I read mysteries for fun. I don't read them to hear about heavy societal issues, i.e., domestic violence. I've read all of the other Jesus Creek books except for one and have enjoyed them; except for this one. Ms. Adams handles the domestic violence issue well, but in my opinion, it just doesn't belong in light, amusing stories of Jesus Creek.

It isn't often that an author can handle a heavy issue like domestic violence with taste, much less with humor. However Deborah Adams has done just that in "All The Hungry Mothers". This is a fast-paced, funny, yet tragic, story that I could barely put down. Excellent read.

stevekaye2@home.com

Another reviewer remarks that this is like a 1950s movie. I see it more like a 1950s/60s TV western. In fact, the set-up is basically Gunsmoke with a darker side. But the morality play is missing. What we have is half-Apache sheriff who (by his own admission) doesn't look like an indian. And yet he has to face various degrees of prejudice. Now, that's a good premise, but it wouldn't have hurt if he looked indian, even just a little.

There is a politically correct female who is virtually lost in the meager, well-worn story - with nothing to do and nothing to say. The mayor (girl's father) is a J. Jonah Jameson type (from Spider-Man): all bluster and hot air but with no depth. The newly added deputy is taking on the Festus role, and of course Mitch (the sheriff) is growing into Matt Dillon - if he's lucky.

This book was obviously written to a word count and, with the edict that it had to move quickly, the author opted for simplistic dialog which didn't advance plot or character. Despite the fact that this story is mostly dialog, no one says much of importance. In fact, they spend half their time repeating the last half the previous talker's line. It's very tiresome.

What would have saved this book, even from its mediocre delivery, would have been an ending that would have fit into a Gunsmoke episode and still not have been as obvious as the ending provided. The killer should have been the character Carson. Besides being meeker than other players, he could have had a fairly devastating motivation built for him for killing the town prostitutes. His wife is sickly, he seeks comfort from the prostitutes but, being a religious man, feels enormous guilt. The preacher comes to town and his sermons, full of venom toward prostitutes, pushes Carson over the edge in an attempt to cleanse himself. This at least would explore morality far more than the ending - and the killers - provided.

Maybe the others in the series are better, but I doubt it. At least they're inexpensive.

Mitch Frye is the sheriff in a small mining town. He is part Apache and part white. He has do deal with racism against him and someone who is killing painted ladies. The story is part western, part mystery. This is the second book in the series, and I am looking forward to the new Apache Law. Hellfire reminded me of a classic western movie from the 1950's.

I found this book to be extremely limited for someone interested in visiting major league ballparks. Many of them have been left out (Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Montreal to name a few). Areas in which there are more than one team, only one team is mentioned (the book mentions that Chicago is one of the cities that has two teams, but neglects to mention the White Sox at all; and Shea stadium in New York is listed in the "Other New York Baseball" section, but it is listed after Ebbett's Field and the Polo Grounds which don't exist anymore). The book does seem to have a great deal of information on minor league baseball teams, however. I found Fields of Dreams, (the new, revised edition) to be more helpful in planning my trips.

If you are planning a trip or even if you just want a little insight into the wonderful world of minor league baseball then this is the book for you. Packed with information on minor league ballparks and the teams that occupy them. Tips on where to stay, what to eat, and what to do. Don't miss this great book.

This biography of the cranky JQA and his gentle wife, Louisa Catherine, got off to a good start. It opens with a vivid account of their wedding at the church of All Hallows Barking. Unfortunately, Shepard never delves deep enough into the volatile relationship between the president and his "fine lady." I was left wondering WHAT exactly they felt for one another. Did they love one another, despite the pain each inflicted? I think so....but this biography does not provide the answer. The hauntingly beautiful quote that the title is taken from says more than the entire book: "It was a marriage of light to shadow, of spring to winter, of heart to cannibal..." There are some good moments toward the end. The description of an aged JQA's triumphant tour through the states he loved is fantastic (his disgusted daughter-in-law got sick of the cheering crowds and went home!) I would reccomend Paul Nagel's "Descent from Glory" over this.

This book kept me up late night after night! Jack Shepherd is a good storyteller, and goes into the background of John Quincy and Louisa Catherine to help us understand why they became the people they did. (I had no idea that John Quincy was a frustrated party guy who roamed the Boston Common at night!)

He also goes into great detail, describing society during each of John Quincy's diplomatic posts, so that we feel like we're part of that era. I also learned a lot of history, and have a better appreciation for the fragile democracy that existed between the American Revolution and the Civil War.

The first part of the book is especially lively, describing their courtship and wedding. I thought the book lost a little steam at the end (or maybe I was losing steam, since they lead such full lives!) I agree that the book leaves me wanting more, only because it focuses more on their personal lives, rather than John Quincy's career, which I want to explore more now.

I definitely recommend this book as an easy-to-read and well-researched document about two Americans who sacrificed so much of themselves for their country, yet have been forgotten.

The book is pretty much useless on the arguments and reading comp, it seems to give a good overview on the logic games. The biggest and most annoying flaw is the CD. Don't use it. I went through a full test and a half a test; afterwards, the CD couldn't compute my score and froze up my computer. The CD has repeatedly been a thorn in my LSAT studying experience.

I don't what that other reviewer was doing but last year's edition was very helpful. I didn't have a whole lot of time to study but used this and some other sample tests for practice and improved my score significantly. Now I'm going to law school this Fall. I'm sure there are other great sources but this book had humor, was down to eartch and had some great strategies as well as practice aids. I did not use the CD though.

Adams autobiography plots along at a snail's pace as Adams describes in nauseatingly long detail about the plants and birds that lived in the area where he grew up. I suppose that this is exciting for people who enjoy nature walks and such.

I labored through the book because I am a dedicated Adams fan. I have read every novel that he has ever written, and enjoyed them thoroughly. The Day Gone By is helpful if you want to get inside of Adams' head and figure out how he thinks. After reading the work, I think that Hazel, a character from Watership Down, may actually be a model for his father, to whom Adams was very close.

Other observations about Adams' works can be gleaned by reading The Day Gone By.

Actually, Adams goes right out and says that Hazel was based on a man he met durung his army service, so read closer next time, buddy.

This will clearly be a major book within political science and political economy. Unfortunately, the book's prominence will be due more to the preeminence of the lead author, Adam Przeworski, than to the scholarly contribution of the work. The bulk of the book is a series of statistical analyses that probe the effects of regime type (democracy or dictatorship) on a series of dependent variables. While the book is competent and this is an interesting topic, it is also a topic which has been studied in depth in the existing literature. In fact, dozens of journal articles over the last five years address the questions that drive this book, and many of those articles make use of better data and are methodologically more sophisticated than "Democracy and Development." If this book has a genuine professional contribution to make, it will probably consist in drawing more attention to other people's better, more innovative work on the same subjects.

Too many conjectures and too many theories have been addressed concerning the relationship between polities and material well-being in the world. But they have been raised without a proper test of them, without empirics. This book completely cleans all kinds of intellectual garbages, clarifies the existing arguments, and above all provides a series of the sohpisticated tests. Adam Przeworski and his comrades did a marvelous job.

The author's wife dropped an email to me, suggesting that I might enjoy this book. I ordered it and read through it. This is a charming story and, although I mostly confine my dragon reading to McCaffrey and a few others, the story seemed fairly original to me.

The problem with this book is that the author desperately needed an editor. Misuse of words ("heard of runner beast", "no bases in fact"), lack of punctuation, grammatical errors all marred the story. The dialogue is repetitive and doesn't ring true. It's a shame, because without these difficulties, this would be a really good read.

I can't write a novel and applaud Mr. Adams for his effort, but in future, a good proof-reader and editor may come in handy to reduce the kind of errors that ruined the suspension of reality for me.

The "Dragon Healer" is a most pleasing tale, which transports the reader to an ethereal world filled with fantasy creatures. Terra and Fienna are likeable as the main characters, and their adventures flow continually as new dreams unfold. Because of this, the book is difficult to put down, and the reader can't help but look forward to the sequel. This is a book which has appeal for people of all ages.

This biography succeeds in its evenhanded portrayal of John Wayne. No doubt some will criticize it because Davis doesn't spend his time eschewing Wayne's politically incorrect opinions, but neither does the author lionize Wayne the man. What you have left is a concise and readable 400 page biography that covers all the movies and all the wives. Davis gives his opinions as to why the Wayne legend still survives, and what his fellow actors thought of him way back when.

Interesting is the story behind the making of the ALAMO, a film he produced, directed and starred in, the subsequent Oscar campaign, and the aftermath. Also interesting is Wayne's relationship with director John Ford, whom he loved, and their disagreements.

Though very in-depth in explaining each movie John Wayne appeared, the book lacks somewhat in explaining who John Wayne was. In comparison, Donald Dewey's recent biography of Jimmy Stewart gives the reader a more detailed examination of Stewart than Ronald Davis does of Wayne. Ronald Davis also relies too much on the self-centered Pilar Wayne, the third Mrs. John Wayne, for anectdotal information. Davis's use of interviews with Harry Carey, Jr. are quite valuable and illuminating. It's a shame that Davis didn't thoroughly interview other actors who shared the screen with Duke, including Ron Howard, about whom Duke thought highly or Kim Darby (Mattie in True Grit), who didn't like the Duke (remember, True Grit was filmed in 1968). Mr. Davis does an excellent job explaining Duke Wayne's desert years in the thirties doing one-reel westerns. One has to admire Wayne's persistance. One note Pilar Wayne reveals through Ronald Davis that puts Wayne in a very bad light and has changed my personal views toward him to the strongly negative, was Duke Wayne's insistance that a pregnant Pilar get an abortion. The baby was inconvenient as Duke was in the divorce court with number two wife Chata in a highly charged divorce battle. The baby was killed but Duke Wayne received a fairly good divorce settlement. A conservative icon, when the chips were down, was capable of a selfish, dishonest, sordid, dirty act. The Duke was a great actor and icon but was not a good person. He was not a great American.

--Derek Leaberry

I was hoping for a factual/investigative account of the tragedy of the Atlanta child murders. Instead, this book seemed to be an essay written on the problems of racial injustice and ignorance in Atlanta, America, and the world. Nothing wrong with that, but then I take into account that the essay was written in a most meandering and disjointed fashion, full of incomprehensible references, with an overwhelming tone of arrogance. Baldwin is right, everyone else is wrong and to blame. Not persuasive, just a waste of time.

This is a difficult read because Baldwin's thoughts come across like a man too perplexed to ask "Why?". And so there are many crosscurrent thoughts, parentheticals that are not in parenthesis, and sheer rage. The question: who could be murdering the children in Atlanta? And has the years of systematic oppression and racism made it possible for a black man to be become that cruel? Has the oppressed become the oppressor?

And I can understand Baldwin's great perplexity...he wants to point the finger at the American way of life. How years and years of being considered not human has affected the mindset of the average person of color. And of having to come through identity crises, legal crises, social crises to be confronted with who...? A person who is this insane enough to be killing innocent kids? Why have we struggled so much, Baldwin seems to be asking, to create this monster?

And so, it is another probing we received from the always philosophical, questioning, always provocative Baldwin.

Why read the book now? Well, although this murderer has been found and given punishment based on the fullest extent of the law, the questions remains.

How have we come to this?