'The tyranny of the majority' - a brilliant phrase coined by the author of 'Democracy In America' and a brilliant chink in the armour of Rousseau's societal vision. An individual who owes everything to the state cannot conceivably be called an 'individual.' They are, rather, reduced to being an automated cog in the wheel of human motion. Their very individuality is subsumed to serve the will of the collective. This cannot be right. Minorities must be protected. If not, they will find a way. However, I agree, as Orwell did, that there must be a rejection of 'every form of man's dominion over man.' We are equal but different. This paradox resists neat hyperbole.

Rousseau's treatise on the nature of people and their government has left a lasting imprint on political discourse. Though at times passionate and persuasive, most of the short book was simply too vague for Rousseau's semantic games to be indisputable, and sometimes even comprehensible. Some of his ideas are simply wrong, such as the "noble savage", while others quite clearly debatable, such as the social contract itself. I, for one, would fear to live in Rousseau's ideal world, where every right I have is only mine so long as the majority (who never can be wrong) wills it.

Whether you agree with him or not, plowing through Rousseau's 150 pages is a necessity for anyone who wants to carry on high-level political discourse.

Deeply influential book, "The Social Contract" is a "must read" for anybody interested in the history of political ideas, or even in history. It had a big influence on the French Revolution, and in many movements after it that considered that the individual owes everything to the state.

After reading this book you will be astounded by the insight that Rousseau (1712-1778) showed. He explains us, among other things, the reason for the formation of political society, and the origin of the social contract.

I believe this is a good book to start a study on political ideas. It is simple and well written, it has had an important political impact and can make you curious enough to know more. If you are interested, read also a book about the history of political ideas (for example the one written by George Sabine), because it can guide you to other interesting books, and can give you a deeper insight into the ideas, circumstances and life of Rousseau.

I can't help but think that James W. Hall was wronged and wounded way back when and uses that pain to fill the souls of his characters (especially Thorne) with enough angst and weltschmerz to overflow the banks of Lake Okeechobee. This particular adventure was too heavily laden with suspense-impeding character histories. I really didn't care about how the mad doctor lost his legs in Viet Nam and certainly didn't need to know about Pepper's love affair with her father. Further, these extra tidbits come at points in the novel when the reader wants the plot to resolve itself, to keep the pace flowing as fast as the speedboats the characters are chasing each other in, not to slow it down. And as much as Hall's antagonists are fun to hate, relishing each one's well deserved demise as they happen, this time around the gruesome comic book style deaths were too much. This novel reminded me of the martial arts action pictures of the 1970s - ludicrous storyline, loads of gratuitous gore and half-assed existentialism posing as philosophical profundity.

Pain. There is no more lively sensation than that of pain; its impressions are certain and dependable. Marquis de Sade (1740-1814)

What a riveting book! This is my first James W. Hall novel and it I loved it. His strong, bold, vivid characters, often border on the audacious and bizarre. In "Red Sky at Night" Hall pulls you into worlds of paralysis, paraplegics and pain. And as Marquis de Sade said "there is no more lively sensation than that of pain". The Key West setting combined with the madness, murders, mayhem and macabre characters, makes this book a top ratebeach read. Strongly Recommended

James hall is far and away my favorite crime novelist. He's never written a book I have not loved. Even his weakest efforts are superior - his poetic prose and vivid images, his quirky and inspired characters, his odd and exciting plots. This is a step back, to a smaller and more personal setting, in which Thorn, Hall's protagonist, has a reason to be where he is (Unlike Hall's last two novels, _Buzz Cut_ and _Mean High Tide_, in which the connection was just a bit forced). This is a good thing. Thorn is like a force of nature, and is used to best advantage in stories like this, in which he's drug, unwilling, into heroism by his anger and his sense or right and wrong. This novel uses the character's nature to advantage, as did Hall's first two novels. For Hall fans, this should be a hugely satisfying book.

Cheever is a goldsmith of words, and, if you love language, the sheer pleasure of how he puts them together is enough to carry you though this picaresque family novel. The eccentric Wapshots are as unpredictable and plotless as life, and if they have dull days the author never lets us see them. In this loose, richly inventive account of Leander and Sarah and their sons, Moses and Coverly, Cheever ambles through marriage, lust, loyalty, death, and the eternal pleasures of place. Even the house has a personality: "The heart of the Wapshot house had been built before the War of Independence, but many additions had been made since then, giving the house the height and breadth of that recurrent dream in which you open a closet door and find that in your absence a corridor and a staircase have bloomed there." Reading the novel is like constantly discovering such surprises in the lives of seemingly ordinary people.

Looking over the previous customer reviews of this masterful, moving and tragicomic novel by one of this country's greatest and most melodic writers ever, I was struck by the small clique of people who claimed that the novel was "boring" or otherwise somehow unworthy of the National Book Award it had received upon publication almost half a century ago now. At first I was troubled by this; how could anyone read this and fail to experience that so-called shock of recognition, the realization that this is one of the great masterpieces in the English language. And then the answer came quite simply: Some people simply aren't capable of such recognition.

Pity, for them.

The Wapshot Chronicle is Cheever at his best. (And to the customer who wrote that Cheever was merely a short story writer and not a novelist...absurd! In addition to this book, Bullet Park and Falconer were both brilliant novels of the first order.) This is quite simply a work of art, rich in color and textured in Cheever's unique and brilliant prose. Cheever's obvious and famous love of the language shines through on every page, with a lilting, almost musical cadence. But what he offers that so many other great writers of prose can't is his wonderful storytelling gift. No one before or since has matched Cheever's ability to marry substantive narrative and an almost poetic meter with such mesmerizing results (although lesser writers such as Updike have built long and distinguished careers trying.)

I have my well-worn copy of "Chronice" here in front of me, and I have opened two pages at random. Here is a line drawn from each page, to illustrate Cheever's soaring gift:

"What a tender thing, then, is a man. How, for all his crotch-hitching and swagger, a whisper can turn his soul into a cinder. The taste of alum in the rind of a grape, the smell of the sea, the heat of the spring sun, berries bitter and sweet, a grain of sand in his teeth--all of that which he meant by life seemed taken away from him..."

And:

"Now Moses knew that women can take many forms; that it is in their power in the convulsions of love to take the shape of any beast or beauty on land or sea--fire, caves, the sweetness of haying weather--and to let break upon the mind, like light on water, its most brilliant imagery..."

And that was just two random passages! Imagine what I'd find by digging through the book in (no pun intended) earnest in search of his best Hemingwayan "true sentence"!

Boring? Well...there are no violent car chases here, no thrilling police shoot-outs, no serial killers, no massive technical military craft, no gripping courtroom dramas. So, hey, if you are "bored" by astonishing imagery, mesmerizing storytelling, marvellous and beautiful use of our language, and compelling insight into the human condition as offered by one of the most sympathetic and engaging American authors of all time, then definitely steer clear of this book; next time you're in the bookstore, just inch a little to the right and you'll find the Clancy section.

But if you have even a faintly glimmering capability to recognize greatness when you see it...

I've got a thing for John Cheever. Surely one of the best American authors of the 20th century, Cheever has written several books that I've never stopped raving about (see the following for confimation . . .)

The Wapshot Chronicle is essentially more of the same, more of the short story magic that established Cheever as what he was (and at least to me shall always remain): a magnificent story-teller and stylist who weaved brutal honesty into his poetic tales of tragedy and disillusion. There were passages--pages--of this book that I turned back to and reread not out of confusion or misunderstanding of identity, but simply for their beauty, for the firm, strong images that glimmered in the splitting of the waves crashing in my brain. I couldn't get it out of my mind for a while after reading which caused the next thing I read to suffer in comparison.

Absolutely one of the best books I have ever read.

John Pellam works as a freelance location scout in the movie industry. His latest job has taken him to the supposedly sleepy town of Maddox, Missouri. He unknowingly bumps into a hired killer minutes before a hit takes place. Also caught up in the murder is a policeman who is shot and wounded. Both the cop and the killer remember Pellam and want to find him, though for obviously very different reasons.

Because a policeman was injured the local police department is very keen that Pellam comes forward as a witness and they become very aggressive when he claims that he didn’t see anything. The killer has assumed that he left behind a witness to his crime, and so takes it upon himself to eliminate the danger.

This early Jeffery Deaver provides a nice little thriller with a few surprises thron in, yet there is nothing that really grabs you and distinguishes it from the many other books in the genre.

i've been enjoying these early thrillers from Deaver a lot. (especially his RUNE series) this one is no exception. Its not exactly high-brow, but its a fast, entertaining read, as all his early thrillers have so far been. They have good plots, which are not very complex, and are easy to get your head around, they are also full of twists, as is the norm with Deaver.

however, this one is a tiny bit disappoinging, because the cahracters are not as fleshed out as he is capable of.

but, the writing is very good once again, the plot sustains interest, its a quick and enjoyable read, and is reccomended to all fans of Jeffery Deaver.

This book just sucks you in on the life of Pellam, a scout for a film company. He was a witness to a shooting that he wishes he never witnessed.

I looked forward to getting this book. Imagine my regret when I found out that most of the positions in this book come from Fred Reinfelds combination books such as 1001 combinations and sacrifices. I thought I was getting a book that would offer ORIGINAL material. If the book was original this book would be a sure classic, but its nothing of the kind. I gave the book to charity and hopefully some good will come out of it. I should have listened to the previous reviewer about saving your money. If you want combination books Reinfelds are the best. Read his chess books and you will see why he was an early inductee to the chess hall of fame. He was an original and not taking material from other writers.

If your rating is below 1700, try Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors first. It's an edited version of Combination Challenge, but with just 1-3 move problems from that book. It's not in a kiddie format, althought it's a smaller book-- the problems just have fewer moves than Combination Challenge and there aren't as many problems in it. In the forward of Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors it says to do this book 3 times and not to move on to Combination Challenge until you're around USCF 1700.

This is an excellent training book for practicing tactics. There are over 1,110 diagrams sorted by theme; pins, forks, skewers, overloading, back rank weakness, Queen Sacrifices, etc.

This is not a primer. Beofre tackling this book you should read an introductory tactics book such as "Winning Chess Tactics" by GM Seirawan.

Once you are acquainted with all of the different themes, use this book for further practice.

There are enough diagrams to keep you busy for months (even years).

The intended audience for this book is most likely players rated between around 1400-2000 USCF.

The main beef that some of the other reviewers seem to have is that the book contains most of the same problems as Reinfelds "1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations". My response is "so what?". If you are comfortable with descriptive notation then buy that book. But for those folks who either don't know descriptive notation, or who actually prefer solving problems in algebraic notation then this is your book.

As far as the occasional error or ambiguity in a few solutions - I'm sorry but I have not seen a tactics book that is completely free of these errors. This book is no exception.

Overall, you would be hard-pressed to find a better tactics review book.

We've read all of Susan Rogers Cooper's delightful stories, including the six Sheriff Milt Kovak books, the (very difficult to find) two Kimmey Kruse stand-up comedian stories, and the previous six EJ Pugh mysteries. Obviously we like Cooper's great writing ability; one would swear she can turn a soccer practice carpooling chore into an event of note with her descriptive and insightful commentary on everyday life. All of her characters tend to be a little low profile, humble practitioners with an overdose of curiosity that leads to solving crimes, sometimes almost unwittingly. Unlike her sheriff, who of course was paid to catch killers, Kimmey and EJ are strictly amateurs who depend on cajoling friends and policemen into helping move along reasonably good plots.

In this story, EJ is far from her home (Texas), and is re-united with her three sisters (with spouses/partners along) in a contrived vacation in St. Johns cooked up by her mother who wants to see the girls "get along". Much of the story revolves around their childhood goings-on and/or their perceptions of each other's adult lives and situations in society. Hence, the plot is almost a little secondary to the mental and verbal meanderings in the Virgin Islands setting. There is a murder or two to solve, and even if a bit improbable in total, we're hooked enough by a few real clues mixed in with several red herrings along the way to feel some suspense. Indeed, we thought the ending fairly surprising, and hardly anticipated the ultimate culprit at all.

While we'd readily give almost all Cooper's books 4 stars, we don't think this one was one of her best -- maybe the unusual setting (although entertaining in itself in some ways) put our author off her usual game plan; and with none of the regular supporting characters to help out, we didn't know anybody here either. Still, the faithful will want to read this; and while many of her others seemed better to me, all 15 books are fun, worthwhile "reads" without demanding too much from us the reader but "enjoy". Why not ?!!

This was the first book that I've ever read by Ms. Cooper. I picked it up intially because I had been to St. John, U.S.V.I. a few times in the past, and wanted to see which sites were mentioned.

I liked this book, but I found the writing style to be a bit spare. I have no real mental image of what the protagonist and her husband look like, or whether or not I would like them if I met them. The story itself was interesting, and the sibling problems added a nice twist to the story. Actually, I probably would have liked the book better if the family relationships were the sole focus of the book (Ms. Cooper seemed to handle that well). The mystery seemed to be a secondary issue here, and the whole treatment of the crimes that were occuring seemed too lackadaisical.

Although I liked the book, I don't yet know if I care enough about the characters to read the other stories. I'll have to think about that for a while...

This is my first E.J. Pugh mystery. It was a very fast read, the mystery kept me guessing, and I liked the characters of the four sisters. The memories of E.J. and her sisters while they were growing up greatly helped in understanding the dynamics of their dysfunctional family. The mystery itself was good, clues were there, but not obvious. I will read the other books in this series with enjoyment. If you are looking for an easy fast read, this is it.

Lescroart is not an author I recommend to people seeking an easy,lightweight and disposable read.His San Francisco set legal tales tend to be quite complex,and multi-layered with an emphasis on issues and characterization as well as plot.
The Mercy Rule is no exception to the pattern.Its centre piece is the trial of Graham Russo,lawyer turned wanna be baseball player,who is accused of killing Salvatore ,his father and stealing his money and vintage baseball card collection.Salvatore was terminally ill with an inoperable brain tumour as well as in the grip of Alzheimer's.Some -including liberal SF District Attorney,Sharon Pratt,see it as a mercy killing-assissted suicide-and refuse to proseecute.The State of Califirnia takes a different view and put Graham on trial.
His defence is entrusted to Lescroart regular character,Dismas Hardy.The trial ,crisply and dranatically presented,is compelling reading but occupies only around 30%of the book and the verdict is delivered with around 60 pages of the book left.The coda sees Hardy digging into events leading up to Salvatore,s death
The build up to the trial is fascinating with the whole issue of assisted suicide and the conflicting views it gives rise to dealy with fairly and impartially.The investigation is complicated by the developinhg relationship between Graham and the homicide detective Sarah Lee who has been assigned to the case and we identify with Dismas Hardy in his desire to be a defence attorney when the main source of income is in borin but financially rewarding corporate law issues

The downside to the Lescroart method is a certain leisureliness of pace and the book ,nearer 500 than 400 pages,does have its longeurs but overall its rewarding and full of inside information on legal processes and political wheeling and dealing,something which seems to be an inevitable part of the legal process in America

As a fan of Lescroart, I would say he has lived up to his usual exceedingly high standard. Graham Russo, a former baseball star, has been charged with the murder of his ailing father, Sal. Graham proclaims his innocence, but it seems like an open and shut case. Sal had Alzheimers, as well as $50000 and some valuable baseball cards, hidden in his home. The prosecution contends that Graham, a paramedic, incapacitated Sal and gave him a fatal injection of morphine, which led to his death. The money and cards are the motive. Meanwhile, the whole of San Francisco believes that Sal was in great pain, and that his dutiful son helped him die out of mercy. As the media decends upon the trial, it is up to Dismas Hardy to get his client a fair trial. Full of surprising twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Although some elements of the story are hard to believe, (such as the Defendant's affair with a hot cop), Lescroart's brilliantly detailed imagery makes it all come alive. Every piece of the puzzle is intricately layed out as Lescroart weaves his tale, leading to a magnificently stunning conclusion

Lescroat has that ability to make his primary characters believeable and earthy. In the "Dismas" books one feels like they are returning to old friends who have encountered some problems along the way. The only problem is that Dismas always seems to get involved in MURDER! And when that happens you can rest assured that Dismas looks under every stone until he finds the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

"The Mercy Rule" was a great 'who dunnit' with quite a few possibilities on the list of suspects but the author holds us in suspense until the enth degree - as we rule out each suspect and turn the pages faster and faster to learn the identity of the true killer.

Even with murder, mystery and mayhem, Lescroat instills a sense of duty, family loyalty and love in his novels and he shows no exception with The Mercy Rule. A great read.

Darwin, D W Griffiths and the Yankee dollar; the death of religion, the birth of the silver screen and the pull of the American dream. These tripartite forces oversee Updike's magisterial family saga spanning four generations from 1910 to 1990.

The novel is a personalised epic, both fleeting historical overview and an intricately spun web of human belonging and disillusionment. It begins with Clarence Wilmot's apostasy. His belief shattered by scientific rationalism, he finds succour from workaday drudgery via the movies; the flickering monochrome deity lifting "his soul out of him on curious wings". After his death, his son Teddy steadfastly carves out his own heaven-on-earth in the warm-hearted mediocrity of small-town Delaware; delivering mail, marrying lame Emily, and fathering Essie. This protean creature in turn changes her name to Alma DeMott and briefly becomes a Hollywood star. Only with Alma's offspring, Clark, does Updike's narrative complete its arc and achieve a tragic symmetry. Losing his faith in LA's celluloid Mammon, Clark goes in search of the genuine article ending his days as a religious cult proselyte defending a false prophet in a Wacoesque siege. For Updike, God is in the details. Each character is rigorously drawn and each fragment has its own exquisitely individuated prose style, be it Clarence's intellectual opalescence, Teddy's tenderly evoked ordinariness, or Essie's evolution from baby-speak to collagen-lipped sass.

This book was my introduction to Updike's work, and I must say I was impressed. "In the Beauty of the Lilies", the title of which is taken from a verse in the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", is, at least superficially, an examination of the role of religion in American life. The plot spans the whole of the 20th century and chronicles the lives of four generations of the Wilmot family. The history of American film is woven into the novel and used an effective metaphor for the personal and societal upheavals that beset the characters. The reader can't help but pick up some interesting facts about the history of film, but I found that sometimes the author allowed historical details to detract from the flow of the story. It is difficult to explain the psychological subtleties of the novel without being a "spoiler". The scope of the book is not limited to organised religion per se. The book is really about the basic human need for some kind of faith or committment, be it religious or not. Updike seems to be talking about the intimate link between personal integrity and a belief in something, or someone outside of oneself. "In the Beauty of the Lilies" is a powerful allegory which helped to bring my own existential beliefs into sharper focus. Since Amazon does not welcome explicit discussion of authors themselves, I will not reveal Updikes' own metaphysical stance. (Those who are interested can do a literature search and find out for yourselves.) I was impressed, however, that the author did not allow his work to become mere propaganda for his own metaphysical beliefs. The subtlety and complexity of the book is one of its greatest strengths. The characters are well-developed and plot is engageing enought to interest even those who prefer to gloss over the philosophical aspects of the book. I welcome any email discussion from people who have already "In the Beauty of the Lilies".

This book is Updike's masterpiece! It chronicles the life of one family through the generations and explores, as Mark A. Buchanan writes in Christianity Today, what happens, over time, over decades, over generations, when a father no longer has a faith to pass on to his children, and his children's children? But this is even more than a saga of one family, it is the story of the American Dream and American Culture.

This is a highly revealing book about Senator John McCain, one of the most fascinating figures to hit the political scene in many moons. Those who followed his unsuccessful but energizing presidential campaign will be delighted to see the more complete and complex figure who emerges in these pages. He is shown as a serious strategic thinker who keeps his eye on the ball to achieve a long term legislative goal. While describing McCain the book also gives a lot of insight into the process which led to the passage of the campaign finance overhaul. It's a great read for anyone interested in McCain, Washington politics, the campaign finance system in this country or all of the above.

John McCain is not only important, he is chronically interesting as well, whether running a campaign or plotting legislative strategy. Elizabeth Drew ably captures the many fascinating facets of this compelling figure. You can't understand what's happening in Washington without understanding McCain. And you can't really understand McCain without reading Drew's compelling book.

I never thought that I would write a review of a book on campaign finance reform and call it a "page turner," but this one is just GREAT....It keep me enthralled all the way to the end, which is more than I can say about other books on similar subjects.

Despite what many think, living inside "the beltway" does not necessarily equate to an knowledge of the inner-workings of Congress. In fact, although I read the news coverage of the protracted campaign-finance reform battle, I didn't have a clear understanding of the difficulties behind-the-scenes.

What I enjoyed most about Elizabeth Drew's latest book--Citizen McCain--is that it delves into all of the inner workings: the wrangling and deal-making that accompany Congressional legislation. Ms. Drew is able to explain it in plain English--and it's fascinating.

I definitely recommend this book.

This book deals with conflicts without and within: how does British intelligence deal with the communist threat, and how do the different departments in the British government vie for supremecy. I thought it a good study on how oftentimes the outside threat is forgotten. In this book, governments are ruthless, and men are driven by ambition and then are shocked by where that ambition leads them. Characters are very human, each working for different reasons, and in the end very believable. Le Carre is the best at examining the psychology of control and lying: what are the consequences of a life of deceit? No, it is not an action thiller. Don't read it if that is what you are looking for. But if you want a realistic portrayal of what goes on behind the government scenes in the spy game, this is definitely for you.

While not as polished as some of his later work, especially the "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", "Honourable Schoolboy", "Smiley's People" trilogy, this book does a pretty good job examining some of the themes that have characterized le Carre's work over the years (loyalty, betrayal, disillusionment). I can only assume the negative reviewers were expecting something more in the vein of James Bond.

A marvelous, bitter novel of ad hoc espionage and bureaucratic intrigue--though it dates from the Cold War, its ethical concerns are as timely as ever. The quality of writing throughout far surpasses the requirements of genre and the spine-chilling conclusion is not likely to be forgotten.

A previous review here demands refutation. A so-called "Constant Reader" insists that "Le Carre knows nothing about espionage, foreign affairs, international relations, spy technology etc." "Constant Reader"'s argument? "In the 1960's Czechoslovakia was surrounded by the world's most sophisticated security perimeter.... To Western espionage, however, this iron curtain was easily permeable; high-tech espionage aircraft and satellites routinely overflew Soviet [sic] territory, mapping government installations with a precision far greater than any earth-bound surveyor.... [I]n [Le Carre's] world the Czech border has a chicken-wire fence guarded by local boys with rusty Mannlichers. Aerial spying is carried out by airline pilots, presumably leaning out of their jets to snap a few candids with concealed polaroids!"

A few comments in response:

A) The U-2 spy plane and Corona spy satellite were U.S. programs--Britain's aerial espionage technology lagged well behind in the mid-60's. "Constant Reader" imagines a "Western espionage" monolith that did not exist. While the U.S. and Great Britain were, of course, close allies, their interests were by no means identical and their intelligence agencies were not joined at the hip. "The Looking Glass War"--which, of course, concerns (fictional!) operations by British intelligence--includes passages offering explicit rationale for not immediately involving the U.S., thus necessitating the use of relatively primitive information-gathering techniques.

B) Aside from the political issues "Constant Reader" seems unconscious of, the technology referred to would have been completely irrelevant to the mission described in the latter half of the book--the identification and detailed description of a well-cloaked arsenal of tactical, medium-range rockets (not the large ballistic weapons the U-2 and Corona excelled at sighting)--"what they look like, where they are, and above all who mans them"...that is, precisely the sort of job for which only an "earth-bound surveyor" would do.

C) The suspected rocket site, and thus the critical, climactic action in the book, is located in East Germany. The entire book is concerned with gathering information on and infiltrating East Germany. There is not a single mention of Czechoslovakia in all of "The Looking Glass War." Not one. Did "Constant Reader" even read it?

Don't be dissuaded from reading it yourself.