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Entertaining, as always.
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Using available-- if not common-- historical records, as well as first-hand investigations where possible, Nickel has managed to explain such mysteries as the Crystal Skull, the "moving" coffins of the Barbados Vault, and specific cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion. These are just three examples of some of the cases investigated and fully explained within the pages of this book.
This book is a must for those who are truly interested in learning about the world's mysteries, rather than blindly believing the claims of credulous writers who simply wish to sell books to... well, credulous readers.
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WORKING is a little antiquated, however, so not entirely enjoyable. I had to take everything with the thought, "Yeah, well, this was 30 years ago." Thank you John Bowe et. al.
It's voyeristic to read this book, yes, but it's also comforting to see people talk about their jobs with love and hate: the same mixed feelings everyone has. We do need love and work in order to be happy. If a human has something to do, s/he atleast has something to think about (good or bad). Idleness is horrorific.
I reccomend this book highly.
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Tess of the Durbervilles is the story of Tess Durbeyfield, the daughter of poor, alcoholic parents who learn that they are of a noble bloodline and send Tess off to work for her noble "cousin" Alec Durberville. While there, Alec rapes Tess and she has his illegitimate baby. This event ruins Tess's life. She is no longer pure, and virginal, and therefore brings shame upon her true love Angel Clare when her past is revealed.
It is hard to believe, in this day and age, that Tess is shamed and ostracized because she was the victim of a horrible crime. Hardy's novel is a powerful statement on the questionable morality of Victorian society. Tess, who is a heroic, brave, caring, selfless woman, is not worthy of Angel because she is somehow impure due to the rape. Angel, who has lived with a woman out of wedlock and is clearly not a virgin himself, feels justified in punishing Tess when he learns of her past.
The writing is beautiful, but the story tragic. It will stay with you a long time.
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of those stories, like Frankenstein and Dracula, that seemingly everyone has heard of and believes they understand("mythopoetic " in the language of Joyce Carol Oates). Much like the aforementioned works, the actual details of the story may come as a surprise to those who assume they know the story based solely on the popular understanding. For that reason alone I think the book is worth reading.
Dr. Jekyll is a respected if somewhat reclusive London doctor who has, through the course of years of experimentation, managed to create a solution which brings to the fore his evil alter-ego. Unlike many gothic literary villains, Hyde is not imbued with superhuman strength or exceptional gifts of any kind. In fact he is of a smaller and less imposing stature than most men. What he does possess however is a complete lack of compunction with regards to others. Hyde for example ruthlessly runs down a small child who gets in his way. As is the case with Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll creates something that he can't control and which eventually destroys its creator.
The inhumanity that the fictional Hyde displays can be seen in the non-fictious world on a daily basis. As such, there is a realism to the story which is missing from many horror stories past and present. The fact that such a short and captivating work exists in an attractively packaged edition makes this one classic that will be a joy to read for all.
He uses a very wide range of vocabulary. Stevenson uses many 19th Century terms that seem weird and different to me.
One thing bad about his writing is his punctuation. He uses way too many semicolons and comas. He makes one sentence out of six or seven sentences.
This book was not the best book I ever read, but was not the worst either. it was mediocre. however It was miles ahead of Dracula. Dracula is boring, whereas Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is fast paced, quick, and fun to read. its pritty morbid which is kind of a down side, but Since it is very short it is a good book on my list.
Joyce Carol Oates's introduction is worthwhile, especially for those readers who know the story, as most English-speaking people do, in its basic framework, but who have not yet actually traveled the dark road with Dr. Jekyll and his friends.
It is a pleasure to read a classic book in such a carefully crafted edition. Too often books such as this are printed in cheap editions with narrow margins and lousy type; this one fits comfortably in the hand and is easy on the eye as the reader is drawn into this allegorical nightmare.
This review refers to the University of Nebraska Press edition only.
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The book called, Gangland: How The FBI Broke The Mob by Howard Blum was a good book to read. I pick this book for the interest in the mob and how it works. The book is a big book and it holds a lot of details. Gangland is about the Gotti Family and the boss John Gotti. In the beginning of this book it really explains the FBI agents life and it also talks about how they were on to the mob. Howard Blum talks about what the mob is and what there about. Gangland tells you how they busted the mob one by one and who turned on his own boss to get them busted. If you really like mob stories and want to learn what happened to this family of gangster's, then read this book.
The biggest difference between this and other mafia books is that almost all other books are written as first person accounts by the participants (i.e. FBI agents, mobsters, etc.). As an unbiased observer, Blum can tell the entire story in all of its fascinating detail - from FBI squad rooms to the inner circle of Gotti's most private mob retreats. This professional detachment does not in any way hamper the personal details of the story. Blum can still make you feel like an insider. Probably the best example of this is when he recounts Gotti and Sammy "the Bull" Gravano's murder of Gambino crime family boss Paul Castellano. When you read the story again later in the book - as part of Gravano's confession - it brings chills down your back yet again. You can sense the excitement of the government agents and prosecutors who are hearing the story for the first time. It is a true pinnacle in American organized crime history.
Gangland is a required companion to other fine mafia books like "Donnie Brasco," "Boss of Bosses," and to a lesser extent "Underboss." The only thing to remember is that its journalistic approach is markedly different from the "I was there" approach of other books. Just stick with it as everything unravels perfectly in the end.
Enter Joe Lassiter, a well to do private investigating enterpreneur, who gets involved with all this when his sister and her young son are savagely murdered and then burned to a crisp in their home. Lassiter's trail leads him all over the globe, ultimately to a fertility clinic (or is it?) in Italy. The book, like other Case novels, opens with this jarring prologue and then meticulously details lots of technical information, mysterious men, secrets, secrets and more secrets, and a look at a very unusual religious sect, determined to bring the Catholic church back to its days of Latin masses, and to completely ignore the Vatican II council.
It moves well, though, and I agree that Lassister takes a long time to figure out what's going on. However, by the end, it all makes sense and resolves with a disturbing scene with a young boy and a fish bowl. As in all of Case's works, however, the main flaw is that his climaxes seem to zoom in and then poof, it's over...but even so, my friends, it's a great read.
RECOMMENDED.
After dealing with the murder of his sister and nephew, Joe Lassiter, the story's main character (head of his own investigative firm), decides to jog around the country and world in search for answers. Who REALLY killed them? And more importantly, why? It is not until clues start leading him to Italy and in the direction of a break-away Catholic group that the reader starts making connections to the story's fast-paced, "edge of your chair" first chapter. In this chapter, a priest in a middle-of-nowhere town in Italy takes confession from a local doctor... what he hears shocks him, almost to the point of death. It sends him on a journey to the Vatican with knowledge that could change the world forever.. Case leaves you hanging after the highest members of the church, including the Pope, debate the priest's disturbing news.
Case ties together his plot nicely. He brings information from the book's opening chapter back during the middle of the action, at which point the reader can start guessing the doctor's sin. The sin, having to do with biblical figures, DNA, and a mother's love, is truly amazing. It leaves you wondering, "What if?"
This book is extremely well written, combining techniques similar to Tom Clancy and Micheal Chricton, with a little of Nelson DeMille's talent and humor tossed in. It is a wonderful pick for a thriller lover.. you'll be sad when you finish, constantly wishing that you could pick it up and continue reading, only to find out that you are done. I highly recommend this "good to the last sentence" book! I loved it, and so will you!
The first few chapters set the stage as an old village doctor's confession to the parish priest sets in motion a deadly chain of events. Case leaves the reader to wonder what was so disturbing about the doctor's confession, dropping clues along the way to tease the readers curiosity. Each clue, like a piece of a puzzle allows the reader to get a clearer picture of the answer....as long as the reader can put the pieces together! Yet, it is not until the final chapter that the pieces finally come together to provide the staggering answer to the puzzle.
Case's knowledge of investigation provides a vibrant touch of reality to the novel, which is supplemented with thorough knowledge of religion and science. The book is also packed with action, intrigue and suspense. As a result, the book is able to raise interesting questions about science, religion, and ethics while giving the reader an adventure of a thrill ride. It is almost like a mixture of Jurassic Park, James Bond, and religion.
As a theologian, I am considering using it as a case text whenever I teach a class in science and religion. Definetely a must read.
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The first four chapters deal in detail with Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, the Lindbergh kidnapping, & the Zodiac killer. While the overviews are decent & his analysis more or less sound, of necessity he relies heavily on the writings & research of others & there is really nothing in these chapters that you could not find more extensively in a book devoted exclusively to any of those cases. The next chapter includes three more famous cases (the Black Dahlia, Bambi Bembenek, & the Boston Strangler) & the same criticisms that apply to the first chapters apply to this one except that his descriptions & analyses of the cases are much sketchier.
The book really falls apart though, in the last full chapter, which covers JonBenet Ramsey. Douglas has ties to the Ramsey family & their lawyers &, while he makes a couple of good points in favor of the "intruder" theory, his allegiance is obvious & he often does not play fair with his readers. His attempts to defend the Ramseys from any & all allegations are fairly pathetic & seriously call into doubt his objectivity. As an example, he makes a big deal out of the fact that the Ramseys submitted to having samples of their hair, etc. taken saying that if they were guilty they would never have done so. But this is disingenuous--the crime scene was the Ramsey house which would have been full of their hair & DNA so matching their samples up with something found in the house would really be meaningless. On the other hand, the Ramseys have consistently refused to be interviewed by the police--interviews which, if they were guilty, would be very dangerous for them. Douglas also belittles the fact that the Ramseys hired lawyers right after the crime saying that any potential suspect would have done so. While true, it was this "lawyering up" that prevented the police from having contact with the Ramseys & from properly investigating the crime. While one could understand a suspect refusing to talk with the police even if he were innocent, it is much more difficult to understand the motivation of a parent whose daughter had just been brutally murdered to impede the investigation of the crime in such a substantial way. Interviewing & clearing the Ramseys, or using the information they provided to match up with other leads, could have focused on some other suspect & possibly solved the case. Regardless of who committed this crime, & it could very well have been an intruder, Douglas's tortured excuse making for the Ramseys pretty much ruins this book & his credibility in general.
For someone who has never read anything on the crimes discussed in the early chapters, this book will provide a decent overview & reference for further reading. But the contents are nothing special &, in the case of the JonBenet chapter, are much less than that. Two stars.
In CASES THAT HAUNT US Douglas looks at some of the more infamous murders of all time and adds his professional perspective. Whereas he can offer nothing new (after all there have been thousands of books on Jack the Ripper for example), he does weigh some of the more mentioned theories and shows their strenghts and more often than not, their weaknesses. He picks some of the all time chilling real life horror stories....Jack the Ripper, The Zodiac, The Boston Strangler, The Lindbergh Kidnapping, and even the infamous Jon Benet Ramsey case. All the chapters are intriguing and well thought out. He does an outstanding job of showing how some of the conventional thinking on these cases is flawed and in turn relays his years of hands on experience in the field. Along the way, he peppers his views with recollections of cases he has touched.
The main point of controversy in this book in sure to be the Ramsey killing. It is no secret that Douglas was called in to offers his thoughts on this tragic event by the lawyers representing the Ramseys. While I do not agree that he sold out as some would insist, I do question his desire to hire himself out to the main suspects in this grisly event. (in all fairness to Douglas he does contend that after the initial consultation fee he refused to accept further payment and even paid for subsequent flights to Atlanta). This chapter should not prevent anyone from reading the book. Rather, it ranks as one of the more interesting sections of this work. Douglas offers his own insights and makes convincing arguements for an inturder theory. You dont have to agree with the man to respect his logic, reasoning, and experience.
Overall the book reads at the speed of light. All of the chapters with the possible exception of the Lizzy Borden case are well written and really grab the reader's attention. True crime fans will have to read this book.
The cases given such scrutiny are London's Jack the Ripper murders, Lizzie Borden and the hatchet murders of her father and step-mother, the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, California's Zodiac killer, and the JonBenet Ramsey murder. Other cases encapsulated in one chapter illustrating the power of motive to make or break a case are the Black Dahlia homicide, the Lawrencia Bembeneck case, and the Boston Strangler killings.
It is fascinating to get to the heart of the matter, especially in the Ripper and Borden cases, and zero in on "just the facts" of who was there who had the motive, means, and opportunity to commit these crimes in this particular way? In the days before criminal profiling and behavioral analysis, it seemed as though it must be a crazed fiend running around killing people. Certainly not a God-fearing, Sunday School teacher of good family bashing in the heads of the parents to obtain a higher level of existence for herself. That speaks strongly to motive: who else but Lizzie (and her sister Emma) stood to gain if her parents were dead? Not a crazed fiend, but the Borden sisters themselves.
Obviously a crazed fiend was responsible for the Ripper murders, for which Douglas produces a likely suspect. It was either this man, or someone very much like him. Someone who, after the last murder, disintegrated to such an extent he was institutionalized and died soon after. This makes more sense than, say, an elaborate conspiracy plot involving members of the Victorian royal family.
Douglas dissects the crime to its individual components and adds them up to a behavioral profile and then compares this to the existing suspects. The best match is the likeliest culprit. Douglas seems less arrogant here than in other works; perhaps he worked on analyzing his own behavior!
Also, another reviewer made the point that Douglas is inconsistent with his findings. His or her example is that Douglas doubts that an intruder broke in to the Borden home, killed Mrs. Borden, then waited 90 minutes and killed Mr. Borden. But it made perfect sense to Douglas that someone broke into the Ramsey home and waited hours for them to come home, go to sleep, and then abduct and murder JonBenet. His findings do make sense when you consider that the Borden home was an extremely small (even for the day) house, with no place to hide without being seen by someone. The Ramsey house was a very large and warren-like, which could have afforded an intruder ample places to wait for hours.
I've got to say, Douglas has definitely changed my mind on the JonBenet Ramsey case; the combination of a compromised crime scene, incorrect suppositions, and tabloid sensationalism have contributed to a hopelessly muddled case which will in all probability never be solved. But Douglas is pretty persuasive that it was not John and Patsy Ramsey.
I noticed a few typos, but all in all, a ripping good read!
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Jude asks Danny to dig deeper so the part time detective flies to the Vatican to conduct more research as lure of the first class accommodations are too impossible to resist. However, Danny uncovers a lot more than he was supposed to and he now knows the deadly game his benefactor plays. His discovery leads to Belzer sending his thugs to dispose of Danny, who now flees for his life.
When it comes to an action-packed thriller, the writing team of John Case is as sure a bet as fans will find out. The latest tale, THE EIGHTH DAY, never eases off the throttle as readers follow Danny walk deeper into trouble one step at a time. Though this theme of relative innocence deluded by glamour into a deadly scenario is as old as the bible, readers will root for Danny to defeat his much more powerful foe even if it takes unrealistic spins for him to have a slim chance. The case on this book and previous novels by this writing duo (see THE SYNDROME and THE GENESIS CODE) is that the story line always goes at hyperspeed driven by a likable hero in over their head against a clever villain.
Harriet Klausner
A John Case novel never seems to disappoint my reading fix. His scientific thrillers are timely, and once you start reading, hard to put down.
One of the main subjects in the book is nanotechnology. This subject has been the theme of several books over the last couple years but Case does a superb job by taking you all over the world on an adventure that includes everything from 'The Contrade' (a brutal horse race in Italy) to the land of the Kurds. There is also talk of Yezidis', Anchorites, 'Black Writing', and more.
A well rounded thriller sure to keep you entertained.
Highly recommended.