I just recently started reading Hardy Boys books to my son because I enjoyed them when I was young. This is the third one we read together (going out of order obviously) and probably the least enjoyable of the three. Had we read the book over a course of 2 days, it may have been easier to remember who was who. For the most part, the plot really lacked in surprise. We both had a good idea of who was guilty from the start. In addition, the two subplots were way too coincidental when the author tied them together. The best part about it was the involvement of Chet and the Hardy's other friends. This one is for serious fans only.

This review concerns the revised 1970 edition. Frank and Joe are called upon by a member of the Seneca Indians to find a gold tribal relic that was stolen from them. Also they believe that their friend Chet was scammed by a summer school called Zoar College. I enjoyed this book; I thought that the mystery was quite interesting and not as predictable as some of the other books. There was a fair amount of action and the book moved along at a good pace. I liked this book and think that other fans of the series would as well.

This review concerns the original 1944 edition. A man with amnesia, a crazy pirate, a treasure buried on the Morton farm and a case of counterfeit coins all occupy Frank and Joe's time in this story. This book was fairly good. The mystery was interesting and there was a moderate amount of action. One thing that I liked about the book was that Chet Morton played a prominent role in the mystery after being just barely mentioned in many of the volumes immediately preceeding this one. This book isn't one of the best volumes, but it is still enjoyable reading.

This review concerns the revised 1970 edition. Frank and Joe help their fencing instructor, Ettore Russo, by going to California, along with Chet, to find the guard end of a broken saber. The saber had belonged to Russo's grandfather, and proof that Russo is the rightful heir to his grandfather's estate is supposed to be engraved on the saber. Also looking for the saber is a gang on bank robbers, who have stolen some of Mr. Hardy's voiceprint records. Personally, I didn't care much for this book. I found that the first few chapters weren't all that important and could have been eliminated or shortened without hurting the rest of the story much. Also, the Hardys are told to track down a certain man who may be able to give them clues as to the whereabouts of the saber and it takes them very little time to find him. I didn't feel that the book had much action and the last chapter was pretty bad. Frank and Joe don't even catch most of the gang; the only one that they do catch is in, of all places, the city dump. You can read this book if you like, but its not one I'd strongly recommend.

This was a very good mystery book. It is about fencing (swordfighting) and the search for a missing blade that has a will written on it. The Hardy Boys have some great adventures trying to find it; everything from duels to movie-making! Although the plot was kindof predictable, the book was still a fun read.

This review concerns the original 1942 edition. Mr. Hardy's case of thieves stealing merchandise as it is being unloaded from ships leads Frank and Joe into another case concerning a broken sword blade. This book is well written, fast paced, has plenty of action and has a good beginning that quickly grabs the reader. My big problem with the book was that, while Mr. Hardy played a prominent role in this book, he was the only one of the other main characters of the series to do so, since most of the book was set outside of Bayport. Still, it was a really good book that most Hardy Boys fans should enjoy.

The amount of information is thinly stretched out in this...thin book! The writing is good but the stories are recycled over and over and not much is discovered. Dial, to me, came off as a big B.S.er. I didn't find his philosophy or effette personality to be remotely interesting. Keep this book in a glass case---read only in the event of an emergency(nothing else to read!)

This book was captivating, easy reading, but yet confusing. It almost seems like a few of the "badges" were tainted, and that's why they stopped pressing to find out who paid Dial to kill Hogan. Could the warden's wife really have made "almost identical" calls? Or was it the same, maybe taped, message? There are too many unanswered questions. If Dial is still alive, I am sure of this; He has a copy of this book to add to his collection of his personal accompishments, and, He is an artist that is proud of his work, and he will surface again,with more of his creations, and stories to tell.

Maybe this man who thinks he is above everyone else, who thinks nothing of ruining the lives of all who come in contact with him, will walk away from this apparently successful evasion! I received and read this book in one night, and thought the author did an excellent job at researching this man's past. However, I also feel that he has just scratched the surface. It is true that Dial is a very complex individual, but Mr. Sasser was successful in exposing this man as someone who has a constant need to feel important. If he can't do it with the truth, he makes something up to put himself in the center of attention, and laces it with enough truth to make it believable! His continued evasion is an outrage, and I do not believe that Bobbi Parker went with him willingly. I felt that Mr. Sasser revealed this through the source he quoted. She only met her twice, and saw the integrity with which Bobbi led her life. I would have liked to have read more from people who actually know her. I am proud to say that I have known Bobbi for almost 14yrs, and she IS that special! Thank you Mr. Sasser, for an intriguing look at the world, or should I say illusion that this man has created for himself. To the family of Mr. Hogan, God's speed, and to Bobbi... we all love and miss you very much!

While helping their father locate a missing navy officer who is believed to have stolen top secret information from the Pentagon; Frank, Joe and Chet investigate a series of antique weathervane robberies in Pennsylvania Dutch country. It wasn't one of the best that I've read, but it wasn't one of the worst either. The only part of the book that I can really say was bad was the final chapter and the way in which the crooks were caught, but I won't spoil it for those who decide to read the book.

The Hardys try to catch antique weathervane thieves and their father thries to find a missing Navy employee with a top secret document. This ends up being interconnected, but how?

This is just an average Hardy Boys book. They are hired to do one thing, and their father is doing something else, but they end up being the same case.

As usual, Professor Franklin's interpretations are off-base due to his obsessive-compulsive readings of the texts. While many of the works collected herein are deserving of attention and can stand on their own, Franklin's one-note thought process and style ruins one's enjoyment of them. Apparently this is a problem for all of Franklin's works, and the courses he teaches, which often ignore the text and the human reality in favor of his (frequently cardboard leftist) theory du jour.

This is no way for a humanist to behave, and of course ultimately it hurts the causes he himself espouses. And most likely the humans he hopes to help. Criminals, after all, are not cartoon cut-outs who spout whatever it is Franklin wishes to hear.

A reader/professor based in Cambridge, Mass.

H. Bruce Franklin has assembled a remarkable collection of prose and poetry from America's most silenced corner. As a survey of prison literature (both poetry and prose), it educates and questions; as truth from America's most oppressed class of citizens, it is soul-shaking and heart-rending. The selections expose the ugly face of American justice, but also put human faces on its many victims. These days, it isn't popular to want to give prisoners anything, even credit for writing such powerful words. Yet their power cannot be denied. The men and women whose work appears in this book write to communicate their shattered lives with all the passion of any writer in the free world. Their words, sharp as razor wire, are hard to forget, and I commend Mr. Franklin for putting together such an unusual and revealing anthology.

H. Bruce Franklin has done us a great service by providing us with insights into American society which most of us are too busy or too myopic to see clearly. Franklin's selection of works by America's prisoners from Melville to Malcolm X from O'Henry to Hogan provides a view of America from those who were marginalized by the dominent society. It is important that we as a people see and understand these observations and take them to heart. The introduction by Tom Wicker is as disturbing as some of the collected writings. Wicker, the noted journalist who covered the Attica Riots for the New York Times, lists the hard facts about the prisons of the 1990's. Crammed into warehouses, overcrowded, ignored by social services, the new prisoners are victims of a get tough drug policy which has quadrupled the number of inmates in the United States in the past twenty years, despite a decrease in the overall crime rate. America, the lagest consumer of drugs in the world, is also the largest incarcerator for drug users. Our unenlightened policy has resulted in the United States having more prisoners behind bars that any other nation in the world, including the former Soviet Union. It certainly explains our much bragged about low unemployment rate as well. With two million of our young men locked away in prison, the percentage around to be unemployed is drastically reduced. A boom economy. The unfortunate result of this domestic policy (discounting of course, the two million in prison) are our free young people who are denied adequate educational facilities because prison funds are a priority in the state budget. More and more, prisons are big business: good for construction, good for local employment, good for the politician's statistics, and good for the deep pockets of the correctional specialists. The damage our national prison policy is causing to the fabric of our nation is incalculable and will continue to cause damage for generations to come. Professor Franklin has done his country a great service. But, as previous reviews have shown, many of his fellow citizens would like to ignore this problem and put it out of sight, much like they have agreed to do with two million of their fellow citizens. Shades of the gulag. The delight of this book, however, is that the prisoners'writing shows that, despite being marginalized, despite being crowded, abused, and left to rot in a system of "indeterminate sentences," some men and women continue to not only preserve their souls, but actually create art and with it the power to move the rest of us to truly see and feel. We are not surprised that the caged bird can sing. We are surprised (to our shame) that it sings so well.

Frank and Joe are hired to go to Chile to find a stolen Easter Island stone idol and also go to Antarctica to help their father catch a gang of thieves. This book is bad. It lacks mystery, action or suspence. The plot is thin and the whole Antarctica part only serves to fill pages. A boring read from beginning to end.

This book was a little too predictable, and just had the stuff that took up the pages. Only exciting thing was the conclusion near the end of the story. Well, actually not so exciting. However, if I had to choose between a book that said yeah on every page, I'd read The Stone Idol.

The Hardys search for an ancient stone idol, and their father investigates a ring of thieves. This book is okay for kids.

While it's not one of the better books of the series, The Borgia Dagger still has lots of fast paced action. I only recommend it to fans of the series. If you're not already a fan, don't get this book.

This is definitely not the most important book to read in this series. In fact, it's not near the most important. It's just your average Hardy Boys mystery, with attempted murder and a lot of action.

While not as good as some of the books of this series, The Borgia Dagger is still full of fast paced action and attempted murder. Nothing too special, though.

Published in 1955 - I have never ever cared for this volume and until I read The Mystery of The Aztec Warrior thought it was the worst in the series. To me I always found it a suffocating book and I can't explain why. Tony plays a prominent role in this one and to the books credit at least they encounter the criminals a fair amount and there is a little action. The latter chapters were fairly decent. Its worth reading - once -but honestly compared to the other volumes in my opinion this is among the cellar dwellers. (Almost a 2 Star - but not quite) RATED D

This review concerns the original 1955 edition and the revised 1972 edition which is a shorter version of the original. Frank and Joe's friend Tony inherits a collection of curios and immediately a gang of thieves is interested in a couple of medallions that were apart of the inheritance. The mystery of the medallions takes Frank, Joe, Chet and Tony on a treasure hunt to Guatemala. Personally, I didn't find this book very good. I thought that it lacked much action and many of the chapter endings didn't entice me to read more right away. The plot of the book was rather weak and not very creative and it took the Hardys and their friends no time at all to find the treasure after arriving in Guatemala; although, that didn't happen until page 160. While some fans may like this book, it definately wasn't one of my favorites.

VERY,VERY ACTION-PACKED! This.This is the one I've been waiting for years! It is extremely ACTION-PACKED! I'll bet that all the reviewers that review this book will rate this book 5 stars. Very high on adventure and very thrilling. I would recommend this book to anyone I mean everyone! Full of suspense and action. I hope you'll love it and treasure it forever!

This is a right-wing, conservative, fundamentalist, militia type of book. They're the white male patriots, they know they're right and everybody else has to go (In God's name of course.) Now if you're still thinking oh cool action adventure! NOPE! Only about three action scene occur in the whole book and when I mean action I mean action in like the movement of the arm. The entire rest of the book is dialogue between all the other characters pointed at you the reader so they can talk you into joining their little group. The dialogue is so bad it's like something right out of a deer hunting video: "And I knew the deer was right over the ridge cause I heard him rubbing." "Yeah, and you knew to move on your heals cause it makes less noise." "Yeah, and I knew that he'd never get my scent cause he was down in the valley and the will blow across." "Yeah, and you know to pull the trigger and not squeeze." If you want to be converted over to joining the militia buy this text book other wise. NO!!!

Its a good story, down to earth, & the dialogue is neither redundent nor obtrusive. This tale progresses nicely. & yes, there is mention of a nuetron bomb type weapon. in short its a smart read. I read it in like one or two days it kept my intrest & is deffinately on my "must read" list. here is the tezt fromthe back cover. u decide.
"2020 A.D. america is divided into 2 societies: the Insiders & the Freemen. One is founded on the worship of death -- the other on a new obedience to God. Can they continue to live side by side in the same country?"
sweeeeeeeeet
peace
-b-

I found Heiland to be a unique perspective in the genre of anti-establishment fiction. I did not find its characters' being anglo and for grass roots Christianity as some kind of racist, anti-semitic statement. The author created an interesting piece by combining the rebel vs. tyrannical government theme with a utopia-that-could-be sci-fi theme. As contemplative fiction I find this book to be thought provoking and highly entertaining.

A Very sub par book that tended to get distracted from the mystery (whatever it was) at hand. One of the better picture covers during this era and it actually did happen around page 110 in the book! But beyond that, the internal artwork was horrible, and it was a rather dissconnected volume. RATED D

Mr. Hardy, Frank and Joe are hired to locate a fortune in gold bars stolen from the Wakefield mint. Through the course of the book they travel to Zurich, Switzerland and the jungles of Mexico. This book was absolutely awful. The mystery is boring. Frank and Joe are no closer to solving the case at page 150 than they were when the book began. The reader is "treated" to a bunch of events that have absolutely nothing to do with the mystery (such as Frank and Joe skiing in Switzerland) and a bunch of boring cliffhangers. When Frank and Joe finally do solve the mystery, it's not because of brilliant or hard detective work, it's because they follow someone. If they had only done that back on page 25 the reader would be spared a lot of pointless events. The book is poorly titled because the jungle pyramid has nothing to do with the case on which they are working. The book is terrible, don't waste your money on it.

The most adventurist mystery of all The Hardy Boy's books series! Frank and Joe are on another scrambling mystery with a dangerous gang. Chet,Biff,Tony,and Mr. Hardy are in with them. I loved the part when Frank and Joe were skiing with Rony,Alice,Jane,and Karen. Also the part when Frank and Joe were trailing the hynoptize man. And when Joe fell into a swamp full of alligators and nearly got eaten. Please people save your money to buy a Hardy Boy's books series!