McDonald's Books

I'm so scared! I think I'll contact Missler's buddies and order me a year supply of freeze-dried foods (nonrefundable, of course) and 100 gallon tanks of water! And maybe a large gasoline powered generator! Oh yeah, then 100 gallon tanks of gasoline. And plenty of matches. Oops...gotta keep the matches and gasoline separated. And then I'll build a bunker; yes yes, a bunker would be perfect. In rural Idaho. Oh, and I can't forget that ammo! Chuck slyly hinted at the need for ammo! And Chuck's a self-advertised genius, so Chuck should know! And then, and then...

Hey, wait a minute...I'm writing this review on the internet, hooked up to commercial power, communicating over the phone lines, seated in air conditioned comfort, in February of Y2K. No bombs bursting in air, no food shortage, no martial law with Clinton crowning himself monarch. Hmmm. Good thing I didn't rush out and heed his advice! But what will Chuck do? Isn't his credibility ruined? Shuh...just use the Benny Hinn method! Come up with something new that makes the poor saps forget what was said previously. Hmmm. What could we suggest? Hey, aliens are frightening. Lotsa scarey movies about 'em. Maybe Chuck will spread crazy notions about outer space aliens next. Nah, nope, I see he's already used that avenue. Hmmm. Maybe stirring up fears of an AIDS pandemic could get some mileage! Nah, nope, he's done that one. Hmmm. I know! He could spread rumors of secret codes that predict assasinations and upheavals and...oh come now, that's too far fetched even for Missler. Wait, what's that? He's already done that one, too? Geewillickers! I give up! I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what Chuck comes up with next. And those who wait with anticipation will buy!

Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

This is the core of this message. Be vigilant, be ready, be aware. Troubled times are coming, they may not get here in my lifetime, they might get here tomorrow...

Either way, consider this from proverbs: 6:6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 6:7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 6:8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 6:9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

We shouldn't be lazy, but active and involved.

This is what the author is trying to get to (sometimes long windedly..and 2 examples are usually enough, 200 is overkill)

I do recommend reading/listening to everything chuck produces. (acts 17:11 applies here as well)

Great idea, pretty much right out of Foxworthy's routines, but not very funny, as all of the you might's are true for the avid turkey hunter. As a veteran, I really didn't find this book entertaining due all the scenerios being true for me. Plus he repeats himself on several pages. Cute idea and it got my 10 bucks but it's more value is more in the range of 4.00 bucks.

Funny! Every turkey hunter should buy a copy of this book to read around the campfire.

The trouble with this easy to read book is the fact that Jack Holland and Henry McDonald used people outside the Republican Socialist Movement, namely former members of IPLO, to tell the history of the INLA. With this obvious bias, of course it will be a hatchet job.

It is akin to having a history of the IRA written with the aid of loyalists or IRA informers, who have reason to paint the organisation as negatively as possible.

The main problem beyond this, then, is that it is referred to as the ultimate history of the INLA, and used to discredit the republican socialist movement. For those with an anti-republican or anti-socialist agenda, their needs are met with this book.

Sadly, people have bought the myth of the INLA that this book presents, much to the detriment of activists and supporters of the movement.

While the authors never even bothered to interview members of the IRSP or INLA for their book, it is still a must-have book if you can locate a copy, which is easier said than done.

Again, it's easy to read, and it does give some basic background info, but the maze of speculation and unfounded allegations passed as fact makes it a bad start for a beginner.

As a member of the IRSM for the past 18 years, I am well aware of the movement this work claims to be the history of, and it is from this vantage point that I can state it is so filled with false information it is impossible to rely upon as a historical source.

From start to finish the authors depart from any pretense of historical objectivity and instead turn of vicious black propaganda of the worst sort.

Noone active in the Irish Republican Socialist Movement was interviewed for the book, but instead it is based almost entirely on the testimony of Harry Flynn, who left the movement in 1983-84 in a bitter dispute and never returned. Never, that is, other than in a strange alliance with Gerard Steeson who had once ordered his death, the sole purpose of which was to destroy the Irish National Liberation Army.

Even the supposed interview with the INLA's chief of staff published as an appendix is false, having actually been composed by IRSP member Liz LaGrua in response to written questions the author submitted.

In response to the review by the so-called teacher from Belfast(who couldn't even spell teacher, and several other words) I must point out that this is a review of the book, not a forum for you to air your bigotry and hatred of a certain organisation. This book is obviously badly researched, relying on information from sources who have reason to show the INLA in a bad light.It would have benefitted from the input of a range of objective and informed contributors who want to present a well researched and true reflection of this organisation. And, as I currently live in Northern Ireland, and have lived there all my life, you may not find it so easy to discredit my opinion on this matter.

As a researcher of Irish republican history, I would concur with a previous review. 'Deadly Divisions' is an inaccurate and largely fictionalized account of the INLA. Some of the notes used by the authors are available in Belfast, and after viewing these documents it becomes clear that the authors' primary sources were a few individuals outside of the movement who are/were hostile to the INLA and had political and personal reasons to undermine the organization. Furthermore, the authors apparently took the word of these individuals as 'gospel' when writing their so-called 'history' as in several sections what these sources said was repeated verbatim in the book without any effort to authenticate the information from other sources, including members of the IRSP or INLA. Indeed, 'Deadly Divisions' casts the INLA in such a negative light solely because the bulk of the information the authors had access to was biased against the organization. It does not seem that the authors strove to write a fair or balanced account, and as such it is an interesting read but very, very poor history indeed. Hopefully in the near future new works will be published which will cast a very different and more accurate light on this organization.

I see the "reader from texas" didn't like this. Well, anyone who defends terrorism from the quaint seclusion of america, as opposed to my experience of every day life in orthern Ireland is entitled to their view... but they are talking through their rear end!

I'm a history tecaher in Northern Ireland. Let me tell you this is an excellent study of a tawdry little band of thugs and murderers. t exposes to a tee the sort of lowlife scum they were, and details their many divisions and feuds when thankfully they exterminated each other.

Come and live here, "reader from Texas"! Come and see the pain these miserable cowards caused!

While the storyline is not great, it does explain all the words in alphabetical order.

The description of antidisestablishmentarianism was most enlightening though. The ending was a little predictable, the build up to a description of zytoplasm disappointing.

A little more imagination required here, I could find no reference to common terms such as bum bandit, hand shandy, shirt lifter and fudge nudgers.

I do NOT recommend this reference book. It has very little synonyms and merely takes up shelf space.

This is a great thesaurus. Easy to read, easy to understand. If you are looking for a top notch, high quality, inexpensive thesaurus, this is the book for you. I recommend this highly without reservation.

Not for use by writers or anyone interested in the language

I wish I had bought the Roget's International version. There are so few synonyms in this thesaurus--and if I want definitions, I'll use the dictionary. Synonyms: worthless, useless, stink-o

Templar history, the real history not the fervid imaginings regarding the Holy Grail and such, is a truly fascinating tale worthy of sustained study. But as the previous reviewer has observed, however, all of the tales in this collection are instantly forgetable as they are trite in conception and poorly written. They have the collective depth of creative writing exercises in a first year class. I threw my copy away.

I've been a fan of Katherine Kurtz's work for a long time now and look forward to each of her books as they come out. I enjoyed most of the stories in the first two Templar anthologies, but I'm afraid I can't say the same about this one. The stories were well written, but just didn't seem to catch my attention. Twenty-four hours after reading the book, I can't really remember any of the stories that I read in any amount of detail.

For those who read all of Ms. Kurtz's books, I would suggest getting it out of a library or buying a used copy, if you must own it. I hope that if she does any more of these anthologies that the stories are better.

Nazi Germany and its bloody social engineering are bad enough but this book and its extremly shoddy scholarship on dayly life for the average german really does honest scholorship a major disservice.

A lot of good pictures though.

I really thought this would be a book to add to my studies of Germany during the period of the Third Reich. Not to be. The narrative is very amateurish and sounds more like a script directed at the mentality of people who enjoy watching commercial television. A big disappointment but maybe they thought that would help to sell more books.

Contrary to the first review of this book, I ordered it anyway & feel that once you understand the concept of it (what to do each season of the year rather than in general) it can be a great help, especially to beginners. It tends to read like a novel with headings alphabetically arranged in each season. I very much like this book. It would be great for those who like to read the entire book instead of having neat headings for each topic.

C.Z. Guest has been providing garden knowledge to readers for almost 30 years through her newspaper columns and has finally compiled some of the most common questions into one place. Geared towards the novice gardener, Guest's book is organized (or dis-organized!?) according to season and then, alphabetically. Despite some good basic (very basic) information, the book's lack of flow and sensible organization makes it a disaster to read or to use as a reference. Each "season" section contains varied information that may or may not pertain to that season, and some things appear more than once. For example, annual flowers are discussed under the Winter section because there is the briefest of paragraphs suggesting starting annual flower seeds in the winter, but an annual question also appears in the Spring section. Trying to follow alphabetically within the season is also futile since titles are inconsistent - some plants are discussed specifically while others are grouped together, etc. Thankfully it is fully indexed so you can get a quick look-up by subject. Information provided throughout the book is pretty mundane and something you will most likely know if you have been gardening for any amount of time. Guest's entire comment on daylily in the Spring section is: "You can plant day lilies in the spring or fall since they tolerate a wide range of growing conditions. Some bloomers are better than others, such as 'Happy Returns', a compact 18-inch yellow variety that will bloom all summer long. It is a true yellow and will blend beautifully with other flowers." There is a longer comment on daylilies in the fall section - but there is no indication that the reader should look there for more detailed info. This book may be worthwhile afternoon scan (the library's copy, of course) but does not stand alone as a garden reference guide worthy of the avid gardener's shelf.

There's better econ books out there, but if your professor requires this one because it goes along with all the homeworks, lectures, and tests which he gets from the publisher, then you really don't have a choice, do you?

I am Ph.D of Agricultural Entomology. I am rock climbing coach! I love Mathematical biology.

I like Gregory McDonald's work -- really. McDonald's not Robert B. Parker, but you can generally count on a Fletch novel to move along at a reasonably brisk pace and provide the wit that's become such an integral part of the detective-protagonist in the modern mystery genre. That's why I was so dissapointed in Fletch Reflected. I saw somewhat of a decline in Son of Fletch, but that book looks like a masterpiece when compared to this loose sequel.

For my money, the central plot is far less interesting to me than character development and interaction. In a very un-McDonald-like way, both Fletch and his son Jack -- the two central characters -- seem flat, as though they are there only to move the plot along. Of course, there are a few witty lines, but they don't come with the frequency or consistency needed to support the novel or engage the reader.

The problem probably begins with the plot itself. From the onset of the book, I didn't buy it. I couldn't fathom why Jack would get involved in the story; the proper motivation simply wasn't there. Fletch's only motivation was to help Jack.

When I finally reached the end of the novel (a rather arduous task), I was dissapointed further by a contrived ending that somehow managed to tie everything together too cleanly and leave unanswered questions. Worse, the ending seemed very abrupt, as though McDonald tired of writing the novel and just decided to end it -- which, mercifly, he did.

Again, I like McDonald's other work-- but if you're looking for an enjoyable read, you'd be better served by looking at his older stuff.