In this novel, all the parts are in place and the machine works pretty well. Wartime Richmond is captured in period detail: streets and building locations, interiors of hotels, prisons, and government offices, meals, clothes, smells, animals, etc. Characters are distinctive and memorable; the appearance of Lee and Stuart are a little distracting but they stay within character. The motives for crimes in question are well hidden but a bit outlandish; yet 'suspension of disbelief' is accepted because the background stories and the period detail works so well in the hands of a good writer. I bought this book for the historic location and was not disappointed. Also, as a mystery reader, I finished the last page thinking that I wouldn't mind seeing another with the same main character.

Mr. Evans has given us a thrilling story about the underbelly of Richmond during the last year of the Civil War. The story is an intricate ensemble piece with characters as diverse as prostitutes, assassins, wandering, disfigured vets, a Yankee POW and historical figures such as Jeb Stuart and Robert E. Lee. Their stories are intertwined masterfully like a historical version of Robert Altman's "Nashville." We get the high and the low, in Locust Alley. The gore and the glory, and all of it is presented with a keen eye for human detail (as opposed to the merely historical detail, which, to me, often comes across as showing off). The novel focuses on Rand, a vet-turned-police officer obsessed with solving a grisly murder case in a town that is being swallowed up by war and corruption. Rand also has one arm, and has his only hand full trying to protect a beautiful prostitute, a would-be victim of a maniacal and terrifying killer. Can a broken man and a fallen woman find a semblence of love under such circumstances? That's the heart of the novel, and the ending packs a wallop to boot.

This is not so much a book about the War but about people, and a rich pallete of personalities it offers, from a cold-eyed predatory asassin out to kill Robert E. Lee to the proverbial prostitute with a heart of gold. In between you meet the ordinary folk of war-time Richmond doing their best to survive the last year of the war, corrupt police and government officials, a rabid rebel-hating Ulric Dahlgren, Jeb Stuart's high-spirited troopers, an unlikely ally dragged out of Libby Prison to aid the hero in his quest to find the assasin and a host of other colorful characters of all pedigrees (or lack thereof). Richmond is described colorfully (you can almost hear the racket in the streets and smell the mud and cigar smoke) with an ironic eye that catches the humor in nearly every situation that emerges from the pages. Characters are richly developed with dialogue that would do Larry MacMurtry proud. As you'd want from any mystery, there are lots of surprises and more than a few moments of nerve-wringing suspense. I read a lot of historical fiction and this is a writer I'd love to hear from again.

Chasing Technoscience is an excellent volume for anyone interested in the intellectual provocations of Bruno Latour, Donna Haraway, Andrew Pickering,and Don Ihde. The interviews and original pieces found in the first half of the book are immensely informative and finely crafted.
The comparative pieces comprising the second half of the text are quite illuminating in their depth and scope. Because the volume is carefully organized, it is conducive to critically broadening one's perspective on how phenomenology, actor-network-theory, and the cultural studies of science relate to one another. Ultimately, this unique volume will be remembered for initiating of a long overdue and valuable dialogue between Continental philosophy and Science and Technology Studies.

Don't mess... is a fast paced novel with a wealth of interesting characters. At times the plot stretches credibility, but still in an enjoyable fashion. The author does a nice job of introducing enough characters to keep this relatively lengthy novel interesting (400+ pages), and does so in a way that it is still easy for the reader track.

The novel is modern-British in tone and nature, but still very accessible. Although not great literature, the book holds your attention throughout.

From these short stories I got the feeling that William Spencer is good game for taking the place of Ira Levin in popular fiction: Great premises, underdeveloped plot and characters, and plain jane prose.

The man CAN write, I'll admit to that. He drops ingenuous metaphors and literary references. But the stories hardly feel as a whole, just some witty tidbits tied together in a bundle.

Frankly, Spencer sets the trap for himself with his introuction, where he analyzes the state of short fiction as a playground for writers, where stories are used as prose exercises of preciousist writing, with little fun in the tale to tell. He admits by the end that some of his own stories can be held for having the same (un)qualities... but it seems they had a lot more of it than he expected.

So, this is my scorecard:

"The Entomologists at Obala" is, arguably, the most enjoyable of this stories. A minimalist reworking of Romeo and Juliet, with young lovers fighing through family feuds over exotic insect and aracnid species.

"Looking out for Eleanor" is a psychological suspense story, and the lenghtiest story in the book. That may be key to its success, for it allows the characters to develop their traits and the plot to move at a pleasurable pace.

Spencer adds three literary exercises in character description through metaphor: "The Wedding Photographer in Crisis", "Pep Talk" and "Snow". They may need to be read more than once to sink in, because they somehow feel flat.

There are also three tales I could envision featured in "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", exercises in twist ending: "Haunted by the Horror King", "The Return of Count Electric" and "Best Man". Sadly, by the time the twist came I was expecting it, and failed to shock me.

Lastly, there are "Graven Images", "A Child's Christmas in Florida" and "Daughter Doom", tales where several elements are left intentionally obscure, and which I found to be the most disappointing from the whole lot.

As I said, Spencer can write, and this book may keep you entertained as you read it. But you shouldn't be surprised if, like me, you finish it feeling nothing really happend while you were at it.

This guy is really funny and dark at the same time. His style flows and is really easy to read. I don't usually like stuff that's this 'normal' but I plan on reading everything this guy has. By normal I don't mean boring I mean there were no 'fantastic' elements in it like magic or monsters, just people and situations. I thought almost all the stories were very original but the last two were definitely the worst. I think I will like his novels even more than his short stories.

Mr. Arthur Levitt has written a valuable memoir full of insights and honesty that benefits all of us, young and old. That he is a true friend of all investors comes through clearly. He is a friend of all small investors who need his advice and insight to understand the workings and limits of the various markets and how to evaluate corporate reporting.. He is also a friend (in the true sense of the word) of large investors and corporations by highlighting their failures in the past and stressing their ethical obligations to be forthright and fair in all their corporate operations and reporting. He has used his gifts and opportunities well, especially, as Chairman of the SEC to regulate our nation's corporations and hold them to their responsibilities.

I have sent a copy of Mr. Levitt's excellent book to all my children who are now grown and are making investments of their own. His excellent and clear presentations will benefit them, as it has me, in making wise choices as they become part of the great small investor base that keeps our country productive and the greatest place on earth to live and raise families.

I'm really shocked at all the negative reviews this book is getting. I think they are totally unfair.

A lot of the criticism of this book is by people who claim to be disgruntled investors who lost big in the stock market. They seem to be taking it out on former SEC chairman Levitt. They are dead wrong!

Arthur Levitt championed the cause of small investors. He championed investors' rights against tough opposition from the Big 5 (now Big 4 sans Andersen) accounting firms, some (but not all) Wall Street financiers, etc. Levitt stuck to his principles in spite of tremendous opposition, personal insults, and threats to the SEC. The ONLY reason he lost in his attempts to defend small investors was because some members of Congress were bought off by Levitt's (and investors') enemies. This isn't just something that Levitt believes; almost everyone who has followed the issue on Wall Street and on Capitol Hill (EVEN Levitt's enemies) ALL agree that the above were the facts. In spite of the opposition, Levitt did manage to get some issues on the table (Reg FD - 'Fair Disclosure' - and trying to make accounting for derivatives as well as the co-habitation between accountants & consultants issues for public debate). All of that was accomplished by Levitt even when some in Congress threatened to cut the funding to the SEC.

Mr. Levitt's book recounts his heroic efforts, in the face of fierce opposition, to reform a flawed system. His book should be applauded for those reasons alone! On top of that, Mr. Levitt offers some sound advice to investors that would have helped to prevent many of those who have lost their shirts (and foolishly bash Levitt's book) from getting fooled into bad investment decisions.

Do I think Levitt's book is perfect or all that it claims to be? No. But if people are going to bash a book, they better back it up with facts and review a book in a thoughtful and logical manner rather than getting the facts wrong, lying, and/or going off into a world of their own.

Bottom-line: If you want the truth about Wall Street and politics, Levitt's book is a great read. If you want to criticize this book AFTER you actually read it, then please do so in a honest, factual, and logical manner rather than in a dishonest and irrational manner as some of the other reviewers have (unfortunately and unfairly) done.

Edit (11/17/02): I whole-heartedly agree with the review by Phillip Brown (Pennsylvania, .... Note (11/20/02): Apparently the rest of my edited review was deleted by Amazon thus making me look bad. Which begs the question: Why aren't they similarly editing out the 1-star reviews of this book that are clearly slanderous? I'm actually doing Amazon a favor by making sure that accurate, fair, and positive info about this book gets out there which will lead to more sales for them. The looney 1-star reviews would lead to poorer sales. So what gives?

I really appreciated the honest insight that this fascinating book gives into the "shady" corporate dealings of Wall Street companies, their greedy, dishonest CEOs and ineffectual Board members. It also provides good, sound help for the trusting investor with practical advice on how to read between the company statement lines and cautions the investor about the many potential pitfalls of corporate corruption. I just wonder, if such shenanigans were so well known to the SEC, why was it allowed to continue and fester for so long? Anyway, Mr. Arthur Levitt's willingness to at least assist investors is to be highly commended.

While reading "Take On The Street" I was reminded of another book that preceded this one, entitled, "MANAGEMENT BY VICE" by the author/scientist C.B.DON. I would very much recommend that any wary investor interested in the high-tech industry sector also reads this marvelous book. The lessons and advice in "Management By Vice" are there for all to see in episodes of sharp, candid satire with a touch of wicked humor as it provides a very important insight into the inner workings of industry life, and in genuine "satire"-style, reveals the "vices" and follies of managers, the frustrations of high-tech technical staff, their "caveats" to investors and sheds a spotlight onto typical high-tech mis-management going on right now in such company settings.

As "Take On The Street" focuses on Wall Street trickery, so "Management By Vice" frankly exposes true-to-life examples of project blunders, corporate misrepresentations and misappropriations, management greed, managerial/corporate abuses, ignorance and bluffing and attitudes towards investors, to name but a few. Both books are indeed a must-read for cautious investors, though from different "insider" angles...and both arm the reader with information that is pertinent and all-important.

Only by reading eye-opening, superb books, such as this Wall Street insight, "Take On The Street", and the employee-inventors' perspectives/warnings of "Management By Vice", can we learn what to look for on corporate statements, which tough questions to ask of company managers or analysts, how employees view their company management and what demands to make for corporate accountability!!

If you already have the sourcebooks for Vampire: The Masquerade or The Guide to the Camarilla, you may not want this book. It provides some information about each of the clans in the Camarilla (Pre Gangrel departure, vampric vernacular, explanations of some terms, the Traditions of the Camarilla as well as the Book of Nod. You may like to buy the book for the stories it contains or for allowing a beginner to read it and get a feel for the World of Darkness rather than throwing the game books at them. I believe that would be the most useful part of this book, for loaning to someone who has not played Vampire: The Masquerade before to learn about what they may have to expect in the games as well as observing current gaming sessions. The stories may give an insight to the new player of the adult horror and themes of Vampire.

SRA was a horrible black spot in our society's culture. Few other controversies in America's history (except for the witch trials) have been so blatantly religiously slanted but the SRA scare. I'm not denying that there are and were sick people in the world who somehow get it into their heads that by ceremoniously harming undeserving individuals and killing innocent animals (for something other than food), they would be rewarded in the afterlife. But this is ridiculous, there have been christians who did this exact sort of thing but it is never called "CRA" and the same goes for every religion. Satanism in no way condones needlessly and ritually killing or physically harming humans or animals (within reason, I mean, an ant isn't exactly easy to avoid killing). This is so idiculous it's frightening that someone would write a children's book supporting the idea of SRA. I'm no fan of censorship, but frankly this is sad, the whole idea of false memory was based on stupid books like this that's whole aim is to put these images into people's heads as small children. There are sick people in the world, be they satanists, christians, muslims, pagans, wiccans, hindus, buddhists, zoroastrians, jews, etc. etc. ad infinitum.

I did not actually read the book (yet), but I have read the reviews. Be VERY CAREFULL when you insist that such abuse does not exist. So, there are no "officially" reported incidents of Satanic Ritual Abuse. Ever heard of some big Mafia guy getting busted? No. Why? People are afraid of the Mafia. Maybe that's the same reason why there are no "official" reports of Satanic abuse. Just a thought. Consider the possibility. The point is, just because it's not documented (by fallible human beings, may I add), does not automatically mean that satanic ritual abuse does not exist. To say that documentation of something (or a lack thereof), means that it definitely does (or does not) exist, is to insist that humanity is infallible. I can think of a couple of obvious reasons why authorities may fail to ducument this "officially." Fear is one of them. Extreme secrecy of the abusers is another. It is important to note that there are people who say that they are witnesses. Not all of them are going to have "false memory syndrome." Many are telling the truth, and it is our responsibilty to them, to ourselves, and to society to believe them. Maybe you can't prove that it exists. But you can't prove that it doesn't exist, either.

All things shall be revealed. This is true. This abuse exists.
Don't believe a word of the false memory organization. If your child reacts to this book---Know that something is very wrong. Get them help.