This book is interesting for a number of reasons. First, it is a story which has a history of its own, written decades ago and re-published in an updated version exhibiting the artwork of the original hardcover. However, it is the story of the legendary John Hornby which grasps the reader, and catapults him back into a time when true adventurists and explorers still existed. The book does a wonderful job of making the reader feel that he is with Hornby in the Arctic, living in a hole dug into an esker, walking blindly through a blizzard, or starving on a river bank in the middle of Arctic 'summer'. A must read for those who enjoy stories of adventure in desolate places.

I started reading "Lies" in the bathtub and I couldn't put it down! It's "smart women/foolish choices" and (not) having it all in one novel. It has a dashing hero (Stuart Brandon) you love to hate; a fresh, fascinating setting (New Jersey's Pine Barrens); and conflicts of autonomy that ring as true for the 21st century as for the 18th when the book takes place. And, as one of the jacket reviews says, "the nature writing is lyrical."

The story weaves real "lanes and legends" of the mysterious Barrens with characters based on historical figures like The Black Doctor of the Pines, "Pine Robber" Joe Mulliner, and an eccentric industrialist trying to build a utopian community.

Story events aren't just "plunked in"; they arise from the ecology of the area, the technology of the time, and the motives and passions common to men and women in all times.

"Romance" doesn't have to be a dirty word; it's a literary tradition going back to "Jane Eyre." "Lies" is romance without guilt with people, places, and writing worth remembering. Read it once for the story and again just to savor it.

I think this book is very good, but could have had a bit more thought! Robert Bateman did an excellent job of writing it and deserves a large pat on the back for writing such a captivating novel!

This book began quickly, but it took me 2 months to read the last 50 pages....Even though Oates is a respected author, this book didn't "hit it right" for me. The Barrens is "a little of this, a little of that." On the one hand, it is a fairly good suspense novel, though a little too wierd/gory for my taste (I don't like these "get in the head of the crazy serial killer" stuff). While a fairly good and succinct exploration of relationships (Matt & his wife & his boss & his "lovers") it was still stilted and incomplete. Probably what I liked best was the setting of New Jersey in many of its variations!

The Barrens puts other novels that masquerade as "compelling psycho-dramas" (think anything sold at the grocery store or on the mass paperback table at chain bookstores) to literary shame. For nearly two decades, JCO has been one of a handful of writers whose works I purchase in hardcover the day they become available. So, make no mistake, by any measure against other writers' work, this is a five-star read: suspenseful, harrowing, "true."

But when I think about the body of work Oates has penned under the pseudonym "Rosamond Smith," I find that The Barrens falls short of the excellence she has achieved in this genre in, for example, Nemesis and Lives of the Twins.

Also (and now perhaps I am being unfair by comparing her Smith work to her Oates work), I think JCO presents readers with a far more memorable psychopath in the groundbreaking (and chillingly realistic) Zombie, a slim volume that reminds us that serial killers are people, too.

As a 25 year intensive Oates reader, I found "The Barrens" particularly interesting and engaging. In this book, Joyce continues her investigatory writing on two main themes that are ubiquitous in her "Rosamond Smith" books. These two themes being: The Mental Processes Of Serial Killers AND Identical Twins

Joyce is fascinated by the telepathic interactions of identical twins. This has been heavily documented, both scientifically and empirically and Joyce interweaves the concept into her plot with great aplomb in this book. Additionally, the book is reminiscent of "Zombie", but in a more ordered and mass market style of writing. While this seems to have been Joyce's original intent writing under this Nom De Plume, this minor charade seems now to have been all but abandoned as the first edition now lists the author as Joyce Carol Oates writing as Rosamund Smith. Marketing wins in the end.

Nonetheless, the book represented an elevation of literary style when writing under her "Rosamond Smith Cloak" now that it has been exposed to reveal below, 'The Invisible Writer' hiding behind the "Wizard of Oz's Curtain." Perhaps this shall herald a new area for Joyce to develop yet another literary expertise.

I would highly recommend the book to any suspense novel enthusiasts, and of course, to all Joyce Carol Oates readers around the world.

I found it odd that this book was written by someone who actually has children. I am childfree and am very content being this way. This book deals with all different reasons for being childless/free. I thought this book was horrible. It dealt too much with theories and not real life situations. Only one chapter was dedicated to those who choose not to have children. Big disappointment.

Hooray for Elaine Tyler May! This is a very well researched cultural study of infertility. It will be particularly helpful to those who desire to be parents or to those who are parents after a long struggle with infertility. As an infertile woman in the United States, I was empowered by seeing so clearly how I fit into the history of the country. Perhaps a detailed academic study is not everyone's idea of fun reading, but I was enthralled. I could not put this book down and read it cover to cover, questioning constantly how my education could have had so many obvious, women-centered omissions. I count few books as life-changing but, for me, this is one of them.

I would like to take exception with the posted review. I found the book to be fascinating. It is clearly written, and I have learned alot from it. I hope potential readers will give it a chance.

Frank, Joe, Chet, Tony and Biff head to the Pine Barrens area of New Jersey to search for a treasure buried in the wilderness in 1781. The mystery was very interesting and I found myself quickly drawn into the book, but I found that toward the end of the book, I was starting to lose interest a little bit, for whatever reason. Overall, the book was good and I think that most Hardy Boys fans would enjoy it.

The Outlaw's Silver is an interesting story about a lost silver treasure and a band of smugglers who want to find the silver before the Hardy Boys. The Hardys and Chet head to the Pine Barrens region of New Jersey to investigate. Well written, with a fairly intricate plot, and one of the better paperbacks.

I would like to express my disappointment that Simon & Schuster has allowed the early paperbacks (#59-85) first published under the Wanderer label to go out of print. These books are the last good Hardy Boys stories. Starting in 1987, the Hardy Boys books started to be written for a much younger audience and no adult would even think of reading one. The series abruptly went into the dumper.

I thought that this book was fabulous. Everything from characterization to the style of writing that Farley Mowat used. I recommend this book to anyone who is adventourous and likes SURPRISES because I can honestly say that there are surprised in this book to be unvealed.

This is an excellent book to read if you are searching for more information about Indian movements west and the details of the movements. I bought the book specifically to find out more about the Cherokee East Indians and their movement west to Join the Oklahoma and Texas Indians already in place. John Ross, of course went to Washington, and tried to use his understanding and influence to affect the longevity of the Cherokee nation. Unfortunately, Andrew Jackson and his Federal Troops saw the world differently and Cherokees were being driven out of Georgia with the discovery of gold. Other tribes were dispersed as well. The movement west was called by some, the Trail of Tears of 1838, but this book describes in detail a larger period of time with a much wider scope to include many tribes, and the details of their destinations and their plight in arriving there. The book is candid about the people who became interlopers, i.e., became so normal to see about the place that they were put to work and became tribal members. Many had married indian women, and the author details that many had no skills to speak of. In fact, the author details, many became blacksmiths for lack of any other trade and the Indians welcomed them to their homeplace to practice such trades. Todays excellent automobile mechanics are of Cherokee or other Indian Ancestory and they possess uncanny analytical skills which are probably due to the Indian Ancestory. You will enjoy reading the book because it has new points of view which you will probably not see in other Indian publications , and it will, no doubt, help you to answer your Indian questions.