Herbie Krueger must find out why Gus Keene was killed. Along the way, he finds out that his friend was a master magician and member of the Magic Circle. Why did he keep this hidden from all, and why did he take on another identity to perform? Herbie finds out that these answers directly tie in to Gus' death.

John Gardner is an Associate of the Inner Magic Circle and this book shows it. It gives incredibly detailed descriptions of some historical magic events, routines, and even an excerpt from the "Ceremony of the Broken Wand" from a magician's funeral. It's as informative as it is entertaining and I guarantee you'll find yourself bitten by the magic bug when you get through!

Gus Keene is the British Secret Service's best confessor (interrogator). When his car is blown up, Herbie Kruger (the King of malapropisms)is brought out of retirement to find out whodunnit. He finds, instead, that Gus was one of the world's greatest magicians, and that he (Herbie) is in grave danger. Herbie moves through a maze of magic, I.R.A. plots, and Iraqi terrorism to find out what happened to poor old Gus. The answer is worth the read

John Gardner is wham-bam back on pedigree form with Day of Absolution, his best book since Werewolf Trace, Dancing Dodo, Complete State of Death, Every Night's a Bullfight (don't settle for 'The Director', the bowdlerised version) and Garden of Weapons (if you haven't read these books, you should get out more!). JG is the best - complex where Le Carre is merely complicated, out-detailing Deighton and, with his penetrating Greene-like insights into the human conditon, relegating the rest of the spy-hacks (with the exception of Eric Ambler)to also-rans. Read this book and then go back and enjoy the complete canon. JG is the spy writer's writer.

Recently retired Foreign Office employee Charlie Gauntlet marries Metropolitan Police Detective Bex Olesker. Since she works in the Anti-terrorist Branch, Charlie has had a difficult adjustment because his former job has taught him how dangerous her work is.

Bex's latest case involves the deadly, legendary Alchemist, a wizard who has eluded police around the world for more than a decade. As Bex follows her lead, traitor Kit Palfrey visits Charlie with a tale about ancient Christian scrolls found in Moscow. While Bex journeys to Ireland, Charlie travels to Scotland to substantiate the scrolls that allegedly provide a new light on the last days of Jesus. However, neither Charlie nor Bex realize that their two divergent cases will soon intercede at a point that could leave both of them dead.

DAY OF ABSOLUTION is a great thriller that expeditiously combines elements from espionage, political, police procedural, and religion into a classy tale. The story line is fast-paced, filled with action while containing two major subplots that cleverly blend into a wonderful climax. The lead characters are fully drawn and the assassin is shadowy enough to seem real. This novel proves that John Gardner is the Man.

Harriet Klausner

After my initial dissapointment, (This book is not about the John Gardner who wrote the post Ian Fleming James Bond novels) I came to embrace this amazing book. Never has so much perspective been shoe-horned into such a space. The real gem in this book is the work of Kathy Vanspanckeren, whose winning personality and wit is evident on each page.

Robert Morace and John Gardner maybe be the big names that will draw in the public, but the real superstar work here is the work of Kathryn Vanspanckeren. She could edit the pants off a bonobo--and I've seen her do it! Her critical perspectives on John Gardner are so critical and perspective that they should be separated, expanded upon (maybe proof-read) and placed in a larger book, preferably with a picture of a her on the front. Because, as most publishers know, all the best books have pictures of chicks on the front.

I had heard of John Gardner but had not read any of his work. This book is one of the most inspiring I have ever read. Gardner talks about what it really means to be an American, and what we all need to do if we are going to have a country we can be proud of.

In this time of political fear and war mongering, it is great to be reminded that dissent is not un-American and in fact it is your patriotic duty to stand up for the ideas and beliefs you hold true. And Gardner was true to his word. He stepped down from the Johnston administration to protest the war in Vietnam and went on to found Common Cause. I'd like to see a politician do that today.

What I found most relevant is his theme that if you want a working democracy you have to work for it. He constantly is reminding us that people need to be involved and engaged in the political process if democracy is to survive. Too many people today have been scared out of the process and too many others accept blind allegiance as patriotism.

When founding of Common Cause, he wrote "The impulses to lie, cheat, steal and defraud will never die. The swindlers and charlatans and well-dressed crooks who prey on the citizen by manipulating the political process will always be with us." Sadly his words have proved to be all too true.

For those who need to be inspired that there is still hope for a real and true American democracy, this book is for you.

I was at a plateau with my weightloss effort and decided to try talk yourself thin. The program is amazing and can fit anyone's lifestyle. I lost 6lbs. and 9 1/2 inches my first week. Every day is a great day now. LIFE IS GOOD!

Being overweight, trying many programs with little or no results, I had almost given up. I saw TYT on TV and decided to try one more program. The thing that caught my attention was the mental componet TYT talked about, which I never heard about before.

I was amazed!!! I ate real food and lost 7 inches in the firt 20 days. All I can say- just try TYT it could change your life like it changed mine.

This is the greatest book I ever found about ancient ship painting. It took me such a long time to find this kind of wonderful book. It is a must buy for a marine painting lover or artist

The clarity and color of the reproductions of marine paintings in this book are nothing less than superb. While the individual styles and, to some extent, the specific subject matter of the five artists vary, I find it impossible to single out any one of them as being "better" than the others. Each is a highly talented artist who brings the past to life in a most convincing manner. While men-of-war are probably the most frequent subject of the paintings in this book, merchant vessels and ships of exploration and even of pleasure are not neglected. It is pure joy to just leaf through this volume and gaze at the wealth of images. Anyone who is fascinated by the sea and sailing ships cannot fail to be enchanted by this book.

Your College Experience: Strategies for Success 4th ed by John N. Gardner and A. Jerome Jewler.
This book is excellent for a first semester college introduction to academic life. It deals with the issues students need to address for academic success such as critical thinking, time management, active learning, learning styles, reading, writing, listening and speaking, test taking, library use, computer use, academic resources, advisors, relationships, diversity, stress management, finances, alcohol, drugs, and sex. The book has six parts: 1. Strategies for success, 2. Plan ahead, 3. Take charge of learning, 4. Hone your skills, 5. Get connected, and 6. Know yourself. There are one to four chapters in each part totaling fourteen chapters, about one per week for a semester. There are exercises and guiding questions for a personal journal at the end of each chapter. A highlight is the interactivity provided by the CD-ROM packaged with each textbook. Each chapter has a self-assessment, has exercises from the book formatted to use on the computer and refers to textbook pages, has additional exercises not in the textbook, quizzes, crossword puzzles, and journal assignments that can be done on the computer. The CD-ROM links to many Internet sites for additional information and self-assessments. The book comes with a free four month subscription to InfoTrac, an online library. This book is good for the visual learner, the CD-ROM is particularly good for the kinesthetic learner, and the discussion exercises are good for the auditory learner. There are also supportive materials for faculty who adopt the book, and the CD-ROM is available on Blackboard and WebCT as online course management tools.

I bought this book my first year of college, I am now a sophomore and STILL using it. I found it so helpful. I even recommended it to friends.

Bottled Spider is an exciting tale of a serial killer, the likes of Jack-the-ripper, in 1940 war torn London. John Gardner tells the story in a highly descriptive fashion from the perspective of a young female rookie police officer who finds herself assuming investigative responsibilities normally handled by more senior male officers who are now involved with the war against Hitler. The killer is not pleased that a young women "leads" the investigation, and is all too happy to include her in his affirmative action plan. It is an interesting blend of murder, romance, and contemporary issues, in a setting few of us have experienced.

College is Only the Beginning was the required textbook for my freshman orientation class back in 1986. I chose to attend college for the the typical reason....to get a better paying job. This book convinced me that getting that higher paying job was one of the lesser benefits of a college education. Garden and Jeweler discuss all of the personal benefits a person receives from a college education. Human growth and developement as an educated person are emphasized instead of the more practcal reasons most of us choose to attend college.
The book is also an extremely useful guide to succeeding in college with chapters on getting the most from your professors, using the library, staying healthy, getting along with others, studying, and choosing a life path.
This book is currently out of print but these authors have continued to write books on this topic (none of which I've read). However, this book made such an impact on me that I felt compelled to promote it as long as it's available.

A great introduction to control theory.However, it would help if you know something about differential equations. I read Ogata's book on control (over 900 pages) from cover to cover twice and still could not figure out exactly what state variables are. This book explains things very well but you do need to do the problems at the end of each chapter. The use of "free-body" diagrams is a great idea.Ogata's book is great for explaining a lot of the details but this book explains the important things in a concise but easy to understand manner. I now finally understand how to draw a system diagram by starting from the inputs for each separate system. Everything is brought together -- system diagrams,transfer functions,state variables,the purpose for LaPlace transforms,and input-output models. This is not a book about control theory and it is covered in only the last two chapters but if you are taking, or going to take, a course in control theory,read this book first. It will save you a lot of frustration and bewilderment.