A masked woman, a third-part of a ten thousand bill, a dubious deal and a nice murder (of course!): these are the elements in yet another great case in which Perry Mason displays his astonishing abilities to unveil the truth. Alibi analysis is fundamental in this one!

The hook was baited. Mason was summoned from the dead of night to his office, where he received $2,000 in cash, and the small end of a $10,000 bill. The client was a masked woman, and he had no way of knowing who she was, and how to prepare her defense.

Mason stumbles around trying to figure out how to protect his mystery client. Then even after he unmasks his client, he finds himself the victim of a frame-up by a suspect who tells a story which the district attorney is happy to believe.

This is the 30th Perry Mason novel I've read (the 14th in the series), and it's the best one so far! A spinster librarian finds love. He's a bit older than her and unemployed, but he's such a wonderful man that she marries him and enjoys the happiest months of her life. But alas, when he is found murdered in their honeymoon cabin, she discovers his real identity--that he was actually a multimillionaire who was married to another woman. Such betrayal! and all the evidence points to her as the murderer, including a parrot who repeats the murder dialog over and over again. And everyone but her has an ironclad alibi for the time of the murder. I won't give away the solution, except to say that it's so good that you'll want to study cinema just to bring it to the screen.

Stanley Tam used to (and maybe still does) give copies of this book away through his company (we used to order a lot of stuff from his, or should I say God's, company, U.S. Plastic Co.). The book is a lot of fun - basically the ramblings of a lunatic. When he would give these away for free it was always a lot fo fun to have free copies sent to friends. Check to see if you can still get a free copy before buying one.

This book challenges business leaders, as well as local church leaders to truly place God first. Too often, as business and ministry leaders, we tend to focus on our own personal agendas. This book shares the heart of a man who sincerely desires to place God first in every arena of his life. Mr. Tam's life is not broken into such divisions as business, personal and religious. His life illustrates a true integration of every aspect of being coming together under the Lordship of Christ. This book should be read by anyone who desires to live out the will of God in their life.

I would recommend this book highly to those who are business owners and Christians. Mr. Tam sets forth a good example of one called, and if one heeds that call, what they can do as a servant of Christ, and as a businessman or woman. He deals with those issues common to business owners, faith, inspiration from God, stewardship to name a few. I am finishing reading a book on Anthony Rossi, and to this point, I would recommend this book over Rossi's life. Both served God, but I believe this would be more of an inspiration, and you would gather more wisdom from it. Personal opinion....

Any author who tries to su up the life of Robert Johnson is going to have a hard time. The life of this man is a mystery beyond belief. The one thing that stands out is the music. I really feel that owning Johnson music is better than any book. Pick up the two CD set that has the booklet. Read that booklet and then put the CD's in and get ready for an experience this book can not give you. This book is good after you have done this. The music helps explain things a little more.

It's a long way from the Mississippi Delta to Australia but this screenplay allowed me to visualise and feel the passion and raw edge to the music and landscape of Robert Johnson. It seems a shame that no Director has been brave enough to attempt to put this tale onto film as it could surely be an outstanding work if properly attacked. The comprehensive attached notes provide the reader with an opportunity to fill in any gaps in their knowledge to the point where one can almost picture the juke joints with their duelling musicians. The brutality of life in this community was shocking to me and the early death of Robert Johnson now seems to be less of a tragedy and more of an inevitability.

I never read anything like this before--it was like watching an amazing movie in written form. This unique book is an undiscovered gem.

This book is the ideal first port of call for any with an interest in contemporary theology. Grenz and Olson place the last century's theological ponderings in their historical context, highlighting the relationships between the leading theologians of the century, and helpfully locating their theologies on a spectrum between the poles of God's immanence or transcendence. All this is skillfully done, woven into a text which includes accurate exposition and even-handed criticism. There is also a good deal of biographical detail which adds colour and (in places) even romance to the subject!

The book begins with an illuminating discussion of the Enlightenment and the problems it threw up for theology. The birth of comtemporary theology is then charted through the work of Schleiermacher in the nineteenth century, to a tried and trusted (?) canon of modern figures, ranging from dogmaticians such as Barth and Tillich, through liberation and feminist theologians, to more 'post-modern' types in the section on Narrative Theology. Very comprehensive for a relatively slim volume. I was engrossed throughout, and my passion for modern theology was kindled by this excellent book.

Of course, any book such as this has to be selective in its material, and some major figures are either ommited or glossed over. There is a considerable Protestant bias with only two Catholic theologians being considered (Rahner and Kung) and not a word about Eastern Orthodox theology, which is becoming a fashionable study in theological circles. By way of other Catholics, both Von Balthasar and Schillebeecks would have been worthy of inclusion. I also feel that a chapter specifically discussing the phenomena of so-called Post-liberal theology would be helpful: in particular the work of George Lindbeck, which has been revolutionary over the last twenty years.

In terms of style, my only criticisms would be that there are occassions when more explanation would be desirable, and that Grenz and Olson's criticisms can (albeit rarely) become a little pedantic. All in all a highly recommended, dare I say enjoyable, read.

I have just used this book as the set text for the 'contemporary theology' module of a theology degree, and I found it an excellent introduction to the basics of recent theological thought. It is certainly accessible for the average undergraduate, and is more easy-going than, say, David Ford's heavy volume 'Modern Theologians'. Although the writers are evangelicals, they generally treat those of other stock fairly even-handedly, and they cover all the main points and never fail to offer poignant criticisms. It becomes a little pedantic at times, particularly some of the obligatory words of praise offered to some of the more objectionable theologians such as Rudolf Bultmann. Such flattery seems rather insincere. There are also one or two points that could have been explained a bit more clearly, instead of being glossed over. On the whole though I couldn't recommend a better intro to contemporary theology. Incidentally, if you are reading modern theologians for the first time, I recommend Wolfhart Pannenberg and Karl Rahner. They were the ones who most impressed me, anyhow, and I think they both brought out important elements of the gospel.

This book provides a comprehensive review on various theological thoughts and movements in the past centuries. Although the authors are evangelists themselves, I think their comments on other schools of thoughts are accurate and fair. The authors use the co-presence of transcendence and immanence of God as a central line in theology, and argue that many theological thoughts are shifted to either side from the central line. I agree with this. One minor problem is that this book may be too difficult for layman. Especially in Chapter 2, their treatment on Kant and Hegel is not clear enough. Readers are required to have a basic background on philosophy and theology in order to understand this book.

This is the 29th Perry Mason novel I've read (the 12th in the series). Forgive me for giving this one less than a rave review. Usually Perry Mason sees what no one else can see--a sort of mid-20th Century Sherlock Holmes. In this case the only surprise about the solution is that it takes Mr. Mason so long to happen upon it. The most interesting feature of this story is Perry Mason's marriage proposal to Della Street. (Holmes' own Doctor Watson got married in the "Sign of Four," but his wife was killed off in "The Empty House." I guess his wife "got in the way" one too many times. Could Della suffer a similar fate?)

If the writing style characteristic of the thirties and forties is something that you enjoy, then Gardner's mysteries are a must-read. In this early novel, mistaken identity plays a large role. We have a switched photograph, a bandaged man, a woman in thick glasses, and a family traveling under false pretenses. Perry Mason is initially involved to protect a young innocent from scandal, but he gets in deeper and deeper until it's finally all about murder.

So, you've heard about Perry Mason and would like to read one of his books? If you were to read one and only one of the dozens of books Erle Stanley Gardner wrote, "The Case of the Substitute Face" should be it. This book, written in 1938, shows Gardner at the top of his form, after he had fully developed his formula, but before it truly became a formula.

Gardner himself was a top lawyer. "The Case of the Chinese Shopkeepers" could have been one of Gardner's books if he hadn't done it himself. When Gardner heard the DA was going to subpoena one of his clients, a chinese shopkeeper in Oxnard CA, Gardner put another chinese man, who didn't speak English, in his client's store. The court officer then brought the wrong witness to court and, after much confusion, the case was dismissed.

This book is an excellent collection of essay by the leading producers of cool, far-out ideas alive today. Just reading it will expand your horizons and help you look at the final frontier in a new way.

Some of the essays, such as G. Harry Stine's on Single-Stage to Orbit spacecraft, are on near-term science and technology. Other essays, such as "Islands in the Sky," are longer-term and closer to science fiction. All are good.

My personal opinion is that the asteroids -- not the planets -- are the future of mankind, so the Mars-exploration essays by Zubrin et al. I found less enthralling. But you Mars fans out there NEED this book.

The essay, "The Economics of Interstellar Commerce" alone makes this book worth the cost.

Although I enjoyed John Lewis's _Mining the Sky_ more (simply because my bent is toward the asteroids), this book is better written and required reading. 4 stars.

I'm giving this five stars for the benefit of the chapters by Robert Zubrin and Martyn Fogg, which are ingenious and daringly original analyses of astronautic engineering and terraforming, respectively - each is the godfather of his field. The other material ranges from curiously quirky but not well-thought out (on terraforming Venus) to the kind of worthlessly unintelligent and uninteresting speculations you might expect to overhear from some goon at the bookstore but not to read in print (see the chapter on settling the Oort Cloud). This book was assembled as a "best of" selection from Analog; in a better world it would have been edited by the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, which would have known where to make the cutoff. Still, the good entries are fantastic enough to be well worth the purchase price.

The book deals with ideas about making space travel easy and colonizing space simple. The first few chapters deal with getting out of the gravity well we call Earth with known science and equipment. The next deal with using the resources that could be found on the Moon, Mars, Mercury and even the Oort Cloud (as well as planting a few colonies here and there)with the knowledge we have and the equipment we could have soon. After that is starts to get harder to picture doing all this projects with current technology. By chapter 8, for explain, we are dealing with terraforming and star engineering. Near the end of the book, starting with chapter 11 we are talking about interstellar space ships and the economices of interstellar commerce. But by than, you think all of it can be done! Each chapter helps to hold up the next one. For example, cheap, easy ways to get into space would cut the cost of space travel and allow for the next step which is exploring the planets and finding resources to help the next step.

Four stars for what has been carried over from the 1980 version, zero stars for what has been appended to it. We can't entirely blame the dictionary for the poor quality of most of these additions. The dictionary depends on a large pool of contributors, most of whom hold academic positions, and our academies are beset with insufficiently acknowledged problems.

One problem is the graduate-school analogue of what in secondary schools has been called "grade inflation". We might call it "degree inflation". Unqualified candidates are routinely pushed through graduate school; mediocre minds are awarded doctorates and assume faculty positions. This is partly the result of a misguided egalitarianism and partly the result of a quid-pro-quo cronyism. In any case, it is self-perpetuating and self-proliferating. It manifests itself here most obviously in rambling pseudo-intellectual essays on such empty buzzwords as "postmodernism".

Another problem is commercialization. It manifests itself here most obviously in vacuous and clumsily written (and randomly strewn with rock journalism cliches) extended accounts of various pop music figures, such as, for example, Bob Dylan and David Bowie. (Both Bob Dylan and David Bowie have composed interesting song lyrics and are worthy subjects for popular culture historians, but neither have any particular MUSICAL significance.)

One could never hope for a 'compleat' dictionary of music and musicians any more than one could hope for hope for a 'compleat'library of knowledge in one publication. But, just as the Encycopeadia Britannica has come to be seen the most comprehensive summary available of knowledge generally, so has Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians come to be seen as the ultimate summary of information available about music and musicians.

The question now is: when will 'Grove' follow the Encyclopaedia Britannica and reach out to a wider audience via CD-ROM and Internet on-line services? For this reviewer: the sooner the better

Ian Bowie

Discursive and authoritative, the one failing is the lack of convenient text search. When available on CD-ROM with that capability, it will be an ideal reference.

This book is definitley not worth considering if you want are trying to compose an effective cover letter. I have worked in human resources for several years and cover letters starting with either" books are as important as bread..." or "have you not found that granting loans involves knowledge...""I have been thinking of what else I might do to line up new buisiness opportunities..." are just not even worth reading. They do not catch one's attention or at least not the kind of attention you want to attract.The examples provided in the book are nothing but very simple written sentences like"...I wish I had space to list all of my qualities..."- I mean what kind of an excuse is that to make a letter short? I cannot believe this book was recommended on an online job search. It is a joke!

I sure hope this review gets posted as I do think bad reviews also have to be included to ensure the free marketplace of opinion! heikecita

I read through it and it is very well done. The writing is lively and you had alot of creative tips. It certainly was engaging for the subject matter. I particularly like your use of real-world examples and the 100 sample cover letters! The only thing I didn't like about the book was the cover, which seemed a bit cheezy. Barbara Mattleman

I wanted a cover letter that would make employers sit up and look at me enough to offer me a paid internship. We were told in school that cover letters would either make us or break us to the point of nonexistence. So I bought your book at Amazon.com. Cover Letters That Will Get You the Job You Want is fantastic. Hit a bull's eye. I started to wonder how my old cover letters got responded to when there are the ones done by you going around. I read your book cover to cover, and I am now armed to write.

There exists a New Yorker review of this book (June 2,2003 issue). It is absolutely fascinating - the review, that is, not the book. It exposes the book as "pedestrian rehash that reads like one of the Victorian hagiographies". The book has ignored all the intervening research and accepted as fact Stanley's self-serving and now-discredited accounts. Most of the New Yorker review is about Stanley and Livingston themselves and chockful of realistic info about these fascinating and utterly dissimilar characters.

With an encompassing narrative, and detailed descriptions of people, circumstances, and places, "Into Africa" is a worthy read for simple entertainment. Learning about Livingstone and Stanley, was engrossing, and learning about their respective journeys through Africa was harrowing and at times defied belief. If ever anyone needed an example of pure determination and pursuit of a goal, and then accomplishment, this book delivers. Showing an emotional aspect, Mr. Dugard demonstrates that attaining a near impossible goal can also result in more intangible rewards, such as Stanley's maturation through his ordeal in Africa to find Dr Livingstone. If you never think history can be exciting, read this book and you will be disabused of that notion. Warring tribes, hostile natives, opportunistic chieftans, Arab slavers, constant disease and inummerable parasites (non-human), all combine to form a formidable obstacle for these intrepid adventurers.

I picked up this book after reading a glowing review of it by Bill Bryson. I'm so glad I did. It's a true page turner. The research is original and powerful and balanced, documenting the obstacles and horrors encountered by Stanley and Livingstone. I was amazed that a book packed with that much information could be such a riveting read. As one who has traveled extensively in Africa, I also thought this book captured the epic sprawl of that wonderful continent (and made me realize how brave Stanley and Livingstone were to venture in alone). This is a story I thought I knew, but realized that I knew very little about until reading Dugard's book.

This slim, yet concise book provides an excellent behind the scenes look at one of filmdom's most famous directors. James Howard has done an excellent job of demolishing the myths which surround Kubrick and presenting a fascinating portrait of a virtuoso whose eye for detail is arguably unsurpassed in film history. Howard reveals that Kubrick's slavish attention to details was such that he considered placing toothbrushes on the set of BARRY LYNDON which were authentic in details to those actually used in the nineteenth century.

My primary criticism of the book is that it was billed as "complete survey of Kubrick's career -- including EYES WIDE SHUT." Well, yes and no. Though the book did include a chapter on Kubrick's last film, I was disappointed to find that Howard had written the book before the film's release. Commentary on Kubrick's swansong are thus limited to rumors of the sort which Howard diligently sought to dispel in the earlier chapters of the book. Apparently, the book was rushed into publication to coincide with the release of EYES WIDE SHUT and to cash in on Kubrick's untimely death. If a second, revised edition were to be released (which included Howard's knowledgeable critique of Kubrick's last film) this book would merit four stars. Recommended with reservations.

I would really love to give this book three and a half stars, but unfortunately that's not an option here. This book gives a detailed account of Kubrick's films, including history of the shooting, cast and crew comments, and excellent photos. The only problem I have with the book is the author's completely biased view of Kubrick. I understand that having a fan write the book makes perfect sense, but any quote that is of a vaguely negative nature toward Kubrick is treated with total horror and disdain. Kubrick was a genius -- there's no doubt about that -- but he was not perfect, and Howard refuses to acknowledge this.

That particular issue aside, this book is essential for anyone who's a fan of the late, great Stanley Kubrick.

James Howard's Stanley Kubrick Companion surveys all the films of Kubrick's career, including Eyes Wide Shut, his 1999 latest. Chapters examine plots, approaches, and styles unique to Kubrick's film projects. This is a highly recommended pick for students of film in general and science fiction film in particular.