The Communist Manifesto was among the most feared and banned books in the 20th century. After reading it, I wondered why. What could cause so much fear in less then a hundred pages? The book, though short, is a good read, and doesn't talk above the heads or down to it's readers. But it proves the absurity of communism and why it was destined to doom. Pitting the workers (the prolitares) against the upper class in a constant struggle for a piece of the pie, it dictates that the workers will forever be the stepping stones of the elite to gain, control, and retain wealth. Some of Marx and Engels theories make sense, and many labor unions of today adopt many of the manifestos beliefs, but the authors forgot to take one very serious downfall of the human race into account: that of greed. As most of the communist countries show the people that become powerful and retain the control of the communist parties become rich and often the exact people that they claim to hate, living it great wealth while the "workers" suffer. (though it is mostly a satire of socialism, check out Animal Farm, a perfect example). This short books is a good read, and I encourge everyone (especially those that fear communism taking over the world, yet knowing nothing about it) to read it, and seeing why their fears are unfounded, and why it wouldn't (and didn't) work.

Marx's "Communist Manifesto" is a response to human cost of Industrial Revolution. It was a time when Europe was coming of age, with the development of modern industry and the potential world market. This market had an immense development to commerce, to navigation and to industry. These improvements were enacted at a cost of society as a whole divided into two hostile camps -the bourgeoise and the proletariat. Marx immersed himself into the suffrage of the new urban proletariat at the hands of bourgeoise modern capitalist. His solution lay in the abolition of private property living in a society where all are equal.

I found this document an interesting read, as this short concise book simply explains the "theory" of one economic system. It should be noted the democracy prevalent at the time of this books introduction closely resembled an oligarchy, in which the rich and powerful ruled the weak. The impact of socialist ideology on this situation was great: labor movements were created, egalitarianism became a greater part of democracy ideology and the lower classes became more significant to the political system than they had ever been before.

The greatest weakness one can note of Marx's argument, is his failure to predict the significance of the middle class in the nations. Marx's view was that the middle class would either be absorbed into the working class or proprietors. The success of the middle class in present times accounts for the failure of Marx's theory.

The Communist Manifesto is a superior piece of political work. Karl Marx was able to put great information of his Workers theories into one small volume that is 20 times lighter than his work of "Das Kapital"; - having nevertheless great information and inspiration descibing the idea of Communism. This explains the motivations and stages of his idea of a Socialist government, written in a key time when the industry and modern Capitalism first started to develop, using each other to exploit the working class for capital. This book can be read by anyone, and includes a small glossary of important terms to help the reader understand what Marx and Engels are trying to explain. I recommend this book to anybody who considers themself a non-bigot and open-minded person. This is truly one of the greatest, if not the greatest pieces of political literature ever written.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I had very high hopes of learning how the U.S. government brought down the Taliban and chased al-Qaida. Instead I got a story about the Green Berets in Afghanistan.
I enjoyed reading about how the Green Berets helped bring down the Taliban. I learned about K2, the A-teams and the Northern Alliance men they were aligned with. However, according to Mr. Moore, every other American on the ground was incompetent and their only saving grace was the Green Berets.
Mr. Moore's writing style is very poor. I had the feeling I was reading a book written by a dirty, "know it all", old man. I don't understand why maps were included. The arrows didn't match the action he was describing. The swearing in the book wasn't from the soldiers in battle, but from Mr. Moore expressing his views. Intellectual... I think not. I wouldn't dsscourage anyone reading this book, but know what your getting into. This is a book only about the Green Berets and a man who has a love affair with them.

Robin Moore in a less than enthralling fashion documents the unconventional war fought between al-Qaida and the Taliban and the Northern Alliance bolstered by the Green Berets in Afghanistan. Moore devotes a chapter to each of the separate battles fought to liberate Afghanistan under Task Force Dagger, the code name for the Special Forces mission.

Less than 100 American forces in total were inserted into the fray under the command of Colonel Mulholland. He orchestrated the actions of 12 man teams composed mainly of Green Berets. They essentially mobilized and organized the rag tag and scattered forces of the Northern Alliance. They were instrumental in directing precision air strikes against the enemy forces. Within short order the Taliban were expelled from Afghanistan.

Moore praises and glorifies the bravery and military excellence of the Green Berets and rightly so. He speaks very highly of President Bush and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and their commitment to unconventional guerilla warfare. He bashes the conventional military men like Gen. Tommy Franks as lacking vision in their tactics.

The most disturbing part of the book was the total insufficient amount of support both emotionally and monetarily given by the government to the families of the heroes who gave their health and lives to promote freedom in Afghanistan.

I also enjoyed the first part of the book, which is all I've read so far. However, it does bog down with details as the book reads on. This is a book about the Green Berets (Army Special Forces) in Afghanistan, and if perciatm from Gilbert, Arizona (see his review and rating) would have looked at the cover he would have known this, and would not have had to read the book to find this out.
One very offensive thing to me in the Afghanistan war was that once the Marines got there....long after the Army Special Forces had almost nearly won the war, along with their indigenous helpers....the news media reported endlessly on the Marines, who, in reality, had not done much of anything. I wonder how the Army families feel to always be reading articles and seeing TV reports written and/or reported on by journalist who watched too many WWII movies. I think this is one reason why Robin Moore wrote the book, and I'm glad he did.

The first time I read a Robin Cook novel I was mesmerized. I had picked it up at a garage sale a few years back for a liesurely weekend read. When I visited the Festus Public Library in Festus, Missouri and found two copies of Toxin on audio tape I had to pick one up.
Reader, Jason Culp brings a lot of genuine style and sincere emotion to the reading of Toxin. Jason uses subtle inflections in voice to create a plethora of realistic characters. He also reads at a satisfying pace, allowing me to enjoy his tape as I work.
The tape also includes a few extra features not available in the book. Helpful background effects like the skating rink music, or a country and western tavern setting also bring the reading to life. The tenuous strain of "danger music" also helped regulate my heartbeat at peaks of action in the book. I really liked these extras.
Finally, even though the recording was abridged, it holds true to the story and Robin Cook's style. His characters are realistically human, possessing qualities that might make them a bit unlikeable in real life, but endearing us to them in his stories. The topics of his story are haunting and surreal, sometimes reflecting real life horrors, such as E-Coli and the Mad Cow disease rampant in the news still today.
I recommend this version of the book for all the same reasons Cook fans love his books. Being able to enjoy a book in the middle of rush hour traffic or other preoccupying situations is a welcome benefit.

Cardiologist Dr. Kim Reggis picks up his daughter Becky at her mother's place so that the pair can spend the weekend together. Their time together begins by him taking her to her favorite burger joint where she enjoys a gourmet's delight, a fast food meal. Later on that evening, Becky complains of stomach trouble. Kim takes her to her doctor. Following the medical visit, the little girl worsens. Subsequently, he rushes her to the hospital where, shockingly, the little girl falls into a coma and dies.

Kim is stunned and vows to learn what happened to his daughter. He soon discovers that Becky died from contaminated meat. Kim also learns that the government watchdog, the USDA works closely with the beef industry. As he digs deeper, powerful government and private interests try to end his investigation by any means necessary, including murder.

TOXIN is Robin Cook at his absolute best. The one-sitting story line is filled with action that comes out of today's headlines. The characters are genuine and their motives understandable, especially the distraught Kim. Fans of medical thrillers, or anyone who reads this book will think very seriously about turning vegetarian.

Harriet Klausner

In this, Robin Cook's scariest novel, the orderly world of egocentric surgeon Dr. Kim Regis crashes down around him when his eight-year-old daughter Becky contracts a fatal E-Coli bacterial infection from a hamburger she ate at a fast-food restaurant.

When this book came out a couple years ago, it received fiercely mixed reviews. While detractors accused Dr. Cook of using his status as a best-selling writer to distribute draconian anti-meat industry propaganda, admirers like myself praised him for being courageous enough to tell the truth.

It is the shocking nature of the truths revealed in Toxin that makes it Cook's scariest novel. After the E-Coli infection results in a slow and agonizing death for his little daughter, Dr. Regis is determined to bring to justice all the parties responsible for Becky's death.

Regis's quest leads him from shoddy, unsanitary meat processing plants (the slaughterhouse scene is something straight out of Dante - it will make you vomit) where food safety takes a back seat to profit, to the USDA - an office of the federal government that is supposed to protect consumers from tainted meat. Alas, the USDA ispectors are told by their bosses to look the other way and investigations of companies who fail to comply with safety regulations are buried in red tape.

This novel is a work of fiction, but it's based on fact. Recently, on a primetime newsmagazine - 48 Hours, I believe - there was a similar story about a 3-year-old girl who died from an E-Coli infection she caught at a Sizzler - she ate watermelon that was sliced with the same knife used to cut tainted meat - meat that infected several other customers. After a lot of finger-pointing between Sizzler and the meat processing company, an ex-USDA inspector appeared, blowing the whistle on the corrupt USDA and its collaboration with the meat industry.

Even Oprah Winfrey once did an expose on tainted meat, declaring to her viewers that she would never eat beef again, a statement that resulted in an unsuccessful lawsuit from Texas cattlemen.

Toxin is the ultimate horror novel because it's based on fact - on something that could happen (and has happened) to any man, woman, or child who eats meat. It's an exciting, heart-wrenching, gruesome thrill-ride; a truly disturbing novel that you will never ever forget.

Thank god I'm a vegetarian!

- Eric Petersen

The plot of this book sounded so good--a Cape Cod fisherman who is a former priest, once married and now widowed, is elected to the Papacy. What a shame the writing did not live up to this interesting premise. The first half wasn't too bad--the excitement and novelty clouded the holes in the story and the awkward writing.

But once Bill Kelly became Pope and moved to Rome, the story became incredibly heavy and the writing got even worse. There were so many editorial errors that one wonders if it was ever proofread. The depiction of the Pope's children was terrible, not age-appropriate at all. It is as if the writers knew nothing about kids!

The dialogue was the worst - it was almost embarrassing to read it, it was so stilted. It was a struggle to finish this book and I had to skim much of the last fourth.

Even as a "retired" Catholic I found much misinformation about the Catholic religion.

Sometimes you pick up a book because it looks interesting, or because you read everything a particular author has written. Sometimes books suprise you, sometimes they disappoint. I bought this book because of its unlikely (and seemingly humorous) premise, and kept reading because it turned out to be a good read.

The book, co-authored by the former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, examines the papacy of Pope Peter II, who just happens to be an American fisherman who happens to be a laicized Catholic priest. While on the surface the premise seems almost ludicrous, by the middle of the book it no longer seems to be outside of the realm of the possible. Pope Bill, as he likes to be called, has to deal with the scrutiny of the world press, a stunned curia which cannot believe that they elected him, and, of all things, his children living at the Vatican. The authors use the new pope to examine the role and position of the Catholic Church as it moves into the third millenium. Pope Bill's actions and proclamations, while disturbing to the traditional-bound cardinals in the book, "play well in Peoria" and reflect the type of progressive thinking that the authors (not to mention many contemporary Catholics) seem to believe should prevail in the church today.

While the story moves along well for the most part, the authors do get bogged down in a few places and miss several opportunities for an interesting expansion of the story. For example, the pope's oldest daughter, who had been agnostic (at best) since her mother's death, has a sudden and stunning conversion in the story. Unfortunately, there is virtually nothing said about this change nor how it affects the father-daughter relationship. In addition, there are superfluous plot devices (the romance between Colleen and Jan, for instance) that seem to be tossed in a fillers while other issues--such as the novelty of an American pope--are left almost unexplored. Most disconcerting, however, is the irregular and maddening way in which the authors discuss but never fully reveal the contents of the letter from Bill's predecessor. At times, it seems that the authors simply forgot where they had left off in the story and started writing anew, leaving out key details that result in plot holes. But beyond these minor quibbles, the book is very entertaining.

This book will definitely be of interest to those interested in the inner workings of the Vatican and to those wondering what role the Catholic Church might be able to play as the new century begins.

Ambassador Flynn and Robin Moore have written a great book! There is a full range of human emotion - from laughter to sorrow - contained within its pages as the reader comes to know and care about Pope Bill Kelly and family. What at first seems wholly unrealistic (an American Pope!) easily become realistic as the story progresses. It also contains insightful observation about the Vatican and the State Department. Through these observations, the reader learns a lot about Ambassador Flynn, thinly veiled in the character of Ambassador Kirby. This book is a great (and quick) read as well as an adventure for anyone who has an interest in politics, the Catholic Church or simply enjoys a well-written story.

Have you ever wondered what makes America? What is patriotism? What is right and wrong within YOUR society? Peirce helps in your discovery of who you are among your people. He preaches, but as any good philosopher, expects his readers to think hard. Not for beginners, but entertaining.

Hi we are the Fenn School. and we read this in class to learn about the Civil War. we didn't like the Book it was really boring we realy wanted to give the book 0 stars. We want to wise are theacher Ms. Mott a hppy baby (she's hav a bab in case you couldn't get that)

Across the Lines provides children with a realistic view of what two young boys went through during the time period of the Civil War.