This was the first and last book I will read by Joan Wolf. It was a poor attempt at what promised to be an engaging historical mystery. The characters are flat and the story lacks the details that could have made this a much better book. Someone who does not normally read mystery or history may enjoy this. Let me amend that to say someone who does not read much at all would enjoy this. It may seem interesting compared to an old magazine in a doctor's office.
The story is nicely paced and does not drag too much; however, that is really the only favorable comment I can make about this book.
I really wonder how this book was even published; it is not a professional effort.

Perhaps you have to read the first book in the series to enjoy this novel, but I did not find Hugh the least bit interesting, and as for the romance, his relationship with Cristen is little more than a roll on the floor.
The book was also completely over-written--everyone snaps or growls, instead of simply 'says' and there are enough adverbs (-ly) words to make a beginner's writer's course teacher shudder in horror.
As for the historical detail, a lot of it was incorrect and the way they spoke was also inaccurate. I have never read anything by this author before, but she is certainly not one I will be spending my money on again.
The book creaks to a totally unsurprising conclusion.

This book seems to aspire to be a romance/mystery set in medieval times. unfortunately it fails to capture either a medieval or romantic feel and the "mystery" is pretty transparent from the beginning.For much better medieval period mystery/romance, try Roberta Gellis' latest books. For just plain historical romance try her earlier works if you are not put off by a lot of explicit sex (which, by the way, does NOT take away from the complex plot and historical detail) These books pay as much attention to history and a detailed portrayal of medieval life as they do to romance.

Totally predictable. I was excited to see this author after reading The Texan and The Cowboy. This book is not even in the ball park. Characters were one-dimensional. Circumstances were unreal. If I had read this book first, I would not have ready anything else with her name on it.

Ms.Johnston did not spend time making her characters have depth. They were flat with a few hormones. I was truly disappointed. I felt like someone with a word processer and spell check, but no editor was at it again.

I thought this books was ok. Not the best I've ever read but pretty good. The character's needed to be a little less hormonal and a little more....how should I say it...human I guess. More down to earth. Dallas seems to be living in the past but he's really in the future. That was a big dislike. Angela starts off as an innocent but suddenly she's kissing a total stranger she's never seen?? I gave it a three.

This book has a great story to tell, but through the stalling and back-telling the powerfulness of the message is lost. I found that I had to force myself to finish hoping to be swept away by the ending, but was instead left wondering what I had missed. The narrative is confusing and lacks any passion on the subject at hand. However I believe this could be an intriguing movie.

This book was absolutely not good! It never made any sense and skipped around that by the time it got back to a certain person, you had already forgotten who they were and why they were significant! I just read a review and they said it was a romeo and juliet book, i had no idea the main character was even in love, much less there was a second main character! If you have nothing to do for days, and time to write down every character and their significance, read this book, otherwise, really don't waste your time!

Joan Didion's The Last Thing He Wanted is a mysterious, gentle little book that ultimately is quite sad. Elena McMahon does a favour for her father and through that favour and through her we see the large unfathomable world of conspiraces and esponiage boiled to very human elements. There is a cold spareness to the writing that left this reader unmoved until after it was over and then the sadness powerfully washed over me. It is an unique and haunting look at the choices people make and the lives and events that one can affect with simple, irrevocable gestures. A beautiful novel.

This seems to be another case in which an author and her readership first claim that the material is based on the original documents and therefore true to history, then when historians prove this to be false the claim is made that the documents don't matter anyway, using the usual rhetoric about "multiple truths" and so forth. The version presented in this play isn't even corroborated by the book upon which the play itself was (loosely) based, a biography by Vita Sackville-West which itself has been roundly denounced by scholars, including feminists, for its many inaccuracies; but at least Sackville-West was honest enough not to claim that Joan was a "lesbian", nor a rebel against the Church, nor a "teenager runaway" escaping an alcoholic and abusive father, etc, and in fact she often states precisely the opposite on many of these subjects. The author of this play merely took a few comments in the above book out of context, then wrote up a purely fictional account, and now apparently tries to defend it against academic criticism by dredging up discredited tactics of evasion - something which she would never approve of if it was her own life that was being rewritten.
The facts of the matter are not in dispute among reputable historians; here are some of the historical issues which are relevant to the play:
- Even Ms. Sackville-West, despite having been a lesbian herself, never alleged that Joan of Arc had any such tendencies: the playwright apparently jumped to that conclusion simply because Sackville-West's book mentions a number of the eyewitness descriptions of Joan being placed with little girls (such as the 9-year old Charlotte Boucher) or their mothers or other hostesses in the homes she stayed in at Orleans and other locations during her army's campaigns. As I believe Ms. Sackville-West herself notes, this was the standard procedure in that era whenever a shortage of beds forced such an arrangement (i.e., rather than placing men and women in the same bed). The little girls and women that she "slept with" themselves said that she was a virgin, meaning that they could not possibly have been having sex with her unless they are contradicting themselves in the same breath, a point which the author of this play deliberately ignores.
- Similarly, the claim that Joan "died for the right to wear male clothing" ignores the eyewitness accounts given on that subject even in Sackville-West's book, to say nothing of the full testimony in the original documents: several witnesses said that Joan herself told them that she had to continue wearing her soldier's clothing (of a type which was designed so that the pants and tunic could be tied securely together with "laces and points") because her guards had attempted to rape her on several occasions, and such clothing was her only defense against such attempts. She said that her alleged "relapse" was the result of the guards taking away the dress that had been provided her, leaving her nothing to wear but her old male clothing. Only her enemies claimed that she insisted on wearing male clothing as a personal preference rather than out of necessity: this was the claim they had to make, since the medieval Church allowed an exemption in cases in which a woman was wearing such clothing for protection (see medieval Church documents such as St. Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologica", or St. Hildegard's "Scivias" for example). Joan was absolutely correct in saying that what she was doing was perfectly lawful under the rules of the Church.
- Even Ms. Sackville-West describes Joan as a pious Catholic, in contrast to the play's spin on this issue. What Carolyn Gage interprets as "contempt" for the clergy seems to be based on a rather deliberate misinterpretation of a handful of comments to the pro-English clergy who put her on trial, while completely ignoring her good relations with the clergy of her own faction: one of her closest companions was a friar named Jean Pasquerel of the Order of St. Augustine; another chaplain in her army was her cousin Nicholas Rommee (de Vouthon) of the Cistercian Order; there are many descriptions of her close association with the crowd of mendicant friars who served in her army, and she had the support of Jacques Gelu (Archbishop of Embrun), Jean Gerson, and many other high-ranking clerics, whose writings in praise of her still survive. The only clergy she may have had contempt for were people like Cauchon - a long-term advisor and supporter of the English and Burgundians whom she well knew to have been prosecuting her out of revenge. When the case was appealed after her death, the presiding Inquisitor denounced Cauchon as a heretic for what he did, echoing Joan's statements warning him not to proceed with his prosecution.
- Once again, even Vita Sackville-West never alleges that Joan harbored any anger against men, and there are many eyewitness descriptions of her fondness for men such as Duke Jean II d'Alencon, Duke Charles of Orleans, and Charles VII. Her squire and bodyguard, Jean d'Aulon, said that she "especially loved a certain honorable man whom she knew to be of chaste habits"; another eyewitness says that she liked the company of "aristocratic fighting-men". Sackville-West herself comments on Joan's apparent affinity for such "men of action". Nowhere in the documents is there the slightest hint of any feminist beliefs, nor any anger against her father: Gage's caricature of this man as an incestuous alcoholic is based on her own unfortunate family problems, and has nothing to do with Joan's circumstances as outlined even in Sackville-West's book.
None of the basic facts of Joan's life are disputed by any reputable historian, given the fact that she is one of the most thoroughly documented people in pre-modern history. The process of inventing a fictional spin on someone's life is usually called 'libel', and the practice of defending such by claiming that "truth doesn't exist" is simply a dodge of the issue.

While I may not agree with Ms. Gage's analysis of Joan's situation, I do applaud her courage to present a different view of Joan than we have seen in the past. When daring to stray from the norm in writing about such characters as Saint Joan or Anne Frank, an author can expect to have a few matches lit under foot in protest. If the world had listened to a few Bible thumpers, Anne Frank's diary would have been yanked from the shelves and banned forever because it did not feed the sweet little image people had of Anne. The attitude is similar with Joan of Arc who is expected to have had few faults if any at all. Joan was a human being and all humans are complicated, which means there is always room for a new point of view.
The reality is that we will never know what Joan would have been like had she lived and if indeed her father had abused her, Joan would not have told a soul as he was a well respected man, so there would have been no evidence of such behavior. This is a book to be read with an open mind, as all books should be.

Carolyn Gage is a very talented playwright. She is undoubtly one of the most gifted writers of this generation. Gage invites us to stand against a male-dominant world in which women are not allowed to have their own voice. In this aspect, the author makes sure to build a great esthetic, literary and dramatic portray of women's cognitive world. Therefore, the lesbianism turns out to be the most sensible and inteligent expression of female needs. It's not a mere accident. It's a way of protecting voices of womanhood. Naive people can be shocked by the deconstruction of Joan. Does it matter wheter it is true or not? Is there a single truth? The facts are always controversial. And Gage's plays are an outrageous shout of this reality.Joan of Arc is a legend. Jeanne Romee is the person behind the myth. That is the subject Gage tries to apreehend. And she does it magnifically. When we read Gage's Joan we are before a woman. Not a saint.

I'm sorry. I tried, but by the 7th chapter, I got so tired of the whining that I quit. Not only does she need to get out of her comfortable little life more often, but she needs to be more appreciative of the opportunities given to her.

A pretty pedestrian memoir by a woman who seems like she would be a very annoying travel companion. She's tired, she's hungry, she's unhappy, she's stressed. There must be better books about traveling to Florence than this.

A joyous read. Like the sound of the Italian language itself, this book has a gentle, endearing sound of its own. Author Gerber accompanies her husband a teacher, and a group of his students on an extended stay in Florence. Reluctant to go at first, recounting anxieties about traveling to a foreign country, she gradually accepts the frustrations, mishaps, and exhaustion (and does so with humor and laughter at her own foibles) -- that naturally accompany the pleasures and surprises of travel. Gerber is honest and genuine. She writes in first person and present tense, directly bringing us along with her on her many 'journeys', discovering not only the people, language, art, history, music. . . of Italy, but the self-discovery of how she comes to enjoy all aspects of travel, and the feeling of pride at the triumph in managing to deal with every day life far from home. (And this happens at an age that is not young and full of go-go-go energyÐ which I surely related to.) I greatly enjoyed the read, meeting the author, her husband, and all the individuals and places that she brings to life to me along the way.

Certainly not up to standard for this established writer. Shallow plot; little character development; unimaginative, amateurish - almost laughable - dialogue. Mr. Woods runs the risk of losing new readers if this book was their first exposure to his work. Dead Eyes left tears in mine.

I am so glad that this was not the first Stuart Woods book that I had read, because I probably would not have continued on. Stuart Woods is a superb writer, however, this book is not some of his finest work. The story is set around an actress who is about to make it big, her gay hairdresser, her stalker, and the police detective who is helping her with the stalker. All of the characters seem very flat and are never fully developed. I would have never guessed the ending to the book only because Woods never steered the story toward the ending that occurred. It was almost as if he thought to himself, I need an ending and he just shoved it in without making sure that it flowed or made any sense. Kind of a disappointment after reading the whole book. If this is your first time reading Woods, I would suggest one of his Stone Barrington series novels which starts with "New York Dead". One of the best in this series is "Worst Fears Realized" or "Swimming to Catalina." After reading some of his other books, you will realize that this one was just a miss for him.

I really enjoyed the book...quite the page turner, but I felt unsatisfied with the ending. There was zero explanation as to "why". It reminded me a bit of what Patricia Cornwell will do. It's as though she (and Woods) realizes that she needs to wrap up the story & does so quickly, without much explanation as to why the killer was who the killer was. I realize a lot of times there aren't reasons for killings, but in a book, for $..., there could be a reason or two explained! It was a good read, not as good as "The Run" (the first I read), but enough to have me reading more of his books.

Because I think he had nothing to do the Prince of Wales is unwise and a Cheater and say rude things about his Parents think he should honor them for the Queen and her husband Tried their best for their children .
that's wasnt 's nice To blame his marriaged failed for his parents it's his Fault . I Totally HATE this BOOK!!!!!!!!

Joan Veon's writings are not myth. This lady has done her home work. She has proven herself to be an accomplished Writer and Researcher of the United Nations and she has done a scholarly job on blowing the whistle on "Charlie", Prince of Wales.

Those who disagree with this statement simply have their heads stuck in the sand. The UN is quietly taking over the United States and our leaders are assisting them in the disolving of our Constitution. Who permitted the giving of our Land and Parks to the UN? Why do we suddenly find our former National Parks now named "International Biospheres?" Who allowed the assigning of American Armed Forces to Foreign Commanders of the UN "Peace Keeping Forces?" These are traitorous acts, all very unconstitutional, but the general public has absolutely no interest in, or knowledge of, these happenings and seriousness of the consequences of these acts. Consequently, when they awaken and find they are now Governed by the New World Order and that the United States Government and Constitution have been disolved, they will be fulfilling some Biblical prophetic phrases such as, "there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." The British Monarchy, unfortunately wields more power, in the UN and world wide, than can be imagined. This book will show you that Prince Charles will inherit more than the title, "King of the British Empire or Commonwealth of Nations." World dominance and dominion have always been the objectives of Lucifer and his followers.

I am a Born Again Christian and a former History and Government Teacher and all I can say is, "Joan, you get an "A+" for your efforts in writing this book. This book is a must read and heed for all Patriotic and Christian Americans.

Joan Veon's writings are not myth. This lady has done her home work. She has proven herself to be an accomplished Reporter and Researcher of the United Nations and she has done a scholarly job on blowing the whistle on "Charlie", Prince of Wales.

Those who disagree with this statement simply have their head stuck in the sand. The UN is quietly taking over the United States and our leaders are assisting them in the disolving of our Constitution. Who permitted the giving of our Land and Parks to the the UN? Why do we suddenly find our former National Parks now named, "International Biospheres? Who allowed the assigning of American Armed Forces to Foreign Commanders of the UN "Peace Keeping Forces?" These are traitorous acts, all very unconstitutional, but the general public has absolutely no interest in, or knowledge of, these happenings and seriouness of the consequences of these acts. Consequently, when they awaken and find they are now Governed by the New World Order and that the United States Government and Constitution have been disolved, they will be fulfilling some Biblical prophetic phrases such as, "there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." The British Monarchy, unfortunately wields more power, in the UN and world wide, than can be imagined. This book will show you that Prince Charles will inherit more than the title, "King of the British Empire or Commonwealth of Nations." World dominance and dominion have always been the objectives of Lucifer and his followers.

I am a Born Again Christian and a former History and Government Teacher and all I can say is, "Joan, you get an "A+" for your efforts. This book is a must read and heed for all Patriotic and Christian Americans.

I do not care how long it took Ms. Press to exploit Martha Brailsford, nor does she know anything of the Willows neighborhood (despite her residence which is just barely located on the border of the neighborhood). For the sake of everyone, I hope that there will never be another edition of either "Counterpoint" or "A Scream on the Water" ever sold or read again.

i was there during the whole ordeal. it took me a few years, but i have read this book that caused so much controversey within my family and entire neighborhood. my mother vehemently protested the publication of this book, and had the support of many in the community. the other night, a&e rebroadcast a "city confidential" that was recorded a couple of years ago regarding this case. my first comment has to do with the occult: everyone knew that she went sailing. ms. cabot, give me a break. you really did not say anything too profound or important to the progression of this case. my second comment is what i am overall trying to say: let her and her family and friends have peace. there should not have been a single dollar ever brought up in this. where the respect and compassion to those affected by this horrible tragedy? it's almost ten years later, and not only is this book still in publication and t.v. specials being aired, but now there is a "haunted hearse" tour being started in salem which will discuss the case. this is a gross commercialism of an event that devestated a community. ms. press is not a willows resident, and knows little of the neighborhood which she lives beyond the outskirts of. out of respect, i urge anyone reading this to not support this disturbing and violating piece of literature.

This is really a great book. Contrary to what another reviewer said, Ms. Press does live in the area - perhaps not technically in the Willows neighborhood, but close enough to know a lot about this case. In addition, she did a lot of research for this book. This wasn't something written in a weekend but something that took many, many months of painstaking effort. I reviewed an early copy of this book because I used to work with the author. She is not trying to exploit the victim of this crime, just to write an interesting book and get the facts straight. Note that this book was later re-issued under the title "A Scream On The Water: A True Story of Murder In Salem".

Most of the characters from the original novel are butchered to make Eliza look good. Edward and Elinor no longer seem to care for or respect each other. Marianne never comes to love Colonel Brandon and is just plain spiteful. Mrs. Dashwood goes insane. Almost all of the characters end up miserable except Eliza. You are supposed to like and admire her for overcoming all of her struggles but I just do not see how that is possible.

I made the enormous mistake of reading this book before S&S. I hated the book at the time, and I hate it even more now. Edward's character is absolutely butchered. He is turned into a mean scrouge. Marianne's impulsive, dramatic behavior is coarsened. S&S clearly states that she came to love her husband. The book makes her this cranky, spiteful woman. The book itself is depressing, sad, and leaves a nasty taste in the reader's mind. It is not at all like Jane Austen. The author does not understand Jane Austen and does a horrible job of imitating her. Jane Austen was optimistic, although everyone may not live in paradise, they are happy/content. Jane Austen delicately pokes fun at her society, Joan Aiken drags it down into the level of...well...scum. The story itself is unfullfilling and boring. I hated and despised it.

i found reading eliza's daughter was very interesting.it gave me an insight of the life of a parentless girl in that era.the trials she had to go through and to overcome.it was very well written and had me glued to it from beginning to end,i would recomend this book to anyone who loved the jane austen classics. in fact it is a complete novel all on it's own and worth reading whether you liked jane austen or not.i like this book so much that i am trying to buy it and i'm very sad it is now out of print.in my opinion this book is right up there with the austen's bronte"s the dicken's to name a few.so i would give this book 10 out 0f 10 for the story,the settings,and how it was written.

I found this book very patronising, just do what you are told and you will get better. Very light on for details of any type. I would recommend Saibil if you just want the mainstream medical info. If you want alternatives to use either with or without maintream medicine try Atkins Vitanutrient Solution (yes the diet guy) or Berkson's Healthy digestion the natural way. They both offer a wide diversity of alternative treatment

I found this book very disappointing. I have had Crohn's Disease for 17 years and have read all the books on Crohn's Disease. I found this book very disturbing because in many instances, Dr. Gomez claims that when the Crohn's patient "cleaned" up their life, they became well. This not only implies that it is somehow the patients fault for getting ill but also that they can control it. Unfortunately, the disease does not work like that. I feel sorry for the Crohn's patient who reads this book and thinks that all they have to do is take their medication live on the straight and narrow.

I've just read this book and felt that it was fairly helpful, especially if you have just been diagnosed and are looking for ways to minimize the nasty symptoms of crohn's.

I had one problem with it. I've had crohn's for eighteen years and am something of an expert. Every crohn's sufferer Iknow avoids too much fibre as it acts like glass to our poor inflamed guts. Dr Hunter at Addenbrookes recommends a low fat LOW FIBRE diet as treatment. Whilst pears, apples, cherries, mango, melons and pineapple may be fine, other fruits such as citrus and bananas may cause further problems.

With vegetables, spinach, carrots & sweet potato, should all be fine, but onions, tomatoes, potato skin, and really anything high in fibre should, I believe, be avoided. To ensure adequate nutrition, peel all vegetables, avoid fruit and vegetables with pips and seeds or remove carefully, or try eating in pureed form or as soups.

Finally, if you have very severe crohn's or have had it for any length of time, this may not be the book for you as it deals with the basics and implies that there is a successful treatment for all, which unfortunately, isn't always the case. If you are looking for reassurance and support after a few hard years of recurring disease, this may not help.

However, a good, varied book, written by one who actually has the disease for once.