Strikes Books

This is a strange work: it is beautifully written, but confabulates major portions of a story that actually happened. There really was a reporter who went to the Copper Country in 1913 to cover the strike, and fell in love with Big Annie while he was there. But then Olds twists reality -- he has Bill Haywood there instead of Chas. Moyer, he has the doors to the Italian Hall opening inward. No fact is too big or too small for Olds to invent or change. Are these intentional changes of fact or are they mistakes? Olds writes in the Appendix that many of them are intentional but even he is at a loss to explain why he does what he does.

I guess it's a disappointment that he takes a dramatic event and feels the drama needs to be heightened by jimmying the facts. It wasn't necessary. As a result, it's off-kilter fiction. The problem is that many will believe it's history. I believe it does a disservice to those who fought through the strike and also to those who died during it. I know that's harsh, but that's my opinion.

I found the prose, the first of his that I have read, self-conscious and pretentious. His style is choppy. The story does not flow because it is bloated with unnecessarily arcane words. I gave it up after fifty pages.
Read something else.

The critics are comparing this latest offering from Olds to the best of John Dos Passos, in particular to the latter's USA Trilogy, a comparison that is not un-apt. Though I would suggest that Olds, in terms of both character portraiture and pure sentence-for-sentence writing, has it all over the older author.

Typically, Olds's approach and style are not everyone's cup of tea. He seems to be a novelist who, because his aesthetic is so defiantly idiosyncratic, uncompromising, and extravagant, with each new book further divides critical opinion as to the ultimate merit of his work.

The Moments Lost is not an "easy" read. One must bring one's fair share of patient intellect to the party, as well as a well-honed, heightened appreciation of the language AS language. But if the reader is willing to surrender, to "go with the shuffle and flow" that Olds so expertly creates here, he will, in the end, find himself more than richly rewarded, not only with an epic story passionately told, but with the lyrical excavation and disinterrment of a moment in our nation's history that until now has remained unjustly buried.

This is the author's third novel and his most ambitious. It's a large, hell of a story, with a prose style equal to it. Any great novel takes the reader on a journey, and Olds offers a long, sweeping ride, with a historical view as seen from both ends of a telescope: far and near - from both past and present. A masterful rendering of not just a particular moment, but literally moments, moments lived, wasted, thrown away, and redeemed only, it might seem, through the blessings of the reader. Olds writes like a wise man. This could be accidental the way the talented occasionally manage, or, if we're all lucky, the author may indeed be gifted with some vision. He sees life the way it is, the only way it can be, which is a writer's primary duty. None of his characters are extraneous, all are fully realized, guided, often misguided, equally by their strengths and weaknesses. In this world virtue, sin, principle, hypocrisy, and folly, share top billing. It's like a Russian classic written by a rootin tootin literary modern cowboy, who's "always a little bit drunk," on mescal probably, the worm turning in his belly. Only four stars. Four and a half, had I too some mescal - but the flaws are few and may even serve the novel to remind the reader of the terrain he is crossing. Very worth your time.

Fans of biography as well as novels will find intriguing and different THE MOMENTS LOST: A MIDWEST PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, a novel which charts the progress of one Franklyn Shives, who arrives in turn-of-the-century Chicago to become a newspaper reporter even as his bohemian lifestyle is becoming entangled in relationship issues. His assignment to cover the Wobblie-led 1913 copper mine strike in Michigan will further change his life and lead to betrayal and love lost in this hard-hitting novel of one man's changes and revelations, perfect for public libraries strong in literary novels.

Oh my gosh, this book is amazing. I feel like I'm part of the story. Asher, you inspired me so much. You have a special gift in writing. It was so cool meeting you in Hollywood. Hope to see you soon. Keep on writing, you're good at it.
-Katie

This is the worst book I have ever read. It seems to be based on the Narnia tales with just the characters changed. If you are going to write a book why not write one that is unique and dont steal ideas from other books. This book was the biggest waste of my time and money.

You have got to be kidding me. Okay the kid has tourettes. That's too bad, and I'm sorry he has to deal with that. But that does not excuse him for this horrible book. This book is filled with so many terrible fantasy cliches that I wasn't sure I was even reading a new book. The grammar, lyrical style, prose, diction... All of it terrible. And the good reviews? They were from the kid's parents. I always used to think that Christopher Paolini was the worst fantasy author in the world, but this kid has managed to trump him. I mean c'mon, the world he created is called "Adventure Land" I think that in itself says enough. Do yourself a favor and stop writing before you embrass yourself any further. I'm sorry about your mental condition, but this had to be said. And to his parents: You telling him that every thing he does in life is good, no matter what the quality, is not constructive. The sooner you realize that, the better.

This book has the big screen written all over it. It's destined to become an action/adventure classic!

I can't wait to see this book made into a movie! It was so good, that I could not put it down. I loved it! It is a well written, exciting take on the old theme of good vs. evil. The good guys are heroic, smart, and witty. The bad guys are so bad, that they make you hate them - and that makes the book better, in my opinion! THe best thing to say is that the story is good. I was truly entertained. I look forward to book two.

The novel serves up great futuristic battle action with the immense, self aware, and incfedibly powerful Bolos. With Space engagements, ground engagements, and Bolos slugging it out against other run amok Bolo's - its a thrill. We even see a Bolo of the Line committ a mercy killing of another Human. It is a very engaged reading with constant action.

The ending? It fell apart at the very end. Otherwise it would have earned a 5 star.

colonized during the Concordiat age. Cut off during the Melcon Armageddon the planet was absorbed by the Aetryx, an alien race who believed they were a race of Gods. The humans of the Cofederation Mobile Army Corps decide to launch an invasion to free the enslaved populace. But there seems to be a few problems. One, many of the people of Caern seem to be loyal towards the Aetryx. Two, the Aetryx seem to have Bolos within their ranks who are just as loyal. Three, the Aetryx may really be GODS!

The book is packed solid with good battle action, with savage space combat and lots of Bolos fighting on their own. Yes, sometimes the humans get in the way, but without humans the Bolos have no reason to fight, to reach for victory and to overcome their own limitations. Anyway the Bolos spend a good first-third of the novel on their own, fighting for their lives, before the humans even make land-fall. THEN things really get rough!

Being as longtime fan of the Bolo books, I was disapointed. The central third of this book needed severe editing. While it could have stood as a novel on its own- the endless feminist angle did not fit, nor did the extensive sociology (and again overly pressing a feminist viewpoint) just does not belong in this book. Nor does some of the somewhat obscure human relations (like the whole brother in law thing was a waste of my time).

The Bolo books are getting slightly stuck in a rut, but good lord, can we be spared this please and at least have someone write that has some military sense? Or an editor that understands the series and has the guts to chop out the amazing-astoundo-female-hunters-that-are-the-savior-of-their-race-but only when allied with human females who are of course much smarter then men due to their sensitive nature? My, how original. I sense a Star Trek script here.

There were some interesting concepts here, that could have made a great addition to concordiat history, but it was blown in this context. And yes, I do feel gyped for my $... Did anyone actually read the final text before agreeing to run it as a Bolo book? or did an editor OK it on an outline?

I give it two stars only for the first story which is the typical stuff we can expect, and the one or two interesting ideas in the second. Sadly, they were not well explored in a military SF way.

Maybe nmext time I will wait til the books hit the used stores.

Keith, oh why have you forsaken us?

How can you argue with a 32,000 ton Mk XXXIII Bolo Planetary Siege Unit? Veeeerrrry Carefully. Action, adventure, drug abuse and recovery, are there any bases Keith hasn't covered here? Well worth the read.

If there was no human element in this book, it might be 4 stars. It has a slow start. The star of the book,is Victor a Bolo Mark XXXIII of the 4th Regiment, Second Brigade, First Confederation Mobile Army Corps, in the vanguard of an all-out Bolo strike against the planet Caern. The enemy is the Aetryx, shadowy, unknown beings who enslave other species with nothing less than the promise of immortality. As a savage interstellar war begins, Colonel Jon Streicher prepares to lead Victor and the rest of his reigment in a planetary invasion. But the landing falls into a trap. They find themselves stranded and desperately attempting to survive the hellfire chaos of modern warfare as Bolo faces Bolo-human hybrid in a cataclysmic showdown that will uncover unexpected truths, reveal hidden secrets, and even call into question the loyalty of the Dinochrome Brigade itself. Should have only had the Bolo elements in this book.

Infomrative. Nicely written and well illustrated.

A basic source of information on this battle.

Having read Carl's book on The Battle of Gettysburg, I wondered if he could top it! This author has an excellent delivery style. Details provided are good,and the pictures, illustrations, etc. enhance the book. Civil War history is fast becoming a favorite subject and I hope we can look forward to more campaign series from him.

I hate to nit-pick, but I found Fredericksburg 1862 and Chancellorsville 1863 to be replete with errors, at least the versions I read, both Military Book Club editions. The lists of errors I sent to Osprey went on for a three and six pages respectively. Many of them were relatively minor, but there were enough of them, and some not so minor, to cause me to consider the books greatly flawed. Let me note here that I live near Fredericksburg and volunteer once a month at the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center, so I am fairly familiar with the battles in question. I also want to point out up front that Osprey was very receptive to my comments and implied that future editions may incorporate some changes. I own more than 75 Osprey titles and that this is certainly not the norm for their products, many of which are excellent.

Some types of problems I noted with the books included:

- spelling errors such as Sedgewick for Sedgwick (not always, but several times), Siegel for Sigel and Hero Van Borke for Heros von Borcke. - geographic errors such as inaccurate descriptions of the road net, an incorrect locations for geographic features, and faulty relative positions. - graphical errors such as inaccurate troop dispositions (multiple instances), incorrect unit symbology and faulty depiction of vegetation on maps. - factual errors such as placing events on the wrong date, incorrectly identifying unit commanders and referring to Chancellorsville as a farmhouse rather than an inn.

I recommend waiting for a revised edition.

The book has a number of errors in it, some from bad editing, others from sloppy research. I used it to try and piece together what happened when during the battle, and found it very confusing. I'm a fan of the Osprey series, but unless you like the maps in this book, you'd be best to look elsewhere for information on the battle.

This title delivers on it's promise of explaining the battle and events leading up to it and after it. It is well illustrated and covers the situation objectively. The author manages to balance good writing with dry statistics. The Osprey Campaign Series format of 96 pages is put to good use with every major detail explained without having to skimp on certain areas or draw out others. I would recommend this as a single definitive source on the battle of Chancellorsville.

This book irritated me several times when i was reading it. I was on the verge of leaving it..The plot is good and the story was intresting,it makes u want to know what happens next.THAT is the only thing i grant the writer.But sometimes it got really boooring.The heroine sometimes kept describing the forest around her for pages.In the end i started to skip these passages..

But the MAIN disappointment in this book is that i didnt feel the characters were actually in love.The whole thing was lust..Throughout the whole story the 2 characters did not have a proper talk.To clarify myself: The hero was a complicated person who has had his share of hardships in the world. He didnt trust anyone and had the worst childhood.You expect Abigail (the heroine) to help him open up right?well no she doesnt! The writer doesnt even get in this territory..The heroine didnt soften the hero although there were many parts in the story where a small talk with him or a simple gesture like a hug would've helped him get over the pain.But instead the heroine almost never did anything of the sort..

Also,one of the most irritating things were that the heroine kept nagging the hero to tell her that he loved her when he didnt want to say it..She kept nagging for the last few chapters ,it was VERY annoying!

To make a long story short,i found that the story was about desire and lust..I wasnt convinced they were in love..AT ALL!
They didnt know each others personality too well,they didnt know each one's inside..If u know what i mean..

This is the first Rexanne Becnel story i read and certainly the last..Thank you for reading..Bye

An easy read novel set on the Oregon trail, filled with intrigue, romance and a touch of women's liberation in the 19th century. Enjoyed this almost as much as Geralyn Dawson's books with a similar setting. You'll find yourself delving into all this authors books if this is your first novel by Becnel you have read.

I couldn't finish this novel. Up until I abandoned all hope for it, I kept gritting my teeth at the idiocy of the heroine. It seemed like on every other page she was wondering if the hero merely lusted after her or if he actually cared for her. Repeatedly, the hero tells her he doesn't want anything to do with her, that she's just inspires lust in him, and that he's only with her for the reward money. Then, she'd vow to leave her pride in tact and treat him cooly. Two pages later, she's throwing herself at him again. Then, when he once again brushes her off, the whole routine starts anew. Grrrr! How frustrating. It seemed like the heroine would have squatted and squawked like a chicken on Main Street if the hero had wanted her to.

That deficiency in the heroine ruined what could have been a good romance novel.

The tale of a man who can't escape his past and a woman who can't escape her future. Tanner McKnight is a ruthless bounty hunter. Abigail Bliss is a churchgoing schoolmarm. A dissimilar pair filled with lust. A dissimilar pair who cannot possibly have a future together, or can they? Abigail and the reader think it is a possibility. Now the author must convince the hero, and this is where the book's complexity settles -- in the convincing.

Abigail Bliss is traveling on an Oregon-bound wagon train. Hidden from her is the fact she is a very rich heiress; her father feels that withholding this vital piece of information is better. Tanner McKnight is the hard-core gentleman on her trail. His mission - to bring sweet Abigail home to Chicago. His downfall -- sweet Abigail falls in love with him.

To Rexanne Becnel's credit, she pens a great historical novel. The information surrounding the traveling conditions in a wagon train is phenomenal. Likewise, the added bonus of the fictional mouse creatures is a wonderful attachment. It is definitely a source of humorous relief from the journey's struggle.

However, it is the off and on love interest that puts a strain on the story. Does he love me? Does he want me? Do I love him? Do I want him? Holy moly. End it! The story just ran out of steam. If only the author had cut some indecisiveness from the four-hundred and six pages, this would have been a dynamite story.

Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

Robert Bliss and his daughter Abby a school teacher travel by wagon with a large group headed for Oregon, fleeing from Abby's grandfather who wants her brought to him. Abby doesn't know that she even has a grandfather, father to her recently deceased mother Margaret, and her father doesn't tell her. All she knows is that they left their home in a hurry. Tanner, a bounty hunter is looking for Abby to take her to her very wealthy grandfather. Knowing only the father's name (who by the way has started using the last name Morgan instead of Bliss as he is certain his father-in-law would stop at nothing to get his granddaughter), he sets out among the traveling wagons looking for the elusive heir. When Tanner meets Abby, after keeping her from falling in mud, they find themselves deeply attracted to one another. Robert does not like this 'no good outlaw' especially since he wants his daughter to marry a dull preacher. Tanner, hoping to find the girl he seeks, hires on with this group as a hunter. This way he can narrow down which of these women is really the missing Bliss heir and at the same time flirt with the beautiful Abby. When he finally discovers she is the missing heir (much to his disappointment), he takes her. This is a great story about a man who doesn't feel he is good enough for this prim, proper and soon to be wealthy woman although he is quickly falling in love with her. Abby can't help the way he makes her feel and will stop at nothing to make this handsome and wonderfully protective man hers. the first Rexanne Becnel book I have had the pleasure of reading but difinitely not my last.

I agree with a previous reviewer. This one improved on the last few books in the series but it's still not as good as the early ones. The editing improved a bit. Some of the action was implausible in real life but didn't detract from the story. The submarine was a scene stealer and made it exciting.

The thing that disturbs me most is that the author barely mentioned an important recurring character at the beginning of book 16, killed the character off at the end of book 17 after not being mentioned anywhere else in the story, and then in books 18 and 19 acted as if the character disappeared in book 16 not 17. He's writing the books so fast he can't even keep track of his own characters.

As a fan of the Carrier series, I found the book to have a great storyline. Non-stop action in the Douglass tradition. However, the abundant errors in context, tense, and spelling ruin an otherwise great read. Better editing is in order if the series is to continue.

"First Strike" is without a doubt one of the best novels in the "Carrier" series. Douglass blends an exciting tale of naval surface warfare, air action, land-based combat, and undersea warfare to keep you on the edge of your seat. You do not want to put it down, and as such, I blew through it as I sat on a chaise lounge on my cruise ship in the Caribbean. As I completed the book, I sat there and said "wow", only to realize that I would have to wait another 4-6 months for the next installment in the series. Why can't Douglass be as prolific as Steven King?

Not as good as the first 8 or 9 but a lot better than the last few. Douglass is on his way to the magic that used to be the Carrier saga, but he is not quite there yet. If you are a fan of the series you will probably want to get it, but if you are not it would be better to start with the earlier books. I read it in an afternoon and think it was worth my money.

This book was great! It was very hard to make the right decisions. Some of the endings were sad and some were terrible and some were great. I read the book straight through. I think you'll like it a lot.

I think there could have been more to this book. Sure, I did enjoy becoming Darth Vader's apprentice, but why couldn't I be the one who confronted Luke in Cloud City, or the one who discovered Leia had Jedi potential? I still, however, recommend this book to other readers.

I personally think it's improbable. I mean, we're all accustomed to just reading about Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, and the droids. I like choose your own adventure books, but maybe Christopher Golden should have written them so you'd be Luke or another familiar character.

I have read numerous Star Wars books and also plenty of Choose Your Own Adventure books, and while this book was good, it was somewhat unrealistic. I wish that they had let me be Luke or somebody, intead of this made up character that has no place in the Star Wars universe. Other than that though, it did a very good job of showing what it might have been like to be there, having those things happen to you and your friends. Also, it bothered me that that in this book they took way too many liberties with the character of "me". They made "me" a complete wimp who cares for nothing but Himself. Speaking of Himself, it also irritated me that they had to specify several times that "Me" is a boy. I happen to be a girl and I find that offensive! Besides those things though, it was a good book, but one that would definitely be best for those twelve and under.

I liked some technical aspect of this book, but as for stroy it is very contrived, it is like author constantly asking himself what else can go wrong so I put it in this book. The most disappionting part of this book it is its ending, where all the good guys live another day but the bad guys die no matter what they do to redeem themself. John did you really have to kill the doctor ?

This was a good book. A little predictable and corny at times, but the overall plot was a good one. There were several small stories all happening at the same time. Nance kept you hopping from one group of characters to the next.

Scorpion Strike may start off a little slow, but a few chapters in, the action picks up its pace to the point where you cannot put it down. I turned the pages of this book very quickly, wanting to see what the next event would be. The flight scenes are very realistic and full of technical details that a reader educated in aviation would enjoy, but still understandable for readers that don't know aviation jargon. I recommend this book to anybody.

Scorpion Strike is the first book I have read by John Nance, but it will certainly not be the last. As one of the foremost experts on avaition safety in the world (you always see him interviewed on Seattle TV after a major airline accident) Mr. Nance does a brilliant job of detailing all aspects of aviation. Not being an airplane enthusiast like the author , I did get a little lost with some of the terminology. But even then I never lost the sense of suspence and desperation the characters felt as they carry out there mission. Though probably a little too technical for the casual reader, this book has all the makings of a NY Times bestseller.

The entire book was almost useless to me as I don't play the miniature game and only use the maps for actual star wars role playing. But in each mission book there are a small set of tiles which include various things that are hard to come by in the miniature game. Such as AT-ST walker, Hailfire Droids, The three creatures from Episode 2 in the combat arena, lots of debris and terminals. Although the books are exspensive I can easily copy the tiles now that I have them and keep doing to making the money I spent on the books cheaper than acquiring the mini's

The scenarios, while movie specific, never really seem worth the effort here. But the maps and tiles are always exceptional, and the book is worth it for that alone.

Though I am a huge fan of the Star Wars Minis game, I am not a big fan of the scenarios in this book (some are pretty good, but most are not). However, there are several things I liked about this item that I thought worth sharing. The best thing about this book are the two maps at the end:

Map 1: Coruscant -- A very good to great map that is legal for 100 and 150 point tournament play. Works best with shooters, but melee characters also stand a good chance on this map.

Map 2: Geonosis Arena-- A very good to great map that is legal for 100 and 150 point tournament play. Shooters have a moderate advantage on this map.

A couple of other nice things about this item is that there are several terrain tiles of various sizes, as well as Appendix with special rules for how to use some of them at the end of the book.

In sum, I would not necessarily buy this book for the missions (which make up 75% of this book), but this item is definitely/still worth getting for the maps, terrain tiles, and the special rules that make up the rest of the book.

Excellent product to a good price that can be acquired for who we collect StarWars miniature

In Copper Crucible, Jonathan D. Rosenblum sets out to grind his ax and bash the evil "big business & Corporate giants". Too bad he didn't tell the rest of the story,... As he fell all over himself demonizing Phelps Dodge and raising Union organizers to sainthood, he conveniently omits the fact that a fully loaded beer truck was the drawing card the union used for its strike meetings. Alcohol just set the stage for the violence to come. And beleive me there was plenty & encouraged by the union. "Lets get the miners drunk & they will vote how we say" after all,... its all about power & money -on the union side as well. Copper Crucible may be based on true events, but it certainly does not paint a full true picture.

This history of a bitter Arizona mining strike in 1983-86 is a top-notch case study of how unions were mugged by American corporations in the 1980s. To judge by the endnotes, Rosenblum interviewed every player in the strike -- from Phelps Dodge executives and union leaders to ex-Governor Babbitt and undercover cops -- and the result is a vivid narative that weaves together labor history and political and legal analysis. The sections on pro-management bias at the NLRB and the use of undercover police to spy on strikers are gems of investigative reporting. Rosenblum is pro-union but he presents management's case at length and doesn't hold back from sharp criticism of the United Steelworkers leadership. If you're interested in labor history or labor/management relations in the US, read this book.

This book focuses on the destruction of individuals' lives when they cross paths with a powerful corporation, Phelps Dodge, when that company has the leverage to do so. This book reveals clearly how thin was the veneer of the labor-management accord after WWII. Phelps Dodge saw an opportunity to bust their unions and aided by labor law, labor law officials, and law enforcement departments did so. This book is strongest in its depiction of personalities but is weakest in putting this entire episode in a larger perspective. Rosemblum casts doubt on the unions understandings and strategies in this strike of 1983. But what is missing is any broad attempt to frame this labor conflict in context of the political understandings and power of the American working class in general. Why are the anti-labor biases of labor law officials, judges, and law enforcement officials tolerated in this country? Do most working poeple support these biases? Do they not know that they exist or consider them to be irrelevant? Do they support union-busting? If not, are they powerless to elect pro-worker Congressmen and change labor laws? Union actions and community understandings take place in these unanswered contexts. The book is highly readable but one is left primarily with sympathy for the mostly Chicano workers who had their lives uprooted and not with a broader understanding of labor relations other than the obvious capability of a company with an extreme anti-union animus to carry out its will.