An outstanding book for young females contemplating what careers they might look forward to as they grow up. The story of one female olympian in the gold medal sport of softball. An outstanding epic of the life of a world-class athlete.

The book Little Women is truley a literature classic. This book reflects on the lives of the fictional March family as Yankees during the Civil War. While Mr. March is away fighting in the war, Mrs. March and her four daughters Margaret, 16, Josephine, 15, Elizabeth, 13, and Amy, 12 (Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy)must learn to cope while their nation is at war. The four girls must learn many lessons in life and grow up to be fine women even during hard times. The girls have many adventures and meet Laurie, a true friend for life,and share many good times together. The girls begin to marry when they face the loss of one of their sisters and their aunt. However, in true March fashion, they get through the difficult times and focus on the successes in life. This book is truley inspirational and makes you think about how you can become a better person through sharing the experiences of these girls. At times this book could run on, so that is why i rated it 4 stars, not 5. However, this book still is great and a timeless classic and Louisa May Alcott did a fine job with the book. I enjoyed the book alot.

Little Women, being one of the classics of American literature, is not surprising to be said one of the best books I have ever read. The story revolves around the home life of four close sisters and two strong, moral parents. As Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy grow up, their adventures and mishaps provide examples for any reader of all ages. As they grow up, they struggle with many ideas. First, they are constantly troubled by the necessity of being good, even when they want to be bad. Second, as they grow up, they confront different types of relationships with boys. Friendship turns into love and vice versa, making a strong theme of gender relations. The girls also struggle with the ideas of motherhood, sisterhood, pride, education, and marraige. Finally, two of the most important ideas in the novel are dreams and work. The girls spend their childhoods and adult lives trying to balance the two and fulfill both necessities. Also, throughout the book, society is explained, the harsh winters are described, and the profound work ethic of the people is portrayed to give the reader a strong sense of what it was like to be living during the 19th century. The book gives the reader some mportant guidance to people in similar circumstances in their adolescent years. The novel motivates positive decision making, looks past materialism, teaches morales, and shows us the importance of real happiness.

A timeless tale of four sisters struggling their way through life during the Civil War. I have read this book more times than I can count, and I still love it. Once I pick it up I can't put it down, lost in this seemingly fantasy world, which was actually quite true more than 100 years ago.

My favorite thing about Little Women has to be the characters. Jo, the day-dreaming tomboy, Meg, pretty and proper, Beth, the quiet sweetheart, and little Amy, our artist, who always tried to grow up too fast. Then of course there's Laurie, the tall fun-loving boy-next-door, and so many other fabulous personalities (Aunt March, Fredrick Bauer, Hannah, Marmie, etc.) that I couldn't possibly name them all.

This book is one that I think everyone absolutely MUST read some time in their life, for it teaches moral values that should be used by people of all ages. I also reccommend Little Men and Jo's Boys to follow it up.

"Ransom" is a wonderful book. Unlike other romance authors, Julie Garwood knows how to tell a story, instead of just writing detailed sex scenes. This book is the sequel of "The Secret" which is written about the romance between Ian and Judith, the parents of the little boy Alec who was responsible for the meeting between Gillian and Brodick.

The characters were well defined. The painful past made Gillian strong and courageous. Brodick, though a fearsome warrior, possessed a tender and gentle heart. His character was somewhat different from the description in "The Secret", but this book took place 8 years later and therefore, didn't really present itself as a problem. I love those Buchanan men, they were very protective and possessive of Gillian and I think they were real cute!
Contrary to what other viewers belief, I think that it was not the intention of the author to develop two separate love stories in this book. Make no doubt that this book was all about Brodick and Gillian. I think that the reason of the detailed description on Ramsey and Bridgid's first meeting was to lay groundwork to the treachery and deception. I believe that the mystery of Christen's identity also played an important role in the detailed description on the secondary characters. Personally, I don't really care about Ramsey and Bridgid's romance as much as Brodick and Gillian's. I think it's refreshing to read a novel in which the hero of the story knew his own intention and not 'mean'; most of the author of romance seemed to think it was necessary that heros don't know their own hearts. (No wonder Bridgid though men were stupid.)

I was surprised by the outcome of Christen and Gillian's meeting and must applaud for Garwood. Though I am sorry about the outcome, it made the story more realistic and unpredictable.

With all the treachery and deception, this book was full of wits, too. I laughed so much when I was reading the part involving the wedding. It was terribly funny and I appreciated the humor.

I strongly recommend this book to you. If you like to read love stories and do not like to be overloaded with sexual descriptions, I suggest you read the novels by Julie Garwood.

I really liked this one! I read it, loved it, then proceeded to re-read The Secret (the first introduction of Brodick and Ramsey) as well as my entire Garwood collection (with the exception of the Roses series - yuck!). A minor downfall in the beginning -- there is maybe a little too much information to grasp. But alas, things pick up as Brodick and Gillian meet. I enjoyed Brodick's character as I did in The Secret. I had a constant silly grin on my face throughout the majority of the book and much to my own embarassment, laughed out loud quite a few times. I did find Gillian a bit questionable, but could deal with that. She was fearless and courageous one minute and accident prone the next? Whatever. I enjoyed the incessant dialogue and witty bantering of these characters much more than reading paragraph upon paragraph of blah, blah, blah. There were things I didn't understand such as the loose end of Gillian's nightmares and a few other things.

I agree that Ramsey and Brigid deserved their own novel and would have preferred the hint of a relationship forming in Ransom only to have it blossom into their own special story. All things considered, I highly enjoyed this book and did NOT want it to end, therefore I had to read it two more times! Thank you Ms. Garwood!

As usual with Julie Garwood's books, I had to make time to sit down and read it in one sitting. I was a little disappointed with Come The Spring, but Ransom is fabulous.

What fun to read Brodick's and Ramsey's stories. Everyone I know has been clamoring for this book from the instant they realized Brodick and Ramsey from The Secret had gone to England to find brides as perfect as Judith. How wonderful to revisit with Iain and Judith Maitland, Frances Catherine and Patrick, Winslow and Isabelle,etc. It's a tribute to Ms. Garwood's writing ability how sad you feel when it's mentioned in passing that one of the older characters from The Secret had died; these characters are alive.

I would've liked Ramsey and Bridgid to have had their own book, but you can't have everything. If you haven't read The Secret, you don't know what you're missing. Read it immediately and then read Ransom; both are on my "keeper" shelf.

Philbrick's book is "off the charts" excellent. Admittedly I was a bit skeptical when I started the book. How could it possibly compete with Owen Chase's incredible and brief "Narrative of the Wreck of the Whaleship Essex"? But it did and then some. It put some meat on the bones (pardon the pun) of the sinking of the whale ship Essex. It also provided a more holistic view of the voyage preceding the incident and its aftermath, the whaling industry and Nantucket itself. The Quaker influence on the Nanctucket whaling trade is an intriguing story in itself. This is a simply wonderful and well-written book. From the first chapter the reader gets the feeling of being swept up into a developing catastrophe. I only wish I still had this book yet to read. No wonder this story inspired one of the greatest American novels ever written; Moby Dick.

While the book pulls much of its primary source material from Chase's incredible account, it also gets primary source material from elsewhere. For example from Thomas Nickerson, the ship's cabin boy at the time, whose "meandering account" ended up being found in an attic in New York in 1960. This and other accounts (take a look at the bibliography) make this a completely well rounded view of the Essex's sinking and what it must have been like to live through the horrific days that followed.

You will not walk away from this book without asking yourself what you would have done under the same circumstances. I found that to be chilling. You'll know what I mean. Facing that fact makes the book both impossible to put down and difficult to get through at the same time. Perhaps it would be an illustrative business school case or leadership critique. Let me count the possibilities. But I digress.

Here you will learn about the voyage of the Whaleship Essex. You will hear about the whale and its attack. And finally, as a result of that whale, the sinking. What follows the sinking is for you to read in the quiet of night. It warrants no further comment except the likely outcome for you that you will not be able to put the book down. And you will not sleep.

There have been many great stories of survival and tragedy on the seas, and this book is one of the best of them. At one time the story of the Whaleship Essex was well known in America, but gradually that story faded into memory. Nathaniel Philbrick brings that memory back to life again with his very well written book. The main events in this book took place in the time period of 1819-1821. The Essex was based on Nantucket Island, and in the first part of the book there is a very interesting history of Nantucket and the Whaling Trade. Enough information is given so that we understand the world that the men of the Essex lived in, and the ordeal that lay before them. The Essex was believed to be a lucky ship, but that reputation of good luck would soon be overwhelmed at sea. After several months at sea, the Essex was attacked and rammed by an eighty-five foot whale. It is fascinating to read about the attack of the giant whale on the ship, and to realize that the attacking whale was the actual basis for the whale in "Moby Dick". The Essex was severely damaged and in danger of sinking after the whale attack, and the crew faced the grim prospect of a desperate journey in open boats across the Pacific Ocean. The story of their battle for survival with little food or hope of rescue will grip your heart. Terrible choices of survival had to be made, and there are graphic accounts of starvation and cannibalism in the book. This is truly the story of a great tragedy at sea, but there is also the hope and endurance that can sometimes be found even in the darkest moments. There are moments of wonder with thoughts and descriptions of whales and the ever changing sea. I recommend this book to everyone that loves the history of the Sea, and the spirit of survival against all odds.

On August 12, 1819, the Nantucket whaler ESSEX, captained by George Pollard, weighed anchor for the Pacific hunting grounds. Of the 21 men aboard, only a handful would return.

Nathaniel Philbrick's IN THE HEART OF THE SEA exceeded my expectations. His historical narrative begins as a treatise on whaleships and the business of whaling. Indeed, killing and cutting apart a whale is so ungentle an art that Greenpeace activists are likely to punch the air and exclaim "Yes!" when the Essex is rammed and sunk by a sperm whale on November 20, 1820 far out in Watery Nowhere. The book then becomes a gritty survival story replete with an examination of the stages of dehydration and starvation, a brief history of cannibalism among disaster survivors, and commentary on the essence of successful command leadership under dire straits.

As Philbrick is careful to point out early on, the ESSEX survivors sailed in open lifeboats 500 miles further than Captain Bligh of the HMS BOUNTY after being set adrift my mutineers, and three times further than Ernest Shackleton of the ice-crushed HMS ENDURANCE on his celebrated passage to South Georgia Island. IN THE HEART OF THE SEA is an amazing tale deftly recreated by the author from primary sources. I was loath to put it down even for such necessary activities as sleeping and going to work.

After a story such as this, one gains a new respect for those that went down to the sea in wooden, sailing ships. And, should someone invite me out for no more than an afternoon of simple whale watching just off the coast, I'll be sure and pack my water wings.

In the tradition of books about friendship, the author Patrica Gaffney explores the relationship between four women in The Saving Graces. And we as readers watch as four women bond together and face life at its best and worst.

The group, which is named for an injured dog they find on the side of a road, finds themselves first meeting at a book club and shortly afterwards becoming social friends. Sevevral times a month they meet to discuss their previous and ongoing experiences and relationships. Married, divorced and single, they share details of their everyday lives, their romances, their memories, their goals and even the books they read. As the days turn into years, the women find themsleves growing and changing in many ways due in part to the strength they gain from the support of one another. Then when one of the members faces a potential tragedy, the true strength and love of their friendhips are not only tested but threatened.

Gaffney, known primarily as a romance writer, offers her readers the opportunity to be enveloped by these frienships. It is a worthwhile read and one which I enjoyed.

After reading almost all of Patricia Gaffney's books, I have to say, her first contemporary is truly a work of art.

The Saving Graces is a novel of friendship. Calling themselves the Saving Graces, Emma, Rudy, Lee and Isabel meet twice a month for dinner to talk about life, love, marriage, careers, achievements and disappointments.

Emma, wanting to publish her first book and in love with a married man. Beautiful Rudy, unsure of herself and afraid to upset her manipulative husband. Lee, the 'normal' one who is desperatly trying to have a baby. And Isabel, divorced and battling the battle of her life. Cancer.

This story pulled me in from the beginning and made me wish I were part of The Saving Graces. I laughed, I cried (hid from my husband because I didn't want him to see me!) and most of all I fell in love with the four of them. I truly didn't want the story to end. Don't wait for the paperback. This book is one that you will truly enjoy and read over and over again. Loan it to your best friend. Maybe you'll start up a 'Saving Graces' of your own.

After reading almost all of Patricia Gaffney's books, I have to say, her first contemporary is truly a work of art.

The Saving Graces is a novel of friendship. Calling themselves the Saving Graces, Emma, Rudy, Lee and Isabel meet twice a month for dinner to talk about life, love, marriage, careers, achievements and disappointments.

Emma, wanting to publish her first book and in love with a married man. Beautiful Rudy, unsure of herself and afraid to upset her manipulative husband. Lee, the "normal" one who is desperatly trying to have a baby. And Isabel, divorced and battling the battle of her life. Cancer.

This story pulled me in from the beginning and made me wish I were part of The Saving Graces. I laughed, I cried (hid from my husband because I didn't want him to see me!) and most of all I fell in love with the four of them. I truly didn't want the story to end. Don't wait for the paperback. This book is one that you will truly enjoy and read over and over again. Loan it to your best friend. Maybe you'll start up a "Saving Graces" of your own.

Via his childhood memories, Frank McCourt offers a poignant, unflinching view of a poverty so grinding and oppressive as to certainly be almost unimaginable by most readers. Indeed, I had to frequently remind myself that the years described were endured not in some pestilential Victorian-era slum, but in the mid-1900's. My only criticism is the lack of an epilogue to the story. What ever happened to the elder Malachy McCourt, Frank's father, a devastating testimonial to a life wasted by alcohol abuse and a peculiar melancholy which is endemic, I suspect, to the Irish? And Angela, Frank's mother, a sure candidate for sainthood if measured by her daily struggles to keep her children fed and alive? I hope God blessed Angela's ashes and rewarded her with riches in heaven.

Oh, and the book is much better than the movie adaptation (3 stars) as the former has better continuity between events, though the latter has stunning visuals and superb acting performances.

"When I look back on my childhood, I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: The happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." Experiencing this life of Frank McCourt through the novel Angela's Ashes was fascinating. McCourt's perception of events and people was amusing and clever. It was especially interesting seeing what the world and its actions appeared to be to Frank McCourt. In a memoir, like any piece of writing, it's important to have an opening sentence that intrigues the reader and is interesting. Frank McCourt definitely accomplished that. He begins the book with the sentence: "My mother and father should have stayed in New York where they met and married and where I was born." This leaves the reader with the question, why. Why should they have stayed in New York? What was it about where they moved that was so bad? Where did they move? In order to receive answers for these questions, you have to read on. By the time you receive answers, you are hooked on the book and most definitely will continue reading. It's also important to establish a clear setting so the reader can picture where the action is happening. I had a remarkably clear image in my mind of his many houses. I could also almost feel what it might have been like to be in the house, what the mood was. This is as important as being able to clearly see the setting. The one thing Frank McCourt lacked when he wrote this novel was knowing how to end his story. There were a lot of extra stories that he told towards the end of the book that made it go on just a little to long. The actual ending, the last thing that happened, was quite good, however. Angela's Ashes was an entertaining telling of McCourt's difficult childhood. Although it was a miserable Irish Catholic childhood, McCourt did survive it and retold it with wit and sincerity.

5 Stars- Depressing but excellent

Frank Mc Court's memoirs "Angela's Ashes" takes us back to the 1940s where he tells us of his childhood and the poverty that his family lived though. This book can be very depressing at times which brought me to tears, but this is an excellent memoirs worthy of a 5 star rating.

The book starts out in New York, the Mc Court family lives in one of the most impoverished areas of Brooklyn and father, Malachy Mc Court has a hard time keeping a job and a drinking problem. After the death of baby Margaret, the family moves back to Ireland where times are harder and life is poorer. The family relies on help from Saint Vincent, DE Paul Society and they are forced to go on relief. The father drinks whatever money he makes and has a hard time finding or keeping a job. Frank has a dream of returning to America, where he feels that he can make life better for himself.

I watched the movie right after reading the book and was amazed at how many part were left out. I advise everyone to read the book to get the true story of the Mc Court Family and I look forward to reading the second part, Tis.

I read this book based on the recommendations of other members of the cadre. Seemed a little sappy in premise, but it is a book with a 'big heart' and an important message for those who might question some of the central issues in life such as love, aging, materialism and death.

The eponymous character, Morrie Schwartz, is a well-loved professor of sociology at Bradeis University. He is renowned for his gentle and caring spirit, and he has touched many individual lives in a way most university professors don't. At the age of 75 he falls ill with ALS, an incurable disease which he knows will end his life slowly and painfully. Despite this condition, he maintains his positive attitude and busy schedule with classes and students and family and friends. As he starts to decline, a friend collects his aphorisms, little snippets of advice and wisdom, into a newspaper column. This column leads to an interview with Ted Koppel on NBC; this national exposure brings his former student, Mitch Albom to to his bedside.

Mitch, a graduate of Brandeis and a student of Morrie's, has achieved great success at an early age. He writes a sports column in Detroit, and mingles with talented and wealthy athletes and team owners. He has an incredibly busy schedule flying to sporting events all over the country and he has acquired many of the vestiges of success. But when his unionized co-workers at the Detroit newspaper go on strike, he can't work and has the perfect opportunity to visit with Morrie and talk about life. He begins showing up every Tuesday at Morrie's home, to sit by his bedside and ask Morrie his opinion on topics such as love, marriage, forgiveness, and death.

These conversations take place as Morrie declines week by week, his disease slowly creeping up his body. Morrie slowly surrenders to its grasp, becoming utterly dependent on his caregivers to feed, clothe, wash and thump him on the back so he can breathe. Mitch records this process of disintegration with pain and guilt, and is amazed that Morrie still maintains his appointments with friends and even strangers who were touched by his wisdom. Mitch carefully looks at his own life, and you can see him grow as they spend these last days together. At the end of Morrie's life Mitch is feeding him, holding his hand, and rubbing his feet, things which would have been unthinkable to him to do two months before. He is profoundly affected by this relationship.

I took a lot away from this book about the mentor-mentee relationship. It started out in the formal educational system, in which Morrie was doing his job teaching Mitch in sociology classes. But it grew into a friendship both at Brandeis and after, as Morrie took the time to talk to Mitch, to have lunch, to give advice and to support. Their relationship grew as they embarked on this book, which Morrie called "their project," knowing it would find an audience and bring comfort to others. Mitch as the mentee actively sought out Morrie and steered the conversations to topics which troubled him or interested him. This contradicts what many people might think of these relationships - Morrie certainly had advice and enjoyed giving it, but he also asked questions and listened humbly throughout their many days together. Both gained, as Mitch absorbed Morries' wisdom and applied it to his own experience, and Morrie was loved and comforted in his final days.

The truism I got out of this book was about the incredible importance of giving yourself to others. There are times when you would rather be alone, or you think that you don't have the energy to listen to others. But it is the kind of gift that is so easy to give and brings joy to yourself and others. Morrie gave generously of his time and elevated personal relationships to the highest level in his life. He danced every weekend, ate lunch with students and friends, took walks, always expressing his feelings freely to men, women, students and his children and wife. It was a lifetime of this giving that came back to him when he was dying. He even scheduled his own memorial service before he died, so that he could join in the remembrances.

This was a wonderful book to read. At times the style is like a newspaper column, with short choppy sentences and paragraphs, but it is clear that this book has an incredible amount of heart. I of course want to know how Mitch lives his life differently because of those Tuesdays with Morrie, but I guess I will have to read his sports column to get a glimpse of his thinking.

"Tuesdays with Morrie" is a book to be read by anybody who is interested in finding more satisfaction in their life. It reminds you of what it means "to be human" and encourages you to disconnect from the lures of our culture (money, material possessions, youth...) and reconnect with your spirit and what is essential to bring purpose and meaning to your life. Morrie who was stricken by a terminal illness also teaches us that if you do not resist the way your life shows up there is satisfaction in every moment of life no matter how challenging the circumstances. This essential message is taken further in the wonderful book "Working on yourself doesn't work" by Ariel and Shya Kane. "Working on Yourself doesn't work" is a gem among self awareness books. In a style very different from "Tuesday with Morrie", with a mixture of ideas and narratives, it delivers the keys to personal transformation and enlightenment. If your life is about discovering that state of being where satisfaction, self expression, aliveness and purpose reside don't hesitate to look up this very unique book also.

Mitch Albom takes his readers through a journey of love, friendship, life and death. This is a story that Morrie himself would have applauded. After seeing his favorite college professor, Morrie Schwartz, on "Nightline," Albom discovered his long lost professor and friend was terminally ill.
Having lost contact with the professor for sixteen years, Morrie caught Albom's eye on television, discussing with the world a disease that would not only take his life, but provide an opportunity to change the lives of those he encountered.
This book is filled with lessons, not in a scholastic sense, but life lessons that must otherwise be learned the hard way.
Through Mitch Albom, his final student, Morrie provides an in depth look at the lifestyle and attitudes of a man, dying happy.
Albom shares with us the trying aspects of their friendship, the beauty in their relationship, and the wisdom gained from both perspectives.
From reminiscing the college days, to experiencing death for the first time and experiencing life in a new light, Mitch Albom talks about his Tuesday visits with Morrie as if he had no life beyond this friendship. He explains his initial reluctance and discomfort, and later describes Morrie's overpowering honesty and confrontational approach to solving problems of any nature.
Morrie addresses concerns and solutions to a variety of issues including religion, family, embarrassment, relational discomfort, death of a loved one, and the process of dying.
From these lessons, for Albom and for the reader, humility and gratitude is achieved. This is not a book that must be re-read to remember the story, yet the story never grows old. Like popping in a favorite Disney movie at bed time or jamming out to a favorite song while doing chores, "Tuesdays with Morrie" is inspirational. Not only through each lesson taught to Mitch Albom, but through the disclosure of the carefree lifestyle and adventures of Morrie Swartz, Albom's interviews with Morrie motivate the reader, and seemingly force a self-analysis approach to understanding the meaning behind much of Morrie's statements and clichés. Albom describes Morrie as having always been a teacher of involvement. In one section of the book, Albom discusses Morrie's anti-war display when he gave every student in his class an "A" to help avoid the draft.
Morrie's standpoint on life, though fully bloomed as death approached, had always been to help others. Morrie's philosophy on happiness stemmed from a view of how much happiness one could bring to others.
This book guides readers through its purpose, allowing them to see the sincerity and love in Morrie's humorous personality and perspective of life. This book will leave a lasting vision imprinted into your mind of what true happiness and contentment really is, and how to achieve it through humility and friendliness. "Tuesdays with Morrie" provides a gripping look at the life of Morrie Swartz, a man who lived to teach. This book is a must read for people of all ages, gender and race. Upon reiterating the purpose of the publication of "Tuesdays with Morrie," Albom put it best in the last four words of the story, "The teaching goes on."

Considering the nature of the subject and the true character of the events portrayed, I would have liked the book much more if the author had spent more time on the actual facts than on long, sometimes boring, descriptions of places and people.

Don't get me wrong - I can appreciate long, sometimes boring, descriptions of places and people. But this book is about real events that might have had catastrophic consequences for the human species and, as such, deserved a less "novelized" approach.

Still, if you think that military actions by powerful nations or a nuclear strike are scary ideas, you should definitely read this book. It will open your eyes to the much scarier reality of potential widespread viral infections by microscopic organisms that could literally wipe out 90% or more of the human population in a matter of weeks.

Not scared enough yet? Then consider the fact that these microscopic organisms are naturally occurring - lurking quietly in the rainforests of the world - waiting to jump onto us homo sapiens as we venture deeper and deeper into their habitat.

The novel The Hot Zone is a true story about the Ebola virus. People in Africa start coming down with a very threatening unknown virus. Doctors cant figure out what it is and people are dieing. This disease soon finds its way to Washington D.C., and they have figured out that it is Ebola. The main characters Nancy Jaxx and Peter Jaxx, they lead the operation and mission to stop the virus. They must find where it is coming from and how to stop it, because it kills nine out of ten people that it encounters, and there is no cure for the virus.

I found this novel very intriguing. It was educational on the subject, and had some action scenes, which kept the novel alive, because some parts could get a little dull. The Novel stayed alive, on how it went into great depth to explain how they managed to fight Ebola, and to contain it. At these points in the novel became very exciting, and very interesting, because it is telling a nonfiction story. If you like bio hazards this is a must read book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in science/biology. I think they would like this novel very much. I wouldn't really recommend it to someone who is not interested in Science/biology. I don't think that I would recommend it to anyone younger than I ( 15 ), for I don't think that they would follow along with the novel at times, or be interested but other wise I would recommend it to someone.

This was an interesting account of a biological incident at a monkey house near Washington DC, along with plenty of background information about the Marburg and Ebola viruses. I didn't mind the redundancy about which others have complained; the repetition of some of the information about viral functions prompted retention, along with stirring the imagination as to the effects of a killer virus.

After reading the book, I performed some web searches an found several sites advertising hiking excursions to Mt. Elgon's Kitum Cave in Africa, which is believed to be he home of the Ebola/Marburg strains, though it's presently unknown which animal is the natural host. Let me tell you, if you are sufficiently insane to visit Kitum Cave after reading The Hot Zone, then you are living proof of Darwin In Action.

I liked the author's analogy about fatal viruses, such as Ebola and HIV, acting at the Earth's own antibodies, protecting the environment from encroachment by humans in places where the Earth doesn't want humans to be fiddling with things. Invasions of the deep rain forests and encounters with fatal biological agents therein are warnings for humans to stay away.

Have everyone in your family read The Hot Zone, so that next time someone gets sick you will have all sorts of terminology to throw around the dinner table -- extreme amplification, crash-and-bleed-out and other delightful descriptions about the effects of disease on humans. Enjoy.

This was one of the best thriller novels I've ever read, and I've read too many to count. The plot centers around a brilliant retired police detecitve whose mind is trapped inside of a body that is paralyzed, save one finger. The detectives name: Lincoln Rhyme, and this book begins a series of novels written by Deaver with Rhyme as a central character. Amelia Sachs also appears as his beautiful, but self-doubting Watson to his Holmes. This book moves very quickly and the clues are sprinkled throughout the book in such a way that your mind never stops pondering "Who is the Bone Collector and who is his next victim?" This book gets good early and keeps you hooked. There is very little "down-time, except perhaps, the sub-plot of Rhyme's planned suicide, but even that adds to the story in the end. This is the kind of book you stay up late trying to finish because you just can't go to sleep not knowing how it will end. A VERY good book.

In The Bone Collector, the first in a series featuring Lincoln Rhymes, we are introduced to probably one of the best criminalist minds that have ever been written about. Perhaps it's because the main character, Lincoln Rhymes, does not have the day to day trivialities that cloud up one's mind on a daily basis. Rhymes is a quadriplegic and can only move one finger. He is a former NYPD criminalogist whose spine was severely injured while working a crime scene. Now he is confined to his townhouse apartment in Manhattan where, with the help of some state of the art electronics and equipment, he is still able to help the NYPD solve some gruesome crimes.

Enter Amelia Sachs, a beautiful policewoman, who becomes Lincoln's protege, possible love interest and eyes and ears on upcoming crime scenes. I read this book after the movie trailers were out so it was easy to picture Denzel Washington as Rhymes and Angelina Jolie as Sachs. Deaver is a master at explaining and detailing police procedure and is so adept at analyzing a crime scene that by the time I was finished, I felt as if I could "walk the grid" and "bag the evidence". The homicidal maniac in this book is as evil as they come but Lincoln is able to stay one step ahead of him. If there is a book that can honestly be termed a "page-turner", this is it. Upon its completion, however, I don't know if I'll ever be able to ride in a NYC cab and, if I do have to and I see some little toy hanging from the rear view mirror, "I'm outta here".

Jeffery Deaver is one the great writers of today -his thrillers are wonderfully twisted, intelligent and fast paced.

This was recently made into a movie which did not do the book justice. Lincoln Rhyme, the NYPD's best and considered to be the world's foremost criminalist - is paralyzed in an accident and seeks solace in silence yet the police desperately need him.

Walking the beat, Amelia Sachs discovers a body buried beneath an overpass (all but his ring finger) and she seals the area off in hopes of salvaging what clues might be left. This action brings her to the attention of Lincoln. The NYPD teams them up to hunt down what might be the cities most deranged killer.

This book was fabulous - but it had a major flaw -it ended! I fell in love with Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs and I couldn't put the book down. It was thriller through and through - and as a bonus it was well written and the characters were so real that you almost felt like you were there with them.

I can't wait to see where Jeffery Deaver takes us next

I listened to the audio version of this book. The narrator did a terrific job, but I still didn't enjoy it as much as the original. Bridget is such a ninny that at times she becomes downright annoying. She's hopeless at her job, chronically late, and insistant on listening to advice from girlfriends who steer her in the absolutely wrong direction. She gives a builder who she knows does terrible work money to do a major job (and ends up with nothing more than a hole in her wall), gets a plum interview with Colin Firth (a wink-wink tie-in to the movie), asks him ludicrous questions and then can't get it together to actually write the article she's contracted for, and that's not even mentioning her adventures in Thailand.

I also don't think her character was consistant in regards to Mark Darcy. A girl like Bridget wouldn't have let him simply drift away after a misunderstanding, but would have probably plagued him with phone calls. Surely one of her self-help books would have instructed her not to give up on the relationship so easily.

There are funny bits, however, such as Bridget surviving prison by teaching the inmates Madonna songs. The book is set up for another sequel - I just hope this time she isn't such a twit.

Bridget Jones is back with full force in "Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason", along with Tom, Shazz, Jude and of course, Mark Darcy. Giving us more insightful views to this Singleton's mind. She explores even more into the depths of her neurotic-ness and tells us of her frantic diary. Possibly even more entertaining than the first diary, which I enjoyed immensely... Helen Fielding writes with much gusto and female understanding that every woman is bound to relate to. And who wouldn't fall in love with Mark Darcy... perhaps even a notch sexier than the original version. Loved the new adventures that Bridget got herself into in this book. Edge of Reason isn't just for women, you know! This time, conveniently featured are international escapades including tropical islands, drugs and even prison!! Oh, and there is this bit about a personalized live bullet that causes quite a scare! And, I was happy to read that Bridget somewhat achieves her goal of "inner poise" at one point... although, she seemed to have landed right back in square one at the beginning of the new year. Loved being with Bridget for two years in a row... hope Helen will give us some more anecdotes of Bridget and her friends! Oh... and Rebecca deserved what she got, finally!! Love happy endings for Bridget and her friends! The sequel is longer than the first but seemed twice as short... can't seem to get enough of Bridget. Can't wait to see how Colin Firth is going to play a modern version of himself in the movie!

I hesitated to get this book because a male friend of mine who liked the first book thought that Bridget was a little too whiney in this one...well, to each his own. I read it in two days (with a lot of interuptions from family) and suffered several what-is-wrong-with-you looks from my husband and kids as I snorted and laughed outloud my way through it.
A memorable highlight is the interview Bridget conducts with Colin Firth. I found myself exclaiming aloud, "Oh no she didn't!" several times (yikes)then laughing so hard I had to put the book down in order to regroup. Luckily, my husband would miss me if he had me institutionalized.
My friend Mary and I, both mothers of little ones, especially enjoyed the telephone conversations Bridget has with her married friend who continually talks to her children while talking to Bridget at the same time.I don't have the book right here in front of me but the dialogues run alot like this: "Bridget, you really need to...sit on the potty, Mummy says sit on the potty!"
Should you read the book? I guess the best analogy would be the Austin Powers sequals. In the second and third movies, Austin stays Austin with only the adventure changing--the humor remaining the same. In the second installment of Bridget Jones, Bridget stays Bridget with pretty much the adventure changing and the humor staying the same. Some people liked the first Austin Powers movie but didn't want to see more of the same thing...I could watch a new Austin Powers movie every year as long as the jokes keep flying. The same goes for Bridget Jones. Does she change and grow--becoming a more 'complete' woman? Well, while she probably does learn the danger of taking packages from strangers while on holiday the answer to that question is no, not really. But just as I wouldn't want to see Austin Powers 'change and grow', 'no really baby', I have to say thank goodness for savy writers who know how to not mess up a good thing.