Before reading 'Cockfighter' I knew nothing of cockfighting. Now I know more than I thought possible, which I guess is a good thing. :-) Thankfully Charles Willeford's cockfighting education manual is actually a darn good read.

Cockfighting is gruesome, and Willeford does not sanitize the sport in any way. In a rather balanced way he describes cockfighting and cockfighters. The main character in this novel is obsessed in winning the 'super bowl' of cockfighting. He lives for cockfighting. Quite honestly, it's a rather depressing existence. Thankfully Willeford's attention to detail rises just above the boredom level. And the ending is very exciting indeed.

Bottom line: certainly not a book for everyone. Yet it's compassion to this nasty blood sport should be lauded.

This is a wonderful book. Willeford was thwe absolute master and you owe it to yourself to scour the used bookstores for this gem! Or, to make it easier, I heard that No Exit out of the UK published a Willedford Omnibus and Cockfighter is included in it. Got to Amazon.co.uk and order this amazing work now! this is the best, and really, only novel about cockfighting you will ever need to read. I don't know how to say much about the plot without giving it away, though. Ideally, you're already familiar with Willeford from MIAMI BLUES and his other Hoke Mosley novels. If not, be sure to get your hands on those as well. Read anything and everything by CHARLES WILLEFORD! And then get the excellent biography WILLEFORD by Don Herron. Amazon should have it. And, as a final not, monte Hellman's film of Coickfighter, with the great Warren Oates and harry dean Stanton is now avl. on dvd. Also starring Willeford himself. And be sure to check out the film of The Woman Chaser while yr at it. Read Willeford. NOW!

You can't really relate to another man's (or woman's) obsession, but "Cockfighter" does a impressive job of drawing the reader into the psyche of Frank Mansfield, the single-minded hero of this pretty intense novel. Frank's goal in life is to win the Cockfighter of the Year award, and he's taken a vow not to speak another word until he does so. In relating silent Frank's journey, the author takes us on a memorable trip through the cockfighting pits of the Southern U.S. and allows us a close-up look at the rugged, obsessive, fiercely individualistic types who haunt them. You will learn from this novel virtually everything you could conceivably wish to know about cockfighting; the details feel absolutely authentic. Above all, though, it's a convincing portrait of a man driven half-mad by his private demons.

This is the fourth and last book of Willeford's Hoke Moseley series. If you've read the first three, you'll read this one. Hoke goes slumming and bumming to check out labor abuses in south central Florida and encounters various out-country practices that shock and amuse. There is a gloomy sex scene in this one, but things do eventually get blowed up. I am only sad that Charles Willeford went home after writing this book.

Charles Willeford's well-deserved reputation as a writer of crime novels is based largely on the exploits of Miami police detective Hoke Moseley. In this page-turner, we find the author at the top of his form, with Hoke fully engaged in his life as a cop and family man. While busily solving a "cold" murder case, Hoke is dispatched on a puzzling and hazardous undercover job in a neighboring county. At the same time, a parolee who some years earlier had promised to kill him moves in right across the street from Hoke's house (how this turns out is what separates Willeford from the pack). In the house, Hoke lives with his two teenage daughters and his former officemate Ellita Sanchez and her infant son. With everyone in his unconventional but harmonious family contributing their share, Hoke is free to spend some time in his bedroom, pondering his problems and watching TV cop shows. And how unusual it is to find a cop enjoying a satisfactory family life! In a few brief sentences, Willeford suggests how this is managed - a sort of primer for disfunctional households, perhaps. Throughout the story's beautifully detailed and ingenious turnings, Hoke manages by dint of his experience and common sense to save his skin and do the right thing in general, which in some instances consists in doing nothing. At the end of the novel, he finds himself being coerced by his superiors into accepting a promotion in grade and assignment as head of internal affairs - a position he comes to realize he is well suited for. But that intriguing eventuality would have been the subject of another book, wouldn't it.

This Hoke Moseley book is the best I have ever read. I have read Sideswipe, and it's not nearly as good as The Way We Die Now. It is something that Quentin Tarantino should make a movie from. I will give this book **** stars.

it would be good for the reader who wants to learn more about egypt without reaaly getting too deep into the history & geography of ancient egypt

This is one of the most interesting books on ancient Egypt that I have ever seen. The book begins with an excellent history of Egypt from prehistoric times through its conquest by the Macedonians. Along the way, there are many subsections on subjects from Aten through zoological gardens. Later chapters cover ancient Egypt's rediscovery at the end of the Eighteenth Century, and its influence on western civilization up to today.

This book has many excellent color pictures and maps, a good glossary and list of Egyptian gods, and an interesting list of all of the kings of Egypt. This is an excellent introduction to ancient Egypt, and an interesting look at a wrinkle in modern Western civilization. I highly recommend this fascinating book.

Thrall's book is the standard reference for veterinary radiology. This book is extremely comprehensive and accurate, although perhaps not as detailed as some of those that focus on specific areas of radiology and radiographoc interpretation. I find it extremely useful and easy to find information.

The book" Textbook of Veterinary Diagnostic Radiology" is a concise & simple description of all the radiology procedures, techniques & interpretations which is essential for a practicing veterinanarian to understand & know.The students will find this text to be excellent in order to master the science of radiology.All the radiographic techinques have been adequately described in a simplistic way. I strongly recommend this book for all the veterinarians as this will help us in providing good quality animal health care

The novel chronicles the injustices that surround Maggie, who is quiet and doesn't fight back. A chilling look at poor, urban life in the late 1800's, it is also a tale critical of society's judgmentality and questioning of morality. A more complex novel than it seems on first look, it is wonderful to take apart and examine the relationship between Maggie and Pete, Maggie and her mother, and Maggie and Jimmie.

When I discovered this book, I was already writing a story cycle of my own, The Acorn Stories. Winesburg, Ohio became a strong influence on that book, and also led me to write New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio. In Sherwood Anderson's acclaimed story cycle, a small town finds itself entering the twentieth century with loneliness and confusion. The same industrialism that Anderson would explore so well in his novel Poor White also asserts itself constantly here, turning a beautiful landscape into a sometimes desecrated one.

The young reporter George Willard appears in most of the stories, providing a connection for people who feel they lack connection and a voice for people who feel they lack a voice. Though many readers consider this book a bleak and disjointed novel, I consider it a collection of stories that interrelate in surprising, often brilliant ways. As for the bleak part, please also look at the many moments of comfort, the many sparks of inspiration.

I eventually lost track of how many times I read Winesburg, Ohio. I just know I'll read it again.

First of all I was glad that a book with such catchy title such as " Miami Blues" was out there because is hard to find fiction books locatined in Miami. I rad the reviews in the book, and the word " marvelous," but as I read on I found myself highly disgusted. The story made Cubans and Latin as same as Miami look like a dump-filled with crimminals. What got me mad was that everybody didn't shed a light to help me have a longlasting fun experience reading.I was disguted by the end since what I read before made tereading unpleasent. It'sgood the book was publish in 1984 because that Miami was not done justice. Sometimes is better to be quiet because not even the reviews seem to fit with such experience. In simple words: it Sucks!!!

Miami Blues is my first Charles Willeford novel but it certainly won't be my last. I remember the film Miami Blues (with Alex Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh). I enjoyed it and hoped the novel would be at least half as good. Thankfully it was even better than the film.

In Miami Blues we have a young psychopathic criminal from California landing at Miami International Airport. All he wants is to steal enough money to live on easy street, and he will not let anything get in his way. Unfortunately bad luck and stupidity are stacked against him. Worse, he partners up with an incredibly sweet yet dumb local girl who doesn't offer value for achieving his goals ... no matter how he manipulates her. Worse still, there is a rather crusty old cop out to get him. No spoilers here, but suffice to say Miami Blues has a good ending.

The best part of Miami Blues is Willeford's excellent capturing of the "feel" of Miami. It's very much like Carl Hiaasen material without the caustic satire (..oh, I should add Miami Blues does have funny bits also). And it doesn't take itself too seriously, as if Charles Willeford wasn't planning to write fine literature but simply a good story. He succeeded very nicely.

Bottom line: a minor jewel amongst the masses of mystery novels. Recommended.

Charles Willeford wrote wonderful true to life's absurdities crime fiction, among his many other accomplishments. This novel (which was made in a movie starring Alec Baldwin) is the first in his only series, starring a much put upon Miami detective named Hoke Moseley. In this initial adventure Hoke runs afoul of an intelligent pyschopath named Freddy Frenger and his ditzy hooker girlfriend while investigating the murder of a Hare Krishna. Along the way Hoke loses his teeth, badge, gun and some of his pride, but never his determination. A mere description of the plot wouldn't begin to do justice to this ironic superb book, full as it is of madcap characters coupled with doses of deadly realism. Very few writers can pull off a mix of the comic and hard boiled, but Willeford was one of those few. Indeed, he was one of the best at it. Read the rest of the books in this series if you can find them, then move on to Willeford's other works and his biography penned by Don Herron.
A 5 stars for sure on this tale of Miami mayhem, murder and mischief.

The book is fine. ()It only contains standards from 1932.This book is not very usefull to anyone building to current standards.

The early editions of this book are must-haves for architects. Much of the information, especially residential details, is relevant today. As a literal graphic standard, this work presents visual information that was the genesis of modern professional working drawings. The clarity and richness of information as presented here can stand up in as well as inform today's CADD environment. One note: With a little effort, you can find an original(2nd or 3rd)edition in good condition for less than the cost of this reprint.The first three editions contain nearly identical information.

This text is a coffee-table book or a teaching library text, suitable for impressing novices to architecture how things were actually drawn to be built in 1932. It has no current value, unless one is renovating a building of that era. No code or other standards are included.

'Pick-Up' by cult crime novelist Charles Willeford is, surprise!, not really a crime story. It is actually a very depressing account of an alcoholic who finds love (..er, or something like it) with another alcoholic in the seedy parts of San Francisco circa 1965. The story is a about drink, drunken behaviour, and despair. Towards the end the story does "pick up" (no spoilers here) but by that time this reader was so depressed by it all that I felt more bored than engaged with the story.

'Pick-Up' is by no means a poorly written story. The characterizations are fine but perhaps a bit thin (..well, it is a short novel). However there are a great many films/novels which address alcoholism better than this book. It is by no means amongst Willeford's better efforts; it falls way short of his 'Miami Blues' written many years later.

Bottom line: competent but unengaging.

***½ Pick-up by Charles Willeford

Ever open up the paper and read a reported story -- not more than a column long -- about a crime, or near-crime, of tabloid interest, that you know has more involved details than what is reported? This is a book that could be based on one of those true-life experiences, deserving of more than a cursory reporting in the paper.

This is a psychological tale with a thriller's edge and a suggestion of criminality. The story centers on two seemingly blue-collared alcoholics attempting to find validity in lives that once promised and should mean and hold something more. As any good noir fiction, this is a story about an attempt to find a connection, with another like-minded individual, which comes close but ultimately fails. And of course, as any good noir fiction, it deals with a connection, which could have worked, if not for unfortunate and ill-fated timing.

The central character, Harry Jordan, if not admirable, is likeable and identifiable as a man who has not succeeded in failing; although, he has fallen markedly short of his own expectations. Jordan is an over-qualified greasy spoon counter-man, who has a surprising artistic pedigree. By happenstance, he meets Helen, who is a blueblood scion cum alcoholic attempting to escape herself and her heredity in each new town she encounters. Initially, the couple finds commonality in their mutual and separate love for alcohol.

How can two people who have so thoroughly disappointed themselves, join together and succeed as a couple - that is the obstacle faced by Harry and Helen. The suspense lies in whether they, as a couple, can salvage the remainder of their lives together. The fate of their love is pre-ordained. The mystery is how they ended-up at this level in the first place.

The unraveling of the relationship of Harry and Helen is secondary to the development of the back-story, illuminating the circumstances that allowed them to meet in the first place. The ending is not a surprise development, as much as a surprise detail, which forces you to re-examine all previous thoughts and conclusions arising from the psychology of the drama.

This is the 3rd Willeford book (Burnt Orange Heresy and The Woman Chaser) I have read, and on each occasion, I have been most impressed by Willeford's creative story telling. Unlike even the best noir writers, Willeford's books are not the product of a effectively patterned brand of story-telling; rather, each novel tries a new approach at telling another unusually rare tale. In most respects, the storyline of Pick-up is fairly straight forward with little plot elevation; Willeford's devil is in the details behind the story. Willeford is not only expert in developing the details of his characters' lives, but conveying his personal expertise on a wide variety of circumstances, topics, and subjects - most notably art. As a novel, you may be easily forget the particulars of Pick-up's plot, but you will not be able to leave it without feeling as you have learned something about the human condition.

**As an aside, I would personally recommend the Black Lizard edition of this book if it can be found and is available for a reasonable price. For my money, the Black Lizard edition of this book is a work of art in itself. The cover is noir photography at its finest, and the print format is exceedingly readable. For me, the edition itself is a collectible, not to mention Willeford's novels themselves are becoming increasingly harder to locate.

I don't know that I'd have read this if the name Willeford had not been on the cover. It's about a self-destructive pair of alcoholics. You can see flashes of the meticulous unadorned realism of the master. I don't think it's giving anything away to say that the fact that the protagonist is African-American is brought in at the end as what the author must have thought was a plot twist. It is interesting if you are into the early history and development of the hard-boiled noire and its transition into today's thriller. Some of these early writers were quite bad at times. Try (you'll have to try hard) reading some later James M Cain. Willeford moved about in style a lot. He got better as Cain got worse. I see that the soft-boiled "Burnt Orange Heresy" is in print but "Miami Blues" (the masterpiece for me) is not. Chacun a son gout.

The "handsome and gregarious" Mr. Watson hasn't lost his ability to pull the wool over a lot of people's eyes. Whether his drug is Charles Manson or God, this loser is still as self-serving as he was 35 years ago -- only now he has the nerve to suggest he's morally superior to the families of the victims, just because he's learned how to forgive himself. Susan Atkins manipulates people the same way. Thank God the parole board has more common sense than readers who believe this...

It was an outrage to learn the man responsible for brutally murdering an eight and a half month pregnant woman has been permitted to father four children of his own while he was behind bars! So much for our criminal justice system!

Watson gives us a chilling account of the murders, but his ability to discuss them in matter of fact gory detail, as if one were talking about the weather, is terrifying. How a man who committed such horrible crimes can live with himself is beyond me. He claims he is now a born again christian and God has forgiven him for his crimes, so if God can forgive him, he must forgive himself. He claims to have sympathy for the families of the victims, yet he continues to torment them by asking to be paroled every chance he gets. One wonders if he offered the victim's families any of the proceeds from this book. I doubt it.

I sincerely hope he is the changed man he now claims to be. However, his claim would be much more believeable if he honored the victims and their families by not asking for parole and accept the fact that a man who is capable of committing such heartless acts (christian or not) should never be allowed into a free society again. It would be nothing short of obscene for this man to be allowed to be free to enjoy spending time with his wife and children when it was his murderous hand that robbed so many others of their loved ones.

Tex Watson's book is wonderful because it tells the reader about his thinking at the time of the crimes. I wish he had told more about the other people he lived with in the family. His religious conversion is kind of indicative of his desire for something to worship. One wonders if God hadn't been presented to him,who or what would he have turned to to worship.. I in no way presume to know if he is really changed (I don't care)but it gives me a creepy feeling the way he and Susan Atkins seem to need something or someone to control their lives. What I'm trying to say is that Tex's need for Manson doesn't seem that different from his need for God. That is creepy.

Hoke Moseley lives in a residential hotel in Miami Beach. He turns over half of his pay to his ex-wife. He is a sergeant in the Miami police force and needs to move into Miami. Suddenly he has his two teenage daughters staying with him and his partner is pregnant. He cannot afford decent housing and has been tasked, along with two others, to solve ten out of fifty cold cases in two months' times. In the meantime he wonders if his last homicide case was accidental death or, well, homicide. The book is excellent--a thoroughly professional job.

In this second book of the Hoke Moseley series, our loser-pants police detective must deal with various sleazoids while figuring out how to raise his two daughters who have been sent back to him because his ex-wife's pro-ball-player novio finds them distracting during his spring training. Sound Familiar? It's not. Funny and amoral, Hoke's counseling sessions with his daughters are not for the timid or politically correct. Lacking the outrageous antagonists of MIAMI BLUES or SIDESWIPE, this is not the strongest book of the series, but it is an essential set-up for the next tale. Buy it.

So often, you come across a series of books of a certain detective or private investigator and there is no character growth. Well, this book brings about a refreshing change in that procedure. In fact, Willeford gives us a whole novel's worth of character study and you wish it would never end. Hoke Moseley is arguably the most realistic, honest, and likable police detective created in this genre. If you are looking for fluff, do not read this. If you are looking for an intelligent, creative, and interesting read, this is the book for you.