Friedman and Harrison did an excellent job in this book. The story arc covers nothing less than 300 or so years in the Trek universe. The co-authors go behind the story of the original Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and present the story of the S.S. Valiant and what happened to it, its captain, and its crew beyond the galactic barrier. It also delves into the cause of Gary Mitchell's (Captain Kirk's crewman) transformation into a psychotic superman. Then, the main part of the book, set on the U.S.S Stargazer with Jean-Luc Picard as the second officer, seeks to expand on those stories a bit, and adds the problems of a new and violent alien race, descendents of the survivors of the Valiant who seem somewhat suspicious, a sneak attack that leaves Picard in command with an untrusting crew. The authors do a good job in presenting Picard as an imperfect person, devising imperfect solutions to difficult problems. Some may be offended because the Picard of TNG is not presented in this story, but how can he? If the story takes place when he is younger, you have to expect that he is not as wise as he is during TNG and that he might make some errors in judgment. Not to mention the fact that the authors also have to maintain continuity with what we learned in TNG -- that Picard did not receive a command posting for his efforts with the Stargazer in this story, because he was first office under Jack Crusher later in his tenure on the Stargazer, where yet again, he was forced to take command. This is a very good story, because it shows the very human and fallible face of Picard in his early life, which only makes us appreciate the character all the more in his later life. Picard is, in the end, like any one of us, trying to do what is right in an imperfect world with imperfect people. The only complaint I have was that I wished the Nuyyad race had been given a face and a reasoning behind their attacks.

The Valiant tells the story of Picard taking command of the Stargazer. The story begins with the crew of the Valiant from the original series Star Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and fills in information on what happened to that crew. Jump 300 years ahead to the Trek era just preceeding The Next Generation. Decendants of survivors of the Valiant appear to warn the Federation of a potential enemy on the other side of the galatic barrier. The Stargazer and crew are dispatched to see if the threat is real. The ship is attacked and the captain is killed and first officer incapacitated and Picard has to take over. Picard has to deal with a mutiny, a damaged ship, gain trust of the crew he now commands, deal with a Kelvin, and the new threat to the Federation. If you like space battles and action there is plenty in this book. We see characters that first appeared in Friedmans Star Trek book Reunion and their character development in this book helps explain their actions in the previous book. For fans of Star Trek this book is a must.

What an interesting book. I truly enjoyed reading this one and let me tell you why.

We start out reading as to what happened to the U.S.S.Valiant and her crew... of course we all know what hapened when Kirk and his crew found that bouy with the warning. Well this gets into more detail as to what happened and the crew's struggle to survive. Captain Carlos Tarasco's decision to destroy the Valiant. Now, some might say this is a little like the Gary Mitchell episode but we have the same author and he is giving us a little more background. Now that ends Book 1 and we now proceed to Book 2.

Now, this is where the meat of the story is. We have a good look into the making of Jean-Luc Picard Number Two on the U.S.S. Stargazer. We have Starfleet sending the Stargazer to the galactic barrier to investigate a new threat to the Federation, aliens called the Nuyyad.

Starfleet gets this information via a couple of descendants from the ill-fated Valiant crew. The Stargazer picks up one of the survivors at Starbase 209 and her name is Santana. Now comes the interesting play... can the crew trust this newly found person? Capt. Ruhalter puts Picard in the position to find out... much to the dismay of the XO Leach. We find the making of Picard's character here... the Capt. grooming a younger officer... and the insecurity of the junior officer in his convictions. But, alas, as the Stargazer passes through the barrier the Capt dies and the XO is in a deep coma. Now we see true character of Picard begin to blossom. Jean-Luc finds that he is the highest ranking officer after crossing the galactic barrier. The Stargazer picked up a Kelvan prior to crossing the barrier to help fight the newly found Nuyyad as they have had prior knowledge of the Nuyyad's ship design and fighting capabilities.

We find out that the Magnians (Valiant descendants) distrust the Kelvans. Not only that but most of the Stargazer crew distrusts the Magnians. So Picard is now trying to get the crew behind him as well as he can... but we have saboteur aboard.

So we have the rather unorthodox but clever Picard trying to hold all of this together. He tells Capt. Ruhalter that Santana can be trusted over the objection of the XO. Next Picard takes the Stargazer to the Magnians' homeworld instead of back through the barrier and home jeopardizing the crew and the ability to warn Starfleet.

Knowing that a trap was set after getting to Magnia, Picard still trusted the Magnians and beamed aboard several more from the planet and gave them access to strategic systems and allowed their mental powers to be enhanced. Picard also removed the safeguards from the phaser technology... taking out a single enemy installation.

All of this interplays with the making of the character of what we know to be Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Mutiny, sabotage, all around distrust and a common enemy dig deep into well of Jean-Luc Picard's character.

A good fast read and background information. Read it and enjoy.

Makes engineering exciting.

Reminds me of the "Soul of a New Machine" - the story of the engineers behind the "product" - and in this case the product is the Apollo CM, SM, second stage, and engines - an enormous undertaking.

I work as an engineer for a manufacturing company with about 100 employees, building machines with maybe a thousand parts where we barely manage to get things out the door. So it is amazing a to read about the engineering behind a large scale effort that actually worked!

Well written, well paced.

I think a good technical level for the average reader.

Several of my co-workers enjoyed it, and found it quite memorable.

A lot of other books seem "pro-NASA" so it's refreshing to find a book that upsets the apple cart a little bit.

This book tells what was amazing about American industry in the early 1960s. The scary thing is look at the subsequent history of Rockwell today - the aerospace parts sold to Boeing - the electronics division spun off - the remaining chunk of the company (Allen-Bradley and Reliance) is something they bought up 5 years ago. Sad.

The Patriotic Line: America needs more books like this. Don't let your kids be accountants or lawyers.

Comparisons:
-More "serious" than "The Right Stuff".
-Better polish and more exciting than "Failure is Not an Option".
-Better than "Earthbound Astronauts".
-Briefer, harder-hitting and tighter than "The Reckoning"
-Covers a more important project than "Soul of a New Machine"

This is the only space book that I have ever read that focused on the design and development team, instead of the usual NASA & Astronaut worship.

I believe it accurately portrays what it was like to work for a North American, actually designing and building the Apollo spacecraft. The Apollo project was ultimately successfull because of the phenomenal effort of thousands of people working for both the contractors and NASA.

Many reviewers have focused on who they believe are the "good guys" and who were the "bad guys". I think this is a mistake - in reality there were good and bad decisions made by both NASA and their contractors. Harrison Storms and others at North American deserve to be recognized along with their NASA courterparts for the magnificent achievement that was Apollo.

Most of the Apollo histories are dominated by the NASA perspective; this book is invaluable because it shows things from the contractor point of view. Anyone that is interested in the Apollo program should be interested in both sides of the story, and this book is a must-read.

One of the most fascinating and enjoyable space program books yet written, and one that starts to suggest the unvarnished version of events, including the concept that, gosh, NASA might not be beyond reproach when it came to Apollo stumbles and friction. "Angle of Attack" is particularly fascinating for exploring the business and management aspects of bidding, designing, and actually building the Apollo spacecraft, something I have not found elsewhere in print. Other very good books, Apollo: Race to the Moon (Murray and Cox), and Man on the Moon (Chaikin) tell the NASA as hero, flight controller as hero, and astronaut as hero stories, but little is said about what it took to get from concept to built craft. Further, much of the NASA derived stories have a "contractors are just tinbenders" attitude that not only is conspicuously self-serving to NASA, but shelters a whole lot of incredible effort from view. Having worked on large complex fast-track projects, having seen the bassackwards nature of demanding clients and the politics and the skirmishes, the messy environment of the mid-60's space program sure rings truer in this book than anything else I have read on the subject. This story exactly fits how large organizations and their people behave. And if you can find a more credible description of the political/media aspects of the Apollo 1 accident investigations, I'd like to see it. Some accuse Mike Gray of bias for telling North American's oral history rather than NASA's. I say it is for precisely that reason this is a valuable book. Read it, read the others, decide where the truth lies and how good of a guy Joe Shea is and all that on your own, but if you love the Apollo story, read this book.

Steven Saylor succeeds where many writers of historical fiction fail, largely because of strong character development and the ability to make ancient society seem natural -not just a picturesque backdrop. While the murder mystery is entertaining and keeps your attention, it is the little details; political intrigues, conflicting philosophies, and secondary events such as the Spartacan slave revolt, which bring this novel to life. Gordianus is a true Roman, with the sensibilities of a Roman citizen. He does not come accross as a 21st century sleuth transported into a different age.
I was delighted that many actual figures from Roman history are featured in Saylor's novels; Cicero, Marcus Crassus, Pompey, etc.
Highly recommended -and certainly consider Saylor's other Roman novels as well.

Gordianus is back in Steven Saylor's second book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of Ancient Rome. I found the character Marcus Crassus well pleasing in his no nonsense and heavy handed way that he portarys himself. The other characters are well thouht out to add to the story. I like character Gordianus all the more because of his nature, His adopted son Eco adds to the story by helping his father in his investigation. The story moves very well and keeps you guessing as to how Gordianus will solve the mystery, even the ending has Gordianus thinking he has the answer to the murder.

This is a book about character mostly. Saylor has written one of the most impressive novels I have read lately. Period. Forget that it is a mystery; forget that it is an impressive, thoroughly researched, history treatise. Reader beware for this is a true masterpiece.

Even though there are passages where you'll feel you are suffering yourself, you won't want to put it down. The backdrop of this particular story is the revolt of Spartacus, which makes the issue of slavery the central point of the book. Although it is not moralizing, there are passages in the book that will bring you, the reader, close to tears. Gordianus is summoned to investigate the brutal murder of one of Crassus's administrators at one of his many villas at the countryside. He is taken there by ship; and here is when one of the many gory descriptions of ancient slavery takes place: with the rowers at the bottom of the "Fury" - the actual name of an imposing ship.

Throughout the story Gordianus takes almost a frantic approach to save the lives of many slaves, although, being a roman citizen himself, he doesn't understand really why. The story is so trascendental, one can understand why Gordianus, in the next book, his own family established with Bethesda, decides to retire to the country. He could hardly imagine what Saylor had in store for him in future adventures!

This was an excellant book, and a very worthy read for any science-fiction enthusiast. Jason dinAlt, the main character is a quick witted, level headed, gambler, faced with many challenges, including a planet that is dedicated to killing humans, and being made a slave, countless times. He always finds a very entertaining way to worm his way out of the stickiest of situations

I bought this book on a whim as I waited for a friend to arrive at Penn Station in 1978. I was so enthralled that I almost missed his arrival! It is really that good. Compossed before the PC era of Mr Harrison (when no one dies and all "good people", fight for "equality and social justice", it concerns the ultimate expression of darwinism on a planatary scale. A race of people whose homeland is literlary evolving to kill them, will of need themselves evolve to become the most leathal race of men in the galaxy.(Ok, so Dune was first!) Sarcasm, wit and action, ballanced with just the right level of homocidal ferver and hair splitting suspence! A true 70s must read!

I have read the trilogy three times. "Deathworld" is about a planet literally at war with its settlers, a race of supermen. Jason din Alt, a smart-aleck gambler, becomes embroiled in their cause against his will. "Deathworld 2"--din Alt is marooned on a backward planet of slavery, steam engines, and flintlock rifles. "Deathworld 3" is one of the most exciting. The protagonists of the original "Deathworld" decide to colonize a planet run by conquerors reminiscent of the Mongol hordes, complete with their own Genghis Khan leading them. Jason din Alt has to infiltrate the horde. All 3 books are very exciting reads!

I must say I ordered this book because of a review I read, not because I knew Dava Sobel's work or knew the least about clockmaking or sailing. Harrison's ingenuity, the times in which he lived, and the importance of his quest were more appealing to me, and I was not dissapointed. By all this I mean you need not be a sailor or anything to enjoy this fascinating and beautifully illustrated story. (A nice touch of sophistication for the coffee table as well, if you excuse the shallowness of such remark)

"The Illustrated Longitude" is an excellent, worthwhile historical account of John Harrison's progression as an instrument maker and legitimate finder of a practical solution to the problem of determining Longitude at Sea.

If you are at all interested in the antecedents of today's accurate timekeeping devices this book is a must. The print quality is very high and the illustrations a wonderful aid to feeling the story unfold. The book does not contain detailed plans of Mr Harrison's chronometers or description of the techniques of celestial navigation, but rather is a brisk, engagingly written account of the origin of the Longitude problem, Mr Harrison's solution and those of his rivals and the political intrigues which delayed full acknowledgement of the merit of the H-1 to H-4 devices.

I bought this book some months after visiting the Old Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. The ingenious mechanisms at work can keep an observer enthralled for hours. They are also very beautiful. "The Illustrated Longitude" really fills out the significance of the Longitude problem in that era and the career details and challenges overcome by a very clever and self made man.

I originally read a library copy of "Longitude" back when it was published in 1995. But I hankered for a copy of my own. Recently I discovered this new illustrated version of the original and must say that it's a real find. The pictures really do help one understand better the magnitude of William Harrison's breakthrough discovery about how to use a very accurate timepiece (now called a "chronometer") to determine longitude and help ships avoid the tragedy of becoming lost with potentially tragic consequences. The text is not so technical to put off a non-expert. I'm sure one could learn more about the workings of the chronometer, but I suspect a more detailed explanation might have put it beyond the comprehension of many of us.

The book is clumsily written; whatever interest I had in his message was lost along the way. Don't waste your money. And whatever you do, don't buy an audiotape, unless you're into inept, boring mumblings and meanderings.

There are much better books out there with essentially similar messages -- Tony Parsons's As It Is, for one.

I have bookshelves literally overflowing with books written by authors who know about spiritual topics. It has been refreshing to read a book written by an author who knows. It was likely not a coincidence that I obtained this book and a copy of the Upanishads in the same week. Steven Harrison does a wonderful job of succinctly presenting timeless wisdom in a form very relevant to our modern lives.

Steven Harrisons book is important for anyone on a a religious quest. It is especially important for those who are studying Buddhism. The book fits very well with "Buddhism Plain and Simple" by Steve Hagen and with "The Meaning of Mind" by Thomas Szasz. (Though I suspect Dr Szasz might object to having his work placed in the Eastern Religions category it is helpful to those who are wrestling with the issue "what is mind".) Mr Harrisons book also fits well with Batchelors "Buddhism Without Beliefs". This book must be read carefully. It's central message (on my interpretation) is the central message of Buddhism; once you abandon the "self" the quest is over. This doesn't mean one can quit the deep spiritual life; it simply means, as Gautama the Buddha is reputed to have said, once you reach the other shore of "enlightenment" you no longer need the raft that took you there. This is a wonderful book. Seekers of all kinds will like it. Buddhists would do well to read it more than once.

I bought this book thinking that it would be better than Tom Clancy's attempt at Internet terrorism. Alas it was just as bad, with simplistic technology twists, and the reliance of a Navy Seal character for the tense action. The story is simple, with nothing in it other than a sense of purpose to keep you turning the page. If you want a decent techno-thriller I recommend the Cryptonomicon. This is squarely for the younger audience who are still wanting to read simple tales with simple characters.

Rarely do I take the time to read, let alone enjoy suspense filled thrillers. In the case of Spyder Web, I'm delighted I did.

I was entrapped by Tom Grace as he drew me deeper and deeper into the intrigue. This normally early-to-bedder found myself burning the midnight oil to finish.

Super story! Super characters! Super writer! Super book! Surely the movie will follow (but can it be as good?)

Great Characters, plot, action, location and writing. This book has all the elements of a good read. Brings together US, Britain, China and Russia. Plenty of twists from technology within the understanding of the less than technologically proficient. Good Story. Looking for the next book. Does remind me a bit of Clive Cussler.

Hooked on books.

Set aboard a Mississippi side-wheel steamer in the 1850s, Melville's novel charts the progress of the American character at a time when the old frontier was giving way, albeit slowly, to a new, urban frontier.

"The Confidence-Man" works at so many different levels that it is no wonder Melville's readers weren't quite sure what to make of his ninth novel. It is a call-and-response of idealism suborned for the purposes of sheer humbuggery, material theft and moral sophistry.

I think readers would do well to always keep the word "confidence" in mind as they read the novel; it recurs time and again in different contexts throughout the book. Melville's purpose is to highlight the rift between what things seem to be and what they truly are. It is eerily existential in tone and readers familiar with Kierkegaard and Camus will be delighted by Melville's keen appreciation for the absurdity of the human condition.

The wretched reception of "The Confidence-Man" undermined what little was left of Melville's own self-confidence as a writer whose work could support his family. In one sense, this was a grievous shame, because Melville lived for nearly four more decades and, presumably, could have spent that time producing more great literature had his contemporaries simply recognized the intellectual genius of his work.

In another sense, though, "The Confidence-Man" is a fitting send-off to a literary career hobbled by critical inattention and plain bad luck. Melville's America is not an America where dreams come true (note how China Aster is destroyed by his) and where confidence -- optimism -- is rewarded or even warranted. Yet, it is an America recognizably closer to the one we live in than those crafted by Melville's contemporaries -- Emerson, Thoreau, Irving.

"The Confidence-Man" is a very complex novel of ideas. This particular edition is very useful because it provides fairly thorough annotation throughout the book. I would highly recommend it for use in a graduate course on American intellectual history, particularly juxtaposed against Emerson and Tocqueville's analyses of American society and culture.

With "The Confidence-Man," Melville offered a final novelistic expression of his hopes, doubts, and frustrations about the American nation on the verge of Civil War in the late 1850's.

Many critics and reviewers take a negative point of view on this novel, saying that the narrative instability and episodic nature of the novel represents Melville's anger with the increasingly poor reception of his later novels, including the brilliant "Moby-Dick".

Over the course of the novel's first half, we are presented with a string of characters who spout the virtues of charity and trust, all supposedly different manifestations of one Confidence-Man. The confidence-man engages passengers of the riverboat Fidele from St. Louis to New Orleans in philosophical, literary, personal, and business-related conversations. This is the heart of the novel, even in the second half, where only one confidence-man appears. As in Cervantes' "Don Quixote," you are able to tease out more about the ambiguous purposes of the novel through speeches rather than actions.

At points amusing, horrifying, and sad, "The Confidence-Man" is difficult, if not impossible to categorize in any simple fashion. An extremely worthwhile read, especially if you read it as a prophetic work of the American Civil War and try to figure out for yourself if Melville thought things would turn out alright, or if the US was due for an apocalyptic judgment.

Quite an Original

The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade
I am specifically reviewing the Northwestern University Press edition of Melville's "The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade."

There is a Norton Critical Edition of this novel edited by Hershel Parker, but it doesn't seem to be offered by Amazon.com. It is offered at at W.W. Norton's website... The Hendricks House edition edited by Elizabeth Foster is another good edition, but it seems to be out of print at the moment.

On November 12, 1856 Herman Melville and Nathanial Hawthorne took a walk among the sandhills near Liverpool, England. They smoked cigars, and Hawthorne wrote about a week later that Melville spoke of Providence and futurity, and he, Melville, had pretty much made up his mind to be annilated.

"The Confidence-Man" is the last novel that Melville published during his lifetime. I agree with Newton Arvin, who called "The Confidence-Man" "one of the most infidel books ever written by an American; one of the most completely nihilistic, morally and metaphysically."

About 150 years after the book was first published, and about fifty since the book was first taken seriously by literary critics, The Confidence-Man is not a settled matter. In fact there remains excessive discord among readers and critics about the worth of this novel. Some compare it to Swift's "Tale of the Tub," others will tell you that this book is static and formless.

The idea is simple enough. On April 1 a devil in the guise of a deaf mute goes aboard a Mississippi river steamboat, and begs for charity. In rapid succession he transforms himself into a crippled Black man, a man with the weed, the man in the grey coat , the gentleman with the big book, the man with the plate and finally the Cosmopolitan. In these different guises he gulls and diddles people. He asks for trust. He is not always successful, but he can take solace in his failures. The reason for the devil's failures is the cyniscim, mistrust and mysandry of his marks. It is their human failings that accounts for his failures. And that's not so bad for the devil.

Melville's control of his material was never greater. I recommend the Northwestern Newberry edition because it contains draft fragments of chapter 14. You can see how carefullly Melville wrote this novel. The blandness of the prose is deliberate. If you read the surviving drafts you will see how Melville purposedly silenced and muted his message. Perhaps Melville was too successful for even close readers get lost sometimes.

At the end there is an increase of seriousness. An old man closes his Bible and asks for a life preserver. The Cosmopolitan hands the old man a chamberpot which appears to be full, and calls it a life preserver. The Cosmopolitan then extinguishes the lamp, and then leads the other into the darkness.

This is a wonderful collection of stories. The storylines are fun, touching, and out of the ordinary. Each has a different tone, which keeps you from becoming bored as with collections where all the stories are similar. The character of Jake in A Promise to Jake is one of the most endearing I've ever encountered. The Gift is just beautiful. The Face Painter and The Hare's Path have made me cry every time I read them, and that is several times now. I was really sorry to come to the end of this book!

Word of mouth is a wonderful avenue of surprises! My neighbor loaned me her copy of this delightful Anthology to read. I'm not a writer so all I say is Bravo!! I thoroughly enjoyed the short stories in this book...thanks for a delightful evening. I am ordering my copy today and another to share with a friend. I recommend it as great Christmas gifts. Thanks to the writers, Jan.

I don't have just one favorite in this book. Virtually all of these stories are wonderful. I'm not sure I understand what the previous reviewer found so awful in this anthology. The Gift and Hare's Path were good, but the rest were at least as good, if not better in many cases. It sounds like this person must not have read them all. In any case, the book is well worth getting and well worth receiving! These are stories that will stay with you and you will remember Christmas after Christmas.

This book, as all of Sylvia's books, is a fascinating read. The information about cell memory has the ring of spiritual and physical truth to it. I believe Sylvia Browne to be a humanitarian filled with love for people. However....the historical inaccuracy regarding executions of "witches" in old Salem, MA in this and one of Sylvia's other books REALLY BUGS ME. Hasn't her publisher and/or editor touched bases with her on this? The poor souls accused in Salem in 1692 were hung, not burned to death. Yes, one Giles Corey was pressed with rocks. I know this from my college courses. Other customers obviously know. I've visited Salem. The client on page 101 says she was burned as a witch in Salem. Really. Smells phony to me. Talk about delusions of grandeur. Is it possible that Sylvia and her regressed client know something the historians don't know? I think this discrepancy casts a small, pale shadow on Sylvia's credibility.

I've read many of Sylvia's books and I absolutely love her straight forward, no-holds barred way of putting her beliefs out there and to heck with whether anyone agrees or not! I think she is one of the most courageous people I've ever seen. This book delves more deeply into case examples of those who have had physical & emotional/mental problems that traditional medicine couldn't help. Through hypnotic regression, the client touches into lifetimes that relate to the physical symptoms to find *the point of entry* as Sylvia says, for these issues. She goes on to give us helpful suggestions as to how each of us can heal ourselves in this same way. I don't always agree with everything Sylvia presents but I think she's definitely on the right track with this book. I do healing work with clients and will be incorporating her ideas into my work to help people who can't seem to find relief from any other method. Sylvia is careful to say that past-life regression doesn't heal all things all the time. But at least try it first before you assure yourself that it's hooey. Amazing stuff Sylvia!

This book is a wonderful example of the healing that is available to anyone, if they want it. The subject matter should not be taken lightly or played with for fun. This healing is very real, as Sylvia shows in her book. The examples are wonderful, with separated listings for physical, emotional problems and more. I've personally seen this type of healing work just as well and as easily as the book explains. Sylvia has her usual wonderful humorous comments throughout the book. But the subject matter is very well detailed and explained. She gives you hints along the way as to how to get the most healing from the experience. But please make sure that the hypnotherapist or psychologist/psychiatrist you elicit for this type of healing is qualified and trained to use it or your experience won't result in the healing you're looking for and your time and/or money is wasted. All in all, the book is very much worth reading whether you're looking for some new ideas in your practice, or whether you're reading it for future information or personal knowledge. Enjoy!