Germinal, like many works grouped together as examples of literary naturalism, is not a novel one generally reads for enjoyment. It portrays the dark and oppressive world of 19th c. French coal miners and their attempt to free themselves through political awakening. The main character, Etienne, whips the miners into a socialist frenzy, leading them to strike against the company. As events unfold, Etienne begins to care less about the everyday details of the miners' existence and more about larger issues of socialism, anarchy, and world revolution. Etienne leaves the book a student of politics who has graduated. The miners return to their jobs -- with the hint that they will rise again. Germinal alludes to the works of Marx and Darwin, but detailed knowledge of those works is not required to get the point. The events are dark, sometimes base, and sometimes brutal. This is a book to be read, pondered, and (hopefully) discussed rowdily over beer. Start it and stick with it. It is not a particularly hard read, but it is a classic work that is not for wimps. Recommended.

Why do we have labor laws? Why do we accept nuclear energy and the oil industry? Why did the rich countries become so prosperous? "Germinal" shows you why. Often considered Zola's greatest work, it is indeed a truly epic story skilfully blended with penetrating political and economic analysis, not least of the mixture of motives that push people to stand up for their rights or those of others. Take John Steinbeck's "The Grapes Of Wrath", multiply it by ten or twenty and you won't even come close to this book. Deeply moving, shocking, but ultimately uplifting, for in the wreckage of the miners' crushing defeat after their strike Zola, for once, offers a glimmer of hope. Better to have fought and lost than to have done nothing. The seeds of a new, fairer world have been sown. And one day........

Germinal is generally considered the greatest of Emile Zola's twenty novel Rougon-Macquart cycle. Of these, Germinal is the most concerned with the daily life of the working poor. Set in the mid 1860's, the novel's protaganist Etienne Lantier is hungry and homeless, wandering the French countryside, looking for work. He stumbles upon village 240, the home of a coal mine, La Voreteux. He quickly gets a job in the depths of the mine, experiencing the backbreaking work of toiling hundreds of feet below the earth. He is befriended by a local family and they all lament the constant work required to earn just enough to slowly starve. Fired up by Marxist ideology, he convinces the miners to strike for a pay raise. The remainder of the novel tells the story of the strike and its effect on the workers, managers, owners and shareholders.
Zola weaves a strong plot line along with a multitude of characters. The hallmark of this novel is the wealth of people who populate the pages. The miners are not the noble poor but men and women who live day to day, cruel in some ways, generous in others. The managers are owners are not evil, greedy men but complex characters who in some ways envy the freedom of the miners from conventional morality.
As with most Zola novels, don't expect a happy ending. But the reader can expect to be transported to a world and a way of life almost unimaginable for its brutality and bleakness. Like other great works of literature, the novel explores the thoughts and actions of people who suffer the daily indignities of poverty and injustice. Germinal is different however because the thoughts and actions are not noble and the consequences of their actions are felt by all. I would strongly recommend Germinal as one of the major novels of the 19th century but one that transcends time and place. The issues evoked in the novel regarding labor versus capital are just as relevant to today's world.

Dr. Matt Rutledge is convinced that the coal mining company in his hometown of Belinda, West Virginia is responsible for the deaths of his father and his wife. He sets out to prove that there are unsafe conditions and toxic waste at the mine. His efforts do not endear him to the people in the community where many are dependent on the mining company for their livelihood. Okay, this is not an original premise, but Palmer soon takes this story in a different direction. A believable and frightening direction. Omnivax, a vaccine with 30 different components, is about to be approved for use worldwide. One of the components was tested in Belinda 10 years ago and the adverse reactions are just beginning to show up. This is an ambitious plot line that tends to bog down about midway through the book, but Palmer manages to bring it all together in the end. There are likable heroic characters (the Slocumb brothers were my favorite), evildoers that were a little over the top, several good action scenes (involving motorcycle chases) and two very good field surgery scenes. The dialog was, at times, at little hard to take. Too sappy for my taste (does anyone say "pshaw" anymore?). Vaccinations have certainly been a topic of controversy lately and I applaud Palmer for his efforts to stimulate the dialog on this subject.

One of the great things about Michael Palmer is that he does not feel he has to pump out a book every year, if it is good or not. So when I learn he is putting out a new book I really look forward to it. This book around I just did not feel the need to read every free second I had, like I did with The Patient. Fatal has likeable characters and brings up some things that will make me think next time I take my kids to the doctor, but it just didn't grab me like his earlier novels. It is worth
reading and I believe most people will find this book enjoyable.

BOOK REVIEW: "Fatal" by Michael Palmer

This is a well-written, fast-paced, action-packed thriller. (I kept seeing a screen play with Harrison Ford or Michael Douglas as "Dr. Rutlidge" in my mind's-eye!) But the most important issue that is tackled in his book --the potentially harmful effects that vaccines have on our health --is the real message behind the plot.

His concern is accurate and those who have researched and studied the vaccination issue know that his statements are exactly on target. This may be the first time that problems associated with vaccines, including the incestuous relationship between the pharmaceutical industry, government and big money, has been tackled in a fictional arena. Who better to do this than
a NY Times Best Selling author who happens to be a physician?

With the potential of mandatory mass vaccination for smallpox looming on the horizon and the growing vaccine controversies related to autism and other childhood diseases, the story of Ominvax, a 30-in-one vaccine that is to be forcefully injected in all babies and children, is not solely fiction. Neither
are the fears of unknown, long term complications.

Here's a quote from the book by the character (Ellen) that was the consumer advocate on the vaccine approval committee (p.160):
"...My research has shown that not once has a vaccine--any vaccine--been evaluated by a prolonged double blind study. The pharmaceutical houses are powerful, and fund much of the drug research done at our universities and medical centers. They also have polished, highly effective public relations offices that have, on a number of occasions, set out to convince the general public that we cannot afford to deprive the placebo group of the lifesaving benefits of a vaccine while waiting until statistically meaningful double blind study can be
completed.

"Has this shortcut in the scientific process hurt us in any concrete, medical way? That I cannot answer with any certainty. What I can say is that as vaccination rates have climbed, there as been an alarming increase in the incidence of a number of so-called immune-mediated diseases and conditions such as asthma, allergies, and juvenile diabetes, as well as others --autism,
ADD and other learning disablities --whose classification as immune-mediated remains to be established. Is there a connection? Do vaccinations in some instances disrupt the normal development of the body's immune system? Until long-term, double blind studies are performed on vaccines, we may never know."

The deeper message, beyond the "who-dun-it", the complex web of
characters and the love story, is a plot to make us think. He has chosen to use his incredible fiction-writing talents to open the door of this controversial issue to the masses.

This is an entertaining, quick-read that is really enjoyable and does what a thriller is "supposed" to do. But beyond that, the book makes a profound statement about the potential for vaccine-injury when safety is abandoned due to the self-interests of a few.

One of the better interpretations of this turbulant era in the coal belt. Kevin Kenny explores the complicated society relationships and both factual and circumstantial evidence that led to the the conviction of some of the ringleaders. Unlike the 1970 movie "The Molly MacGuires," this book assures the reader that series of violent events over a number of years was no simple story to tell. The subsequent convictions of some of the coal miner leaders was hotly contested in its day. Add this book to your collection if you are a student of 1800's Pennsylvania or the treatment of Irish immigrant miners during the period of the Molly MacGuires.

Kenny digs into the broader social and historical forces that operated in the Irish coal miners and the community in which they found themselves. The events under review are themselves shocking. Like the 9/11 attacks, they seem almost incomprehensible because of their violence and the drama surrounding the events. The Molly Maguries were more than simple killers -- the women's clothing, for example, is a clue that something beyond a simple murder. Kenny gives his explanation of WHY events unfolded as they did.
Kenny has a scholarly point to make and academic readers will be rewarded with Kenny's solid analysis. This is a serious work on a serious subject. It is well worth a bit of intellectual effort. It also makes a fine addition to the reading list of an upper level undergraduate or graduate history course. However, the general reader with an interest in Irish-American history, labor history, and/or European immigrant history will also find this book interesting and informative.

His explanation of the beginning of the union and the people it involved was very clear.There were a lot of details on the exploitation of mineworkers of that era. This is a one the best on the subject.

I am a college English professor and I very recently taught Kit's Wilderness in an Adolescent Literature course. I put the book on my syllabus on the strength of editorial reviews I'd read and the fact that the novel won the Michael Printz Award. I was really looking forward to this novel, but unfortunately, I and nearly all of my twenty-nine students found Kit's Wilderness quite disappointing. In fact, we spent a whole class period critiquing the weaknesses of this novel. So I'll just mention some of what was said.

The plot, while engrossing at first, fails to go anywhere. The last section of the novel is totally anticlimactic and the last chapter is far too pat. It felt like Almond didn't know what to do and just wrote a short happy ending.
Character development also fails to go anywhere, in part because the dialogue is unbearably repetitious. Kit's grandfather, for instance, is a highly interesting character early on, but Almond fails to make him central to the novel's resolution--in fact, he's almost completely irrelevant.
The magical realist elements of the story are not well-controlled by the author. The "ghost" children that Kit and Askew see ultimately serve very little purpose in the novel, other than to reinforce the idea that past is connected to present. You don't need ghosts for that. The ghost children don't do ANYTHING in the novel. I kept waiting for Almond to use them in an interesting way, but he never does.
Kit's Wilderness deals with the power of memory and storytelling to shape the present moment, but Almond makes no cohesive point about what he actually wants to say about these ideas. He piles on the symbolism thick and heavy, but it doesn't really add up to anything cogent or especially interesting. Lois Lowry's The Giver is a much more profound book on the importance of cultural memory. Almond just didn't have the artistic control he needed to juggle all of his story elements.
The one thing I really did like about Kit's Wilderness is its powerful evocation of place. The attention to landscape and weather, and the history of English coal mining is excellent.
I realize that the intended audience for this book isn't college juniors and seniors, but that's no reason to condone Almond's artistic shortcomings. I feel Kit's Wilderness is a very weak choice for the Printz award and I wouldn't recommend it to any mature reader.

This story begin's in Stoneygate, a small mining town that thrived several years ago in the days of the old mines. Kit is a twelve-year-old boy that just moved to Stoneygate because his grandmother died. Kit's grandfather moves in with them. The main characters, Kit, Askew, Allie and the grandfather have important roles as Almond weaves the past, present, and future together. Kit's stories foreshadow the future and let the reader know that Askew's character can be redeemed.

All of the characters that were involved in the game of death, Allie, Askew, Kit, and Bobby, play important roles in the book. Allie keeps Kit on the side of light as otherwise he may have let Askew take him into the dark. Askew represents the darkness in the book. Bobby Carr carries out all of Askew's evilness and Allie tries to keep Kit's positive attitude. Kit's grandfather plays an important role in Kit's life. He prepares Kit, through his storytelling, for Kit's future journeys.

We think the turning point in the book occurs when Kit goes to the cave with Bobby Carr and meets Askew. It ties everything together and answers our main questions: Why did Almond put in the story of Lak? Is Askew really a bad person? Who represents light and dark? Who is Silky? We figured it out. Can you?

One of the best books I ever read was "Kit's Wilderness". Nothing anyone could have told me about this book would have prepared me for the drama within its pages. From the beginning, I was amazed by the characters and the way they introduce themselves. Kit just moved in and this is a story within itself. John Askew's personality is different inside and out. Allie has a background in Kit's family which adds an element of surprise to the book, and connects many loose ends together. This book takes place in an old mining town and it is a collection of tales from the mining times woven together into one plot line. Most of the families living in Stoneygate have ancestors that died in the terrible mine disaster years earlier. The tragedy and horror was passed down from generation to generation. Kit's grandpa had worked in the mine when he was younger. He told Kit, "It was very deep, Kit. Very dark. And every one of us was scared of it. As a lad I'd wake up trembling, knowing that as a Watson born in Stoneygate I'd soon be following my ancestors into the pit." All of the old mining families' children participate in a game. A game with death as its initiation process. Before Kit's death Askew whispers to him ever so softly, "This is not a game. You will truly die. All you see and all you know will disappear. It is the end. You will be no more." This plot really grips your soul. It gives the book life, and makes the reader become part of this possibly deadly game.

I am a fan of the 'Wolves' series, but they are beginning to vary a lot in quality.

The first three, "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase", "Black Hearts in Battersea" and "Nightbirds on Nantucket" are all highly recommended. Unfortunately, there are numerous potboilers, in which Dido Twite is stuck in some strange place--"The Cuckoo Tree" et al.

The real story continues in "Dido and Pa." As Aiken's characters grow older, she loses her touch with them; this is why her adult stuff is much less interesting. "Is Underground" is pretty variable. The set-up, with the soccer bit, lacks Aiken's usual wit, and the mind-speech and other stuff seems forced. But Is's relationship with her grandfather and aunt is good. Gold Kingy is a yawn, compared to other villains like the Slighcarps and Dido's parents.

To answer your question: Dido and Penny are full sisters; Is is their younger illegitimate half-sister.

Re: the dispairing notes in Aiken's writing. See "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" regarding Aiken's family history.

Good book, picking up from the earlier Dido and Simon pieces. Is is Dido's younger half sister, first mentioned, i beleive in Dido and Pa. Did sends her to stay with thier mutual sister Penelope but obviously she is a younger version of Dido, and gets into equally interesting adventures. The consequences of the ending of this book are rather heavy for Dido's friend Simon as becomes clearer in a later work.

In the book Underground, the main character Is tries to find her missing cousin, Arun, in the city of London. She later finds out that more than half of the children are gone and they are going to a place called Playland.
I liked this book a lot since I thought most of the clues were different and more clever than other types of mysteries. The book was also easy to read for me which makes the book a lot better.
I don't usually read a lot of mysteries , but compared to the ones I did read this book is just as good. I would give this book a 5 out of 5, or 5 stars in this case.

i am someone who likes the letter format of books and this book has it. if you like books in letter fomat than this is a good book to read and at the end it has information on thedore roosevelt. i rated this 5 stars

My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. What a wonderful way to provide a glimpse into the past. My daughter, age 10, had no difficulty in telling fiction from non-fiction. The design of the book is incredible. We were particularly impressed by the use of web prompts through out the book. A visit to the Winslow Press website is a must. There is nothing else out there like it on the web.

My name is John Olsen. I am a very big Theodore Roosevelt fan. I collect T.R. items and have study many of his writings. Jennifer Armstrong has written this book so convincingly well that I almost thought T.R. had actually written these letters. As explained in the beginning of the book, one of her major resources for the book was Roosevelt's own "Letters to His Children." So, while T.R. never had a pen pal who was a young coal miner, I am almost certain that it could have easily happened. T.R. was exactly that type of person. He was a big kid himself and would have been thrilled to have written to such a person as the young coal miner in the story. The book is filled with references to many of the exciting events of the life of Theodore Roosevelt, one of our greatest Presidents ever. Furthermore, there are detailed explanations of numerous words relating to mining and Polish culture. I strongly recommend this book for those who want to get their pre-teens excited about history and Presidents. I rather like the "Dear Mr. President" concept as a means to excite young people about Presidents. I look forward to reading the others in this series. Just remember who this book was written for and don't overanalyze it. Enjoy it!!

This book was very helpful in explaining life in 1930-40's in Powhatan, Ohio. It includes many details about the July 5th, 1944 coal mine disaster. It was personally interesting to our family, because my mother-in-law grew up in that area and her brother was killed in the mine fire. The book includes many of the author's personal experiences, which sometimes are hard to follow. Proof-reading (for capitals and punctuation) and editing for clarification and style would improve the readibility.

This book is still available by contacting John Mattone.rt. 1 box 105 53437th2788 Clarington, Ohio 43915 He is my grandfather.He's 86 years old and came over from Italy when he was a young boy. he settled in the Ohio valley where he started working with his father in the coal mines.he has a lot of interesting tales to tell of the good and the not so good old days. Denise Schade

I LOVED HOW THE BOOK DESCRIBED THE TIME PERIOD, AND THE PEOPLE IN HIS LIFE.

The Powder River Basin is full of coal, just under the surface and waiting to be dug up. Millions and millions and millions of tons of the black stuff are carried yearly in what is one of the busiest high-tonnage railroads in the world. Big trains too, mostly over a mile long, some using more than eight diesels to pull incredible loads over the nearby hills. All the ingredients for what should be a stunning photo book, regrettably it is not this one.

Most of the photos are black and white (twenty four in color) and in so many of them the trains occupy less than fifty percent of the photo area. They are very repetitious, far too many taken from above with the trains in the middle distance, no dramatic trackside shots of huge diesels here, no close-ups of the wagons or for that matter no people either. Not a single photo goes across a spread, for a big dramatic image. The captions to the photos are all in one paragraph blocks surrounded by masses of white space. It all looks so very dull and boring.

There is a strong visual story to tell about the trains of the Powder River Basin but this book is so amateurish that you would be better served by watching a Trains Magazine video 'Powder River Showdown', it has a good commentary and some excellent railroad action.

This book describes all aspects of unit coal trains operations originating in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming - from the mines and the local railroad (the BNSF Orin Line) through the connecting lines of both UP and BNSF to the final destinations of these coal trains: the power plants. Also included are lots of photographs and listings of all the mines and power plants.

"Powder River Coal Trains" is a vivid story (told mostly in pictures) of how the Union Pacific and BNSF transported coal from the mines in Wyoming's Powder River Basin coal corridor to Power Stations throughout the United States.

In both the Foreword and the first chapter, author Jeremy Taylor gives a straightforward introduction to the "seventy-five miles of windswept high plains" that separate the outlying mines in the Powder River Basin and the background on the development of the mines.

There are 130 color and b&w pictures, as well as graphs and tables. Many of the b&w photos are fuzzy and shot from too far away. But nearly all of the color pictures are sharp and interesting.

Freight lovers and rail historians are sure to take a fancy to this book.

Pretty easy read and insightful into the ordeal these nine men and their families went through. But... it could have been so much more. Goodell simply justs organizes their comments and adds a little info here and there. I would have prefered to have read an account researched by an author where he took those interviews and created a mesmorizing narrative. What it is now is an okay book that you can read in a day. But what it could have been would have been a gripping story that made you feel like you were in that mine with them or waiting in the fire station with friends and family hoping for the miracle that came. Also, the pictures left a lot to be desired. The diagram of the mine was helpful but most of the pictures were of rescuerers not mentioned in the book or faint photos of the men as they came to the surface. Also I kept having to look back at the jacket to connect who was whom because the author used nicknames but the diagram had real names. Otherwise an okay book so I give it 3 stars. The story of the miracle itself is worth 5 stars.

To anyone with doubts that there is a God and that HE does perform miracles - this is a MUST READ. In their own words, the 9 miners tell the story of what it was like to be trapped over 200 feet below the surface with water rising all around them. A very emotional book.

William Hoffman displays in this book an outstanding skill with words and astute attention to detail. His descriptions are so vivid that we experience what Charles LeBlanc is feeling -- both physically and emotionally -- as he seeks to clear himself of a heinous crime. The plot is cleverly conceived; the book, peopled by characters who are life-like in the detail with which Hoffman draws them. Hoffman displays a remarkable sense of place in his descriptions of the novel's settings, which range from Tidewater Virginia to the mountains of West Virginia. Always an imaginative story-teller, Hoffman has woven a story that plays out well!

Clear, evocative descriptions highlight this excellent novel by William Hoffman. Hoffman draws you in to the pages of Tidewater Blood until you can taste the rich, plaster dust in the shattered mansion of an old Virginia family, or feel the immense weight of the timeless, coal-laden mountains of West Virginia. The destroyed mansion is a metaphor for a ruined family, and the shrouded, ancient mountain coves a cautionary tale of our place in the world. Justice is well served as ex-con and fugitive Charley LeBlanc reaches into the mountains to uncover his family's secrets. The black sheep of his family, Charley is searching for his place in life, hoping to find it before the law catches up to him. If there is a flaw to Mr. Hoffman's fine book, it is perhaps a too-pat ending. Tidewater Blood is highly satisfying, nonetheless.

I picked up Tidewater Blood because of the article about mid-list writers in the Washington Post. I, too, am a writer, although not nearly as published. I know all too well the difficulty of Mr. Hoffman's struggle. It's a shame because he's a good writer and Tidewater Blood is a good book.

It's refreshing to read a contemporary novel that builds the plot by use of clean descriptions and strong dialogue while at the same time moving the story forward. Writing well is one thing, and having a story to tell is another. It's nice when you find that rare book that does both (unlike some bestsellers I could mention).

The only problem I had with the story was the frequency of Mr. LeBlanc being rescued by good samaritans. I don't know if I'd be so quick to help out a homeless fugitive, but Mr. LeBlanc repeatedly received food, clothes and shelter from strangers.

I hope Mr. Hoffman continues to publish more novels. I hope he continues to rage against the machine. I know I will.