Arkansas Books

After having read several books and listened to hundreds of hours of TV dealing with President G.W.Bush;I almost passed up this book. For one reason,it was published in 2002 ,and certainly most people feel they know all there is to know about him.So,how do we know all this? We make up our minds based on our politics or on what we are fed by the media;and that is hugely biased on the editorial slant and agenda of the media we are listening to or following. It seems to me, that the reporters and op.ed. writers only ask questions for which they hope to get a reply that fits their political leanings ;or write a piece on something negative even when there is much that is positive that is more important.In my humble opinion,it should be the medias role to report the whole picture and to let the political hacks do the biased politicking.
The author,Frank Bruni,covered Bush's presidential campaign for the New York Times, and in this book he has done an excellent job of giving the reader a remarkable insight into the real character of the President.The thing that really surprised me,was that I expected this book to more reflect the "thinking" of the NY Times ;and that would not be a balanced or conservative approach. I was hardly into the book when I realized that Bruni was making a genuine attempt to really show what kind of a person G.W. Bush really was.This did not change as he kept true to that principle from the time he closely followed him from before the Primaries till well after 9/11.
Bruni spent endless hours with Bush and his family while on the campaigns,travelling ,press conferences,in his homes,and during a lot of down time and "off the record" conversations.He gives us endless verbatum quotes from Bush and you will be amazed at the openess with which Bush and his family talks.
Where most politicians are consumed by unrelenting blind political ambition;you will see that Bush is an exception.He has his deeply held values and convictions that are far more important to him than political agendae.These beliefs can be troubling to many on both sides of politics,but as far as Bush is concerned,that is their problem;not his.When he found himself occupying the office of the President of the United States;he knew it would be difficult,but more important ,he would give it everything he had,and with the help of God and any other resources he could muster;he would try his best to serve and protect his country.
One would think that in the world of politics ,a book like this would be dated by now, Not so.You may or not "like" him,agree or disagree with his politics or party;but after reading this book;you can sure see why he operates in the way he does.He knows he may not always be right and if he is convinced that an alternate path is correct,he will take it.
The fact that Bush does not "fit" the Washington Beltway mold for a politican;is the reason that the media has such a problem with him.
The reason I would recommend this book is that,regardless of your politics;Bruni has cut through all the fog and exposes the Bush's real character.
Bruni gives us numerous personal quotes from Bush.One I liked was;
"Well,there are some things over which I have no control and some I can influence, and I'm able to distinguish between the two."
When you understand where Bush "comes from";you can see why he believes his prime responsibility with The War On Terror is the security of the country,and he will do whatever it takes "On My Watch!"

This book is a politically-motivated libel. The author tries unsuccesfully to hide his aversion to the Bush family, not only toward the President, but also toward his parents and his wife Laura. The book is not worth its weight in paper.

Frank Bruni, a New York Times reporter, wrote a perceptive and eloquent book about the candidate whose campaign he covered in 1999-2000 and the president of the months previous to 9/11, when he was part of the White House press corps. With eye for the big and the small details, he tries a search for George W. Bush. But, as seems always the case in this kind of books, he succeeds, but only partially. Nevertheless, the answers to these failures stand clear in the book itself. I think it has to do something with misunderstimation.

Analysts, journalists and all kinds of pundits, it seems, start at the wrong place: they measure Bush against the traditional political standards and, when he just doesn't fit into them, well, the problems begin. "In many regards, the Bush I knew did not seem to be built for what lay ahead. The Bush I knew was part scamp and part bumbler, a timeless fraternity boy and heedless cutup, a weekday gym rat and weekend napster, an adult with an inner child that often brimmed to the surface or burst trough". What Bruni and others see as limitations, I think, could well be the essence of the success behind George W. Bush in the eyes of many people. In a time where professional politicians are always so self-righteous and pretend to have the right answers to all the problems around, Bush and his unpretending and fallible human nature are a breeze of fresh air.

So, when reading this book, you have to look for the real Bush, the one whose own self and voice keeps joyfully and intelligently jumping out here and there troughout the text, no matter what his disciplinarians (like Karen Hughes) do to enforce him, or the journalists (like Bruni himself) think about it.

Bruni's book deserves five stars because he tries really hard to measure Bush against those all traditonal standards and, in the way, inadvertently discovers Bush to the reader. Another plus is his exceptionally intelligent assesment of the role the press plays in "constructing reality" and not just reporting it. Sure it does. And it's part of the misunderestimation of George W. Bush.

Read it, you won't be dissapointed.

On the 3 July 2004 Fox News Watch member Neal Gabler implied that Frank Bruni was something of a cheer leader for George W Bush in the 2000 election.

That is not something a dispassionate reader would claim after reading Bruni's account in this book, essentially a campaign journal of Bruni's travels on the 'Zoo plane,'and elsewhere during that frantic presidential election.

Overall Bruni is mildly critical of his subject, but often in a funny way, particularly with the then Republican candidate's mangling of the English language -something that Bush is able to laugh at himself over (a good trait).

The book is not a must-read, and is now dated being published in early 2002, but it does give some idea of how manic and maniac campaign life is for both journalists and candidates.

Bush is revealed as a man with an impish sense of humour but also one that developed newfound gravity after the horrific attacks on his country, in September 2001, and a leader who takes the trappings of the presidency seriously. On one occasion he forgot to salute a marine as he boarded his helicopter, Marine One, to go to Camp David but once inside he remembered his failure and so returned to salute the startled guard!

If you like a gossipy style account of elections then this book is an enjoyable enough light read

I liked this book because it paints the good and bad about George W. Bush. Bruni covered the Bush Campaign for the New York Times. In this book, he reveals the real George Bush and the close election of 2000. There were lots of colorful insight and also jokes played during this campaign. What this book revealed was an uncomplicated man who was seeking the presidency. Bush also could laugh at himself, including his fumbling of the English language. The Presidency was not his all consuming passion as it was for Al Gore. This knowledge validated my vote for Bush.
Bruni covers only the campaign and the aftermath of the election. There is only a little background history of Bush before his presidential run. There are no photos in this book. The book is strictly a look at Bush's run for the White House in 2000.

pretty good adventure story. kinda gets weird towards the end but satisfying ending. i am not literature proffessor or anything just a guy who likes good stories.

I've read the Celtic Crusades and Byzantium, so I feel I'm fairly acquainted with Lawhead's style. This book is a prime example of his works and was a good read for several reasons. First of all, Lawhead's pace is second to none. He doesn't dwell on tedious image dumps or have lengthy, hard-to-follow dialogue. Also, the way the book is organized is well thought-out, with the four names of Patrick serving as sections of the book. Lawhead is one of the better authors when it comes to using tactile images, such as the blistering cold or horrendous beatings the main character endures.

My only gripe is that the book wasn't longer and didn't explore the later life of Patrick as much as I would have liked. Perhaps the author didn't feel it important, but I believe this addition would have been welcome.

Simply as a fictional novel, this work by Lawhead is an excellent read. BUT as a biography, it's a false account of Patrick's life.

Read St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography by Phillip Freeman, which has good translations of St. Patrick's surviving letters. Read Patrick's known, fascinating writings and compare them to Stephen Lawhead's Patrick: Son of Ireland. Lawhead hugely diverges from many of the known facts of Patrick's life.

This book is absolutely without a doubt one the best books I have ever read. Granted, you have to be into Stephen Lawhead's style to enjoy it, though there might be room for exceptions there . . . but really the struggles of the main character within himself and his quest are awesome and powerful. Having read all but a few of Stephen Lawhead's books, I would quickly say this is definately one of my favorites if not THE favorite. Absolutely worth owning.

My husband started me reading Lawhead and up until Patrick, I enjoyed his writing. We are very careful on the content of what we read and Lawhead had, thus far, been very morally clean. However, within the first 50 pages he includes lewd details of sexual relationships. I do not know anything about the historical Patrick, but this information was not necessary at all. If it had stopped I might not be writing this review, but the sexual promiscuity continues throughout the book in detail. While I very much enjoyed Hood and Scarlet as well as the Pendragon Cycle, I have nothing good to say about Patrick. Even the theology is loose and liberal. It made me wonder if Lawhead has changed what he believes. In the end, Patrick was a disappointment.

The requisite murder and its investigation are given short shrift in Arly Hanks' latest case. Still, the citizens of Maggody are good for a chuckle as their town is hit with yet another blast of culture shock. This time it's the Internet. Each of the quirky characters approaches the subject in his or her own inimitable style. Imagine Brother Verber's righteous joy at a new means of seeking out sin and depravity! Or Ruby Bee's response when told she's "performed an illegal operation." Such are the pleasures of this book.

Having read favorable reviews, I recently picked up Joan Hess' 2000 mystery .... In the recent, fairly substantial genre of "comic" mysteries, Hess places her story in the truly hillbilly Arkansas town of Maggody, and follows her heroine, Police Chief Arly Hanks, as she bumbles insightfully to a "brutal" murder's solution. I don't read many mysteries, but I suppose this book is fairly good as such novels go. Hess has a finely tuned ear for comedy, and presents her characters with both affection and irony. The murder plot itself kept me guessing - although I confess I am not one of these readers who tries to "predict" the outcome as I go - until the final pages. I have no disagreement with the favorable reviews, but am equally grateful I pulled this book off the $ 4 remainder table, rather than paid full price. A worthwhile entertainment.

The previous Arly-Hanks-in-Maggody mysteries have all rated four or five stars in my opinion. I have read most of them two or three times. Unfortunately, the 12th book in the series does not compare favorably with the earlier books. Arly is still chief of police in Maggody. Ruby Bee and Estelle are still doing their best to be helpful. Raz is still in love with his pig. The regular Maggody cast of characters is in the book, but Joan Hess' magical spark seems to be missing. (Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers had some efforts that don't rate four stars, so it can happen to anyone.) Read this one if you want to keep up with developments in Maggody, but if you have not read any of the Maggody mysteries, don't start with this one; it is not representative of the author's great talent.

MURDER@MAGGODY.COM is my first Arly Hanks book, but it looks like this one's about the 11th in the series that must have begun with MISERY LOVES MAGGODY. This appears to be a really popular series, and comes highly recommended by friends, but do NOT start with this one. Oh, sure, it has great local characters and a lot of humor, but I kept thinking I was missing out on something. The jokes seemed to be "in" jokes. I couldn't get the full understanding, as they say. I'm betting that if I went back and read the first one and then read this over I'd get more out of it. This book has a truly colorful story and takes quite a few twists and turns, but I won't read another one in this series unless it's the first one.

This is my first visit to the fictional community of Maggody, Arkansas. ....

Things move slow in Maggody, AK (population 755) and when the 21st Century gets ready to move in via a computer lab for the local high school the entire multitude of assorted and sundry Buchanons, as well as all the other good citizens, are in a royal dither. (Which I think is another way of saying an Ozarkian farce.) It seems as if everyone is worried about all the additional evils the internet will unleash - SEX, SIN, SPAM and SATAN hisself! But since the since the computers are already sitting in a storage shed behind the school, and the school is planning special cyber classes for all the adults in town it looks like Maggody will indeed be going online.

But like I said, things move slow in Maggody. (It does takes a while to catch up with all the coming and goings of the myriad Buchanons - how does Hess keep them all straight? By the way, Myriad Buchanon would probably be a good addition to the cast of characters in a future book.) So you're half way through the book before the first body shows up! (Population now 754) About the same time all hell breaks loose - people start receiving evil apparitions with their email, Ruby Bee and Estelle end up in the mud under a Pot O' Gold trailer and maybe Satan is indeed possessing the populace. To top it all off, chief of police Arly Hanks is having as hard a time getting a decent meal as she is find out what's going on.

In Maggody, I've discovered that the fun isn't in finding out "who done it" as much as it is finding out who's doing what and why among the wild and wacky cast of characters. So I'll admit it, while I hated vacationing there years ago, I'm hooked on the books! I just bought two more Maggodies and this one gets my ...!

...

I thoroughly enjoyed Garden of Lies but found this sequel boring. Several reviewers below expressed my feelings very well... too much rehash and reminiscing about past history... overly redundant... I kept reading (more like skimming), hoping for some progression in the story, only to find this continued throughout the book. Just when something was about to happen, the character went into memory mode. Sylvie faded into the background and her daughters are now just older whiners. Drew, Iris and Mandy were central characters but there wasn't enough background about their lives to give the reader a reason to care about them. When I'm enjoying a book, I don't want it to end; sorry to say this was not one of them.

I read this book from start to finish. Some parts are hard to figure out because of the switching of the babies, and I didn't care for the ending. I thought that this book was dragged out in parts. Wouldn't recommend it.

The story starts out with Rose who has lost her husband and soulmate Max. She is a practicing lawyer, who meets Eric at a business reception and knows she doesn't want to take up with someone else in spite of her secret interest there with Eric. And Eric keeps persisting until he will win her heart-maybe. If Rose wants him to. Rose also has children, and a stepdaughter Mandy with a drinking problem that Mandy refuses to think she has. Rose's son Drew, wants to marry Rachel's daughter Iris, who is very mentally dysfunctional and has a multitude of emotional problems. Part of that was because she was abandoned by her biological mother. Rose brought the child to Rachel when Iris was about 2, and Iris has always been traumatized by memories in the past. So she is a very difficult person to deal with.

Rachel who also is a doctor at a clinic, (most of them troubled teen girls who have become pregnant, has an author husband of whom she is growing further apart from all the time. Her marriage becomes more and more troubled until finally it may be headed for divorce-and Rachel is doing whatever she can to hold the pieces together. In all of this, Brian and Rose are fond of each other, always were, and this is part of the problem is that Rachel feels he loves Rose much more.

Then, in the center of the story, (in fact the main point), is Sylvie, the mom of Rachel, (and Rose, but Rose doesn't know this horrible secret), who is dying. On her deathbed she confesses to Rachel that Rose is her biological daughter, not her, and that during a fire she rescued Rachel, and Rose was lost to her. So Rachel and Rose are in a serious conflict of what to do after her death in the book.

Iris seriously needs help through the whole book, and Rose definitely hasn't wanted Drew marrying her, especially after the turns and twists that take place within the family scope in this story which as a whole, was very well written!

This book was most wonderful and interesting. It is the sequel to "Garden of Lies" which is a top-of-the-line book. This book is also awesome. Especially since I already knew the characters. The Baby Switch finally comes to the truth of what actually happened and why it happened. I definitely recommend this book, but read "Garden of Lies" first. I think these 2 books are Eileen's best adult novels. (By the way, I think her best teen novels are the series of 4 "Who Killed Peggy Sue?" which is a mystery.) This book was not boring at all.

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't read the previous book because I didn't even know there was a prequel. Goudge does an excellent job with her characters. Both the females are strong, admirable, but unique. The plot did move faster than her other books. I will say however, that she needs to rethink her heavy reliance on setting. Goudge spends almost three pages describing the old woman in her garden. We get it! She loves her roses! Otherwise, this is a good book.

I could hardly wait for the next Claire Malloy book. I'm just glad I didn't waste money on the hardcover. Instead of funny quips and jabs Claire is just plain annoying. Has Joan Hess run out of new things to say? I finished the book because I paid money for it but it was a difficult read, I'm sad to say. I always looked forward to her Arly Hanks and Claire Malloy series, but next time I'll check them out at the library so I don't dish out the cash.

I started reading the Claire Malloy mysteries because I am a huge fan of Joan Hess' Maggody, Ark. series. While never as good, the Malloy books were always a fun, quick read. Lately, however, the series seems to have taken a distinct turn for the worse. While the Maggody books continue to be ribald, wry and blissfully silly, the Malloy books have become muddled, badly written and stale (culminating in this negligible installment). It's interesting how the same writer can miss so consistently with some characters and hit the target so often with others. I've decided to skip Claire Malloy's future exploits and stick with Sherrif Arly Hanks and friends.

This book just didn't grab me. I finished it but the end was kind of anticlimatic. The thing that bothers me most is that the main characters never seems grow or change. Caron has been sixteen(and speaking in CAPITAL LETTERS) forever just as Claire has been Forty and in a going nowhere relationship with Peter Rosen. Enough already. This series needs a major overhaul!

I'm a big fan of this series, which features widowed bookstore owner Claire Malloy, and I have been eagerly awaiting this latest entry for some time. Although it was enjoyable to visit with these characters again, the laughs were fewer and farther between than I'm used to from this writer, and the mystery was quite a let-down.

The titular "convention" is a mystery convention with five major mystery writers arrived in Farberville from out of town. Claire, who hopes to make a small fortune in book sales during the convention, ends up in charge when the organizer is hospitalized. Between herding the errant authors from one place to the next while keeping track of her own teenage daughter, Claire hardly has time to rebuff the apologetic overtures of her estranged boyfriend, Lieutenant Peter Rosen. But convention chaos becomes the least of Claire's worries when a conference attendee dies under suspicious circumstances.

There's a lot of Hess's trademark charm in this book, including the characterization of the mystery authors, each a unique and interesting personality. Claire is a wonderful character, and her relationship with her daughter is fun and realistic.

Unfortunately, the plot just isn't strong enough. Hess goes to a great deal of trouble to depict the complex and frequently hostile relationships between the authors, even though these relationships have very little to do with the mystery. The resolution of the mystery is startlingly weak and poorly thought out. And the bizarre subplot involving Peter Rosen, which is presumably meant to be humorous, is so far out of character as to be contrived and distracting. Hess doesn't need to work this hard for laughs.

Despite the disappointing ending to this book, I hope I don't have to wait too long for the next Claire Malloy mystery.

A new Claire Malloy mystery is a reason to celebrate. A Conventional Corpse is an excellent addition to the series. The backdrop of a convention attended a group of eccentric authors is perfect for murder. The characters are delightful and well written. The teenagers add spice. The frightfully spoiled cat was a hoot.

Joan Hess always entertains but I think her plot twists in this book were especially clever. Also her character's anger toward her on again off again boyfriend rang true. Although as an incurable romantic I wanted to see them get together. In fact it is my hope that one book will contain a wedding and another perhaps a honeymoon with murder of course.

I recommend this book to all the Claire Malloy fans.

The combination of a mystery along with Joan Hess's humorous descriptions of Maggody Arkansas, make for delightful reading.

A very enjoyable book well written, excellent story development. I am glad I bought and read it! However - more crude than usual - I will not be so quick to pass it on to my daughter or recommend it to friends. Hess gives us a paragraph or two on her personal feelings on some social issues as well. Not too strong, just noticable and not there in earlier works. I do hope Hess goes back to the light humor with out the soap box that made her stories so enjoyable!

Despite the fact that this book had some "formula" style plot lines (very similiar plot to Maggody in Manhatten") I loved the Elvis references (and "sightings!") and the strange, strange, world of the Buchannons. It was a good quick read and I enjoyed it, although it was probably not the strongest book in the series.

A friend found an autographed copy of this book and gave it to me for a housewarming gift. I waited until I was moved in and dug into the first page. I live 15 miles south of Memphis, and I just knew this book would "knock my socks off." Like several others, I was disappointed in this latest Arly mystery. Perhaps the Maggody books are best when set in Maggody with its familiar, quirky residents. I still had some laughs and was interested in the plot and new characters, but this would not rate as the best in the series. Joan Hess, however, on her worst day tops many of the rest. I love the Maggody residents better than I love my own kin, and the townspeople of Maggody are much more entertaining!

The Joan Hess Maggody books, set in and around the fictional town of Maggody, Arkansas, are all delightful if you are looking for light, entertaining fiction. In this book, the murder takes place away from Maggody while some of the most enjoyable Maggadonians are on an Elvis tour. Maggody Chief of Police Arly Hanks winds up at the crime scene and finds herself up to her wry smile in mystery. If you can't laugh at the weird way Americans view our world, avoid this book. If you have a good sense of humor and don't mind that some of the humor is directed at your own values, read it and enjoy it. If you have not read any of the Maggody books, you might find the books more enjoyable if you started with the first book in the series and worked your way forward.

How does Joan Hess do it again and again and again? Her Claire Malloy mysteries are funny, smart, and interesting. She has me hooked by the cleverness of her heroine, as well as by the intricacies of the plot. I devoured this one in a single plane ride. I do think Claire may be becoming a bit TOO testy, but just a tad, as her ascerbic wit is part of her unending charm. Well done, Ms. Hess!

I expected more out of this book, I have enjoyed the series in the past, although the daughter Caron is irritating! I really thought the story dragged quite a bit in this book, and must agree with others that our main character did some really dumb things.

Joan Hess has done it again. The latest Claire Malloy mystery is a hoot and hard to put down. I have read all of the books in the series and am waiting patiently for the next book. If you're an avid fan like myself, don't miss out on this new installment in the long-running series.

Claire Malloy, owner of The Book Depot, in Farberville Arkansas is having a bad day. There are rats in her kitchen and she is going to have to move out while the problem and other emergency work is taken care of. This could take weeks.

Fortunately, Dolly, one of her customer's at the store is going away for a few weeks and wants Claire to housesit for her.

So she moves into the palatial estate with her daughter Caron and Caron's best friend Inez. What could be more perfect?

Not this. No sooner does she move in than Caron and Inez claim to have found a dead body in the back yard. The body has disappeared by the time the police show up and Claire tries to convince herself that the girls really hadn't seen anything.

Then things start to get strange. Madison and Sara Louise, claiming to be nieces of Dolly show up and claim their car had broken down while coming down to see Dolly and they needed a place to stay.

Other strange people seem to be lurking around the area and when Claire see's a dead body in the yard, which also disappears before the police can show up makes her worried about everyone's safety, which proves true, when the much seen dead body shows up in the freezer in the garage.

Who is the man? What was he doing there. Where is Dolly, who has disappeared and appears not to be who she says she is. What is going on, why are the FBI investigating and are they in danger?

Claire decides to investigate with the help of Lt. Peter Rosen, "her boyfriend" the web of secrets, lies and more murders as she wonders if maybe they shouldn't have stayed at the "Dew Drop Inn."

Highlights:

Claire Malloy, she is a very adult acting character. Serious-minded, but you almost have to be if you're a widow raising a teenager alone and trying to get along on an iffy business like a book store.

Peter Rosen, who is a great boyfriend and friend. He doesn't like her investigating, but helps all he can because he knows he won't be able to stop her.

Caron and her best friend Inez. Typical middle of the group teenagers, they're not in the "A" group of teenagers, although they want to be, but they're not in the "Z" group either. They are actually the funniest characters in these books.

A complex mystery. A lot of twists and turns. A very quick read.

The sci-fi fan pot-head, who spends most of his time trying to shop lift from her store. He's been in since the first of this series and add just a touch of humor whenever he appears.

Lowlights:

For the first time, Claire does some really dumb things. When you're house sitting, you don't let two total strangers move in without asking the home owner. And when they're obnoxious, and insulting to your daughter and her friend, treating them like maids and making it miserable for them to live in the house you throw them out. I didn't understand Claire's insisting that they stay, except as a plot maneuver to move the story along.

Except for Peter & Inez there aren't a lot of reoccurring characters that appear in this book. Claire needs a wider circle of friends.

Minor problems, but still a very good read.

I think this series has one of the longest time between books, the last book "Out On A Limb" came out in 2002 and it was a little difficult to get back into the characters.

Check out Joan Hess's, Maggody series, with Arly Hanks. I don't enjoy it as much as the Claire Malloy series, but it's also a good series.

NOTE: Do not listen to any negative review posted here. I've enjoyed most of the Claire Malloy mysteries thus far, and THE GOODBYE BODY doesn't dissapoint. The story is chock-full of surprises, twists and turns, and plenty of laugh out loud moments.

I like cuddling up with a new Claire Malloy mystery whenever possible, and this is one of Hess's best mysteries, and one of Malloy's most bizarre adventures.

If you've enjoyed other Claire Malloy mysteries, don't pass up this interesting romp. I'm looking forward to Hess's next book in the series.

Sara

I've worked my way through almost all of Hess's books, but somehow had overlooked this earlier one. It's a fun mystery, as all of her books are, and it was fun to see Caron tackle a problem on her own.

This was the first Claire Malloy Mystery i have ever read and based on it, i just ordered 8 more. i loved the humor in here. i am a 50 year old woman and for me, at least, there were some pages that had me literally laughing so hard that i had tears in my eyes. i am looking forward to passing each of them on to my best friend after i read them to share the fun with her.

After all the serious mysteries i regularly read, it was great to read something that was just plain fun.

If you like the mysteries which play on words then this one is for you. The story line wasn't anywhere nearly as complex as the language. Many puns, word plays and an investigator that talks to herself if no one else is around because that is how important the word play is in this book. If you prefer more crime and detection you will not like this one.

This book was not as interesting as poisoned pins. I hope the author finds a better boy friend for Claire Malloy than The CID Inspector Peter Rosen as he seem to have no depth of character. I eagerly await to read the next mystery.

A pretty awful book altogether. I love the Claire Malloy series, but this novel totally missed. I never could figure out why Claire cared for the fates of those appalling secondary characters, each one more loathsome than the next, including a bunch of tiresome Druids (a plot convention indicative of a desperate mystery author). Her daughter's misadventure with the mall Santa Claus was much more interesting.

God and religion are the problems?

What about schools in communist countries? No God in that, and none of this mass killing, so that point is moot

Japan doesn't have any "God and Jesus", no mass killings.

NOTE: So These countries don't have mentally ILL????

The USA is a whole mix of kids and religions is what set some kids off, upper class mixing with lower class, shy with jocks, different religions, all combined. This has never happened in the society in history, all of this mixing. Yes we are trying to "have a go at it", and for the most part its working, but nothing is 100% perfect.

Everyone is getting it wrong, flat wrong

This author claims it's a mental illness that these shooters suffer from. It has NOTHING to do with a "mental illness", that's flat wrongo. I saw her on TV on the Bill Curtis rampage special she has no make up on, and is making a TV appearance, so that must be how she is, women with no make up on, and especially those who need it, always turn out to be radicals, and who trust a radicals view? Not many.

Oh no, I just put her down, will she go postal now? And have you notice a woman has never gone postal with a gun? Why? Because women, while they do suicide, they don't take it out on others, only themselves because they blame themselves if something goes wrong. If a woman has a weakness, a physical handicap, she still by because she can still get a man, IF she wants to, for a weakness in a woman does not bother a man, what's the only thing a man is really after? Hint hint, right you guessed it. More so if a woman has a weakness many men will take advantage of that and want her more, as man is a dominator and likes a weakness, to give him power. So bottom line is a woman with a physical impairment, or someone who doesn't fit in with a "click", can always find a man, if she wants one.

Well, the author doesn't get it. zero stars for calling it a mental illness, when its not. Or it would happen in other countries, for if we have mentally ill in the USA, then the rest of the world has some also. Where are the mass killers in other countries???

Cho's speech problem, the columbine killers were small kids, any weakness in a male, he then can have problems with girls/ women and asserting himself in any "male ranks". For females are the opposite, they do *not* like a weakness in males. Also males, have the need by nature to be strong, and if other boys/men treat them as lesser thans, over time, it builds up. If you do not suffer from anything physical, then you will NOT ever get this, I don't care how many degrees you have, how much money you have, how observant you are of the world, how smart you are, male or female, you will never get it.

Look at the animal world in the wild?, who gets all the females? The strongest male.

Males that get "excluded" from others turn inward, and start watching everyone and everything else from the outside in, they just watch and watch. See others having a good time. They just watch and watch and watch. It builds and builds and builds.

There isn't any "counseling" or "meds" that is going to change anything, I said, there isn't any counseling or meds that is going to change anything. That's a flat red flag for people that push that flat don't get it, and think they do, or are trying to get it.

You have a person that is "removed" from society, through "default" meaning its NOT anything they have done, but its how others are treating them, then your going to have people that "check out", for humans do not life to be alone. Animals like to be alone, hence, no suicides in the animal world. Yet more proof we are not animals, but that's another conversation.

This book does not really bring anything new to the table, but is worth having if for no other reason than it has a history of shootings that stretches all the way back to the 70's. (All trends, graphs and studies usually start in the 90's when the killings reached their appex.) It was interesting to see that back then the trend tended to be "Shoot Authority Figures!" as opposed to today's killers who tend to hunt their peers instead.

Exactly, and when did the all the "times change" and we all started to live with each other? In the 1970's , right? and no one did one of these rampages before the 1970's, right? *RIGHT*

Lastly, all these kinds of problems happen in big large schools, right? Right

Everyone is getting it wrong, flat wrong. What I just said are "the" answers, and I do not have a PHD, but I have a physical problem, so I know.

You either get to the point where you except it, through faith that after your outta here from this planet life will be better, or you succumb to it and always seeking help of the world, meds, counseling, nothing changes, then you lose it. For the nearly 99% of those who lose it and commit suicide they do it alone, and you never here about them, right? For the few that get so pissed off that they fell they need to send a message, and take out as many as they can on the way, that's what they do. I am surprised it doesn't happen more often, isn't anybody else? So we can be thankful for that.

Bottom line is, each generation of kids come along, none of them know about what has happened in history, kids being kids bulling and making fun of and excluding others has gone on for as long as time has been going on, nothing new here, nothing will change. All this new age of counseling and meds is a phony Band-Aid. Sure it helps suppress and save a few people, keeps some in check, but it doesn't change the problem. And I know many will debate it's not supposed to, it's only to help one person at a time, deal with their "own" stuff. But it's not working, more meds and counseling is going on than ever in history, and suicide is higher now than ever, right? Yes we have more of a world population, but the ratio is higher now than ever. Maybe that's because guns are new over the last few centuries, which is by far the most used method, especially by males.

I guess the only way outta all this is to move to the mountains and live an easy life! Well, that's no answer either, why do you think they have so many lil bars in all over in every mountain area.

Interesting mankind's continual needs to be around people no matter where in the world, we hate solitary, but many animals in the wild the world over will only live solitary, and they prefer it.

God is playing tricks on us?

Could be, for although my wife likes it, my hair just doesn't grow much on my head anymore, where I want it, yet it continues to grow plenty on my face, where I don't want it, so man has to shave his face till he gets old and dies, yet many males have so little on the top of the head.

Yep, God "is" playing tricks on us haha

Research like this is useful for anyone who wants to understand the Virginia Tech tragedy. School shooters such as Cho Seung-Hui are not born raging to kill. They are molded through abuse. Cho is a textbook example of the type of school shooter featured in these in-depth case studies - shy, socially awkward, and tormented by high school classmates.

The social climates at the high schools attended by school shooters are typically vicious and hateful, with rampant sexual harassment of girls and women and antigay harassment of less dominant boys.

At Columbine High School, the most famous school shooting site studied in this book, jocks reigned supreme. The state wrestling champion, the leader of a clique of athlete bullies and the symbol of injustice for school shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, was allowed to park his $100,000 Hummer all day in a 15-minute parking space. The school indulged athletes' rampant sexual and racial bullying and physical abuse of others, including Harris and Kleboldand were given free license to abuse others. A coach did nothing when the athletes targeted a Jewish boy in gym class, singing songs about Hitler when he made a basket, pinning him to the ground and doing "body twisters" that left him bruised all over, and threatening to set him on fire.

Many of the school shooters featured in this book endured antigay harassment that contributed to their rage. Barry Loukaitis, who killed a teacher and two students in Washington state, was taunted by school jocks as a "faggot." Luke Woodham in Mississippi, who killed two students and wounded seven others, was often called "gay" by classmates. Michael Carneal, who killed three fellow students and wounded five in Kentucky, was labeled as "gay" in the school newspaper. Charles Williams in Santee, California, who shot at 15 students and adults and killed two, had been derided as "a skinny faggot."

According to an Associated Press news account (4/20/07), Cho endured similar abuse to the shooters featured in this book: "Classmates in Virginia, where Cho grew up, said he was teased and picked on, apparently because of shyness and his strange, mumbly way of speaking. Once, in English class at Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., when the teacher had the students read aloud, Cho looked down when it was his turn, said Chris Davids, a Virginia Tech senior and high school classmate. After the teacher threatened him with an F for participation, Cho began reading in a strange, deep voice that sounded "like he had something in his mouth," Davids said. "The whole class started laughing and pointing and saying, `Go back to China,'" Davids said. [In middle school, another student is quoted as saying,]"There were just some people who were really mean to him and they would push him down and laugh at him. He didn't speak English really well and they would really make fun of him." "

The first thing one has to do, when trying to take a serious look at the subject of school shootings, is to put things in perspective. After all, despite the shocking and graphic images seen during the media frenzies following these events, the actual statistics do not support an epidemic of violence in schools. Less than 1% of homicides and suicides among school-age children actually occur in or around school grounds. 99% of the violence that school-age children are subjected to happens outside of school grounds and outside of school hours. Kids in violent urban neighborhoods are statistically safer in the classroom during school hours than in any waking hours.

That aside, I began working my way through this book, and trying to keep a disciplined perspective on things, on February 13th, a couple weeks ago, the day before the shootings at NIU. Besides the coincidence in the timing, the NIU shooting was the first of its kind where I had to worry about people very close to me being involved. Millions of kids represented statistically mean nothing compared to a single horrific story involving the real people who populate my life. It was a tragic reminder for me that no one is immune to gut reactions.

There is no minimizing the importance of this topic, and not just because we want to avoid future tragedies, but also because the discussion sheds light on themes that affect multiple aspects of our shared culture and our collective quality of life.

The authors here take an interesting approach. The automatic responses from most people, as far as preventative approaches, would be limited access to guns and a greater focus on screening for individuals who are likely to perpetrate these horrendous crimes. But, for a myriad of reasons, not all of which are simply political, neither of these approaches end up being straightforward. I could rant on and on about gun laws, we all have strong opinions, but that would steer me too far off course.

As far as predictive strategies, focused on identifying adolescents likely to commit serious acts of mass violence, you have the same statistical problems you would have trying to screen for a very rare form of a medical illness. The more rare the event, the greater the ratio of false positives versus true positives for any measure. This is not necessarily a problem, if resources are ample, costs of screening are low, and the outcome of being falsely screened in is completely benign. But in the real world, designing an accurate screening tool that is practical and not potentially harmful is not an easy task. Believe me. There are many researchers who have dedicated their entire careers to this without producing a demonstrably valid instrument.

The authors of "Rampage" draw on their extensive fieldwork in the aftermaths of two school shootings, as well as other data in the literature, and come to the conclusion that best solutions will be found in "the insights of sociology over psychology." The authors extensively review the popular explanations that get filtered down to us: mental illness, the "he just snapped" most-proximate-cause explanations, family problems, a culture of violence, bullying, peer influences, changing communities, media violence, the copycat effect, and gun availability. Katherine Newman et al. also report insightfully on the aftermath of these tragedies in their towns. There is an important chapter, "Blame and Forgiveness," which talks about the role faith plays in the public mediation of blame and responsibility. All explanations are explored thoughtfully, nothing is dismissed, but Newman et al. effectively argue that clinging to any one of these over-simplifications may be comforting but ultimately contribute to missing the big picture.

After reviewing the details of two particular school shootings, they tell us "there is nothing spontaneous about a rampage school shooting." School shooters, and the rest of us, inhabit complex and dynamic social and institutional worlds: "There are reasons why the shooters don't go out quietly when they decide to address their social dilemmas. They arrive at these tragic solutions after a period of small trials and big errors." From their perspective, solutions lie not in preventative models as much as in risk management models: "...the best bet we have for prevention lies not in trying to identify the people whoa re going to shoot their teachers and classmates- though preventative mental health measures are good policy across the board- but rather on intercepting the flow of information when the threats fly." Solutions have to do with the organization of schools and the relationships between individuals, families, and our institutions. All of this is handled with appropriate humility. The authors never pretend they have it all figured out. They acknowledge that any intervention will meet resistance and may have unpredictable negative consequences. But they certainly do a lot to advance the discussion.

So, guess what. Zero-tolerance policies that preordain overreaction- such as expelling a student for giving a friend an aspirin, instituting punitive penalties for specific language with no regard to context, or gang-marshalling a kid to the psychiatric emergency room instead of allowing them a minute to take space and collect themselves- are counter-productive. It works against fostering a sense of belonging within the school, and it discourages the flow of important information from students to administrators or counselors. It works against a sense of sharing information in good faith.

Improving the sense of trust and connection between kids, families, schools, and communities sounds like an over-simplistic solution. But it isn't. It's as simple or complex as you want to make it, but ultimately it will prove to be a much more effective way to decrease violence than intensifying efforts to label kids as potential sociopaths.

If I had to pick a beef with the authors, I would say that it would have been nice to see more about mental health services in the schools. The authors do endorse this, but it is a brief discussion. I would have wanted it emphasized that kids with trauma histories typically present with anxiety, hypervigilance, irritability, and a tendency to misinterpret social cues. They may react to perceived bullying or intimidation from peers or staff, and the typical "show of force" response to their behaviors will typically increase oppositionality, ultimately making no one safer.

In a brief summary, I can't do justice to a topic that the authors here spend nearly 400 pages discussing. So get the book and read it. I highly recommend this book for reading that is important and serious, but also written at a very accessible level. It manages to be very compelling reading, a hard book to put down, which is quite an accomplishment for such a heavy and heartrending subject.

An in-depth look at two school shooting cases, supplemented by statistics about the trends in school shootings over recent decades. Because each member of this group of sociologists writes his/her own chapter, there is some repetition of information, but the gain in reading each contribution is to understand the multiplicity of factors which coalesce in the shootings. It's not as simple as violent video games, or bullying, or family life, or youth culture, or socioeconomic status, or racism, or academic success. One key factor, among several others, is the tendency of school personnel and community members to overlook children's signs of distress and to give kids the chance to start over in a new year, neglecting to accumulate a historical record of kids' transgressions and thereby succombing to a kind of wishful thinking that kids will turn out okay in the end. So many do, but those who turn violent have escaped the radar of the adult world.

Rampage misses the elephant in the living room.

Although the public schools account for about 85% of the student population in the United States, they represent nearly 100% of the fatal shootings. This is statistically significant and is no accident.

For although the authors fail to mention it, the main reason for this discrepancy is that the public schools are basically amoral. God, prayer, and even american tradition are absent from them.

The separation of church from state has not kept religion out of the public schools. Far from it. Rather amoral secular humanism has become the de facto form of worship there.

Among other things, this has removed much of the inner self restraint that traditionally kept students in line which in turn has lead to school shootings.

This is one of those not bad, but not really good books.
After meeting that most horrible of fates for a woman, being jilted by her fiance, Lucy Richards ( whom I thought was supposed to be strong) abandons her teaching career in west Texas and flees back to her hometown of Bonham, where she hopes to scare up an alternate husband.
Once back home, Lucy frets incessantly about being "an old maid" and contemplates marriage to any one of three admirers, none of whom she loves. But Prince Charming, in the form of Josh Arnold, a west Texas friend, rides to the rescue.
Lucy agrees to marry Josh, seemingly more out of a desire to marry somebody, anybody, than from genuine affection for Josh.
Oddly enough, the rather unlikely couple enjoys a blissful marriage with lots of sex ( described in more detail than some readers may want).
The unrelenting bliss ( but not the sex) lets up a little when the couple relocates to Arkansas, where the whites are bigoted and the blacks "uppity".
The fates of some of the characters is left dangling, to be sort of resolved in the final book of the trilogy.
This book makes for light, pleasant summer reading, but don't expect much depth.

I found & read this book first. Later I found the first in the series, Train to Estaline. They are both very good. I enjoyed reading about Lucy & her family & all their quirks. Enjoy.

I read the first book in the trilogy and picked up A Place Called Sweet Shrub just because the author had killed off so many characters in the first and left much unanswered that I naively thought resolution would come in the sequel. I was wrong. Lucinda had so much going for her in the West Texas hardened by encounters with Christobel and Mrs. Sully that I thought her character would continue to grow. Instead, the book was a grandiose setup for the time displaced rehash of a race riot. The ribald humor was misplaced and characters are killed off haphazardly. I knew not to expect plot resolution, but some motivation would have been appreciated.

It has been three years since Lucy Richards returned from Estelline. Taking over the family hardware store and caring for family has taken her mind off her sister's betrayal and the man she had planned to marry, perhaps too well. Lucy feels that she may be too comfortable, and that life in Bonham may not hold much for her. When Josh Arnold visits Lucy on his way to Sweet Shrub, Arkansas(where he is to read law) he makes it clear in no uncertain terms that he is still interested in Lucy, and that he won't take no for an answer. Lucy discovery that her heart is once again willing to trust combined with Josh's insistance and the impending visit of Lucy's sister and former fiancee, propells Lucy to accept his proposal. Together they move to Sweet Shrub. Just as she had faced change and adversity when she left home to teach, Lucy is faced with a whole new life to claim. She is faced by the prejudices and fears of the townfolk, and must turn to Josh and an inner strength she did not realize she had to survive. This is the second in three books, and is told in a very different way than the first. The author is very skillful in including the events of the early 1900's, impending world war, friction between races and small town dynamics to weave a wonderful story of life in Texas.

"Sweet Shrub" was such a surprise. This book looked like dripy ole' southern novel. BUT...how wrong I was. This book was deep, emotional and I loved the characters. DEEPLY. This is such a great book.....it's clear, enjoyable, and such a pleasant surprise.