This is a tautly written mystery by an oustanding writer. The one thing this book shares with "Life Penalty" is an unsympathetic protagonist. I didn't like Jess at all. (I detested Gail in "Life Penalty.") I didn't like the inappropriate way Jess and her brother in law Barry would needle her. She would get on the defensive and make inappropriate responses and rise to what she perceived to be his bait. Barry really was not the ogre she claimed him to be in the story. I didn't like the ending, either. Like "Life Penalty," the story ends on an unsatisfactory murder note. Again, this was well written, but it really was a let down.

The heroine is a bit of a psycho case and dealing with long discursive commentaries on the thoughts running through her head meant I could only listen to the tape in small doses. The plot isn't bad and the ending certainly has a punch. My recommendation is to pick up the book and then skip the sections that go on forever. You can fast forward the tape (which I did) but that increases the cost per minute of listening to an unacceptable value equation. Ms. Fielding does do a reasonable job reading her own work, but it's not enough to make up for those interminable run-on passages

Of all the people who wrote reviews for this book, I have a completely differant opinion. I have never read a book that I loved sooo much and couldn't put down for a second.

While I much admire Ms. Michaels writing, I really don't think that this is one of her best. It seemed rather messy and unresolved. The ending was just not really up to her usual mind-boggling style. All in all though, it was an entertaining read for a gloomy afternoon.

I am a huge Barbara Michaels fan, yet when I read this book I was higly disappointed.

The characters are tranparent and the story line was completely tiresome. I have read mostly all of her novels and I can honstly say this is the worst one she has ever read. If you want to see Barabara Michaels at her peak read SONS OF THE WOLF, VANISH WITH THE ROSE, or STITCHES IN TIME. They will give you insight into the genius of Mrs.Michael's, not this book.

This book is not the best by Barbara Michaels, but it's still better than 95% percent of the books in print. Though it lacks the wry humor of some of her books, it nevertheless has a nice storyline and some truly spinechilling moments.

A young writer named Michael Collins (I wonder, did Ms. Michaels deliberately give this guy the same name as the Irish rebel? Or a coincidence?) arrives as the home or wealthy intelligent philanthropist millionaire Randolph. Collins is immediately attracted to Randolph's beautiful younger wife Linda, but can't help noticing that Linda is dulling her pain with alcohol, seems to be both hateful toward her husband and terrified of something she can't name. The sight of large dogs, for example, throws her into fainting fits.

Collins also senses something strange and sinister about Randolph, despite the latter's charming and hearty manner. He checks into the backgrounds of people who knew Randolph before he married his wife, and finds disturbing but nebulous results. Then Linda, whom her husband claims is insane, runs away and keeps running, with a bizarre old witch as her only solid ally. But Linda has a counter-claim about Randolph, that implies something far darker and more horrifying than mere insanity.

This book has amazing atmosphere, especially in the first chapter where Linda is clearly terrified and emotionally threadbare, but there is no sign as to why. The creepiness pervades virtually every scene with and about Randolph. Collins himself is a nice, sympathetic character with a great balance of sensitivity and "macho"; as for Linda, it's a little difficult to determine whether she's correct, insane, or a bit of both. As for Randolph--he WILL give you goosebumps.

The book is hardly flawless - Ms. Michaels's brilliant humor is often missing (though I loved Collins' buddy coming in and finding Linda tied down to the bed); there is a large "dead" section in the middle of the book where the characters do little but talk; also, the ending seems to be a bit rushed and hastily written. I also found the smallness of the cast disconcerting, and the character of the witch rather badly drawn.

However, if you're in the mood for a good ol' fashioned thriller with appropriate chills, and no sex or vulgarity, then this is for you!

The book is a pretty good read. It is not An Encounter With A Prophet or a Conversations with God but it is not bad.

This is a helpful book. The author details clearly his initiation and development along his path. Some of experiences are outside my path, so I found them less interesting-- however, this is a personal reflection mentioned for the sake of others who, like me, seek more focused Toltec writings. Regardless, in terms of execution and command of language, Ken is great. He succeeds where many metaphysical writings fail-- he speaks about abstract subjects with clarity. Finally, I strongly recommend his book "A Toltec Path", which is truly exceptional. Thank you, Ken Eagle Feather. (If you are ever in the Boston area, please feel free to email me-- perhaps we can meet-- I know some great places to go hiking.)

Ken Eagle Feather shows a courage that is quite rare. His personal and accurate descriptions of his moments of extraordinary awareness, if compared to many other traditions, will show precise moments of identity in the content and aftereffects of these occurrences. This is hard to accomplish without being very honest and careful about sequential details in retelling these instances.His out of body descriptions,his knowledge of white light,his struggle to grow beyond illness and physical problems.and his wide range of prior study of paranormal literature[including Edgar Casey] give him a framework from which to conceptualize occurrences not fitting either a striclty religious,nor a shrunken physical model of awareness and the field of activity in which it exists and is empowered. His primary focus on awareness aand perception are the sine qua non of traveling these avenues. He is able to expand his understanding with each occurrence intuitively and conceptually.

I wrote the "Great Idea, But Poorly Executed" review of this book some months ago. After recently reading over some of the criticisms of my review, I think many reviewers missed my point. I DON'T necessarily disagree with at least some of Mark Hertsgaard's opinions in "The Eagle's Shadow". At times Americans can be overly greedy and materialistic, we probably should be paying more attention to our environment, and compared to most of Europe, our political instincts are definitely more conservative and "right-wing". I don't agree with some of his other statements, but the point of my review was that the subtitle of Hertsgaard's book, "Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World" is inaccurate and misleading. Hertsgaard is essentially guilty of false advertising. I bought this book believing - as the cover title and introductory chapter indicates - that it is an account of how foreigners view the United States. What I got instead was a book with (at most) twenty quotes or comments from foreigners about the USA, and the remaining ninety percent of the book is all about Mark Hertsgaard's opinions of the USA. I'm all for learning about how Europeans, Africans, Asians and Latin Americans view our nation - but I don't really give a flip about what Mark Hertsgaard thinks - if I did, I'd have bought another book. As I wrote in my first review, Hertsgaard should have advertised this book for what it truly is - a platform for his personal (and, yes, generally left-wing) views of America. Maybe Hertsgaard thought that no one would buy a book about his personal views of what ails America - I know I wouldn't have. If your idea of learning about why many foreigners distrust and resent America is to study one guy's opinions on the subject, then by all means read "The Eagle's Shadow". As for myself, I'd rather hear the comments of, you know, actual foreigners. Not recommended.

The Eagle's Shadow is a book that I would recommend to everyone no matter where they live on the planet. It is a well written look at the way we Americans are perceived by people who live outside the US.

The book is very informative about how much American culture and policies affect everyone in the world. Hertsgaard has encountered people in very remote areas of the world who are quite knowledgable about American culture. American products reach every corner of the earth, thus, they affect everyone on earth. The book also explains how our policies on the environment, economics, and foreign affairs affect people throughout the world. As globalization becomes more and more prevalant, books like this one become more important in order for us to understand our role and how we affect others in this new society. We must understand our actions so that we may anticipate and change how the rest of the world reacts to us.

Although it is clear from his writing that he is in support of the left wing, that does not mean this book is "left-wing propaganda." This book looks at the flaws of American foreign policies and our sometimes "cowboy mentality" when dealing with other countries and suggests some ways that we can change that and form better relationships with the rest of the world. However, it also looks at the wonderful freedoms, wealth, and potential that exists in America and how these can be gifts to the world if used responsibly.

I think some of the people who gave bad reviews may have missed the point of the way the book was written. The book was not supposed to be a bunch of interviews without any insight or reasoning to how these perceptions about the US formed. The author gave a few specific examples of ideas that many people in the world share regardless of their geographic location. The majority of the book was about the source of these views, both good and bad. Hertsgaard takes his interviews and applies the history and the current events that shape the ideas that are expressed by the people he spoke with.

Also, I think the bad reviews illustrate the author's views that Americans are largely ignorant of things that happen outside of this country, and the policies that our goverment and corporations impliment both at home and abroad. It is very hard for someone to hear that they are ignorant in any way. This does not mean Americans are ignorant. It just means we tend to be ignorant about certain things. As illustrated in the book, this is not entirely our fault. Our media gives us a very one-sided view of the world and how it works. The vast majority of mainstream media is owned by a handful of corporations who are naturally going to give us news that benefits their profit margins and image. This is not some conspiracy idea or anything like that. For the past few years, I have almost exclusively watched BBC and ITN news (on PBS). The amount of unbiased information that I received from these sources far exceeds that of network news and even CNN. Two months ago, I got digital cable and EuroNews was one of the new channels I watch (it is like a European version of CNN). Although I do not know how it ranks with other news sources in Europe, I do know that it is the BEST television news source in the US right now. I hear ideas and events that are going on all over the world (and here in the US) that are either not mentioned or glossed over in American television news. I apologize for this rant, but I think it illustrates that we are not as knowledgable about history and current events as we should be. This has to change if we are going to enter the new globalized society that is forming right now. If not, we will be left behind.

After the 9/11 tragety, the majority of Americans felt that they had to agree with everything our government was doing. Anyone who disagreed was considered anti-American. While support to our leaders and society was needed and important, it was also important to voice honest ideas and opinions. When I think of America the first thing that comes to my mind is that I have freedoms that others don't have. The first of these is the freedom of speech. So, when people disagreed with Bush and the policies that the government wanted to implement, THEY were being the real patriots and were the most pro-American. To paraphrase Hertsgaard stated in his book, we cannot substitute a feeling of security for our rights.

As a mexican reader, this book helped me understand a lot things better. I fully recommended it, to better understand americans instead of just judging them. We have to learn how to see the world with different views and not expect to see as others do, this book helped me better understand "America", as you say it, but the United States, from everyone else's point of view.
Very good book indeed! We ALL can learn a lot from it!

Everything you will find in this book is [fiction]. While the artistic quality of the illustrations is remarkable, the content has no connection with historical reality. Chief Seattle never left the Puget Sound in his entire life. He never saw a living buffalo, much less the slaughter of buffalo herds. And, most importantly, he never said anything remotely resembling the message in this book. In fact, he was nothing like the gentle environmentalist depicted by Jeffers:...he never made the famous speech upon which this book is based. The actual speech was written in the 1970s by an environmental apologist, originally for a screen play. It is incredible that anyone would pass this off on their children. No matter how strongly you feel about the need to protect the environment, you have a duty to your children to communicate such ideas without resorting to this form of [rewriting history].

If you do some research you'll learn that this speech was actually written for a 1972 movie. Chief Seattle never wrote this speech. Though beautiful, who would want to teach their childen the speech by screenwriter Ted Perry? This book is known as a joke, but the joke will be on you if you buy it!

You don't have to take my word for it. Do you own research on Chief Seattle and urban legends to learn more.

This is the biggest load of feelgood propaganda I've come across since Stuart Smalley arrived on the set of Saturday Night Live - of course, that was a satire; this unfortunately is for real. Yes, fairy tales are integral parts of literature, and are as important as any other genre. But, fairy tales should be just that - fairy tales...based upon fantastical lands far far away not factual events that merit accurate stories. Regretfully, Ms. Jeffers fails to realize this important point. The result? Many children (and even some adults) will believe the cowdung disseminated in this book. The only reason this book warrants a "One Star" rating is because of its quotes of Chief Seattle and because zero stars was not an option. Want a good fairytale? Check out Robinhood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, or the now-popular Harry Potter series. Want to find accurate, historical portrayals of American Indians? (...) peruse titles under the subject headings of "History" and "Anthropology".

I've never been a big Michener fan, but in this tome, he does an adequate job of comparing the lives and personalities of Santa Anna and Sam Houston. Riding on the hype of the Texas Sesquicentennial, Michener takes the reader on an informal tour of early Mexico and Texas. He touches on events in the U.S. as well as in Europe where they apply to the story. What I really enjoyed most were the excellent drawings by noted artist Charles Shaw. He is among the best!

The Prologue tells about his past writings, and why he kept writing into his 80s: his job is to tell stories. This book was intended to be a chapter in his novel 'Texas', but was dropped because it was history and not part of the novel. Michener's reject can stand alone as a concise history of these men. Pages 29-30 notes his solid rules of work at 80: rise at 7:30, eat a frugal breakfast, write until 12:30. Eat a light lunch, take a nap, do research and teaching, then a brisk mile walk at dusk. Supper, the evening news, maybe TV, and the day ends. Michener lived to a ripe old age, after a quintuple heart by-pass, new left hip, dental rebuilding, and vertigo. Like an old apple tree, he kept on growing and producing. These pages are worth reading in themselves.

The book gives a concise history into the parallel lives of Santa Anna and Sam Houston. Both were destined to be famous politicians in their countries, but never did overcome their flaws. But how many of out politicians do when the historians release the uncensored facts?

Santa Anna won renown by his military action against the many rebellions. They were put down by executing most of the captured rebels, or making them imprisoned slaves. Santa Anna's talents lay in knowing just when to change sides. One morning Santa Anna led his troops against the rebels and was promoted to Lt Colonel. After lunch, he joined the rebels and was promoted to full Colonel! Santa Anna later supported Emperor Iturbide and became a General. All this suggests the Founding Fathers were right to require a small standing Army, and keep the professional military out of politics. This book does not explain who Santa Anna was fronting for; you'll need to read a more detailed history book. Page 112 tells of Santa Anna's use of double agents: military officers who pretended to defect to the Zacatecans, then betrayed the Zacatecan forces who also rebelled against the coup de etat.

The Mexican defeat at San Jacinto led to the capture of Santa Anna. Houston showed his political wisdom by getting Santa Anna to sign a treaty to be released. A live Santa Anna would try to justify his actions, and prevent another general from becoming ruler, and maybe starting another war against the smaller Texas. Houston became President of Texas, US Senator, then Governor. Houston opposed the Confederacy, and was removed from office. What would have happened if Houston used Union troops to stay in office? Could it have succeeded? At 68 Houston must have felt he had done as much as he could do in one lifetime. Houston retired to his farm and died in 1863 at 70 years.

Santa Anna was recalled from exile to lead Mexico into the war with America. Their defeat led to the loss of huge areas. Santa Anna was the most expensive President Mexico ever had! (I wonder if Santa Anna was a member of a Secret Society and a double agent? That would explain a lot.) Ever the opportunist, he backed the conservatives who invited Maximilian to be Emperor of Mexico. When the reign of Maximilian was on the wane, Santa Anna switched sides yet again. His one gift to America was to introduce chewing gum, a substitute for the ubiquitous chewing tobacco. Santa Anna returned to Mexico City a few years before his death to live in poverty and obscurity.

This is not one of Michener's better books. Apparently it stems from a chapter he orginally wrote for his novel Texas and later excised. For some reason he calls this book a novel, but why isn't at all clear, as it seems to be nonfiction. The illustrations are poor. And the book is simplistic and not particularly well written. The book was written towards the end of Michener's writing life, and he includes a long prologue that sounds like an old man reminiscing about his past, what he has found worthwhile in his life. I did find this of interest.

The book is worthwhile as a quick overview of Santa Anna, "the Eagle," and of Sam Houston, "the Raven." A much better book about Sam Houston, though, is Sword of San Jacinto, by Marshall De Bruhl. And Jeff Long's account of the Alamo, Duel of Eagles, offers a much superior portrayal of Santa Anna.

"Exceptional Clearence" is a book with no outstandings qualities. There's no great detective work or a gripping and interesting mystery to solve. The characters are poorly developed and I remember Ed Mc Bain's 87 Precint novels as a good example of how to built a convincing and weel structured police novel. Caunitz has too much to learn in this way before reaches a respectable position among the great police writers, like Mc Bain, Chandler and others.

I enjoyed the tactics used by these cops to solve their case, but I never really felt any sense of mystery or suspense. It's easy to read, it passes the time, and it's not bad... but it's not that exciting either.

This is author Caunitz's shortest book and that is my only complaint. He does not write "mysteries" in the classic sense; he writes police-procedural novels. You get the salty cop dialogue, an authentic inside look at what a cop's life is like, and all of the political, criminal, and hectic details - since the author is a former NYPD lieutenant. If you want a read "with the bark off" and enjoy hearing what a cop's life is REALLY like, you will enjoy this book immensely. If you are looking for something clever and Sherlockian, this isn't it. I love Caunitz's stories and reread them every once in a while.

While I enjoyed Gai-Jin, I was also somewhat disappointed. While it didn't have the atrocious endings of Clavell's earlier efforts (Shogun, Noble House) and indeed has a giant surprise 75% into the story, there was absolutely nothing exceptional about it. I was never on the edge of my seat like I was in Shogun (bad ending, notwithstanding) or especially in Tai-Pan. Having read all of Clavell's novels--excepting Whirlwind--I have a pretty good idea of his strengths and weaknesses. So unless you're a diehard fan of his, skip this novel and read King Rat or Tai-Pan instead, then go to Shogun and Noble House, and if you're still up to it, read Gai-Jin.

(One major source of my disappointment is with the story's two Western protagonists: Malcolm and Angelique. They were, for most of the story, such empty-headed idiots, concerned more with soirees and dances. I was a lot more intrigued by Hiraga and Yoshi and the machinations of Japanese characters, and it's a same that Clavell didn't give them equal time with the English characters. Instead, 75% of the novel is spent with the antics of the idiots, and 25% with the truly fascinating characters! At least in Tai-Pan and Shogun and Noble House, whatever their flaws as novels, they had incredible protagonists.)

Before this book was, I wanted nothing more than another Clavell novel. King Rat was probably the moodiest book I have ever read (Very well done movie adaptation, too), Tai Pan the most exciting and both Shogun and Noble House the grandest. Gai Jin, like his previous efforts, had a wonderfully complex plot, with many interesting characters and scenes of extreme violence.

The book also gave a good view of 19th century Japan, but made many errors. While I can't remember the particular details (I read it four years ago), I do remember many errors in Japanese naming, wording (I speak Japanese and have read 19th century literature), and political events. I can forgive a lot for a good story, and this qualifies, but being from Clavell, I expected perfection.

That he was old and sick when he wrote the book does make me thankful that at least I got one more Clavell novel to enjoy. It is still better than the Asian Historical Fiction of most other authors (and there are so few).

Well, i have heard many a scathing remark about Gai-jin. I have read the book and think it deserves to defended. The book is definitely not the sequel to Shogun, but does act as a nice epilogue to the book Taipan (perhaps my favorite of Clavell's books). There are many subtlties to the book, such as the shishi and Yoshi and the Toranagas, and I have heard criticism as the historical innaccuracy behind all this. Clearly, Mr. Clavell did not intend to use the real names or else anyone whose read japanese history would already know the end. Yoshi is clearly not a real name for such a nobleman, but if he were named Yoshinobu, its obvious who he is and what happens to him. This can also be said of Shogun. The toranagas are obviously the Tokugawa family in real life and so on. But anyhow, others criticize the book is too long and could be written half as long. This is true, but Shogun and Noble House were equally. Besides, a book is never fun when its over in 300 pages or less (believe me I know all about it). Is the book racist? I doubt it. It probably wasn't researched as well as it could have been, but then again, since none of use have been there, we don't know if the Japanese really did say "eeeee" and "so sorry" all the time, though the modern day phrases "eee", or yes, and "anou", or excuse me, are probalby what he was trying to use. As for the Chinese, I found them most fascinating. I don't know my Cantonese, or my Hong Kong culture, but I think that Clavell had a great interest in their culture, rather than disdain, otherwise Taipan probalby would not have even been written. So I doubt Mr. Clavell is a asian-hating racist.

Most importantly though, remember that he was very sick, and had already written a number of fantastic novels already. I think this was a nice "last novel" and considering the shape he was in, as good a novel as anyone could write.

What a disappointment this book was! 'Hoping to learn the in-depth history of my all-time favorite band, this book left me with more questions than it did answers. Mr. Eliot could have done us all a favor and left out alot of the behind the scenes dealings of the music industry. While a fraction of the material was relevant to story of the Eagles, the majority of it was not. Few kind words were said about any of the band's members save for Don Henley - who was in fact, the chief reason for the break-up of the band in the first place. This fact seems to be lost amidst Mr. Eliot's ranting about the solo success Henley had after the Eagles, and going too far in-depth on Henley's personal life. True, there is some interesting information about the band's early years and their trials and tribulations during the time when Rock and Roll was taking on a new face. Also of some interest is the fact that Kenny Rodgers took an interest in the band very early only to see them go elsewhere and find incredible success without him. But overall, the book says little that is flattering about anyone other than Henley, and to a far lesser extent, Glenn Frey. Perhaps Mr. Eliot should have researched Randy Meisner's time with Poco a little more diligently; the members of that band had nothing but praise for him. Little praise is given to the talents and contributions of Don Felder, Bernie Leadon and Timothy Schmidt. The big question I have after reading the book is; " Did Mr. Eliot owe Don Henley a favor?" Do yourself a favor and wait for the paperback version or wiat until you see it on the bargain table.

As someone who was a child in the 1970s, I really wasn't hip to all the news of the day concerning bands like the Eagles. This was all old news by the time I was seriously listening to The Eagles. I liked the way Eliot weaved his way through the L.A. music scene to bring together what was the original Eagle's line-up and how he progressed though all the ego trips which caused the band to change(for the better ). This could have been a five star book had Eliot researched (or written) more about the abundant talents of Joe Walsh, Don Felder, and Timothy B. Schmit. I love to find out who is, and was, connected to whom, and this book does that for the average music fan.

It's about time someone let us Eagles fans know exactly how the band's mannerisms were either on or off stage. Any true Eagles fan can tell you that there was always some animosity between the band members at any given time. Don Henley and Glenn Frey are two of the most accomplished singer/songerwriters/musicians in the music industy. This book also pays homage to that fact. If you're an Eagles fan and you want a book that is objective, complimenting, and well-researched. This is the book to purchase.

The Golden Orange was a vivacious book that dealt with human emotion in both positive and negative ways. The toll that money takes on human spirit is very evident in this compilation. The use of symbolism is mysterious and links the book together all the more. The characters are described in such a way that you develope feelings for them. The Golden Orange is a well thought out book and the twist in the plot adds even more corruption to the pages. The book fools you in a way that you find amazing after the last page is read. Greed and luxary is the main focus for some characrters while for others it is excitement and a new start on life. The setting and description of the Golden Orange give you a real sense of the rich and the bad blood attitude. All in all the book is worth the time to sit and relax with.

The Golden Orange was a vivacious book that dealt with human emotion in both positive and negative ways. The toll that money takes on human spirit is very evident in this compilation. The use of symbolism is mysterious and links the book together all the more. The characters are described in such a way that you develope feelings for them. The Golden Orange is a well thought out book and the twist in the plot adds even more corruption to the pages. The book fools you in a way that you find amazing after the last page is read. Greed and luxary is the main focus for some characrters while for others it is excitement and a new start on life. The setting and description of the Golden Orange give you a real sense of the rich and the bad blood attitude. All in all the book is worth the time to sit and relax with.

The Golden Orange was a vivacious book that dealt with human emotion in both positive and negative ways. The toll that money takes on human spirit is very evident in this compilation. The use of symbolism is mysterious and links the book together all the more. The characters are described in such a way that you develope feelings for them. The Golden Orange is a well thought out book and the twist in the plot adds even more corruption to the pages. The book fools you in a way that you find amazing after the last page is read. Greed and luxary is the main focus for some characrters while for others it is excitement and a new start on life. The setting and description of the Golden Orange give you a real sense of the rich and the bad blood attitude. All in all the book is worth the time to sit and relax with.