Nova Books

During WW2, the 'Office of Strategic Services' was set-up by 'Wild' Bill Donovan as the precursor to the CIA. Unlike the CIA of today (uhhuh) OSS was run on a shoe string and by a lot of academics who watched to many John Wayne movies. The OSS was notorious for trying to pull off missions in France which led to more problems for the Resistance than they were worth. It was a hotbed of Ivy Leaguers who thought that intellectualism would win out over ability every time.

Griffin has done a marvelous job of describing the tenor of the times on both sides of the Atlantic. The Germans cover all the cliches, like the Honorable Prussian Office, the dastardly Gestapo/SS Guy, the bumbling 'Sargent Schultz' type, etc. The Argentines spend their time plotting to overthrow the government (coup d'etats are like a national sport) and deciding on whether to be American or German neutrals. The Americans are all 'can do' kind of guys, especially the marines, and have more luck with the ladies then an Emir in his Hareem.

But, it's all good fun, sort of like Casablanca (but without the music) from the feel of it. Of course, the idea that there will be a sequel is understood, and we'll get to see everyone again real soon. We'll always have Buenos Aires. Here's looking at you amigo.

This is one of the best books I have read about the OSS operations in a theatre that is rarely considered.

WEB Griffin fills a gap in my military history of actions outside the main combat arenas. He obviously researches thoroughly and the result is gripping all the way through.

Honor Bound captures your attention at the start and never lets go. While there is not really a lot of "action," the story, the settings and the character development all make for an excellent book.

The story is the recruitment and development of an OSS team to carry out a secret mission to disrupt German submarine activity in neutral Argentina during WWII. The sub story is the reconnection of a powerful Argentine father and his American son who have not seen each other since the son was an infant. Several other sub stories are also woven in. All are interesting and well told.

The primary setting is WWII Buenos Aires. Most of us are unaware of the atmosphere there during the war, so that makes for a good learning experience. Other settings include Guadacanal, Midland (Texas) and New Orleans. All add interest to the story.

Griffen also does an excellent job of developing his characters. The primary ones really come to life.

If you are looking for "shoot 'em up" action, this book is not for you. If you are looking for a fascinating book about an arena that you probably know little about, give this a try. I am pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

The book set in WWII Argentina, "Honor Bound" is a great historical fiction of the WWII espionage game, coupled with an intense and dynamic story line. Cletus Frade, is a magnificent hero who has intensity, likeability, and charm. The secondary characters are richly developed and are as interesting in many cases as the hero. This story wraps you up in the characters, make you care about them, and takes you on a wonderful journey that ends way too soon, thankfully there are two more books in the series.
This is the best W.E.B. Griffin book yet in my opinion, and one of the most enjoyable books that I have ever had the pleasure of reading!
OVERALL SCORE: (A+)
PLOT: (A+), CHARATERS: (A+), DIALOGUE: (A), SETTING: (A), ACTION/COMBAT: (B-), ANTAGONISTS: (A+), ROMANCE: (A-), SEX: (Light), AGE LEVEL: (PG)

This story is every bit as poignant and masterful as most reviewers have said. This is only my 4th novel by Ms. Vine and although I thought the previous two I'd just finished were lackluster The Brimstone Wedding negates any disappointment I may have had.

I did not realize, really, how invested I was in the story of Genevieve Warner and Stella Newland until page 260 when I cried. Just very suddenly cried. I feel rather silly writing that now so I think I must explain. The sadness at that point in the story was overwhelming. It was as if I'd been right there in the midst of it; that all throughout I'd been alongside these women whose lives could not have been more different and yet so much alike. It must be a gift - when you can render your reader helpless so that he has no choice but to enmesh himself in your tale. And for this to happen so effectively that no emotion from him need be manufactured artificially. How well Ms. Rendell knows the human heart.

I make it sound melodramatic, but this novel isn't melodrama. It's a bona fide mystery. The suspense is edgy and you're constantly egged on by Stella's piecemeal revelations that you keep turning the pages and reading as fast as you can to get to your payoff. And I guarantee, the payoff is divine. Sad, yes, but divine.

What Barbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell) does best is make us uneasy. You can never settle right in and accept the persons and scenes quite the way they are presented. "What a lovely girl --- and yet?" is a typical reaction. In "The Brimstone Wedding" Ms. Vine is at her best, right up there with "Dark Adapted Eye." The novel is beautifully crafted, the prose spare and the atmosphere of the Fen Country in East Anglia is perfect. Because The Fens are a series of islands based in the boggy soil, the foundations are forever shifting. Nothing changes, but nothing stays exactly the same which is an excellent setting for this haunting tale.

Jenny/Genevieve Warner is a care assistant at a luxurious home for the elderly where she has built a friendship with terminally ill, exquisitely turned out Mrs. Stella Newland. Two women could not be more different on the surface. Jenny is a modern, practical, hard working country girl who has never traveled and is a product of village life and education. Stella comes from the gentry, married very well and seems so sheltered as to have come from a different age all together. Yet the sparkling Jenny's humdrum marriage is teetering because she has discovered passion in the form of a married lover. Stella has some dark secrets she has lived with for over twenty years and wants to share them with Jenny. Stella believes in nothing, but would like redemption. Jenny believes in everything: omens, charms, and every passing happenstance has psychic meaning for her. Jenny is willing to work her way to better things; Stella is passive. But why does Stella own a house that no one knows about? And why is she afraid to even ride in automobiles when she once was considered a dashing driver? Why does she refuse to sit outside in the sunshine?

The author keeps us asking these questions and sends us down some strange paths to get the answers. We know we are heading for a nameless horrific climactic event in Stella's past that will somehow impact on Jenny's present, but what can it be? Ms. Vine never falls into a Gothic romance-type of trap. Her people and events are sharp edged. Stella smokes irritably in spite of the fact she is dying of lung cancer. When Jenny finally works up her courage to leave her husband, he will not take her seriously; so what should be a grand melodramatic episode degenerates into farce. "I'm leaving you Mike"----"Well take the washer and leave the car, there's a good lass."

The author builds the tension until we are wrought up for at least a tornado strike, and she doesn't disappoint. Then when we think we have taken quite enough for one day, she adds another zinger. A great well-done page-turner.

This was the best book I've read in a loooooooong time! I read alot and am quite particular that the books I read have some substance and make you think a bit. This was all that and more! The last page literally popped my jaw on the floor! What a great read.....I'm anxious to read some other books by the same author.

Driven by atmosphere and character, this novel by Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine, centers around two stories of infidelity and deception.

Genevieve, 32, a working-class caretaker at a private nursing home, confides her affair to her favorite patient, Stella, who is middle-class, educated, affluent and dying. Stella responds with the keys to a house none of her family knows she owns, a house no one has visited in 30 years. She asks Genevieve to report its condition.

Shocked that something so valuable could be simply abandoned -for whatever reason - Genevieve appropriates it as a trysting place, her curiosity only slightly piqued by the abandoned, burned car in the garage, the photographs hidden away, the food and champagne left in the refrigerator.

And so begins a story in tandem as Genevieve's stolen meetings alternate with Stella's story of her own doomed love. Character precipitates the events of the plot, and as we increasingly sympathize with Stella's shy dignity and Genevieve's fretful ardor, foreboding envelops the narrative like a London fog. Not to be missed.

Genevieve Warner, a young woman trapped in a hopeless affair and a loveless marriage, works at Middleton Hall, a home for the elderly. Most of the residents are pleasant enough, contentedly reminiscing about their lives to their carers, but Stella is different. Stella and Genevieve immediately form a bond, taking to one another, seeing little bits of their own personality and situation within the other. Unlike other residents, though, Stella is sharp, smart, and in control, and she does not share the memories of her past, so retains a definite air of mystery. But Stella is dying of lung-cancer, and now she feels a desperate need to tell someone the story of her eventful life, so that her secrets do not die with her, following her into the grave, unknown forever. Thus, she decides to tell her story to Genevieve, slowly unfolding a tale that is moving, powerful, and, ultimately, subtly horrific.

This, "The Brimstone Wedding", is yet another masterpiece of atmospheric fiction from Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell). Yet again she synthesises her twin storylines - one in the past, one in the present - brilliantly, and they eerily mirror each other down the generations. She builds the atmosphere brilliantly in both the time periods, and the suspense is continually ratcheted up, helped along by subtle and tantalising hints as to what exactly Stella's shocking secret could possibly be.

This time around, the characters are also more likeable than is the norm for a Vine novel, so it has a warmer, deceptively (and dangerously) cosy feel, which is juxtaposed with the usual chilly atmosphere and down-to-the-bones and wonderfully detached writing style. They're characters you are motivated to care deeply about, which serves to make this not only a powerful in places but also very moving. Certainly, there was one point when I even shed a few tears.

The story is told brilliantly, giving readers enough information to satisfy, but yet as little as possible, to ensure that they need continually to turn the page to find out more. It all culminates excellently with a shocking revelation about the true nature of Stella's secret. This revelation is not overblown and exaggerated, as some authors might make it, instead Vine underplays it, clearing it entirely of melodrama and simply telling things exactly as they were, which forces the reader to actually think about it, thus bringing huge power to the climax.

This, a masterpiece that is the sum of many excellent parts, is a complete triumph for Vine, matching up very equally with my previous favourite of hers, the erotic and chilling genius that is "No Night Is Too Long". Neither of these books should be passed over by any reader worth their salt.

I'm reading all the Bond books in order and I'm on Thunderball now but Doctor No is the best so far. The characters are great with Quarrel and Honey Rider. M thinks hes giving Bond a break with an easy case but its probably the toughest adventure ever for Bond. The book is unputdownable from the very start when Bond's friend Strangways is kidnapped. When Bond is on "Crab Key" the book is great with all the obstacles Bond has to go through. The dragon, Dr. No's obstacle course and the animal at the end of it and the final showdown with Doctor No and the way he dies is pretty funny. Great book my favorite so far.

This book is supposed to be the sequel to "From Russia with love", in fact it begins with Bond in hospital due to a life-threatening injury obtained in "From Russia with love" but recovers, M(Bond's boss) decides that there is no better way to get Bond back in shape than give him a "simple" mission in the island of Jamaica where the representative of the British Secret Service(John Strangways, who also appeared in Fleming's Bond novel "Live and let die") has disappeared, Bond's mission is to find out what happened. This "soft option" leads Bond to his most dangerous and thrilling mission yet and leads to him to do an "obstacle course", to a fight with a squid and a fight with a "dragon"! I thought this Fleming's most suspenseful book as I never could tell what would happen next and this kept me hooked, so much so that I read it all in one day! Unfortunately, this is also Mr. Fleming's most far-fetched. It was far-fetched in the sense that I don't think even Bond(who at that point was supposedly half-dead) could have defeated a 60-foot squid with just a dagger. That apart it's a great, great thriller. Read it, wonder in awe at it's elements, then read it again just to savour Fleming's writing. Unfortunately, the movie never did the book justice. I heard that in "From Russia with love" Fleming planned to simply kill off James Bond, thankfully he didn't and produced a marvellous book in Dr. No.

Dispatched to the Caribbean to investigate another British Agent's disappearance, James Bond discovers far more than he bargained for. On a forsaken island, he meets a wild woman, fights a flamethrowing "monster", and finally matches wits and will against the incredible Doctor No, a self-made genius with steel claws for hands, an army of thugs, and a clinical curiosity regarding the limits of human pain. Bond is put to perhaps the toughest phsical test in his career in this hair-raising sequel to From Russia, With Love. This is another great 007 book to read. Buy this book when it is back in stock!

Doctor No is one of the better Bonds but the ending was quite confusing. The ending told very little about how Doctor No died, and when he did infact die, I didn't understand why Fleming would kill the bad guy in such a stupid way. I thought the squid part was one of the worst because it was hard to follow and didn't explain the squid's death very well. There were parts that I did like, however. I enjoyed the introduction to Honey Rider and the dragon part, but I didn't like the fact that Quarrel died. Despite some confusing parts, I still consider it one of the better Fleming novels.

This is my favorite James Bond novel. Ian Fleming created a character with a gargantuan appetite for the more worldly pleasures. For a land that could supply our hero with such an appetite Fleming chose his own beloved Jamaica. The melding of the story with the setting is Fleming at his best. Jamaica was a land of beauty, mystery and intrigue. Fleming captured this so well and gave us a remarkable villain to reflect that esoteric quality of the island.

This is still the definitive book on the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Almost anything you want to know about the breed is here: its history, pedigrees of some well-known ancestors of today's Tollers, training information, even a full pictorial on how to groom a Toller from start to finish. Alison Strang and Gail McMillan share their love of the breed as well as their knowledge. I recommend this book to every Toller owner or would-be Toller owner, since your life won't be the same once one of these little red rascals joins your family.

This is just about as good a book on any breed you can get, it has pride and place with my other books.

If you are seriously considering adopting a Toller, then this book is a must-have reference. Ms. Strang encapsulates key information and lays it out in an easily-accessible format. She discusses the history, breeding, and temperament of the Toller in a comprehensive and interesting way. The step-by-step grooming section (and accompanying photos of the late, great Barney) is the best I've seen to date. It's rare to find a groomer familiar with the breed in the US; most assume they are small Goldens and that grooming is done similarly. Au contraire! When I used to bring my dog to a groomer, I learned years ago to bring a photocopy to serve as their cheat sheet/user's guide. Due in no small part to this section (and some hands-on training-thanks, Alison and Sandy MacF!), I now groom my own dogs. This reference has enriched our knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of the breed. We suggest it to people who meet our dogs and want to learn more. I definitely recommend it for anyone interested in this intelligent, active and keen breed.

It is is very good book about Tollers. Lay-out is very high quality. If you have Toller of your own or you want to know about Tollers it is a good buy.

This fantastic book really gets into all corners and hide-outs of the Toller. Alison's and Gail's knowledge of this dog is simply amazing. We as breeders show the book to all our friends in the dog world, and many of them has already bought it. Simply fantastic. Thanks Gail and Alison

No two ways about it--I just loved this book. Every story is a gem, but best of all was the last and longest tale, Sing Fat and the Imperial Duchess of Woo. While the previous several stories all enchanted me, Sing Fat was really a tour de force of writing, with exotic characters and language specific to a time period. The words are evocative of powerful emotions and the characters just come right off the page into your reading room.

Steinbeck has mastered the literary genre of the short story, just as have two of his contemporaries, Annie Proulx and Jhumpa Lahiri. With the right screenwriter, the story of Sing Fat could be as successful a movie as Brokeback Mountain, adapted from Proulx's short story, or The Namesake, the movie adapted from Lahiri's brief novel by the same name. It's remarkable how easy it is to visualize Steinbeck's characters as his words and writing are that good. For anyone who likes short stories, or for anyone else for that matter, this is a great selection.

Ballantine isn't a small publishing house, but few would have bothered with a book of short stories.

Down To A Soundless Sea by Thomas Steinbeck, son of the California literary legend, John. A collection of seven (which must be a magic number) short stories, all of which takes place in Big Sur. A limited geography with unlimited stories to tell. Steinbeck is every bit the writer that his father was, and it was better that the son waited until he was absolutely ready before he tossed his fate upon the fickle tastes of the reading public. This book is a gem and like all good things, was worth the wait.

Being a life-long John Steinbeck fan, I began reading this book with the clear objective of "being gracious" and trying not to expect too much, since it might fall short of his father's talents. I was so pleasantly proven wrong! Thomas Steinbeck has NOT had to fall back on his family name to be successful. His writing can stand alone on its own merit. I love this book, and while I have already recommended it to friends and associates, I will not be getting rid of it by passing it on, as I often do. It's a "keeper" and I will read it again. Thomas Steinbeck can clearly turn a phrase, and it appears that he can do so naturally. He clearly possesses acute observational skills, and knows human personalities. His characters are full of life and are fully three-dimensional. One does not walk away from this book wondering "Why was this guy or that girl in the plot?" They all hold intrinsic and valuable places in the whole. Not only are these stories interesting and often entertaining, they hold social redeeming values. Thomas Steinbeck, with one book, has shown serious readers that a new kid is on the block, and is a force to be reckoned with. This book is a must read.

Just finished Thomas Steinbeck's book and did enjoy it very much. The characters are odd and varied and all seem perfectly real....I expect most are based on real people. Most of these stories, for this is a collection of (not too) short stories, are stories that were repeated around the Steinbeck dinner table when Thomas's dad, John, was still alive.
The writing style of some of these stories is quite formal, stiff almost at times, and yet they still seem to work. Although the writing is formalized it does have a beauty to it often, a lyrical quality, great selection of words.
In many ways this writing of the son of Steinbeck does remind me of the writing of the father, and certainly that's a good thing. I live on the Central Coast of California where most of these stories take place, and the history in these episodes is right on the money.
If I had one complaint, it would be the same one I've always had for John Steinbeck's writing too: both authors are perhaps overly fond of the tragic ending...which I find odd. I myself am a writer (Birthday Boy, Happy Hour, Safe Sex in the Garden, Allergy-Free Gardening, etc.) and I don't prentend to been even in the same league as John Steinbeck, but still: Every writer I ever met was first of all, dying to get published; then they were dying to make some good sales, to get good reviews, to make some money, to savor some fame. Few writers quite pull this off, but John Steinbeck did so and then some. He was a smash success at an early age and sold books like mad for most of his adult life. I would think his view of the world would be strongly positive, but the opposite seems to be the case. The red pony dies, the huge pearl ruins everything, the big guy accidentally kills the girl, the funny guy trips on a board and breaks his neck. Thomas Steinbeck gets into this tragedy groove too, certainly in the last story in the book, which is the best one too, the strongest,,,,but not to give away the ending.
I think, bottom line is this: it is a really good book, very interesting and well worth reading. The son writes darn well. Must be in his blood.

I thoroughly enjoyed Thomas Steinbeck's storytelling. Vivid images, superb words, lots of nice surprises. I plan to read several of these stories to my 12 year old son -- who I know will also enjoy. Should be recommended high school reading.

Professor Godfrey Mwakikagile is unquestionably one of Africa's leading academic and public intellectuals addressing our continent's problems today with intellectual verve. One has only to read his book, "The Modern African State: Quest for Transformation," among others, to appreciate this.

A Tanzanian by birth, but a Pan-Africanist in outlook, he draws inspiration from two African titans, the late former Presidents Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, my native land, who saw Africa as one, even if a fragmented whole. Dr. Mwakikagile also takes a continental approach, providing a sharp analysis of the modern African state which, he contends, is deeply flawed. Few would disagree with him. Just come to Africa and see for yourself. Those of us who live here know this to be true, painfully true.

I just wish that his works were more accessible to members of the general public. As hardcover and library editions, the cost is prohibitive; and as college textbooks, accessible to only a few.

His work is outstanding, nonetheless. Africa has many intellectuals of his stature and calibre, but few as committed and analytical, and as compassionate for the masses as he and a few - very few - of his colleagues are. One is also reminded of firebrands such as Wole Soyinka and Ngugi wa Thiong'o and my fellow countryman George Ayittey, an economics professor and author of "Africa Betrayed," and "Africa in Chaos." Africa is indeed in chaos. It is, in fact, chaos!

We wish we had more of such committed intellectuals. And it would be even better if our leaders paid attention to what they say. Unfortunately, they don't. Instead, they destroy them. While other countries highly value their intellectuals and the contributions they make, African countries - the leaders in particular - destroy ours. And you wonder why Africa has lost so many of them to other countries where they have the freedom to think and say what they want to say? And you wonder why so many of those still in Africa end up in the grave or rotting in prison?

Our leaders can stop this brain drain, the carnage, and the persecution of these committed intellectuals and others - just plain ordinary folks - who demand their natural right to be treated as human beings in their own countries. But such fundamental change is impossible without transparency and accountability. And it is impossible without democracy, true democracy, not the counterfeit kind so prevalent across Africa. And the author make this clear, abundantly clear, in his masterpiece, "The Modern African State: Quest for Transformation."

African leaders, nothing but dictators, may hate to hear what Dr. Mwakikagile says in this book and others. But they would at least be of some service to Africa if they heeded Voltaire's advice: "I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it."

Unfortunately, they are not that enlightened, because of the darkness in their mind.

An excellent book, well-written, packed with vital information, highly analytical, and professorial. But not pro-African, I'm sorry to say, in spite of all its merits.

Why highly intelligent and educated people like Godfrey Mwakikagile and others of his ilk write books so critical of Africa, is beyond me. What they say is true. Rwanda made history - it was our Nazi Germany. So did Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, Congo, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Sudan and many others, leaving indelible scars on our continent. We couldn't even hide that from the rest of the world, and still can't, I'm ashamed to admit. They all made history. And many continue to do so.

But why help our detractors and enemies make Africa look so bad? You can say - we already look bad! And we do. It's all on television, on the radio, and in newspapers worldwide, in all kinds of languages. But that does not mean we Africans should also harp on it, like these African writers and our enemies do.

Remember the old saying: Do not air your dirty laundry in public. Although you may not always want to keep it in the closet. But don't just toss it out there in the yard, either.

Say something good about Africa, even if it's not much. So nothing good comes out of Africa, just because we have all these wars, AIDS and other diseases, hunger, illiteracy, poverty and corruption? Come on!

If Mwakikagile had plenty of good things to say about Africa in the same book, in spite of all its negative aspects, I would have been tempted to give it the highest rating, five stars, for excellence. I'm sorry I can't.

Professor Mahmoud Mamdani, a leading African scholar who teaches at Columbia University, uses Godfrey Mwakikagile's book "The Modern African State: Quest for Transformation," as a textbook for graduate studies. Other professors use the book as an assigned or recommended text for graduate students in African and development studies and international affairs. It is also found in graduate school libraries across the United States like all the other books written by Godfrey Mwakikagile who, himself, is becoming an increasingly influential African scholar.

But that is not the only reason why his book, "The Modern African State...," got my attention. At a recent academic seminar on Africa, one of the participants cited George Ayittey's work, "Africa in Chaos," together with Godfrey Mwakikagile's "The Modern African State...," in his discussion of civil conflicts on the continent. Most of the participants knew or had heard about Ayittey. But that was the first time some of us heard about Mwakikagile, although quite a few had. His work, "The Modern African State...," equally trenchant as Ayittey's, is a great contribution to the growing literature about post-colonial Africa written by the Africans themselves.

It is interesting to see that more and more African intellectuals are taking an "internalist" approach to Africa's problems instead of always blaming external forces for her plight. Dr. Mwakikagile is one of them.

But such an approach must be balanced with an analysis of external involvement, including colonialism. Africa is still reeling from its devastating impact. However, this does not mean that all of Africa's problems should be placed entirely on the shoulders of her former colonial masters, as many Africans who take the "externalist" approach are fond of doing.

Most of the problems Africa faces today - rampant corruption, mismanagement, brutal repression, ethnic conflicts, hunger, illiteracy, endemic poverty and disease - are either caused or exarcebated by the Africans themselves; not by the former colonial masters who are now even being asked by some Africans to go back and rule them again. Things are that bad. And it is African writers like Mwakikagile who should be commended for taking up the challenge to tell the truth about their continent, however bitter.

It would be even more encouraging if their kith and kin here in the United States, African Americans, also faced this reality, instead of romanticizing Africa. Randall Robinson of TransAfrica is the exception, together with a few others; although their attitude is not the same as the attitude of black conservatives who are sometimes extremely hostile toward Africa and usually don't want to have anything to do with - "that place." Foregetting that white Republicans and others don't care about them either. They don't even want them in the Republic party. Alan Keyes knows that. Brilliant, highly articulate, he should have been the standard-bearer of his party, but still was not nominated as the Republican presidential candidate because he is black. And, yes, African!

But bad as their attitude is, one must not entirely ignore what black American conservatives - they hate to be called African Americans - say about Africa. Africa's problems can only be solved by Africans. We can help them, but the initiative must come from them.

It is also in this context that Dr. Godfrey Mwakikagile's highly acclaimed work, "The Modern African State: Quest for Transformation," must be viewed; although, unlike black American conservatives who hate Africa and by extension hate themselves, he writes out of deep concern for the well-being of his continent as much as his compatriot Professor George Ayittey does, as do many others.

This is a work of mature scholarship by one of our finest and most mature African intellectuals writing about Africa today. Having read his other writings as well, there's no question that they meet the criteria of informed scholarship and standards of rigorous analysis one would expect from a writer and scholar of this calibre.

Africa has lost an entire generation since independence because of bad leadership. And the author is blunt about it.

Highly critical of corrupt leaders across the continent, also notorious for brutal repression, he's mature enough to be on guard against blind acceptance of multiparty democracy patterned after Western parliamentary institutions, unlike many other Africans who have embraced wholesale the virtues of multipartyism as it is practised in the West, without taking African realities into account, simply because they have suffered so much under the one-party state, de jure and de facto.

Neither the one-party system, suppressing dissent, nor the multi-party system, promoting sectarianism, is ideal for Africa. The author is critical of both, yet realistic enough to give multiparty politics a chance in this highly unstable continent whose most combustible elements include conflicting ethnic loyalties transcending nationalism. How to defuse this highly volatile situation is one of the most urgent issues Godfrey Mwakikagile addresses in his book, "The Modern African State: Quest for Transformation."

I have only one complaint, although even this does not in any way impair the quality of his work or diminish the validity of his central thesis. AIDS is devastating Africa. Entire communities are being wiped out. The author should have devoted at least an entire chapter or two to this pandemic which has already killed more than 20 million Africans, and is killing millions more every year. May be that is a subject for one of the books he may write in the future. I hope so, on a continent with so little hope.

Mwakikagile's work is a masterpiece of fact and analysis. In the one book he manages to extensively cover the 'rebirth' of Liberia, the 'powerless' state of Sierra Leone, 'ethnic cleansing' in Rwanda, 'stateless' Somalia, slavery in Mauritania and Sudan, and the fall of Mobutu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire). Any one of the topics is the subject of a book in itself.

Mwakikagile uses the precedents of the history of other African countries, as well as other countries around the world, to make a case for the fragility of the 'African State' as an institution owing to structural flaws.

In his introduction he states, "In a very tragic way, Sierra Leone is Africa, and Africa is Sierra Leone. So is Somalia, Congo-Brazzaville, the Central African Republic, Kenya and Angola. And so is Rwanda, Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa and Nigeria."

This sets the tone for the rest of the book that is full of comparisons between countries. At times this can be confusing for someone trying to concentrate on a single issue. But then Mwakikagile deliberately does this to bring home the fact that Africa is not, or should not be, considered a collection of numerous unrelated states, but a continent with a common experience much closer than many would care to admit.

Mwakikagile does not pull any punches in condemning those who he considers guilty of causing the current woes of Africa. He also does not hesitate to name the continent's heroes.

The whole book is a great read for scholars and people merely interested in affairs on the continent. Some scholars may quibble with some of the facts as he presented them, but in general the book reads as a piece put together by someone who has taken the trouble to research his facts properly.

Recommended reading for anyone wishing to get up to speed on African affairs.

Read all three books in this series and was very happy with the story. Fran is an excellent writer.

You will find this book hard to put down. Interesting characters, good storyline. The book is intelligently written and has great depth.

I really enjoyed reading this first in the series of three family saga books. Fern Michaels does an excellent job of pulling you into the story. It's nearly impossible to put this book down...it is packed with new dilemmas, and you can't wait to see how they turn out. I just started the second in the series, and I know I will have to read all three so I know the lives of all of these characters will turn out OK. Finally, the writing style is very easy (but interesting) to read, so you move along quickly.

After reading some of the heavy-duty-mind-expanding-womanly books a la Oprah, I needed some mental reading relief. My mother gave me this book and said, " Read something without thinking about it!" So I did and my mind was freed and I am now ready to start Vegas Heat! Map of the World will have to wait!

I'll admit it -- I was suckered into getting VEGAS RICH because of the name Coleman. I thought to myself, "Is Fern Michaels creating an alternate history for the Coleman family, this time in Vegas?" I was half right -- there are Colemans involved, but not the ones I thought I would see from her TEXAS series. No, this deals with Sallie Coleman, Seth Coleman's younger sister, and her quest to make something of herself, thanks to the kindness of one of her clients -- Sallie's a prostitute, you see, in the early 1920s in the small and dusty town of Las Vegas. It's an interesting premise and I'll give credit to Michaels for creating Sallie's story and where her life goes from there. Had I never read her TEXAS series, I might have been completely drawn in...but I'm not. Michaels starts to occasionally drop in "crossovers" with the Colemans of Texas, and it's there I have the problem. Suddenly, Agnes Ames (Billie Ames Coleman's mother), companion to the callous Seth Coleman, has a heart! Billie Coleman flies out to see Fanny Coleman (Sallie's daughter-in-law) frequently! Sallie helps out Coleman Enterprises with her money! These intersections with the TEXAS characters don't pan out in terms of complimenting the TEXAS novels in the continuity department -- and for me, that's a glaring error. Those problems aside, it's a fair first novel for Michaels in her new series. If you like family sagas and Fern Michaels, you'll be content.

You could fill a book with all the information I _don't_ know about Brazilian music... In fact, these guys already have! Concise, conversational, informative and very well laid out, this is an exceptionally readable book. Chapters on samba, bossa nova, tropicalia, forro and jazz include focused biographical sketches of dozens of key artists, as well as succinct historical information about the progress of Brazilian music from its European and African folk roots into its bewildering and often beautiful modern offshoots. The book's focus is nonpartisan: although there is plenty of room for aesthetic criticism within the various styles, the authors generally hold their preferences and dislikes to themselves. They do, however, give readers a good sense of which recordings might be best to check out -- an invaluable service considering how little of Brazil's vast musical output makes it to the United States. Highly recommended! Certainly the best English-language guide to Brazilian pop that you will find in print (online is a different matter), this is great for casual listeners and hardcore fans alike.

The Brazilian Sound is good as far as it goes - a who's who list and discography of 20th century Brazilian music. Although, the book has the feel of a junior college textbook, it's written in plain language. It would be a relatively easy read if it were not that a parenthetical list of Brazilian names breaks up every third or fourth paragraph. There are some very informative passages - notably the chapter on Bossa Nova and the "Escolas de Samba" section of Chapter 2. At their best, the authors provide clear and comphrensive explanations of the geneology and sociological context of the music.

Unfortunately, unless a person is willing to spend countless shopping hours and a couple of thousand dollars building up collection of Brazilian records, he or she will gain almost no insight from this book into what the music feels like. The authors describe individual works and artists in only vague terms - terms often identical to those previously used to describe others. They beat the term "syncopation" into irrelevance - it's clear only that all Brazilian music is syncopated. The authors habitually refer to folk music genres and song forms ala "Composer X's work is all based on the Y song form..." But they provide no practical examples or definitions of those genres or forms.

The authors stridently dumb-down their text, accepting as axiom that one has to "hear it to believe it" and that it is meaningless to describe Brazilian music in technical terms. They generally refrain from even using common musical terms - bar, measure, pulse, key, etc. - to give the reader a clearer understanding of Brazilian rhythmic and harmonic structures. They use few effective musical comparisons or verbal metaphors. It is understandably difficult to describe music in writing. But it is possible. Judicious use of metaphor, comparisions, and technical descriptions would have greatly fleshed out what in the end comes off as a skeletal text.

This 1998 edition serves as the update to the first, apparently published in 1990 or 1991. However, the amendments appear to have been quite minor - embodied by an isolated paragraph here and there, and four meager pages in the final "More Brazilian Sounds" chapter. It's as if nothing has really happened in the evolution of Brazilian music since 1990 - an impression that must be wrong.

The Brazilian Sound catalogs decent research, but is neither good writing nor effective music history.

The best book about Brazilian music in English, "The Brazilian Sound" is a beautifully written, in-depth guide to samba, bossa and other Brazilian genres. Many of the reviews below are on the mark, but BGB from WA seems not to have read the book (or to have read a different book!). The 1998 edition substantially upgrades the original 1991 version. There is much added in terms of early history, capoeira, racial issues, choro, and the blocos and afoxes in Bahia. There is more on important artists from the 1990s, like Marisa Monte, Daniela Mercury, Carlinhos Brown, Chico Cesar, Chico Science and Karnak, though these additions are in various chapters, not just the final one ("More Brazilian Sounds"). One needs to have actually read the book to know that, of course...The music is nicely described, in both musical and cultural terms. One gets a strong sense of how it sounds, and a clear understanding of its rhythmic, harmonic and melodic ingredients. Some of the writing is rather encyclopedic, dispensing a rather staggering amount of information, while many sections vividly convey a sense of the music. I often felt I was at a bossa nova club in '59, at an escola de samba rehearsal, watching one of the 1960s song festivals, or attending a forro party. "The Brazilian Life" brings to life both the current and past greats of Brazilian music. As a result, I added quite a few CDs to my collection, especially of artists like Milton Nascimento, Pixinguinha, Jobim and Marisa Monte. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

An excellent book for anyone who wants to explore Brazilian music beyond the well-known classics. Helps place current and past musicians in their historical contexts; helps you understand who influenced whom, etc. The book will pay for itself just by helping you guide your ever-growing collection of Brazilian CD's (hard to stop once you get started)!

A lively and well-written book, The Brazilian Sound provides a broad overview of the remarkable spectrum of musica popular brasileira, from samba, bossa nova and forro to tropicalia, choro and Brazilian rock. It takes us on a journey both through the evolution of Brazilian music and the history of Brazil, and places artists like Jobim within a cultural context that helps us appreciate their music all the more. One comes away with a solid grasp of the major artists and genres of Brazilian music, as well as their impact on the "North American Sound." There is an extensive glossary at the end that is worth the price of the book alone, and an exhaustive discography.

The authors succeed in bringing the music to life, whether they are conveying the playfulness of the choro musical style, placing the reader at an Olodum concert in Salvador, or describing a samba-school rehearsal on a "hot and humid night in Rio de Janeiro." For the latter, they write, "Surdos (bass drums) pound out a booming beat, and their incessant drive provides the foundation for the rest of the bateria, the drum-and-percussion section that will later parade triumphantly during Carnaval. Snare drums called caixas rattle away in a hypnotic frenzy, and above them tamborins (small cymbal-less tambourines that are hit with sticks) carry a high-pitched rhythmic phrase like popcorn in an overheated pot. Enter the sad cries and humorous moans of the cuica (friction drum), the crisp rhythmic accents of the reco-reco (scraper), and the hollow metallic tones of the agogo (double bell). Other percussion instruments add more colors, the ukelele-like cavaquinho adds its high-register plaintive harmonies, and the puxador (lead singer) belts out the melody...." Such vivid and elaborate descriptions helped me make sense of the wall of sound that is samba, and made me want to book the next flight to Rio de Janeiro for Carnaval.

The second edition adds more historical information and brings the book up to date with musical developments in the `90s. There is extensive additional information about the origins of capoeira (the Brazilian martial art which is accompanied by music in training and which is gaining increasing popularity all over the world), and about racial issues in Brazil as reflected in popular music. There are new profiles of contemporary artists such as Marisa Monte, Nacao Zumbi, Karnak, Daude, Chico Cesar, Daniela Mercury, Timbalada, and Carlinhos Brown. The descriptions of Bahian percussionist-songwriter Carlinhos Brown's collaboration with Sergio Mendes (on the 1992 album Brasileiro) and his groundbreaking 1996 solo album Alfagamabetizado are especially memorable. This is a classic study of Brazilian music, a must for any world-music aficionado.

If I could have just one book on map collecting this would be it. The book is an enjoyable read, and written in a crystal clear fashion. The book contains much essential information for collectors: map terminology, printing methods, translation of common phrases into English, how to judge condition, and blunt advice on the workings of the marketplace. All of this plus great reference material on map makers, styles, and periods. I've had this book for several years now and find myself reaching for it time and again. Thank you Dr. Manasek!

Got this book for Christmas and read the whole thing through. Unlike other map reference books in my collection, I actually read this one cover to cover! It is a remarkable book and the author shares what is a vast knowledge with us in a very unusual and direct way. The illustrations are really great and there are lots of them. Where else, for example, can you learn the names of the different parts of a folding map, with each part illustrated with real examples? Every page seems to have several. It is a big and very beautiful book. I will now go and re-read it.

A book of substance. "Collecting Old Maps" really deals with the subject and is not a watered-down survey of old maps someone thinks we should collect. This book breaks with the old way map books were written and is a refreshing "out of the box" way to look at old map collecting. There is no other book like it and I don't know where else one can get the information that is in here. Very well written, a delight to read and not dumbed-down. There is even some sly humor in here! I agree with the earlier reviews so there is no point in repeating everything they said.

Love the book! Well written and very informative. I agree with the previous reviewers. I thank the autor.

This is truly an outstanding book. It is exceptionally well-written and the number of illustrations is exceptional. Unlike most map books, this one uses illustrations to make specific points about maps, as well as to show what the map looks like. There is a huge amount of information in here - including such things as illustrated details about pocket map construciton, microscope pictures of paper, information about acids (for the non-chemist!) and a wonderful section of over a hundred maps, one per page, arranged chronologically. I found the CollectingOldMaps website a very valuable collateral since it shows up-to-date prices for all the maps in the book. The readability and info in this book make it a bargain - it is beautiful, also!

I don't have much to add to the other reviews, except to note that one of the techniques of the Nova Mob is to provoke conflict by playing back the worst things opposing groups have to say to each other in a positive feedback loop. I started to think about this when tracking the Clinton sex scandal and impeachment on the Web, and have had cause to think of it since....

my god, man! Burroughs is a sheer genius. I read the trilogy as well as Naked lunch and the Wild Boys (also cut-ups) three years agoo. This is the one I remember most. I took awhile to read it, and I tried to compete in an interpretive speech with it, but ended up using a piece from The Ticket that Exploded. Every one of these books fascinates me. I also highly reccomend the Soft machine. This got me hooked. I also read Junky, Place of Dead Roads and Queer last year. I am now currently reading Western Lands!!! The man's resume is endless. His genius continues to influence in many deconstructionists today. Look at Radiohead, Andy Kaufman, David Lynch, all of those abstract thinking break down the cell wall artists. They are of a special breed. and this is a special writer!

I won't be as vivid and descriptive as an eel in hot pursuit over gravy, er, I won't be as evil and malignant as Cortez babies, er, want I....EGAD! Start over...

I won't be as descriptive and detailed (there we go) on this review as on THE Wild Boys. This too is a good book, but my least favorite of my collection. It also seems to be the shortest, and less memorable. Parts of it seem to be more preachy than other releases, opening with Agent Lee talking about how the mass media is controlled by psuedo-punk poseurs addicted to controlling the brainwashed populace. From what I remember, Burroughs seems to make fun of these individuals (who have such elaborate names as Jimmy The Butcher, Jackie Blue Note, etc.) who are portrayed as racist punks fooling everyone with actually being the enemy of true revolutionaries. The plans they hatch up to keep the world controlled are amusing.

Aside from this most coherent of writing, the rest is pure Burroughs insanity...classics include the section "Twilight's Last Gleeming", in which a ship is going down and all hell is breaking loose (the immortal line quoted above is said by the drag-wearing captain of that ship). This may come as a shock, but some of the sections actuall bored me...mainly the more scientific information packed parts like the relationship between parasites and hosts, other easily forgettable things. But look past this, and Burroughs knows what he's talking about.

As before, there are some downright beauties and truths around...this may have been from one of the other books since they all seem to flow together as a whole, but I remember a story about a house shifting over a dsert plain and the tenants trying to socialize with lonely lemurs hanging in a tree. There's a great peice of poetry existing right around there. about angry warriors waitng around with their arrows loking for someone to shoot. It just proves that WSB would've been good at straitforward poetry, possibly better than Allen Ginsburg. He actually tried it with Tom Waits on The Black Rider album, remind myself I gotta get that. Wancha all stripped down, all stripped down....wrong album. Point blank, this book is just as worthy/signifigant/brown propeller on a fasion moon as any of his others. Dig? Flat, baby. Flatfooted and pure goulash on my headset tonight. Burroughs, my man...you know it...you...

Fadeout in classic form.

This installation into the Nova series helps establish the reality of Interzone, first introduced in Naked Lunch. The Nova Police are the only thing keeping the Nova gangsters from harboring the monopoly on the universe's only source for Apomorphine. Burroughs appears in the novel as Agent Lee, the primary factor for the Nova Police. From incidious mass-poisonings to wild goose-chases across Interzone, Nova Express is an essential bridge between Naked Lunch and The Soft Machine. In my mind, one cant/shouldn't read either of the other two without having read Nova Express as well.

Oh, this book is superb; thrilling. Burroughs' critique of media/information culture has never been more relevant (he even predicts, in 1964, the emergence of something that sounds very much like the Web - "more and more images in less space pounded down under the sex acts and torture ever took place anywhere"). Great chunks of the book function practically as a Machiavellian instruction manual on how those in power might use a stream of words and images to generate fear, passivity, and conflict in a human population.

Some of Burroughs' incisiveness may derive from his usage of the famous cut-up and fold-in techniques (using passages plagiarized / "sampled" from other texts, including psychology journals, newspapers, pulp science fiction and true crime texts, and literary sources like T. S. Eliot and Rimbaud) - when he uses these, he gets at a radical (if illogical) analysis of the source texts. The illogical / nonlinear structure that results might throw some, but to my mind, this fits in perfectly with the book's overall critique - if you believe that certain forms of language (and thought) are politically corrupted, as Burroughs does, then the answer may be to compose a text that exists outside of those structures. The result feels vital and exciting - it is practically a new way of thinking on the page - and Burroughs' ideas on how to resist and defeat "the machine" and the nova process are similarly thought-provoking and unexpected (they bring to light a spiritual (monastic) side of Burroughs that I hadn't been previously familiar with).