As someone who has read and enjoyed several of Mr. Citro's previous books on Vermont and New England ghosts and unexplained phenomena, I was eagerly anticipating this latest effort. I was, however, disappointed to find that it is a very slight volume with bare thumbnail descriptions of Vermont ghostly activity, usually with only the most rudimentary description of where they occurred. As one who is becoming something of an amateur ghost-hunter, this was a let-down, as the title and description of this work would have you believe it provides directions to find these haunted locales. Sadly, it does not.

This is just the kind of travel guide I like: condensed little stories of doom and eccentricity set in the pastoral splendor and the down-home warmth that is Vermont. I don't think any other state has earned this type of tribute. Just a wonderful book.

Toward the beginning of "Voice," Bishop Jacques Gaillot compares JP2 to Joseph Stalin, immediately estranging himself from this reader's sympathy. He recovers somewhat to give a sporadically engaging but under-informative essay on papal authority: Is the Catholic Church over-bureaucratized and over-centralized?

Condemning the authorities as vicious, meanspirited, intolerant, insensitive (stop me if you've heard that one before), Gaillot really doesn't tell us what made him fall under the scrutiny of the Holy See. This particular pontiff is famously patient, not having excommunicated whole raftloads of dissident theologians, but issuing restrained admonitions when something's amiss. (I think he's excommunicated two [2] theologians, one of whom has already been restored to communion.)

The book is brief, and Gaillot does not tell us how, in the hypothetical diminution or absence of papal authority, the Catholic Church would be able to stop itself from splintering as the Anglican Communion has done in the last quarter-century. An Eastern Orthodox theologian might have insight into this question; Gaillot proffers not insight as much as self-justification and the occasional baseness of name-calling.

We learn that Bishop Gaillot considers himself the eparch, if you will, of a cyber-diocese, where persons who might be inclined to sympathize with his views of ecclesiology & moral theology can gather, refresh themselves, and lament the alleged immitigability of JP2, Cardinals Ratzinger & Gantin, and other figures more representative of the main stream of Roman Catholicism than the soi-disant progressives. This cyber-diocese has an interesting if not quite memorable name which begins with a P.

Persons who parrot the National Catholic Reporter might be inclined to appraise Gaillot's slender and breezy account more highly than this reviewer (indeed, the book carries a preface from NCR editor Thomas Fox).

"Voice from the Desert" is a deceptively-simple, slight volume, in which Bishop Jacques Gaillot chronicles his "resignation" from the see of Evreux, France; and his "appointment" as Bishop of Partenia - a North African wasteland, now defunct. With remarkably little bitterness, this extraordinary man outlines his beliefs and the actions which eventually led to his dismissal. His resilience was such that he established a cyber-diocese on the Internet, and thus can reach millions of souls, where before he only reached thousands. One can only mourn for an institutionalized church which prizes doctrine, authority, and image over the true, all-embracing and eternal love which Gaillot embodies with every word. My only regret is that he does not address the ordination of women and the position of women in the Catholic church. A beautiful, inspiring and radiant book.

Joseph Olshan uses the almost interesting gimmick of switching the point of view thrice in the novel, once for each of the main characters. The first of the three sections is written in the point of view of the mother, Susan. Although it is the section that is the most thoughtfully written, he has absolutely no clue about women so Susan's thoughts and words often seem ridiculous. Susan describes other women as having "Lean, shapely legs" and moans about how, after ten years of marriage, she has had to wait TEN WHOLE DAYS for sex. He shows absolutely no understanding of women.
The second section is a thoughtless race to get to the chapter that revives the story, the one told from the Billy's point of view. Really, the only thing that kept me reading was that I wanted to find out whether Billy did in fact drown Mark.
The most interesting character is not one of the main ones, but Susan's sister Tina. Perhaps readers would have been better served with her story.
The mystery unfolds on page one, but there is really no development of it, only backstory for the characters, until the last page. This book's saving grace for me was that it only took about an hour and a half to read.

Joseph Olshan writes beautifully. I first read Joseph Olshan's book "The Nightswimmer" and was truly intrigued by the tale of Will Kaplan. And how his love of swimming and of the ocean play in his life. Then I found this book, "The Waterline", which featured Billy Kaplan, who loved to swim. In both novels, things that are precious and special to Billy/Will are taken away by the water. In "The Waterline", the story is told by three important voices-by his parents, Susan and Michael and by young Billy. Each tale their sides of the story of the one fateful summer day when a drowing took the life of a young boy and what Billy knew. Billy was only seven when this happen and for long 15 years, he and parents sort out what has happened and how to "make things right" again. The only person who truly understands what Billy is going through is his mothers sister, Rita. Rita was traumatized in her young life and can completely relate to what has happened to Billy, that she helps him long distance to find his resolve. I highly recomend this book and that anyone should read "The Nightswimmer" after. Billy /Will lead and interesting life and to find closure. No matter how long it takes

This book caused a major stir when first released in the 60s. But labor history studies have changed a great deal since that time. The entire orientation of this book is patronizing to the amazing works of the IWW.

For example:

1) It completely ignores the IWW's international aspects, for example that the IWW had more influence in Chile and Australia than in the US and Canada.

2) It glosses over the IWWs activities during the 1920s, the Marine Transport Workers' control of the Wetsern Hemisphere's shipping, longshore workers in North America, the 1927 Colorado Miners' Strike, etc. etc.

3) It has no coherent understanding of why the IWW declined. How FDR worked with Lewis and the CIO to force unionization, the principled stands the IWW took to stop the rise of business unionism, and some buttheadedess by the IWW's membership.

It contains many good stories and is an OK overview. The definitive work is still waiting on the subject.

Historiographically speaking, this is THE book to read on the history of the IWW. There are other attempts worth reading, (Renshaw or Thompson for example) but for a solidly researched, brilliantly written academic study, this is the place to go. Renshaw's book includes a few things on the IWW oustide North America, and can be thought of as an easy to read summary, but as a historical research and analysis work, it is not in the same league. Thompson's official history of the IWW is a different attempt as well, as its focus is strictly an institutional history; it is not a work of historical research and analysis, it is written in the dry prose of a chronicler's accounts. You won't find in-depth analyses and a major historian's work there, although it has its uses. Given the fact that We Shall Be All was produced more than three decades ago, it still holds much better than a great many number of studies published in its time. In the absence of a new and comprehensive historical work on the history of the IWW, Dubofsky's book is still the major, requisite reading on the subject.

This book LACKS a great attention to detail in the most common of areas. Hands are left open on every movement, footwork is almost non-existant, and the center of gravity is every BUT where it belongs. The demo of the Muk-Yan-Chong goes back and forth with pictures of Dr. Smith and one of his students. Every Wing Chun practitioner knows the swords are NEVER turned backwards along the forearm, yet he displays this quite often. The pole form is over 50 movements, yet Dr. Smith displays approximately 10 and claims this is all there really is. There is very little detail in the execution of movements outside of a general description. In short, this book looks to be written for someone who has no knowledge of Wing Chun, Wing Tsun, or Ving Tsun whatsoever. Those that do, I recommend not wasting your money.

I rate this book a ten. It is a very detalied book and it talks a lot about the ways of wing chun and I appreciat that. I took wing chun when I had a short stay in Korea and it was really nice. I am a black belt in Karate and it was really diffrent. Ther were a lot more meditation and a lot of advanced techinques for the higher and more serious martial artists

This book is excellent for leading college instructors through the complicated process of instructional web site development. From the sub-title I expected to find guidelines and selected shining examples of how the www could be incorporated into my college courses.

Reading the introduction offered fun facts along with a chronology of mass media. I learned more in this easy-to-read summary related to the development of media than in from my advanced degree program in journalism. I use the examples today with my work. Examples from the introduction are fun, historical, and practical.

For over the last seven years, Al Gore has changed the way people look at the job of Vice-President. This book is the record of his opinions, positions and recorded public statements.

Covering the spectrum from A to Z, you'll read the way Al Gore feels about abortion, education, welfare, government spending, environmental issues, free trade and so many others.

While I may not agree with many the statements, nor agree with many of the positions, I will say that Al Gore's positions are clear and well spoken. Gore's ability to articulate his position is very well done.

Overall this book will show you a side of Al Gore that the media has only scratched. A good read for those thinking about going into politics or working with political campaigns.

I was astounded when just looking at the table of contents, a vast amount of issues that the average American wants covered looked at in Al Gore's own words in a pretty short amount of pages. Although not a democrat I enjoyed reading over the views of our president, it went beyond trite one-liners to the real words of a man who served us (whether you believe that to be well or not is up to you). No matter your take on Gore this can help your support or attacks to be well-informed and accurate, as well as making you a citizen who knows his/her leaders!

Dale Brown uses current events to create a nonstop exciting military action and adventure. China attack Taiwan? It's a topic that's been circulated in very recent years.

You're given insight into military jargon, terms and strategies and a good dose of history to add more realism.

Brown is a good first step to reading Tom Clancy. He isn't too lengthy about technical terms, which at times are nice and at other occasions just too much detail. He tells you enough and continues the action without disrupting the scene.

This has been the first book by Dale Brown that I have read; I can't wait to read his others!

I was tempted to give this book a miss as I felt Dale Brown had faltered a bit with previous "sequels" such as Hammerheads but strong work in Chain of Command brought me back to the fold.

The character development was a bit weak in relation to the female protagonist, Senator Finegold (a thin veiled jibe at California's Senator Finestein?) The other characters, especially the military ones, were well done. I especially hated Admiral Balboa. I was disappointed with that loose end at the end of the book.

The action is typical Brown, fast-paced and exciting. His knowledge of actual weapon systems and great imagination make for a great read. I almost believe the U.S. military has that type of firepower and wish the B-52 could fly forever.

The scenarios set up are real world and very believable. The role of China in world events is still in question and although I don't personally believe China would undertake such actions, it is hard to dismiss the threat of a totalitarian regime in control of such a vast military machine.

I would have given this book 4 1/2 stars if possible only because Balboa did not get what he deserves.

Fantastic Audio Book by Dale Brown. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

In this story the US is about to retire the B2 and other large heavy artillery bombers from service as many see they are no longer needed...At the same time China has decided that it finally wants Taiwan back and is going to go after it. Mostly with the plans of one man with a few outrageous ideas, making it seem like the US is helping Taiwan and is sabotaging many different Chinese events etc. When in fact it is all just part of the Chinese plan. In this one you see the retired McClannahan as well as Gen. Brad Elliot. They along with some of their new toys from Sykmasters Inc. and a few pals you have seen before or in the future stories, help to turn the tide of the on slot. In addition the Chinese actually use Nukes much to everyone's surprise. This is a fast paced audio with lots of information coming at you.

One this that was sorta annoying was that the narrator used the same voice for a few of the characters which confused me at first.

As an avid reader and student of military history, and as someone with a surpassing interest in the history of science and technology, I was breathless with anticipation over "Los Alamos." Having read extensively about the history of the atomic bomb I couldn't wait to read a novel with the Manhattan Project as its backdrop. Mr. Kanon, I think, got the science, the setting, and the mood right. But like some of the other reviewers here, I found it difficult to care about Karl's murder. I found the dialogue, through which Mr. Kanon develops his plot more than through narrative, to be a bit noirish and facile for my taste. I thought the book was at its best when tha author wrote of the desert, of the race to build the "gadget", and of the moral and intellectual dilemmas faced by the scientists on the project. Theirs was arguably the greatest technical feat of this century, in a project whose scale and expense was exceeded only by the B-29 project (the delivery vehicle for the Bomb, ironically.) The romance between Connolly and Emma was just too predictable for my taste, and it seemed to have too little to do with the central problem: who killed Karl, why was he killed, and what are the implications for the Project. I think I was hampered by my own expectations. Perhaps I should have reread Richard Rhodes' book, "The Making of the Atomic Bomb", instead. I'll be less grumpy after Christmas!

I have read everything that Forsythe and Follett have written. I find international spy stories to be fascinating, especially by these two authors. The way that they can weave a spy mystery plot into the details of a specific international setting is masterful writing to me. I consider "The Day of the Jackal" to be at the top of the class for this genre. Follett's latest "The Hammer of Eden" continues this tradition.

In "Los Alamos", Joseph Kanon writes in the same tradition. If nothing else, his setting of the Manhattan Project, and the portrayals of the personalities involved make this an historical novel of detail that brings the Project alive and makes it real. To weave a murder plot concerning National Security into the setting is masterful. The only drawback that I felt to the story was that the plot itself dragged slightly and was not as dramatic as the setting.

For a first novel, Kanon has placed himself among the top of mystery writers and the book deserves the awards that it received. It was an excellent read. I look forward to now reading his second book.

I read quite a lot, including many techno-thrillers, and I know what I like. I liked Los Alamos quite a bit. I don't expect the author to have the science of the Manhattan Project exactly right. It's only the setting for the story, not the story itself. This is not a techno-thriller. It's a murder mystery/romance. The book is written in the first person for the most part, and the author adopts his protagonist's admittedly limited understanding of what the Manhattan Project was all about: building a really powerful weapon that would end the war. That's all Michael Connolly needed to know about what was going on at Loa Alamos in order to do his job of tracking down a murderer and a potential security breach, and that's all the author really gives the reader about the project. The author did an excellent job of setting the period scene, in the spring and oppressive summer of 1945 in and around Los Alamos, NM. I found the main characters engaging, and the historical fiction entertaining. There are no real good guys and bad guys in this book. Everybody in this story wears sort of a gray hat, with competing elements of good and evil within them. I found the book very entertaining, and look forward to reading something else by Mr. Kanon very soon.

Gilbert Bland visited libraries in North America cutting old maps out of books, was finally caught in the act, and spent some time in prison. That's all folks! You will learn precious little else about the crime by reading this book, yet Miles Harvey manages to spin these facts out to 400 pages. If only he could have imbued his narrative with some meaning, direction and purpose. Instead we are treated to aimless ramblings with the most tentative of links to the main story. For example, a relatively interesting historical diversion to tell us about the Pathfinder and his mapping of America is horribly contrived to fit the theme by the musing that indeed Miles IS the Pathfinder and Gilbert Bland IS the subject he is trying to map out. Worse is to follow when not content to merely sketch some mildly interesting contemporary personalities in the world of maps, he insists on performing amateur psychoanalysis on them; apparantly their collecting disorder stems from our past experiences as Hunter-Gatherers! Indeed, much of this book appears to stem from Miles's formative experiences and, unlike the author, I am not hypothesizing - he tells us so at regular intervals throughout this tedious narrative. This is a tiresome, poorly written, badly structured collection of map-related thoughts, desparately contorted to fit around the paltry facts the author has gleaned concerning Gilbert Bland and his crime.

The two critical reviewers say it best. Number one, the author's injecting of his own childhood, own experiences, own musings, etc., is a technique that "fails utterly." Number two, there was not enough here for a book. The author did do a lot of commendable research and leg-work, but that alone does not counsel in favor of writing and publishing a full-fledged book. Really, the book is simply about the author's investigation efforts. I have a passing interest in old maps, collecting and antiquities. The only parts of the book I found interesting and well-written concerned the "art" of creating a new map, and all the incredible detail work that goes into such an enterprise. Unfortunately, there was not much of this, and I learned very little substantive knowledge about maps, while I have learned a lot about other subjects of great, recent true history books (such as, weather, dictionary making, polar travel, etc.). Finally, I hate to admit it, but I was duped by the words and clever design of the book jacket. Marketing to those wannabe intellectuals ... fool me once, shame on you!

"The Island of Lost Maps" starts with a bang, as author Miles Harvey relates the tale of two Dutch explorers who are arrested and jailed in Lisbon in 1592 after being caught trying to smuggle Portuguese maps back to Holland. A frequent theme in the book is the power and mystery of maps, and this was an excellent story to begin with. There are more exploration-related historical tidbits throughout the book, but not enough since these were by far the most interesting parts in my opinion. Instead, most of "The Island of Lost Maps" concerns the author's obsession with Gilbert Bland, a thief who made a living out of cutting maps out of ancient atlases in libraries and then selling them on the antique map market.

Admittedly, it is interesting to find out about how the market for maps has exploded in the last few decades, and there is a nice profile of an aggressive map trader (Graham Arader). Less interesting is the wealth of detail about Gilbert Bland's life, since (according to the author) by all appearances Bland lives up to his name quite accurately. The author repeatedly compares the exploration in the Age of Discovery with his search for what sent Bland on a multinational map thievery spree, armed with just a razor blade and an inconspicuous face. Frankly, I would have liked to read more about the actual maps and explorers and less about Bland, whose crimes are notable but not worthy of the majority of a book's attention. The author even makes the mistake of letting us know how he tried (and failed) to contact Bland and pump him for information; unless such stories are extremely entertaining, there's no reason for a writer to mar his narrative by injecting himself into it.

I give kudos to this book for getting me excited about cartography and the history of exploration, but slogging through the author's guesswork about the psychology of Gilbert Bland wasn't fun. I'd recommend a real history book instead.