The major portion of the book confirms our suspicions of the massive tax avoidance and evasion that is extant in the U.S. today. I found much of the material to be revealing of the methodology used by rich and poor to escape the responsibility of paying ones dues.
The authors lost me in their attack on VAT ( National Sales Tax ) which has worked successfully in tne United Kingdom and in Canada. These countries are way ahead of us in Social Services. Any tax plan will have its defects, but this is one way to avoid the off shore plans, and the refusal to even submit the 1040 form.
The final chapter devoted to the authors' solution to the problem is a joke. If you take one suggestion after another it is clear that our economy will not tolerate their badly constructed cure. I think that they were just in a hurry to close out the book and had really ill considered, ( or no ), advice from seasoned economists. These two chapters left me with a feeling of let down and disappointment. I had hoped to find some well constructed answers to a pernicious problem. But they offered none.

Before I read the book, I had the (mistaken) belief that all income tax evaders had an equal chance of an IRS Audit. I now see that the IRS is set-up to audit citizens that can't afford lawyers--the book has good evidence for that, the kind you can find for yourself.

Unfortunately, the book isn't totally solid. It rightly points out that the current tax system is unfair for the un-wealthy, and I think the authors provide fairly good evidence that this unfairness is largely due to a congress that has created a behemoth tax code while simultaneously stripping the IRS of its ability to enforce it. Unfortunately, though, there were times that some claims went un-referenced (e.g., past tax code), which left me wondering about what was "factual."

The book is biased towards blaming the wealthy for lobbying congress while dumping billions into tax shelters (this bias, nonetheless, seems well supported), but the book isn't about wealth bashing--it is about the notion that in our country, to some extent, we are all our neighbor's helper, and to cheat taxes is morally incomprehensible and consequential. They point to the ills of society fostering an environment for cheaters of all kinds...from tax evaders to cheating college freshman, as evidence for the cheater's mentality. In this regard, the book has a pessimistic view of a human nature that always reduces itself to the "lowest common denominator" (i.e., if the wealthy cheat on taxes, why shouldn't I?). The authors pose good arguments against flat taxes and sales taxes, while supporting a progressive tax such as our current tax structure. They argue that the current tax code is too complicated and should be simplified. This complication is largely do to the history of special interest groups successfully lobbying for tax loopholes. Overall, I know more about taxes (and tax evasion) than I had before the book.

Just read the last two chapters, "How Congress plans to increase your Taxes" and the final chapter on their solution. These authors show how Congress is crippling the enforcement of tax cheats by the rich, even granting them loopholes so they pay even less than they should. The flat tax and national sales tax are shown to be the shams they are, the rich will get very rich and the poor and middle class will take the burden of the lost taxes from the rich. Don't believe me, read the book. Why did Warren Buffett endorse Gore saying he (Buffett) pays less taxes than his secretary? Because this is all true, Congress has always made the tax laws favor the rich, hiding it in complex regulations that only the rich can afford the lawyers and accountants to figure out. They pay less taxes and now the Republicans want to make the income tax so difficult that the rest of the country can be sold a bill of goods that repealing the income tax and putting in a flat tax will help the middle class instead of the truth that it will devastate the middle class. Buy the book, get the book from the library, but read the book before you vote!

This one is a real dog. The story line doesn't hold up. OK, St. Louis is wrecked. Where is the rest of the country? If S.L. is the only major city devastated why wouldn't it be rebuilt like L.A. after the quake? Don't any of the people in St. Louis have relatives in the rest of the country that they can go live with? Can ALL of the National Guard types be vicious thugs? Steele obviously has some unresolved issues with the military.

Gerry Rosen clearly has more problems than an ordinary joe should have to deal with. There's the wife he's lost, the deceased son's recurring memory, and the boss from hell. I enjoyed the characterizations, which are seen through Gerry's eyes. The images of St. Louis following a cataclysmic earthquake were compelling. And I was captivated by Gerry's palmtop which might well have been as wondrous as "Box" from "Star Cops" (except it didn't do searches quite so impressively). I'm most critical of Steele's choice of the military, first as rescuers, then as treasonous villains. Surely, there would be huge numbers of Paul Revere's out there to wise the public up to the coup about to happen. What's the Internet good for, otherwise?

Steele weaves an imaginative story of government corruption and corporate intrigue with The Jericho Iteration. I wasn't completely satisfied with his characterizations of the AI. It seemed a bit too human in it's reactions, but Steele's style and tightly paced writing delivered the goods in the end.

I've read many Danielle Steel books, and thought that this book would be just as good as some that came after it. While I wish I could say this was a great first novel, it wasn't. The story is so boring that after a while you can't even pay attention to what goes on. You don't feel that you know the characters (protagonist especially) as well as you know the characters in the other books. Also, the slangs and dialogue are so outdated that it's distracting. Read other Danielle Steel books, but not this one.

It's hard to believe that Danielle Steel wrote this novel, but I guess first novels can be that way. The storyline is so boring, and you don't connect with the characters like with her other novels. The sotry reads like it was written by a teenager and suspends believe in any of the plot. If this would have been the first book I read by Steel, I wouldn't have bothered reading any of her others---that's how bad this novel was. Skip it!

I loved the book very much. I have been reading Steel's books that she has written lately(1999-2002). I had been told that her earlier books were so much better so I decided to read one of the them. The story was hard to read sometimes because I became exasperated with Gillian letting a man treat her so badly. I kept waiting for her to turn on him and give him what he deserved. But, she hung in there in spite of his treatment towards her and she was happy. The ending was sad but moving.

Where peversity meets fashion. Ms. Steele writes about the meaning of fetish garments through history, from shoes to corsets, rubber to leather, black nylons to panties. She explores the sexual fantasies played out in dress and the disappearing boundary between 'normal' and 'perverse'.

Steele's book is thoroughly researched and does an excellent job of placing fetish fashion in a historical context. What the author fails to do, however, is make a clear argument. When she states that she cannot claim to be for or against a particular piece of clothing (in this case, the corset), her well-crafted "neutral" stance weakens the very course of her history. As Steele demonstrates, each article of clothing featured in her book has a complex cultural and intellectual history imbedded with meaning. By refusing to go beyond, "feminists believe..." or "Freud argued...," the purpose of Steele's glossy work remains obscured. Moreover, the author's overuse of quotations further confuses the argument. I was lost between Steele's words and those of her sources and find that her failure to truly engage with her research rings of a forced objectivity.

My second objection is perhaps not a new criticism. I tend to cringe when I hear that the combination of being sexy and powerful rescues woman from the bad old days of obligatory femininity. Steele implies this by refusing to take a stance. The strong, yet sexy, woman remains a male fantasy. After all, the corset-clad, high-heel wearing dominatrix acts out the role to please her slave. She is there to help him live out his fantasies. Her pleasure (and this is generally the case whether the woman is dominant or submissive) tends to remain secondary. Steele's modern fetish woman gains pleasure from being pleasing to men and power from being sexually desirable. I would have liked the author to examine this issue further and even to deconstruct it.

overall this book is very good, however it leaves out some important elements of fetishism and fetish culture. It pin points important elements of fetish and fashion, while skimming over the importance of emotions, trust, childhood,sex, power. When Steele addresses sex and power she uses a freudian approach. this is simply because steele's educational backround is limited to maintinly fasion history.

The book is complete with fetish photos, and describes the history and evoltion of the fetish well. Steele, describes one fetish party that she has attended and makes assumptions about fetishes, however i find it difficult to fully accept her conclusions due to her limited exposure. She does not accuratly address the role of fetishism in the gay and lesbian and bisexual community, but rather sticks to trannies and crossdressers. Futhermore, much of the evidence that she uses to explain fetishes is based on biological sex and gender roles. Both of which i would argue are downplayed among those who are open minded enough to participate in fetish culture.

This book is very well written and hard to put down. The book is well edited and well sectioned to keep you entertained and statisfied. It great book for someone who wants a brief and PG 13 explaination of fetishism-- for someone who knows little about the history of fetishims--or for your slightly kinky friend. Please keep in mind that Steele looks at fetishes from a fashion perspective--if you are looking for a more indept explaination of fetish culture you wil left, without it

I must agree with the previous reviewer - the full four volume set is an essential purchase; this edition is not. Lacking in pre-Norman invasion history (I read the stuff on Roman Britain in about ten minutes, which really isn't enough considering the importance of this period to the island's history, as well as that of its offshoots) and skewed towards American material when available (there's lots of material on the civil war - funny that, given Commager's previous efforts), this volume doesn't do justice to Churchill's marvellous volumes.

As for the book itself, whilst the underlying historiography of Churchill's history may no longer be fashionable (it's a bit too conservative for my liking), the quality of the writing more than makes up for such deficiencies.

I studied English history in school and found the intertwining of "houses" and kings confusing and could never get their relationships organized in my mind.
Churchill's narrative style, along with the charts of the succession of royalty clarifies it for me. Further, knowing the succession provides "hooks" for mentally assigning other historical figures to particular eras, such as Becket, William Wallace and Joan of Arc.
It also tells the "rest of the story" for popularly well know stories such as the (fictional) Robin Hood era. "Everyone" knows that while Richard the Lion Hearted was imprisoned Prince John tried to take over the kingship, but was frustrated when Richard returned. However, how many people know that when Richard was mortally wounded in a subsequent battle he designated Prince John to become King, and that it was this King John who was forced to sign the Magna Carta?
True, this is an abridgement of Churchill's writings, but it is, nonetheless, Churchill's writings and remains fresh, direct and pungent.
Read this book!

As a very busy mother of six, I don't think I would ever have time to read the complete four volume set mentioned by other reveiwers. In the Preface, Mr. Commager writes, "This book is not, after all, meant for scholars, who will go to the original, but for the large reading public which Churchill himself most wanted to reach..." This abridgement was perfect for me. I did read part of the original ten or twelve years ago when my husband was studying it for a college research paper. My favorite part was the way Mr. Churchill related the Norman Conquest. This section in the abridged version is just as delightful as I remember the original being.

"On September 28 the fleet came safely to anchor in Pevensey Bay. There was no opposition to the landing. The local "fyrd" had been called out this year four times already to watch the coast, and having, in true English style, come to the conclusion that the danger was past because it had not yet arrived had gone back to their homes."

Mr. Churchill's style is witty and refreshingly NOT PC! I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a broad overview of English history.

I could not get past the third chapter because of the bad language. Who wants to read a book that contains worse language than a rated "R" movie?

Matt Marquette is a Seattle fisherman. An Ex-Seal, Ex-racecar driver, commercial fisherman. Than one night, Marquette's boat is torched, inside the are the bodies of his deckhand and his girlfriend. Callam County Detective Lieutenant John Two Elks figures that it is extremely likely that Marquette committed the murder while torching his own boat for insurance. But Matt knows something that Two Elks doesn't. Matt knows that he is innocent. Also, after the fire, Matt found something else on the boat. Something that already has two men following him. Unknown to both Matt and Two Elks is that the sphere Matt found is part of a plan that could destroy the entire city of Seattle, and continue killing throughout the southwest United States.

As I read about the ex-racecar driver, with nightmares about his last crash, I figured "Well, there won't be any high speed chases in this story.". Boy was I wrong. The entire story turned into a "high speed chase" as I kept turning the pages. Cool book.

Leap of Faith is an enjoyable story split between the cosmopolitan France, and down-home Iowa. It is a fast-paced well-written jaunt into the life of a young woman, Marie-Ange.

Her life is turned upside down by a tragic car crash, and she is sent to live with her aunt in Iowa. Unfamiliar with the midwest, Marie-Ange has much to adjust to. Her aunt's eccentricities make life no easier for her.

However, Marie-Ange's story does not end with her upheaval as a child. The story follows her life and the people she meets along the way, good and bad. It becomes an engaging story of a young woman and the trials of her life.

If you enjoy Danielle Steel you will certainly enjoy this book as well. It is well-written, engaging, and interesting. It will leave you guessing, and keep you reading with the roller-coaster ride of a story it offers... Enjoy!

Leap of Faith, a fictional novel written by Danielle Steel, is a compelling example of how a person can succeed in life, regardless of betrayal and hardships. The story vividly describes each character to the extent that the reader is able to feel a part of the situation. When the first chapter approaches to an end, and the storylines turning point comes forward, it becomes a book you will not want to stop reading.

Marie-Ange is the main character, and the novel revolves around her growing up and making it through all of the challenging obstacles she had to overcome by herself. The beginning of the book shows Marie-Ange living with her family in their Chateau de Marmounton in France. Life was perfect. They were an incredibly wealthy family, until something devastating happens and Marie-Ange's life is forced into a whole new direction causing her to leave everything she has ever known behind. She leaves France and moves to Iowa, where her Great-Aunt Carole lives.

The book carries on with how life was like living with Carole, which was far more different from what Marie-Ange was used too. Marie-Ange was fairly miserable due to the way Carole treated her and she had aspirations of someday returning to her family's Chateau de Marmounton to get away. Her dreams didn't seem like a reality given the circumstances she was under, until one day a knock on her front door changed everything.

This knock meant a new life for Marie-Ange, and a chance to live out her dreams of returning to France. Once she went back to France, her life picked up in speed greatly. She met an astonishing man who was prosperous, and coincidentally, lived in her childhood house. They fell in love, got married, and even had two children together. However, her newly found perfect life takes a startling turn. Marie-Ange is forced to find courage and faith to save her life and her children's lives.

Leap of Faith is a true Cinderella story with many more twists. These little changes in the book's plot cause the reader to become more and more involved with what the next page brings. This was a wonderful book that shows that things aren't always what they seem and that good things really do happen to good people in the end.

Leap of Faith is a great read. Danielle Steel has written a wonderful book. The main character, Marie-Ange, is likeable from page one. The reader is guaranteed to feel her joy and pain as she feels them. Marie-Ange is faced with tragedy at the young age of 11. She is forced to leave her home country and live with a relative who doesn't really show any emotion except hate, of everyone and everything. I literally had tears in my eyes as I read of the horrible things that happened to Marie-Ange when she went to live with her aunt. Hurrah for Billy. He was definitely a blessing from the first meeting between him and Marie-Ange.

This book reminded me of the earlier Danielle Steel books. It seems as if some of her more recent works were not quite as emotional and interesting as her older works. Leap of Faith is an excellent book. It has a good story line and moves at a good pace. The reader doesn't have time to get bored. I felt like I couldn't read this book fast enough. Even though it is a short 202 pages it is packed full of all the ingredients that make a DS book good to read. Definitely a book that you'll want to read now and again in a few months or years. This is a lasting DS novel. :)

I was looking for a nice little romance to escape with and I was in O'Hare airport with nothing much to do. I saw this on the shelf & that this author had sold hundreds of millions of books. I figured that many people couldn't be wrong. Hmm.

The first thing that turned me off right away was that there was a character with the same first name as mine. Unfortunately, this character fares extremely poorly in the book. I suppose it's not really fair of me to dislike the book for that. I mean the character who does worst in the book has to have some name, but I just couldn't let it go. So much for escape from my own problems.

Another thing that annoyed me was that one of the characters was characterized as a "superior court judge" in New York City. Now, if you know anything about law in New York, you know that there is no such position in New York State. The position that corresponds to "superior court judge" in other states is called "supreme court justice" here. (The court that we have that would be called "supreme court" in other states is called "court of appeals.") Why does New York have to be different like this? Who knows? But then everyone always knew New York was different from the rest of the coutnry. Now you may say that this is a petty point, but it seems to me that, if you're an author with a big following and you know you might have yet another best-selling book and you know a lot of your book is going to be set in New York City, you could bother to research these things just a tad just so, in case some of your readers ever go looking for a court in New York City, they might end up in the right place.

Now sitting back from my personal vendetta, I have to say that it was a light and easy read, so I suppose I got a bit of an escape from it. The reading level here is probably barely fifth grade. The characters were pretty well developed, using short, uncomplicated sentences. There weren't any complicated concepts here. I would say Harry Potter is probably a more challenging read. Still, the thing kept my attention, mostly because it was short and I just sailed on through.

It was nice that the characters were happy, older people. It's nice to see a romance where everyone isn't a kid.

I found the ending abrupt and contrived, but, fortunately, happy.

I don't know if I would get another book by this author... maybe in a pinch, in an airport, if I'm desperate. But I would certainly look for alternatives.

After not reading any of Danielle Steel for many years I decided to give her latest book a try. As always I felt with Danielle Steel she rushed to get the book out there and at times I felt like the story was rushed and not enough was explained.

3 couples who have been friends for years always get together to spend time together. Anne and Roberts, Diana and Eric and Pascale and John. They get together all the time to have dinner and once and a while they all go on trip together. When the idea to spend the summer in St Tropez the entire group decides that it would be a wonderful idea.

When tragedy strikes the group, they start to wonder if there trip that summer would be a good idea. But as time goes on they see that they need to move on and go on the trip.

When they arrive at the house in St. Tropez they find it isn't exactully what they expected. As time goes on during that summer many things change that make each person look at things in new light.

This was a good quick read... I might be up for another Danielle Steel book in time, but I won't be reading every book by her.

Usually I don't read too much, but since winter is coming, I have been reading more than ususal. This is only the 2nd Danielle Steel book that I have read and I must say that I liked it. I will admit she repeats herself quite a bit, but the reader is able to overlook that and appreciate a good book.

D.S. is real descriptive about the setting of the story and even added a little humor about the owners of the house the families rented in St. Tropez. It added just enough comedy to mix well with the plot. As the story unravels, D.S points out to her readers that even though accomodation conditions are not the best, you can still have a good time. I really enjoyed the ending.

This book only took me 2 days to read.

I will definately be reading more of her books.

Just finishing Allen Steele's book Oceanspace, and while it does manage to keep the reader interested with well researched informatation regarding crush depths, and breathing mixtures, and undersea research platforms. It was not a book that i would consider reading a second time. The story is good, and the reader indoctrinated into the world of undersea mining, and experimental naval subs, (um that seemed a little unlikely, but anyway) The book's characters are easy to visualize, but lack the depth to make them really interesting. The teenager in the story is yes one big stereotype, but then so is the reporter who not only snoops around the station freely, and manages to gain acess to a high security sub bay with no problem, but also tries to seduce the story's hero in a clumsy attempt. Oh yeah there is a sea monster in the book but only for about 10 collective pages so don't blink. Had Steele put more time, and effort into the story and the characters. i feel that he could have given the reader a much better, and more in depth story then this little "puddle-jumper" read. Too bad it seemed to have a lot of potential, but then that is just my opinion.

Under the sea, in the depths of the ocean, a completely submerged research station called Tethys exists, and goes about its work hoping to explore the true final frontier, the mysterious world of the ocean. But the station is disturbed by what Joe Niedzwiecki can only describe as a sea serpent. His report spawns a barrage of interested parties, some in search of knowledge, others in search of much baser booty.

Allen Steele has undertaken what he himself calls a departure, a state of the art undersea book. His efforts have resulted in a high impact adventure, featuring Steele's excellent description and impressive writing skills. A cast of characters worth caring about (and a couple worth despising) round out this exciting book which Steele describes as a homage to Arthur C. Clarke's The Deep Range.

Rickey R. Mallory

OceanSpace by Allen Steele takes place in the mysterious environment of the deep sea. The crushing ocean depths are as challenging an environment as the moon or deep space. Allen, in the tradition of hard science fiction, gets the details right. But never mind that. Textbooks get the details right. Allen knows how to tell a story, and that's what matters. There is something special about a story that can quote Buckaroo Banzai, recite Tennyson in a helium enhanced Donald Duck voice, and create a new verse to the Drunken Sailor sea chantey. Oh yeah, there's even a sea monster. . . if the photos and sonar readings can be trusted. Allen's characters are intelligent and resourceful people, with enough flaws to make them human. The plot has some surprises but never cheats the reader. The story takes place over seven hectic days, but few readers will take more than a sitting or two to finish it.

Veteran voice performer Ron McLarty is well known to audio book aficionados who relish his stellar and empathetic performances. He delivers again with mega hit writer Danielle Steel's latest, one more foray into dreams come true.

Faith Madison is an attractive Manhattan housewife, wed to an affluent banker, and thus the recipient of all the accouterments of his success. She has two grown daughters who now lead their own lives. While her marriage may not be the intimate, sharing relationship that she might wish Faith has much for which to be grateful.

The death of her stepfather brings her face to face with a long held desire and an old friend, Brad Patterson. He had been her late brother's best pal, and a source of comfort when her brother died. The two have been out of touch for years. Yet, they find they have one more common bond as Brad, too, is in a less than satisfactory marriage.

A death and seeing Brad again form a turning point in Faith's life as despite her husband's objections she applies for admission to law school. Her bulwark of strength in this endeavor is once again Brad.

Each of them will eventually make some painful and life altering decisions. With this story as with others, Danielle Steel reminds us that life is a path marked by twists and turns. Which way to go? The choice is ours.

- Gail Cooke

Granted, she writes to a formula - but its a very successful one and guaranteed to keep us entertained.

After raising her family, Faith wants to do something else with her life. Her husband is very successful but hardly ever home. When he is, he takes her for granted. When she mentions going to law school, he is violently opposed to it. One daughter (Eliose) agrees with him and the other (Zoe) sides with her mom.

At the funeral of her stepfather, she runs into a friend from childhood, Brad. Brad, Faith and her brother Jack (who is now deceased) were inseparable as children. Brad lives on the other coast with a very successful wife. He is a lawyer, but tends to want to defend the underdog which drives his wife, Pam, crazy.

What I liked about the book (formula or not) is the slow pace and the idea that childhood (friends and feelings) can be regained. As one who is moving back to my hometown again, I guess it was the right book at the right time. I hope it is for you too.

I used to read Danielle Steel years ago..her books were and are formula, of course. (Boy meets girl, Romance happens, trouble intervenes, trouble is resolved, happy ending). My former mother-in-law adores all of them and I send to her the audio tapes since at age 93 she can no longer read print. She gets much pleasure from the stories as I know thousands of women do.
The Palomino and Changes were two of my favorites. The plots and characters were so far removed from "normal" life that they were a great escape for me. I had to have my "fix" now and then. I stopped reading around the 45th book, I think.
Then I picked up this book mainly because of the title. It did resonate with me.
Faith Madison, a 47 year old woman trapped in a marriage with a man who no longer loves her, breaks away (her husband does her a favor and leaves her), goes back to law school, connects with her childhood friend, Brad Patterson, a Lawyer, and after many trials and tribulations, Faith and Brad finally begin their life together.
Part of the main character's story is my story. I believe one reads Ms. Steel knowing what she writes and not expecting great literature. I enjoyed the story...it gave to me what I was expecting to get from it... A happy ending and pleasure.
And if we receive from a book what we expect, then isn't it worth the time and the money spent?