What a relief to read The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You after the disappointing Stainless Steel Rat in Hell! What a difference fifteen years can make!

This Stainless Steel Rat is the Rat we all fell in love with - biting sarcasm, acerbic wit, the lapses in attention that land him in trouble, the daring escapes from that trouble, and a plot that moves briskly at all times, always staying a half step ahead of the reader. Just under 150 pages, it is just the right length; short enough to be read in one sitting, but long enough to draw the reader in.

The only downside to this one is the packaging. Contrary to the title and cover propaganda, the Rat does no recruiting (beyond his lovely yet dangerous wife and the twins). A better title would have been, The Stainless Steel Rat: Bug-eyed Alien Sex Goddess. Read the book and you'll see what I mean.

I have read & enjoyed a number of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat books, but this has got to be the best one yet. The book is loaded with the same slap-dash sense of humour and spontaneous action as found in the other SSR books, but this book's clever, well thought out plot puts it far above them. Slippery Jim's final solution for dealing with the slimy alien problem-makers is ingenious and satisfying, as is his surprising insight to the behaviour of the galaxy's sadistic grey men.

Well, "book is a reminder." I guess that's the most that comes to mind about this book. Whether you should purchase this book depends on what you're looking for. I purchased it in preparation for a vacation to Thailand, because I was going to be shopping for Thai style household items and wanted to get informed. Plus, I'm a sucker for a decorating coffee table book that everyone else doesn't already have. I visited the Jim Thompson House while in Bangkok, and so that's why the only thing that now comes to my mind is: the book is a reminder of what I saw.

Tepid impression now, I suppose. The book gives some background on Jim Thompson and how he revived the Thai silk industry, as well as information about the rare antique Thai treasures that he collected in his home, which is now a museum. If you're really interested in this aspect, in particular, this book may be for you. If you're interested in Thai style, I'm not sure I would recommend this book as a starting point. There are other Thai style books that I reach for again and again, while this book sits on a shelf, untouched. It's a nice book, but more of an expensive souvenir.

Harrison's "Long March to Power" is an excellent intro to the history of China's communist party. Out of the fractured and humiliated China of the 20's in spite of the "universal" appeal of marxism, Chinese communists retained a strong nationalistic bent throughout.

Especially good is the period covering the war with Japan. The KMD of Chiang Kei Shek is given little leeway by Harrison. Chiang was corrupt and so was the KMD. When the KMD could have rallied Chinese- it failed to leaving the CCP to recruit among the population. When the KMD might have fought the Japanese, it spent it's time with warlord struggles or against the CCP.

Harrison doesn't relent and shows the interparty rivalries and sometime viciousness of CCP politics. This is a densely written and fact filled book for those with an interest in the period.

This book is part of a series written by the author regarding various EPL teams, and it's highly superficial. Because the typical discussion for an entry is not thorough, it really provides little insight into the history of Newcastle United. There are very few photographs. Finally, the book was issued in the mid-nineties, and it provides little of relevance to the current club, e.g., you won't find anything in the book about Alan Shearer.

All in all, this book was disappointing and, in my view, not worth the premium one pays in the United States for this British issue.

Harrison is not a supporter of Newcastle, his interests lie with Leeds Utd. Yet despite this he provides a reasonable account of all the major (and lesser) events in our clubs history. I would recommend this as a definite for the shelves of any football book reader/collector. It contains dozens of illustrations, the majority of which I have never seen before. A worthwhile read.

I feel that this work has been devalued in a previous review. As someone who collects/uses and researches from published football histories I have found the A-Z series invaluable. Harrison is a respected football journalist and author in the UK, and the book does cover great parts of NUFC's history, albeit in small chunks as opposed to lengthy paragraphs or full chapters. If one uses the book as it is meant then a massive amount of historical data can be gleaned from this and all the Mainstream A-Z volumes.As for there being few photographs, well, there was sufficient for this reader. After all, its a book of facts, not a photograph album. A worthwhile and thoroughly readable book, highly recommended by the British Football Press and football historians.

Harry, how could you! After creating the inimitable Stainless Steel Rat, you put in in a STUPID non-existent storyline! You send Slippery Jim back and forth in time aimlessly, the archvillain is titled "HE" (was that name the best you could do?), and then the end is not the least satisfactory. Harry, the absurd point of the story was to make sure the Stainless Steel Rat could not be around to be a father to his twins. What a disappointment when the best part of the story is the brief repartee between Slippery Jim and his boss, Inskipp. I know you can do better, Harry, because you have in your other books. Readers, if you like the Rat, skip this one.

Man, Harry Harrison's good at this stuff. This is one of my favorite Rat books. It's got a good storyline and a good (bad?) enemy, which every book needs in my humble opinion.

I've been interested in Jack the Ripper for as long as I can remember. ...

So, I happened upon this book and read it with great interest. I must say that even then, I was skeptical, and by no stretch of the imagination did I consider this book to be the resounding final solution that some still hold it up as. ...they're all just theories...and none of them truly hold up against close scrutiny. But I was still fascinated by this book the first time I read it, and there is a lot of decent information on the killings...which is why I've given it the two stars.

Then there's the actual diary. Well, the people who still advocate the notion that this diary is authentic have a rude awakening in store. It's not. The more I read on Jack the Ripper, and the more times I read the diary, the more obvious it became that the diary was NOT written by Jack the Ripper...or even James Maybrick...but by someone living in the 20th century who thought it would be "cool" to elaborately pull the wool over the eyes of Ripperologists worldwide. Well, it hasn't worked. And here are the reasons that the Maybrick diary is a fake.

First of all, there are some anachronisms in language in the diary itself, giving it away as a modern .... That's pretty cut and dried, but not nearly as damning as other factors.

There are many errors in "Maybrick's" descriptions of the crimes, and the crime scenes. It's interesting to note that all of this erroneous information can be found in old newspaper clippings from 1888, when the murders were occuring. But, as was often the case in Victorian times, many of the newspaper stories were quite wrong about the details of the crimes. The newspaper stories don't match the reports of the police officials and/or medical examiners involved...the people who actually gathered the information. So, we can conclude that much of the "factual" information in the Maybrick diary seems to rely on old news clippings, rather than the firsthand experience of the murderer. Surely, if Maybrick WAS Jack the Ripper, he'd know exactly what organs were missing from whom, and where key body parts were located if they were removed and left behind. He'd also know that Jack didn't take the key to Mary Kelly's flat with him when he fled the scene, etc. Unfortunately, the person who forged this diary DIDN'T know some of those facts.

Also, it's interesting to note that there are many parallels between this diary and the "Dear Boss" letter (which gave Jack the Ripper his name). If you read the diary with the chronology of the Ripper's murders and letters in mind, you'll see that "Maybrick" uses the very specific phrase "funny little games" (which was prominent in the Dear Boss letter) twice BEFORE the Dear Boss letter was ever written or sent. This would mean that, were the diary genuine, Maybrick would have to be the author of the Dear Boss letter, as well. But the Dear Boss letter is commonly accepted among Ripperologists as a fraud, written by someone other than the killer (much like this diary). One high-ranking police official who worked the case even had a pretty good idea who wrote the letter...and that person was a young, aspiring journalist. Couple this with the obvious fact that the handwriting in the diary in NO WAY resembles the handwriting in the Dear Boss letter, and we've found yet another broken link in the chain of this hoax.

I could go on and on, listing reasons that I know this diary to be a fraud...but that would be self-indulgent, especially since the most damning piece of evidence against the authenticity of this diary is the most simple one of all.

Michael Barrett brought this diary to Shirley Harrison, claiming that it had been given to him by a friend. The friend had said "No questions asked," and given no reason on earth as to WHY he would give this diary to Barrett. Surely, if his friend had ever been in possession of such a book, he would have gone public himself, rather than GIVING AWAY what could have been the most vital (and valuable) piece of serial killer memorabilia/evidence ever uncovered. Conveniently, Barrett's friend was dead by the time Barrett decided to bring the diary to the attention of anyone...therefore, he could neither confirm nor deny anything Barrett said...and so, Barrett could say whatever he wanted. And what Barrett eventually said...after all of the debate and controversy, after Shirley Harrison had written this book, after countless researchers spent countless hours analyzing this diary of his...was that he himself had written the diary, and that his wife had handwritten it in the old scrapbook, using his typed notes as a guide. End of story.

So, due to all of the evidence against the diary's authenticity, including the admission of the actual author that he had masterminded the entire hoax, the James Maybrick Diary controversy can be put entirely to rest. Therefore, this book is interesting only as a curio, and as a source of some factual information on the Ripper murders (but none that can't be found in other, better Ripper books). Give it a read, but don't buy into it. The debate is over. And Jack the Ripper remains, as he always shall, unidentified.

Read the final chapter written by Paul Feldman before you try and judge the diary. This authour spent about 8 years proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that James Maybrick was defintely Jack. He concludes that anyone trying to debunk this diary needs to think about the issues of how there are all these family members out there that are still alive and related to either James or Florence who provide evidence to show that the diary and the watch were both in existence years and years ago. His book is excellent and I have to say that anyone who thinks the diary a fake needs to open their mind further and look at the conclusive evidence that Feldman brings to bear in this book.

The Diary of Jack the Ripper is an extremely informative, readable book that kept me wanting to know more. I have read much about Jack the Ripper but this is the first book that truely explains many of the questions I've had. The initials "FM" on the wall at Mary Kelly's murder scene absolutely fit with the idea that James Maybrick was taking out his anger over his wife Florie's infidelity. The chapter on Florie's trial was informative without getting too detailed. However, one question I do have is about the authenticity of the gold watch. The book states that the victims initials were engraved on the inside of the watch along with the words "I am Jack". If this were truely the Ripper's watch, wouldn't the two Liverpool victims also be listed? Why only the Whitechapel victims? If you're a history buff, or have even a mild fascination with the mystery behind Jack the Ripper, you'll enjoy this book

It isn't often that I read a novel by a respected and admired author that I find so little to like and undeserving of any kind of literary merit or praise.

Lily Tuck's "Siam" tells the story of a young, twenty-five year old woman named Claire, who impulsively marries an American, who helps build airfields for the army and is living in Thailand on the eve of the Vietnam War.

Claire joins her husband in Thailand, and the novel describes her experiences living in a country which is exotic and strangely beautiful on the surface, but also extremely "ugly" and even "sinister" beneath the country's seemingly beautiful facade.

Despite this short novel's well depicted, exotic locale (realistic and well done), the book isn't really about much of anything. Claire's marriage is shown to be falling apart:no reasons or motivations given, other than the fact that James doesn't seem to be in love with her (if, in fact he ever was) and seems to enjoy being away, working. Claire and James are sketchily described at best and never rise above being shown as more than just "types"--rather than interesting "individuals" in their own right.

What small amount of plot there is, concerns itself with the mysterious disappearance of a Silk enprenneur, named Jim Thompson, and Claire's obsessive attempt to find out the reason for his disappearance while he was flying somewhere else in Thairland supposedly while vacationing.

Claire's interest in Bill Thompson, (an actual, historical figure who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, is never plausibly spelled out for the reader, other than just to be told that the object of her search was an exceedingly polite and well bred man, who had exquisite artistic tastes)and seemed altogether different from her husband, whom Claire is obviously no longer in love with anymore than her husband is with her.

Lily Tuck's unwillingness to describe any of her characters in any depth made it impossible for this reader to care in any way what happens to them---which isn't much of anything, except that Claire never finds out what happened to Jim Thompson and an unexpected act of violence occurs in the swimming pool of the house where she is living, at the close of the novel.

Besides the dearth of an interesting plot and the lack of interesting characterization, there is a seemingly endless attempt on the part of the author to explain the intricacies of the Thai language as Claire struggles to familiarize herself with with Thailand's customs and traditions.

Page after page is filled with ITALICIZED Thai words and expressions--as though Lily Tuck is trying to compensate for her lack of plotting and poor attempts at characterization, by illustrating how much she knows about the Thai language.

Perhaps other readers will find virtues in the book which I have somehow missed seeing. But as far as I'm concerned--except for the lush descriptions of Thailand's fauna and plant life--there is little reason to read "Siam."

Don't waste your time!

This is a novel that obviously promoted strong pro and con sentiments. I found that many of the reasons that the readers were disturbed by the novel was what I liked best about it. This is certainly not a book for those that must have all their questions answered. This novel is a suggestion of Thai history, allusive, mysterious and provocative.

This is a story of a rather naive young American woman, Claire, who marries impulsively to a military contractor working out of Thailand during the Vietnam war. She must cope with a new culture, servants she distrusts and a husband that she becomes suspicious of. Yet, there is a tone of mystery, a friend they met at a dinner party disappears. Based on a real event, Jim Thompson, an American silk buisnessman disappears during a vacation. Claire becomes obsessed with his absence, along with other issues of her life that begin to unravel.

At first, her arrival prompted her to take Thai language lessons, research Thai history and culture in the local library and join a military wives weekly tour group. The plunge into Thai culture begins to take it's toll on Claire. She mistrusts the servants, and later finds items missing that she treasures. Worst, she doubts her debonair husband and fears he is having affairs with friend's wives. She takes to examining his dirty laundry for evidence of infidelity. She can't sleep and begins to drink more. She misses her home and her family. She finds the Thai food disgusting and the outside town filthy. There is a palpable tension that the author alludes to, a crisis in the making and a constant referral to the violence of the Thai past intersecting with this woman's life.

I guarantee all your questions will not be answered. The ending is allusive and disturbing. While accepting the novel as it is would be my advice, I would relish the opportunity to review this book in a book club setting. I am sure the interpretations would be various and vast. Don't let the originality put you off to an incredible unique novel.

A friend gave me Siam and I really liked it. I have never been to Thailand but I felt like I was visiting while reading this book (through the eyes of Claire). If you're wondering if Siam is for you read the Editorial reviews by Amazon.com, Booklist, and the Publisher. I think all three reviews describe the book very well.

First there was "The Stainless Steel Rat", our introduction to Slippery Jim DiGriz, aka the Stainless Steel Rat, a high-tech, futuristic conman and thief who is caught, after a long and successful career, by the galactic special corps, and recruited to join them because it takes a thief to catch a thief. Then followed four more books in chronoligical order, "The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge", "The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The World", "The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You", and "The Stainless Steel Rat For President". Then, apparently growing bored with the direction his stories were taking, Harrison retreated to the beginning, and wrote the prequel, "A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born". Then he followed that with "A Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted", a story following immediately on the heels of the prequel. This story follows that one chronologically.

There are dangers to writing prequels, and this book fails to avoid them entirely. In a prequel, it is necessary to make it plausible that a character's experiences could lead to him being the person he is at the beginning of the book the prequel precedes; this is reasonably well accomplished in this book, if not perfectly well. But it is also necessary, in a prequel, that the story be interesting without having anything happen so major and potentially relevent to events in later stories that it seems impossible that the character never referred back to those experiences in chronologically later, but previously written, stories. Here, this book fails miserably; given that DiGriz has experiences in chronologically later books with both time travel and visitors from his time's far future, both of which also come into play in this book, it seems incredible that we've never "heard" him mention the experiences in this book before.

But perhaps this is all too stringent a set of complaints to make about a book that, like the rest of the series, is never intended to be taken seriously; like a James Bond story, or an action movie, the "Stainless Steel Rat" stories are all meant as merely fun romps, plot-driven and action-intensive, without worrying about whether those plots will stand close scrutiny for internal consistency.

So let's review it on its own terms: yes, it's a fun romp, with plenty of action. As usual in these books, the dialogue is rather stilted and artificial, the characters are two-dimensional, and if it enhances the potential for action and drama in the plot, Harrison doesn't let a little thing like consistency of character stand in his way. (DiGriz is supposed to be brilliant, but makes enough stupid mistakes to keep himself in constant danger, so that the pace of the action can stay high.)

This book, like the rest of the books in the series, is fun brain candy, but don't expect careful plotting or a serious story, and don't examine things too carefully for plausibility or internal consistency; it won't stand up to even passing examination.

The Stainless Steel Rat is not to be mocked. This man knows where you live... This book is, just like the other books excellent. I have read all of the SSR books, in and out of order and this one holds up just as well as the others. Dont just buy this one, buy them all. Bolivar

Whaddaya mean this is the worst of the bunch? Now, I'm a serious rat fan; I've read almost all the SSR books, and this one fits in very nicely! It's got a fairly good plot, altheough characters don't really need to pop out of nowhere like that.

This book is what I consider the terminal end to the series. I've been a die-hard fan of Slippery Jim for around... two decades (and I'm only 26). This book, however, is a phenominal whiffle of bunk. I can't believe that the series has become this corny. It's terribly insulting that Mr. Harrison would do this to one of my most beloved literary memories. Not that I want to give away any spoilers, but I have one word for those of us that have already read the book... SAUSAGES!
So lets say that you don't believe me. Just have a look at the cover. That pretty much sums up the feel of this book. Corny. It made me irate for days.
I'd still like to recommend the first 7-8 books in the series to you folks, though.

There is very little in the world worse than watching a favorite author write well below his potential. The four previous Stainless Steel Rat books I had read were all full of acerbic wit, tight action, and amazing (yet credible) escapes. This one is lacking in nearly every category. With every page, I was desperately hoping that Harrison would break out and regain his form. Alas, it was not to be.

Don't expect the usual Stainless Steel Rat book here - this novel takes a more "afterlife" approach to Slippery Jim diGriz' life. I thorougly enjoyed this book due to the more-than-usual amount of fantasy in it. Each SSR novel seems to have a slightly different approach to an aging Jim diGriz and this one is no exception. The plot IS, at times, quite confusing and of course very unbelievable - but who cares! This book is a great escape and proves Harry Harrison is still a great scifi/humor. (Sorry Harry, but my favorite SSR is still "A Stainless Steel Rat is Born"!!) Harry Harrison is my personal favorite novelist and Jim diGriz is my favorite character in a novel! KEEP WRITING THE SSR BOOKS HARRY - DON'T MAKE ME READ ANOTHER CRICHTON BOOK OUT OF DISAPPOINTMENT!!

Hearing about a new Stainless Steel Rat book got me excited... until I received it in the mail! The misleading title led me to believe it was a new Slippery Jim story. Not so!

It's three of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel novels all put together. A waste of money in my opinion.

I'm an avid Stainless Steel Rat lover and I'm a little ticked off at this waste of pages. Yes, I should have looked closer at the fine print, but come on - the cover doesn't say anything about the fact that it's 3 previously published novels.

This is just not right, Harry. We want a new Stainless novel!