I have read all (three) of Mr. Beinhart's Tony Cassella books and they are each fabulous. I waited and waited for him to write something else, and then I interpolated (from American Hero) that he was unable to support himself by writing the Tony Cassella series. This is a crime in itself. I would really like Mr. Beinhart to write more of this series. If you are reading this, Mr. Beinhart, please know that I love reading what you write and recommended your books to LOTS of people. I kept pestering the Tattered Cover here in Denver to get with it and stock you. The real point of this review is to tell you how great I think your books are. Anyway, I did MY best to make you a national sensation. Sorry it didn't work better.

I love these authors! This work was my first introduction to Nemeck and Coombs. Not only is it an excellent introduction to the tenets of St. John of the Cross, it also provides tremendous insight into addiction and attachment, both of which are prevelant in the human condition. Although he lived in the 16c, John of the Cross offers much to contempary Christians interested in being freed from the bondage to self. I highly recommend this, and all books by Nemeck and Coombs.

This is a great book and the images are extraordinary. Hedeman really knows what she's doing.

One True Friend by Joyce Hansen was a great book. It was about a boy named Amir who lived in a foster home. Originally, he lived in the Bronx until his parents died. He still kept in touch with his friend, Doris. They were the best of friends. She gave him advice on what to do in certain situations. In his foster home, he lived with one of his youngest brothers named Ronald. His family was split up.

I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down. It expresses that even if you move far away, you still have friends and family that keep in touch with you. True friends care about you and will always be your friend no matter what. You still have someone to look up to. These are people you should want to be friends with.

My favorite part in this book was when all of Amir's brothers and sisters came to visit Ronald and Amir in the foster home. His auntie and uncle came along also. They were all so glad to see each other again. They all had a feast together. After, Amir drew a picture and the other kids played basketball until it was time to go back home.

I picked up this book with no preconceptions whatsoever, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not so much the plot, but the "inner thoughts" of the character are absolutely right on. I identify with all of her quirky thoughts and find her immenseley entertaining.

Peter Shandy and his advertures are always interesting, funny and time-consuming. It is very difficult to put the book down before it is finished. A very unique method of murder and a rather unique cast of characters but this author's typical great book.

In this, the second book featuring Detective Inspector Jack Laidlaw, he is summoned to the hospital bed of Eck Adamson, a dying alcoholic vagrant, and once again he is travelling the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland. In this world, titled ladies, down-and-outs and middle class students mingle with the hard men of the Glasgow underworld. Alliances shift and change as Laidlaw tries to find Tony Veitch, a young student who may have killed the vagrant and a criminal. There don't seem to be any heroes in this story, not even Laidlaw himself, who is laid even more bare by the perceptions of Harkness, his partner, than in the first book. But a hero does emerge; in Laidlaw's view, and in McIlvanney's, the real heroes are working class middle aged to elderly women, the ones who hold family and home together, in the face of overwhelming change and outside pressures. John Steinbeck recognised these heroes and has Ma Joad in 'Grapes of Wrath.' McIlvanney's personification of these heroes is Jinty Adamson, grieving for her dead brother, but who had been his family, his rock on whom he could depend during his disparate life. In many ways a rehashing of 'Laidlaw' but an engrossing read, and it's literary subtleties transcend the police procedural plot.

Lady Antonia displays her interest in history by focusing this book on a murder in the distant past. As always, Jemima Shore finds herself surrounded by a cast of fascinating, eccentric characters, almost any of whom could be a murderer. Fraser is remarkably good at creating vivid characters, and none perhaps so vivid as Jemima Shore herself. Fraser is a great mystery writer; if you are an Agatha Christie fan, check out Antonia Fraser; you're in for a treat!

An infinite help for individual contributors to charities. In a completely up-to-date (includes information on September 11 charities) and easy to understand format, the book teaches the reader how to be socially responsible in their donations and also to save tax money during a trying economy. The charts, examples, and lists of deductible and non-deductible items were the most useful.

This novel is one of the greatest explorations of moral relativism that I have ever run into. Although the novel looks at life, love, family, and Mafia loyalty in comparison to each other, the issues of relative duty are just as significant for each of us. The plot is wonderfully designed to create unexpected tensions that make moral issues compelling and interesting to even the most casual listener or reader.

The story opens at the wedding of a Mafia don's granddaughter. One of the don's lieutenants, Charley Partanna is instantly smitten with a beautiful woman who appears unexpectedly at the wedding. She quickly disappears, and he tries to find her. His search leads him to California from New York. He finds that she is married, but separated. He falls deeply in love with her. Imagine his chagrin when he dispatches a crook who has stolen from his crime family . . . and the crook turns out to be the woman's estranged husband. What's worse, hundreds of thousands of dollars are still missing. Fortunately, it's insured. But that's not the point. You cannot let people steal from a crime family. What should Charley do now?

What obligation does Charley owe to the don? What does he owe to the don's family, the Prizzis? What does he owe to someone he loves? What does he owe to his own father (who also works for the Prizzis)? What does he owe to himself and his own sense of self respect?

The story is even more complicated by the overhanging debt of honor that the Prizzis owe to Charley. Earlier, another granddaughter had run off to live with another man while engaged to Charley. As a result, she is cut off from the family. She cannot be reconciled with her family until Charley finally marries. That will release that debt of honor.

Charley Partanna is a Don Quixote-like figure who is very concerned with what honor requires. Although the rest of the characters of often speak as though they do too, they really focus on what's best for their wealth and survival. But Charley overlays the concept of honor on them, despite the evidence to the contrary. This makes him a very appealing character for someone who is a remorseless contract killer, enforcer, kidnapper, and general on-call criminal. Perhaps Mr. Condon's message is that we can all aspire to the Heavens, no matter how debased our lives and sins are.

The realities of honor in these situations come down to sovereign power more than to any real codes of honor, in the sense that chivalry was a code of honor. The "deal" keeps changing, and Charley finds himself one minute on the same side as another person and then opposing that person in the next minute due to a ploy by someone else or changed circumstances.

The conclusion will strike you as unexpected in the extreme unless you think carefully about the title. The denouement is a neat resolution of the escalating conflicts brought on by the complication of Charley's falling in love with a woman whose interests are not the same as those of the Prizzis.

After you finish enjoying the story, I suggest that you think about what you own code of ethics would tell you to do if you had these sorts of conflicts in your life. Hopefully, such conflicts in loyalties will never occur. But such advance thinking can probably help you avoid misplacing your trust and support, should you run into these conflicts.

May you always seek out the honorable solution!