I really enjoyed the first book, The Diary of V: The Affair. It was hilarious and left me hanging, so I just HAD to read this one. It was good, but definitely shorter and left you hanging for the third book. If you read the first one, though, you have to read the next two.

You just have to root for V in these books and hope that she comes out on top. She's easy to root for...she's every woman...she makes mistakes, she has her ups and her downs, and she deals with weight issues and feeling loved. I related to her so much, and that's why I loved the series.

This is one of those books you read for the fun of it. Just imagine reading someone's diary for the fun of it. Not to be taken seriously. You will leave wanting to know more. Valerie is having an affair, her husband is having an affair and without giving too much of the storyline away, her life is a mess!! If you do read the first one, continue on with the 2nd and 3rd in the series. Lightheated, and entertaining! I am looking forward to #4!

the author make you feel like if you know V. Its like she's your bestfreind and you want to help her... I've head all the 3 books of "The Diary of V"... i couldn't put it down.. seriously i would read them again... Great BOOK ! ! !

While I liked the concept behind "The Kents", the book contains two of my biggest pet peeves; the artist changed midstream, and there were entirely too many famous people portrayed.

I'm a fan of Tim Truman's work. His work on "Jonah Hex: Two Gun Mojo" and "Scout" are wonderful examples of realistic, quality comic art. I don't know why he didn't illustrate the last few chapters of "The Kents", but the change in artwork and style was jarring and unfortunate.

My other problem with "The Kents" deals with the overabundance of cameos from historical figures. Many movies about the old west commit this same artistic sin. Just because you set a story during the Civil War doesn't mean that your characters are going to run into everyone you've read about in high school. John Ostrander does his best to shoehorn all of their appearances in, but they still feel forced.

In spite of the inconsistent artwork, and the hackneyed cameos, I did enjoy the book's structure. Having Pa Kent send Clark packets of discovered historical documents worked well in comic book's episodic form. I only wish that the story didn't play out like the "Civil War's Greatest Hits".

An epic graphic novel with as much heart as Larry McMurtry's novel "Lonesome Dove." This book details the history of the family that would one day shape the attitude and spirit of Clark Kent.

This book is also enjoyable for people who have never experienced graphic fiction before, as my wife will attest.

Comics are a wonderful medium. So few media have the ability to reach their participants in such a personal and moving fashion. Sure, there's plenty of chaff in the comics marketplace, but oh, the wheat!

The Kents by John Ostrander, Timothy Truman and Tom Mandrake is one of the finest recent examples of what the comics medium can do when it sets out to do something special. The Kents is a historical fiction. It sweeps across the years of the 19th century from the peak of the Abolitionist movement to the taming of the west. The primary characters are the Kent family, the fictional ancestors of Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman's adoptive parents. But you'll find little of Superman, Lex Luther or anything of Metropolis in this tale.

The story is guided by correspondence between Jonathan and Clark Kent. Jonathan has uncovered a volume of letters and journals from his ancestors that chronicle their family history and he's relating his findings to his son, Clark (yes, *that* Clark Kent) with letters of his own.

Silas Kent brings his two sons, Nathaniel and Jebediah, to Lawrence, Kansas, where they set up a printing press and fight for the abolition of slavery. What follows is an intense and emotional journey of this family. History is not kind to them. In the process, they experience the Civil War and the raging chaos of the Wild West. Along the way, we meet historical figures like the violent abolitionist, John Brown, Wild Bill Hickok, George Armstrong Custer, Jesse James and the James Gang and dozens more figures who made history in this era.

The art is superb. The Kents is actually a collection of a 12-issue monthly series. The first eight chapters are illustrated by Tim Truman, no stranger to western comics having drawn several recent Jonah Hex series, also for DC Comics, and his own Scout, the story of a Native American character. The last four chapters cover the years after the Civil War and the opportunity to change the pace is met by illustrator Tom Mandrake, whose skill in working with darkness and facial expressions is virtually unmatched in the comics industry.

Writer Ostrander obviously did his research on this series. You'd think he was born to write westerns. Having had the opportunity to correspond with Ostrander while working as a comics industry journalist, I know that he didn't even like westerns until his late wife, Kim Yale, got him hooked on them! Many thanks for pushing her husband in the right direction. Ostrander has gone on to write other excellent western comics, such as Marvel's Blaze of Glory.

The Kents transcends what most people think of what comic books are capable of. Me, I've known it all along and hope that you pick up this book and find out for yourself!

Very few murderers have the horrendous history of Larry Singleton. Kent Allard spells out the legal prostitution of the state of California who released Singleton after he mutilated and raped beautiful 15-year-old Mary Vincent in 1978. When Singleton was paroled after serving only 8 years in prison, Californians were outraged. A small army of law enforcement officers wasted tax payer money to guard him as though he was a famous star. Eventually he moved to Florida where he knifed to death a mother during a sex act. Allard's accurate account records the horrible deeds of a monster. By memorializing Singleton's pitiful life Allard forces his readers to take a cold, hard look at our justice system. Recently victim Mary Vincent whose arms were chopped off by Singleton appeared before California Governor Grey Davis. She is a beautiful young woman who has incredible talent as an artist. She has recently married and feels optimistic about her future now that Singleton is on Florida's death row.

I didn't expect much when I picked up this book- I got a whole lot more than I bargained for.

Larry Singleton is a strange fellow. I really liked how the book contained chapter after chapter of direct quotes taken from police interviews. The subject is grisly, but the cat and mouse game is hilarious. Larry trips himself up with lie after lie, time after time.

You almost feel sorry for him.

The book maintains a healthy balance, however, as we feel the pain and gain a lot of empathy, and sympathy, for his victims- especially his first.

This was a fast read. I couldn't put it down.

I was afraid, at first, the book might be too graphic- and too morbid- but it wasn't. It was well written and a real page turner.

Can anyone tell me if there is additional info available on Mary Vincent, the teenaged victim of Larry Stapleton in 1978? Was there ever a book written on her attack, in addition to the mention of her ordeal in the mad chopper? I have read the Mad Chopper. Excellant writer. Straight to the point. Extremely informative. I will watch for other books by the same.

It would surely have been over-optimistic of Richard Bolitho to have expected that the brief period of the Peace of Amiens might have afforded him a degree of rest and recreation - and, sure enough, he finds himself embroiled in treachery, dilemmas and fights to the death in the West Indies and the North Atlantic. There is action aplenty in this story - almost too much of it - and compared with many of the earlier works in the saga the plot seems a little contrived. Though not the best of the series it is however always entertaining and the usual cast of characters make their appearance and act and develop credibly. Affecionados of Bolitho cannot afford to miss it and will look forward to further defeats of Bonaparte's global ambitions as renewed hostilities gather pace.

Packed so full of action that I could hardly put the book down. Mr Kent does very well in his attemp to show more of the personal side of the main characters.

Classic Bolitho. Our hero overcomes personal doubts and worries whilst always doing the right thing.A story that rushes forward page by page.Personally I have found this to be the most complete Bolitho I have so far read with his charater becoming a deeper fuller one,involved as he is with the conflicting demands of senior rank.

This book was OK. I like books about people facing real life illnesses, but i found this book sorta boring. I personally like the Lurlene Mcdaniel books, which give much better detail of what it is like to actually like to be in the hospital.

as a 12 year old I think this book is magnifacent! It has every day things a teen deals with. Also in my opinion if you are a teen that has leukemia I think you will find this book very helpful! Over all This is my favorite book. I think any one who reads it will be pleased with the characteristics of this book

The books takes place in a sleepy town called Oberlin, Ohio during the summer. There is a girl named Jill who has a great life. She is a good swimmer, has lots of friends, and a B average in school. One day that all changes. Jill gets sick and finds out she has leukemia. She is devastated. She hates having chemotherapy and having to take all sorts of pills. Worst of all, her parents now treat her like a fragile child and nobody recognizes Jill as Jill anymore. They recognize her as the girl what has leukemia. Jill sometimes gets so angry that she turns her anger toward her family. It even drives her sister to run away. Jill has to learn to cope with her problem and live with the fact she has leukemia, but will she?

I think that this is a great book for anyone. I give it a major 10 in everyway. If you want to find out about what happens to Jill, you should really read this book. I really would suggest this book to anyone.

I read Enemy in Sight! during the summer and for the life of me I can't remember much of it. I remember that Bolitho's personal life went south but the details of a book I read so recently are lost. What I do remember is a land engagement reminiscent of Lieutenant Hornblower and a sea chase at the end leading to a climactic battle. It was exciting at the time but has blurred with the other Bolitho novels in the last 3-4 months. Perhaps I read too much Bolitho too soon or perhaps it's that these novels are so formulaic that they all appear the same after awhile.

My advice to readers is to read the Bolitho books published before 1980 as this one was. They were all excellent action stories told with a WWII's veteran's knowledge of the horrors of war. Enemy in Sight! was from this period and I'll give it four stars accordingly even though my memory has failed me.

Enemy in Sight: Alexander Kent

A major strength of Kent's stories has always been the convincing and detailed descriptions of landings and small-boat operations by naval contingents. In this story Richard Bolitho, despite increasing rank, proves himself as addicted as ever to leading what are essentially forlorn hopes onshore while his subordinates are left in command of his ship. The account of getting a landing party and its equipment through a steaming tropical morass to take the enemy in the rear comes across as horribly realistic to this reader, who has had his own share of wading, sweating and swearing in mangrove swamps! The accounts of action afloat are equally convincing. Bolitho has to cope with yet another unsympathetic and incompetent superior officer but is sustained by "old stalwart" friends and companions, and the arrival of an important new one, even as personal tragedy adds to professional challenges. The contrast between the cold misery of blockade duty off the Biscay coast with the humid discomforts of Caribbean service is a memorable aspect of the story. Contacts with Dutch forces, which usually don't feature in these stories (Bolitho missed out on the Battle of Camperdown!) are another interesting aspect, the more poignant since the officers involve realise clearly that though they are allies for now, political forces outside their control will soon make them enemies. Overall, a very enjoyable addition to the series.

Mr. Kent does it again. Bolitho's adventures take him to duty blockading the French, then off to the distant edges of empire. The salt spray and billowing mainsails assail the reader with a sense of being aboard HMS Hyperion in rough seas and dangerous waters.
Again, Bolitho's private life seems to glow like a fresh candle, but reality quickly sets in as tragedy strikes, his brother appears and his brother's son steps aboard as a midshipman. Plenty of crackling cannon fire, splintered quarterdecks, flaming hulks, nasty Frenchmen who seem to ignore the conduct of behavior in war, a near mutiny as Bolitho, his incompetent commadore and his trusted friends Inch, Allday and Herrick help Sir Richard face danger and death on the high seas. The chapters when Bolitho leads a party across a swamp in small cutters is remarkable. Powerful stuff and makes one feel apart of the crew. Find yourself a berth, tighten a rag 'round yer ears, lad and watch for the French frigate on the starboard quarter, hull down.

I bought this book to help me in my migration from v5.5 to 2000. While the book covers the Ex2k territory, I am disappointed in the breadth of its vision. It is like the guy sat down with the product and went through a checklist of the features thinking "OK, I'll describe how to turn this one on, then I'll describe how to turn this one on, then I'll describe this checkbox by expanding its 5 word title into a 20 word sentence..." Every time I return to this book to try to get a better handle on how to *manage* my system, I get frustrated. It never leads me from my knowledge of how to do something in v5.5 to how to do it in 2k-- and the differences in design philosophy that came with Active Directory integration turn many management tasks on their heads. Yes, it walks through all the dialogs and interface controls, but it doesn't expose any of the real-life gotchas.

For instance, after many frustrating attempts, I finally stumbled across the reason why the "Set as Primary" SMTP addr button doesn't work, even though this book says "you simply click" it. (You apparently first have to clear the checkbox near there that ties primary addresses to policies.)

Another frustration is that the indexing is weak. A book this large is primarily used as a reference work, with the primary access path through the index. While not as weak as some lousy indexes I've cursed, this one rarely leads me from the term or concept I know to the few paltry pages this book includes on the closest topic.

I have been using QUE books for about 5 years, I have yet to get a bad one. I was pleased with the depth and the layout of the material in this book. I'm new to Exchange Server, so it was important that I get atleast a basic understanding of the previous 5.5 version, this book goes back to the beginings of messenging and archetecture. Excellent product.

This is an incredible book. I have used it repeatedly to keep my systems running at their full potential. This is the only book I need for my Exchange Environment. Kent Joshi has assembled a great team to produce this book.

I bought this guide because I love the game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (I'll assume anyone who reads this will already have played the game so I won't describe it). I recieved an excerpt with my copy of the game which had the chapter on tips on playing the game (times for moving through tech levels, etc.). I was excited, but slightly disappointed to find that a large portion of the guide details how to get through all the scenarios rather then the normal game, which I was more interested in.

There is the (pretty good) story for the first chapter (although it goes in the some-stormtroopers-are-clones theory, where I go more for the (noncanon?) view detailed by Timothy Zahn's trilogy), and then the book goes into a overview of the main menu (what each button does). The next chapter was the excerpt included in my game (which is a good chapter). After that, detailed stats on every unit/building in the game, and then a neat transcript of a conversation about the different civilizations, along with a tiny chapter on strategies.. Pages 63-175 (out of 204) detail every single scenario. After that is another chat about multiplayer strategies, and then two appendices.

All in all, it is a very handy resource, it just won't replace you playing and finding out how to win yourself.

this game totally rules. this book is really helpful to me. everytime i play the game i have to use it. it has walkthroughs for every mission, cheats, strategies for on-line and for facing the computer, interviews with the top people who play the game, and stats for every unit and structure.

This game is awsome if you like strategy war games there are 6 diffrent teams to pick from and there all pretty good the only flaw is that there are that you have to gather 4 diffrent kinds of crystals and stuff but other than that its one of the best starwars games ever. P.S. if you like this you have to check out the computer game starcraft its even better then this one.

This was a saucy book to say the least. I found myself breathless during his descriptions of adolescent discovery! A good book to read when your s.o. is out of town!

The Boys of Swithins Hall is close to being a great read, but I would warn folks who don't like their sex young and graphic to steer well away from it. Having survived/enjoyed 13 years of English boarding school life myself, I can testify to the accuracy of Kent's account - minus the sex! which was never quite as hot at my school. If you can get past the sex, presuming you want to, there's a brilliant read in there - but, my goodness, it is graphic. I'd like to see Chris Kent attempt something on the same lines, minus the sex. He would then get the wider public he deserves. When is his next novel due?

This is a beautiful book. The only pity might be that the sex scenes are so graphic that they detract from the quality of the writing and the soundness of the plotting and the characters. It is also a page-turner, even if you have to turn the pages one-handed! I found myself identifying with the lead-character despite his infuriating ambivalence, and there were times when I found myself whispering if not shouting: "Oh, just get on with it and do it!" The novel is intensely funny though the mixture of the comic and the sadness sometimes made my gasp as the tone switched as quickly as life itself does. A great read - though it's time we had a new Chris Kent novel. The pages of my copy are already too well-thumbed and sticky!