My daughter volunters at a Public Library. She has given me some beautiful books. The "Locket" was a l998 Christmas Present. Prior to this she had given me The Christmas Box, The Letter, and Time Piece. It's difficult to say which I liked the best; they are all beautiful. I like the "size" easy to hold when you read lying down! Have given them for Christmas and birthday presents. I have enjoyed his writings so much would love to be able to meet him and his family. Lost my husband just a year ago; I thank the Lord that I have good eye sight there are so many wonderful books; computeers, TV, or movies can never take their place.

Straight to the heart and beyond, goes this wonderful book by Evans. After spending the last two years of his life caring for his dying mother, twenty-two-year old Michael goes to work in a skilled nursing facility where he meets Esther Huish, a quiet elderly patient with regrets that have crippled her life. It is through Esther that he realizes his life's dreams and is able to reach for the unattainable.

Faye, the love of his life, is from an upper class family that puts the value of a dollar and breeding on a pedestal that Michael falls short of. When Michael finds himself accused of a terrible crime he learns just how alone he really is. Faced with choices that are near impossible to make, he is guided as well as saved by the wisdom of this older woman that has come into his life.

This is an excellent story filled with inspirational quotes and bits of hard won knowledge from Esther's journal. The sequel is titled "The Carousel" and is a continuation of the lives of these extraordinary characters. Evans is the well-known author of "The Christmas Box" series that also includes, "Timepiece" and "The Letter". 3/4/01

How refreshing to read a book that has an inspirational message plus contains no graphic sex or vulgar language, yet at the same time, a believable story that is not contrived...a rarity these days!! I enjoyed the thought-provoking excerpts from Esther's diary at the beginning of each chaper...a clever touch by Evans. The flow is good and his descriptions of the characters and scenes "breathe" with reality. A few times, however, he overdoes the character descriptions with strings of trite adjectives. This is a poignant, touching tale that has a little bit of everything (except sex) and will appeal to males as well as females. I found it difficult to put down once I got into the story. Keep up the quality writing, Richard Paul Evans!

If you like adventure, excitement and intrigue... this is a must read! Techno-adventure at its best.

The book is a fast paced read that includes Special Forces units of the military along with the CIA, FBI, KGB and the Cubans.

Warning... clear your schedule before you start because after the first few chapters you won't want to put it down.

Tom has achieved a level of mystery and suspense that is exciting as the novels of ... Tom Clancy, Stephen Frey, John Grisham, Dean Koontz,James Patterson and John Sandford.

This is an excellent read that doesn't have a slow chapter.

Thomas Muldoon lures you in and then doesn't let you go! Not only does Muldoon give the reader a penetrative insight into high-tech military strategy of the elite recon forces, he also exposes big government betrayals, cover-ups and corruption.
A fast paced master plot of global intrigue, this book has it all. A great mix of heinous crimes, revenge, loyalty, character depth and hey, there's even romance!
His verbal paint brush canvasses an array of images - perfect for the screen, too. You'll be hearing more about this author!

Every so often I get in the mood for reading an action-packed thriller that deals with our country's elite military forces: U.S. Army Special Forces, Marine Recon, the Navy SEALS, and Delta Force. To impress me, the author of the novel has to know what he's talking about-preferably from personal experience-and be able to tell a good story with strong, heroic characters facing insurmountable odds. Any writer who can do this will more than lightly win me over as a loyal, die-hard fan. One such author is Thomas L. Muldoon. His debut novel, AN EXECUTION OF HONOR, hooked me in the first eighteen pages and made good on its promise to deliver a high-powered adventure, involving the elite Marine Force Reconnaissance unit. The novel starts out in 1986 with President Luis Cardona, his three sons, and a small part of his army escaping from the country of San Tomas in Central American as the Communist rebels take over the capital.
Helping Cardona to get out of the country are William Means of the CIA and perhaps the most dangerous unit of fighting warriors in the world, a nine-member team of Force Recon Marines headed by Captain Dan Paige. When Paige and Gunnery Sergeant Melvin Snipes refuse to allow Cardona to bring his large cache of cocaine with him, the exiled President has them viciously tortured and killed. The rest of the Recon unit is totally unaware of what has happened until Cardona is well on his way to America, where he's to be granted asylum by the President of the United States. When the members of the Recon unit voice their complaints to the higher-ups and demand justice for their dead comrades, they're warned to back down, to keep their mouths shut, and to forget about it. That's the worse mistake the U.S. military and government can make because these men never forget an injustice and will spend the rest of their lives getting even. The remaining seven members of the Force Recon team soon quit the Marine Corps and set about making plans to take out Cardona and his family. When they do, each member of the unit suddenly finds himself to be a hunted fugitive, with "hit" teams from the United States, Russia, and Cuba after them. It doesn't take long for this to become an all out war because the Force Recon Marines aren't going down without a bitter fight. If you want them dead, you'd better have a lot of body bags for your own men! AN EXECUTION OF HONOR is filled with action from beginning to end, while going into great amount of detail with regards to what it takes to be a Force Recon Marine and how well they're trained in the "seek-destroy-retreat" process. Mr. Muldoon describes the latest in fighting technology and small-arms with clear expertise, never dulling the reader's sensibilities with too many facts, but rather enhancing the story and making it utterly believable. The Recon Marines are strong characters that come alive with their intelligence, their desire for justice, and the loyalty they have for the members of their own unit, as well as for the United States. Their honor and loyalty are never questioned. The reader comes away loudly cheering these guys on, praying that they will survive, but knowing that the odds are against them and that most of these men will die before the ending of the novel is reached. This is definitely a book that deserves to be read by every member of the U.S. military, especially the Marine Corps. I remember when I was in college and my Uncle Mac came back from Vietnam. He was a Force Recon Marine. When I tried to ask him about what he and his unit did in Nam and what it was like, he said in a soft, quiet voice that if he answered my silly questions, he'd have to kill me. At first I thought he was joking, then I saw the look in his eyes and I immediately shut my mouth and never asked him another question!

February 10, 2002, I wrote a review about "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It". I titled my review, "l SURE WISH I'D READ IT SOONER" ...Five months later, it's still true. "I SURE WISH I'D READ AL's BOOK SOONER." Thank you, Al Thomas, for being an easy to read author AND a great teacher. Thank you for being honest. Thank you for your concern for average investors; those who don't have money to lose.

I couldn't believe my profits during the bull market of the 90's. Then along came 2001 and I ate humble pie. During 2001, portfolio values continued to decline while Wall Street pundits and professional advisors proclaimed that Buy and Hold was still the best way to make money on Wall Street. I'd been investing long enough to know this wasn't true. But, I didn't have the courage of my convictions. By late summer of 2001, losses began to add up. Taking advice from my cousin, I decided to read, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" by Al Thomas. I wish I'd read it sooner.

DESPITE the market's downward spiral this year, 2002, MY portfolios are in the green. MY PORTFOLIOS ARE MAKING MONEY while the Wall Street continues to lose money for most investors during one of the most difficult times in history. I could not have acomplished this if I hadn't read Al Thomas's book and newsletters.

Al's book and newsletters, written in an easy to read manner, added needed structure to my own investment techniques. He's given me the tools I need to invest WHILE the bear is ruling and while the bull is leading us once more. And, he's given me courage to conserve my capital.

If you're a novice or an experienced investor, investing on your own or using the services of brokers or investment advisors,even if YOU are an investment pro, you will profit from investing in reading Al Thomas. "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It". Be sure you read his newletters, too.

I have read many investment books since I started investing around 1968. This book titled "If It Doesn't Go Up Don't Buy It" is the best one ever. The investment method outlined in this book is simple to understand and easy to follow. You may be one of those people who lost alot of money during the bear market that started with the year 2000. If so, this book is a must to help prevent heavy losses in future bear markets. Al states it like it is and makes reading this book very interesting. Buy it, you will like it.

Al Thomas has documented a very interesting system for making money under both bull and bear stock markets. He uses simple buy and sell rules for trading mutual funds. The system always has your money at work in the best funds when the market is moving up. In bear markets you are safely in cash!

The thing I liked best about the book was his honest remarks about the Wall Street System. Brokers and analysts do not have your best interests in mind. With Al's book in hand you can grow your portfolio with limited down side risk.

His book covers other trading venues such as commodities, individual stocks, and stock options. The book is a collection of his wisdom from many years of market experience. You will also receive his e-mail newsletter, "Over My Shoulder" to supplement the strategies in the book. I have many books on investing and this one is by far one of the best in terms of practical know how.

--- Steve R.

I'm an Oracle DBA with 13 years experience, beginning with version 5 of the database (remember those MS-DOS floppies?).

About Tom Kyte: Tom is an acknowledged expert in the field; he is Vice President of the Core Technologies Group at Oracle. His web site is a terrific alternative source of information about Oracle. He also publishes the "Ask Tom" column in Oracle Magazine.

Tom Kyte's book is simply awesome. Every time I read another chunk of it, I learn something new. His depth and breadth of understanding is amazing. (If you think you are an Oracle expert, buy the book. You'll be amazed at how much more Tom can teach you.) His troubleshooting is really good too. He seems to know all of the places where people encounter problems with specific features, and includes great troubleshooting information where appropriate.

If you're hesitant to buy the book because it doesn't have "9i" stamped on it, buy it anyway! Believe me, you won't regret it! Remember: 9i is a superset of 8i, and a good understanding of 8i functionality will help you understand most of 9i too.

I also had the privilege of meeting Tom in person, during an Oracle 9iR2 presentation. He is a very generous with his time, but also perpetually busy answering questions on his web site (he was connected with a laptop and cell phone before he started the presentation). I asked him about the time it took to write the book, and he acknowledged that it took a major chunk out of his life. Be thankful that there is a person as knowledgable as Tom who is so willing to help the rest of us get up to speed!!

This book belongs on every developer, team leader, or DBAs desk that works with Oracle. Kyte has written a masterpiece in advanced Oracle knowledge. He does three things very well in this book: tells you what is important in Oracle, why it is important, and what happens if you do things the wrong way.

Kyte starts out giving the foundations for Oracle databases, the architecture, locking schemes, and table and index considerations. He gives a good treatment of the types of tables and indexes that Oracle offers including the appropriate times to use them and the trade-offs to weigh.

Another key topic that he covers is redo and rollback. These features are handled in a unique way in Oracle, and a lack of understanding can lead to inefficient and incorrect databases and applications.

Armed with the foundations, Kyte then takes the reader through performance tuning and optimizing databases. The best advice in this section is that performance cannot be thrown in at the end. The design decisions for a database will determine how it performs and scales. As he says, "There is no fast=true setting in the init parameters."

Then the book tackles some more advanced features, such as autonomous transactions, dynamic sql, and C and Java extensions for stored procedures. Kyte again gives good advice for when these are appropriate over standard PL/SQL stored procedures.

The size of the book can be intimidating at first glance, but it is pleasant to read. Kyte uses a conversational style rather than a lecturing delivery. This book has a lot to offer, and you won't find yourself tired after reading it.

I have just to say that i 100% agree with all the five-stars reviews on this book - since they have dissected the book from every possible perspective, I have only to add that this is by far the best book on Oracle that I own - and I own 15+ of them.

This book and Jonathan Lewis' "Practical Oracle 8i" are the only books that I carry with me every day when I commute to work, even if their combined weight is more than 2.7 kg and I'm probably the physically-laziest human on the planet. But their helping me in shading light on some Oracle feature in minutes in countless occasions is invaluable - not to mention that they *explain* how Oracle works, which is something that any serious Oracle professional will surely appreciate, and that separates both books from the crowd.

I first became aware of Kahlil Gibran when I read a poem of his that was on the menu at my favorite Lebanese restaurant. Ever since then, I have sought out his books. The Prophet is my favorite. Several of the "poems" or passages are fully relevant to parts of my life. The book makes one feel good and inspired to do good for others. There is barely an aspect on life that the poems do not touch on-love, marriage, death and all of our own insecurities and doubts about people and life. This would be a good book to give to a friend who is going through a rough time, or just has unanswered questions at a certain point in their lives. The writing is lucid, insightful, and will be relevant for as long as time goes on.The drawings add to an already great work. At my favorite Lebanese restaurant, I not only found good food-I thankfully found Kahlil Gibran.

I have given this book to young missionaries and other special people in my life for 25 years. They almost without exception express profound gratitude for the wonderment that is "The Phrophet". As thier lives progress,understanding peace,joy,and personal wellness are the gifts so richly endowed by this master teacher to the reader. Each writing gains more meaning as life is experienced and enjoyed. I encourage you to read and share your best discoveries in this life with others. Each topic re-read, like "on Work" in this book sends you on a magical journey to the center of your soul. Sometimes just thinking and musing is all that is required to understand the gifts given. Kahil Gibran's "The Prophet" is a wonderful gift that lasts a lifetime.

Khalil Gibran's The Prophet is a truly awe inspiring work of prosaic poetry. Despite being a native-born Arabic speaker, Gibran wrote The Prophet in English, ensuring that his powerful words lost nothing in translation.

The work's 28 short chapters recount the words of a prophet as he leaves his home to depart on a new journey. The words that flow from the prophet's mouth and onto the pages are philosophical and spiritual treatises on all aspects of life. Chapters discuss the range of human experiences and include discussions such as "On Friendship", "On Pain" and "On Death." What unites the 28 chapters is Gibran's thought provoking and probing literary style as Gibran's prophet invokes his listeners to live life to the fullest. The book is not overtly religious but every word and sentence is filled with a spiritual clarity.

The book is eminently quotable with every chapter providing a nugget of truth worthy of repeating. Amazingly, Gibran packs his masterpiece into less than 100 pages, making it a very quick and easy read. Readers will find themselves returning to The Prophet again and again to recapture the beauty of Gibran's words.

The Prophet, which Gibran himself recognized as his greatest masterpiece, is a timeless literary classic. Its truth has touched generations of readers and will undoubtedly continue to do so.

"The Ultimate Competitive Advantage" provides business leaders with real-life examples and the rudder necessary to shift the course in a stormy, ever changing environment and find the most direct way to new opportunities. This is a useful toolset necessary to develop a winning business model in a globally competitive environment. The authors of this foremost book understand business models and how to make them a source of adequate competitive advantage. The primary idea of Don Mitchell and Carol Coles is simple and rather practical at the same time: improve the effectiveness of everything you do. The authors show how strategic innovation can emphasize your business from the stack and deliver stronger.

The book is well organized and the writing is clear and concise, all making for an informative and enjoyable read. It is an excellent book for a strategic planning point of view. It is an absolute necessity for the 21st century business owners and CEOs. The book is teaching you about Business Model Innovation and the ideas might become useful as your business direction changes. The book offers help to anyone looking to improve theirs chances for success. And it is quite readable. I highly recommend it for senior and mid-level managers, entrepreneurs, consultants, and business students.

Alexander Petrochenkov

Gadzooks man! When I first started this book and read the business models of the featured companies, I thought "What?! These people are literally gambling at the way they do business!" But the more I read, the more convincing it was to understand that to have the competitive edge in today's business world, you've got to think outside of the box.

Using real world business models, author's Mitchell & Coles explain how you can cause your company to have the competitive advantage by simply changing your company's business model. No matter what the size of your company, this book is a definite tool in creating your business model. Most companies restructure and reorganize, hoping to attain business effectiveness & success. Yet the "Ultimate Competitors Advantage" will help you discover ways to reinvent your business model that will not only meet the needs of your customers, but bring strong profitability back into the company and spread from the employees to the shareholders. All around success!

So put an end to the business model that says "We've always done it this way." Buy this book, and allow it to help mold and guide your imaginations into 21st century business model innovation!

THE ULTIMATE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE is a unique book that offers the reader, in a balanced blend of theory, example and anecdote, a comprehensive analysis of the importance of continual business model for all types of organizations. In today's rapidly changing world, the need for constant innovation in the many small things that make up an organization is key if a business is to remain fresh and creative. Whether the organization is a major global corporate force, a regional or local business, or even a not-for-profit religious, social service or community organization, the book offers the principles and ideas that can lead to greater competitive success.

Building upon the 25+ years of successful consulting experience with their own strategic consulting firm, Mitchell and Company, Donald Mitchell and Carol Coles present a tightly focused examination of the various elements of business model innovation. The book is very well organized and I found "Part Two - Provide Sustained Benefits for All Stakeholders" to be most valuable. Too many managers view the development of the business model as a one-time achievement where the finished product is bronzed, tied up neatly in a little bow, then placed on a shelf where it remains unchallenged for all eternity. In contrast, the authors emphasize the need for continual innovation - to refine and renew the business model, often in numerous small ways, as a means to uplift all of those who have a stake in the ultimate success of the organization. This occurs when a person, as a leader, grows beyond his narrow-minded functional approach to business and views his role and organization with passion, dedication, and purpose.

The story of Michael Cogliandro, Harvard's longtime barber-philosopher, offers a shining example of innovation not only just within the business model, but also within the totality of everyday life. Mr. Cogliandro's business model has moved beyond the functional to the sublime. He is seen as a communicator, a facilitator, and a philosopher; in turn he approaches what for many would be a mundane occupation - barber - with a holistic sense of mission and grace. This is a lesson repeated in countless quiet corners of the world, and yet is one that is consistently missed by those who equate competitive advantage with endeavors of global proportion.

As a reader of numerous books of business, religion, philosophy and other diverse areas, I have found THE ULTIMATE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE to be one of the most integrative and imaginative books in the area of business, looking at business model innovation as the journey, as well as the destination of an organization. To that end, it offers lessons in human behavior rarely covered in business texts. The reader will find many life lessons as well as business lessons in this book, and will find it well worth their investment of time and reflection.

This is Solzhenitsyn's massive indictment of the former Soviet Union's system of justice as told from the author's personal experiences and from the oral and written accounts of survivors and others familiar with many of the incidents related in the book. While reading "The Gulag Archipelago" I had to keep reminding myself that this is not the product of the author's imagination but that of events that really happened. Solzhenitzyn writes with a poisoned pen steeped in anger and bitterness, albeit with God guiding his hand. Stalin's system, born under Lenin, resulted in the deaths of millions of patriotic Soviet citizens, many of them loyal Communists and earlier supporters of Lenin, and many of whom were directly involved in the events leading to the overthrow of the tsarist regime. Many of the accusers (as the government prosecutors were called in the Lenin era), interrogators, prison officials, and even judges were themselves later swept up under Stalin.

It was Article 58 of the broad-sweeping Soviet Criminal Code that resulted in the execution or imprisonment of the millions whom Stalin called counterrevolutionaries. Article 58 included acts ranging from crimes against the state (e.g. a prisoner weakened from illness or malnutrition could be shot for being unable to work), to consorting with foreigners to economic sabotage, called "wrecking." Examples of wrecking included a peasant's making a bad decision that resulted in crop failure or a factory employee's machine accidentally catching on fire.

Aptly referred to by Solzhenitsyn as the Soviet Union's "sewerage disposal system," some of the horrifying methods utilized by the Stalin regime to rid itself of "undesirables" include those of a suspect being arrested while undergoing surgery for repair of an ulcer, men and women under interrogation being beaten and tortured and deprived of sleep for days on end, camp internees' dying from being deprived of food and water, and contracting typhus and other diseases from massive overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. Prisoners, denied bathroom facilities or even buckets, were forced to lay in their own urine and excrement or to eat their meager rations from unwashed pails which previously contained coal or human waste. Solzhenitsyn recounts the bizarre but true history of a man, mistakenly believing he was Tsar Mikhail (the successor to Nicholas II), who was given a long prison sentence for having composed and then having read a proclamation to the Soviet citizenry promising better times under his own reign. Most sickening of all, at least to me, were those Russian soldiers who became German POWs and who were imprisoned after the allied victory by their own government for allegedly humiliating their motherland by failing to elude their German captors.

Considering the millions who disappeared during the Stalin regime, it is amazing that there was anyone left, especially someone as gifted a writer as Solzhenitsyn, to chronicle these horrors.

It is very interesting to compare The Gulag Archipelago, the true story of a horrible and real dystopia, with George Orwell's 1984, the story of an imaginary dystopia, or Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, another imaginary dystopia.

The difference between Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's book and the others is his more convincing, more concrete detail. Solzhenitsyn describes the gritty details of the arrests, tortures, kangaroo court trials and murders or imprisonments that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union inflicted on countless millions of people while Lenin or Stalin were in power. He gives exact details about the coarse criminality and ingenious cruelty of Communist prison officials whom he watched while he was in prison. He also weighed and sifted evidence that he gathered from other prisoners and he reports it here.

Solzhenitsyn entered prison a convinced Marxist. He gradually lost his Communist faith only after many years of physical and emotional abuse by other Marxists. The hope of a free lunch in a Communist paradise dies hard.

Gulag provided for me a powerful and shocking history lesson I had never been taught in high school or college. So much has been taught on Hitler, but barely anything of substance on Soviet Communism. After reading this book, you'll understand the reasons for the so-called paranoia of McCarthyism. Ronald Reagan had it right when he called the Soviet Union an "evil empire." I found this book so compelling, though heart wrenching, that I went on to read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" as well as a recent biography on Solzhenitsyn by D. M. Thomas called "Alexander Solzhenitsyn: A Century in His Life." I have come to the conclusion that nobody but a man like Solzhenitsyn could ever have written Gulag.

The intended audience appears to be students, consultants and municipalities. It is a handy text useful as a review of hydraulic principles and is presented like a text book on hydraulic modeling. It seems particularly well suited for individuals just learning how to model water distribution systems.

Many books written on the subject of computer modeling are written in reference to address specific issues or are prepared by or for the acedamia community and presented in a complex manner. This book covers a wide range of subjects that water distribution modelers typically face in day to day practice. It is written from an engineering perspective, however the concepts are presented in a simplified manner that non-engineering personnel can understand.

I found the simplified presentation of the subject matter to be somewhat sophmoric, which limits the use of the text to fairly simple concepts. However, the range of subjects covered is broad and the concepts presented are accurate. I use the book to get ideas on how to approach modeling different hydraulic elements in municipal water systems.

All in all this is a good reference book to have on hand. I recommend it.

Water Distribution Modeling shows why Drs. Walski, Chase, and Savic are considered among the foremost experts in water distribution modeling. The book provides essential information for modelers at all levels of expertise - students, beginners, as well as experienced engineers. Water Distribution Modeling can serve as a college-level textbook or as a bookshelf reference manual.

Walski, Chase and Savic have authored a complete guide to water distribution modeling. All aspects of model development are covered, from basic modeling and hydraulic concepts to more complex issues such as extended period simulations and water quality. The presentation is focused, direct, and understandable. The organization of the book allows a reader to quickly locate specific information without searching through pages of unrelated materials. Basic modeling tasks are explained without "talking down" to the reader. Advanced concepts are described in a clear, common-sense manner that even a first-time modeler can easily understand.

Water Distribution Modeling is a hydraulics textbook, but differs from other hydraulics books in that it is oriented to modeling. The explanations of building and calibrating models recognize actual mapping limitations, field data availability, and monitoring equipment capabilities. The procedures provided therefore apply to the "real world." This same real-world approach is used in the presentation of typical modeling analyses and design applications.

In summary, Water Distribution Modeling is a complete reference for water distribution modelers. It is well worth a thorough review.

The book is excellent, very well structured, the information are accessible to all, the explanations are very detailed. The authors reached a perfect harmony between the theory and the practice.

The mission of writing a book accessible and very complete text in modeling of the systems of distribution of water was executed with success by the team of Haestad Methods. I congratulate the investigators Thomas Walski, Donald Chase and Dragan Savic for his excellent acting presented in the Distribution of book "Water Distribution Modeling". The book written by these great masters represents a historical mark in the international literature of the hydraulic modeling. The reading of this publication is obligatory for investigators, teachers, students and professionals that work in this area.

My suggestion for the next edition is the enlargement with larger depth of the discussion in certain themes that I consider extremely important. Maybe these themes could be included at the end of the work with the detailed deductions of the main formulas used in the hydraulic modeling as well as the historical references of her development (including the scientists that developed the formulas). A lot of people that use these formulas ignore their origin, development and limitations. I believe certainly that this would increase the value of this excellent book.

If you have not discovered Tom Robbins yet, RUN don't walk to the bookstore or library. I have read every novel this man has put out and I can't wait for the next one. Jitterbug Perfume is by far the best, though. It's about a king who fears growing old, not because of the usual reasons, but because in his kingdom, the rules require the king to be put to death as soon as he starts to show signs of aging. When King Alobar wakes up with a gray hair in his beard, it's time to move on. He fakes his death with the help of his favorite wife and goes off into the pre-Christian world to find the secret of youth. From ancient Rome to modern New Orleans, he meets a cast of incredible characters and finds the love of his life who follows him through the ages. This is a book I've had to buy a few times, since I've loaned it out to people who loved it as much as I did. That's ok. I don't mind contributing to the best author I've seen in a long time.

This is a wonderful book if you have never read Tom Robbins this is a book to start with. It is full of history and imagery wih a few gods and immortals added to the mix. The story begins in ancient Bohemia with King Alobar attempting to find a way to avoid his impending death sentence at the hands of his subjects. He escapes his death with the help of his favorite wife Wren, and goes in search of immortality, which he finds. The rest of the story is about his life for the next 1,000 years.

During this time he meets a dying greek god Pan, several Nymphs, and a new wife. To say more about the story would spoil it.

This book is about Robbins view of life and relgion. Robbins uses symbols such as beets, and perfume to symbolize diffrent aspects life. These symbols are fun and leave the reader thinking long after they have finished reading the book. If you are not a Robbins this fan this book will convert you.

On a scale of 1-5, this book deserves a 7. Poetic, hilarious, deep, magical, honest and thought provoking, I cannot imagine a better book at this moment. This is my first Tom Robbins novel, and I so enjoyed his mixture of theory, humor and insight. Kudra and Alobar are my favorite literary couple of all time. To say much more about this completely absorbing, complex but understandable tale would be doing a disservice to the would-be reader. This is a story where the less preconceived notions one has about it, the better. It is a rapturous fable of flowers, scent, humanity, our fear of dying, lust and beauty. The essence of this book cannot be captured in a paragraph. It must be EXPERIENCED and savored. If you are into subtly, wit and the delight of "wordsmithing"by a master, read this amazing novel...