I love all the Chris Norgren books that Aaron Elkins has written. Pick up this book and I am sure you will agree with me that it is well worth your time. There are 3 books in this series and I wish Mr. Elkins would continue the series.

I stumbled on Aaron Elkins awhile ago, and I promptly went out and bought all of his Gideon Oliver books. When Gideon was finished, I started his Chris N. books - and feel even deeper in love. Elkins truly knows how to write about art, and if you love art and art history the way I do, you'll abosultely love his book dealing with art fraud and the like. Few people can actually deal with mysteries surrounding art, because they skim the details or make reference to braodly popular pieces and artists which they know offhand. Not so with Elkins - he knows both the obscure and the popular, and he writes about art like someone who loves it and understands it. And...about the mystery? You'll like Chris as a character, and like all of Elkins mysteries, this one has plenty of plot twists and turns, and it keeps you guessing about who the culprit could be. That's a plus for any mystery, in my book.

Gideon and his new bride spend their honeymoon in merry olde England. Of course everything isn't tea and crumpets. Gideon finds stolen bones, murdered anthropologists and mysteries galore. Spend some time digging in the dirt with Gideon, you'll be glad you did.

I have read all of Aaron Elkins books and "Murder in the Queen's Arms" is one of Elkins best. But beware, you will find this mystery addictive! So plan to spend your afternoon at The Queen's Arms, and enjoy.

When eccentric art patron, Rene Vachey, decides to donate an original Rembrandt to the Seattle Art Museum, curator Chris Norgren is cautious. Rene is known for playing tricks on museums and making them look silly so Chris flies to France to inspect the painting. Shortly after he arrives, he is thrown out a window and later that night, Rene is murdered. Fearing that the painting may be the reason for the murder, Chris starts to investigate. I love this series because of the way that Aaron Elkins shows artwork through the eyes of Chris Norgren as well as for the good mystery.

I have read several Aaron Elkins books but this was the first involving Chris Norgren. Chris is a curator of Renaissance art at the Seattle Art Museum and goes to Paris to view a newly found Rembrandt that is being given to the museum by Rene Vachey. Rene is known in the field as a jokester and Chris is dubious as to the authenticity of the painting, especially with the limitations Rene has set on what can be used to verify the painting as being a Rembrandt.

Things heat up and get pretty hairy as Rene Vachey is killed and Chris becomes the next target for murder. Who knew that the art world was so dangerous?

I've collected a small library of herb books over the years, and this is by far the one I reach for the most.

I would have to say that more times than I care to count, I have gone to this book to look for information that just was not in my others. I am working on collecting as much reputable material as I can get my hands on. This one is definatly worth every penny I paid. I think that you would enjoy it if you are looking for a book that goes that extra mile to give you more information. I have only a few words for you, "Buy it, you won't regret it!" I love my copy.

Helena Greenwood was the head of marketing at a biotech company in southern California. She was present at the dawn of DNA testing in her industry, and when she heard about the newly patented method of DNA fingerprinting, she told the directors of her firm, "This DNA fingerprinting is going to be big. I think we should get into it." She was just the person to influence the firm in that direction, but in 1985 she was murdered in the front garden of her home. There was a suspect, but no witnesses, no fibers, no fingerprints, and the homicide department put the murder in the archive for more than a decade. Then a resourceful investigator found physical evidence in the file, and, ironically, used the same DNA testing on it that Greenwood had been promoting. The history of this case, and the results, are told in a fascinating detective story, _Pointing from the Grave: A True Story of Murder and DNA_ (Miramax) by Samantha Weinberg. The book does not simply relate the facts of the case and profile the personalities involved, but it also gives a satisfying and useful history of DNA research and the effect of that research on forensic investigations.

Weinberg intercuts her murder story with visits to labs and descriptions of the history of DNA going back to before Watson and Crick. One of Weinberg's digressions is to the Innocence Project, which has used DNA evidence to free wrongly convicted prisoners. The Project's efforts have shown that courts and juries are more badly flawed than anyone had previously suspected, and have increased the importance of DNA for fair legal investigation. But the useful digressions in _Pointing from the Grave_ all hang on the story of Greenwood's murder, and that story is very well told indeed. In 1998, an investigator found Greenwood's fingernail clippings taken at the autopsy, and thought that perhaps under the fingernails would be skin samples for investigation. When Greenwood had been murdered, such evidence was useless; fifteen years later, it provided the basis for the arrest of a charming sociopath who at the time of the murder had had been out on bail for sexually assaulting her. His lawyer attempted to use the defense that the science was untested, to "persuade the jury it was voodoo," but in 2001, juries had heard enough about DNA successes, and prosecutors had had enough experience with demonstrating the reliability of such evidence, to make a difference.

Weinberg has interviewed many of the scientists whose work she mentions, and has had jailhouse interviews with the accused. She has become friends with his family, who are sad figures ("they were the essence of the American suburban family") trying to understand how a nurturing and non-abusive upbringing could have turned out so. There are vital portraits of all the players at the trial here, and a summary of the proceedings that is exciting. Unforgettable is Greenwood's father; he was proud of his science-inclined only child, and devastated by her death. "There's enough sadness in the world," he said, "without people killing each other." He compared it to stones thrown in a pond, "... the ripples as they grow outward bring misery to everyone." When he said this, prostate cancer was painfully killing him in England, but he had hung on to life for years hoping to have his daughter's death resolved. He heard the verdict relayed to him by telephone, and died only hours later.

I walked into this one knowing the outcome and essential facts. This case had been covered on either Unsolved Mysteries or one of the many forensic shows available through cable tv and I was immediately familiar with it.
The pleasant surprise was the book's essential structure and Ms. Weinberg's writing style. This was a true story that in many ways was written like a great crime novel. Her cast of characters had well developed personalities. Her research was meticulous. She was able to build a level of suspense when her reader already knew where she was going. Weinberg managed to maintain a level of objectivity and even a level of sympathy for the perpetrator while managing to be mindful that this person wasn't innocent.
As for my own reaction to this story, I became almost immediately hooked. There was almost a creepy aspect here as I had stayed at a hotel no more than 2 blocks from the scene of the crime last October. Her descriptions were so intensely visual that I almost felt like I was in Del Mar witnessing the crime scene first hand. I kept thinking that this all seemed so surreal. On a certain level I kept thinking the title could have been Murder In Paradise.
This book was researched very thorougly and many people who were involved closely to the victim, perpetrator, or the investigations conducted were interviewed at length.
Of course, as the title implies, the victim was indirectly responsible for nailing her murderer 15 years after the fact. While there is a certain irony in that, by no means is that the whole story.
I read this book in slightly over 3 hours. Usually I don't speed read when I'm reading for pleasure, but it was so compelling I just couldn't wait to move forward.
Be forwarned that I only review books that I really like or really detest. I absolutely loved this one.

The central premise of the title arises from the authors assertions that Painting and Alchemy are linked. It dealt with the notions of how painting like the scientifically naive Alchemy is rife with guesswork. No joke. It compares (as one of many examples) certain passages of Monet's paintings with the sort of haphazard experimentation that goes on in Alchemy. This is a well-researched book as far as I can tell, but then again I'm no expert on Alchemy.*pause* The book attempts to educate the forlorn and lost artist/art student such as myself on the lost pseudo-science of Alchemy.*pause* I had arrived at the idea that painting and alchemy are analogous in my own artwork; which led me to this book.*pause* I cannot stress enough in this review the extent to which he uses the Alchemy/Painting contrast as a springboard to jump into a bastardized survey course on the history of Alchemy. If you want a speculative art book that attempts to concentrate on the physical act of painting (as opposed to art history & criticism of content) this maybe worth checking out. I do have reservations about the book. Elkins compared the painter's studio to a 'jailhouse' and ascribed to painting self-reflexive connotations of the painted picture. The notions of a painters awkward methods of experimenting with media and it's spiritual connection are liken to the arcane pre-sciencitfic experiments of an Alchemists laboratory. "What painting is" really helps a student or artist ponder their personal feelings toward the actual experience of painting rather than the intellectual side of the content. Recommended simply because this book is really a new type of art book that concentrates a descriptive position paper around the actual activity involved in a favorite artistic media- Not AN ARTSPEAK book, coffee table glossy, "how-to" or technical manual!

The only possible negatives: It can drag on a bit when dealing with "Alchemical history". It can be slavish to the metaphorical relationship of painting to alchemy to a fault, at the expense of discussing the working life of a painter... Bare in mind that the author mentions the life of a painter is lived in oils.

This is a serious book for painters. If you are having a problem with what or why you're painting, this book may help. It seeks to explain painting from a truly unique viewpiont. Elkins does an excellent job. A fasinating book. An intellectual exercise.

Just finished this fascinating collection of papers. Very well done and extremely readable I thought this a great find.

Elkin's Boswell is not an antihero, rather an almost-hero. Diagnosed by a 'legendary' vocational counselor (a psychologist who almost mystically predicts people's future vocations--a touch of prognostication disguised as science) to be a bum, a social climber, a hanger-on--and not just any bum, the best bum, Boswell survives as a strongman. In this guise he fights death embodied in the form of a professional wrestler. He meets millionaires, scientists, and the cream of society in his quest for social acceptance. Of course, even in his first novel, Stanley Elkin would never stop with a mere character study. Biting satire is the norm here. The novel's finale (which I will refrain from spoiling) is as witty, acerbic, and quirky as anything written in the English language.

I found this writing to be an excellent source of information and reference material. Ms. Carter clearly has an extremely enviable position from which to view and record the unfolding Caddo Tribal Culture.

I was also enamored with the authentic Tribal photographs. This book contains very well taken photos of the Caddo Tribal grounds in Binger, Oklahoma and Culturally accurate Caddo Tribal members in authentic Native American dance regailia.

This easily read book is also providing me with many bits of information for my childs research projects.

Where We Came From is a must have book for your personal library.

Having been trained by David Elkins from the original manuscript of this book, I was eager to read the second addition.

This book is the perfect primer for the beginning Assistant Cameraperson. The details of the camera department, each department broken down into chapters, gives not only an overview, but a detailed step by step description of the tasks and duties of an Assistant Camera.

This has been an invaluable text book for my beginning Film Students.