I'm a college student and I frequently channel surf! This movie often airs on Showtime at nonpeak hours when I'm usually in a flipping mood and I'd rarely give it more than five minutes before I decide to flip. I'm an art-ed. major who also loves music and dance and I kind of regret not watching this movie sooner! It's wonderful, even if it had a little too much "indy-film fest" dialogue in it. I understand that this was meant and now that I've found out that Sally Potter also directed Orlando I TOTALLY understand. I really like that movie also. "The Tango Lesson" is the sole influence of my want to take tango lessons after I've lost a lot of weight and I'm out of college! Thanks Sally! p.s. I love the song "I Am You"!

It is fair -- although I don't agree -- to criticize Sally Potter for directing, acting, producing, dancing. If you want a film about dance with only professional dancing, then the criticism is valid. But this isn't a dance movie. Sally Potter plays herself (or is it herself?) who is working on a film (or is she?) and who takes a tango lesson (or is that a dream?) and whose life (or dream? or film?) alters in mysterious and beautiful ways as the tango / film / dream develops. This is an absolutely splendid >>personal<< film. The tango is a wonderful metaphor -- back and forth, simple and complex, loving and dangerous . . . black and white. If you like film, then this is as good a recent example as you will find of really good filmmaking. (I bought in VHS, but would prefer DVD.)

Most dance movies obscure the actual dancing in a barrage of MTV-quick-cut shots of heads and feet. This one doesn't. Why not? Because it doesn't have to. The dancers are terrific, and shooting them full-length, with the camera on them for minutes at a time, shows them and the Tango to advantage.

After a distracting yet stylish introduction, the movie settles down into its intelligent portrayal of two exceptional people learning to love each other and dance together. The director wisely keeps the dialogue to a minimum, and lets the dancing tell the story. And what dancing! The Tango is a captivating dance to begin with, and these folks dance it with grace and passion.

Pablo Veron has more screen presence than any other actor alive, and he's a world-class dancer to boot. Sally Potter, the movie's director who plays his partner is also an excellent tanguera. Did I say it before? The dancing is amazing!

From the parks of Paris to the Tango salons of Buenos Aires, the characters speak to each other in French, Spanish, and English. This ain't Hollywood fare. No car chases, no pulling of heart strings, no wacky characters. Just striking cinematography, a fine, spare script, and delightful dancing. If you like beautiful things, you'll like this movie.

What can I say? I'm a Potter fanatic, and I jumped to buy the Movie Poster book as soon as it came out. The posters are beautifully done and cover a wide range of scenes. There are headshots of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, a scene from Gringotts, and even Ron and Harry at Christmas.

If you have seen the first and second trailors for the film, then you won't being seeing many new things. That's why I only gave it 4 stars. Personally, I think that it is worth getting the Poster Book just to see the first picture released of Harry in his Quidditch uniform. I also enjoyed a shot of Dumbledore visiting Harry in the Hospital Wing.

The casting for the film was excellent, and the pictures in the book only support that fact. Each character matches the wonderful descriptions that JK Rowling provides in all four books.

As I said before, your not seeing much new, but the book is money well spent. This way you don't have to wait 2 hours to download the trailor or pay for a movie ticket just to see the trailor! It will be there in your library to view again and again.

The second Harry Potter poster book brings you huge, glossy photos from the "Chamber of Secrets" film. There are posters of your favorite Harry Potter characters (castmembers dressed up in costume) and great film scenes. You can cut them out of the poster book if you'd like and hang them up but they are just as fun to look at by flipping through the book. The photos are not the same ones that you keep on seeing on every single Harry Potter site--a lot of them are rare ones that can only be found in this poster book. If you're a huge Harry Potter fan and can't wait for the "Chamber of Secrets" film to open, then this poster book is a must.

I highly recommend the "Chamber of Secrets" poster book.

Score:
100/100
A+

The "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" Movie Poster Book is an excellent addition to any Harry Potter fan's collection. The posters are high quality; slighltly glossy, nicely sized, and has a clean and crisp finish to the photos. Many of the posters are collages, which I really liked because they are done in such a nice way. My entire household (that would be three younger sisters and two parents) all love Harry Potter, so of course we all ran out to get our own copies! I suggest saving this booklet (or buying two, the price is great), because it will defintely become more valuable as the years go on since Harry Potter is destined to be popular years from now!

This is a really beautiful calendar. The pictures are stunning and all have a matching quote from the book. The lower part of the calendar continues the Harry Potter theme including small pictures of things like galleons and wands. Two of the best pictures are of Dumbledore visiting Harry in the infirmary & Harry's first flying lesson, but they're all fantastic. The calendar blocks are a very light tan color and will make anything written their very easy to read. A great purchase for any Harry Potter fan.

As Harry Potter fans anxiously await the release of the fifth book in the series, this Harry Potter calendar will undoubtedly feed the seemingly insatiable hunger for Potter merchandise of any kind that has struck readers of all ages. Building on the success of the long-awaited theatrical release of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," this wall calendar features twelve important scenes from the actual movie with captions superimposed on the pictures in a stylish font. The chosen scenes track the progression of the plot throughout the movie (and the first book.) The pictures themselves are colorful, elegant, and very large; in fact, the entire calendar is about one and a half times the size of a standard wall calendar, but I prefer it this way. As long as you have room to hang it up, the bigger the better! There is also plenty of room in which to mark noteworthy dates and events. I originally purchased this calendar for a friend, but once I saw how intriguing it was, I knew I had to have one for myself. I will definitely be happy to have this Harry Potter calendar hanging on my wall throughout the year 2002 as I, too, eagerly wait for the next book. And seeing as how Potter-mania is sweeping the globe, I'm sure that any other fan of Harry Potter will be delighted to own this calendar as well!

This calendar is a great one. It have great pictures of the motion picture; the great hall, Gringott's Bank, the libiary, Madam Hooch, Professor Qurriel, Hagrid, Dumbuldore ect. and in the photo apear lines about the picture taken from the book.
It's a great gift for birthday, holiday or whatever reason for a great Harry Potter FAN.

Finally! A comprehensive guide to the Harry Potter series that is not only faith-based, but also incorporates the much sought after common-sense approach so vital to all Christians. While we want to protect our children from material that is contrary to the Lord's word, common sense dictates that this in itself is a fantasy. We are, after all, living in the world, and cannot keep our children blind to reality. Therefore, Ms. Neal suggests ways in which we can communicate with our children about these things, offering ways to put into perspective the difference between the portrayal of "magic" in these fictional books and the deadly consequences of "magic" in real life. "What's a Christian to do with Harry Potter?" will enlighten both people with and without children. Because of its timeless usefulness in not just the Harry Potter books, but as a guide for living in the world we live in today, I give Ms. Neal's book my highest recommendation.

If you think any Christian who would be concerned about the Harry Potter books is a right-wing fundamentalist from the dark ages, don't read this book. If you are a serious Christian who wants to know whether your kids should be reading Harry Potter, or whether you should, THIS IS THE BOOK TO READ. Do NOT waste your time with "Pokemon & Harry Potter: A Fatal Attraction" or "Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick." Those authors are only a couple steps from the Inquisition, and they simply don't understand literature and how it works. Connie Neal, who works for Focus on the Family, explains why the Harry Potter books ARE good for Christian children. She explains the difference between the "wizardry" in these books and the witchcraft books found in the New Age section of your local bookstore. She shows how you can help your children find God in the Harry Potter books. I have a Ph.D. in literature and I teach the Bible on the college level and edit a theological journal, so I'm better qualified than most to say that the Harry Potter books are significant from both the literary and the spiritual viewpoints. They are at heart about the battle between good and evil, the same battle that swirls around us, and about the forces that are trying to lead us to choose the good and the competing forces trying to lead us into darkness. If you help your children find these themes in the books, the books can have a powerful influence for good.

I'm grateful to Connie Neal for writing and to Waterbrook Press for publishing this excellent book. To be honest, when I got my copy I put off reading it for about two months. I had no idea which "side" the author was on, and because most Christian brothers and sisters dismiss Harry Potter out of hand (at least this is my experience) I wasn't sure I wanted to feel yet again that sense of being a black sheep -- or worse, a wolf in sheep's clothing -- in the family of God.

The educational merits of Chapter 3 alone are worth the purchase price, and it's my prayer that readers will remember these principles of literature long after Harry Potter is old news. Chapter 5 is packed with helpful, thoughtful alternatives to the common knee-jerk rejection that almost certainly doesn't mirror what Jesus would do. I nearly cried with joy when Chapter 6 exposed a sensational and fabricated e-mail that had swept the country and the accompanying spirit of gossip that I believe underlies such messages. The section about the biblical Daniel as a role model and the comparison of elements in Harry Potter to elements in The Chronicles of Narnia should make all of us stop to think before we pigeonhole. Chapter 10, noting the parallel structure between Harry Potter's life at Hogwarts and the book of Ephesians, and pointing out that Harry's rejection of Slytherin for Gryffindor is a decision, is brilliant.

After finishing the book, I first just basked in the support -- No, I wasn't deceived to think the literary issues were more complex than "That can't be Christian," and yes, I would be dishonest to forsake what I believe God and my conscience have shown me just because it would be more comfortable to denounce and abstain like the majority of believers. Now, my prayer is that Neal's book will reach thousands of readers and get them thinking more deeply about what they read in their Bibles and what roles fiction, myth, fairy tale -- in short, story -- can play as we work to gather souls into His kingdom.

Whether you are a Christian whose conscience forbids or allows you to read Harry Potter, you will find support, respect, and uncompromising scriptural meat in these pages. To any believer concerned about this issue -- What's a Christian to do with Harry Potter? is a must-read. I can't encourage you enough to get a copy.

Though Brite's stories are not quite as impressive as her novels (Lost Souls, Drawing Blood, Exquisite Corpse, The Crow: The Lazurus Heart), they are still beautiful little gems that are worth reading. This collection was a bit weaker than her first--Wormwood, a.k.a. Swamp Foetus--but it still has some good strong stories. "Arise" and "Saved" are the finest examles in the book. Some of the worst stories are "Vermis Veritas," "America," and "Are You Loathesome Tonight?" If you are a true fan of Poppy, you won't want to miss this collection, but if you have yet to read her or are not a die-hard fan, I might have to recommend you pass on this one.

...you'd probably appreciate this one. Poppy sticks with a formula (erotic horror/thriller fiction starring young gay men) that s/he knows how to work well. Possibly hir greatest moment is "Monday Night Special", in this fan's opinion.

There are two reasons that I suggest you pick up Are You Loathsome Tonight. Reason number one--Poppy Z. Brite is a wonderful author. Each novel, short story, and chapbook that she has written and I have been able to get my hands on I have fully enjoyed. Are You Loathsome Tonight is no exception. It contains some excellent examples of why Poppy is a leading voice in dark horror fiction.

Reason number two--J.K. Potter's illustrations are a perfect match to Poppys writing. His visuals in this book are stunning. His art is dark, macabe and fantastic.

Together Potter and Poppy create the mood of this book. Her writing is potent and wonderful. His illustrations are haunting. Together when they are combined they will leave you (the reader) with a dark resonating image of what true excellent horror fiction and illustration can be.

After reading the English version first, I went on to read this. I have to say, the wordplays for the names in the French version are quite amusing: "Rogue" for Snape, "Serpentard" for Slytherin, "Croutard" for Scabbers, and so on. On the other hand, it's not a complete translation of the original, and one gets the sense that either the translator was in a rush or couldn't be bothered. There are snippets of conversation, and minor characters (like Dean Thomas) who are left out of the French version. Then there are some slight alterations of the plot itself. For instance, the Hogwarts house system (and their characteristics!) isn't first mentioned by Malfoy and explained by Hagrid, but happens after Harry arrives at Hogwarts, and in only a partial manner. I wouldn't be so picky about details normally, but what bothered me about this is that often in the Harry Potter series what seems a tiny detail in one book later has significance in following books, you might not get a complete picture with the French version.

I am 21, and I read the three first Harry Potter's stories, they were amazing! the translation is great, the story is so refreshing! buying it to all the kids I know, a great story, simple and fun, scary and catchy! great hero, Harry Potter

The world of Harry Potter is magical and enthralling in any language. Many reviewers have criticized the omissions in translation. It should be noted that an accurate and interesting book cannot be translated to another language verbatim. Many bits of humor would be lost in unnatural descriptions. Instead, the translator appended when needed to make a sound linguistic and cultural switch. Enjoyable for Francophones and native english-speakers with good french reading abilities.

I found the idea behind this book, and the way in which it was presented, to be wonderful. The illustrations are lively and filled with a sort of movement that is accompanied by language which really gives the reader a sense of the "soul" (if one can say that) of each of these amazing kids. I have to say, however, that when I began to read of the first child's condemnation to "the big box", I caught my breath and grabbed my chest and thought, "I can't give this to a child; it would scare them too much." The way in which the sentence is presented leads one to believe that there really is a big box and kids really do get locked away for being themselves. Young children who are just beginning to come into a sense of themselves don't understand the figurative as well as adults do. I agree with the reader who suggested that this book be recommended for adults and not children.

As a twenty-something first grade teacher reading this book, I personally found Morrison's writing to be very thought-provoking and realistic in the actual portrayal of a child's mis-understanding of the purpose of rules which govern their very pre-teen existence. The metaphorical dipictions of how the three "troubled" characters react to the reasoning behind what seem to be unnecessary and consticting regulations draw me deeper into the story as the pages turn. The somber and confused response of each child to the various forms of behavioral intervention (before it may be just too late) by the adults makes me sympathize and reminisce about simlar circumstances of my childhood. I even began to feel somewhat sorry for these characters, and truthfully a bit melancholy. However, for the nine to eleven year old reader, for whom this book is recommended, I find the underlying concepts to be perhaps a little too difficult to grasp. The pictures are wonderful, and the lyrical flow make the story very fluid and easy to read. But, I can not fail to stress the sophistication of the meaning behind the written words. I would definitely recommend The Big Box to a friend who can look beyond the facade of sentences and words used to tell a story. .....Or, maybe some of the disciplinary bodies of my childhood or the cruel, wicked, just plain mean teachers who I call co-workers! - Thomas Michael Welch, Jr., Los Angeles, CA

Feeling twinges of regret at my own childhood, this story resonated with me on a deep emotional level.

There is a tendency in today's society to replace experience with material objects, and for parents to protect their children by sheltering them from the world as opposed to guiding them through life experiences. Unlike other reviewers, I do not find the children in this story to be victims of emotional or behavioral disorders, but rather, alive with all the creativity and awareness that a child new to the world finds innate. The adults, unable to reconcile the self expression of each child finds it necessary to lock the child in "a box"-- a metaphor for over-protective adults encouraging conformity as opposed to creative thinking-- and further drives the point home by medicating the child with commercialism and imitations of real experience: plastic toys, televisions, dolls that have "already been named", Spice Girl tee shirts, pictures of the sky and small boxes of actual dirt.

This book does hold a strong message for adults, but I think that children who read this book should not be underestimated. Discussion about the themes could encourage children to think more about their role in society as creative thinkers.

Such as: What does it mean that the children receive dolls that are already named? Ask the child, "Do like naming your own dolls? What do you think about getting a toy that already has a name?" Questions along these lines explore ideas about self-expression and ingenuity, and hopefully looking at these parts of the story will allow most to get past their knee-jerk reaction that the book encourages rebellion against adults and instigates fear or disobedience in children.

I'm not too familiar with The Crow. I had seen the first movie a few years back but I didn't really remember much about it other than thinking that it was ok. Being the huge Poppy Z. Brite fan that I am I, of course, had to read this book. I was a bit disappointed by it though. Poppy's writing style is as wonderfully descriptive as ever but the plot was very inconsistent.

I felt that the main character, Jared, wasn't given nearly enough character development needed to make me care about him. I would have loved to hear more about his past with the twins. Another character, Frank, had great character development but he barely figured into the rest of the book. The killer could have used more character development as well. If we had learned more about what drives him, like with Jay and Andrew in Poppy's previous novel Exquisite Corpse, it would have made the main plot a lot more interesting.

All in all, I found the main plot of the book to be pretty dull but a few of the back stories made this book wort reading. My favorite part was the chapter when we were introduced to Frank. I found the events that happened with him and his ex partner to be particularly memorable. I was really disappointed that he wasn't in the book more. I also enjoyed the back story of the twins. That would have made a terrific short story.

I'd recommend this book to hardcore fans of Poppy and/or The Crow but if you are looking to get into Poppy's writing, I suggest you start with Lost Souls, Drawing Blood, or one of her short story collections if you are a fan of short stories.

As a fan of both Poppy and The Crow, I was thrilled to see this book was available. But while "The Lazarus Heart" is a quick, rather twisted fun read, it lacks depth. It started out with much dark promise...the fascinating triumverate of Jarred Poe and the twins (no one does more mystifying twins than Poppy) you embrace immediately, even if they are a bit weird. Present are the brilliant metaphors I've come to expect from Poppy from the days of "Swamp Foetus". Present is her sensory touch of "putting you there." This time in New Orleans. But she failed in letting us "know" the characters once we got attached to them. To me the gore overshadowed the character development. And sadly, the treatment of the Crow mythos under her deft hand could have been elaborated on in more detail. It's only because it's Poppy that we come to expect so much. She set the standards for herself with her short stories, "Lost Souls" and "Drawing Blood." No one writes about the goth subculture with such knowledge. I hope that whatever constraints led to the lack in "The Lazarus Heart" (deadlines, publisher's critera?) don't hold her back in her next effort.

I must admit before you read this that I have been a HUGE Poppy Brite fan since reading "Lost Souls". I was, however, not really familiar "The Crow" beyond the limited notion that it came - I believe - from a comic book format; that Brandon Lee was killed during the making of a mediocre movie; and that a sequel was made with Vincent Perez. I was NOT aware that there was a series of books until I read an interview with PZB in which she stated she was writing a "Crow" book. In that interview, she JOKINGLY said that she was writing it cause - paraphrasing - they were paying her a boat load of money. That made me apprehensive about its quality. That apprehension was unwarranted. Brite has created in this book another boat load of memorable characters who find themselves at the mercy of their circumstances. What Brite manages to do in her novels (and in this one as well) is create people who - even though they may be very different from the reader - resonate love, desire, pain, dreams, and fears with which anyone can empathize. Her protagonists, while dark and flawed, are all - at heart - wonderful examples of literary Innocents. And her "villians" are terrifying because you know that they are not that far removed from the reality of the world. What I appreciate greatly about this book (and PZB's others) is that she does not spoon feed us as to why the "bad guys" have done what they've done. She gives us enough "explination" that we walk away satisfied AND permitted to extrapolate the motivations for ourselves. Brite also does not feel it necessary to give us a happy ending. Refreshing. All this is all wrapped up in a dark, scary, inviting and seductive package created by her understanding of the human condition. We are all different, Brite knows, but not that different. So, will "The Crow: Lazarus Heart" make me run out and buy every "Crow" book on the market? Nope. It simply will make me wait with great anticipation! for Poppy Brite's next work of fiction...one which I hope comes quickly.

The Fifth Chinese Daughter is an excellently written novel about a Chinese American girl growing up in San Francisco's Chinatown. When this book arrived in the mail the last thing I wanted to do was read it when I could play my X-box and watch T.V. After a week I finally got around to reading a chapter and was surprised to find myself reading it all day. Unfortunately I didn't pick it up again until I was in Sedona with my Dad. There I read all but fourteen pages. It wasn't for another week until I finished.
This story was expertly written and fun to read. Despite my early protests I enjoyed hearing about a young oriental girl change from a well-disciplined Chinese daughter growing up in Chinatown to an artist who finally achieved the recognition from her family she had longed for since childhood. It gave a sense of evolution, struggle, and triumph, as the book progresses. It explains a child's need for acceptance, respect, and material riches as Jade Snow Wong progresses through school, odd jobs, collage, and adulthood.
This book is obviously a book I would recommend to others because it always has the main character striving to survive in a stereotypical world. It shows Jade Snow's personality being that the harder it got the harder she would try. This is shown many times in the book, like when she went to the employment agents and found jobs in house working. Also when she got into Mills Collage, that she wanted more then just to clean houses and end up as a house wife like she had been raised and become something more.
Unlike other novels I've read this summer this one sticks out by its great writing style and many twists. An example of witch is when she gets a job at a shipyard and works for what seems might be the whole war when she gets only one job option, to be a secretary. She turns it down when she gets an idea to shape pottery and then to sell it. Her accomplishments as an artist finally drive her family to recognize her. The book has many unexpected twists and turn and was a joy to read.

The Fifth Chinese Daughter is an excellently written novel about a Chinese American girl growing up in San Francisco's Chinatown. When this book arrived in the mail the last thing I wanted to do was read it when I could play my X-box and watch T.V. After a week I finally got around to reading a chapter and was surprised to find myself reading it all day. Unfortunately I didn't pick it up again until I was in Sedona with my Dad. There I read all but fourteen pages. It wasn't for another week until I finished.
This story was expertly written and fun to read. Despite my early protests I enjoyed hearing about a young oriental girl change from a well-disciplined Chinese daughter growing up in Chinatown to an artist who finally achieved the recognition from her family she had longed for since childhood. It gave a sense of evolution, struggle, and triumph, as the book progresses. It explains a child's need for acceptance, respect, and material riches as Jade Snow Wong progresses through school, odd jobs, collage, and adulthood. This would have been my favorite book all summer had it not been for reading The Grey Ghost, but i'm not here to review that so i'll go on.
This book is obviously a book I would recommend to others because it always has the main character striving to survive in a stereotypical world. It shows Jade Snow's personality being that the harder it got the harder she would try. This is shown many times in the book, like when she went to the employment agents and found jobs in house working. Also when she got into Mills Collage, that she wanted more then just to clean houses and end up as a house wife like she had been raised and become something more.
Unlike other novels I've read this summer this one sticks out by its great writing style and many twists. An example of witch is when she gets a job at a shipyard and works for what seems might be the whole war when she gets only one job option, to be a secretary.I shouldn't give away what happens naext for fear of not getting my review published. Her accomplishments finally drive her family to recognize her. The book has many unexpected twists and turn and was a joy to read, so i recomend that you read it to.

The Fifth Chinese Daughter is an excellently written noval about a Chinese American girl growing up in San Fransiscos Chinatown. When this book arrived in the mail the last thing I wanted to do was read it when I could play my X-box and watch T.V. After a week I finaly got around to reading a chapter and was surprised to find myself reading it all day. Unfortanently I didn't pick it up again untill I was in Sedona with my Dad. There I read all but forteen pages. It wasn't a for another week untill I finished.
This story was expertly written and fun to read. Dispite my early protests I enjoyed hearing about a young oriantle girl change from a well disaplined chinese daughter growing up in Chinatown to an artist who finally achived the recognition from her family she had longed for since childhhod. It gave a sense of evolution, struggle, and triumph, as the book progresses. It explanes a childs need for aceptece, respect, and material riches as Jade Snow Wong progresses through school, odd jobs, collage, and adulthood.
This book is obviosly a book I would recomend to others because it always has the main charecter striving to survive in a sterotypical world. It shows Jade Snow's personality being that the harder it got the the harder she would try. This is shown many times in the book, like when she went to the employment agentsy and found jobs in houseworking. Also when she got into Mills Collage, that she wanted more then just to clean houses and end up as a house wife like she had been raised and become somthing more.
Unlike other novals i've read this summer this one sticks out by it's great writing style and many twists. An example of witch is when she gets a job at a shipyard and works for what seems might be the whole war when she gets only one job option, to be a secretary. She turns it down when she gets an idea to shape pottery and then to sell it. Her acomplishments as an artist finaly drive her family to recognize her. The book has many unexpected twists and turn and was a joy to read.

Contrary to what MacDonald and his supporters believe, the book and movie "Fatal Vision" did NOT convict him. Twelve jurors did this in 1979. Did he get a fair trial? After reading this, I would have to say no. However, I must take issue with several things printed in this book.

Helena Stoeckley was a chronic drug abuser. Even her OWN MOTHER stated that you couldn't trust a word that came out of Helena's mouth. She was incoherent, she confessed and recanted many times. It is not unusual to have innocent people confess to crimes they didn't commit, especially crimes that garner a lot of publicity. Why they do this is unfathomable but it can be diagnosed as a warped bid for attention.

The candle wax seemed to have been from three different candles, not one candle being carried around the house. If these drippings were from the alleged intruders then three different candles would have been carried around the house during the commission of the murders.

However, a new trial would only result in the same verdict. MacDonald's story doesn't add up. It is a complete enemy to logic and common sense. The weapons used in the crime came from the MacDonald home. Why would intruders bent on committing murder and mayhem venture unarmed to the scene of the crime? Why would the intruders, on the way out, stop, wipe clean the weapons, and place them neatly beside a bush? Isn't it more normal for someone or someones who have committed three brutal murders to hastily discard the weapons or leave with them? And why would these intruders stop, look under the sink, and put on surgical gloves? And how would they have known that the surgical gloves were in this exact location? Remember, blood was found in front of the sink, and whoever daubed the word "PIG" in blood on the headboard of the bed in the main bedroom used surgical gloves. Even though MacDonald supposedly "fought off" these maniacal intruders, according to him, he passed out. Why did these intruders not pounce on him and finish him off? He was the real physical threat to them, not a pregnant woman and two very little girls. His wife and children suffered severe wounds that made the CID photographer physically sick. MacDonald suffered minor injuries that were most likely inflicted by Colette and/or self inflicted, especially the very precise icepick stab wound that caused a partial collapse of his lung. Who else but a physician would know where to cut in order to injure himself and lend some credence to his story yet would cause no permanent and lasting damage? No blood was found where he claimed to have been assaulted. According to MacDonald, as he was being attacked in the living room he heard his wife and daughter cry out to him, indicating that there were MORE attackers in the bedrooms. Where's the mess? How did the cards stay upright on the cabinet? Why no busted walls and furniture in the bedrooms from someone swinging a club? That apartment was small. Colette and Kimberly suffered severe beatings from a club. And the walls of the apartment were paper thin. Why is it that no one else other than MacDonald reported hearing the screams? In a house with five occupants and several attackers, surely someone's got to hear something! It was raining that night. No MP's or medics reported seeing water on the floor or muddy footprints like there would be if someone coming from outside tracked them inside. In MacDonald's first interview with the Army Investigators on 6th April 1970 he made a couple of telling slip ups - he stated three times that he fought the killers off at the foot of the "bed" not the "couch" - because the only fighting he was doing that night was at the foot of the bed. It was dark in the living room that night and things were surely happening real fast. How is it that a man who wasn't wearing his glasses was able to get such a detailed look at his attackers? And what about the pyjama top? How did Colette's blood on it before it was torn? And why were there neat, round, cylindrical holes in it? MacDonald stated that he was using it to ward off the attackers. Well if this was true, wouldn't the holes in the pyjama top be slashes and tears and not neat little holes? And why were there no defensive wounds on his hands? He was supposedly grappling with attackers who were armed with sharp instruments. Colette had two broken arms, obviously defensive wounds and obviously fractured while protecting herself from someone armed with a club. Two year old Kristen had defensive wounds on her hands and fingers. Why not MacDonald? MacDonald was under investigation for nine years before he was convicted. Why did he not seek the murderers himself, if not through the Army CID, the FBI, or the Justice Department, then through a private investigator?

It's been over thirty years since the tragic murders of Colette, Kimberly, and Kristen. MacDonald sits in prison today, still proclaiming his innocence, and there are those who believe him. However, can anyone give a satisfactory answer to the questions I have raised? No. Not in thirty years has anyone been able to do that. And that's why he sits in prison today, because his story is, to use police parlance, hinky. It doesn't jibe. The man is guilty as charged, guilty as convicted, and guilty as imprisoned.

IN MY OPINION THERE IS MORE THAN A 50% CHANCE THAT AN INNOCENT MAN SITS BEHIND BARS FOR A CRIME HE DIDN'T COMMIT. I READ THE BOOK AND HAVE SAW THE MOVIE FATAL VISION AND I WASN'T A 100% SURE HE WAS GUILTY THEN EITHER. I BELIEVE THAT THE PROSECUTORS WITHHELD ANY INFORMATION THAT WOULD HAVE BROUGHT QUESTION OF McDONALDS Innocence AND IT IS CLEAR TO ANYONE WHO READS THIS BOOK THAT THERE WAS A COVER-UP FROM THE ARMY ALL THE WAY UP TO THE FBI. THERE IS SUPPOSED TO BE DNA IN THE PROCESS OF PROVING THIS MAN'S INNOCENCE WHAT IS THE HOLD UP! LET ME LEAVE THE READERS WITH THIS QUESTION TO THINK ABOUT AND THEN TELL ME IF YOU THINK JEFFERY MCDONALD KILLED HIS FAMILY. IF THE GOVERNMENT CAN CONCEAL EVIDENCE ON ONE OF OUR COUNTRYS GREATEST PRESIDENTS (JFK) AND KILL HIM. THEN TO FRAME JEFFERY MCDONALD WOULD BE A WALK THROUGH THE PARK! AND ALSO REMEMBER THERE ARE STILL QUESTIONS INTO PRESIDENT JFK'S DEATH ALMOST 40 YEARS LATER.

What is the real evidence? Why was he charged? Why was he convicted? These questions will be answered by the government laboratory notes and documents obtained by the Freedom of Information Act.

Early one morning the MacDonald family was attacked in their home; only Jeffrey survived. CID disbelieved his story, but the charges were dropped. Later Jeffrey would be convicted of the murder of his wife and children. Yet a number of people in law enforcement and criminal justice believe he is innocent. A former chief of the FBI's LA Bureau says he was framed. A famous defense lawyer said the conviction was "the product of prosecutorial chicanery" (p.19). These claims are based on government reports and documents previously kept secret.

Page 22 tells How Things Work; it is not a conspiracy. "All you need to do is convince your superiors that this guy's getting away with murder. If some of the evidence is confusing, that evidence just disappears or gets interpreted in the government's favor. The judge and jury see a rigged case. It happens more than any of us would like to admit" (p.24). How can an innocent man get convicted? The prosecutor controls the evidence! And the judge is really part of the prosecution. The idea is to get convictions: this leads to a bigger budget. Evidence was manufactured against Jeffrey MacDonald, and the evidence for the others was kept back (p.34). Short brown hair was found clutched in Colette MacDonald's left hand; it did not match anyone in the family. More than three dozen finger of palm prints found at the murder scene were never identified. Long blond hairs were found on a hairbrush at the scene. Multiple bloody gloves were also found. Helena Stoeckly and Greg Mitchell both confessed to taking part in the murders.

JMD was convicted because of suppressed evidence of his innocence and the tainted evidence (p.129). Page 147 tells of the "major discrepancies between separate findings by the CID and FBI labs". The laboratory notes would contradict the prosecutor's claims (p.148). Page 157 tells of created evidence: bloody hair twisted around pajama fiber. It was not found until after the prosecutor hand-carried it to the laboratory. Should this be grounds for an appeal?

The description of the killers given by JMD just happened to match a group of Fayetteville drug users seen around the time of the murders (p.270). The army and government reports show a consistent practice of holding back evidence that supported his claims. This tainted the case. Page 283 tells of the false affidavits filed by the FBI. Page 284 tells how Judge Dupree fixed this case. Pages 293-4 tell of Murtagh's attempts to hide exculpatory evidence before the trial, and how it succeeded at the trial! In 1985 Judge Dupree rejected a petition for a new trial because of the lack of evidence for intruders. But he earlier ruled against turning over this evidence to the defense (p.311)! The Puretz memo documented how this trick worked (pp. 313-4).

Did the local drug lord order the attack on the MacDonald family as a reprisal against Jeffrey's anti-drug efforts? And then use his political connections to blame Jeffrey and avoid a search for the real killers? Page 387 may give a reason why the innocent JMD was railroaded to prison: his affair with a civilian secretary. Did this make a powerful enemy?