Nova Books

If you love paleontology, this book is not about that. It is about a legal battle over dinosaur bones. Not science. I was surprised, to say the least, to see the difference between the title of the book and its contents.

Tyrannosaurus Sue is a great book about the discovery of the largest T-rex fossil ever excavated. Sue Hendrickson and Peter Larson, commercial fossil hunters, found the giant in South Dakota. When her Cretaceous remains were unearthed, all parties involved were under the impression that the find had been made on private property and the property owner was duly paid for the fossil.

The situation quickly turned greatly political. The Sioux, the Federal Government and professional paleontological societies got involved. The bones were seized from the Larson institute and impounded by the Feds. It took years of confusing court proceedings to settle the issue.

This is a great story of how science is often politicized, especially when money is involved (the remains are worth a fortune). Sue wasn't simply discovered and studied by scientists and enjoyed by curious members of the public. She was fought over, transported, stored, etc. The tale of her journey is very intriguing. As a scientist in another field, I found it very interesting to gain insight into the operations of another field. Yikes, sometimes controversy is just inevitable.

Check it out, it's a great read (I intentionally left Sue's fate out of the review in case you're not aware of her whereabouts).

Although "Tyrannosaurus Sue" takes a while to get rolling, eventually author Steve Fiffer does get into the trial over the bones, and, as a lawyer, he does an excellent job of clarifying that mess.

In a foreward, dinosaur researcher Robert Bakker says, "There's a lot of Roshomon in Sue's story." By that I take it he means that there is a shortage of certainty about who the villains are, although Bakker and Fiffer are sympathetic to Peter Larson and his friends, who dug up Sue.

The fossil equivalents of Yankee tinkerers, the Larsons were self-taught and entrepreneurial. As such, predictably, they raised the hackles of academic researchers.

One complaint by the academics against the Larsons can be disposed of: that commercial bone collecting interferes with proper study of fossils. Surely the information to be gleaned from the bones is more valuable than the money people (or the Field Museum) will pay for the bones -- millions -- so interference with proper study is a serious matter.

However, although Fiffer does not go into it, the record of academic bone hunters in the western states has frequently been scandalous, with illegal collecting, faked documentation, slovenly curation and failure to publish.

As a good businessman, Larson was, at least, not inclined to the last two of those.

While some of the academic critics may have been sincere and even have had legitimate concerns, the leading lights come off very poorly in "Tyrannosaurus Sue."

Part of the reason Fiffer's book starts slowly is his evident intent to build up suspense -- generally, as here, an irritating approach -- but he also has the more reasonable goal and task of setting the finding of Sue in context. This means going back to the Bone Wars of the 19th century. Much of this is already plowed ground, but Fiffer's explanation of a legitimate (as it seems to have been) commercial pale ontological enterprise was new and interesting to me.

Once all that is finally taken care of, "Tyrannosaurus Sue" races to an exciting conclusion, with a lively courtroom drama, a tense auction, some corporate struggles and a not entirely satisfactory (to me) outcome.

It's a complex story, made even more so by a factor I have not mentioned so far: the fact that Sue was found on Indian land that was under lease to an Indian rancher. That added extra layers of legal uncertainty to an already uncertain story.

Fiffer also explores, without suggesting much in the way of remedy, the national government's confused, confusing and probably self-defeating legislation concerning fossils on public lands.

Steve Fiffer's "Tyrannosaurus Sue" is an interesting tale of the discovery of the most complete T-Rex skeleton found up to that point, and the bizarre battle that ensued over the ownership of the find. The book provides some insight into the world of paleontology (especially the pitfalls of searching on property where boundary lines aren't clear), and details a rather maddening tale of government intervention. I would have enjoyed more discussion of paleontology, but I understand that that wasn't the purpose of this particular work. Fiffer's writing style is straightforward to the point of being a bit dry at points, but it's well suited to describing the legal and political manipulations of the story. An interesting book that will spur interest in reading more about its subject matter.

One of the greatest dinosaur finds in history - perhaps THE greatest - was caught up in politics, money and jealousy. It is just pathetic what the government did to this scientist and makes one wonder question the rationality of "officials" who would commit such deeds.

All the ins and outs of scientific rivalry, government bumbling and misplaced priorities are thoroughly described. The story is fascinating and will hold your attention for days. Our view of T-rex and dinosaurs in general changed following this discovery. Good book, guaranteed to make you furious.

I've read many, many novels, mostly thrillers, and this ranks among the very best. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 10. It's first a really great story, told in the first person by someone who is very good at the job he is hired to do in the plot. A few reviews say his language is too crude or rough or some such. Nonsense. He tells the story in a logical and methodical fashion with an appropriate choice of language. I first read this book a number of years ago and kept my copy. I ran across it yesterday, and I decided to read it again, not something I often do. I couldn't put it down until I finished it again. The guy who said it took him two months to read either had an awful lot of other things on his plate or he's a moron. The story grabs you and you're with the protagonist/narrator every step of the way. You like the "good guys," and you dislike the "bad guys," so the authors must have done his job. I wish that Mr. Topor had some other offerings, but he does not. I thank him mightily for this one. If you like a great detective story, you'll thank me for recommending this book.

The first time I read this book I stayed up all night because I could not put it down. It has everything; believable characters, a fascinating and intricate plot, and even a bit of history thrown in. I've recommend this book to all my friends, who have also loved it.

This is a love story, war story, mystery, and thriller all rolled into one. Matthew Marshall is dead. But as the title implies, he lives through the codicil to his will. Adam Bruno is hired by some questionable executors Matt Marshall has named to see that his wishes are carried out. He instructs them that there are to find the Vietnamese woman he loved and their child. That child will inherit half of his sizeable estate, fifty million dollars. The problem is, there are people who do not want them found. Mr. Torpor has created characters you learn to care about, a story that sometimes gets entirely too close to what we might imagine what the Vietnam war was like, and what has happened to the guys who fought there. All loose ends are accounted for. I like that in a story.

Topor's legal thriller has a straightforward plot that never loses its momentum.

With virtually nothing to go on, and $50 million at stake, lawyer-turned-investigator Adam Bruno is hired to find the Vietnamese child of a former American captain.

The former soldier, Matthew Marshall, returned home to become a telecommunications tycoon worth $100 million. Nothing was known of any illegitimate child until the codicil to his will, made recently and unknown to the partners of his heavy-hitting law firm, comes to light when Marshall dies suddenly of a stroke at his country retreat. The codicil, devastating to Marshall's widow and three spoiled children, provides that the original bequests stand if the Vietnamese child can be proved dead or back in Vietnam.

Marshall, a man of vast charm and many women, led a compartmentalized life - his home, the cabin where he went to be solitary, and the secret but long-term New York apartment where he brought his various women. None of his friends or his family recall any mention of his Vietnam experiences, though he did take his children to the Wall in Washington.

But, visiting Marshall's country retreat, off-limits to family and friends, Bruno encounters a dangerously crazy Vietnam vet, bristling with weapons and paranoia, who guards Marshall's empty home. And Bruno finds a room dedicated to photos and memorabilia of Vietnam. The people in the photographs are identified only by nicknames and as Bruno begins the painstaking process of identification, most of them seem to be dead. Those still living insist Marshall, upright and married, would never have had anything to do with a Vietnamese woman.

Running into one stone wall after another, Bruno's case gets a sudden shot of adrenaline when he receives, anonymously, a letter in Vietnamese, written to Marshall by a Vietnamese man who clearly was searching for the missing woman and child.

Slowly, doggedly, Bruno pieces together a dark and painful story, crisscrossing the country by jet and computer. Despite setbacks, false trails and dangerous developments, he digs through layers of lies and complex connections. And, naturally, the family back in New York would like to see him fail and will stop at nothing - perhaps not even homicide - to preserve their inheritance and the power they've come to think is theirs by right.

While there's nothing particularly original about the story, Topor's straightforward style suits his narrator protagonist - a resourceful, clever, determined fellow, a loner with very individual but firm scruples. Bruno is likable and only ruthless when nothing less will satisfy. A page turner.

If you begin this rapid fire thriller in the evening, be prepared to stay up late. Screenwriter Topor has woven a realistic package of twists and surprises that is hard to put down.

When wealthy Matthew Marshall dies, the heirs to his $100 million dollar estate, his wife and three children, find that a codicil has been added to his will. Marshall is bequeathing half his estate to a child they never knew existed, a child he fathered in Vietnam. During his last visit to Vietnam, Marshall had tried without success to find Cricket, the child's mother.

Savvy, street smart private detective Alan Bruno is hired by the estate's attorney to find the child. As he begins to discover Marshall's life over the past 30 years and his Vietnamese connection, Bruno is stymied with each new lead. He is aided in his search by a Puerto Rican-Vietnamese interpreter, who finds more information in old letters than words would indicate.

Suspense builds as the plot escalates. After a stunning parade of shocks and shivers, Topor skillfully ochestrates a satisfying conclusion.

I found Whistler's Angel enjoyable rather than outstanding. I loved some of John Maxim's other books, but would rate this one as OK in paperback, but I'm glad I didn't buy it in hardback. If it was a movie, I'd call it a rental rather than a movie to see in the theatre...Still, it's not a bad way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon and I'd read it again.

Fun, fast moving story. Not as involved as Maxim's other Bannerman books and a little bit sillier. The story has the typical Maxim confluence of coincidences upon coincidences that make it all rather unbelievable, but still an entertaining read.

If you don't have a wry sense of humor, you may not get this latest effort from John Maxim. However, for those of us that enjoy characters with some "character", then this is a must read. Unlike most reviewers, I have not read any of the Bannerman series (although I certainly will now). The villains in this book were absolutely hilarious. Maxim blended the character's outright stupidity with an occasional cunning thought. Maxim nailed their personalities perfectly. The thriller genre is so saturated with stories of evil government types trying to bring down the hero, that the only way an author scores in my mind is by making the characters memorable. Most of the time, it's the hero that provides the memories. Not so here. While Whistler and Claudia have their moments, Lockwood, Crow, and especially Kaplan, steal the show.

I picked up a copy Whistler's Angel in an airport bookstore when faced with an unexpected flight delay. I had not read any of Maxim's other works and did not know exactly what to expect. This first exposure will have me going back for more. Maxin spins an intriguing story, effectively bouncing back between the present and the past while building to an exciting climax. The book follows Adam Whistler, an ex-special forces soldier and government assassin who is fighting the realities of his past and the corruption of his superiors, and Claudia (who believes she has been tasked with being Adam's guardian angel following her own brush with death) as they come to grips with events that have brought them together. Whistler's Angel is packed with action, suspense, plot twists and good character development. I suspect, however, that the book would have been better is I was more familiar with some of the characters that clearly had been part of Maxim's previous works. I suppose it is time to go back to the early Maxim, starting with the Bannerman series.

What's the best part of reading a John R. Maxim novel -- is it the engaging plots or the fully animated, totally alive characters? I hope you're not looking for an answer here, because I can argue forcefully for either answer. I have read and re-read all of Maxim's books, and just can't get enough!

Whistler's Angel is the sort of book that keeps you up at night. You promise yourself that you'll go to bed at the end of the current chapter, and an hour later you're still furiously turning pages. His characters are so fully realized that you feel that you now them as friends by the end of the book. Maxim also does something that few authors try...he cross-populates his books. Whistler's Angel is a stand-alone, non-series book (at least so far), and yet characters from his popular Bannerman series appear in the plot. [To return the favor, Whistler's Angel characters appear in the new Bannerman book, along with other Maxim characters. Even one of the main Bannerman characters first appeared in Time Out Of Mind.]

You'll find good descriptions of the plot of this book elsewhere on this page, so I'll spare you my own synopsis. Suffice it to say that this is a great book that guarantees the reader many hours of pleasurable reading. The plot has more than enough twists and turns to satisfy even the most demanding reader. Also well featured is Maxim's trick of showing you a piece of the plot, and then bringing it back later so you can see it from a different angle, and get a new and deeper meaning from it.

When you're done with this book, you'll also want to try Shadowbox, Haven, and all of the Bannerman books. Becoming a Maxim fanatic is well worth the effort!

DEAD TO RIGHTS is number four in J.A. Jance's Joanna Brady series. A woman is killed on her anniversary. The first of the series, DESERT HEAT began with a death on an aniversary--so this may be an overworked idea. The veterinarian driver of the car received a slap on the wrist for a drunk driving. The husband is furious and then the vet ends up dead with all the evidence pointing to the husband. Joanna doesn't think so and against the hostile attitudes of her inherited staff set out to prove the husband innocence.
Coping with her staff, the death of her husband, her daughter, her mother, and the adoption process of her best friend almost proves Joanna undoing.
The characters continue to unfold as "real people" in this light mystery, which is short on motive. Jance is a read and I've enjoyed Joanna and her adventures--wonder how important Butch Dixon will be in her life. Excellent read for the beach as summer draws to the close.
Sins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelWriting as a Small Business

An interesting book about Joanna Brady right after she became sherrif. Having read books that came after this one, it was nice to have the back story.

In the beginning of the book, Hal Morgan and his wife of 10 years are celebrating a wonderful 10th wedding anniversary. But it all comes to a very tragic end when Bucky Buckwalter, the veterinary doctor in Bisbee Arizona, kills Hal's wife in a hit and run after he is stone drunk that night. All Bucky receives as a punishment is a hefty fine and a few days in jail. Hal Morgan wants to strike back, so he is targeting Dr. Buckwalter's vet practice for ways to get him back. There is a fire set one day at the clinic, and when Joanna Brady discovers this, she knows there are several injured, and finds right away almost that Bucky is dead.
Knowing that Hal had been hanging out there, right away he becomes a suspect in this murder. But he is not the only one under suspicion. Terry Buckwalter, Bucky's wife seems all too happy that Bucky is dead.

Joanna slowly uncovers the whole picture that Bucky was very unhappy in his marriage and having an affair with Bebe Noonan, who is actually pregnant with his child at the time of his death. With this information she has her doubts that Hal Morgan was the actual killer on the scene, but there are other things she has yet to uncover.

The chase is on toward the end of the book, and if Joanna and her other senior cops on the team don't act quickly, the real killer may escape town.

The theme of the plot & story are very good, but after reading Rattlesnake Crossing, this was a disappointment. Maybe Jance is trying to develop her characters & their relationships here. But there is so much superfluous dialogue it becomes boring. A couple pages later you get lucky & she returns you to the story. A previous reviewer stated his least favorite chapter was #20. I agree. Unfortunately Chapter 20 is where the book's climax takes place. More superfluous nonsense in the middle of the story with the introduction, ever so briefly, of another character & a dog. Unneeded fluff. The book falls flat on it's face in it's ability to tie the story together well at the end. Possibly Jance was so distracted by other dialogue. Save your time & money unless you need a sleeping pill. Dead to Rights will put you out in short time

The character of Joanna Brady keeps growing on the reading audience and J.A. Jance has created another winner with this series.

This book picks up the life of Joanna Brady a few months after her husband was killed and shortly after she's elected as the new Sheriff of Cochise County in Arizona (actually this is the fourth book in the series following DESERT HEAT, TOMBSTONE COURAGE, and SHOOT, DON'T SHOOT). This tale is another fast paced journey into not only Joanna's life as sheriff, but also through her personal life as well.

The main storyline revolves around the killing of a veterinarian, Bucky Buckwalter, and the new sheriff is once again tossed in the middle of turmoil. You'd think the murder investigation would be enough, but add in the facts that the prime suspect is a former cop and Bucky had killed the guy's wife a few years before while driving intoxicated and only received a slap on the wrist for his crime. Bad enough? Jance didn't think so, so then she inserts the fact that the two of them have had heated public arguments that Joanna didn't think needed intervention by the sheriff's office. Some in her department, looking for any excuse available to disrespect the new boss, are implying that she was ineffective and basically allowed the murder to happen. Ok, now it's getting more interesting but Jance still doesn't stop. Since all of the evidence conveniently points directly to Hal Morgan (the husband bent on revenge), Joanna feels it's a little too easy and investigates the case herself. Ok, now we have the makings of a great J.A. Jance mystery!

If you haven't read this series yet, that could be a good thing. You can begin reading now and when you finish one book you can easily obtain the next line. For those of us who've read each one as they've come out, it can be a difficult wait while J.A. Jance and the publishers perfect the next book. A difficult wait yes, but it will most certainly be worth the time you've anxiously awaited its arrival.

Rebellion by Bill McCay is, in my opinion, a poorly written and poorly edited book. The book contains multiple errors in the names, ranks and descriptions of the major charactors in the movie. In addition, poor editing creates extreme frustration as it is obvious that whoever proof read this book lacks a basic grasp of English grammar and spelling. In addition. the fact that you need to have events happen in sequence seems to have eluded the author. The fact that Colonel Jack O'Neill's name is spelled O'Neil and the fact that the author has O'Neill, who is a career Air Force officer, portrayed as a Colonel in the US Marine Corps adds to the confusion as he or she reads this novel. There is one page which is interesting and well written. Unfortunately, it is the last page in this book.

It is my understanding that the book is based on the original script for the movie but I fail to see why the author chose to use that script as the basis for this book when he could, and should, have used the script used when the movie was filmed.

In my opinion, this is a poorly written and uninteresting book. Why is now in its' 10th printing is beyond my comprehension.

The planet of Abydos is free, free to have chaos, free to have gun smugglers and free to have infighting among the farmers, the city folk and the caravans. They also have the freedom to mistrust the men of Earth and right when you think things can't get worse Hathor renews her conquest with a weapon so powerful that the very planet's existance is in danger.
Will O'Neil be able to fight off her attacks? Will Jackson be able to fight off her advances? Will Skaara end up the new leader of his people?
This second book in the series is interesting but NOT a stand alone book. I suggest you read the first one before this one.

STORY: Colonel Jack O'Neil is sent back to Abydos as a liaison with a private corporation to harvest the rare crystal that gave the now dead Ra his technology. Little do they know but the newly freed people of Abydos aren't about to tolerate another dictatorship. Nor is Ra's vicious successor, Hathor, going to let someone else move in on her rightful territory as a god ruler.

MY FEEDBACK: To be able to compress a full novel to two cassette tapes shows that there is very little meat or character development here.
Plot lines were telegraphed and thus provided zero surprises. Characters were cardboard and had little or no depth. You are better watching a rerun episode of the Sci-Fi channel series or watching the movie again than wasting your time on this one.

The one redeeming factor that let me give this a 2 star instead of a 1 star rating: is the entire end battle goes on for a good portion of the story and thus kept me listening through the last audio tape. Yet, even this was anticlimactic as it set things up for the next book in the series. It is all more of a marketing ploy than a desire to write a good book. Highly disappointing and I'm not going to involve myself in the next book, Stargate: Retaliation.

I was quite intrigued to see where Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich had intended to go had further Stargate films been made. They have said on several occasions that the series (SG-1) has gone in an entirely different direction than their planned sequels would have. As a big fan of both the original film and the series, I was curious to see what was lost. (It has been stated that McCay worked from Devlin and Emmerich's "sequel" ideas to create this series of books.)

I can only hope that Devlin and Emmerich would have made a better film than this first book indicates.

McCay seems to have little interest in character development, at least among those on Abydos. What he does do in that department results in some major changes to already established characters. O'Neil (and the rest of his men from the film) have changed from Air Force officers to Marines. Kawalsky has been demoted from Lieutenant Colonel to a mere Lieutenant, and poor Feretti has been bumped from Lieutenant all the way down to Corporal. Daniel Jackson, whose sense of wonder and awkward charm made him such a memorable character, has been reduced to little more than an interpreter and English teacher. And the values and motivations of almost everyone who travels to Abydos via the Stargate are picked out in stark black and white, without much personality or humanity.

On the other hand, the goddess Hathor and her fellow would-be godlings are much more interesting. Their infighting and petty bickering in the face of Ra's mysterious disappearance are much more intriguing than the utterly predictable Earth-exploits-the-natives plot back on Abydos. On Tuat, McCay gives us a glimpse of Ra's empire, or at least the leadership thereof. We see some of it's former glory and the current decay, the result of centuries of apathy or decadence. (One must wonder what Ra and his underlings have been doing all these years, if not conquering new worlds to expand the empire.)

McCay suffers from a very telling lack of military knowledge, which is most apparent during his description of the climatic battle. In many places, he glosses over entire engagements with a few words, leaving the reader begging for more. His lack of military terminology does not seem to be a problem when describing Ra's fictional technology; but when dealing with the Earth forces, it's a bit difficult for someone with some military background to take.

All in all, this is not a bad story. If this is where Devlin and Emmerich were planning to take us with their sequels, it would have been an enjoyable journey. It's unfortunate that McCay seems just a bit lacking in his ability to translate that to print.

While there are some flaws (and mistakes)the book has a lot to offer. The characters of Jackson and O'Neil seem to be in-character and many of the new characters, such as Hathor and Walter Draven, are very interesting. For example, Walter Draven, of the UMC, is both greedy and forward, yet knows how far he can push people. Hathor wants power, but is realistic about what she can and can not do.
The book allows you a peek at Ra's decaying empire and the reality of having a Stargate to another world. The language barrier is still a problem, no short-cuts here, and Bill McCay does not plan to make it easy for any of the characters. Both Earth and Hathor wish to exploit the planet of Abydos, whose natives just want to be left alone.
The book does give hints and flashbacks of past events to help fill in the setting and give background on some of the 'evil' characters BUT not too much.
The best part is while the book can stand alone, it is the first of a five book series. If you overlook the small flaws the story is very solid.

In this season of charity and goodwill, we concentrate on the reason we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus, the son of God who came to save mankind. Mary felt something flare like a spark from one of the frayed electric cords strung like Christmas lights along the walls as she ponders on the untimely death of her best friend. Just today, I was tempted to buy a whitesparkly aluminum Christmas tree just the right size for one's desk; it made me think of Eva Ezell's original prized aluminum tree stored out in her garage which had many pleasant memories for her.

My favorite poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wrote "Three silences there are: speech, desire, thought..." In the autistic mind, speech is silent as Eric frantically ran from place to place in the restaurant. Speech comes early to some like Alec at seven months, as he tries to form words; later to Kyle who has just turned three years old and can't form sentences, only his mom understands and interprets his phrases. He has not learned how to be quiet and listen, as he is constantly bombarded by sounds from educational videos. He can say, "Can't Hear" to get his doting mom to turn up the volume. Perhaps that is today's young mothers' attempts to create a genius. A genius is not made by man, but is created thusly by providence, perhaps by God. When I was a young mother, it was reading which shetted their appetites for knowledge and simple toys used to create fascinating and creative plays, stories, and artwork. Sweet words are all you need. You reflect on recent conversations and realise there is something you could have said but didn't. Now is an opportunity to take a second chance with someone, especially if you harbor unspoken feelings for them. Its important to verbally express yourself now. You might stumble over your words a little, but your intentions are clear. What you have to say is received with affection. Whatever it is you want, stop stewing over it and tell someone. Ideally, someone who has the influence to help you get what you crave.

Today's world is too much electronic with loud noises and no silences. Some people are unable to speak at all, some haltingly so. Some people never learn to speak. There is a young man who rides the buses who makes animal sounds to communicate; another who grunts and growls like a gorilla. So often it's about choosing to think positively. After all, no one can predict the future, so no one really knows whether you're right or wrong. Desire comes later as one learns how to express his needs. Children desire things of their own; their main desire is to be loved.

Adults desire the companionship of others and also the need to be loved for themselves. At different ages, the desires will be constantly changing according to existing circumstances and expectations. We desire to be desired. Our omnipresent desire is to be successful in some field and to live life to the fullest. Desire for material things, large automobiles, a place to find the first and foremost desire, silence, a childhood wish for a piano, a trip to Hawaii, usually can be attained with a little help from your friends and a good banker like David Sharp.

The desire to perpetuate the cycle of human evolution is what makes the world go 'round. Longfellow was a thoughtful poet "and the night shall be filled with music" (thanks, young Bill Ross for your guidance). Thought begins at birth; the expression of thought revolves as the child matures and grows. Thought is the most importand 'silence' as it is cerebral and can be expressed by actions, words, sign language, musical talent, and in writing. Without thought, it would be a dead desolute world. Just say the word; "the problem is I haven't known where to find me." He was looking for a sign of what the future might hold. No one knows.

Some people, those who can't hear, are caught in a world of silence. Silence can be beautiful, or silence can be an imprisonment. Some people think too much and don't take the time to let those thoughts sink in so as to make life worthwhile. More people than not talk so as not to have to think at all. Some people are deep thinkers, some not. A certain class of today's society have not been taught how to think on a high level, which holds them back and they exist in a netherworld of violence. Some kids considered hyperactive are drugged so they can't think rationally or any other way; they're turned into zombies to allow the smartest to excel, while they have reached a stalemate in a world where they will never fit in but, eventually, rebel in an explosive way.

Institutions used to be full of these problem people, but now they are out on the streets causing havoc and getting hurt by criminals. They're being mainlined into today's social world in which they can't cope, like the mentally retarded and handicapped were in the school system. It was called special ed. Most will withdraw down into their own little fantasy world. I see them every day on the local buses, at the library, sleeping on the sidewalks. There is one bus passenger who dons a red velvet jester's hat every winter until up into the summer months. He doesn't realize how dumb he really looks and a lot of lower class citizens who don't know any better make fun of him. That "dummy" headdress is the only way he's able to express himself. I say he just wants attention, to be noticed, and to be acknowledged of his existence.

Many such poor people fall through the cracks while the rich "beautifully dressed and coiffed" so-called society people (though not exceptionally smart) look the other way and booze themselves into oblivion. They are morally corrupt but simply do not care. If they could live one day as one of us who have nothing, the world would change for the better. "God, how I wish it." To walk a mile in the other man's shoes. The second silence, desire, with a few twists of imagination, is for a safe place to live in a peaceful world without wars.

I was intrigued by the title and have never read anything by Eileen Goudge, but I was pleasantly surprised. The Second Silence has an excellent balance of mystery and romance -a moving relationship drama. Very enjoyable! Also recommend Shade of the Maple by Kirk Martin and The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks-two incredible relationship dramas.

I really enjoyed this book. It is my first experience reading an Eileen Goudge book, and I was impressed. This was the perfect summer book, nothing too deep or confusing going on. It centers on a young mother, Noelle, trying to win back custody of her 5 year old daughter whom her husband has kidnapped. Her husband, Robert, then goes on a ruthless campaign to portray her as an unfit mother, and he even stages several things to further that impression. Along for the ride are Noelle's long divorced parents, Mary & Charlie, who despite being divorced for roughly 30 years still have very strong feelings for each other, her ailing Grandmother Doris, whose very strong opinions she seldom keeps to herself, and her half sister, Bronwyn, a sort of teenage Nancy Drew. All in all a good story, that ultimately centers on love between mother, daughters and sisters and also letting go of past hurts to open oneself up to love again. I would definitely recommend it.

I love Eileen Gouge's style and characters. In my opinion, and I have read them all, this is the best book Eileen has published. I couldn't put it down. It was not entirely predictable. There were interesting twists and turns, tangled families, certainly more mystery and excitement than usual. I could relate to the people; they were "real." I loved this book. I recommend it to anyone who loves Eileen's style, and to anyone who likes a mystery that is not gory or violent, spiced with love and romance. This is a five for sure. Eileen this is sure to be your best selling work.

It amazes me how 10 people can read the same book and either love it or hate it. This is the first book by Goudge that I have read; I went into it cold and did not read the reviews until I finished it. Not being an avid reader of romance books, it was a surprise to see that it was combined with my favorite genre: mystery-thriller. You can get the details from other reviewers if that is what you are looking for but I say, read it and judge it for yourself. True, it may sound like a soap opera but aren't our lives the basis for those soaps?Every body has to make decisions that ultimately affect the lives of others and your decisions will have great impact that you never in your life could imagine. In this story, decisons made 4 generations ago lead to a terror-riden climax with a beautiful ending. See if you can identify with the different characters in your own family's generations. I did and saw a lot of "what if"s as we all do. Enjoy the book just to get away from all the stress and obscentities of today's pressures.At least you can put the book down but you can't put your own life on hold!!

This was an interesting legal thriller with little time spent in the courtroom, although was interesting to see the English legal system. Even though the characters were a bit stereotypical and the ending predictable, I still found myself turning the pages. It's a good first book.

I picked up this book because it WAS a courtroom drama without knowing who the author was til I read about him in the back cover.
I had no problem following the plot and knew that had to be the connection of the accused to the mystery man before it was stumbled on almost belatedly by the boy for the final witness.
I found a few inconsistencies in the editing but nothing serious. Namely the ability of Sir Peter to reach his home by phone after it had been explained the phone lines had been cut outside the home requiring Tom to run to the neighbors to call emergency.
All in all I think the author did a bang up job for a first novel

I read the book, like many, because of the name. I was throughly impressed with the story. It was well written, and I loved how it jumped around so much to tell the story. I would highly recommend this book!

ISBN: 0375508821
Title: Final Witness
Author: Simon Tolkien
Publisher: Random House
Tom Robinson, son of cabinet minister Sir Peter Robinson, is smitten with his father's new assistant, Greta. Greta is very beautiful and kind to young Tom, then the boy's mother is murdered while he watches and everything in his life changes. Events Tom has unwittingly witnessed convince him Greta is responsible for the murder.
What follows is a narrative that has you turning the pages and cheering for young Tom. For a great read, pick up a copy of Simon Tolkien"s FINAL WITNESS.
Beverly J Scott author of "Righteous Revenge" and "Ruth Fever." Reviewer for Intriguing Authors and Their Books at http://www.funeralassociates.com/authors.htm

First I have to say that the reviewers (some at Random House) that compared this author to his grandfather, JRR Tolkien, are comparing potatoes to mangoes. Not only do many families have more than one talented author, but these two are writing in completely different genres. If you're into fantasy and Lord of the Rings, this may not be for you. But Simon Tolkien is a British barrister practicing criminal law and he knows what he is talking about. As a lifetime fan of Rumpole of the Bailey (and a one-time visitor to the Old Bailey) I looked forward to this book.

Here is why it rates over and above the conventional mystery or police procedural. Most mysteries are written from the point of view of the detective or other person investigating a crime, usually murder. The reader guesses who did it by process of elimination, although many authors put a good twist at the end. This book is written from the different points of view of all the characters, each of whom is trying to put himself in the best possible light. It's a lot trickier to figure out who is guilty, who is innocent, who is lying, who is mentally unbalanced. The suspense builds up with the minutes counting down to the final witness, after whose testimony no new evidence can be introduced. The lawyers and police are in the background. The case centers on the family members, who are not exactly likable people. The story begins with a terrifying incident and builds to a frightening climax. I think Mr. Tolkien has done an excellent job with this first novel and I will look for more.

The One Minute Manger was great but this title fell well short.
I was disappointed and will not add this book to my required reading
list for my direct reports.

Concise, pragmatic advice on management practices: goal setting, praise, reprimands. This book serves as a great reminder that you don't have to have a PhD, or read every tome on leadership and management to be successful - more often than not, little changes can make a significant impact. An easy read, and one worth revisiting every once in a while.

This book keeps management principles in its simplist form. I have given these books to many managers over the years to help them understand and learn the basic principles of management. A great read!!!!

This book is about so much more than management. I applied the principles to all areas of my life years ago and what a difference it made.

I highly recommend this as a wonderful addition to your must read list. This book gave me easy ways to apply the concepts to my life.

I read this book in an MBA course taught by one author. Both are "executive coaches", meaning they counsel well-paid CEO's. Nice shtick if you can burrow in. They cannot be mentors since neither has real work experience and they aren't real academics. Lorber spends less than 1 day/wk at UCD, mostly lending his Organization Behavior aura.

The methods discussed are necessary, but hardly sufficient. A competent manager should walk the floor, pat people on the back, discuss short-term goals, and give regular performance reviews. However, managers must also be very competent, which usually requires rising through the ranks. They should do more than shuffle papers and put on a show, although that can work in large bureaucracies. Psychology tricks may work in the short time to get employees to shoulder more of the company's obligations and risks, but over the long-term employees wise up. Managers must provide proper incentives, both financial and for professional/career advancement, otherwise their best people walk.

TOMBSTONE COURAGE is the second from J.A.Jance of the Joanna Brady series. This series evolves around the life of a single parent, a child who has lost a beloved father, a perfectionist mother and a newly elected sheriff.
What problem does the ex-insurance agent tackle first, the sex-pot receptionist, the deputies who can't handle a woman in the main office or murder, abuse, incest and danger. Fast paced till the end when Joanna finally has time to read a service manual on staying alive on the job. OFFICER DOWN's number 8 mistake is failure to call for backup or TOMBSTONE COURAGE.
Writing as a Small BusinessSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County Novel

I cannot believe the good reviews this book gets. It's 407 pages long and next to NOTHING happens in almost 200 pages. I was falling asleep. The only suspense in this novel was waiting for something to happen. It never did. I donated this book to the library after I made it past page 216.
Skip it.

Experience indicates that there is no doubt about it. J.A. Jance has a way to grab our attention from the very first page and keep us enthralled until the conclusion of the novel. This one is no exception. It all starts with somebody being murdered in a brutal manner. After that scene, we start asking ourselves who that person was and what is the relationship to the events that follow in the story. And then, we are hooked.

Harold Lamm Patterson is an eighty-four-year-old man, loved and respected by everyone in town. But when his daughter Holly returns, after being gone for thirty-four years, claiming that she was abused by Harold as a child, confidence in his innocence wavers. Holly is suing her father and asking for his ranch as compensation. Harold's other daughter, Ivy, wants her father to fight back and defend what is theirs. What she does not know is that Harold carries a secret that is as dark and deadly as a secret can be.

In the meantime, Joanna Brady is running for Sheriff of Cochise County, following the murder of her husband and the previous Sheriff. There are several people in the Sheriff's office that do not like the idea of a woman with no experience in law enforcement taking that position, but when Joanna wins, they have to shape up or take a hike. Joanna's life gets complicated when as soon as she assumes her new position, she has to deal with a double murder, and one of the victims is Harold.

J.A. Jance is an expert in writing novels that are easy to read in one sitting. I am always impressed by how she excels in handling two series that are so different and still the result is magnificent in both cases. In the Joanna Brady series, she created a character that has a complex family life. Joanna has a daughter that is trying to go on after losing her father. She also has a mother that wants perfection in everything Joanna attempts. The issues resulting from Joanna's gender in her new job provide a myriad of interesting confrontations, and I am looking forward to seeing how some of these are going to be resolved in the next book. Overall, I highly recommend this book and this series, and if you have time, also check out the outstanding J.P. Beaumont series.

The book begins with Harold Patterson, an 84-year old man who is being sued by one of his own daughters, Holly, for incestuous acts. Harold Patterson wants to meet with Holly finally, to try to make amends and talk her out of this lawsuit. They do meet face to face, and Holly is anything but pleased. Harold dies before any amends are made, or is murdered rather mysteriously.

Joanna Brady gets elected Chochise County sheriff, the first female ever. As a rookie cop, let alone a woman, none of the other men on the force have any respect for her until she lays down the law. Joanna gets involved in the Patterson case, and seeks out Holly and Ivy, the other daughter herself. Ivy was the one that always was there to care for her mother when she was an invalid both physically, and mentally, whereas Holly was wild, running off and on drugs. They both hated their father, and Joanna is trying to uncover what happened down "Glory Hole," where Harold's body was found, and under that is a skeleton years and years old. The identity of the skeleton is a shock to all. And to uncover the mystery, Joanna puts herself in front of real danger.

A very intriguing book all the way through!

I happened upon this and 2 other Brady novels and am enjoying them...but then I really like the JP Beaumont series as well.

So far the detail and writing isn't as "rich" as the Beaumont novels in Seattle...but then maybe I know Seattle better than Arizona. But the details in the character haven't built up as well either....maybe this will improve as the Beaumont series did.

Whenever I see a Molly Ivans piece on the op-ed page of my morning paper, a warm feeling of anticipation comes over me. So when I came across this collection of her essays at an airport ``bookstore'' before a long trip home, plunking down the $12 was a no-brainer. I wasn't disappointed.

The pieces in this book are full of Texas charm, humor, and just plain common sense, but also the facts that so often go unreported in today's news. Her topics are many, but three that come up often in this collection are media ethics (got that? media ethics debated by a journalist!), hypocrisy (Al D'Amato conduct an ethics investigation?), and her favorite, the U.S. campaign financing system (which she refers to as ``legalized bribery'') and its fundamental effects on our society. ``The truth is that there is no political story more important than campaign financing. It's not just the hottest political story---it's the only story. It's the key to the real source of class warfare in this country.'' Not only are these issues and many others addressed intelligently with an eye toward ferreting out the truth, but they are often a laugh riot!

The introduction to the book was written in January, 1998, just after the Lewinsky scandal broke, and all but one of the pieces were originally published from 1993 to 1997. Some of the events Ivans refers to are thus a bit dated today (early 1999), but her writing still packs a wallop.

Molly Ivins is simply a top-notch columnist who documents her opinions with facts that cannot be denied. So, her detractors resort to calling her "liberal" as though that word has the Magical Power to transform sense and reason and humor and documentation into a negative.

The far right, filled with paranoia and mistrust, needs to resort to name calling when they deal with this witty, tough, and very well-informed treasure. Why? She's got the goods on them. (She has been a thorn in Bush's side relentlessly cutting through his misdirection to reveal what he does. And, oh, how that annoys those who want to revive the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities -- that wonderful little gang that brought blacklisting and mud-slinging to the halls of congress.)

Ivins is a patriotic writer -- too in love with her country and its Constitution to sit by quietly while it gets dismantled in the name of "security" by those who use fear as their political cover, and too sharp to allow the politics of destruction to go unpunished.

Thanks to Molly Ivins, there is something to love about Texas after all!

I must admit, right off the bat,I've never heard of Molly Ivins;but I sure know who she is now.I loved this book from beginning to end.What this book is,is a collection of her columns from a Texas newspaper 'The Fort Worth Star-Telegram' during the 1990's.She cut her teeth on journalism working for peanuts on a little Texas leftist paper called 'The Texas Observer'.
She is an avowed left wing liberal and makes no bones about it;and you can't fault anyone for being honest;which more than anything else she is.If you ask me,I would call her down home Texas Redneck.She came from an upper middle class family.Her mother was a lifelong Republican;but as she maintains on page
118 that "there's nothing you can do about being born a liberal-fish gotta swim and hearts gotta bleed".On page 206,she also talks about a group of people who want Texas to separate,as being "born in a state of high indignation and profound misunderstanding". So it seems that this trait in leftists is inbred;I guess that explains a lot.
When her columns deal with Republicans,she can see no good and when she deals with Democrats she sees no wrong;and even if there is,it's the devility of the conservatives at work.Hey,I'm not faulting her for that,that's where she comes from,and more power to her.At times I get the impression she is a Texas Redneck and strives hard to be a liberal at the same time;not an easy course to sail.
She's at her best in writing about Texas politics and comes up with much better lines when on home turf.If she comes up short sometimes ,it's that liberal trait of believing that politicians and government will look after her and all the ills.This is an approach that always leads to disappointment whether one is left or right wing inclined.
This book was published in 1998,while Clinton was still President and little did she know what disappointments were lying in wait.She was also very surprised that Richards had lost to George W Bush as Governor of Texas.The liberals are great in deluding themselves,and that was just the start of things to come.If someone told her at the time, that GW wound not only win the Governorship of Texas but would go on to win the Presidency--twice;she would have thought them ridiculous.Again,they deluded themselves over Gore and Kerry being unbeatable.Let's not even talk about the Terminator and his Democratic wife in California.
There is no reason to lose any sleep over why things turned out that way.All she has to do is to call Rush and he will explain it to her.But therein lies the problem,she knows what he would tell her,and since she could never believe him, the libs will continue their worn out tactics.
Another thing she had no inclination of when she wrote this book is that something even more prepostrous was in the future.Kinky Friedman is now running for Governor of Texas and he says if elected he will put his friend Willie Nelson in charge of ATF(Alcohol,Tobacco &Firearms).Willie has been pretty opposed to Bush,so that must make him a liberal and Kinky is a Jewish boy from the Village in New York come Cowboy and writer and that sounds kinda liberal as well;so we could be in for some interesting times.Hey,Jessy Ventura,The Terminator---and now the dynamic duo of Kinky and Willie.Buy the way, Kinky tells us the Jews and Cowboys have something in common---"we both wear our hats indoors".He also has a idea of replacing the Star of Texas with the Star of David.
Molly reminds us on page 200:
"Before you accuse me of hopeless parochialism,consider the
one great truth that all Texas liberals grasp in their cradles:Things Can Always Get Worse.In fact,they often do.Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to rejoice now,because these will turn out to be the Good Old Days".
Hey,it ain't over yet.I am going to read another book by Molly published in 2005,"Bushwacked",this should be a humdinger too.And if I'm not mistaken,I think I saw another at the bookstore a couple of days ago.

After reading this authors book on George Jr. - Shrub, I was excited to pick this one up. I figured I was going to get non-stop chapters of defense and support of President Clinton. Unfortuantly what I wanted only covered 50% of the book. The other half of the book covered Texas politics and personal columns on people she admired. The book is just a few years of her columns arranged by topic into sections of the book. This did make it easy for me to skip through the areas I was not interested in.

Overall the book was funny and interesting. I found that when she was writing on national political issues, I tended to be with her step for step. She is not a blind supporter of President Clinton, but takes a more practical approach to her politics. She does not just disagree with all things Republican and agree with all things Democratic. I found that I even liked it when she did give Bill some grief about some of his many missteps. So I really enjoyed half of the book, and given the title was surprised that anything-other then national politics was covered. I just was not that interested in reading about a local Texas Senator working on a road project.

I read this book and I can tell you that Stalin would be proud! If you are looking for comic relief you might get it from this liberal fossil, but don't read it looking for any relevant information!