This book is one of Wilbur Smith's early books and it shows.
After reading his books set in ancient Egypt, I bought this thinking it would be a good read. He spent too much time on the relationships and too little time on the meat of the story which should have been the search for the elusive diamonds. I was able to finish it but was very disappointed particularly with the ending. It was as if he ran out of steam or got into a hurry. The ending in the book just left you wishing that he would have given you a little more to tie up the loose ends. Not a bad book but, not a great one either.

i have read all of Wilbur's books and found that one learns a lot about Africa (with a few exceptions). you learn african history, economics, social problems, environmental problems, natural history, etc. in this one, you learn about the diamond industry and the history of the Namibian diamond coasts, while Wilbur weaves it into his "unputdownable" story. kind of like the Master of the Game with substance. for an even better look at Namibian history, try the Burning Shore.

This book is one of Smith's early books - originally published in the mid-70's, I think, and anyone who's read a lot of Wilbur Smith (like me) will be able to tell. It's shorter, and he's definitely refined his writing style since then. However, his talent for plot twists, engaging characters and sucking you right into the story is still there - I loved this book! It is well worth it for anyone who likes a rip-roaring adventure!

This is not a picture book for preschoolers. There are very few pictures and plenty of text in this book and some pages have no pictures at all. My three year old lost interest quickly and kept wanting to turn the page to see more pictures. My five year liked it ok but has not asked to read it again. The stories are fine, but I would say this is a book for Pooh fans who are six and up.

This is a wonderful book full of sweet and entertaining stories. If your child loves Pooh, then they'll want to hear these stories over and over. It may not be a great book for real young children who won't sit still and listen because there is one picture and a lot of words each time you turn the page. But for those who will, this is a worthwhile investment. Another neat aspect is that there are eight individual stories, but the entire book is one story. I guess you'll have to read it to find out what I mean.

Alive and kicking is an intriguing detective story with an unsatisfying ending. You could say it just ends to soon. A pi hired to follow a cheating husband becomes an eyewitness to murder, the man hes following ends up dead and the pi comes face to face with his own past when the mystery hes mixed up in takes totally unexpected turns. I wont give away the end but i will say i thought it was a bit to abrupt. I recommend the book anyway.

This book is short on words and full of things to touch, pull and even smell! Every page has a colorful illustration and something for the reader to do.

this book is a good practise for students that they study for intermediate

I bought this book quite a while ago, and we just love it. My daughter is 20 months old, and loves Pooh. This book is educational, and teaches opposites very well. It's short enough to keep her attention, colorful and an easy read. I would recommend it.

I think the book is especially for young but not advanced readers. Simple vocabulary and sentences are used to relate the story. Despite that, the mistery might interest grown-ups as well. I really enjoyed reading it because the book presents some surprising twists and it has got an exciting plot.

I recently read the novel Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte. As a student, I would not recommend this book to other readers. Unless falling asleep after every chapter of a book classifies it as good, Wuthering Heights is only good as a bedtime story. In the novel, it is said that Heathcliff and Catherine are in love, if this is so they wouldn't have spent their times together trying to hurt one another for pleasure. Heathcliff would have not wished that Catherine not rest in piece because she didn't mention him in her last breaths of air before dying (even though she was unconscious). This relationship that the author portrays as love, really is not love. It is more of a hate than anything. Another thing about this novel in which, I did not quite enjoy was its exaggeration in descriptions of everything. It is great to describe things well enough for the reader to create an image on what is happening in the story, in their mind, but don't push it overboard. For example, Liam O'Flaherty an author of short stories and novels uses great descriptions in his works. In his stories, he was able to create a mental image of the story in reader's imaginations, without letting the story get boring, and without over doing it. The thing is in Wuthering Heights, Bronte explained things out far too well and made the story less interesting. So coming from a student, I would not recommend this book to another student.

"It is as if Emily Bronte could tear up all that we know human beings by, and fill these unrecognizable transparencies with such a gust of life that they transcend reality." -Virginia Woolf

Damn straight, sister! I gotta tell you, read this book in the *summer time*. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, read this in the gloom of winter, as I stupidly did.

The epic story of Catherine and Heathcliff plays out against the dramatic backdrop of the wild English moors, and presents an astonishing vision of fate and obsession, passion and REVENGE.

This classic book is a bummer. Not that it's bad writing, but my oh my.. it makes you so sad! Your heart just goes out for Heathcliff and the depression he faces. But also, the um... "inter-breeding" (*blush*) is quite disturbing!! One cousin marries one other cousin and they have kids who marry their other cousins, I was just surprised that the whole lot of them weren't, "messed up".

I really wouldn't recommend this book for happy people. If you want some romance and a historical novel, read "Gone with the Wind". My favorite.

I don't like romance novels, or movies or television shows. Such is the curse of the lion share of my sex, despite our gradual feminization in the modern era.

I'm glad I overcame my aversion to read this excellent portrayal of eros defiled. Heathcliff is the focus, fulcrum and prime mover in this story. He is dragged of the streets and taken in by a wealthy gentleman from the provinces. This man showers great affection on the young street urchin and demands equal treatment from his two natural born children.

The eldest, a son, resents this upstart, so when the father dies, he relegates poor Heathcliff to the status of neglected servant. Catherine, the younger, has become a close friend of Heathcliff and follows him into the relatively untethered but savage life of the servants' children. Growing up unsupervised they develop the manners of the low born, and but develop a strong bond of love that transcends the facile distinctions of filial versus romantic.

Alas, when Catherine comes of age, the duties of her birth beckon and she is taken from Heathcliff and marries someone of higher station.

It is this love, never fulfilled, that sours in Heathcliff makes him a despicable tyrant.

This is the dark side of romance, and Romance as viewed from the man's vantage point.

Worth reading.

"No Longer At Ease" deals with a theme that is well-developed by Achebe, i.e. the exploration of the interaction between rapid modernization (or, better stated, Westernization) brought to Africa by colonial (mis)rule on the one hand, and tradition on the other. I actually think this book is better than "Things Fall Apart," in which Achebe depicts the brutality of the outright conquest of an African society by a colonial power (in this case the British). In "No Longer At Ease" he shows the deep and drastic changes which occurred in society in Nigeria as colonial rule became established, and how this change warped social relations in the country. Society in the colony is no longer something created and maintained by the native Africans, but rather an imitation (or attempt thereof) of the colonial power's society. It lies somwhere in between, because it's not traditional, yet the natives are treated like second-class citizens in their own country. Through the central character, Achebe does an excellent job of evoking the alienation and frustration this engenders among those Nigerians who are Western-educated and urbanized, yet not really able or allowed to participate in decision-making in any meaningful way. Achebe is a truly masterful writer who can convey such a potent message through literature.

this book is a work of art. It's a must read by anyone with the slightest interest in the African heritage and tradition. Achebe puts life into the pages of this book. He allows his culture to blend smoothly with that of any other culture. No longer at ease is an awsome piece of work.

Achebe's sequel to Things Fall Apart, he seeks to reconcile and give us a further understanding of the struggle between modernism and tradition. He gives us a view of how our ideals contrast with how we really live and exist in reality. The point of this book can be best summed up by Achebe's own words. He states, "The impatient idealist says: 'Give me a place to stand and I shall move the earth.' But such a place does not exist. We all have to stand on the earth itself and go with her at her pace." This book while centered mainly on the African identity crisis, gives a broad understanding of issues of right and wrong and moral consequences of individualism.