THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA is one of Shaw's most biting critical commentaries...this time on doctors. Shaw hated doctors, as a result of a botched operation on his foot, so here he portrays them as a group of ignorant, bull-headed windbags. All, that is, except for one doctor, who has actually found a cure for tuberculosis. The "dilemma" in the title is whether to use the cure on a talented young painter who is a moral and ethical sleazebag, or on an upstanding middle-aged physician who is a good soul, albeit a boring and relatively mundane one. All this is complicated by the fact that the doctor is in love with the painter's wife! The biggest problem with the play is that it has lost some of its impetus in the last century. Antibiotics can now cure tuberculosis, and the medical profession is far more restricted in its use of "experimental" treatments than it was then. However, Shaw's wit and invective is still poignant even at the end of the twentieth century. A must-read for Bernard Shaw enthusiasts....

Scotts mission far to effortlessly accomplashed. Despite facing incredible odds. A good read all the same.

I always had a revulsion when I was forced to read Dickens in high school, and I was never able to get past the first chapter of any of his books, including this one. Now that I'm in my mid-30's, I want to re-visit a lot of the works that I had no patience for as a teenager, so I read Hard Times. Although there are many flaws to this book, I felt proud to have finally cleared the Dickens hurdle. Dickens is excellent at creating sympathetic (and evil) characters, even though they may be slightly cliche or wooden. The fact is, Dickens is able to hook you in with his plots and create a profound concern on behalf of the reader that the good guy (or girl) wins and the bad guy suffers. A lot of the twists in this book were a little "too convenient" and implausible to make it a crowining work of literature, but nevertheless it has motivated me to move on to Dickens' larger, more daunting works. If you are having any trepidation about tackling Dickens, Hard Times is a good place to start.

If you read Hard Times for the sole purpose of being entertained you will probably be highly disappointed. However, if you understand what was happening during this time period, you will realize that Hard Times is in reality, a long commentary. The Industrial Revolution was starting to show its down side. There was rampant poverty and disease, from the overcrowding of the cities. Children of the poor had to work long hours in unsafe factories rather than go to school. The gulf between the haves and the have-nots was very wide. The middle class was only beginning to be a distinct group.
This then was the backdrop of Hard Times. Dickens is making a social and political statement. This is a statement against the mechanizing of society. It starts with Dickens repeated use of the word fact. It is facts that have meaning. Human conventions like feeling, compassion or passion have no meaning or looked down upon as an inconvienent waste of time. If a situation cannot be put down on paper as in an accounting ledger it should not be considered.
This is where the conflict of the book comes in. Which helps humanity more compassion or fact. Is Bounderby a better person than Blackpool? Bounderby, who by his own admission was a self-made man. Untrue as this was he said it enough to make it his own reality. Or Blackpool, a weaver with an alcoholic wife, who was in love with another woman. Facts made Bounderby rich, compassion made Blackpool human.
Louisa presents another conflict. Louisa was educated only by fact. No wonder or inquisitiveness was ever allowed. She was the perfect robot. Doing what she was told when she was told. Just another piece of the machine, however, the piece broke, emotions came out, and they broke down the wall of fact that Mr. Gradgrind had so carefully constructed. Because the feelings have finally been acknowledged things really break down. She finds that not only has she married the wrong man but also the man she did marry is a buffoon whom she cannot respect nor live with.
The reader is left wondering if there is no one who will not be ruined by all the worship to fact. The whelp has certainly been ruined to the point he feels no responsibility to anyone but himself. If a situation can not be used to his advantage then he has no use for it, as a matter of course, he will run when he believes he will have to take responsibility for his own actions.
The gypsies have not been ruined by fact. But only because they live outside of society, they do not conform to the rules of society. These are the people who value character over social status. The gypsies do not value Bounderby and Bitzer with all their pomp and egomania. Rather they value Stephen Blackpool and Cecilia whom can show compassion and kindness no matter a person's station in life.
Hard Times can be used to look at today's society. Are we, as a society more worried about our computers, cell phones, faxes, and other gadgets than our neighbor's well being? Do we only get involved to help others when there is a personal benefit? Or, are we like the gypsies who can look into the character of the person and not worry about the socio-economic status? While Dickens' wrote Hard Times about 19th century England the moral can easily fit into 21st century America

Dickens creates a novel that virtually revolutionizes literature of the 1800's. At a time where most writers wrote in a stuffy prose full of unrealities and a jaded outlook, Dickens dares to tell with honesty what he sees through his window.

Hard Times has yet a misleading title. It gives one ideas of harshness, depression, poverty, and social decline--although the actual reality of then-London, still not something you would choose to read. However, Hard Times has as much depression and poverty as any of Dickens' other works. It is just in this case that Dickens chooses to remind the world that in the deepest despair there is beauty yet to be seen.

Dickens was a strange author. In his supposedly inspiring books, you get an overdose of sadness, and in his depressing books, you find beauty. It is this case with Hard Times.

It is a poor, honest man's search for justice in a world where only the rich have merit. It is a girl's search for true love while battling the arranged marriage for money. And lastly, a woman's search for recognition against her favored, yet dishonest brother. It is these searches that at last come together and become fufilled. And, while at the same time telling a captivating story, it comments on the then--and still now--presence of greed and total dishonesty one has to go through for money.

The title of this review sums up Hard Times. Its beauty comes from the pure searches for truth, the sorrow comes from the evil the characters most overcome to get there, and the honesty is both the truth with which Dickens portrays life and the the overwhelming truth that these protaganists create.

Holly Burke, PhD.

Clinical Psychologist, Abnormal Psych. Professor

Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins Inst.

Having recently finished reading Richard Mason's The Drowning People, I am amazed that the author was only eighteen when he wrote this novel. The plot Mason presents is fascinating, with multiple twists and turns that keep the pages turning. However, the author's age and lack of experience is revealed, I believe, in the lack of maturity and believability in his characters. While Mason exhibits a beautiful writing style and an ability to create a fascinating plot structure in The Drowning People, the characters, especially James and Ella, lack realistic and likeable characteristics. Because of this, I found the book to be an enjoyable read, but not a terribly thought-provoking or emotional experience. Mason is truly a magnificent writer. In fact, his writing seems too good for the petty subject matter of this novel. His descriptions are beautiful and allow the reader to share in what the characters see and feel. James describes Prague as, "a city of arched bridges; sharp steeples; gracious domes. Bathed in the morning light sharper and colder than the light of London, the mist rising from the Vltava was a brilliant, dreamy ribbon in the gray blanket of the city." It is Mason-created images like this that allow the sights and sounds of The Drowning People to come alive for the reader. While Mason's writing is generally excellent throughout the novel, his mode of creating suspense is both obvious and boring. While uncertainty is normally a welcomed element in a fictional work, Mason's version of suspense is obnoxious. There is a moment in the novel when Ella says to James, "I've done something I shouldn't have done, something I certainly shouldn't be telling you about." But rather than divulge what she has done, Mason writes two laborious and boring pages before he reveals the mystery. Mason does nothing but bore us from the point at which he arouses our curiosity until he supplies the information the reader hungers for. Unfortunately, useless and boring pages fill the gap, and by the time Mason divulges the secret, the reader has lost interest in it all together. The plot of the Drowning People is fascinating and shows that Mason has a unique and clever imagination. What a remarkable concept to begin a story with the aged narrator, reflecting on his past, telling the reader that, "My wife of more than forty-five years shot herself yesterday afternoon. At least that is what the police assume...I am the one that killed her." This is probably Mason's only successful attempt at creating effective suspense. It is unfortunate that the creative Mason fails to provide this very exceptional story line with exciting characters with whom the reader can relate to. The main characters in this novel, Ella and James, are unrealistic and difficult to like. For some of the wrongs they commit in this novel, James and Sarah feel almost no guilt. For others, they are grossly emotional. Ella and James also lack a realistic maturity that, while adding to the characterizations, annoys the reader terribly. For example, Ella offers James a challenge, in order for him to prove his love. This convoluted and sick dare, which comes at the expense of James' dearest friend, shows the immaturity of Ella for making it and James for accepting it. Their willingness to play "cutesy" love games at the amazingly high emotional expense of another friend is unusual and twisted. Rather than make the characters dynamic, it makes Ella and James seem too farfetched for reality. While well written, The Drowning People reads, in my opinion, more like a soap opera, at times, than a mature novel. The emotional roller coaster of this novel depends too much on unbelievable and uninteresting characters. In this work, however, Mason has shown readers that he is truly an author of great talent and promise. I am sure as he matures, so too will his writing.

Richard Mason should be proud. It is hard to believe that a 20 year old university student can produce such sumptious prose in his first novel ('The Drowning People'). The words flow beautifully. Not only is it an effortless read, the prose is on par with the best of today's fiction writers. So yes, I loved this book. However the story itself isn't exactly flawless.

The story is a about a love triangle (actually, a quadrangle) set in modern London. A talented violinist falls in love with a troubled young woman with a bizarre past. The bane of this woman's existence is her identical cousin (..hmmm, sounds like 'The Patty Duke Show'). Further complicating matters is the relationship of a (very close) male friend. Sounds like a soap opera? Well, it actually works better than it sounds. A bit contrived, but thanks to the prose it is all compulsive reading.

Bottom line: a fantastic debut of a promising writer. Recommended.

I listened to the book, and liked the narration. Even though the first few lines tell one what happens at the end of the story, the author did a good job of getting us there. He meets Ella Harcourt in a park, and the story takes off from there. I never really got to like her, and was not sure why he loved her so much. But then, that is life, and one can never see what others see.
The tragedy of Eric is not dealt with in a convincing manner (eg, how could his parents swallow such a weak story). Also, cousins can never look so alike that they are mistaken for each other as they share only 25% of their genes. I found that a little problematic. At the end, I felt that I had a view of the evil that men (and women) are capable of, and that was not a comforting feeling.

If you are able to take a few assumptions with a pinch of salt, this book is worth reading and definitely worth listening to. I look forward to his next book.

I've read most of Dick Francis' books and I always enjoy the qualities he give his main characters. He makes his characters honorable (even though they may not appear to be so on the surface) and I always put down the book with the feeling that I should strive to be more honorable myself. I found this to be true in 10 lb. Penalty. The story is different from most of his books, but the characters are unmistakably Francis. I enjoyed the relationship between Benedict and his father and although the plot may be predictable, it's still a very entertaining read.

My favorite Christmas gift each year is the latest Dick Francis novel. It is a tradition started by my mother-in-law several years ago, when she would buy the latest, read it first and then give to me as a present. We got on famously. While Mom is gone, Pop continues the tradition and the latest from Mr. Francis, 10 Lb. Penalty, is his usual good mix of story, detail and suspense. The villain may be identified early, but the plot builds nicely to its climax. With Francis, the fun is how--not who. While this book may not have Sid Halley, Ben Juliard is quite competent and enjoyable. Francis rarely dissappoints, and this is no exception. Another good read.

A few days ago my father told me that I should try out "10 lb. Penalty", saying that I might like it. And I surely did enjoy it! Totally hooked, I finished the book in about three days, each page an excitement and pleasure to read.

Here's the main plot: Young soon-to-be eighteen-year-old Benedict Juliar's hopes of becoming a steeplechase jockey are all dashed when he is fired for reason he can't understand. But things become clear as he realizes the whole idea was his father's. George Juliard is a businessman battling a Dorset by-election for a street level entry into politics. And he now needs his son to help him in his campaign. Benedict has no choice and agrees. Unfortunately, things get bad as many strange and dangerous incidents occur. Can Benedict protect his father from a mysterious attacker?

Dick Francis has a style all his own, with a plot which is believable and realistic. But one of the best things I liked about "10 lb. Penalty" is the wonderful array of characters. Each individual has his or her own personality, flaws, and characteristics put on paper so well that you can't help but feel that you know each person. There's characters like Benedict Juliard, George Juliard, Orinda Nagle, Mervyn Teck, Polly, A. L. Wyvern, Usher Rudd, and others. In the story also there is a quality of humor to it, making me chuckle at times. But still this book is ONLY for older people, NOT for younger children, due to language and innuendos.

Most of the reviewers have given less than 5 stars for this book, saying it was very different and not as good as Dick Francis' other books. I cannot agree or disagree with that since this is my first book of his to read and I think 5 stars is very much indeed accurate. I'm now also reading "To the Hilt" which I'm finding VERY interesting and exciting to read!

Dick Francis doesn't change much, and thank goodness.

His hero, though never the same name, is always the same person. He is always mid - thirties, quiet, competent, moral, and full of steely resolve. Gerard Logan is all of these, and one thing more - he blows glass for a living.

Of course, as always, there is a race track tie in. This story includes what Hitchcock used to call "The McGuffin" - the thing that everyone in the story wants but the audience doesn't much care what it is. In this case the McGuffin is a video cassette given to Logan by the valet of jockey who has just been killed in a race. The tape is therafter stolen from Logan's shop, but several nasty types don't believe it and want Logan to give the tape to them.

The plot is simple, as it usually is with Francis, but the smooth writing, well etched characters, and wonderful inner voice of the protagonist always make Francis a pleasure to read, and this is one is no exception. And details about glass blowing make this one extra fun.

Gerard Logan is a glass artisan, more generally called a glass-blower. He has what you might call a normal life. But things are just about to get hot when his jockey friend, Martin Stukely, dies in steeplechase accident. From then on, Gerard finds himself involved in a deadly search for a valuable videotape. Martin was the last person who had the tape, now the bad guys think that Gerard have it. And they would do anything to get it. The thing is, Gerard has no idea what the videotape contains, let alone understand the priceless information it contains. Gerard must try to solve the mystery of the videotape, while at the same time trying to survive...

I was very surprised to see the low ratings this book was getting from other reviewers. For my part, I enjoyed this book immensely! It might have something to do with this being only my third book to read of Dick Francis' while others have read many of his books. But still, I just thoroughly enjoy the flavor of Dick Francis' books. Especially when you read the first line of his book:

"Four of us drove together to Cheltenham races on the day that Martin Stukely died there from a fall in a steeplechase."

Francis just cuts right to the point and begins the story right off, which for me, immediately grabs my attention. From then on, he plunges you into a story worth the read with intrigue, mystery, romance, action, and wit.

Gerard Logan is the usual Francis character; young, bright, likable, and clearly a very nice chap. He also is as curious as anyone can be. There is also the usual love interest, in this book the detective constable Catherine Dodd. Beautiful and also very smart, she too is incredibly likable. In "Shattered", there is one magical moment where Gerard is captivated and inspired by Catherine's beauty to make a dynamic glass sculpture. I thought that Francis wrote that part very well.

And of course there are the bad guys, whom I won't reveal except that 'beware of Blackmask 4'! But the few of the most enjoyable characters whom I liked were Gerard's bodyguards. There's Worthington a chauffeur who watches over Gerard, the actual 'bodyguard' Tom Pigeon with his three Dobermans, and Gerard's taxi driver, Jim.

My only complaint of the book is the bit disappointing ending, I wish it was a bit different. But "Shattered" is still satisfying. As usual, Dick Francis cleverly weaves into the tale a bit of horse racing, steeple chasing. And adding glass blowing into the plot was pretty cool. I must admit that I now find glass making a bit more interesting and fascinating than, I was at first skeptical as to whether you can actual put glass blowing into a mystery thriller.

So if you've never read any of Dick Francis' books, I suggest you to pick up "Shattered" if you get a chance. But if you've read any of Francis' other books, I can't honestly tell you how good it is compared to them. You'll just have to see. "Shattered" is mostly for older teenagers and adults, due to some violence, some language, and some innuendo.

I first discovered Dick Francis's mysteries with "Reflex" (about halfway through his now extensive current series). One of the joys of discovering a mystery writer who already has an extensive backlist of books is being able to read all those older books immediately; I must have taken no more than two weeks to devour Francis's entire backlist. One of the even greater joys is when that writer keeps on creating and publishing a new book every year. The greatest joy of all is when the one published in 2000 is as exciting and strongly written as the ones he wrote in the 1960s.

I often joke to my friends that Dick Francis writes the same book year after year after year, but if you're reading this, Mr. Francis, I mean that as the highest compliment: there is no one as dependable and consistent to turn our a strong mystery adventure with every new book. As in previous books, "Shattered" features a likeable first-person male protagonist caught up in a mystery involving the horse racing world, a mystery that threatens him with physical danger but which is never a deterrent to our hero to see justice done and the mystery solved.

Francis continues to impress me as one of the best researchers in the mystery world: many of his novels shows off his detailed knowledge of not only the racing field but also an additional expertise. In "Shattered" hero Gerard Logan is a glass-blower; I've learned more about the intricacies of the craft from this book than I ever imagined. Better yet, Francis makes learned about it interesting and vital to the plot. In previous books he's focused on such diverse subjects as meteorology, wine and spirits, flying, filmmaking, diamonds, delivery trucking, and much more--all with a detailed expertise that's vital to the plot and a light touch that never hammers you over the head. The search for a valuable videotape leads Logan in conflict with a ruthless woman and a murderous doctor...threatening his livelihood, his friends, and his life. Still, my favorite aspect of a Dick Francis novel is that his heroes--from jockeys to breeders, investigators and painters, film stars and glassblowers--are likeable, immensely personable, and always determined to do what's right. They come off as ordinary men caught in extraordinary situations that would have most of us hiding behind the sofa. I've never had to face a band of murderous thugs or face physical threats, but if I did, I'd hope I'd be able to deal with it as forthrightly and matter-of-factly as Francis's regular-joe heroes. (Now, Mr. Francis, how about a novel about a guy who works for a publishing company, writes reviews for an online bookseller, and gets caught up in horse-racing mystery...?)

If you wish to read one of the dozens of Dick Francis novels, and every mystery fan should, please don't start with Second Wind. To be sure the writing has all of the usual Dick Francis qualities of concise yet telling prose. But the plot involving not a horseman but a BBC meterologist, Dr. Perry Stuart, and his fellow meterologist Kris, the desire of suicide-minded Kris to fly through a hurricane, the tiny island of Trox, now deserted, and the mysterious goings-on there, and the collection of folks met at a party at Newmarket is in the end unsatisfying. The plot was strained at times, and the various physical poundings befelling Perry, including surviving a hurricane with only a life vest, seemed more cartoon-like than real.

Although Francis had the help of a professional meterologist for the atmosphere, still the impression was a very superficial one and in a way misleading. There was little or no talk that I recall of the various models that forecasters rely on, or the atmospheric teleconnections that enable forecasters to predict with some accuracy the weather a week down the road. Also, Francis has Hurricane Sheila whipping up the waves in November which would be some 17 named storms, close to if not a record for the number of named Atlantic storms in a single season.

In sum, Francis seemed to have trouble in deciding whether this is mystery or suspense, or whether he should highlight the business of weather forecasting or the machinations of terrorists and their helpers. Read Dick Francis, but not this one.

SECOND WIND is my first Dick Francis mystery novel and I'm hooked (that leaves about 37 books to go)! I couldn't put this book down and found myself out of breath as surprises continued to erupt toward the end of this well-written story!

SECOND WIND tells of English meteorologist Perry Stuart's flight into both extreme weather and bad company after accepting a Caribbean vacation opportunity to chase a hurricane. The chase plane goes down and Stuart barely makes it to an island that is anything but usual. Dick Francis really keeps readers guessing throughout this complex tale! Story components include British weather forecasts, sick race horses, depressed friend, piloting airplanes, Florida, hurricanes, ocean/island survival, cows, good guys and bad guys. Francis rather brilliantly incorporates a fascinating look at British TV meteorologists in action by neatly tying weather forecasting in with his favorite topic, horse racing!

Dick Francis, a former British steeplechase jockey, is a top-notch storyteller who is superb at constructing unique who-done-it scenarios. It's my understanding that nearly all of Francis' novels are based in some way upon his own experiences and/or that he and his wife take a great deal of time to research for background and technical accuracy, etc. Francis writes in a smooth, fast-paced, vividly descriptive style using an economy of words. The thing is, every word is effective! I immediately cared about Francis' very human characters and felt a part of the story because of his cultural and setting descriptions. I also learned from entering his well-researched worlds of meteorology, flying, and, of course, the horse racing scene based upon his own experiences!

I highly recommend this book to all readers who enjoy a mystery full of compelling surprises! I predict you won't be able to stop with just one Dick Francis novel!

The primary reason I continue to seek out and read Dick Francis is that he continually creates heroes that are efficacious and rational. He avoids the common pitfalls of most modern writers, and instead invents characters who pass the ultimate test: "Would I like to meet and know this person?" If you can answer "yes" to that question then there is great potential for enjoyment in the fiction centered around that character. If you answer "no" to that question, why even bother reading further?

In Second Wind the master of galloping fiction spins an interesting story with more twists than a hurricane. Although it is not my favorite Francis book it is certainly worthy of my growing library of top books recommended to friends.