Almost more of an historical novel than a Western, Chalk's Woman by David Ballantine is, actually, both -- and authentic in both spheres! Its characters are alive and non-stereotypical; its men are 'Western', but Human (good and bad Human) and not cardboard formulated -- and often rare specimens; its women (and the hero is a civil-war innocent injured woman) are beautifully characterized and sensitively portrayed, believable and important. Excellent plot; excellent writing--;totally enjoyable and VERY interesting. I genuinely recommend it -- and I am not, normally, a 'Western reader or buyer! Book deserves a lot more attention than it has gotten. Let yourself enjoy this one. (This si the first time I have ever bothgered to write a review on a book -- so I MUST think its really good!). A great gift! ...

A work of fiction, yes; a western , yes; a page turner, yes; but it is absolutely believable; it has the ring of truth, of history, of biography. It opens with one of the most heartbreaking scenes I have ever read - the leveling of Vicksburg during the Civil War. Among the visions of the horrors of war this one must stand with the most convincing . CHALK'S WOMAN moves from the Civil War to pioneers crossing the continent : starvation, being lost in a snow storm, almost being killed by Indians, and on to frontier life in a small mining town. A whorehouse, bank robbers, a gun fight , and the rough justice of frontier law. There are no superheroes here. Just ordinary people slogging through a very tough life : sometimes mean, sometimes kind, sometimes almost heroic ; and, interestingly , almost all seeking to live by a moral and humane code. Episode by episode I believed that this is what the West of the 1860s was really like.

I really enjoyed this book! David Ballantine captured the feel of the time. I felt that I was there. The drama and characters were so real that I couldn't stop reading. It really is a page-turner! I hope that he does more books. This was a wonderful read!

Frazetta's work has graced album covers and book jackets. In this first volume you'll see some of his finest. His techniques for drawing your attention to primary and secondary points of interest in his works are done beautifully like a photographer uses light. His works are lush and sensual, celebrating the human anatomy like the ancient Greeks. The facial expressions of his subjects convey intensity, strength, and will. You can actually feel the energy jumping out at you. Too bad it's out of print, but I suspect these masterpieces will be popping up frequently in various compilations.

If you love Frank Frazetta's art then you must see the _Fantastic Art Of Frank Frazetta_ Volumes 1 to 5. This is the most complete collection of his work in print. The reproductions are first rate and on high quality glossy paper. Although they've been out of print for over a decade it's well worth the trouble and expense to obtain these books. They will, no doubt, appreciate in value.

YOUR THYROID is the single most comprehensive and accessible reference on thyroid problems I have seen. It includes summaries of recent studies that other books lack, it treats the cluster of thyroid problems in a unified way, and raises issues of treatment with the same level of integration. Of particular help to women seeking in-depth information on thyroid issues.

Not only did this book help me understand my thyroid and what it does, it helped my primary care giver diagnos my disorder. The book lists all the tests that should be done and what the normal levels should be and it has a great resource listing. It also tells how to trace thyroid problems in families. I finally have a handy resource book at home when I need it!

This book has it all and if you can work through some slow spots you will see it has both a enjoyable histroy view point for the novice reader, a great war story aspect for the WWII junkie, and a techincal stand point for the aviation lover. A good read but maybe a lack of writing experience from the author shows through. Overall very enjoyable and different from your usual Stephen Ambrose-type work.

Having read a number of Mr. Caidin's other works (Samurai!, Zero!, B-17 Flying Forts), I picked this book up expecting similar quality and detail, and was not disappointed in the least. Whereas Thunderbolt and Samurai focus on the exploits of individual pilots, with the aircraft information as a backdrop, much like the B-17 in Flying Forts, the P-38 is the main protagnoist in this story. The pilots and their missions enable the telling of this tale, but the P-38 itself truly comes to life.

I have read the book three times in the past six months, and will likely begin reading #4 very shortly.

Thank you Mr. Caidin.

This book very well written with documentation and a large number of pilot testimonials. It goes into great detail about the enception, development, and attributes about the most under-rated fighter of the Second World War. Mr. Caiden, despite his obvious feelings for the airplane, illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of this amazing fighter in both an optomistic, and objective light. This book is a must read for anyone who would like to claim to know anything about the Air war in WWII.

Good, but not great is how I would rate David Liss's historical thriller, set in 1719 London at the height of the South Seas bubble (and written, not coincidentally, at the height of our own stock market bubble -- the parallels are laid on pretty thick, but are still enjoyable). As a good historical novel must do, Liss admirably conveys the (imagined) sights, sounds and smells of 18th-century urban life, both splendid and squalid. The main character moves smoothly between both worlds: the estranged son of a Jewish stockbroker, Benjamin Weaver has lived on both sides of the law and now makes his living, more or less, as a private detective. Weaver's many double lives -- Jew and Englishman, criminal and law enforcer, son and outcast -- are masterfully drawn, with the help of a vivid supporting cast of characters.

Liss, currently getting a doctorate in 17th century English literature (it seems safe to say, given how well his first novel has been received, that he is probably the happiest English lit student in the country), knows his material very well, and writes with confidence and humor. He deploys some admirable literary tricks, for instance casting the novel as a memoir written decades later by Weaver, which allows him to lard in relevant and interesting historical details without too much sense of authorial intrusion. (Other successful historical novels, e.g. _The Name of the Rose_ and _Lempriere's Dictionary_ pull this trick off with geographical distance, rather than temporal, by sending their characters on journeys into unfamiliar and interesting locales.) Liss also borrows from the writing style of the novels of the time, his own stock in trade, to give the narrative a pleasantly "antiqued" diction and pace.

So what holds this novel back from the greatness to which it aspires? That most important aspect of fiction, plot. The intrigues into which Weaver are drawn, involving his father's suspicious death, stock fraud and the London criminal underground, are a bit too convoluted. It's enjoyable to watch Weaver solve the mystery, with a combination of induction (Weaver's entertaining sidekick, a penniless but charming physician, introduces him to the then-new concept of probabilistic reasoning, and draws a comparison between stock-brokering, detective work and Pascal's wager) and physical violence, but it's easy to lose track of his clues and suspicions. Liss puts so much work into the convoluted mystery that it becomes a bit exhausting. About halfway through, I found myself getting bored with all the characters and their possible motives, and all the talking and thinking about them, and looking forward to another exchange of pistols or another chase through a waste-strewn alleyway.

It's worth comparing _A Conspiracy of Paper_ to _The Name of the Rose_, the apotheosis of the historical thriller. When the truth came out in the climax of the latter book, it all made sense -- I could think back over what I'd read and see all the mysteries illuminated in the light of the truth. When finishing A Conspiracy of Paper, I was happy to find all the accumulated implausibilities and unlikelihoods neatly wrapped up, but the core of the mystery had been somewhat lost beneath the coat of loose ends.

Like most people who've read "A Conspiracy of Paper" by David Liss, I'm a big fan of historical fiction, mystery, and the growing niche of books that blend the two genres, but this one won't want recount the plot (since you probably have a good idea of what it's about) but here are a few things I liked and disliked about the book:

I enjoyed reading about Jewish characters in 1700s England. Honestly I'd never considered that there was any significant Jewish community in London at that time, and it was interesting to learn about some of the restrictions on their way of life (not allowed to own property, treated as 2nd class citizens, etc.) and to read about the protagonist Ben Weaver's struggle to fit into traditional British society and to reconcile that with his Jewish roots. It was also interesting, at least in theory, to read about early stock market scandals, particularly since more sophisticated market scams (Enron, ImClone, etc.) have been big news over the last few years.

That said, as a mystery "A Conspiracy of Paper" is pretty ho-hum. Liss barely scratches the surface of London's stock exchange, instead painting the conspiracy in the broadest of strokes. "A Conspiracy of Paper" is guilty of one of my biggest book pet peeves: The mystery isn't properly foreshadowed or woven into the plot, so it comes off somewhat coincidental and left this reader flat. Weaver's true enemy really could have been a half dozen other characters in the book, all of whom would have been at least as credible as the villain. And, I found Ben Weaver to be a pretty simple, bland and generic protagonist for this kind of books. A skilled "thief-taker" (i.e. bounty hunter), boxer, good looking, fairly successful, etc.

For a quick read or summertime beach book, you could do a lot worse than "A Conspiracy of Paper," but in all it was a pretty routine and by-the-numbers mystery dressed up in Judaism and 1700s London garb.

"A Conspiracy of Paper", a first novel from an obviously talented new author, is a very enjoyable book set in 18th century London. It is probably the best historical novel I've read, and richly deserves the awards it's already garnered.

The hero, Ben Weaver, begins to investigate the death of his long-estranged father. Soon enough he finds himself in way over his head, embroiled in the financial intrigue that would ultimately become the South Sea Bubble, causing the ruin of many of London's finest gentlemen.

The style of writing is wonderful, part first person, part narrative, and heavy into the vernacular of early 18th century England. Near the end of the story, this becomes one of those "must stay up until I finish it" books.

A thoroughly enjoyable book. I highly recommend it to those who love the genre.

Woodstock, New York, is famous for its counterculture idiosyncracies. This is true not only in music, art, and rock-and-roll, but also of the quirky, handmade homes built by many of the town's citizens. This book pictures many of these houses, and explores who built them and why.The book is available at the Golden Notebook book store, in Woodstock, NY, 12498.

Basically, this novel is a stream of related short stories, and they get more and more metaphysical. The prose has youthful vigor, and Hollander captures the quality of life on Long Island -- unless you're rich and well-educated, Long Island is a dead end; hard to get off of, yet easy to leave. The central romance between the lead male character, a budding, if lazy, bureaucrat, and his girlfriend is affecting. In one hilarious bit, a group of characters finds a car stereo predicting the group's immediate future. These works are certainly promising, but Hollander needs to marshal his talents and focus them to greater literary effect; his themes here -- yeah, modern life's a drag if you don't have an education and your parents were abusive or stuck -- are shallow. But I'd buy his next book.

I came across this book accidentally in a used book store, and I'll admit it, I liked the cover and the flap copy. But it's a really cool book. Basically, Hollander links together a bunch of short stories that revolve around a character (Harlan Kessler) who is entering adulthood in a suburban hell. At times it reminds me of Rick Moody's writing (the book is actually dedicated to Moody), but also of David Foster Wallace and some of the other new "ironists." But what sets Hollander's book apart is the strangeness of these individual stories. One is told as a play. One is told as a highway (no, really, it is). One is just a bunch of quotes from people in the book. I mean, it's not totally original, but it does make what would be just another coming-0f-age-in-suburbia novel something more. The experiments in form make the reader feel as confused about the future as Harlan does, and the ending (if you can call it that) is way trippy. It's his first book. I'll buy the next one too. No matter what's on the cover!

This is such a great book! I was surprised to find that it is hysterically funny; Hollander has a real gift to talk about very serious issues with a good dose of humor. This book is about much more than just the suburbs on Long Island, its commentary on American life & family. Its a wonderful, quirky, funny book.

It is very evident that the motive of the author was to debunk the Old Testamentin general, and the biblical David in particular. In doing so, he appears to reference all his material with notated references to the index. Howefver, if you examine these references, many are stated as factual material. In reality, they were previously written by another individual,
and their validity is highly suspect. He uses other versions of the Bible to support his position, and roughly 150 books which he eviscerated passages to support his positions. A fairytale!

Kirsch gives us a detailed account of one of the most famous men in history, complete with the good, the bad, the ugly, and the very ugly. The real David is not for Sunday school students. One wonders why he was known as "a man after God's own heart." Kirsch also makes a good point by suggesting that there is almost no extra-biblical evidence for the existence of David or a united monarchy in Jerusalem. Yet the detail and honesty of which multiple books of the Bible speak of David is enough to convince most historians that he existed. However, do not tell your children about him until they are old enough to see an R-rated movie.

Jonathan Kirsch is my favorite type of theological writer. He's not afraid to ask the tough questions about the cornerstones of faith and he's open to a wide variety of possibilities both traditional and liberal. He has a deft hand and obvious faith but his writing lacks the undercurrents (and, often, overtones) of other writers who ram particular points of view down a reader's throat. He is the kind of writer who gets the wheels in your head turning.

This time out Kirsch looks at the biblical figure of King David. He examines what we know of a man who is in many ways the key figure of the Bible. For those of us focused mainly on the New Testament, we need to be reminded that David was the pinnacle of Jewish success and the cornerstone of Messianic thought. It is no coincidence that Matthew and Luke are careful to trace the genealogy of Jesus through David. And Kirsch makes a very interesting case that it is possible that the books that carry the story of David (1 & 2 Samuel) may be among the oldest in the Bible around which even much of the Torah may have had its development.

Certainly, Kirsch reminds us of how very human David is. He is a virile youth and a successful warrior both for and against his countrymen. He is an anointed shepherd who takes years to secure a kingdom which he eventually must defend against his own sons. He is a servant of Yahweh who breaks nearly all the commandments at one time or another but repents. He is a believer but is steeped in pagan ritual and tradition who ultimately is not allowed to build a temple to his God. In the oldest stories, David gives us a glimpse of a people and religion that is trying to make itself into the Judaism we recognize but is still finding its way despite Abraham and Moses.

Ultimately, Kirsch leads us to an understanding of David and his time by fleshing out details and offering explanations for things that get short shrift in the Biblical text. Whether or not you accept all of Kirsch's possibilities, this book is a valuable resource for anyone who wants a clearer picture of the Old Testament world.