A powerful and touching book, showing this author's unconditional love for her child. Superbly written. Highly recommended.

"Eagle Doctor" is a truly wonderful book. I instantly felt the extraordinary love and compassion that the author has for her son. This book pulled at my heartstrings from the very first page, like no other book has been able to accomplish. I was unable to tear myself away from Stephen's incredible stories; making me feel like I was almost a part of his life. A superb book for all ages to enjoy, full of inspiration & the joys of the Miracle of Life.

These two tales are a MUST for anyone who loves Wells's work. Its far-sightedness, its intuitive feel for "things to come," the sparkling lucidity of his prose, his dry wit...not to be missed. And if anything, both tales, dealing as they do with future alternatives we wouldn't wish on ourselves, remain dangerously relevant as warnings of what will happen if we don't manage the present with greater thoughtfulness and foresightedness.

Stephen Hunter has become one of my favorite fictional authors. While there may be a few technical shortsights, he convinces me that he likes the subject matter and enjoys what he is writing. THIS IS THE BEST NOVEL OF ITS KIND I HAVE EVER READ. I read it over three years ago, then again last year, and I may read it again. Bob Lee Swagger is an interesting character and is actually believable. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who enjoys really good action-adventure novels with some real meat in them. I sincerely hope Mr. Hunter turns out some more like this trilogy. This is definitely, "the right stuff".

Stephen Hunter must have been a gun in a previous life. He knows shooting. I was hooked after the first couple of pages, and couldn't put this one down. I have since read the book 3 times. If you like guns in any small way, or just plain like a good thriller, it doesn't get any better than this. Hunter builds the main character in a way that you can see every hard line of his face, the way he walks, and the sound of his voice. If I were casting a movie of this book, I'd put Ed Harris in the role. The story is full of interesting and unpredictable plot twists, gun lore, action and revenge. It won't let you down. Hunter's sequels to this book don't hold up as well; Dirty White Boys is a bit too harsh, and Black Light moves too slowly. But Point of Impact is a stroke of genius.

Wow, this book is amazing! Well written and technically pretty good. Bob "the Nailer" is not one of those annoyingly perfect good guys that don't really exist. He has his share of problems, which are explained in the book but not dwelled on for long.

There are some pretty good reviews here that sum up the story pretty well, so I'm going to skip that. I will say that I normally read only sci-fi/fantasy and had long ago grown weary of these type of books. But the way Hunter combines the convoluted plot twists that Ludlum loves so much with the attention to detail that Clancy is so known for and then adds his own ability to tell a story in an interesting way really hooked me.

You just may find yourself shopping for a Winchester mdl 70 or a Remington 700 (in .308, of course) before the end of this one!

"One shot, one kill"

The two books contained in this Modern Library edition are organized by species with each chapter devoted to hunting a particular animal during a hunting trips in the late 19th century in the American West. Some hunts were primarily intended to harvest meat while others were more oriented towards collecting trophy specimens. At other times Roosevelt stumbles upon game and kills it merely because it happens to cross his path. The bloodthirstyness of the hunters will be a shock to modern readers. Even those familiar with hunting may be taken aback by Roosevelt's "kill anything that moves" hunting philosophy. A modern hunter is limited by hunting seasons, bag limits and will usually not kill females with young. This was not the case in Roosevelt's day. He and his hunting companions gleefully slaughter any animal they come upon whether it's a bear sow with immature juveniles or a large record-book specimen. It was a different time then but it is laughable to hear Roosevelt described as a concerned conservationist and proto animal rights activist if you have really read his writing. There is one particularly disturbing episode where Roosevelt is sitting beside a stream with his hunting companions and sees a small animal walking along unafraid. In a matter of seconds Roosevelt pounces on the small creature, gutting and skinning it with his bare hands and laughing at his Native American companion's uneasyness at his needless cruelty.

Roosevelt's writing has an unfortunate tendency towards hyperbole. For example, he is incapable of simply eating a meal, instead he has a magnificent feast or a delicious repast. There is an annoying tendency to employ cute phrases that grate on a modern reader's ear. He refers to bears as "Ephraim" or "Bruin" and all large animals are "brutes" or "savage brutes." Putting aside these minor complaints this book is a fascinating historical document which contains information about the natural history of North American game species that is still useful to hunters and outdoorsmen today.

This volume will be enjoyable to anyone who loves nature or reading about nature; it will also interest the hunter and naturalist. See the events that help shape the life the greatest president this country has ever seen. A true conservationist, Mr. Rooselvelt was a REAL nature lover - his opinions were shaped through personal experience.
The two books in this volume are highly recommended.

I have an original copy of the "Hunting Trips of a Ranchman" published in 1900. I found the book to be completely engrossing and was unable to put it down until read. It was one of those that I hatted to see end. This book give a very accurate look at the times.

This book was a treasure we found in a used book store. I read it aloud to my 9-year old daughter who was entranced. It's a book about an aging loner, whose ancestors were witches, who one day spies a kelpie in her pond. They become friends and reminisce together. The kelpie gives the woman a necklace of pearls from the bottom of the kelpie's lake. When a greedy wanderer finds out about the pearls, trouble begins. Included in the tale are the loch ness monster, an abused boy who loves nature, tourists, scientists looking for the l-n monster, magic, and a description of the peace which comes to the old woman riding away on the kelpie (transformed into the death horse) as she is returned to her youth and beauty. The words and phrasing made me try to imitate a Scottish accent, for they were too beautiful to read in my midwest voice.

I read this book when I was in the fourth grade and I was enrolled in the Scholastic Book Club - I loved it then and I still like it as an adult. I bought it for my son who also likes myths, legends, and fantasy; he enjoyed it very much as well. Great book for young adolescents, a good story to read to kids at bedtime, and a quick read for adults who just want to sample a story about a witch woman and a kelpie.

I read this book when I was about 9-11 years old and I loved it. I read and re-read itover and over. I loved the story.
Now I have a little boy who reads books about old myths and legends. I want him to experience this book and I want to read it again for myself.

"Time To Hunt" is the third in Hunter's Bob Swagger trilogy. It explains the cause behind Donny Fenn's death and Bob's near fatal wounding during the final days of the Viet Nam war. It is a twisting and well told tale of conspiracy in high places. Hunter is a master at maintaining a high level of suspense, I was complelled to read on right to the end. Hunter writes about shooting with a level of technical detail usually found in a Tom Clancy novel, yet it does not detract from the pace of his story. Hunter leaves enough clues for the reader to unravel things before he gets to them, but with enough twists to create a doubt that makes you read on. If you like high adventure and masterful conspiracies, you will enjoy this book. I do recommend however that you first read "Point Of Impact" and "Black Light" (parts one and two of the Swagger trilogy). Although in truth, each part stands well on its own as a separate tale. And remember, it is just a story!

First off, if you haven't read any books in the Bob Lee Swagger series then do yourself a favor and read them. You really don't know what you're missing. Start with Point of Impact (the best book in the series and one of the best books i've ever read),then read Black Light and finally end with Time to Hunt(a close second). Ever since the series started i've been waiting for the story behind Donny Fenn and his relation to Bob Lee and to the sniper that changed both their lives forever. Well with this story I recevied all that and more. Mr.Hunter has this amazing ability to combine the past with the present as well as combining multiple viewpoints within each time frame, and in this book he does this better than ever. What makes this book so good? Well, Bob Lee Swagger is a start. You love him for his faults and for his strengths but mostly because he kicks some serious .... Mr. Hunter also includes a vivid supporting cast of realistic characters that complement Bob very well. Mix in some interesting sniper jargon and ALOT of edge of your seat action and you have one ...-kicking read.

All the Bob Lee Swagger books have that gritty realism feel about them, and even though Time To Hunt dwells too much on the East coast, the plot elements do (finally) come together. Although I know many fans will not enjoy the Vietnam Sierra-Bravo-Four Sniper team sequence which dominates the middle of the book, I found it fascinating. I've never been thrilled with flashback books, but this one has Bob the Nailer, so I muddled through it. With the exception of Swagger and Donnie Fenn, all the other characters in the book were kind of shallow, and you never really got a feel for them. I would have liked to have gotten more into Bonson and Solaratov especially. But overall, I give this book Five Stars, simply because I've yet to find this hard-hitting, pot-boiling action anywhere else with a few exceptions.

Stephen Hunter's first novel, The Master Sniper, sold reasonably well, but then he bombed out on his next two books. With this book, The Day Before Midnight, he redeemed his career.

I would try to reduce the plot to a nice little sentence here, but there is simply too much plot for that. Suffice to say, some big bad guys take over a nuclear missle silo in Maryland and the U.S. government has until midnight to stop them or they will fire the missle and take out Russia's major cities, starting World War III.

The writing style is totally different. It's almost as if Hunter wrote this book with his tongue way over in one cheek ... everything is stated as if it's supposed to make us laugh, and quite often it does. Even the terror is funny. And every time the good guys solve a problem, another one pops right up in its place, throughout the entire book. Hunter's law: if something can go wrong, it should. That's not to say this book isn't entertaining. It's great. You know the bad guys can't possibly win, so you can sit back and enjoy the millions of ways Hunter has found to trip the good guys.

I don't know much about nuclear missles, but the book seemed well researched to me. The details were convincing. I liked the part about the tunnel rats from Vietnam because I do know a little about that and it came across very real. And what happened to the girls' mother bothered me, so Hunter can create pathos. But still, this book just left me laughing ... especially the way Hunter found to keep his second bomb from going off. If you don't mind a bit of corn and coincidence, it's hilarious.

A great read, very entertaining.

After reading The Master Sniper, I took me a while to get back to reading Stephen Hunter. I wish it hadn't. Upon finishing the last Bob Lee Swagger novel, I was leary about reading The Day Before Midnight since I loved the Swagger character so much. WOW - was I wrong. Let's just say this - NOBODY can develop a character like Stephen Hunter. While reading his books, you feel connected to the people he is writing about. Regardless of the number of central characters (in this book, there were at least 9), he is able to make every one seem lifelike and important. You remember his characters and you root hard for them or against them.

As far as the plot goes, yes, it has been done before. None have done it as well as Hunter. Period.

A great read. Stephen Hunter has done it again. I really enjoyed this book. It is a thriller from the first page to the cliff hanger at the end. The Delta Force, the National Guard, the Inf. all trying to stop a rocket from going up. And the tunnel rats, boy I could not do that. I would die of fright. But, you can really feel what they are going through. Throw in a couple of spies and you have a great book. I really did not want to put the book down. It is a race against time and you are held in suspense until the very end. Would recommend for any who likes a lot of excitement.

Roosevelt purchased two cattle ranches in present-day western North Dakota, and many times went out to hunt for sport or for "meat for the pot."

Hunting Trips of a Ranchman in effect provides essays on the description, behavior, habitat, and survival of several species known to the prairies and the distant forests and mountain ranges. He talks of wildfowl (grouse, etc), elk, buffalo, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, black-tailed or mule deer, and finishes with Old Ephraim, the grizzly bear. All of these books are good for armchair readers who have never been to the western wildernesses or prairies, where these animals can be viewed with perseverance and patience.

Roosevelt speaks of elk as the most noble of the deer family and perhaps the most majestic of all animals (which I tend to agree). He speaks of the incredible speed but also remarkable (and sometimes fatal) curiosity of the pronghorn, who are able to outrun any foes and keep in the open to see them at long distance with their excellent vision. However, they run in a straight line to provide a fairly consistent target for a good marksmen. He speaks of the enjoyable hunting of both kinds of deer, the difficulty of approaching the haunts of the bighorn, and his big finale, one of the best accounts of hunting grizzlies that I have ever read. Roosevelt's respect for the bear's ferocity is manifest, almost amounting to an admitted dread, which shows his good sense.

If you are interested in the American wild, are curious about the habits and habitats of these large species, and are drawn to the hunting and outdoor mentality of the President who helped strengthen the national park system, this will be an entertaining read for you.

I enjoyed these books very much. They give an excellent overview not only of the flora and fauna of the north plains in the late 1800s, but also an interesting perspective on the people of the place and TR. The only drawback was the writing was a bit dated, and the two books were a bit overlapping in subject. Nonetheless, highly recommended to anyone interested in the outdoors, US history, and/or TR.

This collection of Roosevelt's hunting trips and adventures puts you right out there with him, on the wild plains. The clarity of his descriptions and the easy way he takes you through his experiences has made this one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. If you enjoy the wilderness, stories about the old west or just relaxing with a good book, this is a great choice.

Stephen Hunter made a name for himself the last decade or so with the Swagger novels. Three involve Bob Lee Swagger, a Marine sniper in Viet Nam who just wants to retire peacefully to his native Arkansas. Pale Horse Coming is the second involving Earl Swagger, Bob Lee's father, a Marine Medal of Honor winner from the Pacific War who has returned to Arkansas to be a State Trooper. In this installment, an old family friend, Sam Vincent, gets himself into more trouble than you'd think a simple country lawyer could, and winds up a prisoner in Thebes, Mississippi, at a prison for Blacks that is so horrific it even has the same sign over the entrance as Auschwitz. Earl breaks Sam out of the prison, but is himself captured in the process. We then follow Earl through the horror of this place in all of its manifestations. Eventually, Earl breaks out, recruits a group of gunmen, and returns to kill the guards and destroy the prison.

The beginning of the book is paced reasonably well, but you know something more is going to happen, so you are anticipating what's to come. Earl's incarceration in the prison was interminable for me after a while: I think this is the weak point of the book. Once he escapes, the recruiting of the gunmen, and their return to Thebes, are interesting, with the proviso that suspense isn't an issue here: these guys are so good that the guards and local police don't stand a chance, and are soon running. Only the main bad guy characters provide any challenge at all. I gather that you can sort of recognize some of the gunmen from the last third of the book as pastiches of real individuals: the only one most readers are likely to recognize is a rather obvious Audie Murphy. This is in keeping with Hunter's previous books: Bob Lee Swagger's rival sniper in Viet Nam in Point of Impact is based on a real individual.

Given all of that, this is still a fun book. The plot moves right along, and the author has a good time with his characters. You can tell he's enjoying this. There's a whole sequence at the beginning with the Mississippi police deciding that a lawyer from Blue Eye Arkansas is probably sophisticated and a Yankee, and that drew several chuckles from me. I enjoyed this book a great deal, and would recommend it.

His best book since "Time to Hunt." Earl Swagger, the hero, is every bit as good as his son in the earlier written, later set novels. Pale Horse Coming is the second book starring Earl Swagger (Hot Springs was the first) but you can read this novel as a stand alone work. Hunter does a good job of explaining any references to the prior novel. The setting for this action thriller is Thebes, Mississippi in the late 1940s - a town run by anarchists working in a place second only to hell in torment and pain - the Thebes Correctional Facility (Colored). Earl goes to this Godforsaken place to save a friend but ends up getting caught in the processes. That's about the time things get ugly and interesting. A great read. Hunter just keeps getting better and better. Like all Hunter novels, very in-depth in tactical skills and weaponry from the time period.

Pale Horse Coming is classic Stephen Hunter -- an epic battle of good versus evil, the limits of human endurance, courage under fire, loyalty, and of course, guns. The story centers around two characters from Hunter's previous works -- Sam Vincent, gentleman lawyer, and Earl Swagger, WWII veteran and medal of honor winner. On behalf of a client, Vincent journeys deep into the wilderness of Mississippi to check on the status of a prisoner at Thebes State Prison - the location where the worst of the worst "colored" offenders are sent. Suspecting that he is walking into a dangerous situation, Vincent obtains the word of Swagger that he will come looking for Vincent if he does not return from Mississippi in a pre-specified duration. Of course, Vincent walks into something that is beyond even his worst nightmares, thus engaging Swagger in his pledge to follow Vincent. The story moves well, has lots of action, suspense, and frequent plot twists, while giving the author a forceful understanding of race relations in the deep South during the 1950's. If you have liked Hunter's previous works, you will enjoy this as well. It is a compelling page turner.

Hot Springs, Arkansas. 1946. The most wide open town in the United States. The mob owns the police, the judges, and the politicians. Gambling, girls, whatever a man wants is freely available. But a newly elected prosecuting attorny decides to change that. He hires Earl Swagger, newly discharged Medal-of-Honor winner and legendary FBI man D.A. Parker to clean up the town. But Earl Swagger still carries emotional baggage from the war and even further back from his mean drunk of a father. Does Earl have a death wish as he leads ever more violent raids with reckless disregard? And now that the mob is throughly aroused will they bring in outside "hitters" to take Earl and DA Parker down?

This is the prequel to a few of Mr. Hunter's books, namely Black Light, A Time to Hunt, and Point of Impact. These other three books chronicle the life of legendary Marine sniper, Bob Swagger. Bob's father, Earl, is touched on briefly in those books but Hot Springs is Earl's own story.

Like all of the Stephen Hunter books I've read, this one was fast-paced and gripping. It wasn't quite as techincal as his previous books and there was a little more humor in this one. I didn't find it quite as strong as the Bob Swagger books but it is still a very good read. I'd recommend it highly. The reader may also want to read the Bob Swagger books first, but it really isn't necessary to enjoy this one. Another good book from a very good writer.

I almost wish "Hot Springs" was my first Stephen Hunter novel. On its own, it's a solid, hard-boiled tale. It's also a prequel to almost all of his other novels, giving Hunter the perfect opportunity to show off his skill at foreshadowing and drawing connections between apparently unrelated stories, which is considerable. "Hot Springs" would make a great introduction to Hunter's work.

Unfortunately, as the latest installment, it's somewhat lacking. While it does have plenty of new revelations and background information for those readers already familiar with Stephen Hunter's characters, it doesn't have much else, and what's there feels a bit recycled. The plot is fairly straight-forward, lacking the dramatic cross-cutting of "Time to Hunt" and "Black Light", the twistedness of "Point of Impact", or the sheer intensity of "Dirty White Boys". Anyone who's read Hunter before knows exactly how it will end, and may even recognize the setting of the inevitable final showdown.

Still, it's good to see old friends like Earl Swagger and Sam Vincent again, as well as real-life historical characters like Bugs Siegel, Virginia Hill, and colorful FBI agent and trick shooter D.A. "Jelly" Bryce. (In a major role and only thinly disguised under the name "Parker".)There are also tantalizing hints that we may soon hear much more of Frenchy Short, whose character promises to be quite a departure for Hunter.

I feel a little out of my depth in reviewing this book. I have no experience with guns, gunfights, or gangsters, but I do know an entertaining read when I come across one and this was great entertainment. Earl Swagger, just home from fighting in WWII, heads up a team of men reminiscent of the "Untouchables" to clean up the town of Hot Springs, Arkansas which is rife with gangsters, gambling and prostitution. Earl is a somewhat dark character except when he is doing his job...training his team of law enforcers and taking out bad guys. When he is in his element, he is downright jovial. Earl's wife, June, is less well developed and the author made some errors in writing about her pregnancy and delivery (A face down presentation is normal. A face up presentation would be a problem. And, as any woman who has given birth could tell you, ten centimeters is the magic number for cervical dilation, not twelve to fifteen.). But since this is, in large part, a "guy book", these errors do not distract from the major story line. There is plenty of exciting action to keep the reader interested. I have been a fan of Stephen Hunter's since "Black Light" and I enjoy his writing style very much. This is a very good addition to the Swagger saga.