Minnesota Books

As an avid reader of John Sandford's "Prey" novels I read through most of this book thinking "this is his best." The book revolves around Lucas Davenport, a Minneapolis cop and Sandford's most famous protagonist, working with the FBI to catch Clara Rinker, a mysterious for-hire killer on a vengeance run.

What's really great about this book, on top of the great writing and storytelling ability of Sandford, is that Lucas Davenport is unleashed. Normally in the Prey novels Davenport is limited in action by his superiors in Minneapolis, by politicians and rules. In this book, because it takes place in a different town, we really see Davenport unleashed. There aren't rules to follow, actions are made "off the record" and it all adds to the excitement of this thriller.

Even better is the antagonist in this novel is a very sympathetic character whom the readrs can identify with. Normally Sandford's antagonists are so evil and one sided the reader can't help but hope for some horrible death at the end of the book. This time it's clearly different, Clara Rinker is an eye-for-an-eye killer with a sense of justice.

Thus, 99% of the novel is great. However, in the final pages of the book everything falls apart. I won't reveal the ending but it is abrupt and anti-climatic. A terrible disappointment for what could have been Sandford's best work.

This is the first John Sandford book I have read. The author provides his readers with a well written, action packed, suspenseful story. The Clara Rinker character was well developed. I really liked the twist at the end. I am looking forwarding to reading more of John Sandford's books.

This book was very exciting. Very real humor and realistic. I love the characters. Difinitely suggest this one!

I have read just about all of the 'prey' books and have enjoyed most of them. This is another that was entertaining. However, I feel that this series has long since hit a wall and that one book is pretty much like the last. 'Mortal Prey' takes a step in a new direction by setting up a likable villain in the guise of a female hit-person. This is a character who appeared in 'Certain Prey', Clara Rinker. Rinker has killed a lot of people in her time and Sandford sets her up not as a terrible person, but as someone I personally wouldn't mind having as a best friend or next door neighbor. In fact its hard not to root for her as Davenport tracks her down.

A few things that kind of made me not get overly ecstatic about this book; One is that I really was never at the edge of my seat here. This is supposed to be a suspenseful novel but it wasn't. It just sort of goes along and Davenport comes across clues with little effort. Two is that as I said before, Rinker is just way too likable, nice, and the girl-next-door type. Three, Sanford's formula is getting old. and Four,what the heck was Davenport doing in St Louis or all across North America solving this crime? It makes no sense to have a local cop traipse across the globe hunting down international crime figures and taking on the mob.

Unless you have reached this book in the series and want to continue onwards, I would suggest that you shy away from this. 'No Country for Old Men' by Cormac McCarthy or 'Mystic River' by Dennis Lehane are far superior.

I recently finished Mortal Prey and it was a great read from first page to last. Clara Rinker is a great character. Would make an exciting movie; how would Cathy Bates be as Clara??

I needed to listen to this since I had listened to Stripped, the book that follows this one.

It explained a lot that I did not understand. That is the problem with finding a new author and reading a later book.

It was a good read.

My first and last time reading anything by Brian Freeman. It started out pretty good, but then when he got to describing the lesbian Nancy Carver, his homophobia and hatred of lesbians came raging out in his completely unrealistic and stereotypical description of her. From there, the entire book went downhill. He painted every single other adult female as surrealistically beautiful with incredible bodies. Apparently he's never seen an actual female police officer: they don't fit his stereotype. His Hispanic police officer in Las Vegas sounded more like a pimp than a cop. And the ending just cracked me up. His own wife and her ex-husband?? Give me a break!

I thought this book was a wonderfully well-weaved tale of mystery, murder & mayhem.
I'm an avid reader of mystery novels and while I truly enjoy the settings, detective characters and so on - I have always prided myself on figuring out the "guilty party" early in a book.

Not so with this piece of entertainment.

At various stages along the way I had it "figured out" only to discover later that I full of beans and I learned what I wanted to know only when it's crafty author let me.
This masterpiece provided me with hours of entertainment and it was so infused with twists and turns that I constantly felt as if I were riding a rollercoaster of emotions and intrigue.

Be warned that it is an addictive page turner.
The dishes & laundry can and will wait. Time spent reading this one is time well spent. Period.

Let me get straight to the point. If you like crime fiction, especially the novels that really twist your mind in knots while you try to figure out what's going on, then you need to buy IMMORAL. If, like me, you read and enjoy the likes of Connelly, Gerritsen, Deaver, Coben, Slaughter, Connolly and Child you will not be disappointed by this relative newcomer to the genre. He's good. He's very good, in fact.

This novel actually represents the first in a series featuring Lieutenant Jonathan Stride, later to be joined by Las Vegas Police Detective Serena Dial. Stride is based in Duluth, north Minnesota, a town on the edge of Lake Superior that I had never heard of before, and presumably not many others know it either as it doesn't even have a Starbucks (shock, horror). The story revolves around the disappearance of a rebellious, sexy and in many ways mysterious teenage girl named Rachel, whose behaviour affected several people before she disappeared and whose personality continues to influence others - including Stride - years after she was last seen. The tale also involves the love life of forty-something Stride himself, initially a widower having lost his wife to cancer a year before the story begins. His bedroom exploits are a little too graphically detailed for my own personal tastes, but it's fair to say that his romantic asides are very relevant to the plot and are not merely bolted-on to please a certain sector of the readership. Most importantly though the central story of what happened to Rachel is very well told and I was kept guessing right to the end. More than guessing, actually - at times I felt like shouting at the page demanding to know what's going on! The only disappointment was finishing it, because I simply did not want it to end. It more than held my interest at all times, there is never a dull moment and there is a complete absence of gratuitous violence. Brian Freeman has written two follow-ups to this debut novel and I'm going to buy them both. Definitely a crime fiction writer who knows his way around the courtroom and one to watch out for in the future.

The action flowed continually. The dialouge was first rate. This author has got it.

This book pulls you into the dark world of Sandford. It is the best of the "Prey" series. An absolute win!

I was thrilled to have another Prey novel to read. Eyes of Prey lived up to my expectations and was a great addition to the Prey series.

This is another solid police procedural by John Sanford. For me, it seemed to drag in places, but in all fairness, that could have just been my mood and circumstances that made parts of it difficult to stay interested in. All in all, I love the Prey series, and look forward to reading the next one.

John Sandford is not the best of crime novel writers but he's not bad. I've read a couple other Prey books and have enjoyed them. They're good books to take to the beach or to read on a plane. The nice thing about them is that they don't require much concentration.

I am disappointed in this one. In fact, I'm only half way through and I don't think I'm going to finish it. What's the problem? It drags too much. I want a crime novel that is hard to put down. This one is easy to put down but hard to pick up again. Let me give an example. One of the main characters has a drug addiction. Sandford wastes pages (and virtually chapters) describing this guy's drug induced states. I got the idea the first time so I didn't need these descriptions repeated every couple of chapters. In fact, I've skipped those pages and haven't missed anything.

Other parts of the book are equally slow and boring. I'll try another of the Prey novels but will give up on Sandford if I find the same style.

Sandford is a brilliant writer and he shows how Lucas Davenport - the hero of the series - is walking that thin, sharp line between hero and villain right now. Suffering from depression (and likely post-traumatic stress disorder after the events in the preceeding book, Shadow Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries)), Lucas lets his temper take control early on while hunting down a young pimp who beat up one of his hookers - a young lady who was one of Lucas' snitches. This subsequently leads to an IA investigation at the worst possible time, because Lucas is then assigned to work on a new case - a well-known doctor's wife (Stephanie Bekker) has been murdered in their home, and her eyes cut out - an anonymous phone call alerted the police. When there is another murder, Davenport begins to suspect there might be a serial killer on their hands - even though he cannot make a connection between the two women.

Things heat up quickly in the novel and I have only given you a very bare bones idea of the plot - I don't want to spoil this novel for anyone who hasn't already read it. I love this series and this book is an exemplary example of why I feel about these books as I do. Lucas Davenport feels like a real person, with real problems that he deals with in a real manner - that is, sometimes self-destructively. I highly recommend this entire series to anyone who enjoys a good thriller, police procedural or murder mystery. You can't go wrong with the Lucas Davenport series.

I am so glad that this book caught my eye! As someone who enjoys baking--not to mention eating!--cake, I read this entire book with a smile on my face. It started with main character Ruth's description of her "happy place," the place in her mind that she retreats to when stressed, and continued through her tribulations of dealing with a sulky teenaged daughter, a suddenly out-of-work husband, and two dependent yet still spry parents. To cope, Ruth bakes cakes...and bakes and bakes and bakes to the point that her entire family is sick of cake. Ruth never dreams that cake could turn out to be the solution to all of her family's problems, but that just might be the case...

This was a delightful little book that I finished in only two days. Author Jeanne Ray manages to create characters who seem genuine; they have plenty of faults yet still come across as likable and appealing. Overall, the entire feel of the book is warm and comforting, very much like...well, like a cake. :) Ray includes all of the recipes mentioned in the book--all of the cakes seem complicated but mouth-watering enough to make me want to attempt them. Overall, I throughly enjoyed this book and found it to be a great summer read; definitely recommended!

Eat Cake is a delicious book! I would definitely recommend it to someone looking for an easy read that is full of great humor and inspiration. It had me laughing out loud, enjoying pearls of wisdom, and hungry for cake! Jeanne Ray is an excellent writer, and I look forward to reading more of her work!
AS a gift, this book would be great wrapped in a pretty hat box or paired with a pretty cake server.

Being a cake decorator, I especially enjoyed the cake recipes in the back. Thanks!

This is an enjoyable book, but the characters lacked appeal for me. I wanted to like it more, but something was just missing. The plot was predictible and without any real climax. The best thing about the book was the relationship between Ruth's long estranged parents. With a little more depth this could have been an outstanding book -- even a great movie perhaps. As it is, I'd give it to a friend to read -- but tell them not to expect too much.

Simple read, no complex character development here. You learn a lot about the different kinds of cake out there, plus I like her analysis about how people treat dessert ("oh, just a small piece for me.") My question for the author is why she even included the son, Lucas, in college. It is like he isn't a part of the family at all. I wonder how he would have felt if this whole family was reinventing themselves without him.

This book is the beginning of a set of three books that you will want to savor slowly and thoughtfully. The characters become your neighbors and friends. This book series gently teaches lessons in faith, life and love. The only disappointment in this series is when you read the last page in the third book and realise that you must leave your book friends. The writing style is different as Traci teaches us that we all have our own story of what makes us who we are. If you are like most of the readers, you would love to live in or visit Lake Emily.

I'm sorry, but this book was just okay. It was a very slow read, and the characters were just not developed fully. It wasn't a bad story, but don't expect much to happen. I did not care for the ending. The mood was too stark of a contrast to the rest of the book.

I thought this book was a total snore. I could not even finish it.

Can of Peas was a wonderful book. The first in a series of three. The book makes the reader think about life and relook at what is important. I would recommend it to all.

As a 37-year resident of the Midwest, I loved the authenticity of this book. From the seedcorn caps to the helpful neighbors in combines, it was a refreshing reminder of a simpler way of life and faith!

It's been a few years, but memory tells me this was - and is - a wonderful book. I suppose it makes a difference to have been to the monastery in Minnesota where the author went, and to have met Ms. Norris; nonetheless, she has a lot to say. Her thought-full exposition of the Psalms was particularly helpful, although I would have been happier if she had chosen a more recent translation (such as the NRSV or the CEV)than the often-difficult-to-understand King James Version. I have recommended this book many times, and continue to do so.

This interesting book gives the reader an unusual inside view into the cloistered life, especially for those of us who would dearly love to have the experience but probably never will have the privilege.

One of the elements of Kathleen Norris which makes reading her so fundamentally satisfying is her ability to weave the words and thoughts of others so seamlessly into her own observations of endeavoring to live a life of faith. "The Cloister Walk" seems to do this with greater facility and to greater effect than "Dakota: A Spiritual Geography."

In "The Cloister Walk," Norris, an apathetic Christian turned agnostic turned yearning Protestant, relates her experiences (physical and spiritual) as an oblate with the Benedictines. This is an accessible memoir of one woman's account of opening the eyes of her heart in her search for God and one that can be enjoyed by anyone striving to hear a still small voice within.

If you liked Kathleen Norris' Amazing Grace you will love The Cloister Walk. It is a beautiful personal narrative of her faith journey as well as a journal about writing poetry. She uses such beautiful metaphoric language. A joy to read.

Folks, I've been listening to the audio version of _The Cloister Walk_, by Kathleen Norris and I have to say that I like what I am hearing.

Ms. Norris is an Episcopalian--her bio says she started as a Presbyterian--imbued with an exquisite spirit for things Benedictine and monastic, granted to her by the Holy Spirit through her call as a Benedictine Oblate, which makes us colleagues of sorts, though we have never met.

The book is Ms. Norris recounting her experience in various Benedictine communities and of the Spirit of charity, celibate chastity, adoration, and liturgy she discovered therein. She approaches spiritual exercises, the Word of God in the Bible and in the Mass, with the soul of a poet. In fact, she sees these sacred objects and activities first as poetry, endowed with the power to communicate hidden things through word and metaphor and song.

Her chapter on "Virgin Martyrs" touched me the deepest. I have never heard the interplay of virginity and martyrdom so clearly explained before. In fact, in this chapter, Ms. Norris succeeds in rescuing for a feminist audience the true meanings of virginity and martyrdom, reassesing its value as a woman's assertion to her own identity in counterpoint to a world that holds a woman's body physical and psychological integrity as something of little value, scandalous even, and paradoxically anti-woman.

I compare Norris' work on contemplation with that of Thomas Merton, without the latter's fascination for things oriental or his inclination to please everyone by being everthing to every one--and that's a sad, but true criticism of my beloved Thomas Merton.

Now, the downside. Actress Debra Winger read the book and although she pronounces every word clearly and distinctly, she does so with so much flatness that she sounds unenthusiastic about the subject matter. She should've read this with wondernment; her business-like tone is too, well, depressing.

Anyway, buy the book or listen to the tape if you're a busy person like myself. You won't regret either.

Entertaining, fast-reading thriller with a little meat on its bones. I like the way Lucas Davenport is a conservative, tough-as-nails crime fighter ("What about the rights of the victim?" would be a perfectly believable Davenport quotation), yet counts as his very favorite people his sensitive nun friend Elle and his liberal girlfriend Weather. Makes for some good character interaction. "Mind Prey" combines the cat-and-mouse plot of a thriller where we know who the psychopath is from the outset, thus letting us get right to the chase, with the puzzle of a whodunit, as an unknown figure is influencing and manipulating the psycho from the shadows. And amid all the chasing and figuring out, Lucas has to decide whether or not to actually give Weather the engagment ring he's been carrying around in his pocket. In other words, lots of fun stuff going on. You really should start at the beginning of the Lucas Davenport series ("Rules of Prey"), but there wouldn't be any huge harm done if you sampled the series with this lightning-fast entry and then jump in at the beginning if you like it. Myself, I can't imagine someone being a crime thriller fan and not reading John Sandford's "Prey" series.

Just got into reading the "Prey Series". This book was a quick read and very well written. Looking forward to reading the rest.

MIND PREY is the seventh book in the "Lucas Davenport" series by John Sandford. It is also one of the best ones.

There isn't a dull moment in this book. The plot is a straightforward kidnapping story, but it still has a lot of exciting twists and turns. MIND PREY is also a whodunit, because the kidnapper is being assisted by someone whose identity isn't revealed until late in the story. There are also some interesting developments in Davenport's personal life in this novel also.

John Sandford is one of the biggest thriller writers out there, and this book demonstrates why he's so popular. MIND PREY is fast paced, fun, and exciting. It's a real pleasure to read. I rank this book up there with Sanford's best, which includes efforts such as RULES OF PREY, EYES OF PREY, and WINTER PREY. My advice is to read the series in order for maximum enjoyment, however.

John Mail - the antagonist of this novel - is the sort of psychopath of which nightmares are made. Years after being committed by Andi Mannette, he finds himself again obsessing over her; so, he kidnaps her, and both her daughters. Andi is, however, from a wealthy family with many connections, and her estranged husband is also wealthy with connections, so a media storm is immediately created, leaving Lucas Davenport roasting on the spit as he runs to beat the clock and find Andi and her daughters, before it is too late.

There are many scenes that are disturbing and graphic concerning Mail's treatment of Andi; many might find these difficult to get through (I know I did) however, they are not only important to the story but they also get across Mail's attitude toward Andi, which is very ambivalent.

So much happens - this story is so tautly paced - that it seems the events take place over a much longer time frame than just five days, but that is all that goes by. As I noted in the review title - very gripping story. Highly recommended.

I'll second the other rave reviews of the seventh book in Sandford's Prey series! It IS the best so far (although I have a soft spot for Winter Prey where Lucas meets Weather). Sandford creates ironic suspense as Lucas encounters the game-playing villain but fails to recognize him. The kidnapped psychologist Andi Manette and her daughters Genevieve and Grace are as real as Lucas and John Mail - they're imaginative, resourceful and doggedly enduring in planning to get themselves out of this. No sitting and waiting to be rescued for them! One can't help but remember Kate's gutsy escape from Casanova's den in Patterson's Kiss the Girls, but Sandford's solution is realistic, grindingly slow, and you're not sure they will succeed - much better! Some consider these books too gory and graphic. Maybe so, but the gore is never gratuitous, and there are real heroes/heroines as well as more ordinary pitiable villains.

Do not expect to enjoy reading this book. It almost seems to be an expansion of the most chilling crime headlines in a large city paper.The unrelenting climate of the north-central states serves as background to this bleak story of sudden sociopathic rage. Characters suffering from weak personalities and poverty are sucked into a tornado of violence which spreads outward to encompass the innocent bystanders at scenes of crime and police families who are targets of revenge by criminals who blame specific police officers for the deaths of friends and relatives caught in sting operations. Behind it all is a primitive sense of justicereminiscent of the "kicked dog" which remembers the black boot and consequently bites any boot wearer who is unlucky enough to stumble into sight.Of course all is evntually resolved, but the picture of corruption, threats, and fear is chilling. Sandford has dealt with a number of tricky issues in this series, for example means and ends, but this terror defies logic. Can we ever logically understand madness?

This is another page turning installment in John Sandford's Prey Series. In the beginning, the "prey" seems to be a pair of female bank robbers. Suddenly, the "hunters" become the prey and are hunted in a cruel, quick and shocking fashion. The family of the bank robbers hunt down the police responsible for their demise. Add into the mix a "bad" cop, and nobody is safe. The ending has a major impact on the next book in the series. If you are a fan of action and suspense, you won't be disappointed.

I've read several of the later books in the Prey series, and am going back and reading the ones I've missed. I only wish I had started in the beginning. It's a great series.

#8 of the Davenport series-From the book jacket "It begins with a death and ends with one". This was a fantastic book, full of suspense. This is probably the best of the series so far. It took off right from the start with the death of two thiefs. The brother and husband of the criminals, escapes from jail and goes after the cops that killed them. I think Sandford did a great job keeping the action going in this one. It never let up. I stayed up late to finish it. Davenport's character was not as stellar as previous books. Davenport is known to be on top of his game, always one step ahead of the criminal. In this book, you see a more vulnerable side of Lucas. I like the fact that Sandford showed this side. It is a nice change. Looking forward to continuing this series.

When the attempted arrest of bank robbers goes awry - leaving Georgie and Candy LaChaise dead in a shoot-out - it turns out the media firestorm resulting from it is the least of Minneapolis PD's concerns. Dick LaChaise - Candy's husband and Georgie's brother - has decided to make a break out of jail while attending their funeral and get revenge with the help of a couple of his friends by the name of Crazy Ansel Butters and Bill Martin. And they are going to begin with the spouses of the officers involved in the shooting.

As Lucas and Co. scramble to find LaChaise and his men, they are constantly thwarted - unaware that LaChaise has a man on the inside feeding him information.

Unremitting tension and an unrelenting pace make this a book that is almost impossible to put down once you pick it up. Each of the characters introduced is eventually humanized - although they are completely sociopathic, you get to the point where you feel a bit sorry for them toward the end; doesn't mean you don't want them put down like dogs, but you can't help but feel a little bit sorry for them at the same time.

Then there are Lucas' "women" - Jennifer and Weather. Often throughout the book I was left to wonder just how intensely stupid they could be. They were aware that these guys were gunning for the spouses of the officers they felt were "responsible" in the shooting deaths of Candy and Georgie; they knew that LaChaise and his men were aware of their existence. Yet they refused to change their habits and go into hiding. And it almost gets one of them killed (won't tell you which!) - because it is "boring" in the hotel and she has to do her job. Pfft. Then again, I suppose the plot line demanded it - not like this is real life, right? :-)

Any rate, a definite recommend from me for this most excellent addition to the Lucas Davenport adventures.

SUDDEN PREY is the eighth book in the "Lucas Davenport" series by John Sandford. The book is enjoyable, but is not the best entry in the series.

The plot of SUDDEN PREY is a little different from the other Prey books. Normally in these novels, Lucas is on the hunt after the killer. But in this book, the killers are after Lucas, out of revenge for a prior killing that Lucas was involved in. As always, the plot is lightning fast, and Lucas has to race against time and capture the killers before they attack him and members of his family.

If you've read other books in this series, you probably won't be disappointed in SUDDEN PREY. You get the same tight plotting, witty dialogue, and smooth writing that Sandford is famous for. In my opinion, this novel isn't one of the best ones, largely due to the stupidity of the villains -- they were ultimately more pathetic than threatening. I also found the whole "crooked cop" subplot to be a rehash of stuff I've seen in earlier books by Sanford.

If you've never read a Prey book before, my advice is to start with the very first one, RULES OF PREY, and then move on to EYES OF PREY, WINTER PREY, and MIND PREY. Those are probably the best four entries in the series.

At no time did the Doctor advocate, hint to, suggest, or other wise condone adults having sex with children. Where people got the idea the book will be used by pedophiles as a defense of their actions with children is beyond me. Maybe they should read the book first.

Judith Levine, Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex (University of Minnesota Press, 2002)

I have read, over the years, a handful of books that I consider to be truly important, books that look at a particular aspect of our society, how it has damaged us (perhaps irreparably), and how we might change facets of our culture to stop further damage, and maybe heal some of the damage that's already been done-- Stanton Peele's The Diseasing of America, Gina Kolata's Rehtinking Thin, Philip K. Howard's The Death of Common Sense, and a few others. It's a very short list, mostly because these are books that do not fit in with the prevailing norms in the least. These are books that are unafraid to take a stand against the stupidity of our current culture. They are unpopular, and it's very hard to get them published. That, of course, makes them all the more important. And of them, perhaps, Judith Levine's Harmful to Minors is the most important. While all of them address very important topics, this one attacks the most wide-reaching subject I've found in one of these books: how America's puritanical attitude towards sex has resulted in generations of increasingly oversheltered, and dangerously uninformed, children, and how that oversheltering and lack of information have pushed America to the brink of disaster and allowed a number of social ills (of which AIDS is only the most visible) to fester unchecked.

When I started thinking about how to write this review, the obvious place to start, it seemed, would be with an extended quote from the book. Problem is, I couldn't come up with just one quote; so much of this book needs to be quoted, so much of what Levine has to say needs said, that singling out one or two paragraphs from the book seemed to be doing the rest of it a disservice. With one short exception (we'll get to that later), the entire book is quotable. Obviously, reprinting a 270-page book does not make for a good review, and yet if I could have done so here, I'd have done it in a heartbeat; this is a book that every American parent, or anyone who was raised in the increasingly oppressive anti-child culture that began to foment in the 1950s, desperately needs to read. Some will find validation in these pages that their embarrassing, socially unacceptable, or "morally repugnant" thoughts are universal. Some will come to understand that their beliefs about how they should be parenting their children are shared by many others. The majority, I think, will find that they are not alone, or nearly as rare as they had believed. It's the people whose voices have caused all these insane "protect the children" laws to be enacted who are in the minority; they just scream louder and know what buttons to press. When Levine traces the raft of onerous laws involving day-care workers (especially male day-care workers) not being allowed to show affection to children to the long-discredited McMartin case, the obvious reaction is, "well, since none of that actually happened, why do we still have the laws?" Indeed. And yet, somehow, we do.

I was prepared to stick this book far atop my list of best reads of the year for 2008, despite us being less than five months into the year, before I hit the epilogue. Levine stumbles a bit at the very end of the book; where she spent the majority of the book completely on-point, in the epilogue she suddenly starts lashing out at things that seem to have nothing to do with her thesis, drawing the most tenuous of connections at best. But this is in no way to say that the rest of the book is not well worth your time; in fact, were I drawing up a curriculum of must-read books for every American, this would most certainly be on it.

Children, especially those who are suffering between the onset of puberty and the so-called "magic age" at which we are all supposed to gain maturity overnight, are the last subclass of people it is considered socially acceptable to repress in America. Judith Levine is outraged by this, as we all should be, and Harmful to Minors is the result. The trouble she had getting the book published, which she recounts in the prologue, should set off major warning bells to everyone reading it. This is a deeply, deeply important book, and I strongly suggest you read it as soon as you possibly can. For in the six years since its release, not surprisingly, things have only gotten worse. The arm is already lopped off; the more of us who read this book, understand the consequences of our culture's actions, and speak up about them, the better a chance we have to stanch the bleeding. For if we don't, the patient may not survive the operation. **** ½

I'm almost all the way done, and I absolutely adore this book. The author sets up and supports very firm arguments against the neo-cons and overprotective parents who seek to push their morality on the rest of the nation. This is a must-read for those who wish to understand how our system got to be the mess it is today concerning sex.

I would say this is one of the 5 most important books I've read in my life.

Finally...FINALLY someone has the courage to stand up and say what needs to be said. Our society is dysfunctional. Parents don't know how to talk about sex and earn their children's trust in sexual matters. They pass their ignorance and fear right down to the next generation. Children who do not trust their own parents are definitely more vulnerable to abuse from others, especially when they learn to trust others.

There is so much hysteria, paranoia and flat out ignorance about sex in America. It is astounding!!!

The controversy that this book generated is mostly due to the repressive, morally righteous environment in this country. But Ms. Levine is also sex-positive. She goes beyond simply providing objective information about sex or our dysfunctional ways of dealing with it, she actually advances many of her own opinions about the positive nature of sex and the negative consequences of repression.

To me, sex raises many questions. I don't have all the answers. The only criticism I could make of the book is that Ms. Levine is a little too opinionated and like a race horse at the starting gate. She comes on a little strong for the majority of Americans, many of whom are still struggling to understand how people can be gay. I'm sure many of these people are not yet able to fathom that children can enjoy and benefit from sex with adults. So that part created a lot of controversy.

First I'll begin by saying that most of the 1 and 2 star reviews of this book are brought on by exactly what this book tries to address; the American sexual taboo. Those that have expressed that this book does not advance the morality of the current society have only supported the claims this book makes (using perfectly cited research).

The author communicates what she is trying to say in a very eloquent but straight forward way which is truly very successful. This book is truly a page turner and the foreword by Dr. Elders (former Surgeon General) is mind blowing.

This book is a must read for parents and teachers and a recommended read for everyone that wants to know a little bit about the least harmful taboo- sex.


Lastly, if you don't like your views and opinions challenged with facts then I don't think this book is for you.

This is, by far, one of the best books that I have ever read. Those folks that have reviewed it and wondered where the "proof" is are stuck in perpetual la-la land. The tragic events of 9-11 are forever ingrained into the American culture. This book should be a "must read" for every American. Jere Longman is a great story-teller.

Deora,Todd,Jeremy,Tom,Wanda and the rest of the heroes, including United 93's original pilots, should all be read about by every American. Reading this book is the best way I can think of to gain a bit of information about these American Heroes and the lives they lived. It's good to know about the people who stopped Mohammad Atta and the four other terrorists on their evil mission.
Well done Jere.

This is a rather large biographical sketch of 40 people who were traveling on United flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco on 9/11/2001. As most people know, four Arab hijackers took control of the aircraft and turned it around aiming it in the direction of Washington D.C. The hijackers never made it to their intended target because probably 5-6 passengers decided they were going to take the aircraft back. The hijackers either lost control of the aircraft or plunged it into the ground.
Almost all the passengers were detailed in this book. Many of them had made last minute phone calls to their loved ones to say good bye, and these were tear jerking moments to read. That is why I rated this book a four star. Most of the other material was rather pedestrian.
The problem I have with this book is that the author leaves much of the material out about the probable struggle aboard the aircraft. Perhaps not much is known, but it would have been interesting knowing the possible scenarios. What we get is sweet memories from relatives of their lost ones on Flight 93.
This should be known, but the struggle needs to more detailed in the book.

I've read hundreds of books over the past few years, but none like "Among the Heroes: United Flight 93 and the Passengers and Crew Who Fought Back." This, to say the least, is an incredibly phenomenal book which touches the deepest parts of the heart, mind and soul. There were countless times when I was brought to tears as I read this book - it is extremely moving.

Jere Longman did an amazing job researching, interviewing, and writing this book. His way of showing us all that each of the individuals on United 93 were heroes is so elegantly done. Originally, four men - Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett and Jeremey Glick - were thought to have been the ones to fight back on United 93 on that dreadful day of September 11th, 2001, but we quickly learn, reading this book, that each and every one of the passengers were heroes in different ways. They all were put on that plane by the higher powers in this universe, for they each brought something which would help bring the terrorist down and reclaim our power.

The mini-biographies of each of the crew members and passengers was extremely well-written and compiled in a manner which makes for an easy and enjoyable read. Of the countless books published on 9/11, I would have to say this is, by far, the best one. There is no other book which comes even remotely close to the caliber of this book.

As someone with a strong interest in the events of September 11, 2001, I wanted to learn more about the passengers and attacks. This book goes into great detail about the passengers on United Flight 93;their personal lives, interests, and their reasons for fighting back against the terrorists. I felt like I practically knew them after reading this book. There is one quote from passenger Deora Bodley that I felt like was well put and fitting for this type of novel:
"People ask who, what, when, why, and how. I ask Peace."
I admired people like Todd Beamer and Tom Burnett Jr. for their decisive actions. You will learn more about the passengers, their families, and the after-effects of their heroic actions as well as the other events that horrible day. Make this one a must-read. A true winner.