The Secrets of the UFO was Don Elkins' and Carla Rueckert's first book.

Fans of THE RA MATERIAL should read this book to glean some insight into the history of that momentous (RA) contact.

THE SECRETS OF THE UFO was published before the RA Material and shows how Don Elkins' and Carla Rueckert's research progressed to that which would eventually result in the extraordinary contact of an advanced extraterrestrial social memory complex called RA (See the book THE RA MATERIAL).

THE SECRETS OF THE UFO discusses 10 cases of well-known UFO experiences. It also discusses in detail the harmonious interweaving of the information obtained from various (early) contactees of the UFO phenomena.

Lee Ofsted is just beginning to make a name for herself in the competitive world of professional women's golf, and this tournament may well be the one that will be her springboard to stardom--or so she hopes. But the sudden, bloody death of the top-ranking player coupled with the equally sudden appearance of a screamer of a slice in Lee's usually impeccable swing kills all her hopes. Who wanted to kill the star? And what is causing Lee's incredible run of bad luck? A WICKED SLICE takes the thread of these questions through a maze of fascinating minor characters as Lee tracks the mystery to its surprising ending.

I am not a golfer, but I found the sport, with its professional players as well as the well-heeled amateurs to be a vivid, fascinating background to the story. Lee Ofsted's character is engaging, intriguing and believable. Charlotte and Aaron Elkins have created a cast of interesting characters and a plot with some truly nifty turns. I recommend the book very highly.

This is the first in a series of books featuring Professor Gideon Oliver, a physical anthropologist who gets involved in solving crimes by piecing together evidence from bone fragments. The author's background in the field of anthropology certainly gives his character and the many scientific "factoids" the ring of authenticity. (Makes me wonder why I found the subject so boring in college!)

In this story, Oliver sets out to teach some anthropology courses at a series of military bases in Europe--a nice break from his normal teaching routine, as well as an opportunity to travel around some interesting places.
However, as soon as he arrives in Germany, his hotel room is searched and he is physically attacked. This is just the start of his troubles, as various arms of NATO security (who don't tell each other what they are doing) get him enmeshed in an attempt to discover a traitor among the faculty who is somehow getting secret information from military bases to the Russian KGB. (This story takes place more than 20 years ago.) The KGB is just as misinformed as the NATO guys, and the plot starts to take on a Keystone Cops affect--except there is a lot of mayhem and murder involved here. It's a good read--not great literature, but an absorbing and competently written book.

I like Gideon Oliver, professor of Anthropology, a great deal after reading this book. He's a little bit of a nerd -- but his ability to distinguish the bone structure of a Scandanavian vs. a Russian proves to be an handy skill.

The book is set in early 1980's Europe in the NATO military community (Heidleberg, Sicily and Madrid) and is full of cold war skulldugery -- but with a sense of humor and even a little romance.

The writing is better than average for a first book and I'll be keeping my eyes open for a copy of the next book in the series.

This is Mr. Elkins first mystery novel with the investigative "bone detective" Gideon Oliver. Gideon becomes bait as ruthless people try to obtain valuable information. Watch as Gideon narrowly escapes death several times at the hands of ruthless yet bungling terrorist types. As a physical anthropologist, Gideon uses his powers of detection using bones and bone fragments to literally save his life.

This book is very entertaining and I think you will enjoy it.

Aaron Elkins has always been an uneasy fit in the mystery genre where his books about "Bone Detective" Gideon Oliver have been pigeonholed. His books are more adventures than mysteries, and the mystery elements tend to seem like plot twists rather than clues. Loot, starring new Elkins protagonist Ben Revere, is marketed as a thriller, which I suppose makes as much sense as mystery does for the kind of book Elkins writes. But make no mistake - despite the change in marketing strategy, this is a vintage Elkins work, much of a piece with his Chris Norgren art "mysteries."

When I say that Loot is much like Elkins's other work, that is a recommendation. Elkins's writing style is wonderful: knowing without being jaded, cynical without being downbeat, and full of amusing and telling details. When I read his Gideon Oliver mysteries, I end up wishing I were an anthropologist; when I read his Chris Norgren mysteries, I end up wishing I were a curator in a fine arts museum. Finishing Loot, I found myself caught up in the hero's quest to repatriate art stolen during World War II. I keep hoping that he will one day spawn a host of Elkins imitators I can read, but until then, you can only get the Elkins style from Elkins.

I have always been drawn toward novels with some sort of historical theme. Aaron Elkins' "Loot" which is about missing paintings, that were looted during World War II. The book starts with a quick history lesson then jumps to present day were one of the missing paintings shows up in a Boston pawnshop. A series of murders send main character Ben Revere, an art expert on a chase to find the killers plus the rightful owners of the precious works.

Revere ends up running all over Europe, and Elkins descriptions of cities like Vienna and St. Petersburg make you feel like you have been there. The story is paced well and all of the characters are well rounded, almost too well rounded in the case of Revere. Revere is a true fence sitter, and at times his wishy-washy attitude was a little over the top.

In total Elkins does deliver a fine job keeping the reader engaged with a fine mix of action and informative data. Elkins invokes some thought provoking questions. Is looting works of art during wartime a necessary evil, to keep the works from being destroyed? Overall a very well done and enjoyable read.

"So, if my song you'll 'ear, I will learn you plain an' clear, 'ow to pay yourself for fightin' overtime" (from Rudyard Kipling's "Loot"). For as long as wars have been fought, invading armies have looted the countryside. It was one of the perquisites of the common soldier. During World War II, the German government systematically looted conquered territories, taking valuable artwork back to Germany. In the confusion during the closing days of the war, a truckload of valuable paintings vanishes, but an inventory of the truck's contents remains in the German records.

Benjamin Revere is an art expert living in Boston. Over 50 years have passed, and one of the missing paintings has just shown up in a Boston pawn shop. When the pawn shop owner is killed, Ben is drawn into the investigation. The case seems at a dead end until a companion painting shows up in Austria in the hands of a shady Hungarian. When Ben is contacted by an Austrian count, who claims to be the son of the original owner of the painting, Ben leaves home to travel to Austria, Russia, and Hungary to track down information.

The case is complicated when people come out of the woodwork with competing claims for the Boston painting (estimated value of over $5 million). A trail of dead bodies develops when people associated with the paintings are murdered. It becomes an interesting case of intrigue as Ben tracks down the paintings, with some surprising revelations. There are some comments on different countries' attitudes relating to the ownership of looted art, including references to the Elgin marbles now in England.

I've read everything by this author and enjoyed every book....except this one. Perhaps it was because I have developed such expectations based on his past works. There were too many segments where things just dragged on and situations that just repeated themselves. Lily and Pete were too shallow and neurotic for my tastes, although somewhat improving by the book's end. The ending was a nice twist but not enough to push the overall rating of this book higher. I've certainly missed Charlotte's works lately and hope she will have something new coming out soon.

It took a while for this one to get going - after 50 pages I thought that I was going to put it down. But then it heated-up. In addition to being a solid read, with an excellent plot line, I actually learnt about the French Resistance in WW2. I am not a fan of war history, so actually learning something while enjoying the suspense of the novel was a bonus. I will recommend this Aaron Elkin novels to friends - as it was the first book by Elkin that I read, I'll try to track down others of his as well.

Suspense takes a turn for the sinister when a tale is set in foreign locales. Edgar Award winner Aaron Elkins knows this well and utilizes it to perfection in his latest thriller "Turncoat." Following on the heels of his acclaimed "Loot" and "Skeleton Dance," we knew it would be a riveting read. We weren't disappointed.

Opening lines set the scene and pique interest: "For everybody else in America it was the day JFK was killed in Dallas. For me, it would always be the day Lily's father turned up on our doorstep...P>Elkins's portrait of good and evil is stunning in every way. "Turncoat" is a taut thriller, and startling reminder of how the present is affected by the past.

- Gail Cooke

This book started out very well, with the interesting premise of a properous businessman who grows more and more unscrupulous and eventually winds up in jail. The early details of the man's youth with his mentally unbalanced, emigrant merchant father are very entertaining, and the details of the man's unsatisfactory homelife are often very funny. However, the surreal nature of the prison life and the magical realism that the author indulges in are overdone, too detailed and ridiculous.

The author seems to be trying to say that the businessman's corruption stemmed from something in his soul, and that the prison with its psuedo-psychologist warden and its crazy rules is there to address this part of the man's character, but in the end it's all a tedious mish-mash and the speeches all go on for too long. The book collapses under the weight of this surreal, oddball device.

Do not let this book, this great book, gather dusk on remainder shelves. Do not let this name, this great name, dissolve, turn phosphorescent. Elkin explains, in difficult topsysturvy sentences, why life is funny, why life is worth living despite itself. Elkin shows how life is black yet burnt bright with light.

Gideon Oliver's wife Julie takes a more active role in this story set mostly in rural Oregon. The story has elements of a good Elkins book with another lesson in forensic anthropology. At times it is very funny and in spots is quite morbid. Although the proposed motive for the killings is unconvincing, Julie's enhanced role makes the reading worthwhile.

After, the plot took shape, it was exciting and thrilling. There were interesting facts and good anthropological references.

I adore mysteries where a man has to figure out what happened with his head rather than his fists. Elkins is a remarkably talented and intelligent individual, and his books about the "Skeleton Dectetive" are charming and fascinating. A lot like how Sherlock Holmes or a Magician, Oliver seems able to pull amazing facts off of skeletons - and even after he explains how it's done, it's still pretty amazing. With Gideon, John, and Julie - who have become some of my favorite characters - there's more of the action for everyone. An Elkins mystery is always perfect for a rainy day.

This book won the "Pulitizer Prize" of literature and its initial pages are full of rave reviews by prestigious literary figures and publications. I wondered why I wasn't wild about this book the way so many readers are. I found it to be slow going. It's said to be hilarious. I guess I have a different sense of humor because it didn't strike me as even mildly funny. The situations were goofy amd clever, but Mr. Elkin dissected them so completely with his verbal virtuousity that he buried the humor.

In general, that's the problem I had with the book. There's no doubt the author has a fantastic gift for the English language, and bringing it to bear on an ordinary elderly Jewish widow is a great concept. However, I felt his elaborate descriptions of Mrs. Bliss's thoughts, feelings and character got in the way of getting to know her. When the sentences are so long and full of parentheses that I have to go back to the beginning to remind myself what the original point was, it breaks my focus and distances me.

Mrs. Bliss was shaken out of her narrow rigid routine and began to see and understand more about life and about herself. However, I don't feel I took the trip with her. Because she often doesn't understand why she does things, I was clueless about how or why she was going to react from one minute to the next. That's the fun of this book for readers who can just sit back, listen and enjoy. They're the ones who'll find it hilarious. For us more compulsive folks, it's boring and frustrating. I didn't form any kind of relationship with Mrs. Bliss, didn't particularliy like any of the characters and didn't care what happened to them. I think if I was Jewish and/or closer to retirement age I would have picked up on more of the book's subtleties. This is a book each reader needs to sample for themselves. However, even though it got in the way for me at times, the beautifully crafted language is a treat for anyone who loves words.

Well at first I did catch on about the book when I first started reading it. The more I read the book the better if got to my understanding. It is a very good book. I could relate to some of the things that she was talking about. Mrs. Ted Bliss is a smart woman but does not quite realize that she is. It is just a great book.

Thank you Stanley Elkin

I was saddended to learn that Stanley Elkin had passed on because his writing in Mrs. Ted Bliss so inspired me to write with more brio, more of a kind of "high" tone of humor, wit, compassion. I adored Mrs. Ted Bliss. It was such a funny idea, the elderly retiree hob-nobbing with drug lords; the feisty little old lady fighting stereotypical tendencies in herself. And, bottom line, the book is hilarious. I cannot recommend it more highly to one and all for a whole bundle of laughs. Mr. Elkin created a masterpiece, one I like to give to friends as a special gift.

Ok, I understand what Elkins is trying to do here. The Metaphor is fascinating: Painting is like antiquarian alchemy. The creative process of working, discovery, and distillation of unknown substances into tangible liquids, solids, etc. Blah, blah, blah. Another reviewer said, "Arcane." No kidding. This stuff can be interesting, but who cares what the alchemical symbol for mercury is? Except maybe a student of alchemy. Elkins practically admits since Modern Chemistry came along it's all nonsense and mythology. Does anybody besides Elkins really study this quackery? HERMAPHRODITES? OEDIPUS? Woody Allen would have a field day with this stuff. I want to learn about painting!! This book is replete with this kind of academia throughout the majority of the treatise, when it could have been outlined in the first Chapter. Elkins is very erudite and understands his topic well. He is extremely articulate. I had to read this with an unabridged dictionary in my lap. But his publisher should have made him focus more on his wonderful knowledge of painting. The book should have been titled, WHAT ALCHEMY IS.

However, what illuminates this murky essay is Elkins examination of paint on a surface. Included in this book are 15 color plates of telephotographic representations of some famous and not so famous paintings. It's here that Elkins shines a light on the process of putting color on a surface. Texture, Underpainting, Thickness, Brushstroke, Mixture, Sweat, Blood, Feces, Hair and more, are thoroughly deconstructed in these passages. AMAZING!! Who cares about the Metaphor? I'm a painter. I wanted more examination of painting. It's here, that Elkins gifts of teaching truely overwhelm the reader.

Maybe someday Elkins will write a REAL book called, "WHAT PAINTING IS." I think he'd have a runaway Bestseller on his hands.

Maybe if I bury some tubes of paint, a stretch, some eye of newt, and the red pubic hair of a menstrating woman in a stone house under a full moon and dig it up in 2 years, I'll have a representational masterpiece of an homunculus. HOLY COW!! I'M A GENIUS!!

GO BACK TO PAINTING, ELKINS!! YOU'RE UNDOUBTEDLY MAD!!

I found the premis interesting, especially the ideas expressed in the first chapter. However, some of the alchemical ideas in later chapters seemed totally irrelevant to the act of painting. Nevertheless, it is a book with ideas you won't find anywhere else.

This is an intriguing and new approach to understanding the intensity of the process of painting. Elkins offers unique insights and theory not on the subject matter that is presented as much on the metaphoric possibilities that link to painitng and its involvment. This book as his others open wonderful doors into further reasearch via thier bibliographies and references. Simply readable this book is worth the read. unforgettable. His newest book about the body should be another book to have.

This subject is fascinating. It is amazing that such a load of drivel could be written about it. The author is clearly an observer who has not been invited to participate in the knowledge of the subject by it's practitioners. Elkin's style is to list a bunch of claims over and over with no flow or emotion - If you are thinking about buying this book then please try to get a copy from the library first and sample it before wasting hard earned money. I totally recommend a book called Chamalu though - one of the best books I have ever read!

I deal in Australian artifacts and associated material, as well as studying the culture and beliefs of Aboriginal Society within Australia. Living in Australia I can verify a lot of facts this book contains, fisrt hand. It is well written, concise and accurate from cover to cover. It is a good starting point for anyone interested in the world's oldest tribal customs. A lot of the facts are based on the dreaming of the aboriginals and oral history. When read one must remember that some 'facts' are beliefs of the peoples, such as being able to fly, restoring limbs to bodies etc. If you have a basic knowledge of Aboriginal 'knowledge' this is one of the best books on the subject. It deasl mainly with beliefs and customs, not glossy coffee table book items. Well worth the money!!