Patterson makes a 200 mile snowshoe trek in 50 below weather to pick up the mail seem like slightly unusual walk to the post office!

"Dangerous River" is one of the finest Far North adventures ever written. R. M. Patterson and his partner Gordon Matthews were the last of a breed of men who tackled the Far North with nothing but stamina, courage, and consummate skill with rifle, pack and canoe. Trapping and searching for gold in the legendary South Nahanni River country in the 1920's, Patterson describes their adventures in language that makes the reader yearn to see one the premier rivers of the world. Patterson's style is laced with wonderfully dry British humor as well as a poet's skill in describing the breathtaking landscapes. You feel as though you're right beside him throughout his adventures and hungering to go there yourself. You can't ask more a writer and his book than that!

This tale of wilderness adventure is set in the unexplored region of the South Nahanni river valley in the Nortwest Territories, Canada. It tells of unexplained deaths (the reason it was called Dead-Man's Valley), and the survival tactics and techniques of explorers during the gold-rush days of the area. Patterson spins the tale in a way which makes you feel the icy cold winters and the lavish and wildlife filled summers. His writings are non-fictional, and he includes maps and photographs taken while he was there. It is exciting, and laden with danger about the rapids, ice-flows, and Indian legends. I highly recommend it to anyone with a love of the outdoors, adventure, or wilderness history!

If you like Windows Services, you'll enjoy this handbook. As an entry-level systems administrator, I wasn't exactly sure how I could leverage .Net. I was taught C and C++ for windows services, but not everyone wants to learn, peer review, and maintain that.

As for the handbook, each chapter did a nice job of keeping my attention (that's good seeing as how I'm a generation X'er) and the overall structure, prose, and subtle humor kept me glued to each page.

Visual Basic .NET Windows Services Handbook gave me direction and purpose regarding future .Net services on our company's infrastructure. This handbook is a great tool for setting your sail in the seas of .Net Windows Services.

The book is kept short and precise, very well structured. It fills a lots of gaps currently open in MSDN. It's the only one book you need for writing professional Windows services. Highly recommended.

I read through this book in one go and found that it serves as an excellent reference for those who would like to author windows services using the .NET frameowrk. This book has been well organized, starting from the ground-up, explaining the anatomy of a windows service and goes on to cover advanced topics like threading and installation. A must have for people who would like to write windows services. I hope they would come up with a C# version soon (but C# guys can still use this one as a reference).

This book is packed with timely and timeless wisdom for today's parents. One BIG plus is that Patterson doesn't follow the mistakes of many others by trying to offer a "canned" step-by-step formula for parenting--as if all children were created from the same mold. Yet, he still manages to share excellent, applyable insights! After reading it, I am better equipped to grow with my two young children!

There are lots of real practical and helpful viewpoints and tips in this book. He wants to encourage parents who feel intimidated by "experts" and the challenging times we live in. The part about the positive approach to discipline and the discussion of spanking and the alternatives is right on! And the material about teenagers will be helpful soon. I recommend this book to anyone with children still at home.

Richard Patterson's Historical Atlas Of The Outlaw West offers the western history buff a state-by-sate, town-by-town guide to the outlaws, gunmen, and desperadoes of the Old West. The lively, informal narratives of hold-ups and gunfights are illustrated by historical photography. Facsimile 19th-century maps show the land the way it was during this era, while road directions to ghost towns, hideouts, and hold-up sites are provided (when ever possible) making the Historical Atlas Of The Outlaw West a useful travel guide as well. Of special value is the system of cross-references, useful for following the careers of outlaws and lawmen across the state boundaries. Whether as an historical reference for scholarship or novelists seeking accuracy, or just for the fun of the stories themselves for the western fan, Historical Atlas Of The Outlaw West is very highly recommended reading.

I bought this book when I saw that it was in its sixth printing, which means it must be good reading. It is. The author covers the famous outlaw sites in most of the western states and many of the not so famous sites. It's an especially good book to take along on a trip through the West. I strongly recommend it.

This commentary combines careful exegetical work with readable commentary along with valuable structural analysis. The author comes to the text from an evangelical point of view which does not detract in any way from his objective historical treatment of the text. This is written for the advanced student with some understanding of the original language but is useful without that added benefit. Also worthy of note to the budget minded is that the text is quite reasonably priced.
A point that is not usually made is the capability of the editor. Dr. Kenneth Barker has worked on a variety of biblical projects including the NIV translation. He has worked in the classromom and in the editorial room. His understanding of what is needed by students of the original languages makes his management of this project exceptionally valuable.

I was given this book as a gift during my Bridal Shower. I am not a vegetarian, but the giver of the gift knew I like to try and eat healthy meals.

When I first looked at the cookbook, I thought that these were far too glamorous of meals for me. So, I put it with the rest of my cookbooks. Then, one day, I really looked at it. These recipes were so simple, I could not figure out why I had not even bothered to try a recipe. Then, I actually put a recipe to the test. The Australian Apple-Chocolate Cake was DIVINE! It had no flour and no added fat, yet it was so rich and tasty I could not believe it! I tried others and was equally impressed.

Grab yourself a copy of this book before it is too late! It is a must have!

I love this Bible - I make sure this is the Bible our church gets for our graduation gifts for the seniors every year - it's also the Bible I bought my wife. The print is clear, and it's a durable Bible with lots of accurate notes.

This study Bible is one of the best versions out there. It is very easy to follow and understand. It has outlines and footnotes that allow you to apply each verse to everyday life.

I am a Seminary student and have gone through many study bibles. However, this work by W.A. Criswell is by far the best in the business.

Richard North Patterson continues his string of outstanding novels with this penetrating look at friendship, faith and love. Tony Lord, who we first met in "Private Screening" is the legal wizard who is called to his hometown after nearly three decades to defend his best friend of the murder of a sixteen year old girl. Tony himself left his hometown because he had been accused of murdering his girlfriend, Alison Taylor. Tony's guilt was never really clarified, because the only other person who could have murdered Alison was killed robbing a convenience store. We know Tony didn't kill Alison, but the townspeople believe he did.
So now his best friend (who also may have thought Tony was guilty) is facing similar charges, only he gets to go to trial with Tony as his lawyer.
A stunning novel, filled with secrets; heartbreaking scenarios that are so lifelike in their structure, you can't help but feel for those involved. The confrontational courtroom scenes, as always, are brilliant and riveting. The relationship between Tony and Sam is superbly etched; Tony's feelings about Sam's wife, Sue, are painstakingly real; the enigmatic Sam Robb is focal---is he capable of such a brutal murder; does he lie about everything? Is he really Tony's best friend? And is Tony justified in what he does to Ernie?
The novel cruises along with such intensity and fervor, one can't help but gasp in awe at its structure. The finale is devastating, although you can see it coming, you just don't want to admit it.
A brilliant, exceptional novel.
HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

My mother read SILENT WITNESS and recommended it to me. I reluctantly picked it up-and couldn't put it down! I liked the small-town feel of the book, with all of its dark secrets. I loved the Tony Lord character (although a bit too heroic-am I reading wish-fulfillment from the author here?). Patterson has written a carefully thought out novel, with enough surprises to keep the reader glued. I dragged out the last 50 pages because I didn't want it to end. For the genre, this is a book to treasure!

This is the fourth book I've read by Richard North Patterson, following "Degree of Guilt," "Eyes of a Child" and "Final Judgment," all of which were very well written. With "Silent Witness," Patterson easily surpasses even the lofty expectations I developed based on the stories I had read earlier and joins Elizabeth George and Dorothy Sayers as one of my favorite mystery writers. The story is masterfully crafted, weaving two murder mysteries separated by nearly thirty years into a seamless web of intrigue, betrayal and misguided loyalties. It is reminiscent of "Lone Star" in rooting its two mysteries in the small town social fabric with conflicts between Catholics, protestants and Jews; and between blacks and whites. The characters evolve in very credible ways. One can see the teenagers we first meet in the middle-aged characters we later visit, with their basic traits sometimes mellowed, sometimes entrenched; with dreams shattered and realities acknowledged. The book actually begins slowly, unlike other Patterson novels which firmly hook the reader in the first three pages. I found the ending a little less than satisfactory. I correctly guessed the identity of the guilty party and expected another character to do the same. The ending was good, but more satisfying to one of the characters than to the reader. The book is a must read and a real page turner.

Obviously the authors know a lot about Hawaii, but very little about other places.

First of all, the capture of Hawaii would significantly alter US strategy beyond imagination. The war in Europe would be shut down to life support level. In other words, just enough effort to save face, not a nationwide effort.

That would prolong the war in Europe, to say the least. Germany may even end up as the ultimate winner in this scenario.

Second, Americans will not wait until 1945 to recapture the island. They will arrive, as fast as possible. Recapturing Hawaii would be the first priority.

Third, the ending is too unreal to comment. The Hawaiian collaborator "King" would be sent to the mainland, given a mock trial, and imprisoned for life just like Noriega.

Obviously the authors have seen very little world outside Hawaii.

This fictional history was written by two college history teachers who sat down one afternoon and asked each other the question, "what would have happened had Admiral Nagumo NOT turned his fleet around on December 7, 1941?"

Ziegler and Patterson (myself) have used historical precedent, and plausible alternative scenarios to extend the war in the Pacific for 3 years, and give it a very different final outcome that will surprise even the most jaded reader.

The book is a look at the history of the Second World War from an alternative perspective. It assumes that small changes in major events can alter the course of history. The basis of this assumption is, of course, the historian's axiom: there is no inevitability. The authors begin the book with the sinking of USS Enterprise in the channel to Pearl Harbor, and the destruction of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's oil reserves, thus leaving Hawaii and the Pacific essentially undefendable. Recognizing this (as he did, in reality, 6 months after the attack on Pearl) Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku orders the invasion of the Hawiian Islands - and the Imperial Japanese Army is successful. The key point: how would that have changed the war.

To answer this question, the authors spend time on personal, operational, and theater-wide issues and actions. The politics of the Great Pacific War, the passions of the people involved, and the difficulties of soldiers on both sides of the lines, are explored, always with an eye to history. Everything in this book is based on events that did happen - usually elsewhere in the Pacific - and not on far-fetched scenarios. There is no time travel here, no death rays. Just good old fashioned history applied to a what-if scenario.

It is a great read, and has done well in Hawaii among veterans of WWII, contemporary service-people, and locals of all walks of life. It is a book which will make you think twice about the War in the Pacific, and the roles of the two major players, Japan and the United States.

This book is fascinating, and a definite keeper, on many levels. First off, the book gives you a very accurate look into the history of the Hawaiian islands from the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom by greedy American businessmen (a little known fact that is very much overlooked in the annals of history), to the rise of the sugar plantations which led to the import of thousands of indentured immigrant (Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, etc) workers during the 1800s and 1900s to, of course, the fateful bombing of December 7, 1941.

The most fascinating part about this book is the "alternative" history it presents. The primary question posed by this book is "What if Japan had conquered Hawaii following Pearl Harbor?" The fictional events presented in this book are shockingly real possibilities once you examine the evidence (which the book does).

The story unfolds creatively through three dynamic viewpoints: Vignettes, Views and Vistas. Vignettes are events that are told in third person which give an immediate telling of events. Views are events told from first hand viewpoint through the eyes of four fictional members of an American-Japanese family over the course of three generations. Finally, Vistas are the broad historical view of events as presented by a fictional modern day history professor as he presents a lecture series. Collectively, these unique views give a very powerful presentation of the real events that led up Pearl Harbor and the fictional events that very well could have took place in the alternate history.

Overall, the story covers a span of over 100 years from the 1860s when the first immigrant workers arrived in Hawaii till the 1960s. You'll be amazed by the stories that Ziegler and Patterson portray. Plus, you'll learn a good deal of Hawaiian history. The images that they paint are often times horrifying and disturbing and very graphic.

As the book cover says, imagine the following:

1.Diamond Head Crater as a POW camp?

2.Comfort women in Waikiki for Japanese soldiers?

3.Popular beaches teaming with landmines?

4.The restoration of the Hawaiian Kingdom?

Overall, the book is a fascinating read. The political games played by the Japanese to manipulate and control the population are a fascinating read. The military events (campaigns, guerrilla warfare, atrocities committed against POWs) are both griping and horrifying. You'll be glued to the book.

However, be forewarned, you may find some portions of this book to be very controversial (politically speaking). Also, some of the graphic descriptions of war and its horrors are not for the faint of heart. If you can get past these though, I guarantee you'll be entertained (and educated) by this book.

Highest Recommendation.

I have deeply mixed emotions about reviewing this book. I also had an extremely difficult time finishing it. To be fair, Richard North Patterson is an excellent mystery writer--I discovered him 6-7 years ago and not only have read everything he has written since, but I went back and dug up paperback copies of all his early works. Some of his books are truly great, and all are above-average. All are recommended.

"Protect and Defend" reprises familiar names like Kerry Kilcannon and Caroline Masters, something Patterson does very well in his novels. But while many of his stories center around solving a murder, this one deals with an abortion case and takes place in court. It's arguably Patterson's best writing--this is an extremely well-written novel and is most involving.

Problem is, Patterson doesn't just hint at his side of the abortion issue--he bludgeons the reader with it. There's no mistaking whatsoever that the pro-choice crowd are the good guys, from President Kilcannon to Supreme Court Justice Masters on down...these are the folks who are doing the right thing day after day, fighting the good fight and setting examples for the way things ought to be. There's a group moderate of Republicans who are looked upon quite favorably, but the tried and true conservatives are absolutely villified--Patterson paints this group as the right-wing-wacko good old boys who are making the sleazy, back-room deals, getting rich and taking care of their own while being out of touch with what's really going on in the world.

The best fiction often offers an agenda of some kind, but in my estimation, truly brilliant writers are able to write powerful books which weave in said agenda with finesse and subtlety. Patterson has done that successfully in the past, but his pro-choice stance is trumpeted so ferociously that it overwhelms what was shaping up to be a terrific novel. I barely made it through the book because of my disgust with the approach, and I've been so flattened by Patterson's politics that I have serious doubts about reading anything else of his in the future.

Richard North Patterson's newest is a follow-up to his excellent "No Safe Place" published several years ago. Kerry Kilcannon is now the recently elected Democratic President, and things begin to fall apart on his very first day in office. During Kilcannon's inaugural address to the nation, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court dies from a stroke while on the stage. Kilcannon's nominee for Chief Justice is a controversial female federal judge from California, Caroline Masters (also from his earlier novels).

In the midst of the intensely partisan confirmation process, a volatile late-term abortion case is moving its way up through the California courts and appears headed for the Supreme Court. Patterson gives us a look at the interesting inner workings of the federal courts and the Senate as they wrestle with difficult issues.

This book is a good read. I got a little tired of what seemed like overemphasis on the pros and cons of abortion, but I guess it was necessary in order to provide a balanced view. Nevertheless, this is one of those big, sprawling novels that you can really sink your teeth into. BUY IT.

PROTECT AND DEFEND is one of the most intelligent and exciting novels I have ever read. I couldn't put this book down. This book is what good writing is all about. It has drama, suspense and believability. The character development of all of the main players is superb. I think that this may be Patterson's best book to date.

Kerry Kilcannon is the new President of the United States of America. Caroline Masters is the President's nominee as the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The nomination is not well received by a conservative Senate led by Majority Leader and presidential aspirant Macdonald Gage; and Gage sets about to defeat the nomination by any means necessary. Set against this backdrop is an ongoing trial (nationally televised) involving the pregnant teenage daughter of Christian fundamentalist parents challenge to the constitutionality of a law passed by Congress called the Protection of Life Act: favored by anti-abortionists groups and disfavored by pro-choice groups. Richard North Patterson has created a well-researched novel about the current political issues of our times. PROTECT AND DEFEND challenges our notions about campaign reform, abortion and whether or not those who aspire to public office have any right to or expectation of any modicum of privacy in their private lives. Reading this book will lead you out of the grip of any unconsidered opinion you may have had about these issues. A thoughtful reader will find here a certain level of skepticism that lifts the mind out of all certainties but doesn't then corrupt it with cynicism.

Be sure to read Patterson's acknowledgements at the end of the book. It will give you insight into why this novel was so well crafted.