Steve L. Kent has woven one heck of a tapestry here. "The Ultimate History of Video Games" is easily the most informative book I've ever read on the subject of electronic entertainment.

One of the things I enjoyed the most is that for the most part, Kent does not take sides; they are only a few heroes and even less villains. The only people who are portrayed as evil are those who would censor video games at the cost of the First Amendment.

This book is for everyone, rather you're writing a thesis on the subject or are simply (like me) a lifelong fan of video games.

Highly recommended!

I'm not much on reading books, I usually like lots of pictures & this book doesn't have a lot of pictures. But I must say I LOVED this book!
It was so fascinating that I couldn't put it down. It tells the story of Video games from the early days of Atari & Pong, up to the Play Station Era. It tells about the rise & fall of the game companies, programmers & the people who shaped the industry.
If you are at all interested in video games, aren't we all, you must read this book. It is a pretty big book, 624 pages & only about 10 pages of pictures. It is filled with cool facts, lots of history, & great stories about not only the games, but the people who brought them to life. All of the game systems & companies are talked about, I doubt the author left anyone out.
I love the crazy stories of the Atari companies antics; they liked to hold board meetings in hot tubs & smoke unusual things in their factory. I love the conflicts between the companies; theft, industrial espionage,patent & copyright infringement: I think everyone sued everyone else at some point in time.
Most of all I really love the stories of people who believed in what they were doing & were ably to follow their dreams & make something special no matter what anyone else told them. And I love remembering the games. My favorites were: Tempest, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac Man, & the Atari 2600 Adventure. Those were the days.

Weighing in at a massive 608 pages, Steven L. Kent's THE ULTIMATE HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES is nothing less than glorious, especially for admitted coin-op history junkies such as myself. Kent chooses to lay his foundation in Chapter 1 with the early rise of coin-op devices and the introduction of David Gottlieb's BAFFLE BALL bagatelle table in 1931. Devoting his opening pages to coin-op's roots was a wise move, he pays homage while giving the reader a greater sense of how we got here. From then on it's full tilt into the video realm. Kent utilized Leonard Herman's excellent book, PHOENIX: THE FALL & RISE OF VIDEOGAMES as one of his research cornerstones, but don't let that fool you. The author logged over 500(!) interviews with the small, medium and large insiders of the video game landscape. It's an amazing feat which yields an abundance of quotes from luminaries such as Al Alcorn, Dave Theurer, Nolan Bushnell, Ray Kassar, Ed Rotberg, Maysaya Nakamura, Dave Thiel, Joel Hochberg, Dave Rosen and Ed Logg (just to name a few!). From the corporate movers and shakers to the programming geniuses, Kent leaves no voice unheard. He also weaves the intricate origination tales of giant game makers such as Sega. Few realize it was founded by Americans living in Japan and that "Sega" is not a Japanese word. It's an abbreviation of the original company, SErvice GAmes founded in 1952. Kent's THE ULTIMATE HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES delves deep into the explosive home console successes and failures as well as the coin-operated arena. Even today, former CEOs marvel at the days when they could do no wrong. Just ask former Atari topper Ray Kassar who is still awestruck by the 1982 sales figures of Pac-Man cartridges. Twelve million went out the door that year, setting a retail sales record. In short, THE ULTIMATE HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES is a book whose timing couldn't be better. With video game hobbyists and players residing throughout the world, they've come to know that the machines of their childhood are now treasured collectibles. Rest assured, there will be more and more books forthcoming about the video game phenomenon. For now, Stephen L. Kent has delivered us pixel-eyed vidiots a wondrous tome that peeks "behind the screens."

Heidi is ranked up there with, "Where the Red Fern Grows" with it's genuine love and care of the hearts of children and adults. I read this book to my children when they were in 1st and K...several times I had to stop to choke back the tears.. or laugh in exhuberance. It's a heart-warming tale of a little girl who didn't understand the "status quo" and sought to make sense of not only her own world, but those around her. Her innocense, genuine love and acceptance is so moving and so inspiring.

Heidi is very exciting. She is very outgoing and adventurous. She gets sent to the Alm Mts. with her grumpy old grandfather. She shows him how to be nice and friendly. She meets a boy named Peter and they become good friends. He then shows her his family. Heidi meets his grandmother and falls in love with her and everything that she does. She then gets sent to a weird house.She soon came home.
This book is recommended for all ages to be read to or read by you!
Why am I telling you this go read it for your self!!!

A while back when I was in my 30's (never mind how long ago that was!) I was sick with the flu, and I found a copy of HEIDI, so I crawled into a nice warm bed and re-read the book -- as an adult.

What insight into human nature! And as an adult I appreciated the dry, understated humor. I also appreciated the spiritual insights -- that God will give us what we desire, but sometims uses circumstances we don't like to teach us truths that we couldn't learn otherwise.

When I was a girl I was often turned off by what was called "good reading," but for some reason, I enjoyed Heidi and it never seemed sappy or corny.

Very much worth reading!

Fleming's third Bond novel is quite a good one. The pace is slower than the previous one, "Live and Let Die", but anyway faster than "Casino Royale" (and, like the latter, includes one excellent card-game scenario). It's amazing how the author takes us from 007 at his most domestic to the (then) most sci-fi adventure. The villain, Drax, may look as someone took from a nightmare but Fleming describes him in such detail -dialogue, appearence, mood, idiosincracies and the story of his life- that the character becomes completely "real" (even upsetting the reader as much as he upsets Bond in the book). Drax's speech (heard on the radio by 007) when Moonraker is about to get fired is simply the best monologue Fleming ever conceived or wrote. Superb, funny yet amazingly dangerous! And Gala Brand, the heroine, just not falls into Bond's arms like so many, leaving the secret agent reflecting alone about their different lives and showing us his vulnerability instead of the wrongly-assumed 007's eternal success with women. It's a pity the film version spoiled this title (actually, the title is the only resemblance to the novel), taking Bond to three countries and outer space while this excellent down-to-earth adventure story goes no farther than London and Dover. The rocket ready to blow Buckingham Palace is a more atractive and original idea by far. Bond save the Queen, indeed!

I have to admit that I just couldn't put this book down. Every single page is intriguing and suspenseful, and contains an elaborate plot where ex-Nazi Sir Hugo Drax, head of the Moonraker nuclear missile project, is secretly planning to destroy London to gain revenge for his country's defeat in World War 2. Moonraker is rather like two books in one: the first part of the story centers on a card game at an exclusive gambling club, where 'M' has called Bond to investigate the suspicion of Drax cheating. In a brilliant sequence, Bond discovers Drax's ruse. This sets the stage for the second part, where 007 goes to Dover and finds out the terrifying secret about Drax and Moonraker.... Ian Fleming provides some intriguing touches looking into Bond's thoughts about his job, not to mention making Drax look like a grotesquely evil figure, and the Bond girl Gala Brand is impressive in that she plays a key part in discovering Drax's evil scheme, but she never really falls in love with Bond - rather an anomaly. In summary, Moonraker is a classic James Bond thriller from Mr. Fleming and is every bit as good as the film of the same name. (Interesting point: in the book Fleming compares Drax as a Lonsdale-type, in the film Drax is played by actor Michael Lonsdale. Coincidence?)

I loved this book. Even though some parts of the book got dull I still loved the plot of it. To when he meets with Drax and his time a lone with Brand. It is a very great read especially if your alone on a rainy day this book is perfect for that ocassion and for many others.

This novel by Rainer Maria Rilke is an excellent novel that encourages the idea of following one's dreams. This book provides an inspirational message that motivates society to fulfill their life long goals and ambitions.

Rilke presents a collection of remarkable responses that he wrote to a young would-be poet, on poetry and on surviving as an insightful observer in an insensitive world. Rilke's simple style of writing within his letters reveal clear and positive messages that open the reader's mind up to a more thoughtful and fulfilling world. Rilke uses many similes within his letters to compare certain aspects of life with other objects. This gives his receiver a more hopeful view on the world. The author also uses imagery within his letters by his selective wording and phrasing. The reader is given the ability to draw a picture of either the place or event in which Rilke discusses. Rilke also uses many metaphors or inspirational sayings or quotes to interpret life to his reader. This provides his audience with a new sense of hope for their future goals and present difficulties.

Rilke's overall message throughout this novel is that one can become anything they want to become as long as they do not give up and have confidence in what they do. If one cannot think of anything else to do in the morning but sing, then they are a singer. If one cannot think of anything else to do in the morning but write poems, then they are a poet. Rilke's concept of life displays a great enthusiasm that encourages his audience to go for their goals, and I believe this is the greatest message any author can ever send out to an audience.

Not long ago, my boyfriend (who is now my ex) gave this book to me. He suggested I read it. "It will improve the way you look at life," he said. Being that he was a poetry teacher; I said yes, opened my mind and began to read.

With that said, I found the book to be the most inspiring I have ever read. The most inspiring letter was the fourth one. This letter touches me most. It opened inside of me thoughts and feelings I did not know I had. This letter alone explores everything from sex to Life to being a poet. His fourth letter, written from Worpswede, just shocked my system to the core. In it was everything I had questions about and nothing in the world was left out of it.

This whole book inspired me to begin writing poetry. I had never even thought of the idea before, but now I know it makes sense.

I knew as I read the book that this man was one of few greats that we have in our history. He is not widely known outside of the poetic circle, but should be. His works, especially Letters to a Young Poet, should be read by everyone.

This book forced me to look at Life as I never had before. This new outlook gave my Life a direction. Now I am soon to publish my own poems and I never would have started such a thing had it not been for this book.

When you live your Life as you think the world would like, you tend to become close-minded. Not on purpose and perhaps you still believe yourself to be an open-minded person. I did. This book showed me that I was wrong, but that there was someone and something (Rilke and Letters to a Young Poet) that had answers my soul sought, but I knew nothing about.

I read this book again and again and find things hidden within it I had not seen before. Each of these things opens my mind to an even brighter and more vast universe.

As much as it is a clichè, this is one of those books that makes it on to the desert-island shortlist (along with the Collected Works of Plato, but that's my island, not yours, you'll be glad to know). Not the finest transition from German to English (A-, A+ being Mitchell's translation of the poems, so you can see the curve), nevertheless no one should be afraid of buying this particular translation. It is sensitive to what Rilke wanted to say and says it in about as good English as you could get from such magnificent and dense language (the fact that these are actual letters does not mean that they are on the order of "hi mom how are things," especially since the author is a demigod such as Rilke). If you don't read German of French, you'll not miss it here. It is the idea, not the language, that one is after in Rilke's Letters.

In this book, Rilke reminds us that God cannot be lost like a stone that one puts in one's pocket. This book will tell you how to live, will show you, through the power of one man's love and honesty in the face of the life he had chosen to live, how to live the life you have chosen. I have had more than one friend find answers to plaguing questions between the covers of this book. It is no self-help pablum. It is Rilke, a genius of the human mind, and you owe it to yourself to introduce yourself to his work.

Kent Anderson has given me what I've been looking for in a VietNam book. It's as good as James Crumley's One To Count Cadence, butwith more combat. Where Going After Cacciato wandered through a dreamlike, surrealistic landscape, Sympathy trudges through the brutal terrain of realism. Sure, the facts are a bit off...but this is presented as a work of fiction. It seems like that's the best approach if you want to tell the absolute truth about some of the brutalities of war. The only flaw I found here was the small segment dealing with the return to the States. The prose flowed much more naturally( as well as more believably) when Hanson(the lead character) is actually in Viet Nam. I already own Anderson's Liquor, Guns & Ammo...Sympathy has guaranteed that I will soon own Night Dogs. Anderson has an amzing eye for detail and handles dialogue rather smoothly. This one will knock the air right out of you, but when you get your breath back your first word will be MORE! Dennis McMillan has published some of Anderson's work, deservedly placing him in the company of masters like James Crumley, Charles Willeford, and other hard-boiled craftsman. Anderson writes about war without losing you in the terminology. There wasn't a single part of the book where I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. It's as easy to read as it is ugly. Crumley's introduction is as good as the actual book. He also lists several other excellent books of the genre for you to explore.

Kent Anderson can really write. I mean, it's good that he's writing from experience, and it's good that he's chosen such important subject matter, but the main reason Sympathy for the Devil is such a good book is simply that Anderson knows what he's doing so completely.

This book covers Anderson's Army Special Forces protagonist, Hanson, through boot camp and two tours in Vietnam. The sequel, Night Dogs, is about Hanson in his job as a police offier after the war. I highly recommend them both, but if you don't feel like buying the pair, Sympathy for the Devil stands alone just fine.

The only caveat is that the book is pretty well hashed up into a series of anecdotes, incidents, and short-story-length pieces. It's a detailed account, but it's out of sequence and light on context. As far as I'm concerned, that makes it even stronger, but I've talked to people who disagreed, so I mention it here. If you're looking for a Vietnam book that's more orderly and educational, I suggest something by James Webb, who seems to have quite a bit of the journalist in him, or one of the oral-history books, like Nam.

But Sympathy for the Devil is really a beauty. It doesn't so much try to be a book on The War, like those others, but it gets ahold of you, it easily keeps you reading, and it really does make you think-- and not about foreign policy or the military's conduct in Vietnam or anything like that. It's more about the things Hanson tries, the lengths he goes to, in dealing with the Army and the enemy.

I don't say this often, but this is one of the very best books I've ever read.

The book, Sypathy for the Devil, is about as honest a book as I have ever read. This is not a book about what a "great Killer I am". This simply tells the story of a man that changed in Vietnam because he had to to survive. Anderson is just telling readers how the war really was. I have read this book six times and highly recommend it for those who have been in the service, are in the service, or who will be in the service.

I first noticed Mr. Braithwaite's Wonderland Murders featured in the Sisters in Crime celebration issue of Publishers Weekly within the pages of an article profiling "Rising Stars" of mystery fiction. In an age in which men are writing in the voices of female protagonists and white Americans are creating leads of the widest possible variety of ethnic backgrounds, I found it refreshing to read this book by an African-American author starring a Latino private detective.

While set in today's suburban Los Angeles, its story reaches beyond the standard updated Raymond Chandler/Ross Macdonald sub-genre. The Wonderland Murders tells a tale of our time with serious social themes planted at its core. With a series of murders at the heart of the story, the novel deals with themes such as exploitation and assimilation with basic American values reverberating from its literary soul. Jesse Ascencio, his family, and the supporting characters are marvelous creations. The final plot twist came as an utter surprise, though it fit in perfectly with the events of the story.

I believe Mr. Braithwaite will be a rising star of mystery fiction, and I am most happy to have discovered this trendsetting mystery.

Wow! It's about time for mysteries like this one! According to the latest Census data, the Latino population has become the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. THE WONDERLAND MURDERS introduces a private eye who is perfectly representative of our ethnicity. Jesse Ascencio is a professional Hispanic man with roots in America's working class. He's a lot like people I know, except he is a private cop, a tough private cop. He's confronted with a series of murders at an amusement park in suburban Los Angeles. Working comfortably in the multicultural wonderland that southern California has become, Jesse investigates these murders and eventually solves the crimes after confronting exploitation and personal danger in any number of guises. THE WONDERLAND MURDERS also introduces a fascinating, and culturally diverse, group of supporting characters. Jesse's Anglo wife. His parents and in-laws. His darling children. His best friend--a black cop. THE WONDERLAND MURDERS is obviously the first mystery in a new series. Bring on the next book! Viva Jesse Ascencio!

I heard Kent Braithwaite speak while he was featured on an author panel at Pasadena's Left Coast Crime convention flanked by Roger L. Simon and Robert Ferrigno. What company Mr. Braithwaite keeps! Both Ferrigno and Simon are bestselling legends. Some questions from the packed conference room were aimed by name to Braithwaite, and he held his own with his heavyweight companions.

Following the panel, I picked up The Wonderland Murders, got it autographed, and read it in one night. Braithwaite's book is a fast-paced thriller that Ferrigno quoted Newsweek as saying "might well be a great book." It was.

It's a modern noir work featuring a Hispanic family man private eye. It takes place in sunny Southern California, and reveals the darkside of that paradise. It is a mystery that deserves the notice it has received and is still receiving. I'm thrilled I bought this thriller.

Unstoppable Confidence has some good points. 1-The author emphasizes that you have to do something to get confidence, you have to work at it. 2-The author gives examples of how confident people view situations, this is one of the best things about the book, knowing how confident people think it is the key to understanding how to view situations confidently yourself.
I didn't care for the NLP exercises(swishing, mirroring, working with submodalities, etc.) For those that like NLP this will be a strength of the book. I like straight-forward commonsene approaches not "secret" magic methods. Nonetheless it is a good book, one of the best confidence books I have read. I think the Ultimate Confidence book would go in depth explaining how confident people view things and give numerous examples of how confident people handles situations. And this book wouldn't have any NEW AGE "secret" methods, just straight forward common sense.

Of all the books I have read on self-help topics, this one seemed to contain ideas that not only made complete sense, the author could have only penned this book once he had gained a calm, quiet and powerful presence. You can literally hear his voice and see the change in his life in his writing.

He goes from a person who literally felt he did not have the ability to really connect with other people at a deep level (he escapes by burying himself in books) to teaching classes on how to be confident. In the process he learns about his inner desires, how to gain what he really wants out of life and how to give what he has learned to the world in this amazing book.

So much of what he said made complete sense. Especially the part where he notes how people who are living the lives of their dreams, are doing so by design. They have learned to release themselves from disempowered language (try, should, etc.) and have embraced fast forward phrases (I absolutely can, I certainly will, It definitely will happen.) The reason it works is because confidence causes your dreams to come true. You set in motion a magical series of events that naturally will lead you to your goal.

Today when my husband used the word: "try" in a sentence, alarms went off. Not only did I completely see how this book could change a life, it was already being put in action in my own mind as I asked him to say "will." In that way, he "would" reach his goal and be more determined. Had I not read this book, I can't say I would have even blinked!

"You realize that anything in your path that seems like an obstacle or a detour really is an opportunity in disguise to show your resourcefulness." -pg. 6

The author has based some of the material on Neuro-Liguistic Programming (NLP). This is the study of how language, both verbal and nonverbal, affects our minds. First, he describes his own struggle with shyness and then dives right into how others can learn from his experience and learn to speak the language of confidence.

Each chapter begins with an inspirational quote and bold headings direct you through the information in a lovely organized fashion. A "free offer" is included and you can not only subscribe to the free confidence 7-day e-course, you are also entitled to describe your biggest Confidence Challenge and receive a personal response from the author. I have never seen an offer like this and it truly shows the author cares about his readers. I was very impressed! This book could not have been published at a more appropriate time.

Invest in Yourself!

"Be courageous. I have seen many depressions in business. Always America has emerged from these stronger and more prosperous. Be brave as your fathers before you. Have faith! Go forward! -Thomas A. Edison

I happened to stumble across an ad for Kent Sayre's book to help shy people. I clicked the link to his web page, I am glad I did. After reading his introduction about his life, it seemed like he was writing about me, I knew I had to get this book. I think the best thing about this book is that people who are shy now know that they are not alone out there with these thoughts and fears. I really appreciated Kent's relatable writting style, it seems that he wrote this with the understanding of who was going to read this and didn't over-whelm us, he just gave us the information we can use to help us get unstoppable confidence. One of the best books out there for all of us to read, I rate it right up there with the classics How to Win Friends and Influence People, The Magic of Thinking Big, ect.... Thanks Kent!!!

I have been playing video games since I was five years old and I was able to experiance most of the events that are documented in this 450+ page book. And it really is a fascinating story about the history of video games.

THE FIRST QUARTER deals mainly with the stories of Atari, Nintendo, Sega and Sony and how each were a major player in the video game business at different times. Just about everyone remembers the Atari 2600. Atari dominated the industry in the early eighties. Then Nintendo came along in the mid eighties and were very dominant until the early ninties, when Sega was number one in the video game business, then finally Sony breaks into the mainstream and makes history with the Sony PlayStation.

There are also stories of the Arcades and the many wonderful games I enjoyed as a child, such as DONKEY KONG, PAC-MAN,MS.PAC-MAN, up until the modern fighting games such as STREET FIGHTER II and MORTAL KOMBAT. It even talks about the history of Chuck E.Cheese and ShowBiz Pizza Place!

My only gripe with this book is that there is not much PC game coverage. Only PC games that had any significant impact on the industry are mentioned such as DOOM and MYST. These games are important, but the author has missed a lot of gaming history in this department.

All in all, this is worth the money and an addicting read, especially if you've been playing all kinds of video games most of your life.

In this book, Kent describes the history of the american game market. Therefore, the title is a little wrong. It should be 'A 25-year History of Video Games in America' instead.

However, once you realise this, it is a very good book. Kent takes us to all the places that matter in America, and the early days of Atari and the Nintendo's rise are espesially well covered. But he doesn't cover Sega or Sony, or some of the very good independent gamecreators that well. Perhaps this is because he can't find the sources (to lazy?), but he should have tried more. And when it is dealing with the industry after 1995 it is very bad written, possibly because the industry got to big and international then.

The most fundamental flaw of the book is that Kent writes about thing that are commercially succesful instead of good. Maybe this is because he doesn't care about artistic quality, maybe he isn't really a gamer, or maybe this style was what he wanted. However, since this book is the only of its kind, it is higly recommended to all gamers who wish to know more about the American history of gaming. Just don't expect it to be anything more........

If you read NextGen, you're familiar with Steven Kent's column, which talks about the history of video games. The columns were, I suspect, re-worked fragments from this book.

Surprisingly, the book is a page-turner, but I love video games. The book is over 460 pages - I was convinced much of it was filler so the publishers could feel good about the cover price. I was wrong. I read and enjoyed every page.

The book starts with pinball, with which of late, I've become fascinated (perhaps because today's arcades are so dull). Though I was peripherally aware of the pinball's dark image, which spilled onto video games in the '70's, The First Quarter documents how the industry began with pinball and grew into video games with an impressive amount of anecdotal accounts from people who helped shape the industry.

The book isn't without problems, though. As you read it, you're thrown about, forward and backward through time as the author occasionally branches from a linear timeline to a topical approach requiring the timeline to be reset. Also, the book is shaped by who gives the anecdotes -- there's a lot of coverage for Nintendo and Atari, but less for 3D0 and SEGA. While some coverage of EA exists, the PC game industry is largely ignored. (I would enjoy reading a book about the PC game industry.)

I got a surprising amount of information from the book. For example, I always thought Ray Kassar was the programmer for Yar's Revenge, but he was the general manager for Atari. Atari programmers, by and large, got no credit, hence the Adventure egg. It was some programmer who named Yar's Revenge as a play on Kassar getting revenge of Activision. The programmer apparently told a marketing manager Kassar was in on the joke and the name could not be changed, though that wasn't the case. Also, the success of the early console systems were dependent upon the retail channels they could gain and convincing retailers to carry new-fangled home video games wasn't easy.

I'd recommend the book to anyone who loves video games or has even a casual interest in the video game industry.

This continuation of Sympathy for the devil is a stand-alone novel that packs quite a punch in and of itself.
The cops life described here is harsh and brutal as looked at here in the 70's.
Kent Anderson is a great writer who takes you to the seedier side of town, deep into the no-man's land of crime and punishment.
His realistic look at a survivor of Vietnam, war veteran-turned cop Hanson, is an engaging character who fights his inner demons as well as his town.
I usually don't even read this type of novel, but this one was riveting and so harsh, you couldn't help but keep reading throughtout the days and nights to its climax.
A must read for those who like something more than crime drama, but is in fact a look into a man's head who is fighting his inner demons.

Night Dogs caught me totally by surprise. I bought the book not knowing what to expect, and after I read the first 3 pages I knew I had found something unique. The book is not a dramatic account of the search for a serial killer or a drug lord, but instead gives an episodic glimpse into the life of a young cop who is still trying to make sense of his experiences in Vietnam as a Green Beret. The most influential people in my life have been vietnam vets, and the Hanson character has helped me understand what the young men of that generation who served went through. Anyone interested in police work or the Vietnam war should read this book and then read Sympathy For The Devil to better understand where the sometimes cruel Officer Hanson character is coming from. This is a fantastic book, I hope Mr. Anderson is getting the recognition he deserves.

Although you can find NIGHT DOGS in the suspense/thriller section at your neighborhood bookstore, Kent Anderson's story of the stark reality of a Portland cop's beat in the aftermath of the Vietnam War is much more than your everyday thriller. Officer Hanson is a character you will not soon forget. A Vietnam veteran haunted by his military experience, Hanson finds purpose in his job as a cop in the North Precinct, a proud but poor Portland neighborhood, where the police are more often at odds with the residents than protecting them.

But this is not your typical cop-story or your run of the mill thriller. The language is brutal, the characters peculiar, the overall tone is murky, dark. This book is not for the timid. Hanson's motivations are disturbing, and the whole story has an abrasiveness to it that is not often found in suspense novels, where that final confrontation between good and evil is what keeps you turning the pages. The reader of NIGHT DOGS is not necessarily motivated by that imminent conflict with the antagonist, but the nagging wonder of whether or not Hanson will ultimately destroy himself. The showdown between good and evil is nullified because the line between the two has been erased and they have melded into one gruesome blur.

As an exclusive reader of thriller novels, this is the first that I have felt strongly enough about to write a review. The characters, not just Hanson but his supporting cast as well, will likely stick in your memory for some time. I have read a half dozen novels since finishing NIGHT DOGS, but Anderson's images remain as strong as ever. This is an important book. I recommend it highly to readers of all genres.

Okay, so Judy Blume's books do seem, with the exception of her latest one (the new "Fudge" book), to be stuck in the 1970s' and very much outdated, but I still like this book pretty well. Although my parents have never been divorced and I don't have an older brother and younger sister as Karen, the narrator of Judy's story, does, it is the type of book you can sympathize with.

Karen is a sixth grader who must deal with the constant arguments between her parents. She is not completely unaware of the fighting that gets worse and yet thinks she can somehow fix it. Well, as it is, her parents do get a divorce, and Karen's life goes down from there: she's worried she'll never see her dad, the one boy she likes has moved, and her teacher is a "witch" (yes, those are the words; not what you'd think.) She, however, tries her hardest to make her parents love each other and learns the hard way it can't.

To quote Karen's use of rating her days with letter grades, this book is a B+ - a little out-dated, but you're sure to love it. Enjoy!

Karen is an ordinary girl who's parents are going through a very hard time. They always have aguments over really stupid things like about pie, and other stuff too! They are never satisfied with eachother and really don't get along anymore! But karen always try to get them to get back together, and tries her best. It was really hard for her to keep on seeingnher parents unhappy, or depress.It is also very hard for her because she's always moving around. These days she stays wit her dad, the other days she stays with her mom. She really hates moving around, all she wanted is to be in one place living with both of her parents. One wednesday when she was at her dad's, she met a friend name Val, and her parents are the same. Then Val introduced her to a book about divorce, and she read it. It was still alot hard for her. But she finally learned that life is not alwayz what she wants. She actually got used to her parents divorce. I think that this book is very touching. i Feel the same and i understand how she feels because i went through the same thing. But now i know that it's better for your parents, because they don't fight anymore...and when they're seperated, they get what they want, and live the life happier. I give this book a 5, because it's wooondeerful, and touching. I agree with the author, and she's great

Karen's life is so sad. She has a great friend, Debbie. Debbie is always trying to help Karen but she makes it worse. But everything changes in one moment when she notices that her father has moved from the house to Las Vegas to get split with Karen's mother!! The parents don't mean to harm Karen and her brother and sister but they do. Meanwhile Karen has an idea to get her parents back together. What is she going to do? Is her plan going to work? I loved this exicting book every chapter I read got more interesting I couldn't stop reading it and every page I was in Karen's shoes. It made it good because in every chapter you got more nervous in what was going to happen to Karen's family. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read books about real life and love. I recommend this book because books about real life and love are interesting.