After reading very favorable reviews, I got the impression this book would be about an "Irish Holden Caulfield." (Catcher in the Rye.) There were some similairities. They are both young men narrating the story of their own demise from formal education to homelessness. Both speak directly to the reader, telling us what we would think of something, then reiterating. (you'd love it, you really would.) But I found Ripley Bogle to be a difficult book to get through. The author uses such extreme vocabulary, there were times I wish he'd put away his thesaurus and just tell the story. There were some very witty passages and extremely detailed descriptions, but a lot of excess. This is just my humble opinion, but I don't care for the books where the writing is a lot more noticable than the story.

I was simply astonished by the fact that he was this good at the start. Ripley Bogle is no worse than Eureka Street, although maybe a little more juvenile. It does not have the happy end of Eureka Street, and it is much more cynical, in the way young and precocious writers often are. However, as literature it is even more innovative than Eureka Street, and often it feels much more immediate and honest.

McLiam Wilson shows his youth in this first novel, but his Dickensian attention to detail is usually a thrill to behold. I'm so sick of writing being a by-the-way of telling stories. Though not without the wit present in Eureka Street, the operative adjective here is "beautiful:" every word is where it should be, every sentence is in its rightful place, and the book leaves one thinking of the author, "how does he DO that?" For readers who want to read a book written using language to benefit a plot instead of just convey it, Ripley Bogle is a godsend. The end will make your jaw drop.

would be interesting only to people, who study scripts seriously, who love Minghella's art, and who love the film itself. This particular script was not meant to stand on its own, unlike some scripts from other great films. It was only meant to be Minghella's subjective and brief overview of what he is going to create for the screen. I bought it because I was curious to compare written word with what I have seen on the film. This book has lyrics of "Lullaby for Cain" and full cast list, though, which is a nice touch...

The book was better than the movie. I think the movie was too soapy. The ending was not conclusive

After seeing this film I was quick to jump to the conclusion that the screenplay would be just as good. I am pleased to report that I was correct!

As a read, Ripley is captivating and diabolical. The words finely link together the voices and faces that I loved in the film. Anthony Minghella has such a remarkable gift! First English Patient, now Ripley!

All I really have to say about this screenplay is that it is honey--rich, sweet, and easy to swallow. You'll love it!

There were some moments that reminded me of Little House on the Prairie - how could so much tragedy happen to one person? But it was fun to see the main character traced through the roaring twenties in Charleston, New York, and parts of Europe.

This book takes place a few years after Charleston, it concerns an "ugly", unwanted girl named Garden Tradd and her life and times. This book incoporates real life history into the novel, Garden watches Chalres Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, see Isadora Duncan die, and weeps over the death of the LIndbergh baby. My only complaint is that Elizabeth Cooper who was a strong voice in the novel charleston is reduced to doing nothing but holding Garden's hand evrytime she cries.

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to have more money than you knew what to do with and you thought that the idea sounded incredibly satisfying, then you should read this fast-paced, eventful novel. You just might change your mind. This novel follows the life of a Charleston debutante who began her life in rags and eventually fell into riches by marrying one of America's most eligible bachelors. Travel with lovable, naive Garden Tradd from her dirt poor beginnings in a slave settlement, through her adolescence in Charleston when she becomes a true belle, and then onto to New York, London, and Paris for a wild, sometimes disturbing ride through the early twenty-first century. I guarantee you won't be able to put this book down!

I have used this and the other "Ripley's" books to inspire my students to do research projects. The students are captivated by the drawings and the odd facts presented. We have created a website using them!

Adults and children alike will enjoy this work. The illustrations are terrific and it contains many interesting facts. The only drawback with this book is the fact that it is a bit on the small side but I suppose it is reasonably priced.

If you don't have a Ripley's book try with this one, you might well enjoy it.

This book really inspired me to pay attention to all of the differences in the world.

Musician Tony Kozol is in Brazil for a concert when one of the band leader's gofers introduces him to Rio's criminal underworld. Deep in Rio's favellas, Tony learns that sometimes going along is the only way to stay alive. Still, life is mostly good--he has fallen in love with a beautiful woman, had a paying job, and Rio is in full carnival mode, with some of the world's most beautiful women on full display.

Then the entire thing falls apart. His boss seems to lose faith in him, the gangsters are putting pressure on him to support them in a major heist, and his girlfriend seems to have a powerful boyfriend who wants to see Tony out of the way no matter what it takes. Tony, along with his friend and sidekick Rock Bottom, will have to move fast to stay ahead of the wave of disaster bearing down on them.

Author J. R. Ripley does a convincing job portraying Rio de Janeiro in high carnival season. The samba beat, the contrasts of extreme wealth and abject poverty, and the curious position of law enforcement (being sometimes more dangerous than the people they are supposed to protect against) all ring true. The mystery itself is less convincing. When Brazil's Federal Police finally ask Tony and Rock for their assistance, one can only wonder why--it certainly isn't explained, nor does it make a great deal of sense. As a mystery reader, I also expect to learn all the clues that the point of view protagonist learns. In THE BODY FROM IPANEMA, a key clue was withheld from the reader but not from Tony, making the mystery perhaps more interesting from the reader's perspective, but fundamentally cheating on the implicit contract between author and reader.

Set in the festive Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, The Body From Ipanema: A Tony Kozol Mystery by J.R. Ripley is an exciting, tangled web of criss-crossing motivations and cold-blooded murder. Protagonist Tony Kozol is back, this time working for a beautiful and sensational Latin pop singer. But the streets of Ipanema have muggers too - and one of them, after mugging Tony, mysteriously turns up with a cut throat. This is only the start of a whirlwind chain of events to lure Tony in ever deeper into a dark and wild urban maze of deadly human motives, in this gripping mystery. Also very highly recommended are the earlier novels in the Tony Kozol mystery series: Stiff In The Freezer (1892339048, ...); Skulls Of Sedona (0373263902, ...); and Lost In Austin (0373264178, ...).

If you are in the mood for a light hearted mystery that is fun and full of gardening tips, then this is for you. Ripley goes along at a leisurly rate (the murder does not occur until around page 100) but her characters are interesting and fun. Every third chapter or so, there is a small gardening essay covering various topics such as composting, organic pest controls, roses, etc. If you are not into gardening, you can skip these because they are essentially unrelated to the plot.

I really enjoyed Ann Ripley's Mulch, especially the second edition in which she has added gardening essays a la Death of a Political Plant, her most recent mystery. Beautifully written!

Fifteen more stories comprise this third instalment in editors Ripley and Jakubowski's effort to promote the best of "new" British crime writers. Three of the authors (the two editors plus Paul Charles) have appeared in earlier "Fresh Blood" anthologies, and the other twelve have all published at least one novel. The stories almost seem to come in pairs, Minette Walters and Denise Mina's stories both concern abuse of the elderly, and both end with justice served. Two of the stories are constructed as confessionals, Maxim Jakubowski's subpar (for him) "The Day I Killed Tony Blair," and HR MacGregor's "The Confession." Mike Ripley's "Angel Eyes" and Paul Johnson's "Frankie and Johnny Were Lovers?" are both kind of funny, bawdy, and harmless tales. Martin Waites and Manda Scott both feature genuine psychopaths, the first story being a rather predictable tale of a frustrated actor, the second, a stunningly nasty encounter with a vile dog owner. Scott's tale is even more foul considering it's entirely based on either personal experience or first-hand accounts from trusted sources. Two rather conventional stories contain last paragraph twists that undo their criminal protagonists Paul Johnson's throwaway "Crime Fest" and Peter Guttridge's somewhat out of place and cutely titled "The Postman Only Rings When He Can Be Bothered." For once, all three stories set in the US are believable and don't bear the mark of an outsider. Rob Ryan's "S••t Happens" is a fairly basic story of a couple of minor hoods messing up bad along the Jersey Turnpike. Adam Lloyd Baker's "Atlantic City" is a rather banal quickie about a falling out between two hoods. Lee Child's "James Penney's New Identity" is a very good fugitive story" set in the southwest and California, and he is the one writer in this anthology I definitely intend to keep an eye out for.

This is a very interesting colletion of the "New Wave" of English crime fiction. Don't expect a re-hash of the "Pulp Fiction" craze that has permeated the American crime fiction lately. This stories focus more on the odd and strange personalitites of criminals. I would recommend this book for fans of Ian Ranklin.

Centered around his massive personal collection of photos and measurements of surviving Civil War artillery, Warren Ripley attempted to create a definitive work on the subject. However, it suffers from poor organization and a disjointed narrative. If the stories of historic and unusual cannon were placed in a separate chapter, the book would be easier to follow. The mass of data should be repeated in tabular form in an appendix, instead of being solely displayed under each individual cannon's picture. This book is good for the Civil War artillery enthusiast, but Olmsted's book is better for field artillery and Stark's book is better for heavy artillery.

This book is very informative and well written. It describes all of the killings, the trials, and the outcome of the trials of both Caril Ann Fugate and Charles Raymond Starkweather. It begins by giving you a reporters view of the crimes and the manhunt for the murderous couple. It also has one chapter just about the confessions of Charles Starkweather. A very good read. I would highly reccommend this book to anyone who is interested in this story about a couple on a rampage.

I bought this book because it had a cool cover, I like amateur sleuth mysteries, and I'd never read any in Ann Ripley's "gardening" series before. Though Ms. Ripley writes well enough, and she can follow a mystery plot formula, I was surprised at the sheer boredom of it all. Unless you like plants. Really like plants. The characters were one-dimensional, the dialogue stilted, and any attempts at humor fell flat. Outside of a good climactic scene, the rest of the story had me sitting there wondering when something interesting was going to happen. I think the author missed her chances at using the characters to make the book sparkle. I couldn't wait to finish this one, but not because it was a page turner.

Due to the success of her PBS gardening show and the demands of her husband and two daughters, Louise Eldridge finds little time for herself. That is why she looks forward to walking her dog with former Jefferson University ethnobotanist Dr. Peter Whiting when he walks his dog. Peter regales Louise with fascinating stories about life in the Amazon. He claims a rain forest tribe has invented a fountain of youth through a plant they convert into tea.

However, her walks end when someone murders Peter in Ravine Park. Mt. Vernon District detective Mike Geraghy learns that Louise walked her dog with Peter every night near the crime site. He interviews her while warning her not to get involved as she has previously done in homicide investigations. However, Peter's wife asks Louise to help complete her husband's research. Though she agrees because her show is on hiatus, Louise would have said no if she understood the danger she is in from several assailants.

Though billed as a gardening mystery, HARVEST OF MURDER reads more like an amateur sleuth medical cozy though it never goes deeply into the science. The story line is shrewdly arranged so that the audience can comprehend the motivations of the key players, especially on the part of the scientists to include the victim. The heroine is a nurturing person whose family make her feel more like a neighbor to the reader who care what happens to Louise. Ann Ripley provides amateur sleuth fans and those who derive joy from a not so scientific medical thriller an affable reading experience.

I really loved it but I miss the gardening essays found in her other books.