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Book reviews for "Foster,_Donald" sorted by average review score:

The Cthulhu Cycle: Thirteen Tentacles of Terror (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)
Published in Paperback by Chaosium (1996)
Authors: H. P. Lovecraft, Donald R. Burleson, Leonard Carpenter, Pierre Comtois, August W. Derleth, Lord Dunsany, Alan Dean Foster, C. J. Henderson, M. R. James, and Steven Paulsen
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Attention Lovecraftian Horror Fans
This is the eleventh book in Chaosium's Cthulhu Cycle series. This volume features tales of Lovecraft's most well-known creation, the octopus-headed entity, Cthulhu. Included are the foundational stories (i.e. "The Call Of Cthulhu" by H.P. Lovecraft and "The Black Island" by August W. Derleth), some rare reprints (i.e. "Some Notes Concerning A Green Box" by Alan Dean Foster) and some interesting new stories of Cthulhu in the modern world (i.e. "Rude Awakening" by Will Murray). In any collection the stories are of varied quality but I enoyed the majority of the works collected. If you are a reader of Lovecraft's Mythos fiction then this is a must for your library.


Author Unknown: On the Trail of Anonymous
Published in Hardcover by Henry Holt & Company, Inc. (2000)
Authors: Donald W. Foster and Don Foster
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He's the guy to know!

I first became aware of Don Foster when I read JON BENET: INSIDE THE RAMSEY MURDER INVESTIGATION, the book written by one of the lead detectives on the infamous child beauty pageant queen. The Boulder Police Department used Foster's expertise to unravel the mysteries of the ransom note left of the back stairs of the Ramsey home.

I vaguely knew that Foster had been the expert who first 'outed' Joe Klein, the anonymous author of PRIMARY COLORS.

What I didn't know was that Foster had been one of the people who worked on the Unabomber case, leading law enforcement right to Ted Kaczynski's door, nor did I know he worked on "The Talking Points" memo during the Clinton/Lewinsky affair. I also didn't know his claim to fame was proving that an obscure poem was actually penned by one William Shakespeare.

Even if you're not particularly fond of non-fiction, this book is pretty interesting and will keep you turning page after page. I would like to know exactly what kind of 'searching' he does through the documents he reviews, but I suppose that would be giving away too many trade secrets.

I'll say this....If I'm ever involved in any kind of espionage or intrigue, Don Foster would be the first person I'd call to help me figure it all out.

Enjoy!

Livingston did write "Twas the Night Before Christmas"
Author Unknown: on the Trail of Anonymous, by Don Foster, 2000. Foster has written an enjoyable book concerning writing attribution, that is, given a document where the author is unknown, he developed the method that may crack the puzzle of who wrote it. In his book writers from Shakespeare to Joe Klein and Monica Lewinsky are considered. I found the book fascinating and difficult to put down, and he took me through his several whodunit stories involving Shakespeare, Joel Klein and primary colors, the UnaBomber, Monica Lewinsky and the "Talking Points", writings falsely attributed to Thomas Pynchon, and who really wrote the doggerel that starts "Twas the Night Before Christmas,..."

Foster is annoyed when his method is thought of as a computer program that will crank out attribution from material at hand. Computers were very helpful but more important was his familiarity with text databases that allowed him to find similar language and writing habits. When we write, our reading background greatly influences just what phrases and sentence structure we come up with. Foster's ability to detect greatly depended on his immersion in all sorts of literary works in order for him to proceed and follow fruitful lines of inquiry. In addition, the person's grammar, the way he or she puts words together, idiosyncratic punctuation, and other orthogonal marks can help. Such expertise is not build in a day, and also such immersion apparently put him on the road to burnout. He's going to give it a rest. But what he has done so far, I found fascinating and convincing (especially that Livingston and not Moore wrote "'Twas the Night Before Christmas").

A unique perspective of investigation
Vassar College Professor Don Foster is an armchair sleuth who has solved some of history's literary mysteries. In AUTHOR UNKNOWN: ON THE TRAIL OF ANONYMOUS, Professor Foster explains his forensic techniques in solving the real identity of the most prolifically used nom de plume, anonymous. His premise is simple: writing is like DNA or fingerprints, unique to the individual. The book also goes into the more famous cases that Professor Foster has "solved" such as identifying the author of PRIMARY COLORS or proving that Moore is not the author of THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Finally, Professor Foster provides insight into how his literary analysis methodology has helped law enforcement.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN: ON THE TRAIL OF ANONYMOUS is an intriguing non-fiction work that will hook readers or writers with its different outlook. In an interesting manner with real world examples from today's headlines, Professor Foster explains his use of modern day science to ferret out the unknown behind writer of letters, books, poems, and the written word in general. This reviewer evaluated Professor Foster's writing style and concludes that his book is well written and very entertaining.

Harriet Klausner


Cardiac Rehabilitation and Clinical Exercise Programs: Theory and Practice
Published in Paperback by Mouvement Pubns (1988)
Authors: Neil B. Oldrigde, Carl Foster, and Donald H. Schmidt
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Disney Learn to Draw: Donald and Daisy
Published in Hardcover by Bdd Promotional Book Co (1991)
Author: Walter Foster
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The Economics of Science and Technology: An Overview of Initiatives to Foster Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Growth
Published in Hardcover by Kluwer Academic Publishers (2002)
Authors: Maryann P. Feldman, Albert N. Link, and Donald S. Siegel
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Elegy by W.S.: A Study in Attribution
Published in Hardcover by Univ of Delaware Pr (1989)
Author: Donald W. Foster
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Enchantress of Crumbledown
Published in Hardcover by Deseret Books (1990)
Author: Donald R. Marshall
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Foreign Composers in France 1750-1790/Franz Ignaz Beck 1734-1809 (Series D-Volume 2)
Published in Hardcover by Garland Pub (1984)
Authors: Richard Viano, Anneliese Callen, and Donald Foster
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Intergroup Relations in South Africa
Published in Paperback by Pergamon Press (1992)
Author: Donald H. Foster
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Jean Philippe Rameau: A Guide to Research (Garland Composer Resource Manuals, Vol 20)
Published in Hardcover by Garland Pub (1989)
Author: Donald H. Foster
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