I just completed the third book in the Anita Blake series, and all I have to say is: Poor Jean-Claude. True, he may be dead, and he may not have a soul, but Anita should have a heart. Give the vampire a break! This time around, Jean-Claude is not the only dead guy who wants Anita as his human servant: now Alejandro (an even bigger jerk than Jean-Claude) wants her too. What's a girl to do? Instead of being flattered over this twisted triangle, she is highly annoyed - good thing she has a new boy-toy to take her mind off of things. Enter, Richard, a mysterious friend of Jean-Claude who has a heartbeat, but is keeping something very crucial from her. Yikes.

I just love this series by Laurell K. Hamilton. I will admit that at first, I didn't think I would like it. But, after a few chapters of the first book, it hooks you, and you don't want to stop reading until you have completed the entire series. Which reminds me, I should stop reviewing this and start reading The Lunatic Cafe.

In this third book of the series, Anita Blake is getting stronger as a woman/character. In Circus we see tons of action concerning a giant cobra, a rogue vamp named Alejandro who wants Anita for all the wrong reasons, and of course Jean-Claude who is STILL trying to get her into his bed but at the very least he wants her as his human servant. Anita finds herself, and her "friend" Edward, in a battle for thier lifes, in this book, along with a few new vamps and weres. Will she live? Well now.. thats a silly question! We are talking about Anita here!!

Oh.. Did I mention Richard? Hes the new man in Anitas life. She thinks hes human at first but then the jealous Jean-Claude spills the beans about him being the runner up for Ulfric, King of the Werewolfs, in the city. And we cant forget Larry. Hes Anitas new "sidekick" and she is teaching him the ropes but he is kindof nervous about all the killing and zombie stuff that takes place around Anita. We shall see! :)

"Circus of the Damned" by Laurell K. Hamilton is the third book in the Anita Blake - Vampire Hunter series, and it is a fantastic read. The action never stops, and the reader is utterly absorbed into Anita's weird world of vampires, werewolves, and zombies. Though not for the faint of heart, this addictive series will have readers applauding Laurell K. Hamilton and craving much more of Anita Blake.
In "Circus of the Damned", Anita, tough-as-nails necromancer and vampire executioner is called in by the police to investigate a murder, seemingly perpetrated by vampires. After examining the body, Anita is sure that there is a rogue master vampire and at least four of his followers in the area, who are responsible for this murder. This means that there will be a new victim each night until these murderous vampires can be stopped.
In attempt to find out who these vampires are, Anita ends months of careful avoidance by asking to meet with Jean-Claude, the incredibly sexy Master Vampire of the City. Anita meets with Jean-Claude at one of his businesses, the Circus of the Damned, where she ends up having to fight off a perverted master vampire, an enraged human servant, and a giant cobra gone berserk. What a night! And what a lot of fun to read!
In this book Anita is still fighting against Jean-Claude's affections (silly, silly girl) and meets a new love interest, Richard Zeeman, a Junior High science teacher and werewolf.
In addition to everything else going on in her life, Anita must also train an eager and naive new animator named Larry Kirkland (and keep him alive), and deal with a bunch of right-wing fruitcakes from a violent new anti-vampire group. As you can see, Anita's adventures never stop, and Hamilton expertly ties all the threads together in a coherent and enjoyable way.
Anita's chilling encounters with the rogue vampires are full of heart-pounding suspense, and the thrilling final showdown will have every reader on the edge of his/her seat - guaranteed.
"Circus of the Damned" is tons of suspenseful fun, and is the ideal book for those days when you just need to get away from everything for a few hours. With a story that grabs you by the throat and won't let go and vivid and compelling characters at every turn, this book is irresistible. So don't miss out, buy this book today and enjoy!

If you are going to read "The Federalist Papers," you must also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers" in order to get the complete picture. Both books cross-reference each other and both are instrumental in understanding how our government was designed and how it was intended to work. In addition to the Papers, this edition also contains the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and an excellent introduction by Charles Kesler.

In a time when each colony had its own "constitution," the Federalists believed in creating one strong centralized government (with one Constitution) that could effectively represent the people. The authors and supporters of the Constitution knew that they could not afford to lose the vote in the state ratifying conventions. In an effort to win over his home state (New York), Alexander Hamilton, with the assistance of James Madison and John Jay, began a collection of 85 essays and published them under the pseudonym of "Publius" (named after one of the founders and heroes of the Roman republic, Publius Valerius Publicola). The Papers, published in 1787 and 1788, analyze and defend the proposed Constitution of the United States.

The Federalists succeeded in winning the colonists' support. But, even though the anti-federalists lost, their ideas were also brilliant and made an important contribution to the history of our government, which is why you should also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers."

This book is a must-read for all Americans. After reading this book, you will have a renewed appreciation and admiration for the wisdom and vision of our founding fathers.

If you are going to read "The Federalist Papers," you must also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers" in order to get the complete picture. Both books cross-reference each other, and both are instrumental in understanding how our government was designed and how it was intended to work. In addition to the Papers, this edition also contains the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and an excellent introduction by Charles Kesler.

In a time when each colony had its own "constitution," the Federalists believed in creating one strong centralized government (with one Constitution) that could effectively represent the people. The authors and supporters of the Constitution knew that they could not afford to lose the vote in the state ratifying conventions. In an effort to win over his home state (New York), Alexander Hamilton, with the assistance of James Madison and John Jay, began a collection of 85 essays and published them under the pseudonym of "Publius" (named after one of the founders and heroes of the Roman republic, Publius Valerius Publicola). The Papers, published in 1787 and 1788, analyze and defend the proposed Constitution of the United States.

Obviously, the Federalists succeeded in winning the colonists' support. But even though the anti-federalists lost, their ideas were also brilliant and made an important contribution to the history of our government, which is why you should also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers."

This book is a must-read for all Americans. After reading this book, you will have a renewed appreciation and admiration for the wisdom and vision of our founding fathers.

Read this and understand the true thoughts and meaning behind the Constitution and its Amendments, its interesting to read how the founding fathers interpreted what they wrote in a very different way then the courts and federal gestapo interprete them today. Especially of interest is the paper oon the true meaning of the term "for the general welfare" which has been used to allow all sorts of power grabs from the nuts in Washington, and which has been interpreted completly contrary to what the founding fathers intended. Be a true patriot, read this book.

Normally, I can't stand this genre; instead of something new, the cliches are just tossed together in a hash. But Laurell K. Hamilton keeps me coming back.

Part of it is the ongoing plot threads that go from book to book. Although these novels can stand alone, there are larger threads. Anita Blake's "romance" with Jean-Claude, the master vampire, for example, or the hints that Anita is something much stronger (and dangerous) than she or anyone else knows.

Another part is Anita. She isn't just a hard rock, lacking any humanity; she's really truly affected by the blood and death she's constantly surrounded by. She doesn't casually walk up to corpses, she has to compose herself before she looks. She's not callous, she's just able to hide her horror, fear and sadness better than most people. We only know because we're in her head.

"The Lunatic Cafe" is where the series, in my opinion, REALLY starts to pick up (read the other books "Guilty Pleasures", "The Laughing Corpse", and "Circus Of The Damned" first, it WILL help.) The soap opera kicks into high gear with a rather twisted little love triangle, not to mention some unfinished business between Anita and a vamp named Gretchen. Plus we get more of an introduction to the lycanthropes (werebeasts) of the city, their social structure, and the whole host of problems that go with THAT.

The novel itself is also pretty good, with the mystery at its center rather clever. Although she doesn't really play fair (we're not given much in the way of clues to possibly solve this mystery on our own), Hamilton does have a satisfactory solution. Like the other books so far, it's got a lightning-fast pace; poor Anita NEVER gets any sleep, something always happens to her.

This is, in the end, fun junk, great for airports, beaches, and the living room. They aren't classics, although they'd make great action movies, but the Anita Blake series is worth an occassional $7 now and again.

Welcome to exotic world of Anita Blake, vampire executor. In this fourth book, we find Anita with a little time on her hands since business tends to fall off during the Christmas season. Funny, people aren't as interested in raising the dead while they're celebrating. Anita is in the beginning stages of her relationship with Richard, that cute junior high science teacher who just happens to be a lycanthrope and still avoiding the seductive master vampire (my favorite) Jean-Claude.

Things should be slow-right? Wrong! First off she has to deal with a jealous, female rival for Jean-Claude's affections. Gretchen, is a female vampire who is determine to be the only lady in Jean-Claude's life. Gretchen's view on competition? Easy, just kill them. Only Jean-Claude has forbidden it. Gretchen decides to do as she pleases, and she pleases to kill Anita. Next we have someone who is killing shape shifters. The local police think it's a bear, but Anita knows enough about the supernatural to say otherwise. Then we have Richard trying to hide a growing internal conflict with the lycanthropes. It seems Richard is next in line to lead the pack, but to do so he must challenge the current leader and kill him. Richard doesn't want to do this, but faces being killed himself. Last we have Raina, the seductive lycanthrope and Gabriel, the sadist lycanthrope, who are making porn films featuring members of their pack. Who cares that some of their films just happen to turn into snuff films?

What's a girl to do? If you're Anita Blake, you set out to deal with jealous vampire girlfriends, try to make the man in your life see he shouldn't keep secrets from you, and help the police find who is murdering innocent people. If you haven't read Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, find book one, get started, and be sure to read them order. As someone who doesn't normally read this genre of writing, I was fascinated enough to buy and read all nine books in a two week span (thanks to fellow reviewers JP and Joss). One word of warning, this series seduces you. I don't think many will be able to read the first book without wanting all of them!

No more marks should equal no more powers, right? Sure, whatever. But alas, Anita is getting stronger, much more so than anyone realizes.

The fifth book in the series is more of a soap box love triangle thing than about the gore and raising zombies. After the bloodyness and violence of the 4th book, it's a nice change, which came at a perfect time. Although Anita gets really beat up in this book and there is violence and death, the usual.

Oh, yeah... Finally, for the second time, Anita Blake-tough as nails Animator a.k.a. The Executioner-has found love. Really, she has. We all know him as Richard Zeeman a.k.a. jr. high teacher; a.k.a. werewolf and second in line for the pack. Who could resist an idealistic-at times really annoying, strong, dark handsome werewolf? Anita sure can't, she can't get enough of him. Hmmm, yeah.

Of course Jean-Claude is duly pissed and there is some...tension...between the two. By some occurrence, the current pack's leader Marcus, whom Richard is fighting for leadership, offers Richard's services to Jean-Claude. Since the wolf is Jean-Claude's animal-each master vampire has power to call their own animal like Oliver had with snakes-he can also control werewolves as well. Basically, Richard is supposed to do what the Master of the City wants. I emphasize supposed to. Of course, that doesn't happen. A lot of anger and jealousy happen' here.

To add to the chaos of confusion, Marcus, the leader of the wolf pack and Raina, the alpha female wolf wants, needs Anita's help in finding out who is killing lycanthropes, werewolves specifically. In the past weeks, 8 werewolves have disappeared or ended up in violent death. With help from Edward and some reluctance help from Richard, Anita plunges forth.

Mind you, there is one part of the story line dealing with porno/snuff film. That's Edward's reason for being, he's been hired to kill the lycanthropes involved in the killing of a human girl in a film. It's not crude, it's just frankly stated. While not necessary, it does reveal a little part of Richard's character, which is really important in the story.

The sacrifice? Her new relationship with Richard as well as Jean-Claude. As Anita learns more and more about the world of werewolves, she rethinks Richard's proposal of marriage. Yeah, he asked her to marry him.

Jean-Claude of course is very pissed and threatens to kill Richard but Anita complies with his terms of dating BOTH of them at the same time, he may let Richard live. Oh, yeah, it gets really interesting. It's the only reason I like Richard; you'll enjoy what Richard brings to the story if your a Jean-Claude fan.

It's interesting how Hamilton is able to only give small bits of information and yet maintain such intense interest. You really don't know Jean-Claude or Anita, but each gives a small glimpse of who they are and what they are, what they believe. Great writing at its best. Great sci-fi fantasy with elements of moral, ethics and belief aspects about everything, yourself, the world. All the humor, sarcasm, intelligence, the aura of the other books is still ever so present. You won't be disappointed; it just gets better and better.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a classical story about a girl and her dog that get trapped in a twister. She wakes up in a magical land and asks how she can get home. They tell her she has to follow the yellow brick road. She meets people on her way to the Wizard. The Scarecrow needs brains, the Tinman needs a heart, the Lion needs courage and Dorothy needs to go home. They meet strange things on the way to The Good Witch of the South. I like the book because it's interesting and exciting and that's why I think you should read it.

L. Frank Baum's enduring story is wonderfully presented in this elegant edition and the Washington Post called Lisbeth's The Wizard of Oz "the loveliest edition imaginable."

However, the assessment of the local kids is the drawings are "weird." Perhaps intended for a more adult audience, the illustrations are beautiful--I enjoyed them--but their idiosyncratic style may not appeal to the younger set.

The characters pictured in the illustrations are dramatcially reinterpreted by the artist, however this may disappoint some viewers. The Scarecrow will look nothing like any scarecrow you've imagined. The Witch of the North is difficult to identify. This fresh point of view will be enjoyed by some but is sure to disappoint others.

I also felt the illustrations don't tell the story as well as the edition by Michael Hague or the original edition with W. W. Dinslow. (This is more important to the younger, read-to crowd, than the older, I can read it myself crowd.)

My daughter asked that we return the book and get a different edition for her. I would urge you to carefully consider the sample pages, except the sample pages don't cover a broad range of the illustrations included with this edition. The sample pages do include an image of the dramatic and striking cover. Unfortunately, in the judgement of several reviewers from 4 to 40, the other illustrations were noticably more "weird" than the cover and I don't think the sample pages represent the overall reading/viewing experience scrupulously.

The Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum is a wonderful book about a young girl who goes on an adventure full of excitement and fun. Dorothy the main character lives on a small country farm in Kansas with her Aunt, Uncle, and small dog, Toto. One day a twister comes over their country farm and whisks Dorothy along with her little dog away to a make believe land called Oz. There she is greeted by the people who live there. She asks them how she can get home to Kansas. They tell her that the Great Oz will help get her home. But before she heads on her way to Oz the Good Witch of the North kisses her on the forehead and says that with that kiss no one can harm her. So she and Toto head on their way to Oz. On her way she meets The Scarecrow who wants a brain, a Woodman made of tin who wants a heart and a Cowardly Lion who wants courage. These four new friends eimbark on an adventure to the great city of Oz. Will they all get their wishes? Find out when you read the Wizard of Oz. I loved this book because not only did it have fantasy but it is a great book for all ages. I recomend it to anyone who loved being a child.

While Hamilton won't ever win any awards for her writing, in the technical sense, she is a great storyteller, and her characters are among the most vivid of any genre. Anita Blake is probably the strongest heroine I've ever read, and she continues to grow as the series progresses. Jean-Claude is the bad boy who is much more caring and vulnerable (emotionally) than he seems at first. By this time, Jean-Claude and Anita ought to be set in stone, almost predictable, but they're not. Even the secondary recurring characters have depth and are clearly defined: Jason, Bert, Edward, Larry, Ronnie. You feel like these are people you know.

While this book isn't the best of the series, dragging out far too long and wrapping up too tidily, the scene where Anita stays with Jean-Claude at dawn merits 20 stars. It is both heart-wrenching and horrifying, one of the most memorable scenes of the entire series.

One thing that bothers me about all of Hamilton's books: Tons of typos and other assorted errors. It's almost laughable at times, and distracting as hell.

The titles of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake novels always refer to some sort of establishment frequented by monsters and while "Bloody Bones" is the name of a eating place out in the sticks it is also the name of something much, much worse. Anita Blake and her trainee Larry (not Lawrence) Kinkaid are out in the sticks of Missouri to raise a bunch of really old zombies to settle a development issue. But then Dolph calls Anita to tell her the local cops need her help with a murder investigation that sure looks to our heroine like an incredible fast vampire using a really big sword. Of course, these and every other plot line in the book are all related. The "romantic" triangle between Anita, Jean-Claude and Richard is pretty much on the back burner this time around, although Jean-Claude and his pet werewolf Jason show up to help Anita meet Serephina, the local master. Boy, does that ever turn out to be a mondo-mistake.

"Bloody Bones," the fifth book in the Anita Blake "Vampire Hunter" series, is similar to the previous couple of books. The menagerie of monsters continues to grow, with faeries and worse being added to the roster, while Anita's powers as a Necromancer continue to grow at the most opportune moments. In terms of writing pure horror, Hamilton knows how to lay it out big time. If Hollywood ever dared to film these books as she writes them they would be NC-17 (at least). Yes, Hamilton tends to play the same cards in getting Anita out of her dire predicaments, but as a writer of horror novels with scenes of disquieting intensity that will make it difficult for you to sleep at night, she has Lovecraft, King and Barker beat. She is so good at coming up with scenes of outright horror that go on and on, that I will not let my teenager daughter read these books.

This book is amazing!! Each books keeps getting better and better. I also like how Anita grows as you get further and further in the series. She's getting more powerful.

As the plot of the book opens, Anita has to raise a few dead bodies that are a couple hundred years old to settle a dispute over who actually owns some land. Simple enough, right? Well if your a fan of this series you know that nothing is what it seems. This book is no exception. Soon Anita is in the middle of vampires, Zombies, and people who want her dead. This is nothing new in the life of Anita Blake. To make things more difficult, she has to call on Jean Claude, a master vampire for help. What's the big secret that people are being killed over? Read Bloody Bones and find out.

As I said eariler, Anita is growing as the series goes on. She's tough as nails and twice as sharp.

So far, this is my favorite book of the series. If you want to get as much pleasure from the book as you possible can, you need to start with the first book and work your way through. Give yourself a treat and read the seires.

Hamilton has a writing sytle that keeps the reader glued to the page, and never let's them go. If you read this book, you won't be sorry.

I found CGI Programming 101 a concise and practical introduction to the world of CGI programming and Perl. While written for the beginner CGI 101 tackles some difficult but powerful topics including SQL database programming, regular expressions, and UNIX commands. I like technical books that get to the point, are full of working example code, and are well supported by an associated web site. CGI 101 is such a book.

This book is best for you if you want to learn and start using CGI right away using Perl. It is easy to read. Concepts are described clearly with hands-on practical examples provided. Chapters are also well organized covering how to write CGI to handle forms, searching, SSI, redirects, cookies, database and e-mail. Essential topics of Perl for web development are all covered. For those who have some programming background, this book can turn you to a Perl/CGI programmer in a single day!

When I first picked up this book, I was surprised to see that it was only 210 pages. But those pages are filled great information. I learned more from this book that I have from books three times the size. This book has expanded my skills from an HTML coder to a novice Perl programmer in less than a week. If you already understand HTML and a little JavaScript, this book will teach you the basics of Perl and help you create CGI forms and database front-ends very quickly. I hope Hamilton writes "CGI Programming 102."

After reading the first book in this series "Reality Dysfunction: Emergence", I was hooked, and immediately bought the second installment.

It has lived up to the promise of the first book, and comes to a nail biting and edge of seat conclusion. Hamilton continues to develop the universe he has created, giving us a glimple into the Tyrathca society and suggesting that they have direct knowledge of the catastrophe that caused the collapse of Laymil civilization.

The stars of this book are the mechanically enhanced troops that are set down on Lalonde, both the hi-tech body enhancements and their Esprit de Corps and devil may care attitude to life, death and danger.

Needless to say I have purchased the next installment of the series, which amounts to six books in total, if you don't count short stories and add ons.

A great universe full of interesting characters, clever twists and unforseen developments. Brilliant stuff.

When I finished reading the first Reality Dysfunction book, I was left wondering what was going to happen next since Hamilton tends to end his books as abruptly as they begin. There was no decernable main character in the first book, but, about halfway in you realize that Josh Calvert is definetly the binding factor for most of the numerious storylines that wind their way throughout the book.

Any writing issues that were in the first book were long gone in this one, leaving the writing much better and giving the story a much better scense of direction.

As usual, the story is amazing, letting you get ahead of yourself saying "oh, that's easy, they're going to do bla bla bla next" and then it turns out they do something totally different, adding another layer to the story in the process.

I'm very glad that Hamilton exended the Possesed's characters more, offering an interesting prospective of the human spirit, if you like to think that deep... =)

Either way, if you were slightly disapointed by Emergence, read this before you form any opinions about Hamilton, you'll be pleasantly surprised of what Hamilton is capable of.

This was even better than the first. The plot is more solid, more connected, and you begin to get a feeling for what the story is truely about.
The scope of this book was astonishing. You literaly span the galaxy, visiting places and meeting people so far beyond your wildest dreams..... It's incredible.
The characters begin to take a more concrete shape, forming more solid personalities and becoming more real. As this book unfolds, the mysteries left by the first start to make more sense, becoming a part of the story that fits tightly and perfectly.
The writting is just wonderful. It pulls you in, making you feel like you just have to know what happens next. You tell yourself that after you find out you'll stop, and then another unbelievable surprise hits you and you know it's hopeless. I finished this book in even less time then it took me to finish the first. I just couldn't put it down.
This book is an amazing epic all on it's own!
And just think! There are still more left to read!
The only thing I'm sorry about is that I didn't discover this series sooner!
One of the thing I like best is how unpredictable the story is. You never know what's next, or how it will happen. I just can't wait to find out!
A truely incredible story, and well worth reading. More than once!

This book has the guts to tackle the touchy subject of sexual awakening head-on. The prose under each picture is about sex, and the introduction to the book by L. James is about sex, too. This is a good thing. Since sex amongst young people is obviously a very real thing, why is it considered bad to address it in print or other artistic mediums? It is my opinion that anything having to do with the life process should be fair game for artistic representation, including sexual awakening. Those who would condemn this book are denying that such feelings and desires do exist amongst young people. They do exist, and how. I am nineteen years old, and the sexual confusions and longings of adolescence are still fresh in my mind. I had to see this controversial book for myself and see if Hamilton got it right. While his is an older man's perspective on the subject, he still did surprisingly well. While most of the pictures, (with some VERY striking exceptions) tend to be very similar and can get monotonous, the overall effect of the book is impressive and memorable. As long as freedom of artistic expression reigns, as opposed to fascist misinformation and ignorance, books like this will always have a secure place for those mature enough to understand and relate to them.

I'm a devout Christian, and when I first heard on a Christian talk radio show that I listen to that Amazon.com was peddling child pornography, it raised my ire. I went home, and, as instructed by the radio talk show host, began to write an angry threatening letter to Amazon.com. My teenage daughter who I love and cherish in spite of our admit generational gap issues, asked me why I was writing a critical letter about a title I had never read. Well -- sometimes us older folks need to listen to our children. I put the letter on hold, and agreed to take a look at the book. While I didn't go out of my way to find it, I happened upon it at a bookstore the following day. And I have to admit -- this is NOT pornography at all. The poses of these beautiful young women is not at all provocative or seductive or arousing. This is art that shows the beautiful body that the Lord created. I don't understand the criticism, and am truly sorry that I nearly sent off an ignorant letter. If you're considering criticizing this book, I suggest that you READ it first! Though you may not like it, you may very well decide that this is NOT as bad as some of those organizing letter-writing campaigns are saying.

I ordered this book because I love art that depicts young girls. I have two daughters, and I consider them to be the most perfect works of art that ever existed. It is my life's goal to try and capture their perfection with a camera. I look for every new look, gesture, attitude as they grow and develop. I have read much about Hamilton's work. Some of what has been written has been viscously against it, and some vehemently for it. It seems that no one who ever bothered to write a review was able to look at it dispassionately. That is why I bought the book. Hamilton has apparently done what I want to do, in that he has produced images that fire the viewer's passions.

In this book I found many, many fine images of young girls depicted exactly as I see them. The vast majority of them are posed so we can admire some aspect of their physical person, such as the curve of a jaw, the bud of a developing breast, or the sinewy young muscles beneath the skin of a thigh. At the same time, these pictures seem to expose some aspect of the model's spiritual self. I can't explain that further, except to say that I see something beyond the girl's body. I don't know how Hamilton did that, but to me, these are excellent works of art. The highest complement I can think of to give is that I would be proud to see my own daughters depicted as most of the girls in the book are.

On the other hand, some of the photos show these young girls posing to purposely display their sexuality. This is exciting in a picture of a full-grown woman, but disturbing in this book. It is difficult for me to look at some of these girls, posed so provocatively, and not feel a sexual longing. As the father of two young girls, this bothers me a lot. If Hamilton took these pictures specifically to be disturb the viewer, then he succeeded.

I also own "Radiant Identities" by Jock Sturges. Sturges also uses young female models as subjects. However, at no time does he ever pose his models in a sexually suggestive manner. With! out exception I would be proud to see my own children pose for him, as I know that they would be treated with respect and dignity. Which is not to say that Hamilton's models weren't. It's just that I was very disturbed by some of what I saw.

In conclusion, this is a great book for those who appreciate the female form as an objet d'art. Hamilton's sense of form and composition is as good as I have ever seen. But the few pictures in this book that don't fit my idea of high art make it difficult to recommend it to a general audience. The viewer would have to be very mature and in control of his or her own primal urges. I always thought that I was a very mature aficionado of art, and yet began to doubt myself when I was moved as I was by a few of this images.

Artists often purposely challenge us to move beyond complacency. Hamilton has produced a work with images that are both beautiful and disturbing, and as such, I believe he achieved his objective.

Hooper's book is a probing, thoughtful assay into the unintended consequences (HIV) of good intentions (preventing polio); his response to a reader comment confirms that view, and skewers the understandably reactive comments of Dr. Koprowsi's son. (I agree, with the son, however, that Hooper falts his father's failing memory too much to be seemly.) What Hooper proposes is an unlikely (but like many unlikely things, quite possible) chain of events beginning with an unlikely transmission of SIV to humans; but Hooper shows (1) that it was distinctly possible and (2) that a small number of infections, and not mass infection, of humans with SIV was all that was needed to start the AIDS epidemic. And he repeatedly seeks the means to prove or disprove it, which are denied to him by those with the information and materials to do so (who have pride and position, at least, to lose). If nothing else, the publication of this book may force the hands of insitutions that have the material (old polio vaccine lots) that could largely disprove this theory to make those samples available for testing. Moreover, this book also may cause us to be more careful, as we tinker with nature and science (think of BGH and genetically engineered corn), to consider whether the unintended, and sometimes unforeseeable, consequences of our present actions create such that present needs must go unmet in light of those risks. If Hooper's theory is right, Dr. Koprowski did not set out to be careless and to expose the world to disease (quite the opposite is true); but even he knew at the time that he could have been much more risk averse that he chose to be.

Perhaps it is because I am a physician with a background in public health who also had polio as a child that I am so captivated by the narrative that Mr.Hooper tells. In spite of its length (and weight) I could not put the book down till I finished it. Mr. Hooper is an extraordinary persistant journalist and detective as well as raconteur, ferreting out details of process, politics, culture, and personality to weave an extraordinary story about the possible origins of the AIDS epidemic. In spite of the fact that he is the ardent advocate of a horrific iconoclastic hypothesis he tells the story of his searches in a most honest andeven handed way. His laying out in fine detail the history of the development of the polio vaccine, of medical research in tropical Africa, Europe and the United States both in technical terms and in the personalities involved, and the investigation of the earliest AIDS cases is a tour de force. All this in a first person narrative that reads like a detective story. As a reader I felt introduced on intimate level to the many people and locales on three continents where these events unfold. This book teaches us to admire the verve, creativity, and daring of medical innovators as well as their arrogance, while at the same time, whatever actually happended, the events in retrospect constitute a spiritual lesson in humility.

A wonderful book which clearly explains some intriguing, if unproven, theories. As much a cautionary tale as a scientific work.

In reference to the Clinical Infectious Diseases article (2001;32:1068-1084), it should be noted that the author of this article was one of the scientists possibly implicated by this book.

Hooper experienced many roadblocks during his research for the book and many of them were placed before him by eminent scientists who preferred not to get involved in a book which might harm the reputation of their profession by suggesting that it may have been responsible (accidentally or otherwise) for disastrous wrongdoing during the development of the OPV.

In the article, the author acknowledges the assistance and input from many of his colleagues in the scientific profession. Personally, I believe this is further proof that the medical/scientific community are more than happy to work together to protect the reputation of their profession but are less inclined to involve themselves in a project aiming to reveal the truth, no matter how horrifying and sinister that truth may turn out to be.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and give this book a negative review. It's not that I don't like Kafka, I've read most of his fiction and I think he was a brilliant writer. But this book just disappointed me. It's a few hundred pages too long--he pretty much makes most of his main points in the first part of the book and the remaining narrative seems superfluous and, well, tedious. Although his other two novels are also "unfinished" I think he expressed himself much more clearly in them. I agree with the other reviewers that this novel was about many things, i.e. the quest for truth, the frustration of the invididual facing the state and society itself, etc., but I think it could have been done better, especially by someone like Kafka. While reading "The Castle" I couldn't get over the impression that I was reading the first draft of something the author probably would have refined and improved had he lived longer.

I read somewhere that Kafka used to read the newly-written chapters of THE CASTLE to his friends who would laugh uproariously along with the author. I found this the scariest thing about the book, indeed one of the strongest clues that late 20th century America is immeasurably distant from early 20th century Austria-Hungary. This book will give you nightmares. It is nothing so childish as a Hollywood horror movie, but a somehow crumpled, twisted, horrifying view of human nature, especially as manifest in bureaucracies. K needs to speak to someone to get something done. He approaches the castle where the lord lives. The whole story involves his endless efforts to speak to someone, anyone, who can help him contact the servant who has the ear of the clerk who can speak to the courtier who might be able to talk to the cousin who occasionally is known to have the ear of the lord. And of course, K is continually frustrated. Not to mention you, the reader. It is the stuff of the worst nightmares. Thus, though it is extremely unpleasant,without any hint of beauty, love, or human feeling, THE CASTLE is a most powerful novel, one of the best I have ever read. I can't say I liked it, but it impressed me no end. If you have ever read anything else by Kafka and liked it, you will definitely like this one. It was never finished, but then such a novel can have no finish.

Translation means everything! Over the years I've read much of Kafka especially during adolescence and into my early twenties when his worldview spoke most directly to my own attempts to understand how the world really worked. Of all his books only The Castle totally defeated me. I must have begun it five times in my life, only to abandon it partway through. Now I know why. It wasn't Kafka. It was the translation.

Mark Harmon's translation brought Kafka close to my ear and heart, the way he used to when I was younger. I could see the darkness of his interiors, feel the cold of his snow covered wind blown exteriors, smell the stale beer of the taproom, taste the small meals and strong coffee served, sense the animal []attractions of his characters. Most of all I could really hear the voices of his people as they simultaneously revealed and concealed themselves through their stories.

Sometimes I laughed out loud. Sometimes my hair stood on end at the dark realities which this book unveils. The Barnabas family stories in particular chilled me. Especially in this time of fear and shunning by powerful majorities of the 'others'in our societies and in the exhaustion of the 'cleansings' and genocides of the last century, the fall of that family made me feel like I was inside a hateful part of our past, present and future.

I've now lived part of my life within bureaucratic organizations, even as an 'official' and I understand as I couldn't as a youth how absolutely Kafka has gotten to the deepest truths about how our power structures work. What it's like to be enmeshed as part of them, and-or to be at their mercy. It is hard to find free space in the world.

I used to think Kafka was a genius and an artist of the highest rank. Now, reading him in an excellent translation I understand that he was also a prophet.