I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Submarines as I do. The dated pictures are very authentic and great to look at. The drawings are superb. And the typical JANES name makes this a good buy. Not the best book on Subs but still a very good read.

Though I had a high level of motivation to read this book in only a few days' time, I have no doubt it would have been an entrancing read under almost any condition.

I am currently writing a book about Thomas Cornell, a man who probably knew Anne fairly well. He came to Portsmouth, RI from Boston two years after she did, then left there at or near the same time as she, with both his family and hers moving to the same immediate area near today's East Chester, NY. Rimmer even mentions him twice, under the spelling of Cornhill.

But I found Rimmer's novel intriguing on other levels as well. Though there are a few factual errors here and there, overall it is obvious that he researched this book quite thoroughly. In fact, the relatively few errors should be laid at the steps of Prometheus Books, which apparently (at least in 1987) lacked an adequate editing staff.

Rimmer's understanding of the political and religious AND spiritual differences and controversies in 17th century New England is, in my view, on target and totally applicable to today's world. His notions about sexuality are provocative and, I am sure, for some unsettling, but I thought that for the most part he made his case quite well.

This book deserves much more exposure than it's gotten up 'til now. If I didn't think that Hollywood would totally misconstrue its beauty and message, I'd say, let's see it made into a film. But, all too likely, Demi Moore would play Anne . . . and change the ending.

Terence Duniho

Ok, the photos are adorable. This is a wonderful coffee table book, but if you're looking for a guide to owning pugs, do not buy this book. Basically, the book is an in-depth study of the origin of the pug. It reads like a college term paper, which is not necessarily a bad thing, if that's what you're looking for. The introduction sounds like the author chose every other word from a thesaurus--wordy to the point of annoyance! The photos have nothing to do with the text. I bought this book thinking it was more of an owner's guide to pugs, which is why I'm disappointed. If you are studying the history of the pug, this might be a helpful reference tool.

The photos in this book are fantastic, but the writing is truly HORRIFIC. It's clear the author has never met a 12-letter word (where a five-letter word would have done perfectly) that he didn't like. OUCH!

I love this book ... It has really answered some questions. Great pictures..I recommend this book.

I enjoyed this book more then I thought I would. A book on OTR drives in Europe is normally not the type of book to keep one entertained for hours, but this one did. The writing was very natural to read, very easy but not demeaning in its ease. The world is one that is not known to me, both the trucking part and at the time, Europe. The details did leave me wanting a bit more. If you have the time this is a good way to pass it.

Although it is somewhat dated, Hutchison's book is a highly entertaining and in a way, heartwarming, account of riding with a heavy trucker from England to Saudi Arabia and back on a "Middle East" run. Hutchison has a very good knack for capturing the characters of the "brotherhood" of truckers and all the people who help and hinder them as they their haul goods. The writing is honest and open, leaving everything open for inspection, from the ingrained racism of many of the British drivers, to the truckers' brothels, to the resorts where it is known that English girls congregate, will to trade a "ride" for a ride back to England. The chronicle of the trip also serves as a critique of the free-market system which was facilitating the undercutting of British drivers by Bulgarians and Turks, and a semi-maudlin lament for "the end of trucking as we know it." But it is also strewn with anecdotes from drivers, both amusing, and absurd. Hutchison also attempts to weave in the history of the area they pass through, but this is not as compelling, and feels almost as if it were added on to make the account more high-brow. But nonetheless, I highly recommend this as an unusual travelogue, and as an account of trucking, it's miles better than Graham Coster's A Thousand Miles From Nowhere: Trucking Two Continents.

"The Book of Vices" is a somewhat enjoyable book, but it maintains a much better existance as a coffee-table book to read when you are bored than one to buy for the shear enjoyment of reading. As a collection of mismatched hodge-podge rather than a real book, it can only hold your attention long enough for you to find out that the author's first book, "The Book of Virtues", is much better.

A book which is readable, fun and gives you insight to great works of literature is a good book. It won't shock you, it won't bite you but you will end up buying a few good books after you finish reading it. A good buy.