one of the first tom sharpe books i read, i was hooked emediately. i found the begining a little slow, but when it finally took of i never stopped laghing. i leave resonably near to the setting in the throwback and was out for a family drive, bored sensless i began reading the remainder of the book. i had just been reading about wark and black pockrington in a passage of the book when i looked up to see a sign post by the road. to my surprise it was pointing out the direction of wark. to me this seemed an amazing coincedence, to match an amazing book.

There's funny. There's hysterical, like Blott and his capers & then there's "The Throwback".Twenty years on and there are still very few books to rival this witty, saucy tale of societal & bureaucratic bedevelment, stitching family, needling neighbours and machining the powers that be, alike. I only wish I had the ability to tinker (tailored of course) with multi-nationals in the same game. Like others before me, all my copies of this book have mysteriously never returned. I have never seen a 2nd-hand copy for sale; New is now a myth; and so I have found solace in Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat traps. Best of luck keeping your copy.

Of all Sharpe's work The Throwback is definitely the most jaw-dropping. Nobody creates more extreme and disparate characters and throws in massive doses of mis-understanding then Sharpe. The wild sequences that play one after the other will leave many an image in the readers mind, albeit not very savory. Characters using cheese graters to ease injuries on sensitive body parts only to have matters get worse brings to mind complex mousetrap gadgets. I highly recommend this book.

This book is a great book. It's full of supense, sadness, and happiness. Three months ago Chris Barton lost his loved little sister, Molly. Missing presumed drowned is what the papers said, and the Barton's had been picnicking by the river when Molly disappeared.

I am an elemenary teacher and I rarely have the time to read books written for teenagers. This book, however, is not only appropriate for middle school/high school ages but would also be a good read aloud for younger children. The story is exciting from beginning to end and the action never really slows down. I gave it four stars only because I was able to predict the ending; otherwise, the book is definitely top-notch, five star quality! Yes, I will be reading the book again!

I found this book both sad and suspenseful. It is probly the best book I have read to date. Chris still torn from the death of his sister finds hope when he discovers she could still be alive, but pat his best friend is the only person who will believe him. With doubt at the back of there minds they head out on a thrilling adventure thats a real page turner. i found this book heart-warming with out the usual viloince comenly in these type of books. I have read it several times and would recamend it for anyone.

Want to save the franchise? Give it over to Matthew Woodring Stover, who takes a character heretofore only distinguished by the fact that Sam Jackson portrays him, and brings him to gritty, determined life, as a Jedi forced to confront all his assumptions as he enters his own Heart of Darkness.

Mace Windu, Jedi Master, returns to the planet of his birth to unconver the connection between his old apprentice and some massacres during a bloody (is there any other kind?) civil war. He finds that nothing, including himself, is as it seems. Well enough plot...

Stover creates a haunting, wholly believable view of what it means to be a Jedi in a world gradually devolving towards empire. His characters are vivid, filled with humanity and humor, and a maturity that makes this so much more than just a 'Star Wars' book.

Stover does a brilliant job of showing us both the steel that makes Windu one of the most powerful Jedi Masters, as well as the humanity which in the end, will be the temporary downfall of the Jedi and the Old Republic.

And it's hellishly entertaining. An unbelievable ride.

Shatterpoint may be the first Star Wars book that actually is written for someone older then fourteen.

This is another great Matthew Stover novel. Finally a Star Wars book that is gritty and dark; that faces the multiple aspects that make up the human psyche. Shatterpoint not only investigates the dark side of the force, but it investigates the dark side of human nature.

As in all of Stover's novels, there is no hard line between good and evil, an important lesson especially in times of war (like now) when it's easy to slip into an 'us and them' mentality.

Stover has obviously taken a page (or several) from Heart of Darkness. Mace Windu travels deep into a forest like none on this earth. As he travels deeper and deeper in an attempt to 'save' his one time Padawan, Windu is forced to investigate all of his values. Values that had seemed so hard and fast, but turn out to be useless in a world outside the Jedi Temple. Shades of gray abound and often it is difficult if not impossible to decide who is right and who is wrong.

If you are interested in a Star Wars book that goes beyond black and white, droids and wookies; a novel that is about the moral puzzles that each of us are forced to confront and solve every day, read Shatterpoint. You won't be dissappointed.

If the Star Wars universe has a "Vietnam", it must be Haruun Kal. In SHATTERPOINT, Matthew Stover takes the Star Wars saga "up river" in search of a jedi master gone mad. Through the eyes of Mace Windu, the reader is given a ringside seat to the insanity of a no-win war. In this action packed descent into darkness, Master Windu attempts to hunt down his former apprentice who has possibly fallen to the darkside. This is the most violent and depressing Star Wars story I have ever read. It is also one of the best.

This dual language edition of Baudelaire's revolutionary work is an excellent addition to any poetry lover's bookshelf. The translations are well thought out and can be read as works on their own if you do not speak French. However, Baudelaire's poetry is best read in the original French if the reader really wishes to appreciate the gravity and depth of poems such as 'Le Cygne' (Andromac je pense a vous) or marvel at the streets of Paris in the middle of Haussmann's redevelopment plan.

Baudelaire allows us to explore our own emotions and leads us on a journey from this world, to the classical world and then on to the next. We see love in many guises, from Baudelaire's various 'amantes' to sex with common prostitutes. We cannot help be amazed by the poet's versatility of subject matter and even of style, particularly in 'Harmonie du Soir'. This collection can be read on many different levels and every time one rereads a poem, there is always something more.

I would recommend 'Les Fleurs du Mal' to anyone who has been entranced by French literature all through the ages. You will see love, hate and Paris as you've never seen them before.

This is a magnificent edition of the seminal Fleurs du Mal, printed in its original French and a sympathetic and incisive English that retains rhythm and form in a way rarely seen in recent Baudelaires. For poetry lovers, and lovers of literature, Baudelaire is a first-stop: all of twentieth century poetry is in his debt, yet he is often overlooked in contemporary analysis of influences on poets like Eliot, even Heany. The stark, startling honesty of poems like De Profundis Clamavi, or The Balcony, wipe away the years and bring this rebel visionary of the soul full-dimensionally into our twenty-first century living-rooms. This is an important work, as important as anything in French literature. The frame of "poetry" distracts: Flowers of Evil is life lessons, a handbook more stimulating and life-affirming than any top-ten self-help manual.

This edition of "Flowers of Evil" contains all of the poems, not in their original order. However, ample introductory material and two tables of contents allows the reader to see what the work was when it was first published.

The poems themselves cover many subjects in traditional symbolist style, from cats to gypsies to corpses to a whole section on wine. A must for any student of poetry.

However, if you're looking for a translation that is true word for word and does not attempt to preserve the meter and rhyme, this is not the book for you. Mcentyre does a fabulous job tweaking the enlish to preserve poetic structure, but for students of French, and those interested in doing their own translations, other editions are preferable.

The nutritional program suggested by this book is outstanding and is an essential aid to recovery from alcoholism or addiction. While it is not a substitute for the fellowship and the spiritual enhancement of your life that you can find in AA, it can make your path of recovery far easier to tread by allieviating the very REAL bio-chemical pulls and traumas that distinguish alcoholics from nonalcoholics and which make recovery far more painful than it needs to be. You don't get any gold stars for making your recovery more difficult! The nutritional supplements and dietary advice set forth in this book can definitely make it much easier. This is the kind of advice you won't often hear at AA or in traditional methods endorsed by otherwise outstanding treatment centers. The information on hypoglycemia alone is worth the price of this book and shows the fallacy of the often-heard advice that a recovering alcoholic should eat a lot of sugar to reduce cravings. That can be a recipe for disaster, as this book explains. The truly unfortunate thing is that there is so much tension between the Larsen approach and traditional treatment courses, as they really need to complement one another to give the alcoholic or addict the optimal chance for success. Those of us who suffer from this disease deserve nothing less!

I have often wondered what we as AA have to offer a detoxing newcomer other than "let go and let God", only to watch them get drunk before the night is over. Then we sit back and say "he isn't ready" or "she can't get honest". Larsons book opens many possibilities for AA and others to explore, and takes James Millam's book "Under The Influence" to a new level. I believe the conventional treatment industry and AA is going to be slow to try a new approach, even with thier dismal success rates, but Larson may have opened the door a little wider. This book is definatly worth a read, if at the very least, only to educate yourself as to some of the physical aspects of alcoholism, and at the very most, a working sobriety and knowledge to share with others. The only criticism I have is some of her dubious statistics, and her failure to offer sources for many of her nutrients other than her facility. I imagine that a practicing alcoholic could get frustrated going store to store trying to collect the numerous supplements, and a simple guide would go a long way in helping someone find these things. I hope that future authors will take the idea further. Perhaps it is time we began to take the treatment of alcoholism out of the 1930's.

Mrs. Larson's book has some interesting research in it. The results are stimulating to think about. That statement presumes that her research is correct in it's conclusions, and I do believe her research is correct.

Summarizing what I believe to be her modus operandi, it's to: (1) gather information about what can help an alcoholic recover from their addiction without withdrawal or craving symptoms,
(2) provide services and products that help alcoholics recover from their addictions to alcohol without withdrawal .

Mrs. Larson's story (as she tells it in her book) is congruent with that description of her approach. Her own son killed himself in her home after attending a 6 week drug treatment program. Since then she has studied alcohol treatment, and has researched valuable approaches toward treating alcohol-dependency. Mrs. Larson writes with integrity. Mrs. Larson describes her story in her book.

I believe the book is a good information source and is trustworthy in it's claims. I'm also a believer in supplements from their effects on me, so you could say I'm biased toward Joan Larsen's treatment program.

I have been taking supplements for a long time. I know from my own research that supplement efficiacy depends on a number of factors, from supplement raw material production by their chemical company to supplement preparation by their manufacturer to supplement packaging by their wholesaler to supplement shipment by their transport company, and finally to supplement shelf storage by a supplement resellers. Then there's the issue of how supplements are used by their consumers, in what amounts, at what times of day, with what contents of what meals, and with what other supplements or medications.

"Seven Weeks To Sobriety" does sell a supplement line distributed through Mrs. Larson's company. Mrs. Larsen uses the supplements she sells by mail order at her facility in Minnesota, and that means to me that her mail-order supplements are definitely high-quality.

I recommend the book if you want to read through it to find out how supplements can help you lose your biochemical addiction to alcohol. Out-patient treatment at her clinic is covered by private insurance (I checked), so maybe the cost of her supplement program is as well, or maybe it will be in the future. If so, then what her book suggests is a treatment for alcoholism that alcohol-dependent people can easily afford.

Some severe alcohol problems apparently require time at her clinic to effectively solve, but others can be helped with just the right supplement program. No one should believe that a solution will work in all cases, but hers will if any will!

While remembering the childhood innocence that has left so many of us behind, this book reflects the simple joys of the great American pastime, playing baseball. I highly recommend the reading of this book for a sure source of entertainment.

So far this book has informed me on stuff I did'nt know. I had no idea Charles Schultz played baseball. This is a very good book.

I found the Book very interesting and most of all the Photographs including the Photograph on page 14, of George Vecsey sitting and reading The New York Times/Sports Section ,which I photographed.

Summary: Think of this book as an update of The Discipline of Market Leaders as applied to consumer products and services companies. The conclusions are based on a suvey of 5000 consumers and reveal deep discontent with the many manipulative practices that companies use. The authors identify the key dimensions of any consumer products or services company as being defined by price, product, access, service, and experience. The key lesson is to pick one area to outperform everyone else, one area to be a strength, and not to fall below industry par everywhere else. Almost all consumer companies will benefit from reexamining their business models and execution in light of this book's content.

Review: Seldom is a new way of thinking about business models tied to end-user research. That rare linking adds both depth and breadth to the content of The Myth of Excellence.

The methodology was a powerful one. Find out from consumers who they like, and why they like them. Take the results, and analyze them for their potential business model choice implications and to spot weaknesses in implementation.

If you are like me, you will find some of these dimensions to be a little different than the way you usually think about business models. That's good, because it will stretch your thinking. In particular, the concept of access will be new. The idea is to make it easier to get a broader range of offerings. Think of this as being like a concierge who gets things for you at a fine hotel. You don't know the area, or where the best choices are. The concierge shares that knowledge, and your stay is improved.

What hit me most powerfully in this book were the quotes about how angry consumers are about mixed messages out there. For example, many stores say you can take things back . . . but most make the experience of returning items so unpleasant that no one would go back. Or a company may advertise how friendly its stores are, and have large signs about writing personal checks that make it clear that they think the customers are potential fraud artists. A company may promote having low prices, and then raise them by 20 percent connected to giving away something for free that is less valuable. Those examples show hypocritical behavior as well as lack of respect for customers. They think we are very stupid and subservient. Well, your purchases may just go to someone else.

These observations were tied to the concept of there being three levels of business relationship: acceptable, preferred, and trusted. The book's point is that the most successful will be trusted based on their outstanding performance in one dimension, strength in another, and dependable performance in everything else. We are all busy and distracted. We need trusted companies who will look out for our interests, so we can spend the time we would normally use checking up on them doing something more urgent and important . . . like be with our children.

These examples are also helpfully tied down by many examples of businesses that you know, and new examples from Europe and small companies in the United States that you will not know. I thought the examples were very interesting, and look forward to trying the services and products of these new companies to me like Superquinn in Ireland and Circles in Boston.

There is a sort of half science fiction, half tongue-in-cheek section at the end of the book that projects where these levels of performance could be many years in the future. You'll have a good laugh here.

The only weakness I saw in the book is the lack of a serious take on how rapidly new elements of consumer business models might emerge, and how rapidly competition will require companies to be excellent in outperforming others in more business model elements. My own research suggests that the standard described in this book will probably be obsolete in the near future. For those who fall well below this standard now, the book will be a superb resource. For those who are at the top of their industry's game, the book will not be as helpful.

After you finish thinking about this fine work, I suggest that you spend time every week being an anonymous customer of your own company. Buy and use the competitors' products and services as well. Then ask yourself: How are you doing today?

Extend effectively beyond the best . . . always!

Crawford (executive vice president, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young) and Mathews (futurist, FirstMatter) suggest that companies that strive for excellence in everything they do often fail to achieve success in anything that is important to their market success. Instead, based on their study of more than 10,000 consumers and interviews with major international executives, they argue that organizations should rank their goals and select one transaction component (price, product, service, access, experience) in which to excel and one in which to differentiate; in the remaining three they should strive to meet the industry standard. The authors also discuss the importance of respect, trust, fairness, and honesty to business success. They illustrate their consumer relevancy model in discussing the success of various companies, e.g., McDonald's, Best Buy, Krispy Kreme, and Southwest Airlines. The following chapter titles reflect coverage: "The New Model for Consumer Relevancy;" "Would I Lie to You?: The Overrated Importance of Lowest Price;" and "Why Good is Good Enough: Choice and the Issue of Product Bandwidth." A succinct writing style and excellent contemporary examples enhance the presentation. Although written for business practitioners, the book should be required reading for upper-division undergraduate business majors. An excellent Internet site supplements the volume. Recommended for academic and professional collections

A very good book, not only easy to read but enjoyable and motivating as well. I believe these guys are right on the money with their research and analysis. I agree with the interrpretations of the research data and found myself saying "Yes, that's just how I feel." in response to many of the stories of customer interactions.

I believe that this book addresses the most important areas of business today and identifies what consumers are "screaming" for - SERVICE, RESPECT, etc. Most of this book is common sence - it's amazing how uncommon it is that these principles are put into practice. We are at a transition in the business world where product quality is easily duplicated by many competitors. Customer service and the customer "experience" will be the deciding factor in the decades to come. I would hope that all businesses would buy this book and work towards being the kind of companies used in the case studies here. What a pleasure it would be if all of our day to day dealings were with companies of this caliber!

The authors recognition of the end of the Information age and movement into a new age where "appreciation and reverence for life" become the motivating factors for those who wish to succeed, shows just how in-tune they are with the world around us. This recognition will be invaluable to all businesses as time goes on - now, who will take advantage of it and use it wisely?

I highly reccommend this book for everyone from the CEO to the consumer. People are asking (demanding) for RESPECT, as they should, and the businesses that understand this and embrace this will be the future winners.

As a professional comedian, I rarely laugh out loud -- especially at books. In fact, this is one of the only books I've read IN MY LIFE that I can remember doing so. And I don't mean I laughed once or twice -- I laughed THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH! Add to that the insight I got on the working mind of the single guy, and it was win/win all-around!

My best friend Ari wanted me to read this book so badly she faxed it over to me page by page! She said the character Pea epitomized my person. I read the book and honestly related to almost every character, not just Pea. I am currently an undergrad attending USC and this book was a fountain of information for a guy just like the "guys" in the book. I almost felt as though I had encountered a new group of friends! The characters are real, down to earth, relatable sorts. Any male out there that has tried, and failed, to "bag a babe" will love this book! Not only is it hilarious, it is insightful, honest, and thought provoking. I feel so much better as a single, college age male after having read this book. I know I am not alone! I highly recommend this book! As a matter of fact, not only am I going to reread it, but I'm also going to buy copies for all my male friends! Excellent book! I couldn't stop reading it once I started.

What a scream this book is! I read the first 30 pages yesterday and had to quit reading because I was laughing so hard, the tears were messing up my make-up! I have already begun to tell my friends about this hilarious read. Great work for a guy in a blue, courduroy jacket! Back to the book! ds

based on all the other reviews for this book, i was really looking forward to reading this. when i got finished reading this all i could ask myself was "this can't be all there is?" the writer makes things way more complicated then they need to be, and there isn't anything earth shattering included. the basic stuff, he makes sound so complicated that you need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what he's talking about. this book contains information for the intermediate bowler, but he or she better have an iq of 200 to figure it out.save yourself some money, go bowl a few games and actually work on things that you need to fix. you know what they are. it will be a better use of your time and money.

I bought this book two years ago. This book is for more advanced bowlers who can understand the technical aspects of bowling. My average was around 178, and I just couldn't seem to improve. Since studying this book, My average is now 197. I'm bowling the best of my life at over 50. I have now bowled two 700 series and one 296 game. Yea. the last shot was pretty shakey! I still return to this book and reread different areas. It takes some time to understand..but if your looking to learn how to move on the approach, and trying to understand oil patterns. etc. causing different lane conditions, then this is an excellent reference book.

I bought this book at the begining of last season. I had to read it twice to grasp the language. I have been bowling for 15 years and understood the concepts but never heard the terms Larry used. Once you figure out what he is talking about the lanes just seem to open up and the shots and adjustments become second nature. Last season my average jumped from 190 to 207. That was the highest average the house I bowled in has seen in the last 5 years. This house has the most difficult shot in town. My average jumped to 219 in the easy house. I credit this book for my making the local associations allstar team. Only 15 bowlers are selected out of nearly 5,000 sanctioned bowlers each year. While the section on balls is outdated everything else is spot on to improve your game. This book is short and to the point. Read it, Practice it, and take over your league. BE WARNED THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR BEGINERS THOUGH!

I bought this book about 10 hours ago and despite the Oscars on t.v., I started reading it and could not put it down. I read through the 400 pages in about six hours!!

This is one of the best air port fiction on international intrigue in recent memory. Forget techno babble of Tom Clancy, and contrived dribbles of other ersatz "thriller" writers out there today, let's hope that Francine Mathews comes out with sequel after sequel! And forget too Jack Ryan, there is a new fictional hero at the CIA: Caroline Carmichael!!

The gist of the plot: still grieving the loss of her husband, a CIA operative who perished in a plan crash some three years ago, Caroline Carmichael, an analyst for the CIA is called into work on the kidnapping of the Vice President of the U.S. Carmichael then learns that her dead husband is alive and behind the kidnapping. What follows then is a mixture of creative and intriguing fictional narrative, lessons in political history of Central Europe, and studies of three dimensional characters that make you feel that every thing that the writer writes of is REAL and that you are RIGHT there as the actions happen.

This is the kind of air port fiction that only a well researched writer with an ear for dialogue, knowledge of history and politics, and emotional sensitivity for relationships that exist between a man and a woman, a child and a parent, a teacher and a student can write about.

In the past, when I wanted action and intrigue in a novel, I had to sacrifice good writing and emotional depth, but with Mathews, I sacrified nothing but time that it took to read the book. If you love well written political thrillers, if you want a fresh voice with a new outlook and and an intelligent voice, get this book and watch it climb the ladder to a number one best seller which this book will soon become!

This was definitely a book that was hard to put down.The book
is action packed from beginning to end. A bomb is exploded in
Berlin. The Vice-President of the United States,Sophie Payne is
kidnapped by a terrorist group. The terrorist group is called 30 April,which is led by Mlan Krusevic. He is indeed a bad guy. Our heroine is named Caroline Carmichael. Her husband is thought dead as a result of an airline crash. He shows up in the video of the kidnapping.Caroline is used as a cutout to draw him out.
This book has many colorful characters that results in a good read.The plot is outstanding as well. The book never stops moving.You will hang onto your seat until it ends. Read this,you
will enjoy it.

After I finished Judith Ivory's "Untie My Heart," I started (and stopped) reading 20 other works of fiction. I made it no further than page 50 in any of them. It wasn't until this book that I was able to read a novel from start to finish. The overwhelming reason I gave up on all those books was that they all sounded the same. The plotlines had been done to death. This is a spy novel written by a female CIA agent. It features a female heroine. She is married to an agent herself but there is a big difference between them. She is an analyst (scours data) while he is out on the streets after people, very bad people. She thinks she's been a widow the past few years because he was blown up by terrorists on a plane. However, there is an attack on the American Vice President in present day Germany and she (and the whole CIA) see her husband is one of the terrorists on the helicopter. The terrorists take the Vice President hostage and from there we are off and running. This is a very well crafted story that doesn't let up for an instant. The only other book it reminds me of is John LeCarre's "Little Drummer Girl." Le Carre's book is more literary and better developed in terms of characterization. However, this novel is better than the Le Carre in terms of pace and suspense. Alfred Hitchcock, were he alive, would be interested in the movie rights, I'm sure. Read both. You can't miss.