I really enjoyed reading the book. I'm a Christian so I can really relate to the Biblical principles in the book. The book was well-written and inspiring. Keep up the good work!

Pella and Phillips never seem to disappoint with this series. I recommend all seven books with five stars.

The saga of Anna Yevnovich and her family and friends continues. The fourth book centers around Anna's adoptive daughter and niece Mariana, so there is plenty of "new" to this story. However, there is a lot of dwelling on past events, so I beleive someone who hasn't read the first three of the series may be able to follow it - and perhaps find it even more interesting for that reason. I, too, enjoy Pella's writing style, and how she incorporates Anna's strong Christian faith into the story without it seeming intrusive.

I've watched Michael Wallis grow as a writer and I wish he had written this book last instead of first. Now don't get me wrong, it's a rip-roarin' tale of a man with ambition and drive who built a gigantic company and fortune. But it's not the exhaustive, documented last work on Frank Phillips's life.

This is as near to an authorized biography as you can get. Wallis was given full access to all the recorded material on Phillips as well as to a great many people who actually knew the man and worked with him. It's a rollicking story.

Using fiction techniques of characterization Wallis shows us an eccentric, ambitious young man who evolves into a successful philanthropist -- and philanderer. Phillips gave tokens to the children of the community but overindulged and neglected his own son until he turned to alcohol. He was a man who appeared devoted to his family six months out of every year, then spent the rest of his time with his mistress in New York City.

He wasn't such a saint in business, either. He took over smaller companies to build his empire and almost fired a Vice President "Boots" Adams because he thought Adams was too ambitious for personal gain.

Legends about Phillips abound and Wallis has recorded them. There's a story, for example, of Phillips paying the mortgages of community churches and herein lies the weakness of this book. He doesn't say whether this generosity is documented or it's simply a tale told by sycophants, and he sure talked to plenty of them.

Wallis weakens his authority by neglecting to support his facts. He speculates. Without documentation it's impossible for the reader to separate fiction from fact. The writing style is that of fiction and that's all the more reason the reader needs to be able to tell what is real fact and what is speculation.

If what you want is an exciting story of the West and people who made great fortunes in the oil fields, you'll love this book. It's well written and well researched. If you want only fact, however, you'll have to write your own book.

Frank Phillips, "THE OIL MAN" is a little known multi millionaire who started with nothing but ambition, and made life pay off! If you like business biography, this is one of the best you'll ever read. I enjoyed totally. I am now rereading the book for the third time!

This book contains something for everyone. Action, adventure, power struggles, romance, money, geology, the wild west, the roaring twenties, family feuds and best of all...it's all true! Frank Phillips grew up a farm boy in Iowa, started a career as a barber and ended up an oil tycoon. This is an easy read and it is obvious that Wallis' research was very thorough. He almost leads you through a day to day account of Frank Phillips' life. And what a life it must have been. A true gambler, Frank Phillips' started with almost nothing, made a fortune then risked everything he had just to stay in the game. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading. Wallis has brought together a complex man's world and gives the reader an insight rarely seen in biographical writing. He makes the stories come to life and links them all together superbly.

I like detective stories only when they're well told. Dashiel Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, Walter Mosley, Robert Parker, and Sue Grafton are the only ones I read regularly. Brubaker's work here is in that class.

Brubaker creates a great family-tangled-in-the-past mystery a la Ross Macdonald and adds a cast of supporting characters for the private detective that is only rivaled by those created by Robert B. Parker, from a persnickety crime-scene photographer to a bellicose national-agency private operator.

The real contribution this book makes to the genre, though, is its protagonist, Jack Herriman, whose youth makes for a refreshing contrast with most classic detectives but whose former morally questionable lifestyle, which began at the age of 14, gives him a moral depth of greater immediacy than that of most private eyes. While other detectives have seen everything, this kid has already done everything. This gives the story a new perspective, which Brubaker makes the most of.

I hope Brubaker takes time out from his regular series, Deadenders, to write more Herriman stories. And I hope Michael Lark sticks with the book, too -- his work is as good here as it was in Terminal City.

Jack Herriman is a young private eye in San Francisco. He lives above Scene Of The Crime, an art gallery specializing in photos of crime scenes that were taken by his uncle Knut. Paul Raymonds, a SFPD detective sergeant and old partner of Jack's father, tells Jack he's sending a special client over in the morning. The relationship between Jack and Raymonds is strained, partly because Raymonds is cheating on Jack's aunt. The next morning, Jack meets Alex Jordan, a woman he figures out is Raymonds' lates girlfriend. Alex says her sister Maggie has vanished, and that she might be at a hippie commune called Lunarhouse. Once inside Lunarhouse, Jack finds himself up to his eyeballs in trouble. Maggie was there but is gone now, and some of the commune's big bouncers chase Jack from the scene. In no time at all, Jack's quest takes him through the dark alleys of the city, the bleak fall-out from emotional pain and suffering of a family, and force his own black rage and weakness to the surface so he has to finally deal with those things. Secrets are everywhere--even Jack has them.

Ed Brubaker currently scripts he BATMAN monthly comic, the CATWOMAN comic in which he revamped the character, POINT BLANK, SLEEPER, a SLAM BRADLEY back-up and THE COMPLETE LOWLIFE. Also a cartoonist, Brubaker's work has been nominated for many Eisner Awards. Michael Lark is a favorite artist on noirish-type comics. His graphic novel, THE LITTLE SISTER, written and drawn by him, based on Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe novel of the same title. Other work includes TERMINAL CITY, short stories for Vertigo's WINTER'S EDGE, SUPERMAN: WAR OF THE WORLDS, and BATMAN: NINE LIVES.

Brubaker's natural feel for crime writing lends Jack Herriman's world the luster of a dark and gritty reality. San Francisco is accurately portrayed without ever stepping too close to becoming a travelogue or a stereotype. The mystery and murders at the heart of the story, the years of loss and betrayal that come to culmination and spark to unleash the homicidal blaze that rocks Jack's world and leave him both more and less than what he had been are all played out honestly. Brubaker's got a gift for dialogue and allows the characters to come on stage and introduce themselves in ways even the excellent first-person narration can't quite do. Jack's world is full: he has his uncle and his uncle's girlfriend, Paul Raymonds--his dead father's partner, Steve Ellington--a friend and private eye for a big investigations firm, and an ex-girlfriend of his own that he can't quite get over. Besides getting entranced in the rich mystery that Brubaker presents, readers also get to wander through the impressive tapestry of pain, misery, loss, guilt, and half-truths that are Jack's life. The story offers quiet jokes, deep characters drawn in a few knowing lines, and the intensity of a steadily depressed spring. As Jack narrows the scope of his investigation, readers know that all hell is about to break loose: especially when additional bodies drop out of the woodwork and the violence escalates. Michael Lark's artwork is awesome: dark and moody, readers can smell the smoke in the seedy bars and will check the seats before sitting.

SCENE OF THE CRIME: A LITTLE PIECE OF GOODNIGHT is a wonderful graphic novel in the vein of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe detective novels. Brubaker says that Ross MacDonald was his favorite crime novelist, and a lot of the movement and rhythm of this tale shows that interest. Private eye fiction lovers who have never discovered the intricate joy of a graphic novel couldn't find a better place to start exploring the genre. Fans who already are familiar with Brubaker's work on BATMAN or CATWOMAN will want to add this one to their collections if it's not already there.

okay folks, lets face it, private eye stories are usually pretty predictable; PI gets hired on a case (mostly by a beautiful woman), does some digging, finds out more than he figured, puts it all together and catches the bad guy/guys. the art of a good story is how the author twists up those cliches and keeps you turning pages. well, ed brubaker has written a pretty twisty story here. the PI, jack herriman, takes on a missing persons case from a woman looking for her sister. he manages to find the sister pretty quickly but thats when the problems start, people die, questions stack up and he finds out fast the case is far from wrapped. the artwork, by michael lark, is quite good and does a very serviceable job of storytelling. overdrawn comic hero art would totally not work here and the slightly subdued colors fit the book perfectly giving it a slightly noirish feel without overdoing it. sorry, my plot summary wasn't more descriptive but you'll want to experience this for yourself. if you like quick paced mysteries this'll be right up your alley. this is a brilliant work of fiction and art... comics? for kids? ...not this one...

I like Michael Phillips' Heathersleigh series because his characters are real. They experience times of frustration, doubt and the consequences of sin. This book manages to be cerebral and spiritual while following a great plot. Watching Amanda continue to develop through her time at the chalet is rewarding, and following the other Rutherfords' stories evokes just as much empathy. The Rutherfords discover more about their family secrets, and the reconcilation throughout the family is encouraging. This is a great book and I'm looking forward to the final volume of this series.

This third novel in the series inspires you to look at yourself and relationship to others and to God. I was in stiches at some points and in tears at other points. The author is thorough in his description of the times. But most importantly he is thorough in his description of human nature. I can hardly wait until the fourth book is available.

I read this book in high school and the characters have stayed with me throughout the years. I will never forget Ian and Maggie and the special, but tragic love that they had. This trilogy is one of my all time favorites and I will be reading it for many years to come.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is the perfect ending to the first 2 books in the Stonewyck series. After the 2nd book I was so upset that I was determined not to read anymore of the series. The ending of this series totally got me by surprise, and I'm not easily surprised. I was so delighted by the ending. This book is definitely a must read!!!

I never found Corrie's diary more interesting than I did in regard to the conflict between Almeda and Katie. Almeda's secret and Katie's loss were well portrayed, and I really *cared* about what happened to the two of them. This was the high point of the series--from here, they only went down. It must have been Judith Pella's departure from the team that kept the rest of the series from meeting the standard set by the first four!

The fourth book in the Journals of Corrie Belle Hollister holds its own with the previous three! Not as much action (yet it has its times!), but had a way of making the reader emotionally spent. As the title suggests, this book was a lot about how everyone, in God's eyes, has his or her own place in the sun/world. Christian values and morals are upheld superbly throughout the novel! The love that God gives shines through in this novel; whether it be through the little things that happen to Corrie or whether it be through the love of those around her, even though love seems not to have been earned. Very good!

All of the books written by these authors make for exciting reading. You get mystery,romance(in a morally acceptable way),adventure,and history of the location. They are exciting books that will keep you wanting to read the entire series to the end. I have found them to be much more entertaining and clean to read that watching any TV. You'll not be disappointed!

This was an incredible book. You never new what was going to happen until AFTER it happened! I encourage you to READ THIS BOOK, as well as the whole series!

So George MacDonald is the only named person -- well, forget Napoleon -- to appear in CS Lewis' *The Great Divorce* and with Jack's recommendation and clear respect, I finally found some MacDonald stuff -- supposedly -- only to find out that it's a compilation. Too bad Mr MacDonald wasn't clever enough to put this compilation together. I'm sure his work would have been much better. And that's the beef I have with this book: after all the hoopla about MacDonald's greatness as a writer/thinker, Phillips thinks he can improve on his work? Phillips' claims, "The fictional readings ... are not mere additions to the meaty sections of the text; they are equally vital to the reader who would learn ... ." ("Introduction", pg 13) Excuse me. Is Mr Phillips so inexpert that he doesn't know that even a merely good work has its own flow that is seriously disrupted by insertions? And that's the problem with Phillips' compilation: the insertions are merely distracting. They might be good, even great, but why do they have to interrupt? Put them in an Appendix so that I can just read MacDonald. But then I turn to the back of the book to see what else I can get of MacDonald's work from Bethany House, and I find that there's a bunch of stuff. All "edited for today's reader," and renamed; again, presumably, for "today's reader." Let's see. Macdonald wrote about 100 years ago, but must be brought up do date. Somebody has a fat head. Pulleeeeese, just give me MacDonald.

So I give MacDonald a 5+, Phillips gets a zero. Averages 3.

I fell in love with George MacDonald's novels as a college student. When I discovered this book a few years ago, it was a treasure! Combining the best of George MacDonald's sermons and essays on the heart of the Creator with selections from his poetry and novels that illustrate the concepts, this book is a great devotional and insight into God's heart. I don't always agree with every ounce of MacDonald's theology, but he makes his case with sound reason and has a knack for making you dig deep to discover the truth. Great stuff -- read it!

A great approach, a timeless treasure. If you are around Christians, or just plain old folks who are afraid to think or who are always trying to find the right legal formula for Salvation, or just think that they know it all, introduce them to this book. I found it a breath of fresh air after digesting another excellent book, "Bible Doctrines A Pentecostal Perspective". It provided a balance.

From the onset the best quote I found in this book "knowing the Heart Of God" is, "To hold a doctrine or an opinion with the intellect alone is not to believe it. A man's real belief is that which he lives by".

This and establishing the principle that Intimacy can be increased by Obedience, is the base argument for the Holiness Pentecostal way of life towards Sanctifaction and Holiness. Isaiah first chapter verses eighteen and nineteen are often cited for conveying this idea. I found it an excellent primer to convey and discuss the Christian notion of obedience for a wife or betrothed which has nothing to do with the idea of obedience in the contemporary world. And for the man or husband, I showed why the attributes of God should be mirrored through him as God's image in a relationship. This book is about establishing a relationship with God.

The title struck me because I just realized how fragile an omnipotent God's heart can be. Through my suffering I understood how I can see God's heart broken. Jesus wept, as I. I believe he still weeps. Try preaching "Intimacy Through Obedience" at your next women's meeting and notice the climate change. Notice how the end result will be for the hearers to merely fall back on opinion which the author has a great deal to say about.

Although the staunched legalist may find the fiction, counter-arguments and exegesis debatable. For those truly led by the Holy Spirit to find the perfect truth this book gives a gentle nudge in that direction with a touch of humor. In the end the only action needed is simply to know God through Our Lord and Great God Jesus Christ and obey him. Does not the scriptures say, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him"? This hearing is obedience.

This is a well written historical novel and the facts are woven into the story along with actual characters of the Massachusetts Bay Colony era.

Great book for female or male readers who like history.

The novel shows the feelings of the settlers as well as the Indians of King Phillip's War 1675-1676.......both sides loved and lost family members and friends.

The tension is constant and the book is "too soon finished".

A Historical novel with the emphasis on history. Mike Tougias brings to life our first great Indian war by following the actions of two protagonists: One is "King Philip's" most trusted warrior and friend, the other a colonist from outlying Medfield, Mass. The scene is 50 years after Massasoit welcomed the Pilgrims to Plymouth, when his son Metacom (known to the colonists as Philip) instigates a last ditch war to oust the English colonists. The novel is adept at illuminating the way of life of the Wompanoags and other Algonquin tribes of Southern New England, and illustrates the difficulty of the task they felt compelled to undertake. Historical accuracy is Tougias' watchword, but he still manages to turn out a fast-paced compelling story. Although the author is more naturalist than novelist, it is hard to tell here as the characters, especially the Wompanoag ones, gain a depth throughout the story.

Mass. readers will get a lot of local color out of it - such as the events that led to the naming of Turner's Falls, but all readers will get a gripping story of a war whose basic themes would be repeated over and over for the next 200 years.

This is a fantastic book! Great story! Accurate historical facts! Well written. Enjoyed it very much!!!