I read this after reading Stewart O'Nan's vastly superior book, "The Circus Fire." Otherwise, the the novel that is the subject of this review would have made little sense.

The problem is that things just seem to happen willy nilly. The fireman casts aside a girl he's about to marry to take up with a scarred survivor of the circus fire. Why? Why was the first girl even introduced? And the novel just goes on from there.

Most irritating, perhaps, is the daughter, Martha, whose only reason for being seems to be to explain to the dumb reader the psychological workings beneath the surface. I got to the point that I just didn't care. Martha reminded me of Scarpatta's niece in a Patricia Cornwell thriller: smarmy, irritating, and ultimately a pain in the you know what.

The denouement of this novel is just too, too pat. Still, it's an improvement over the middle third of the book, which is where we are treated to all the pop psychology. Alas, this could have been so much better if it had been thought out better.

This book springboards from the real-life fire 50 years ago that killed hundreds of people and destroyed the Ringling Bros. circus when it played in Hartford. One child survived, grew up and married a mysteriously solicitous fireman. This is the story, not only of their marriage, but of the secrets that, like one layer of an onion after another, peel off and reveal, finally, the unguessable ending. I couldn't stop turning the pages

Very disappointing book. This is not "co"-respondence--it's two separate sets of letters that don't speak to each other; thus there's no dialogue. Further, the editor did not do her job of cleaning out the underbrush, so the letters are unflaggingly boring in their ungrammatical microdomesticity. Only now and then is there a flash of insight into the broader historical/sociological picture. This book is merely an assemblage of transcriptions interspersed with short bursts of mostly redundant editorial comment. With maps, historical timelines, sidebars, and incisive editing, this book could have been much more. As it is, it reads and feels like no more than a senior high school term paper. Shame on all concerned.

this book was very interesting in that one could explore the eIvertyday goings on of a time that we're so far removed from.I would like to have seen many more photos. You can identify much more with the characters in this way. from a historical point of view it was quite enlightening to see how black americans took a hand in their own destiny what with all the odds staked against them. we can see the format that is used even to this day. another interesting point is that there is noting new under the sun. It seems some of the everyday occurencess still prevail today under different circumstances. Though at times the letters were a little boring and written without prpoer punctuation, it helped to bring out the true personality of the writer. All in all for me it was a trip back into time.

Farah Griffin, editor of last year's "A Stranger in the Village: Two Centuries of African-American Travel Writing" has done it again with "Beloved Sisters and Loving Friends." This wonderful collection of letters between Rebecca Primus and Addie Brown allows readers to enter the world of nineteenth-century black American life. Through the correspondence of these "ordinary" women, the reader gains invaluable perspective on the social, political,economic and religious concerns of blacks around the time of the Civil War. In addition, the correspondence between these two loving friends is a welcome addition to all the historical collections of letters, diaries, etc. that document so well the white American experience while neglecting the experiences of black Americans and others. This collection is important and timely and I applaud Professor Griffin's achievement of giving voice to these two women and the world in which they lived.

This book is poorly written, yet the subject is fascinating. The love Rick Davey has for himself often brings the narrative to an abrupt halt. But the worst part is that Mr. Davey is so intent on finding a solution to the mystery of Little Miss 1565 and proving himself to be a wonderful investigator that he twists the facts to make them fit his theory. I didn't discover this until I read another book on the Hartford Fire. Mr. Davey pronounces the identity of the the mysterious little girl. What he doesn't mention is that dental records disprove his identification. This really is revisionist history of the worst kind because a family was caused to suffer to assauge Mr. Davey's ego. If you are interested in this story, I recommend reading The Circus Fire by Stewart O'Nan. It is better investigated, written and much more comprehensive. It also has the merits of being much more factual than this book.

The inclusion of Davey's personal history was unnecessary & stopped the momentum of the book. I liked O'Nan's book about the circus fire better...he told a more complete story of the fire and the victims. However, A Matter of Degree provided an excellent account of the fire, the investigation in 1944, and Davey's investigation decades later. Davey's arguments about Segee's guilt were convincing.

The original investigation was flawed, and the City of Hartford's/State of Connecticut's efforts to impede Davey's efforts (calls to FBI) to protect the city from liability are shocking. Hopefully victims & survivors are taking advantage of this book to hold the city accountable.

Davey appears to believe that his proving arson relieves the circus from any responsibility and that the 5 employees should not have served prison terms. Yes, arson caused the fire, and yes, the city of Hartford should also have been held responsible. However, the circus was also to blame (waterproofing the tent with highly flammable parrifin & gas), reducing their insurance, not having hoses that fit hydrants, etc. Serving less than a year in prison is no where close to what the victims & survivors suffered. Davey doesn't address the circus's testimonial that they had attempted to find other ways of waterproofing their tents. O'Nan provides in this book proof that other ways of waterproofing (non-flammable) were in existence at the time, used by other circuses, and war efforts did not prevent material availability.

This book is both intriguing and infuriating at the same time.

Intriguing because of the light shed on the cause of the Hartford circus fire of 1944, and the resolution of at least one mystery that came out of that disaster, and irritating beyond belief because of the unnecessary melodrama used to describe the actions of one of its authors and the repetition of some of the material. That one of the co-authors is the key player in the most recent developments about the fire shouldn't have allowed the authors to occasionally lean on purple writing. Cheers for the investigator blend with boos the lapses in the writing.

The fire was tragic on its own, the actions of the investigator commendable on their own, without the overwriting that describes investigator Rick Davey's long quest to solve a mystery that he'd grown up hearing about and later felt compelled to solve.

That the pieces were all there, waiting to be assembled, is no knock on his desire to find them all, put them together and reach a conclusion that finally was accepted by those remaining.

That many knew, or should have known, key details that could have led to an arrest, the identification of the mystery victim, a more equitable punishment of those responsible for the disaster and so on, should be a lesson to us all today. As the country tries to assess events related to Sept.11, questions of building security and design, fair distribution of compensation, U.S. intelligence and much more, I'd like to hope we've learned the lessons of the dangers of secrecy and failure of many to take responsibility for their actions. We shall see.

This account may leave you wishing for yet one more book on this topic before the fire's survivors fade away. Most of the key official players are long gone from the scene but there's still more to be said about the fire that claimed 168 lives.

In contrast with one other book on the same topic, this book is written more clearly and from an investigator's viewpoint. Thus it has less detail about the hellish experiences of the victims and more focus on attempting to explain the fire's origins, possible perpetrator and the identity of one mysterious victim.

As briefly as possible, and eliminating the utterly unnecessary melodrama about the life of the fire investigator who co-authored this book, here are the main details about the disaster:

Several thousand people attended the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Conn., on July 6, 1944, a fire broke out on the Big Top's canvas, patrons trying to flee were trapped and either burned or crushed to death. Most of the victims were quickly identified, with a handful of exceptions, one of them a little girl who came to be known as Little Miss 1565. Nearly as speedily, several circus employees were sentenced to relatively short jail terms for having failed to meet certain safety regulations.

Anyone who lived in Hartford in the 1950s through the 1970s will remember the investigators who, each year, placed flowers on the mystery girl's grave, and the annual recounting of the disaster. They'd also remember the emotional resistance when, in the 1970s, a circus proposed returning to Hartford for a Big Top show. The feelings of Hartford residents ran deep, very deep, even 30 years later. What didn't run as deep, apparently, was a desire to find out just what had caused the fire, or the resolve to identify the mystery girl. Sometimes people just don't want to know. That no one had written a book about this tragedy until just the last few years is stunning to an outsider.

While on a private quest to answer the long-standing question about the identity of 1565, Davey began digging through State Library records and, to his credit, uncovered a trail that led directly to a hired hand working for the circus. The suspect had a long history of arson, and had confessed, a few years after the disaster, to setting the Hartford fire. The tale of why Connecticut authorities failed to take the man's confession seriously-or rather, to move against him-is justifiably a big part of this book. Someone appears to have let someone else get away with murder but unfortunately, despite Davey's best efforts, the reason is unresolved beyond the belief that it was nothing but a coverup, meant to explain the initial erroneuous findings. Also valuably reported by Davey is the extent of statewide personal and political contacts that sent the circus men to jail while keeping city politicians out of harm's way or even having to answer questions about how the disaster occurred. And, no surprise, Davey was left hanging out in the wind once his findings came to light.
His recounting of the family of the mysterious girl and how each coped with the tragedy of dual losses that day are heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, many of the officials who might have been forced to answer for their failure to act, and apparent decision to quickly close the case, are long dead. Equally incomprehensible is the failure of contemporary authorities to act on Davey's findings, because they are definitely convincing, even to one who initially doubted the mystery had been solved 50 years after the fire.

Particularly valuable is Davey's obvious hard work at uncovering the records of earlier investigations that could have led to an arrest. In fact, one of the surprises of this book is that some of this information was known years ago. But a)he's the only one who appears to have done this legwork b)he's done a good job telling us how he did it, which invites the question as to why no one else ever has.

So, read this book, but skip the prologue, which borders on the ludicrous because of the writing, as important as it might be to Davey, and Chapter 16, which is an account of Davey's childhood, and totally unnecessary to the telling of this story. Though he is the key player in the reopening of this case, he doesn't belong in the story this way. Where were the editors?

This is the kind of novel that leaves you wondering if you've read the same book as the jacket writers. They say taut and suspenseful plot - I say fewer twists than an average episode of The X Files. They say multi-dimensional characters - I say "multi-dimensional" usually means more than two. They say absorbing details of forensic procedure - I say, I've read it all before.

The main problem with this book is that the initial suspect really is the killer. So not much suspense there. His motivation is highly unlikely. And his pursuit requires too much artificial tension - like burgling your own precint when you're a cop becuase it takes too long to request files internally. Really? And the action of the novel only lasts six months.

Even the pool-side deserves better than this.

Ridley Pearson is a competent writer, and never goes into 'blockbuster action movie-unbelievable' mode with his characters in this book. A deliberate introduction to the setting is interesting, but Pearson's ending ties up all the ends. I often wonder why books like this don't make it to the B-movie grate. It's a good story that's good in the bathroom, bedroom, or plane

Chain of Evidence is an exceptionally interesting and detailed story in a poorly written book. The plot keeps unwinding in surprising directions, while the forensic and high-tech details are interesting and entertaining. It's a good read, and it would probably make a good movie.

But the attempt to describe the tortured soul of the protagonist never really works. His relationships with women and his former mentor are not credible. His angst winds up feeling like heartburn. If you read novels for characters, skip this one. If you want an exciting plot, buy it now.

Have you ever wanted to create your own world to put your unlucky bunch of mechwarriors. Well luckly this book has the instructions. I realize that most of these rules were reprinted in other, more recent books, but it is always nice to have.

For the comstar fanatic it's a must. It explains more about the mystic techno cult, but more importantly, the process that the exporer coprs is going through to find the clan homeworlds.

For the mechwarrior palyers, it puts the experiance of space travel in the battletech universe a little more into perspective. It also give the interior lay out of a dropship and a jumpship, and some contracts for jobs. Something I found usefull in various campains.

Overall, a good book to own if your a mechwarrior player (role playing) or you want to own them all.

If your not a die hard Battletech fan, or if you just like to combat with the figures, you really don't want this book. It does have a few new ground vehicles and Jumpships. It also has rules for advanced terrain and weather. Ultra-Heavy Jungle, High winds, heavy rain are just some of the things you could throw at the players. However, if you don't go into detailed rules for that sort of thing it has little use for a combat battletech player. Where it does come in value is if you wish to take your Mechwarrior Roleplaying group on the road. Like out into the deep periphery, or to create your own planets for your unlucky party. Also if you had always wondered about the inner workings of a jumpship, and what space life is like aboard a jumpship for months, it is interesting reading. To those people who are big fans of Comstar, the saviors of the innersphere (yay right), this is an important book for your library.

An execellent resource for any genealogist who might be searching for ancestors from the town of Hartford, Connecticut. The book has an alphabetical listing by surname of the early settlers from Hartford, as well as a comprehensive Index which makes up for the occasional misplaced name. The book details dates of birth, marriage and death of several hundred individuals, as well as information on the names and dates of birth of children. A useful addition to the library of amateur and professional researchers alike.

Gubernick has written a very concise biography of Huntingdon Hartford, the heir to the A&P fortune. A man who had it all and squandered it. The prose is lively and the story is interesting, but one wishes the author had spent more time getting us inside Hartford's head. The result is that we learn a great deal about WHAT he did, but very little about WHY he did it. Not a bad book to kill an afternoon with but nonetheless a book that falls short of its potential.

(This is based on the British edition of this book, which I expect is almost identical to the American edition.)

I think Jeffrey Archer's best book was his first (Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less) but his other books have been entertaining. Sons of Fortune is much like Kane & Abel, but the two men whose fates are entwined are actually twins, unknown to each other because they were separated at birth without knowledge of the parents. Not plausible, but suspend disbelief for the sake of the story.

The two men's lives are followed from birth, and they run in parallel without ever quite meeting through most of the book. Both go into politics, and eventually compete directly against each other.

The problem that I couldn't get past is the book's completely wrong description of how American elections work (especially the Connecticut gubernatorial primary and general elections). I suppose that Parliamentary elections may work as shown here, but ours don't (and Archer should certainly know it). Most major plot elements in the last third of the book rely on impossible electoral events. The errors aren't small, and can't be overlooked by anyone who's ever seen election results.

Even without the errors, this would be Archer's weakest novel. With the errors, it's almost impossible to finish.

This book is about as close to a Soap Opera as you can get
without video.
The story is about twin brothers separated at birth and raised
by different families, and it follows their lives through a
series of coincidences that defies imagination. Even the author
reminds us that sometimes a rare coincidence does happen, but
he fails to convince us such a series of coincidences as here
described could actually happen.
The story will appeal to a few, but there is no suspense, no
tension, no surprises, and one page reads like another. It is
just an on-going rather boring story, and people who actually
lived the lives fictionalized here couldn't possibly lead such
dull, predictable lives.
There just isn't much here to engage any serious reader, and
most readers will want to avoid wasting their time with this
one.

Ace voice performer Paul Michael gives a compelling reading to British author/politician Jeffrey Archer's latest foray into the lives of men and a nation.

Action begins in Hartford, Connecticut, when twin brothers are born and then abruptly separated. It is the 1950s, and one boy, Nat Cartwright, is sent home with his mother, a school teacher, and his insurance salesman father. Apparently beginning life on an entirely different path, his brother, Fletcher Davenport, becomes the son of a wealthy man and his society wife.

As the years pass, Nat attends a state university which he leaves to serve in Vietnam. Upon the end of the war he returns to college to earn an MBA. Fletcher, on the other hand, has gone to Yale where he earned a law degree. Success as a criminal lawyer comes easy for him, as does a later Senate race.

Each survives the ups and downs that life has to offer before they both contemplate running for governor, still totally unaware that they are brothers.

Will they discover the truth and, if so, how will they be affected?

- Gail Cooke

This book was ordered for a class and was needed asap but it appears that the people didn't care and therefore created a hardship on me in my class. Other than that I have no problem for I recieved the other book in plenty of time.