Accounting a trip made by Indiana political figure Jonathan Jennings to Washington as a congressman, the book should appeal to younger readers and those with a vivid interest in Indiana history. The difficulties of the journey in that period are imaginatively portrayed, and the book is replete with well-researched details of the period

WITH FLAME AND SWORD is a masterful blend of history, romance,
and adventure that will appeal to a wide readership. It's
always a pleasure to read a Bebe Faas Rice novel.

What a shame this book is out of print. As its cover proclaims, this cookbook contains over 100 authentic dishes from around the world - some of which are difficult to find elsewhere. What the cover doesn't tell you is that the recipes are interesting, delicious and, for the most part, easy to prepare. Nutritional information and information about the origin of the dishes are also included. Most ingredients can be found at larger grocery stores with specialty foods depts. My only regret is that there are not more recipes included.

Thoroughly enjoyable book that is well worth the cost for anyone interested in the exploits of the Western federal army and in particular one of the most gallant and honored regiments of the war. Excellent photographs.

OK, so he made a mistake in "Survivor: The Australian Outback" by using a paella pan instead of a covered pot. He even admits it in the foreword. No matter; this book has everything that anyone who has never made rice needs to know, from the different varieties to cooking times to what to use (rice cooker, paella pan, etc.) and what you can make with it. Recipes range from simple (basic rice, rice pudding) to advanced (lots of risottos and paellas). For "Survivor" fans and at-home chefs alike, this is a great addition to your collection!

I was so glad to finally get a chance to read this book. I had heard such good things about it. Modesty is not old fashioned. God intended modesty to be present in all the generations. This book is a call to renew modesty. I have done a lot of research on this subject of modesty and Biblical nakedness and have found this book by Elizabeth Rice Handford to be most helpful. It has encouraged my heart to "stay by the stuff". I recommend this book to anyone who is truly interested in what the Bible (not tradition) has to say about modest dress. But hold on to your hat-it is very eye opening and will leave you with a greater conviction on your part.

The Vampire Lestat begins with a bang, ends with a bang, but has some long dull stretches in between. This is the second book in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. To read this book, one must first read Interview with the Vampire. However, once one has read Interview, one finds this book covering a lot of the same ground - at least thematically. Rice packs her novels to the brim with a lot of preachy, pop-existentialism, which gets very boring after a while; "life is meaningless..." yadda, yadda, yadda. It's a bit tiresome to hear this point expounded again and again - especially if one is not suffering from clinical depression and comes to realize that, difficult to accept as it may be, life isn't meaningless. We have not, as Nietzche said, moved "beyond good and evil." Good still exists, morality still exists, and - recent events notwithstanding - God is still in His Heaven.

One of the main gimmicks that Rice uses in her tails that is original is to tell her stories from the Vampire's perspective. This has advantages and disadvantages. She has rightly picked up on the fact that the heroes of Vampire tales are the vampires and not the "good guys." However, part of the charm of Dracula (who is ridiculed in this book) is that he is unapologetically bad - he simply is what he is, and does not make excuses for it. Therein, we have the central flaw of The Vampire Chronicles. By making excuses for their actions and blatantly asking us to sympathize with them, we actually lose sympathy with the vampires. They are living in "bad faith", to use Sartre's phrase. They are living (is it un-living?) in denial. How can one actually love Lestat when he is so head-over-heals in love with himself that there is no room for anyone else's affections. Throughout the book, he is constantly uttering pretentious bits of teenage nonsense like, "I've always rebelled against everything," and "I've always been good at everything." I kept waiting for him to say, "I'm a loner Dottie - a rebel!" It is only fitting to find out that Lestat started out as an actor - he has all of the actor's flaws: selfishness, self-centeredness, narcissism, vanity, cruelty... If Lestat was a real person today, he'd be one of those waiters with streaked hair who judges his acting ability by the number of visible abdominal muscles he has.

In the same vein, Rice is trying to pander to her audience. Past generations were 'bad' or 'ignorant' we are told, which is why Lestat took so long to rise from his grave. She is trying to kiss-up to young people by telling them they are so much wiser and more moral than their elders. As a member of the generation whose butt she is trying to kiss, I find this assessment to be laughable, and these passages sound like an older person trying to act young - sort of like when your parents try to act cool.

Now, all that having been said, the novel picks up considerably towards the end. We finally get some of the answers that we'd been told we never would. In doing so, we are introduced to the best new character - Akasha, The Queen of The Damned. Then we jump forward in time - covering the events in Interview from Lestat's perspective, and then on to modern day with Lestat as a "rock star" (although I doubt his concerts could really compare to Ozzy's). Old friends are reunited and just when things really begin to get interesting - the book ends, leaving me thinking, "I can't believe I'm actually going to get suckered into another one!"

The follow up to Interview With The Vampire is an excellent piece of work told with Ms. Rice's signature writing style, which is sometimes too pansexual and extravagant to allow a reader to take any of her work as serious pieces of literature art. Sorry, Anne, but you've got a problem there . . . Tone it down!

The Vampire Lestat answers some of the questions the first novel posed. I think the underlying theme of the vampire series (which Ms. Rice unfortunately ruins after the third book) is the burning question we all ponder: How did we get here? These vampires question their lineage, and this book brings to light Lestat's knowledge.

I especially enjoyed the part of the novel where Lestat makes his mother a vampire. The characters, in general, are much more interesting in this novel than the first, especially Lestat's mother. The first novel, while interesting, is low brow in comparison to this dynamic follow up. Not to take anything away from Interview but this novel is hands down the best in the series. Apparently, Anne Rice must have enjoyed writing the novel as well, since Lestat, not Louis, became her primary vampire creature.

I was faithful to the Vampire Chronicles until they became ridiculous. Lestat didn't need to descend into Hell. Lestat didn't need to become human again. What's that got to do with the vampires' heritage? In my opinion, Anne Rice should have stopped the series with three novels. And, of those three, The Vampire Lestat is the one I most recommend!

Published 9 years after "Interview with the Vampire", this sequel tells us the story of Lestat, the villain of the first book. Opening in 1985, we read that Lestat is now a "rock and roll" star. (Note to Anne Rice: people have not said "rock and roll" for quite some time...) This seems a strange change for the brooding vampire of the first book, and it's not entirely successful to me as a reader. It may have worked better in 1985, but by now, it seems a bit unnecessary and kind of silly. Thankfully, this plot is only a framing device for the life story of Lestat de Lioncourt (and that's why I insist on giving this book 5 stars.) "Lestat" is quite a different novel from the first in the series, but we are dealing with an entirely different vampire here than the depressed and vulnerable Louis (who remains my favorite vampire). Lestat's story goes throughout the centuries, and he meets other vampire's who tell their tales. This book is a fantastic pageant that goes back to Ancient Egyptian times, to classical Rome, to pagan Europe, to the times of the French Revolution, to an old, decaying Parisian cemetery and even up to the present time. "The Vampire Lestat" is a much denser novel than the first (which has now become a sort of prelude or teaser to the entire Vampire Chronicles) but it's just as enjoyable. This book seems to be the hands down favorite of most readers of the Vampire Chronicles, but this is not an incentive to read these books out of order. "Interview with the Vampire" contains some very important passages and character development that are important to your understand of the second (especially in one of the final sections of "Lestat"). Amazingly, Rice maintains the continuity between the two novels, and doesn't make any of the "revisionist history" in the second seem false or forced. (Of note is the explanation as to why Lestat's father but not mother was in the first book... that revelation is a shocking one.) Another fun aspect is Lestat's reaction to reading Stoker's "Dracula". And fear not, some of our favorite characters from the first book do appear again... in unexpected ways. One of my favorite characters to be introduced into this book was Akasha, who is the Queen of the Damned of the third novel.

With The Vampire Lestat, Rice again does a wonderful job with her prose; it's a beautifully written, exciting and captivating book. I had no idea where the book was going from one moment to the next, and it never disappointed. Rice even successfully depicts twentieth century America as a fascinating place to be. I never thought a drugstore would seem so interesting. Read this book, but don't read it too fast... savor it, it's worth the time.

In comparison to the previous chapters in the Vampire Chronicles, the Queen of the Damned is composed of a lot more fantastical elements--particularly in relation to the vampires' powers--which provide the story with a much more "fictional" feel. Nevertheless, Anne Rice's poetic prose deftly guides the subject matter to a satisfactory conclusion, never pushing the story's credulity to a dangerous level.

However, the book does suffer from a major flaw: varying points of perspective coming from far too many different characters. The charm of the previous books was that with the first-person redaction, it was easy to become attached and relate to the main character. Yet when roughly half of the book is spent describing the experiences of minor characters to progress the plot and nothing more, with hardly any worthwhile introspective commentary, it becomes strenuous to retain interest.

Thankfully, the latter half of the book, where Lestat returns, more than makes up for this deficiency; by the end of the novel it's incredibly difficult to not wish that the story kept going.

If there were one point I would like to emphasize, it is the following: the story of the twins is sheer brilliance. Read the book solely for this; then mourn the fact that Anne Rice makes it impossible to enjoy anyone else's vampire stories. They seem so puerile afterwards, it's unbelievable!

In the third book of her Vampire-Chronicles-Series, Bestselling Author Anne Rice again follows legendary bloodsucker Lestat, who still is a Rock-Star and still spreads the secrets of his own around the world.
Angry about this, almoust every Vampire on the planet wants to kill him. And the timemark is set: On the day he will play in San Francisco, Lestat has to die.
But then other things happen: Strange Visions of two redhaired girls (witches) and resurrection of Akascha aka. the mother of all vampires. Soon she and Lestat come together - and the world might never be the same again ...
Every reader who liked "Interview ..." and "The Vampire Lestat" definitly will LOVE this one! Again, Rice prooves that she is the only living author who can mix historical with supernatural in a perfect way. This time she also introduces many new bloodsucking faces to the Vampire community: Khayman, Pandora, Jesse to name but a few. Everyone has its own tale to tell; fascinating an shocking at the same time. And speaking of Akascha - she is the supernatural counterpart to all the classic James-Bond-Villains; a female bloodsucking Blofeld-meets-Dracula-meets-Satan goddess with unholy plans. Brilliant!
One last word to those who never read an Anne-Rice-Novel before: Please begin with the first two books of the series. The more you understand, the more you'll gonna love it - serious!

I have to wonder if all the people who bash Anne Rice have read this novel. Far and away the best work in the entire Vampire Chronicles, Queen of the Damned left me hanging on the edge of my seat from cover to cover. Unlike the other books in the series, it picks up exactly where the previous book, The Vampire Lestat left off. Anne Rice has long been one of my favorite authors and this one does not disappoint. Told in Rice's glorious, sensuous style, readers are taken on quite a strange trip--from the ancient sands of pre-dynastic Egypt to a San Francisco rock concert. For the most part, the characters are rich and enthralling (however I found Eric and Santino to be little more than 2 dimensional cardboard cut-outs). I instantly fell in love with Maharet, that lovely red-haired enchantress, her beautiful mystique and the sorrow she carried for millenia. I even named a MUD character for her (LOL!). Truly a tour-de-force, and by far the best in the series (they started going a bit downhill from here IMHO). If you are new to this series, please *PLEASE* for the love of the gods read Interview With a Vampire first and do the books in order. Otherwise you will have no clue what's really going on, and you will definitely not be able to appreciate this book as much. Trust me on this, my friend made that mistake. Also, there were some parts of this book that squicked even me (particularly parts of Maharet's story) and I *DON'T* squick at all. I just have to congratulate Anne Rice on doing what I thought was impossible for an author :P BTW, don't bother with them after Tale of the Body Thief. Except for some precious few parts Memnoch was the absolute pits (no pun intended :P).

Ok for starters I didn't expect to enjoy this book, and also I did what many very bad people do and I watched the film before I read the book. I thought the film was great until I read the book and then I realised that the raw sexuality of the text could ony come through in novel form. I adore the way Anne Rice decribes the taking of blood she does it without shame in the way that every other... book I've ever read describes a passionate... encounter. Claudia made me cry, she was so mixed up, without the experience of being treated as an adult, she had to stay a precosious child with a wise old woman's mind and somehow a woman's sex drive, her lust poured through the pages in the same way as Lestats like a thumping pulse. Louis, sweet innocent Louis who should never have been a vampire appreciated evey emotion he felt much ,more deeply than the other characters in the book, and analysed every thing said to him, I fell in love with him. If I met him I'd without hesitation agree to be his eternal partner. Never have I fallen in love with a book so deeply since Flowers in the attic. Pease read this book!

Growing up, reading books was quick and simple, but as time went on I grew up, and it became an awful school assignment, and I hated it.
Now, with a much re-newed love to read, thanks to Anne Rice, and her glorious story of Interview with the Vampire, I look forward to sitting with a good book.
Interview is a wonderfully written, and massively creative piece of art in words. In the words of Louis, the beloved main character, he leads the reader through many passages and times with his haunting and hypnotic stories of Paris, Claudia, his quest to find vampires with answers, and his beloved brother. Accompanied by Lestat, the vampire who gave him the "dark gift", he describes his hatred for immortality, and questions the existence of God, the Devil, love and loneliness.
From start to finish, Louis will captivate you with his mystery, and his ongoing journey for meaning.

I was completely absorbed by this enthrallingly thought and provoking tale of the travels of Louis Pointe du Lac and the vampire Lestat. The way the story is told by Louis is so different. The 18th-century setting is vividly described, so that pictures are intricately painted in your mind. The story line is such a classical original which delves into deeply emotional and morale aspects of life and death. This story for me brings to mind a saying I once hear which I believe to be true. This saying goes along the lines of 'You had better really want what you want, because you might just get it!'

All of the characters are intense, especially the tortured Louis who is refreshingly feeling and regretfully of immortal lot. As you read the story and learn more about Louis, you come to discover a passionate killer who is desparately trying to resist his cold blooded instincts. You can visualise Louis's eternal pain in his struggle to save the small piece of his soul that remains. In the character Louis, you can sense a feeling of total and utter isolation and frustration, because of his display of emotions to those who cannot comprehend them.

Lestat is the perfect contrasting character to Louis. He is cold, calculating, oblivious self-obsessed and evil to the core. Claudia is a fascinating character as you roll through the story, and see her maturing from the innocent child victim who is chillingly preyed upon by Lestat, to the cunning and rebellious young woman who comes to the shocking realisation of her fate. Claudia's growing rage and discontent builds deliciously to fever pitch. These characters are all thrust into a 'red hot cauldron'of fascinting travels and murderous conquests throughout the years.

Let me preface this review by saying that I absolutely LOVE Steinbeck. I would consider him one of my five favorite authors. I think East of Eden is one of my favorite books of all time. I especially like Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat. I even liked The Wayward Bus.

HOWEVER, having said that, I must say that I cannot handle The Grapes of Wrath. My tolerance for pain is not nearly high enough. I have to be honest - I've never actually read the entire book. It's much to difficult to read through the tears in my eyes. I am sure that it is, like most of his other novels, a well-written, fascinating account of the lives of some very interesting people. I simply cannot willingly subject myself to such abject despair. I read novels for enjoyment, and I don't enjoy the feeling of having my heart pulled apart piece by piece, page by page.

Undoubtedly it is to Steinbeck's great credit that he is able to draw that kind of emotion out of a person through simple words on a page. Only one or two books have ever been able to move me in that way. Unfortunately, it is not a feeling I desire. Perhaps I'm overly sensitive. The book made me want to open up a vein, but apparently millions of people loved it...

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are the values upon which our country was founded. Yet history has shown that this has not been the case for many people living in the United States. Americans have been restricted from these rights because of unalterable circumstances such as race, sex, religion, or in the case of Grapes of Wrath, because of economic status. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck takes place during the 1930's, a time of nation wide economic hardship. Many books have been written about the great depression but this book is unique in its focus on another great tragedy effecting the country at the same time. The great dust bowl caused the migration of thousands of people from the Midwest US to the state of California in search of a better life for their families. This book addresses the hardships suffered by those families. This book is very effective in portraying these struggles both generally and personally. Steinbeck chose to alternate chapters between general descriptions of the country's struggles and the story of one specific family by the name of Joad. The general descriptions display the widespread difficulties people everywhere were suffering by describing the people as a general, family unit, "And the man, the leader of the family, leaned from the car. Can we pull in here an sleep?" (Steinbeck, p268) These chapters addressing the "big picture" were followed by chapters that brought the issue to life by displaying the struggles of the Joad family. This alternation of big picture, small picture story telling resulted in a well-rounded image of a time period in American history. So much can be gained from this book it is a definite asset to anyone's reading list. Not only is it a great chronicle of history, it is a story about the American dream, and the quality of life. The length of the book shouldn't provide an obstacle for a reader seeing as how it is neither exceptionally long nor short and it maintains a good amount of excitement and adventure throughout the novel. The only thing that may be distracting to some readers is the periodic breakaway from the main story line. However, if one can see this as a valuable literary device instead of an obstacle, it will actually provide a greater understanding of the time period. The Grapes of Wrath provides a great insight into a period of history. By reading the book, the reader is left with greater understanding and empathy for those who lived during the dust bowl of 1930. The bravery and strength that is demonstrated by the Joad family is both phenomenal and inspiring. It is a good example for people today who are suffering through difficult times. When these people where faced with hardship, they did not roll over and die. They picked up their lives and their families and they set out determined to find a way to protect and provide for themselves. At a time when everyday people in our country are turning to drugs, gangs, or crime as solutions to their problems, a great lesson can be learned from these families: The world is not perfect but that is no excuse to give up on life. And life was the picture John Steinbeck was trying to relay in his book. A raw, honest look at life during a time of great hardship and trial. The Joad family was an excellent portrayal of a typical family from the Midwest in search of the better life they had been promised elsewhere. Steinbeck characterized the family through dialogue that depicts both the diction and accent of a typical Midwest family in the 1930's, " 'You jus' goin wes'?' 'Jus' on our way.' 'You ain't never been in California?'" (278). Choosing to maintain the dialogue in this natural state adds to the authenticity of the novel and creates a better picture for the reader.

I will never forget how this book captivated me in so many ways. An American classic that will stand the test of time. I got the pleasure of being assigned this book in 10th grade as part of literature class. I was forever changed by this book, and helped fuel me to read more challenging books.

John Steinbeck helped me to realize the poverty, the trangressions, and some hope of the Depression. It helped put me in focus with the pride problems that the family had during the collapse of an entire society during America's most trying times. It is well written and very captivating. It had me in tears more than once. It also reads much like The Bible at times, in its prose and style. It catalogs a family's journey from farmers to migrant workers that is easily readable and a classic that helped define a generation.

A great book- and a must have.