Here is the synopsis of the book from the 1992 edition:

Lovely, orphaned Susannah discovers her aunt slaughtered on the cobblestones of London's tawdry East End. Another victim of Jack the Ripper. Then she is taken in by Nicholas Craig, a wealthy and handsome man with dark, smoldering eyes and hair black as ebony. Susannah is irresistibly drawn to this mysterious benefactor, even as he torments her with his cold indifference...or is he just hiding the growing passion he feels for his beautiful ward? But even under Nicholas's roof, Susannah is not safe. For as The Ripper stalks without, strange things begin to happen within the walls of Nine Buck's Row. First there is a glittering diamond bracelet (a calling card of The Ripper?), then a hushed conversation she overhears with Scotland Yard, and then there is Daniel Lord, that devilish rake of a boarder who openly hungers for Susannah yet skulks in the shadows whenever she is around. Only one things is certain: one of these men would fiercely love and protect her for the rest of her life. And one won't rest until he sees her dead.

The characters were great. I loved the mystery! I read this book over and over again. It's definately a keeper. The characters Susannah and Nicolas are great! and Jack the Ripper is terrifying! This book is totally enjoyable!

History is written by the "winners," the people possessing the money, the power, the control, and the victory over the subservient, weaker, poorer, "losing" groups. These "histories" tell the story of what it was like for the powerful "winners", often failing to describe the experience of the poor. History, however, has been re-written with the arrival of Pem Buck's Worked to the Bone: Race, Class, Power, & Privilege in Kentucky. Worked to the Bone tells the history of America, specifically Kentucky, from a distinctively different point of view in which members of the white, affluent, founding elite are not the heros. Rather, they are the white privileged class that manipulated constructions of race, gender, and other social structures so as to enhance and maintain their ideas of white/social privilege.
Pem Buck vocalizes her beliefs in the work's opening chapter that "the future is shaped by our view of the past" and "history is a story constructed to explain the present." Her aim is to present the history of the people that have been, in her words, "worked to the bone." The elite has worked the "bony-fingered people" since their arrival hundreds of years ago. Her view depicts the "view from under the sink," the view held by the people at the bottom of the social, racial, and economic ladders. Buck's work is successful in that it traces the evolution of societal constructions in Kentucky. However, Worked to the Bone is lacking in its ethnographic edge, failing to involve sufficient personal accounts, as well as its validity.
Ethnographic research, such as that presented in Buck's work, has its difficulties. With ethnographic research and writing one needs to respect the privacy of those with whom they work. Anonymity is a big issue, and if individuals request to remain anonymous, the researcher must comply. Such requests are those with which Buck must deal. This has an impact on her work that is impossible to ignore: places, names, and dates are changed so as to maintain anonymity. Buck's first endnote addresses this issue: "...most requested anonymity; thus all names of local people are pseudonyms...I have given pseudonyms to counties and towns and correspondingly changed names of newspapers and of local histories when they reveal county or town identity..." She also notes that certain locations have been "misplaced" and that census numbers have been altered so as to maintain confidentiality.
Although Buck claims that these alterations in no way alter her argument, the reader cannot help but find him/herself wondering about how much is "true" or not. Is it even possible to use this book as a valid source for one's own academic writing? This is a question that both the reader and writer must address, especially when it comes to citing Buck's research, research that may not be completely true due to respect of privacy issues.
Such are the troubles of ethnography, and the reader may also encounter what s/he may find disappointing: a lack of personal story. While Buck claims that her story is about the people "worked to the bone," the reader finds very few, if any, actual stories about the people of the "North" and "South" counties. Instead the reader finds stories (histories) about people of the area in general: histories free of significant detail, free of sufficient information. Her writing teases the reader: hinting at what went on in Kentucky to certain people without ever going any further.
Despite a deficit in these categories, Buck's writing is rich in historical details and flavor. The history of Kentucky is traced from the early days of European settlement well into the modern day issues and struggles regarding race, gender and religion. Worked to the Bone examines the power structures put into play throughout history and examines the way racial, gender, and social categories were assigned and upheld by the people possessing all the power. Buck makes a point out of the psychological wage of whiteness and the way in which this "wage" is modified to fit into the area's current frame of mind.
The psychological wage of whiteness is one of the much-appreciated consistencies of Buck's work. There are a few metaphors to which Buck repeatedly returns to further her point. Among the most prevalent, in addition to that of the psychological wage, are the "drainage system" and the "bony-fingered" metaphors. Both of the aforementioned relate to the position of the working class people. The "bony-fingered" people are, as mentioned earlier, those of the working, blue-collar class, who are found at the bottom of the "drainage system." This system, an extension of Buck's "view from under the sink" perspective, illustrated in her introduction, is used to show the way in which everything trickles down so as to only benefit the elite, leaving those at the bottom with little more than their bony fingers. These metaphors are referred to regularly throughout the work, a consistency that is helpful for the reader, as the reader is drawn back to Buck's central point repeatedly. This functions to further emphasize and strengthen her Marxist point of view regarding the elitist and working classes.
Just as it is difficult to ignore the persistent Marxist theory in her words, it is also short of impossible to ignore the constant presence of Buck's voice. This may be either helpful or harmful depending on the reader. In a sense, this personal tone adds to the anthropological nature of ethnographic research as the reader senses Buck's passion about a subject to which much time has been dedicated. At the same time, however, one could easily be distracted by this "personal touch," feeling either pulled along from one section to the next or thrown off by the frequently simplistic vocabulary and punchy sentence structure.
What Buck has accomplished is a historically anthropological examination of social structures and structures of production created by and for the elitist class against the poor, lower classes of Kentucky throughout history. She discusses, at length, the ways in which the white male elite strove to maintain the upper hand in terms of race, gender, class, and overall social power. While successfully doing all of this, the weaker aspects of her work tend to carry more weight, distract the reader, and therefore take away from the overall message of her text. Had this work directly discussed the people, had the lower class been given a face, perhaps the reader could have gotten a vivid and long lasting impression of what it was like to truly be worked to the bone.

In Worked to the Bone: Race, Class, Power, & Privilege in Kentucky, Pem Davidson Buck offers an intimate view of social history "from under the sink," as she puts it. Her concern is with the lives of men and women whose labors typically go unnoticed and uncelebrated in popular history. Indeed, insofar as popular history books and history textbooks tend to assume the naturalness of elite privilege (such is the essence of the "great man" theory of history), Buck's study is very pointedly offered as an antidote to the orthodoxy. Her focus is on the power struggles between the wealthy and the exploited in Kentucky, and on how modern racial and class identities have been forged in the fire of that struggle. By extension, her work offers a keen analysis of the cultural formations that shape the identities of all Americans.

Elites weren't born to rule, and there certainly isn't any divine ordinance guaranteeing their continued dominance. Thus, as Buck's account of Kentucky history reveals, they could never afford to take their power for granted. Their strategy historically has been to divide and conquer. From the colonial period to the post-cold war period elites have pitted non-elites against each other--men against women, Europeans against Africans, northern Europeans against southern Europeans, the Irish against the English, "real Americans" against naturalized immigrants, middle class against lower class--in order to maintain their iron grip on power. They also have had to police the arbitrary borders of human identity that they helped to create. Buck's study especially excels at showing how the ideological construction of the "white race" has helped to promote elite privilege over the last three centuries.

Worked to the Bone is a fine book that seeks not only to instruct, but also to affect a real change in attitudes about class politics in the United States. Buck is clearly on a mission here, and her readily accessible prose style means that people both in and out of the academy will be able to read her, and clearly understand her message. She compels us to examine what the lives of typical working class people in Kentucky and elsewhere might be like if the elites were dethroned, and if our country's resources were distributed in a more humane and truly democratic fashion.

Jim Hawkins, a young man living in rural England with his parents, helps run an inn with his parents. His life changes forever when a mysterious dying pirate takes residence at the inn. The shadowy pirate is often on the lookout for strangers who begin to show up in search of the pirate. Rum finally takes its toll on the pirate and he dies, leaving behind a mysterious chest that the strangers are interested in. Upon examination, Jim discovers a treasure map.

With the help of Jim's adult friends, a crew is formed to go in search of the pirate's buried treasure on a remote tropical island. The journey is uneventful until, Jim saves the day when he realizes that their crew consists mainly of pirates who hope to cause mutiny upon reaching the island. Ultimately, a raging battle takes place on the island where Jim and his friends must outwit the pirates who are led by the one-legged Long John Silver.

For a children's book, this book had a lot of inappropriate material - drinking and violence. I also had a tough time with the old-English writing style and the nautical terms. This book was ahead of its time, though, in terms of the adventure it described, but I was hoping for more. Fans of H. Rider Haggard (ala King Solomon's Mines) will enjoy this book but I was sort of happy to be done with it as some parts were engaging and others were muddled.

"Treasure Island" is the classic adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. Set on the high seas amid treasures and pirates, it is the story of a young boy's adventure. "Treasure Island" has been done by everyone from Disney to the Muppets. It's been imitated many times and influenced countless books and movies.

A mysterious pirate shows up at an inn owned by Jim Hawkin's mother. The pirate is killed by a gang of rogues, but Jim finds a treasure map belonging to the pirate. Jim then embarks on a journey to far away island to find the treasure. Of course, nobody can be trusted - especially the cook, Long John Silver. With his peg leg and parrot, Silver is the stereotypical pirate. Once the island is reached, sides are chosen - the mutinous pirates against the ship's crew. Jim goes on a journey within a journey on the island, going from one side to another, as the treasure is hunted for.

Everyone should read this book at some point. It's especially good for young boys, due to the fact that the main character (Jim) is a young boy. It's well crafted, and easy to read. And it's hard to put down once you get going. What else can you ask for?

I never did read this book as I was growing up and have now read it for the first time as an adult. I always thought that this book would not be very good but I was wrong.

I write this review for those students who may hesitate to read Treasure Island. This book is a story of high adventure. In it is the tale of a young boy who comes to possess a treasure map and goes off on a whirlwind adventure filled with sea voyages, pirates, island adventure and treasure. Stevenson wonderfully portrays the characters of young Jim Hawkins, the hero of the book, the fabled Long John Silver, Billy Bones and Ben Gunn. Each adds their own sense of mystery and suspense to the story. The settings of the story from the Admiral Benbow Inn to the Hispaniola, their sailing vessel, to the island itself are very vivid and make you feel as if you are really there. The adventure to and finally on Treasure Island is filled with secret meetings, battle scenes and a quest to find a long since buried fortune in gold. The novel is truly great and is a very entertaining and interesting read.

For those adults who have never read this novel definitely read it and for those who have already read it, read it again it is well worth it. The swashbuckling adventures of Long John Silver and his men, along with Jim Hawkins, are truly timeless. If you have children of age, share the story with them. It is truly a family classic worth sharing with generations to come.

The legend goes that when Abraham Lincoln met Harriett Beecher Stowe, he said to her, "So you're the little lady who started this great big war." The impact of this book cannot be overstated. By showing the kind and compassionate slaveholding families, as well as the horrors inflicted upon Uncle Tom by Simon Legree, Stowe illustrates that the institution, by its very nature, can never be kind or compassionate despite the actions of the individual slaveholders.
The book begins as Uncle Tom is sold to a slave trader. Though Mr. Shelby, his master, hates to sell him because he has been loyal and Christian, he recognizes that he has no choice based on large debts he has accumulated. Simultaneously, Mr. Shelby decides to sell a three-year-old boy, Harry. Learning this, Harry's mother, Eliza, escapes with this boy and heads north for Canada. Stowe continues to outline the diverging fates of Eliza and Tom throughout the novel.
Tom is sold to a kind family with a nearly divine daughter, named, aptly, Evangeline, who convinces her father to free his slaves. Before this can happen, her father is killed and Tom is sold to the brutal Simon Legree.
Stowe has been criticized for her racism, which does come through in her storytelling. She often refers to the steadfast faith common to people of African decent and makes other sweeping generalities. However, this story cannot be taken out of context and one cannot disregard the era during which it was written. Stowe was heroic to depict the gamut of possible treatments of slaves, and portray slavery as nearly equally cruel no matter how kind the master. The fact remains that no matter how kind an individual slave holder was, slaves were still subjected to having their families ripped apart when dictated by economic need or by death of their masters. By not depicting all masters as ogres, Stowe's abolitionist message rings more truthfully and convincingly. Lest we ever forget just what it meant to own another person, in all its various vestiges, every high school student in America should be required to read this novel.

This work of art evoked every emotion I have in me. From sympathy, to ire, to joy. This opened my naive eyes to what evils humans are capable of, but at the same time proved to me what spiritual and god-like creatures we have the potential to be. The plot follows several lives, all affected by slavery. The hero of the story is a simple minded Uncle Tom who sticks to his righteous christian ways through all the adversity he encounters as a slave. The symbolism and satire in this book make it all the more interesting and meaningful. I am only sorry I don't know more about the politics and characters at the time because Stowe makes reference to incidences in her time period. Stowe's views on the issue of slavery are excellently expressed. She doesn't come off as preaching, or arguing, merely objectively stating the facts.(Yeah right) By using sarcasm, satire, symbolism, and religious teachings, she kept the book interesting and to the point. Every word she wrote further supports her beliefs. In the end the overall mood gets a bit gloomy, but the finale is magnificent.

Uncle Tom's Cabin is about the evils of slavery from many different sides of the issue. The main character (Uncle Tom) is a good, always obedient, Christian slave that's master has to sell to pay off a debt. He has several masters, one very kind, one just normal, and one very brutal. It reallly shows how horrible slavery was. After reading it, it became obvious to me why there was a war to put an end to this terrible atrocity. Uncle Tom shows us how it is possible to do the right thing, face horrible punishments (being beaten almost to death), and still love everyone, including his evil master which he also forgave. It was one of the most memorable books I have read. I recommend it to everyone and I think it should be required reading for all schools. I think this book definitely deserves five out of five stars.

(ALERT - SPOILERS)

Unlike several reviewers, I actually prefered the twist ending. It seemed that smaller incidents were pointing to a different suspect all along, and I was dreading this revelation (is there anything worse than figuring out a whodunnit two hundred pages before the protagonist?).

Then came the ending. Wow. At the time, I have to admit, I actually shouted "no WAY!" when I read it, but hey, it was something different. It surprised me. Because of that, I can almost forgive the fact that the end comes pretty much out of left field, with not just a few major coincidences thrown in to make it all possible (I mean, the whole thing with the receipts... come on).

I'll be honest, though, if it wasn't for the ending, I probably would have given The Poet two stars. I found the main character thoroughly unlikable (whiny, exploitative and backstabbing - not a good combo) and I just didn't care about the love story. And despite the author's claim, I didn't think the book had a tremendous "flow" to it at all. Finally, haven't we had enough serial killer books? (If you haven't, I'd recommend "Darkness, Take My Hand" from Dennis Lehane.)

I waited SO LONG for this book to finally get into my hands that I thought 'this has got to be great' and I was not disappointed! The thing that I like most about Connelly is the way he can write excellent crime thrillers without having to rely on one character throughout his books. I do love Harry Bosch but Connelly is such a talented writer that every book of his is better than the last, Bosch or no Bosch!

'The Poet' centers around the apparent suicide of a cop, Sean, who has left behind a note that is written on his windshield, it is a line from an Edgar Allen Poe poem, and nobody can quite figure it out. Enter his brother, Jack, a reporter, who is convinced that his brother definately did not committ suicide and soon learns of other cops that died exactly the same way.

Jack gets involved with the FBI and soon everybody his trying to hunt down 'The Poet'. With insight into the killers mind & life throughout the book, this makes a truly excellent and riveting read for those who love Connelly's work or love crime fiction. There are a few twists in the ending to keep you the reader guessing and coming back for more Connelly!

Perhaps this book is evidence of the old recommendation to would-be writers: to write of what you know. In his central character Michael Connelly captures perfectly the life of a dedicated cop reporter as well as those of the police investigators. Particularly interesting is his drawing of the authentic relationships between the two - from cooperation to the basic slightly hardened attitudes of police towards journalists, and that of journalists on a mission, being hindered by authority. Just when you thought all serial killer plots had been dreamed up, here is an originally chilling one. While I feel the only main female character is slightly underdeveloped, it is in keeping with the first person narration of the male and somewhat inexperienced and lonely journo. FINALLY I'm pleased to note he takes care to humanise his reporter - what a pleasant change in ANY crime fiction where most authors lazily and criminally ignore the mutual and often friendly relationship between newshounds and police to opt for the cheap public perception image of "vultures". But then, I'm totally biased... Louise Matthews, N

For those of you unfamiliar with the book's authors, James Carville and Paul Begala are well-known vets of the political campaign wars, most heralded for their handling of Bill Clinton's Presidential run. While Carville is known as the "Rajun Cajun" and typically receives the majority of the press, Begala is razor sharp in wit and tongue alike. Together, they're a relatively lethal combination. While I didn't purchase this book for their political insights and regaling of campaign successes, one can't help but be a bit impressed with the message they've composed in BUCK UP, SUCK UP. But, only a bit.

Carville and Begala, fresh out of current campaign work, decided to collaborate on their combined experiences in the election process and extrapolate it to the business/self-help genre. In the end, the principles they gleaned from their experiences are condensed into a 220 page book providing the self-help denizen with new fodder. The result is, well, somewhat chaotic and mixed.

The subtitle of the book, "12 Winning Secrets from the War Room" suggest that Carville and Begala will provide the unsuspecting reader with insightful suggestions to "beat the game." Well, not really. While some of the 12 Secrets are thought-provoking, others fall short of anything but basic common sense. Let's look at a few: 1) Kiss {Tail}; 2) Kick {Tail}; 3) Be Open; 4) Know How to Communicate...you get the idea. (By the way, my bracketing {} was necessary to appease the censors.) While its easy to see that some of the suggestions Carville and Begala offer are clearly gleaned from their political experience ("Frame the Debate," "Understand the Difference between Strategy and Tactics"), others appear to be simple rules of life. In short, BUCK UP, SUCK UP is less a book of "Secrets" exciting to the politicos and wannabes than one of basic, simple rules of thumb for politics, business, and life.

One area which hits home for the business crowd is their rant on micromanaging. Carville and Begala tutor the reader on campaign failures as a result of candidates and staff becoming hung up on the minutiae. For instance, one sure-fire issue on the road to failure is "how campaign headquarters answers the phone." They go on to inform us that many candidates spend the lionshare of their strategic thinking(?) on these types of issues and never think about how average voters are perceiving them. This holds true for most professions and those operating/managing businesses. While being a detail person has its merits, the big picture is the entrepreneur's path to success. Hire the detail guys; you can't hire visionaries.

BUCK UP, SUCK UP doesn't meet the traditional definition of a political read by a long shot although it is written by two VERY, VERY political individuals. Regardless, it is quite obvious that Carville and Begala had great fun writing the book. It is laced with anecdotes and stories which hold the reader's attention. This, by itself, earned a couple of stars.

At 220 pages, BUCK UP, SUCK UP is a very quick read. The book is designed to be a basic, quick-and-dirty self-help guide. If you're well-versed and experienced in political offerings, this book holds nothing for you. If you have political aspirations, this book is probably a reasonable primer. If you are looking for inspiration in the form of a self-help book, this book is simply adequate.

Buck Up, Suck Up is a good read. Not because of any literary merit (your average High School junior has more writing talent than these two)and certainly not due to anything that might pass as substance in the content (there is not one new idea anywhere in the text). The value in this book is the joy of the ride into battle with Carville and Begala.

These are two men who know what they are good at and clearly love their work. Carville and Begala give you a front-row seat to view how they run a battle for power. And you will enjoy the show they put on. Their strategies for winning are laid out in twelve "rules" illustrated with amusing anecdotes and cautionary tales. Although the rules are pretty basic Management 101 (work hard, communicate well) it is motivating and interesting to see Carville and Begala's thinking laid out in an engaging voice that is really, really fun to read.

This book is worth reading but don't expect touchy-feely self help or a tome about the nobility of leadership. The folksy good ol' boy tone of the book does not disguise the strong message that strategies of aggression work, that anyone who wants to get (and hold) political power today needs the biggest, baddest, ugliest, junkyard dogs on the block to help them do it and that, if you decide you want to win, then for pity's sake be willing to get in there and fight. Oh, and if you get nothing else from Carville and Begala the recipe for chicken salad (page 154) is worth the price of this book!

The dynamic duo of James Carville and Paul Begala have teamed up to compose a manifest of the strategies essential for the ever famous "War Room" operations. The tweleve winning secrets, as Carville and Begala deem to be, are: 1.) don't quit, 2.) kick [butt], 3.) kiss [butt], 4.) frame the debate, 5.) understand the difference between strategy and tatic, 6.) be open, 7.) know how to communicate, 8.) work your [butt] off, 9.) turn weakness into strength, 10.) be nimble, jack, 11.) know how to recover when you really screw up, and 12.) know what to do when you win.

The book gives the lesson of each secret along with stories and examples which exemplify how the secret proved to be successful in their experiences within the War Room. It is always fascinating to read the real life applications of such strategies and to be inspired by such action.

As usual, Carville and Begala write with such flair and style that it is nearly impossible for a reader not to laugh and love the book!

My being a loyal follower of Carville and his work, this book certainly is recommended with the highest regard.

The more Dickens I read, the more impressed I become at his skill as a writer. No matter the form, be it short, long, or a monolith like some of his best works, Dickens excels at changing his style of characterization and plot to fit whatever mode he writes in. "A Tale of Two Cities" is one of his shorter novels, and he manages to make the most of out of the allotted space. The compression of the narrative sacrifices Dickens's accustomed character development for plot and overall effect, but what we get is still phenomenal.

"A Tale of Two Cities" begins in 1775, with Mr. Lorry, a respectable London banker, meeting Lucie Manette in Paris, where they recover Lucie's father, a doctor, and mentally enfeebled by an unjust and prolonged imprisonment in the Bastille. This assemblage, on their journey back to England, meets Charles Darnay, an immigrant to England from France who makes frequent trips between London and Paris. Upon their return to England, Darnay finds himself on trial for spying for France and in league with American revolutionaries. His attorney, Stryver, and Stryver's obviously intelligent, if morally corrupt and debauched, assistant, Sydney Carton, manage to get Darnay exonerated of the charges against him. Darnay, a self-exiled former French aristocrat, finds himself compelled to return to France in the wake of the French Revolution, drawing all those around him into a dangerous scene.

Dickens portrays the French Revolution simplistically, but powerfully, as a case of downtrodden peasants exacting a harsh revenge against an uncaring aristocratic, even feudal, system. The Defarge's, a wine merchant and his wife, represent the interests of the lower classes, clouded by hatred after generations of misuse. Darnay, affiliated by birth with the French aristocracy, is torn between sympathy for his native country in its suffering, and his desire to be free of his past.

"A Tale of Two Cities" is a novel driven by historical circumstance and plot, much like the works of Sir Walter Scott, wherein the characters themselves assert less agency, finding themselves forced to deal with the tide of epic events. Richard Maxwell's introduction to this newest Penguin edition does a good job outlining the themes of doubling and literary influence that Dickens works with. One specific influence I discerned in reading "A Tale" that Maxwell doesn't metion is Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France," which if nothing else, gives the feeling that the rampant violence of the early revolution and the later Reign of Terror has brought about an irreversible change in human nature. While Dickens remains cautiously optimistic throughout the novel that France can recover, the tone of the novel speaks to the regression of humanity into a more feral, primal state, rather than advertise any real hope for its enlightened progress.

Despite the supposed dichotomy between England and France in the novel, Dickens seems to suggest throughout that there are no real differences, due to the way that human nature is consistently portrayed. With England in between two revolutions, American and French, Lucie's sensitivity early in the novel to hearing the "echoing" footsteps of unseen multitudes indicates a palpable fear that the "idyllic" or "pastoral" England he tries to portray is not exempt from the social discontent of America or France. In this light, stolid English characters like Miss Pross, Jerry Cruncher, and Jarvis Lorry appear to almost overcompensate in their loyalty to British royalty. In a novel that deals with death, religion, mental illness, I could go on and on for a week, but I won't. One of those novels whose famous first and last lines are fixed in the minds of people who've never even read it, "A Tale of Two Cities" demands to be read and admired.

Love, betrayal, drama, and suspense, the makers of a great novel, are all found in Charles Dickens', A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens not only sets a great foundation for the novel but he also builds an illustrious story with great detail. His creativity explodes in this book.

The book is set in the time before and during the French Revolution. It is about the experiences of two French families and how those experiences later collide with their future. Their experiences not only create a great fictional story but they also dipict the true horrors that occured in France at that time.

Dickens makes the plot very interesting because he incorporates fiction and historical facts and events. For example in the storming of the Bastille scene, he brings to life an actual event and adds the fiction of what the peasants found in Dr. Manette's cell and the inside look on how they may have felt. Two other examples include the scenes where the revolutionaries kill the king and queen of France and the many times they use the guillotine. They demonstrate this mixture because they're true events yet, Dickens adds fictional characters and the feelings and emotions the people might have had.

Another great touch that Dickens adds is all the detail. Although at times it is rather long it helps to make a clear picture in the mind of what is going on. One such example where he does this is when he describes fate and death. He makes two rather hard to picture objects visible in the mind as the Farmer and the Woodsman. Another example of his great use of detail is when he describes Mr. Lorry's trip down the Dover mail. His description gives the feeling of actually being there. These are just two but there are numerous of other examples.

One more thing that made this novel fascinating was how Dickens reveals bits and pieces of the plot mixed together, but then ties every piece together at the end. For example he dipicts the Marquis' cruelness first and does not explain his involvement right away. However, by the end he turns out to be a key character. He also does that with the character of Dr. Manette. He introduces the character but leaves the suspense of that character's involvement until later. The suspense keeps the interest in the novel going. Dickens details, mixture of fact with fiction, and suspense makes the novel a extremely enjoyable book. After reading this book a clear understanding is achieved of why Charles Dickens is such a renowned author. A Tale of Two Cities is a unique and fascinating story which is why it is a must for anyone's bookself.

Even after many centuries, a classic novel can still be read, understood and charm a wide audience. For it teaches the reader about life and death, society and history through a magnificent story. "A Tale of Two Cities", written in 1859, is one of those classics.

This magnificent story begins a year before the American Independence and several years before the French Revolution. As only Dickens can, he breathes life into the most bizarre, comical and memorable characters... such as Madame Defarge, Miss Pross, Jerry Cruncher and a slew of others. But in the midst of these people, the light shines on the few characters on which the story hence revolves. About Lucie Manette who has a true and beautiful heart that affects everyone around her and her aristocratic husband Charles Darnay, an ambitious man of French blood. Dr. Manette who after surviving 18 years in jail overcomes his weakness to rescue another. The light shines strongly upon Sydney Carton... a man who doesn't seem very redeemable in the beginning but who has a heart of gold who is capable of the greatest sacrifice of all for the woman he loves. It is these people whom Dickens chose to give life to during the grim and bloody French Revolution.

This novel is one of my most favorite of Dickens' novels. The hero and the heroine are rather complex and admirable characters. However, they are not necessarily the ones that win the sympathy and the heart of the reader... but suprisingly (and pleasantly) to the most unexpected of Dickens' character. On another note, the novel starts with a famous and recognizable opening line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." and ends with a very memorable line, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." To which I give great credit to the novel by Mr. Dickens.

Oh boy...Case really goes all out in his books to make you think, "Omigosh...what IF this really happened?" In "The Genesis Code," it's a real spellbinder in that it proposes just how far do we go with genetic engineering, or cloning? It opens in a small village in Italy where a priest practically has a stroke in hearing an old doctor's confession. What possibly could it have been? Then the priest is off to Rome to secure a meeting with a cardinal to relate this horrifying unimaginable sin.
Enter Joe Lassiter, a well to do private investigating enterpreneur, who gets involved with all this when his sister and her young son are savagely murdered and then burned to a crisp in their home. Lassiter's trail leads him all over the globe, ultimately to a fertility clinic (or is it?) in Italy. The book, like other Case novels, opens with this jarring prologue and then meticulously details lots of technical information, mysterious men, secrets, secrets and more secrets, and a look at a very unusual religious sect, determined to bring the Catholic church back to its days of Latin masses, and to completely ignore the Vatican II council.
It moves well, though, and I agree that Lassister takes a long time to figure out what's going on. However, by the end, it all makes sense and resolves with a disturbing scene with a young boy and a fish bowl. As in all of Case's works, however, the main flaw is that his climaxes seem to zoom in and then poof, it's over...but even so, my friends, it's a great read.
RECOMMENDED.

I read Case's second novel first, and was fairly impressed by it. It was a bit amaturish when compared to the likes of Clancy, Chricton, or DeMille, but was still a good entertainment read. Case's first book, The Genesis Code, is not only a page-turner of the first degree, but is also extremely thought provoking and a bit controversial.

After dealing with the murder of his sister and nephew, Joe Lassiter, the story's main character (head of his own investigative firm), decides to jog around the country and world in search for answers. Who REALLY killed them? And more importantly, why? It is not until clues start leading him to Italy and in the direction of a break-away Catholic group that the reader starts making connections to the story's fast-paced, "edge of your chair" first chapter. In this chapter, a priest in a middle-of-nowhere town in Italy takes confession from a local doctor... what he hears shocks him, almost to the point of death. It sends him on a journey to the Vatican with knowledge that could change the world forever.. Case leaves you hanging after the highest members of the church, including the Pope, debate the priest's disturbing news.

Case ties together his plot nicely. He brings information from the book's opening chapter back during the middle of the action, at which point the reader can start guessing the doctor's sin. The sin, having to do with biblical figures, DNA, and a mother's love, is truly amazing. It leaves you wondering, "What if?"

This book is extremely well written, combining techniques similar to Tom Clancy and Micheal Chricton, with a little of Nelson DeMille's talent and humor tossed in. It is a wonderful pick for a thriller lover.. you'll be sad when you finish, constantly wishing that you could pick it up and continue reading, only to find out that you are done. I highly recommend this "good to the last sentence" book! I loved it, and so will you!

John Case provides an excellent mixture of suspense and intrigue in this biomedical thriller. Spining an intricate web that connects science, medicine, religion, and murder, he guides the reader through a thrilling maze of characters, questions and secret agendas that lead to a surprising conclusion.

The first few chapters set the stage as an old village doctor's confession to the parish priest sets in motion a deadly chain of events. Case leaves the reader to wonder what was so disturbing about the doctor's confession, dropping clues along the way to tease the readers curiosity. Each clue, like a piece of a puzzle allows the reader to get a clearer picture of the answer....as long as the reader can put the pieces together! Yet, it is not until the final chapter that the pieces finally come together to provide the staggering answer to the puzzle.

Case's knowledge of investigation provides a vibrant touch of reality to the novel, which is supplemented with thorough knowledge of religion and science. The book is also packed with action, intrigue and suspense. As a result, the book is able to raise interesting questions about science, religion, and ethics while giving the reader an adventure of a thrill ride. It is almost like a mixture of Jurassic Park, James Bond, and religion.

As a theologian, I am considering using it as a case text whenever I teach a class in science and religion. Definetely a must read.

There is no question Terry Goodkind can write a spell binding fantasy adventure. Like the first two books, Goodkind combines magic, action, and good old human frailty and self doubt into a page turning story which makes the reader desperate to find out what happened to these characters after the book ends.

That said, this book was not up to the quality of the first two installments of the Sword of Truth series. First, the action sequences were too short and not well connected to the rest of the plot. But more importantly, by having his main characters spread all through his Old and New Worlds, not knowing what each of the others were doing, lead to a disconnected plot. There were simply too many unknowns, which despite the 600+ page length, were never meshed into a coherent story.

Finally, Goodkind spent far to much of the book first setting up the penultimate battle between good and evil--actually two battles--and then spent too much time setting up what were obvious tantalizers to the next installment in the series.

On the positive side, we did learn all about Gars and Mirswiths--making them seem like thinking, sentient beings rather than just creatures of magic programmed to be good or evil.

All in all, a good read--but definitely don't start the series here. Must read one and two first, or this book will be a waste.

First of all, I don't understand all the harsh reviews of Terry Goodkind's SoT series. Perhaps the themes in his books have appeared in other stories, but that's true of every author. Any fantasy author who has written about magic, wizards, beautiful women, elves, dwarves, dragons, swords, quests, traveling, a great evil foe, etc. has copied that theme from someone else. Many reviewers compare these stories to Robert Jordan's. They may have similarities, but the biggest difference is that Goodkind's books are INTERESTING. If Robert Jordan came up with these themes first (which he didn't), he sure didn't know what to do with them. I'm glad that Goodkind did. It takes Jordan a whole book just to get his characters to finish breakfast.

Others have recommended Terry Brooks over Terry Goodkind while in the same breath complaining that Goodkind copied the themes in his books. Did any of you ever read the Sword of Shannara? The first 100+ pages were a rip-off of The Fellowship of the Ring.

One reviewer, who ranked this book with ONE STAR wrote, "The evil emperor simply wants to control the world, wow...that's so amazing. We have no idea why he wants to control the world or how he got in a position to do that". If this reader had actually bothered to read the words INSIDE the book, he/she would know that why Jagang wanted to rule and also why he has the power he does. If you're going to rank a book as ONE at least read it. If you can't understand it, that's your problem, not the book's.

My last tirade is concerning the repetition others have complained about. He does fill you in on things you might have forgotten from previous books, but it is not overdone in the least. I think it is very helpful, especially if you read the books as they were published and had to wait a long time between each one.

My comments on this whole series can be summed up in the phrase, "it's great"! I read the books; I enjoyed them thoroughly and would recommend others read them.

I'm new to the fantasy genre and just recently stumbled upon the SOT series -- and I'm hooked. I'm finding that I'm staying up all night more and more because I can't wait to find out what happens next. I'm currently on the Temple of the Winds, and Blood of the Fold seems a distant memory -- even though I only finished it last week. While Blood of the Fold has not been my favorite, it was great nonetheless.

One of the things I love about this series is that Goodkind manages to constantly introduce new characters -- I thought I only cared to read about Richard and Kaylan -- but now I'm also excited about Verna, Warren, etc. and look forward to Goodkind developing those characters. (I probably have the spelling wrong because I'm only listening to the audio tapes). I also love the humor via the Mord Siths. And I don't want to give too much away, but the way Richard takes control of things is very satisfying.

There are, unfortunately, subplots which I did not take to. I thought too much time was wasted on the blood of the fold -- it didn't really lead anywhere. The storyline about the Mriswith was also not very well developed -- it was tossed into the mix with little explanation.

Oh well, I better stop before I give too much away.

The Good Earth was an interesting book regarding life in China in the late nineteenth century. The main character, Wang Lung, has farmed the land all his life. His father and his father and his father all were farmers; the land was in his blood. When drought struck the northern city where his farm was located, He was forced to move his starving family to the south where they were to become beggars and theives. One night, revolution swept through the city and the peasants stormed a rich house. Wang Lung gathers enough gold to travel back north to the land. Soon, he notices his faithful wife, O-Lan, was carrying a bag full of valueable jewels. On these jewels the family becomes rich and powerful, which brings more bad than good to the simple farmer. My opinion of this book is a positive one. The author was skilled at conveying her point and keeping the reader's interest in mind. She used great descriptive language and accurately described Chinese culture at the time. My favorite part was when Wang Lung returned from the north in great prosper. This was my favorite part mostly because it was the only happy one in the story. The Good Earth was a very important book. It is most important because it deals with many moral and ethical questions such as gender equality.

The novel The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck is a powerful and enriching story of a peasant farmer who diligently works his way from rags to riches. Growing up, Wang Lung slaves hard in the land that he lives off of and the result is that he dies as a rich lord of a powerful dynasty. The only reason I rate this book as a 9 and not a 10 is because I am saving my 10 for my all-time favorite book, of which I may not have read yet. There is a lot of truth in the book which I admire greatly. When Wang Lung and his family are poor, they see the rich as overly-extravagant, stuck-up snobs who have abandoned the land, the giver of all life. And yet, when Wang Lung rises into power because of the wealth he obtains from his land, he and his family fall right into the same pattern that the reigning dynasty before him embraced. That is true of society today in many aspects. People talk trash about social groups that aren't like themselves but if by chance that certain individual advances into that particular social group, they would adopt the same attitudes and actions, the very ones they scorned earlier. To wrap it up, The Good Earth makes you feel good when you read it and you can really relate to the characters because of the truth in the principles. If you're looking for a short, but provokatively insightful novel, read The Good Earth

The Good Earth

The Good Earth is a book written by Pearl S. Buck. The book is about the life of a poor farmer named Wang Lung, living in the country of China, and during the late 1800s. The story starts out with Wang Lung on his wedding day with his arranged marriage to a slave in a Great House. The slave's name is O-Lan and she was a very hard worker. During the first years of their marriage they had a couple of sons and prosperity. After the second son came a daughter, and the hardships. A huge drought came along and the family had to move south of their village to a city. In the city they begged for money and pretty soon they got it. The family became rich even more than before. More children were born, Wang Lung bought more and more land, and he even lent money to other people. The family became more broken and selfish as the years went by. The book ended with Wang Lung being a selfish, typical rich man, and dying The book was not one of my favorite books, but I didn't not like it either. The book was written wonderfully and I congratulate Pearl Buck on this achievement. This is the kind of book that you think a lot in and that you should read again and again. My favorite is when Wang Lung felt really bad about the death of O-lan and how ashamed he was that he never loved her. I did not like Wang Lung and I was glad when he did died. He was a very selfish man that only cared about things that had to do with money. The sad part is that a lot of people are like in our world. I think that the book The Good Earth is an important book to read. It helps people realize that we should not be so materialistic. I am glad that I read this book.