... Mosley gives us a male character who isn't afraid to cry and when he gets angry he doesn't get violent but does get even. The mystery surrounding the death of the white stripper is cleverly written into the plot and when the clues reveal the killer they all make sense. This series improves with each novel and Easy is turning into a complex person who has demons of his own to battle.

Though Devil in a Blue Dress and A Red Death are great reads which stand apart from other books in the genre White Butterfly might be the best Easy Rawlins story. Like Ross Macdonald, Walter Mosley weaves a tapestry of pain and heartache and human frailty into White Butterfly. Along the way we get to revisit the friendship of Mouse and Easy and again we learn that there are degrees of right and wrong.
It is only the killing of a white girl which prompts the police to ask for Easy's help. There was no hurry when only black girls were getting murdered in the Los Angeles of 1956. It is the last thing Easy wants as he has a woman named Regina and a child in his life now. Yet he can not give all of himself to them and holds back from telling Regina about his life and his property and where he gets his money.
Mosley has tightly written a character who though good also is flawed and wrestles with his own life and motives as much as he does with the cops and bad guys. We understand why Easy is more comfortable with the amoral Mouse than with the rest of society. You do not have to be black to appreciate the complex moral landscape Mosley paints of Easy's world. You feel Easy's personal loss at the end of this book and it stays with you longer than the mystery.
If Ross Macdonald wrote like a slumming angel then Mosley writes like an angel of the slums. He doesn't try to make us understand Easy's world, only lets us ride along with Easy as he attempts to make sense of it all himself. In the struggle we learn about pain and sorrow and regret, which is to say we learn about life. Reading this book will make you want more of Easy and more of Walter Mosley.

This was my first Mosley/Easy Rawlins mystery and I enjoyed it immensely. It had depth of character and interesting plot twists and turns. I also liked the fact that it was a story about African Americans in 1956 Los Angeles and it didn't rely on the 'N' word for shock value (unlike Ellroy and a few others). I think it was a great introduction to the series.

Great to see something targeted at the Fathers role for Homeschoolers. My husband felt a little left out of the Homeschool process as we began as well as a little uncertain of how everything would work. A good support material and reinforcement. So necessary to have a strong male role especially when raising 3 boys.

1) Book is short because it is straight to the point. Unlike many books I read they are about 50% fully of examples. Examples and stories that prove the point are many times necessary and usefull but I really liked that he simply stated his point and moved on. Thus I read this book in about an hour and a half.
2) He hits on the major things we as Christian men should be doing. I believe if we are fulling our responsibilities then everything else will fall into place.
3) Don't mistake this book being short as not having value. Even though I read it in less than two hours I have about 2 months of planning of how to incorporate the ideas shared into my life or how I need to work at some new habits (or old habits that have been forgotten) in order to set the example for my kids.
4) Many times I'll read a book and not agree with certain parts of it...which is ok, since the key is that we learn and grow from some portion of what we read. In this book, every chapter presented I had no argument against and thus was left with a sense of responsibility that I could no longer avoid in certain areas of my life.

I gave this book to Jennifer Wong, a friend of mine from sekolah pelita harapan on her birthday, and she loved it. She is obsessed with romantic stories and she said that this is the best book she has ever read.

This was such an excellent, sweet romance... I loved it! I had to chuckle out loud more than once. DR really knows how to write a good storyline, good humor, good romance, & EXCELLENT love scenes! lol Gracie was just too sweet & funny, & Adam was to die for! They were 2 that I just couldn't wait for them to realize they were in love & live happily ever after. Zoey kind of started getting on my nerves, but bless her heart she KNEW she had screwed-up & was doing her best to dig herself out of it. I'll definitely be looking for more books by this author.

I recently finished this book and found myself wishing that there was more to it; I enjoyed it that much! It is always good to find a book that engages my interest in infectious diseases without being too scholarly (I'm not a doctor) or too simplified for the masses (I am, however, very intelligent). "Maneater" is exactly that kind of book -- it hits all the right notes -- neither too smart nor too dumbed down.

I will admit to thoroughly enjoying being "grossed out" by my reading material, but to my surprise, I found that Dr. Nagami has also injected quite a lot of humor, pathos and compassion into her book. Yes, the book made me swear to never forget my shots before going to the tropics and to always eat properly cooked food (no raw cobra hearts for me!). But it also made me realize how lucky we are to have people like Dr. Nagami, who are brilliant yet always aware of their humanity and faults and who are capable of incredible compassion in the face of so much pain.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in infectious disease, whether you're an expert or a novice. One person complained that he wanted a more scholarly approach and that this book is worthless to him. Well, perhaps "Maneater" isn't a medical text on tropical disease, but it does hold valuable lessons for physicians on how to treat patients-- and I don't just mean with medicines. This book is a very enjoyable, fast read that excites, grosses you out and makes you all too aware of how close we all are to getting something very deadly. If I ever catch one of these diseases or wind up with worms in my brain, I hope I have someone as good as Dr. Nagami treating me!

Dr. Nagami tells a facinating story. Her knowledge in the area of infectious disease if vast and her ability to tell the stories behind each disease is a true gift. The people in this book were brought to life with her page-turning prose and she made difficult and complex diseases easy to understand.

When I started to read this book I had no idea that I would not be able to put it down. Several hours later, bleary-eyed, I finished and knew that I had found a terrific holiday gift for several of my friends. I have the book sitting in my living room and many people have picked it up, started reading and asked if they could borrow it. This book is a facinating must-read.

OK, first my prejudice--I am a resident physician working in the hospital where Dr. Nagami spends most of her professional time in recent years. She volunteers her time to teach me and my colleagues about infectious disease as well as her other specialties, internal medicine and geriatrics. She is brilliant in every way a resident would like an attending to be--knowledgable, insightful, out-going, pleasant, extraordinarily respectful of everyone around her, funny and overflowing with stories of her invaluable experiences.

That said I love her book. It helps that I recognize many of the characters. It helps, too, that I can hear her voice as I read it (partly because she has read excerpts to us on rounds). It is, nonetheless, an inspiring, touching, and, yes, educational work. Oh, and even though physicians who read it will find it educational that does not mean that it is in any way outside comprehension of other readers. I was tempted to skim past some of the short, plain language explanations aimed at the lay reader, but found even those sections to be helpful to the flow of the text. Not condescending, not verbose--just part of the story.

This is a wonderful book I would recommend to anyone. Sure it has particular appeal to those with special interest in health-related issues, it is also a pleasant look at humanism and spirituality.

Thanks, Dr. Nagami.

having known the author for a good portion of my life, i know this work to be what it is: pure fiction. its a sleeper to read, its not true, and you'd be better off reading graffiti off the bathroom walls. if you want to read a good book, read the bible, if you want to read a bad one, this is just for you.

This book is a great example of how Islam works for woman. In is this book Nancy is a Islamic woman living her life in modern America. She shows how you can a Muslim and a woman in America. She shows how to covert people to muslim in this book. She offers in sight into how the world of Islam works. I recommend that all people read this book to get the real deal on Islam and its people.

i give this book 5 woofs woof woof woof woof woof. the dog in the book is great. better then scoby doo

Back Cover description: Dashing bachelor prince Sharif Asad Al Farid swept onto the Desert Rose ranch, his eyes as fierce as the Texas heat. Although he'd come to meet his newfound relatives, it was their lovely ranch hand who attracted his attention. Olivia Smith's beguiling innocence and sassy attitude enraptured him. Matrimony wasn't on Sharif's mind-until the press caught them in a compromising clinch...and his royal family demanded a wedding.
The powerful sheikh could not deny his duty, but convincing independent Olivia to become his princess bride would put his reputation as a master of charm and seduction to the ultimate test.

This is the fourth book in this series. I've read HIS INNOCENT TEMPTRESS (I think it was by Kasey Michaels). This book is similar in that both brothers have to decide which is more important, politics or love. Olivia is a good, strong, likable heroine. Sharif's character starts out obnoxious but grows and develops nicely. There is a little humor, secondary romance and good sexual tension. The only drawback was that I didn't feel that Olivia could have been as naïve as she was after working with the ranch hands for so many years.

This is the fourth book in the Texas Sheikhs series on the royal Coleman family. If you haven't read the first three books in the series here is a summary. This story is about the youngest son Sharif who is the lost child of Rose Coleman. When her husband, King Ibraham, was assassinated Rose had to flee the country with her young three sons but she didn't know she was pregnant with fourth son Sharif.

After Rose made sure her three sons were safe with her brother Randy Coleman in the United States she went back to try to find out who was behind her husband's assassination. She made the mistake of trusting her sister-in-law Layla who was married to King Azzam who now rules in his assassinated brother's place. Layla arranges for Rose to be locked up in a sanitarium and leaves her there to rot.

Layla takes Rose's baby and gives him to a neighboring King & Queen of Sorajhee who are childless but doesn't tell them the truth where she got the baby. Sharif grows up believing his parents are his birth parents. The truth of what happened to Rose and her three sons were disclosed in the first three books. This book begins with Sharif meeting his mother Rose and his brothers for the first time.

When he arrives at the Coleman ranch in Texas he also finds himself intrigued by Olivia Smith, an innocent and sassy ranch hand who works for the Coleman family. Olivia and Sharif have a lot of challenges trying to get to know each other but you'll be unable to put the book down because you'll want to see how they end up together. Very well written story with interesting people that seem real. I highly recommend this book!

Synopsis: Dashing bachelor prince Sharif Asad Al Farid swept onto the Desert Rose ranch, his eyes as fierce as the Texas heat. Although he'd come to meet his newfound relatives, it was their lovely ranch hand who attracted his attention. Olivia Smith's beguiling innocence and sassy attitude enraptured him. Matrimony wasn't on Sharif's mind - until the press caught them in a compromising clinch...and his royal family demanded a wedding. The powerful sheikh could not deny his duty, but convincing independent Olivia to become his princess bride would put his reputation as a master of charm and seduction to the ultimate test. I love this series and this is another winner in the group! Sharif is great and Olivia is the confident heroine that we miss too often in "Sheikhs books".

Order it today!

Millionaire Nick Ryder talks his sister into giving him an extra turn at their Aspen place at Thanksgiving in return for assistance to her friend. Emma Snow only needs one more person to participate in her dream study so that she can complete her master's degree. As a nontraditional student with a reading disability, the path to graduation has already been fraught with challenge. When her last subject bailed at the last minute, it left her precariously close to loosing her opportunity to graduate, which would relegate her to waitressing another year instead of accepting the professional position she's worked so long for.

Nick arrives their appointment a few minutes early, catching a glimpse of a divinely sensual woman dressed only in a thong. The substance of fantasy seems to remain well concealed, however, and it's only a few days later that he realizes from his dream that the neat bun, thick glasses, and shapeless lab coat conceal the sensual woman who has taken control of his imagination. Although he continues to dream about her, Nick finds it increasingly impossible to confess the intimate contents of his dreams. When his dreams become the subject of her own fantasies, Emma finds herself equally challenged to resist the impulse to make their dreams come true.

Author Debbi Rawlins kicks fantasy into high gear with IN HIS WILDEST DREAMS. While the plot is a little thin, the action is hot with scintillating imagery and imagination. Unfortunately, it is implausible for two people whose interaction has been primarily based on dreams to make the leap into marriage in only two weeks. Nevertheless, the interplay between Nick and Emma proves to be a refreshing, sensual delight as most of their intercourse takes place in their imaginations rather than a bed. Recommended.

favorite scene with emma-
punishing nick for what he did.

favorite scene with nick-
heart to heart with his sister about emma.

together-
punishing nick for what he did.

This is a fun read and you will just love the dreams that our hero has as well as the ones he makes up. The heroine is sassy under her prim exterior and you'll love the ending because there is a surprise.

A now mellower Easy Rawlins has a stable job, a beautiful home, and a wonderful family. So by most people's standards, he should be content, but this is not the case for two particular reasons. First, he is still mourning the death of his best friend, Mouse, who was a staple in Easy's life. Secondly, since Easy is a man who craves danger, adventure, and the thrill of the chase, living a quiet, normal life is boring to him.

As an easygoing man, he likes to help others, and when trouble comes knocking, he answers. The latest trouble surrounds a bomb that explodes at the school where he is employed. Easy's love for the children makes him determined to get to the bottom of things. But the bombing has a domino effect and as the events unfold, he is continuously placed in harms way. Easy faces a cast of original characters and some new shady and interesting ones, all of whom keep him on his toes.

SIX EASY PIECES: EASY RAWLINS STORIES, Mosley's latest book, treats readers to seven different Rawlins' adventures, with Easy as the common thread. Mosley has a way of taking readers along on the adventures and this makes his stories even more interesting, and this one comes highly recommended.

Reviewed by Simone A. Hawks
THE RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I HAVE READ ALL THE MOSLEY BOOKS, ERGO: PRIOR TO SIX EASY PIECES, THE BOOK "BAD BOY BRAWLY BROWN" WAS SPECTACULAR, & YOU WILL FIND SIX EASY PIECES NEARLY AS GOOD, AS IT PICKS UP WHERE BAD BOY LEAVES OFF. EACH "STORY" IS CIRCA 50 PAGES, AND SMOOTHLY BLENDS INTO THE NEXT ONE. THERE IS A WONDERFUL CONTINUITY AND MANY QUESTIONS THE READER MAY HAVE ABOUT EASY AND MOUSE ARE RESOLVED. CONSIDERABLE ACTION IS SEEN IN THE BOOK AND A VERY MATURE EASY RAWLINS DEVELOPS,WHO COMES TO TERMS WITH MANY A PROBLEM, BUT REALIZES HE NEEDS TO "BE ON THE STREETS". I USUALLY AVOID SHORT STORIES BUT THIS IS ,IN EFFECT, A FULL LENGTH EASY RAWLINS NOVEL, CERTAINLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. 1/11/03

This collection includes one new and six previously published longish short stories featuring one of Walter Mosley's most fascinating characters, Easy Rawlins, a man who grew up more or less on his own and who has had his difficulties with the other side of the law at least partly because of his childhood friend, Mouse, who is a killer. He is, like Mosley's other character, Socrates Fortlow, trying to keep his life together in spite of the odds.

He functions as a sort of unofficial detective who gets involved in the troubles of people who might not otherwise go to the police with their problems, and as such he serves a real purpose in this gritty urban scene. Of course, Easy has been the protagonist in seven Mosley novels by now. These short stories fill in some of the gaps in his life history and as such contain background and psychological material that I think would be important for readers of the novels.

Easy Rawlins is a hardscrabble, part-time private eye (although he would never call it that) in 1964 Los Angeles. Easy lives the black experience, from the gutter to black men trying to make something of themselves. In this novel, the sixth book of the series, Easy still has his custodial management job at Soujourner Truth public school but part of him will never leave the streets and the danger and he knows it. He has a better life than he could ever have believed possible with his son and daughter, Jesus and Feather, and his woman, Bonnie, who is still new to him. But when he gets the call from an old friend to search for a missing son that may be tied up in the Urban Revolutionary Party, a black group that may be interested in living up to its name, Easy slides gracefully and willingly back into the night's shadows and strides through the dangerous underbelly of 1960s Los Angeles. In no time at all, Easy has run afoul of powerful men. Black and white, cop and criminal, Easy's adversaries are legion and deadly. In no time at all, two men are dead. Both men are tied to the young man that Easy is looking for: Brawly Brown. While searching for Brown, Easy comes face-to-face with several issues of the changing world and the problems that are only now coming to a head in his own life. While his friend John is potentially losing his step-son to the violence starting to break out in the streets, Easy is struggling to keep his own son in school or find a way to make a success of him. Still, the danger and the struggle are stimulus that the streetwise part of Easy Rawlins can never walk away from.

Walter Mosley has written five previous Easy Rawlins mysteries, including, DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS which was made into a movie starring Denzel Washington, A RED DEATH, WHITE BUTTERFLY, BROWN BETTY, LITTLE YELLOW DOG, and a prequel of sorts called GONE FISHIN'. He's spawned another series about an ex-con named Socrates Fortlow that features short stories gathered into two volumes so far, ALWAYS OUTNUMBERED, ALWAYS OUTGUNNED and WALKIN' THE DOG. Lawrence Fishburn brought Socrates Fortlow to life in an HBO special. His writing includes SF works such as FUTURELAND and BLUE LIGHT. RL'S DREAM is the mainstream story of an aging blues man. FEARLESS JONES created another 1960s black private eye. And he's contributed two nonfiction volumes discussing the black experience: WORKIN' ON THE CHAIN GANG and BLACK GENIUS.

Mosley's writing is easy to read, and his relationship with his readers as he introduces complicated and deep characters is awesome. A reader that picks up one of the Rawlins novels will find and get to know a kindred spirit in no time flat. Although Mosley guides the reader through the alleys and dives in the seamy streets of Los Angeles, he makes certain to reveal the successes and possibilities of other lives that aren't steeped in evil and desperation. The mystery in BAD BOY BRAWLY BROWN comes as much from the social changes going on at the time as it does from the dark side of men that has been around since civilization evolved. Although the story is deep and the characters are rich, Mosley tells the tale at a leisurely pace that is reader friendly even to people that are consuming the book while on the go. Read a little or read a lot, Mosley keeps the pages turning and makes certain his readers stay along for the ride. One of the particular delights of this novel was the confrontation between Easy and police officers from the LAPD, and his own recognition of what he does as an unofficial private eye.

Although the question of whether Raymond Alexander was actually dead was never answered in this novel, long-time readers will be mostly satisfied with the way Mosley has delayed the revelation. However, the ending came together almost too quickly. A little more tension and spinning out the events would have been welcomed. And the question of Jackson Blue, who stole money from Jesus, Easy's adopted son, wasn't quite answered although the tools to settle the issue were in place.

BAD BOY BRAWLY BROWN, like any of the Easy Rawlins mysteries, is highly recommended to readers of James Lee Burke, Robert Crais, and Robert B. Parker. Mosley adds a rich and textured surface to the world of his quasi-private investigator that can't be gotten anywhere else.

Finally, after a long wait, Walter Mosley has given us the next installment in the Easy Rawlins mystery series. And, no surprise, Bad Boy Brawly Brown does not disappoint.

Set among the gang wars and internal race politics of Compton, California, Bad Boy Brawly Brown is the story of a young man caught up in a political movement that becomes something too big for him to handle. The boy, however, happens to be the stepson of Easy's close friend, John.

When Brawly runs off to join the Urban Revolutionary Party (kind of like the Black Panthers), John gets worried and asks Easy to help him out. What follows is a tense, urban thriller where Easy (haunted by the voice of his maybe dead friend Mouse) is trying to save Brawly before he sinks too deeply into the shady underworld of Compton.

Mosley has, yet again, created soem incredibly real characters with complicated, yet believable, problems. One of the best elements of Bad Boy Brawly Brown is the exploration of the father-son relationship between Easy and his son Juice in parallel with John and Brawly. This added character development elevtaes BBBB above the genre mysteries and keeps Mosley at the top of his field.

For anyone who likes some brains with their mysteries, Walter Mosley is the man.

Mystery fiction readers already hip to Walter Mosley's penchant for capturing the uniqueness of time and place, will readily recognize variations of a familar theme in his latest Easy Rawlins adventure, Bad Boy Brawly Brown.

Despite a meandering and involved plot, it gains style points by once again allowing the protagonist to exert himself in a way that black men would want to emulate....and that is living a dignified life, where chivalry is not allowed to die, and where helping others who have limited resources get a chance to have problems solved and still have change left over for acceptance in the community! In this case, we find Easy lamenting over the possible demise of his friend and sidekick, Mouse (Raymond Alexander) while waiting for the next drama to unfold. It comes in the form of the all of his cases are determined: Helping a friend with a problem, reluctantly acquiescing, and finally giving in to the need to make things happen. I'm more than biased as I've long been a fan relative to the opening statement of this book review.

What keeps me turning pages is a realistic, believable, and compelling detective who's not adverse to using guile, wit, good and bad luck to take advantage of happenstance. To really understand Easy Rawlins, and see why the books are such Easy reads consider the modus operandi that has become a staple for Mosley: establishing rationale for the heroic while deftly manipulating and exposing a black community through the favors, fears, and friendships Easy trades on. Int this depiction it allows our hero to stand out as an icon underscoring the relevance of a proud, resourceful gumshoe used to getting results.

Bad Boy Brawly Brown uses the backdrop of the civil rights era, circa 1963 taking readers back to Compton, CA during the months leading to the Watts riots. With racial tension at an all time high, Easy seemed to have solved all of life's complexities despite the strife around him..until he's pulled out of respectability by a call for help from his friend, John. John asks to be helped in tracking down Brawly Brown, son of his girlfriend, Alva Torres. It doesn't help matters none when rumor has it that Brawly may have fallen into bad company, either with seasoned thugs who may be holding him for ransom, or with a group of radicals whose strident ideals and angry politics are pointing toward vociferous protest.

In typical Easy fashion, the author introduces subplots and adjunct characters to set the tone and pace for an engaging story. There's an underlining, if not intriguing query attributing to Mouse's true whereabouts that make you think something is missing due to the role of the latter in all the books of this series. Is he still alive? Will it affect Easy's job of locating Brawly? Tune in and read this book, it doesn't disappoint. The Mosely fans will readily see that the Mosley think tank is intact and full of color...the natural cadence of speech and behavioral patterns of a community ring true -- with Easy right in the middle!

The first Easy Rawlins book is more enjoyable for its physical and cultural setting than it is for its mystery or characters. Set in Los Angeles a few years after WWII, Mosley does a masterful job of depicting a multiethnic city that's still a sleepy collection of neighborhoods in many senses, but has a distinctly seedy side (not unlike James Ellroy's LA Confidential). The story is about Easy, an ex-soldier who loses his job for standing up to his white boss at an aircraft manufacturing plant. Desperate for money so he can meet his mortgage and not lose his pride and joy of a house, he's offered a lot of money to look for a white woman who's been hanging out at illegal after-hours black clubs. Of course, he's not the only one looking, and soon he's up to his neck in bootleggers, crooked politicians, racist cops, and round-the-way girls.

In noir fashion, the mystery is fairly complicated, perhaps overly so with a number of minor characters who run together. As events move beyond Easy's grasp, he has to call on his old friend from Houston, Mouse, to help him out. Mouse is a thoroughly nasty bit of work, and there's some good tension between him and Easy. Ultimately, the "big" twist at the end isn't that surprising. The book is so thoroughly steeped in race that it's the only plausible solution to a number of thorny questions.

As an average hardworking black man, just trying to live with dignity in a racist world, Easy is well-drawn and sympathetic. What doesn't work as well is when he hears "the voice" inside his head, which appears at moments of stress and urges him not to take any [...] and stand up for himself. It's a device that's remarkably amateurish, given the solid control Mosley exhibits over the rest of the narrative. It should be noted that the book's female characters will probably not be to the taste of many female readers, and indeed, while Mosley seems to have a very clear comment to make about race, his take on gender is rather ambiguous.

It's a fine book, but nothing truly spectacular or new. It does a nice job of depicting LA at a certain time, but comparisons with Chandler and Ellison are a stretch, other than Chandler wrote in the same genre, and Ellison also wrote about race.

Walter Mosley's Devil In a Blue Dress is a fantastic mystery/crime drama set in Post World War II Los Angeles. The protagonist Easy Rawlins finds himself an unlikely but strong willed black detective sorting out a mystery-in-progress. The case begins as a simple 'lost female' case but soon spins and develops into a multiple tiered story of blackmail and cover-up. The case begins to involve everyone from black bootleggers and gunmen to white mayoral candidates and prejudiced policemen. The beauty of the novel is its ability to put Easy in both situations of Black culture and White aristocracy. Both situations Easy runs headlong into, always managing to keep his pride intact. Like Chandler's Marlowe the story seems to evolve as characters fly in and out of Easy's life. But unlike Chandler, Mosley has accomplished the effect of creating truly perilous drama and action. There is a sense of immediacy and danger when Easy tells his story. Much of this feeling could be explained by the fact that Easy must battle not only for the truth, but also his right to grasp the truth as a black man. The novel works on a cultural critique level, making judgments and offering lessons on the hardships of American blacks and the importance of race in American culture.

Set in post-war Los Angeles, Walter Mosley's debut novel Devil in a Blue Dress is a riveting story that makes you want to read the whole series. Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran who wants nothing more than to pay his mortgage on time. This is difficult because he has been recently fired from his job at an airline factory. He thinks that his problem has been solved when a white man offers to pay a fair sum of money for him to locate Daphne Monet, a young white woman who likes to frequent black bars. But when two people are murdered, including his friend Corretta, he must do his best to save Daphne and himself. Mosley has stunning descriptions of Los Angeles that put you into the book. You can hear the characters talking when you read the dialog. I couldn't put Devil in a Blue Dress down. It it is perfect for mystery lovers or those just looking for a good entertaining book.