X Books

Having left the CIA to return to Harlem after his father's death and take over his bar, Devil Barnett is soon called upon to help the police investigate a massacre. Disliking the sleazy politician doing the asking, Barnett refuses. But the six bodies were found over his uncle's strip club, and one of them was a Japanese diplomat, so when his uncle, aka the Sultan, asks, Barnett agrees.

The Sultan is "king of the shadow politicians in Harlem," people who "pull the strings" of elected politicians, and with Republicans in power all over the city, he can't afford a scandal involving a diplomat. The dead, who were dusted in cocaine, also include two assassins who had targetted the diplomat, so Barnett begins looking into the man's Harlem business. He also begins hunting for the one who got away - a young prostitute now in hiding. Is it drugs, politics, business, all three, or something else altogether?

The novel's pace is procedural as Barnett tracks down the various connections and digressions, trying to make time for the bodyrest essential to sickle-cell anemia sufferers like himself. He broods over the changes Harlem has seen since its heyday and even since his own youth as he passes through neighborhoods, renews old connections and makes new ones.

Barnett's voice is hard-boiled. He's a bit bitter over his CIA stint, feeling he'd run into the "glass ceiling" when he tired of "wet work" and looked for a promotion. But he can croon too, waxing warm over family and enduring Harlem traditions. Steeped in jazz rythmns, blues riffs and hard-edged rap, Hayes' debut explores many facets of Harlem, including drugs, prostitution, gangs and Korean inroads, withough speading itself too thin. Hayes' decidedly noir debut, despite a few off notes (the white police captain is a cartoon) offers a complex protagonist, a fast-paced plot and rich atmosphere. A promising series opener.

This book has all the pearls of body CT.
A lot of tables, images and key points can be found in the book which make it a great review tool before the tests.
Highly recommended.

Well, I may seem a bit biased, but I am a good friend of Richard and Nancy's, and over the past 6 months or so, I have heard little pieces of this book read by Richard inbetween sets at his NYC gigs, which were amusing to say the least!! I couldn't wait till I had my very own copy of Richard's debut tome, and it was worth the wait.

Basically, it's about Richard growing up, his own childhood, discovering rock + roll and all it's many pleasures in the 60s, continuing up through the present day. From getting to know Richard and Nancy very well, seeing many of his gigs, collecting all his CDs + video collection, as well as witnessing the Doughboys reunion gigs, many of these pages rung familiar and true to life, as they are true stories of his life basically. It's just Richard has a way with telling a tale, a narrative piece, that it's funny and meaningful and vivid!! His childhood days come off like a written version of that show "Oliver Beene", evoking the coming of age in the 60s, nostalgic, funny and entertaining. AND he drops many names, of well-known people he has collided with in his rock + roll travels, which should keep the uninitiated interested.

This is one book that is worth reading again and again, it's just fun to page through!! And if you're not familiar with his recordings, it might just inspire you to pick up such masterpieces as "Basic Glee" + "Cornerstone". I just feel fortunate that I am friends with Richard and Nancy. If I wasn't, I sure would want to be!! Oh and the pictures are almost worth the price of admission!! :-)

Richard is a master of popcraft, maybe this book will gather a new bunch of appreciators. I can see this book "Boom Harangue" (say it fast, haha) being turned into a movie, that's how vivid the stories are, and how talented a writer Richard is (he had no help, no co-writers, no biographers or editors, it's all Richard!!) Can't wait for the next volume!! If BH does become a movie, I want to star in it, as V perhaps, dammitt!! Hahaha!!

Kudos to you Richard!!!

"A vivid novel of love and power in the misty hills and castles of Scotland by the author ot The Tower and the Dream"

Sentenced to death for conspiring against his king, Lord Bothwell escaped-trading a prison cell for the perilous life of an outlaw. With his enemies as dedicated to his destruction as he was to his vindication, the hunted nobleman hardly had time for the rituals of courtship. But he was determinied to make beautiful, sought-after Anne Galbraith his bride.

"The outlaw had chosen well. fearless, steadfast and eager for adventure, Anne was the perfect companion for a life of intrigue and danger."

by Jan Westcott
Queen of Historical Romance

Being one of the first students to analyze and experience the BPFT was quite amazing. Not only because it was a chance to be a part of something new but mostly because I could see that this test will revolutionize physicial fitness testing. This is a collection of tests that can be used for able and disabled students with standards for both. The brilliancy of this work is that it fully allows you to customize a physical fitness test battery for nearly any student.

A fascinating story that grabs you from the beginning. It's about a tabloid reporter from L.A. who stumbles into trouble in Baja while researching stories. Before you know it, you're inside this guy's head as he maneuvers his way out of one (scary/dangerous) situation after another. He's easy to like and you find yourself rooting for him right away. Through no fault of his own, he gets himself quagmired in a set of seemingly impossible situations, both with the bad guys and the cops from both sides of the border, and he has to do double time to stay a step ahead. It's not all wild stuff. There's a lot of humor in this book and it works very well. Also, there's a subliminal spiritual theme that reveals itself at the very end. Very timely and it wraps the whole thing up very nicely. I'm trying to find other works by this author but can't. Oh well, I'll wait for the next one.

This book covers the downfall of Italy from the time of the German partnership until the capture of the Duce at the end of the war. It spends quite a bit of time on the last 600 days of Il Duce when he is holding conventions that are supposed to reform the nation and bring about a constitution. It really works well to show how Hitler and Mussolini reacted to one another. It does go into great detail about the fascist regime and the only flaw that you could assign to it is that it is a little dated. The book was published in 1962 but little of the new analysis has disproved it. This book still remains a gold standard within the field and is highly recommend for those who want to understand the last days of Italy or the relationship between Hitler and Mussolini.

when I hard the songs my hart was beting very fast becous I thout it was amazing and it's calld a bug's life sing along.And I relly whant it so much.

If you're looking to spruce up a hum-drum summer picnic at the park, or lake, or where ever it might be, the burger recipes in this book can't lose.

For me, pictures are very important in a cook book, and this one is loaded with hi resolution color photos. It gives you a clear visual understanding of how the burger should look in addition to just the recipe.

I would reccomend this book to any burger connoisseur as a must for the beef eater's recipe library.

I'm a grad student and my mom is a professor, and we both love mysteries with academic settings. Ok, I'll admit it: We both love mysteries where evil professors and college administrators get murdered. The murder victim in "By Frequent Anguish" is neither an evil professor nor an evil college administrator - and she isn't even evil - but that's the only thing wrong with this book. In all other respects, it's lovely. The writing is so intelligent and witty that it lifts the book miles above the average mystery.

The other thing that lifts it is the emotional depth. In so many mysteries, the protagonist stumbles across a dead body, and it's all "Wow, a dead body! I better start sleuthing!" There's little acknowledgment that violent death is a huge violation; it destroys our sense of trust and security in the world. In "By Frequent Anguish," the hero is a professor whose wife died of cancer. He has spent the past several years cautiously rebuilding his faith in a benevolent universe, only to have it shattered again when his beautiful young love is killed. He determines to find her killer not because sleuthing is such a groovy game, but because that is the only thing he can do to bring any sense of balance back into his world. Underneath the puzzle - which is a good one - and underneath all the genuinely witty, erudite prose is a seriously moving story. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.