American citizens and the world since the end of WWII.

Carver, are you sure you're not being paid to say silly things like "von Braun was an apolitical rocket engineer and manager and he was never a goose-stepping Nazi"?

I have to agree with Robert Carver that at least some of the information in this book is inaccurate. Whether Hunt is an opportunist or not, I cannot say, and that is beside the point. Motives and intentions are matters of speculation; however, I do know for a fact that least some of the information in this book is inaccurate. I do not question Kathleen Sullivan's perspective that this book is objective (though perhaps not "painstakingly" so) nor do I disagree with the position that this should all be brought to light; however, in the tremdendous volume of data processed in writing this book, I do know for a fact that some things, surely without malice, were inaccruately portrayed. Since the reputations of individuals are at stake, I find this unfortunate indeed. Being someone who is going into teaching as a second career, I have been made aware of the importance of telling students to always question the validity of what they read even in history textbooks from school. Before giving credence to what you read in, or cite from this book, please do corroborate the information (especially if it has to do with any one of a very large number of individuals listed by name).

Every one has their own opinion which can make or ruin the outcome of a reading. Go into it thinking it is silly it will turn silly. If you open yourself to the deck, the meanings will come forth for you. Being of open mind makes the deck work, not just the cards themselves tho your reaction to them can aid in the discovery.... I was needing an answer that I could not get from my other decks.(not even Jamie sams) WHY? It was the pictures in this one that I found warm, inviting and calmer because the colors on the cards were comfortable. I sat down with these and opened my energy to them, gave of myself and the cards gave back. I AM A PROUD OWNER, (or maybe owned by,) OF THESE CARDS. What I have been taught by these cards I will cherish for as long as the cards choose to stay with me. I almost put them up for sale till I had a warm feeling come over me and I decided to at least try them. I am now making a beaded pouch to keep them in. DO not listen to others until you yourself have opened up to the energy of these cards which will mix with your own.

"White Eagle Medicine Wheel: A Native American Way of Life" by Wa-Na-Nee-Chee is an excellent introduction to the tools that shamans use. This book is divided into learning from three groups - animals, grandmothers and grandfathers, and totems. In addition, Wa-Na-Nee-Chee inserts himself into the book to guide the reader into the inner mysteries of shamanism. By doing the card spreads and readings, the reader has a safe way to begin the practice of shamanism. The reader can discover their own meanings of each concept that "White Eagle Medicine Wheel" presents.

Although, Wa-Na-Nee-Chee presents his book and card set as "Native American" wisdom, people would do better by learning the cultures of specific tribes. Medicine Wheels are usually found in Plains Cultures, and Totem Poles in only Northwest American Cultures. You would not find the two together in the same culture, as the author seems to imply.

Although, the writings of the animals are similar to "Medicine Cards" by David Carson and Jaime Sams, the beautiful cards do offer an intuitive way to know the animals. In addition, the animal teachings can be read alone or with teachings such as `record keeping' and `birthing'. To learn how to integrate animals into a shamanistic practice, the reader is well served by this book. However, if the reader is interested in learning more about animals or Native American cultures, they should seek out other books instead of this one.

One of the authors is closely involved with Brooke Medicine Eagle. Before you buy this book, go to this website www.sonomacountyfreepress.com/features/brooke-edwards.html.

This beautifully designed deck holds the sacred teachings of Native American knowledge and is visually inspiring. The 46 cards are accompanied by a 132 page book filled with information of the symbolism held in the pack. Included are spreads, ceremonies and rituals, all divided into levels of apprentice,student and elder. You will love the inspiration of this unique teaching tool.

They are beautiful. Very colourful, with detail, lots of symbology and meaning. The book is easy to read from cover to cover, and as a reference book. I highly recommend this set over the others that I've seen.

Capa is one of the romantic characters of journalism, a free spirit with an insatiable appetite for risk-taking, alcohol, cigarettes and women. That he died at age 40 in the line of duty as a war photographer has only embellished his image. These are the facts we have known about Capa for decades, reported nicely in Whelan's biography in the 1980's. This book doesn't expand on this information very much.

If you leave out the sections about the famous women he bedded, this would be a much shorter book. It's tawdry in that regard but that does keep the book rolling along. Overall, it's not a bad biography of Capa. It does seem to me to borrow heavily from Whelan's biography and from Capa's own book "Slightly Out Of Focus". If you're familiar with those books, there are no new revelations here.

I do take issue with one small point. Capa is constantly referred to as having Leicas dangling around his neck, using Leicas on assignments and holding Leicas. While I do not doubt Capa used Leicas--along with other brands of cameras--during his career, Kershaw's repeated references are tedious. This is especially true when one considers that Capa is closely identified with the now defunct 35mm Zeiss Contax, he used Contax cameras during the D-Day invasion and he was using Contax cameras at the time of his death in Indochina in 1954. In fact, the two photographs in Kershaw's book that show Capa with a camera "dangling around his neck" actually show him with Contax cameras, not Leicas.

That small point is indeed small, however, it begs the question of how correct the other information might be. Of course biographies are often based on hearsay and ancedotal information, the veracity of which is open to interpretation. Maybe Kershaw was just invoking creative license and using Leica as metaphor. It's not a point any non-photographer reader would even notice. Still, I find it a little troubling.

Overall, this is a decent but derivative sketch of Capa.

This book is a story, told to be thrilling and informative and will stand the test of time as the best book written about the trade of war photography. It should be a film because the action and character development are well plotted. And if you want to know, close up, about the great moments of the last century, then here is a ring-side seat on history in the making too. Inspiring stuff. If only there were more biographies written like this.

An exceptionally nasty hatchet job, sloppily written, relying heavily on the authorized biography by Robert Whelan. Not surprisingly, Cornell Capa, the biographee's brother and custodian of his heritage refused cooperation, even to the extent of denying the use crucial photos, with this author.

A great, cinematic read - a shame that the estate did not allow photographs, but they never will. Yet this book is so vivid and esxciting that you don't notice the images not being there - you see them in your head. Really tremendous research, so much more objective than the authorized hagiographer Whelan's account, and this will one day be a movie - it just feels so right. A great, great tale told very well by Kershaw. Best bio on a photographer ever written.

to make this hard to figure out until it lost some of its credibility. A simpler plot line would have worked better. However, it's still fairly entertaining. If you're a knowledgable mystery reader, you'll probably figure it out anyway.

Robert Randisi is a good writer.I've enjoyed all his books,and "Blood on the Arch"is no exception.I read the book in 2 days.Joe Keogh is an interesting character.Short chapters,lots of conversations-what more could you ask for?Ha!

Blood on the Arch had a very interesting, and at times, complicated mystery about it. What I particularly enjoyed about the book was Detective Joe Keough's desire to solve the murders. It was refreshing to read about a character who thought more about his job (solving the murders), than his own career (the harrasment suit). The one big downside to the book revolved around its ending. The author never goes into any detail regarding why the murders were taking place. He does talk about the land development opportunities, but it was few and far between.

This is the first book that I have read in the Detective Joe Keough series, I just hope that the next one is a little more developed than this one.

Although Detective Joe Keough has worked in St. Louis for less than a year, he has attained the reputation as the city police force's number one homicide cop. After stopping a gruesome serial killer, Joe is a hero on a par with home run slugger Mark McGuire.

Joe's latest case takes him to the Gateway Arch where he finds the bludgeoned body of the person responsible for his new home and job in St. Louis. Joe deeply believes he owes it to Mark Drucker to solve the case by bringing the murderer to justice. Joe quickly realizes he knows very little about his mentor including how Mark earned his money. As Joe digs for clues and answers, another homicide directly linked to the Drucker case occurs. Keough slowly wades through the city's movers and shakers determined to uncover the truth even as his inquiries leave some individuals very nervous about what the persistent detective will learn.

Robert J. Randisi has written an electrifying police procedural novel that will makes fans of the sub-genre extremely happy with this special work. BLOOD ON THE ARCH moves at a very rapid pace, with many delightful red herrings interwoven into the plot to fool Joe and the audience. Though the subplot about his health brings readers closer to the Joe, the protagonist is clearly a maverick who follows his own moral beliefs when it conflicts with the rules. This, in turn, leaves readers wondering about the enigmatic Joe and wanting more tales to learn more about his past and present motivations.

Harriet Klausne

I found Clive's history about as breathtaking as is possible to believe. Unforunately Harvey is under-served by his editor who allowed entirely too much reiteraton and recapulation so the the writing lacks continuity and drama that should have set it on fire.

It was the best material I have read on Clive, and it was a noble effort at parting the clouds of mystery that surround his life.

This book is readable and gives a good narrative history of the career of Robert Clive. It is however disappointing. The reason for the disappointment relates to the scope of the book and perhaps it is unreasonable to expect a book of its length (the text is about 380 pages) to cover a subject of such complexity in any depth.

Clive was given a number of military commands when England had a number of small outposts on the Indian Coast. The armies were for protection mainly against the French who were also competing in the area. India at that time was broken into a number of independent states which each had vast armies far outnumbering the English.

The men commanded by Clive were armed with smooth bore muskets and some cannon. The muskets had a slow firing rate and had a very short range. The armies he fought had some artillery. In each battle Clive was outnumbered by huge amounts. It was common for him to face odds of over ten to one in each battle. Despite the fact that he had no marked technological superiority over his opponents as later imperialists did Clive won each battle and conquered a country that was bigger than France. This book does not really explain how except to suggest that the armies he faced were not efficient combat units. Something which would in the face of what happened seem obvious.

Despite the continual mystery of why Clive kept winning the book follows his campaigns and his problems with the English government. The reality is that Clive allowed the English to recover from the loss of the American Colonies and to recover as an Imperial Power. His victories unlike that of Napoleon did not fade away after a short time but allowed England to dominate India for two hundred years. He clearly was one of the most important figures of his age. Whilst readable the biography tends not to scratch the surface and give us the nuts and bolts of the process.

Having read this book when it was first released in Australia last year I must say I am glad to see that it has finally been released in the United States. This book grabbed me from the first page and held my interest to the very end. This is a great adventure story, told with panache and feeling. I was captivated throughout, reading about this great man's humble beginnings though to his campaigns in India where he made the British presence, clinging to a number of small trading posts, into an Empire and then his final demise.

The reader is transported to the far-flung reaches within India where Clive carved out a name for himself against the French and Indian rulers as a man of ambition and ruthless military cunning. His campaigns and battles are told within an exciting narrative that just moved along relentlessly like Clive's Army moving across the plains of India. This is a great story, a masterful piece of historical writing presented by Robert Harvey and I am sure it will be enjoyed by all that love a good history book.

I would compare this book very favourably to the likes of `Cochrane: Britannia's Last Sea Wolf' by Donald Thomas. In fact I noticed that Robert Harvey also has a book on the market titled `Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain' which I have taken the liberty in ordering after his outstanding effort in telling the story of `Clive of India'.

At 44, it's not always easy to remember the feelings I had as an 18-year-old, spending summers on the farm in Oklahoma. But Jeremy Jackson's novel, In Summer, transported me back to the days of my youth. The book details the three-month period of time between high school graduation and college, a time of innocence, confusion and trepidation for most of us--the 'last summer of childhood'. Jackson's prose, though simplistic at times, flows like a meandering country road, evoking a sense of unhurriedness, of long summer days and endless nights. Through it all--the bad summer jobs, the girlfriends, the worry over his mother's failing health--the main character, Leo Peery, undergoes a metamorphosis, a 'coming-of-age', if you will. Don't expect an action-packed page turner here. Instead, sit back and enjoy the easy pace of a time gone by, when your whole life--no matter how scary the prospect--was in front of you. Salmon Run

I very much enjoyed this novel. The main character is extremely likable. As opposed to another reviewer who found him detached,I found him very sensitive. As a health care provider I find a denial/avoidance reaction to a new diagnosis of cancer to be very common. And since teenagers are notoriously absorbed in their own dramas, it seemed very realistic for him to avoid dwelling on his mother's illness.

I thought the emotional confusion of adolescence was conveyed smoothly and very much enjoyed the characters. Sure, they spoke a bit too precociously ( I call this the "My So-Called Life Syndrome"), but they were fun to spend time with.

It may not be a life-changing novel, but if you enjoy coming-of-age novels, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this one.
It left me feeling warm and satisfied.

I picked this book up just before going on vacation. Having lived through another long winter, the idea of reading a book in which summer plays a key role, was appealing to me. Boy, was I wrong.

"In Summer" tells the story of Leo Peery, who has just graduated from high school and awaits going to college at the end of summer. Leo works as a life guard, and hangs out with friends and relatives, gets involved with girlfriend(s), etc. It's not the story line that is the problem, it's the writing that does not connect with me. It seems very detached. For example, at some point fairly early in the book, Leo finds out that his mom is dealing with a potentially terminal medical problem. One would expect that Leo is devistated, but somehow it doesn't come across the pages.

In summary, despite the author's lenghty and numerous descriptions of the feel of summer as experienced by his 18 year old fictional character, I just didn't feel it and when I finished the book, I thought to myself, 'what did I read this for again?'. Not recommended.

Leo Peery has just graduated from High School and we follow him through the last summer of his childhood (or is it the first summer of his adulthood?) Handsome, smart and amiable Leo helps his cousin on the family farm, works as a lifeguard, discovers startling information about his mother, gets together with an old girlfriend and with some other girls as well, is nice to small children, goes fishing, restores a car, enjoys life, worries, has a few nasty accidents, makes some mistakes, survives, learns and grows. That's really all there is to it, and what a lovely journey it is. If the story is not as compelling as Jackson's remarkable first novel, Life At These Speeds, it is still a lovely read, full of the joy and beauty of life's simple pleasures. And if the dialogue sometimes seems too clever to be entirely believable, it is so fun to read that all is forgiven. This is Jackson's 2nd novel (he has also written two cookbooks) and I can hardly wait to see what comes next.

This is a lovely book about a woman who certainly did her best in her field and private life. She was indeed unique as one can easily tell when watching her wonderful films....old and well as the later ones.

I think the author did a wonderful job researching his subject. I wanted more and didn't want the story to end. Thank you.

For the exhorbitant price of $45.00 and higher, I expected a nice coffee-table style book chronicling Dunne's career and her life as well, loaded with pictures. This is not what I received.

What I received was a 178 page synopsis style of Dunne's non-scandalous life (rare for a Hollywood star...she was married to the same man for 45 years!! Amen to that...refreshing...) devoted to her family, a jewel to work with, and never gave a bad performance. Along with Barbara Stanwyck she was the best actress never to have received an academy award (she was nominated five times).

However, the author skims over Dunne's life, briefly analyzes the periods of her career and says almost nothing of Dunne's later years!! There Are a few pictures in the middle insert...but none of Dunne as a child or as a mature woman.

Irene Dunne was a classy lady who deserves better than what she gets here...a tepid, rushed biography (which doesn't even include a dust jacket) finely printed on glossy paper with the high price that is just not worth it. I'm sorry I bought it as I really learned nothing new about Dunne that I didn't already know. This book is acceptable at perhaps $7.95. $45.00??? Ridiculous! Trust me!

If you want a university style thesis on Irene Dunne, then you will be happy with this highly priced book. It is analytical as you might expect from an academic but the author has failed to make a story out of it. This makes for a very tedious read. Refer to the biography of Alice Faye to see how well it can be done.

Margie Shultz, in her bio-bibliography of Dunne, does a much better job. The biography of Irene Dunne is yet to be written.

I think this book is excellent for students and people who are discovering the world of classic Hollywood. It goes into detail without getting "too personal". Please realize that this book is intended for educational purposes (although it is entertaining at points about her life).

If anyone wants to know more about Irene Dunne personally, then you should start collecting old movie magazines from the 1930s to the present. Otherwise, I would recommend this piece of well-written art, to anyone who is willing to learn about a great actress and a great human-being! Thanks for your tribute to Irene, Prof. Gehring. Since she didn't write a book herself, there are lots of us fans who really appreciate your hard work (not to mention how envious we are that you got to talk to her). We commend you!

This book appears to be very closely related to 'The Italian Baker' copyright 1985 by Carol Field. In fact this may essentially be a "new edition" of that quarter century old book(?) The overall length is reduced, apparently by omitting some of the most obscure material and replacing or substantially rewriting chunks of the rest. Yet the similarities are huge. At least pages 18-55 are reprinted word for word (in the process changing the anecdotal "I" from a she to a he). And the table of contents is almost the same. I wish I knew more about the relationship between the two books and between the two authors so I could better compare the highs and lows.

I love this book. All the information is very useful and I am a professional baker, but it is easy enough for a non-professional. I tried only one recipe, the Calabrian bread, and it was incredible. He also has a recipe for a traditional bread with salami in it that I used to buy years ago from a tiny old Italian bakery in NYC. That is my next recipe to try.

I first checked this book out from my local library. I used it so much (and, mea culpa, stained the pages) that I bought a new copy. I haven't made a thing that wasn't absolutely delicious -- from ciabatta to the semolina bread, to the bread with artichokes, capers, pickles, etc. in it, biscotti, salami bread. The good Father's instructions are easy to follow. His history of Italian baking is very interesting.

I enjoyed this book -- and his writing style -- so much that I've ordered his rice cookbook and Pasta Perfetta. I can't wait to receive them.

I have not tried a single recipe from this book, because other than the picture on the cover, there isn't a single picture in the book except of Father G. If a book is going to be called Baking Secrets, many Americans are not familiar with what Italian names for cookies and pastiries describe, so at least have some pictures of what those items are. The book is mostly breads. After reading the recipe for the pastry on the book cover, there aren't instructions to get your product to look as good as the one on the cover, and I wonder if Father G made the one on the book cover at all? The directions say spoon the filling into the shell. Doing that would NOT look like the pipped filling on the book cover. The recipies I read also didn't reveal any secrets. For example one says combine the ingredients and drop on a baking sheet. What is the secret in that? Petrali cookie, no description is given, so what kind of cookie is that, why would I want to try it or make it? Grandmother's cake, also no description, no picture, what kind of cake is that? I guess the secret is if you bake these recipes, you'll then figure out what they look like then. $16.00 for a book with no pictures is a joke save your money and by U. ferrigno's La Dolce Vita, at least that has pictures.La Dolce Vita: Sweet Things from the Italian Home Kitchen (Mitchell Beazley Food)

Everyone Knows that barrister Leo Davis is a superstar inside the courtroom. Most people, who know Leo outside the court, think he is a charmer who has led a perfect life. The ambitious Leo wants to become a member of the Queen's Counsel. However rumors soon surface that Leo has some sexual skeletons in his closet. Apparently, word among the judges is that Leo likes young men, which is enough to doom his application as sexual preference matters.

Leo is stunned when he learns that his application is nearly dead. He has behaved exemplary using discretion to hide his proclivity except perhaps his desire for barrister Anthony Cross. Leo decides to find a perfect female to marry. He chooses solicitor Rachel Dean, who has her own crosses to bear. Now a romantic triangle has formed that still might preclude Leo from making it to the Queen's Counsel.

JUDICIAL WHISPERS is an entertaining legal tale that centers on the relationships between individuals working at various layers of the British legal system. The story is loaded with gossip and innuendoes shared over the water cooler and teapot. The three lead protagonists feel genuine as their motives and demons propel them deeper into their triangular relationship. Fans who enjoy an insider look at a judicial system will fully relish this novel although the British legal terms might seem more like a foreign language to the American audience that will want Caro Fraser's previous books released stateside.

Caro Fraser's "Judicial Whispers" reads as if she wrote it for the PBS "Masterpiece Theater" series. There are tons of characters. The thoughts and movements of everyone of them have been detailed as if giving actors directions. What should have been included in this novel, originally published in 1995 and just now being released by St. Martin's Press, is a glossary or preface explaining British legal terms. That would help Americans follow the story better. Advocate Leo Davies, 44, wants to "take silk" and become a "Queens Counsel." There's no explanation what this means to the London lawyer, though it's apparent that Leo's elegant flat (apartment), country home and sexual exploits with young men and women won't be enough to satisfy him if he doesn't get voted in by a gaggle of aging judges. So Leo, taking a suggestion from one of the more open minded of the judges, decides to hide his bisexuality by dating a nice girl over the winter. The liaison, he decides, will last until the silks, whatever they may be, are awarded at Easter. It almost sounds as if the author is setting up a "La Cage aux Folles" type of plot, with lots of punch lines and pratfalls. Fraser isn't. Her thoughts are darker, more sinister. At a boring reception, Leo picks up a stoned young woman who happens to be the beautiful and brilliant attorney, Rachel Dean. Rachel has deep flaws. She's been physically abused by men in the past and can't love or make love. Leo, of course, easily breaks through her ice and she falls for him, spurning another young lawyer, Anthony Cross. Cross, a past protege of Leo's, may be ambivalent about his sexuality but he knows he loves the cool, aloof Rachel. Cross becomes cross with Leo for stealing his prize. The most human character in an otherwise stiff bunch is Felicity, Rachel's bumbling secretary. It's Felicity's inept typing, copying and mailing skills that help move the plodding plot along. There are lots of other minor characters, such as the office manager who sexually harasses Felicity, Leo's mother, some of Leo's past lovers and Felicity's boyfriend, who beats up the groping office manager. Those who watch "Masterpiece Theater" know that British drama doesn't usually reach the emotional crescendo American television programs do. "Judicial Whispers" recounts a bumpy time in Leo's life, but there is no showdown or retribution for his manipulating and philandering ways. "Judicial Whispers" might be just right for someone who wants to enjoy a PBS-type story line without having to look at a picture tube.

The characters of this book, even though not the happiest lot, were so well developed that I felt as if I knew them. Ms. Fraser is able to write in such a way that you befriend each one of them, wishing that you could help them out of their triangular dilemma: Anthony loves Rachel who loves Leo who loves Anthony. Certainly not a happy ending, but a realistic and practical one for all involved. My favorite character was Rachel's secretary, Felicity, hopelessly zany and unorganized, but so likeable. I also was interested in the intriguing British court system which is so unlike ours. This book keeps your interest high from cover to cover and is well worth reading.

First, let me vent a little about the marketing. The cover blurb mentions Rumpole of the Bailey, implying the book will be similar. Not hardly. This is not a mystery, there is no mystery to be found in this story whatsoever. The legal machinations that the reader sees are merely part of the background, setting up ways for characters to meet, to work together and to inhabit a life. No case is followed and no case has any bearing on the events of the story other than as a plot vehicle to move A to B and so on.

However, just because I felt misled by the marketing doesn't have anything to do with the book itself. The plot is interesting, the characters are sufficiently complex that I should want to know what happened to them, though I didn't engage as fully with them as I could have if the author had more discipline.

Authors should show, not tell, allowing a reader to infer the character's motivation. By leaving that up to the reader, the author will draw the reader in to the story, breathe life into the characters and make the reader care about the characters. This is because the reader has played an active role in coming to understand the characters' motivations.

When the author, as Caro Fraser does relentlessly, leads you through the characters' motivations step by step, explaining everything as fully as possible, then you don't have to actively engage to understand the characters. Inevitably, you are not going to care as much about the characters as when you have to think about why they are doing something.

One example will suffice. A senior clerk in the chambers fears that he will be shuffled off into retirement if Leo takes silk. How does the reader know that? Because Caro Fraser puts the reader into the clerk's mind while he thinks about this and decides to try to derail Leo's application.

How could she have presented this differently? She could have had the clerk find out about the application, talk about it with someone who points out the possibility of this affecting his own supervisor, and then a conversation where he stars his whispering campaign against Leo. Then the reader would wonder why he did that and try to understand. If Fraser wanted to insure that the reader got it, she could then insert another conversation with the clerk spreading some gossip, the recipient of that gossip wondering why and then going AHA, you think that if Leo gets the.... This way, the reader who wants to be engaged in the story will have an opportunity to figure it out and the AHA will confirm it and the reader that can't figure it out would still get the motivation handed to him or her, but not before having time to think about it a bit. Instead, it's all laid out in one fell swoop, a shortcut that cuts short any possibility of fully engaging in the story.

He's a minor character and taking a shortcut with him is okay, but when altogether too many characters and every single one of the main characters have their actions explained it's tiresome and, as I have said, disconnects the reader from fully caring about anyone.

This story has great potential. Many of the characters are written to be likeable, even Leo whose actions are motivated by single-minded and selfish ambition. I think, however, that I would like him better if I was left alone to work out his motives.

As a reader, I dislike it when an authors tells instead of shows. It implies that the author doesn't trust her readers to "get it" without her intervention.

If you have nothing better to read, you can spend a couple mindless hours with this book without coming to any harm. However, reading it as written is an exercise in detachment. I prefer to read books that more fully engage me and it is a testament to some subtle skill on Caro Fraser's part that I bothered to finish it at all.