This book is the second volume in the Library of America set on American crime noir. I enjoyed the first volume so much that I decided to read the second one during Christmas break. Once again, the LOA has done a nice job of collecting a fine series of stories. These stories were written during the 1950's and 1960's. The book is nice to look at too; it's covered in red cloth with a cloth bookmark.

The first story is from the demented mind of Jim Thompson. This story, called The Killer Inside Me, is much better than The Grifters, a book by Thompson that I read some time ago. The Grifters seemed to be pretty one-dimensional with respect to its characters. This story is the exact opposite. A deputy sheriff in a Texas city has a terrible secret. He plays dumb on the outside, but inside he is a cunning sociopath. A long simmering resentment leads to a terrible revenge. Bodies quickly stack up as a result. This seems to be the story that Thompson is best known for and it's no surprise why. This is a dark, twisted tale with a grim ending.

Patricia Highsmith wrote a whole series of stories concerning Tom Ripley. The one included here is The Talented Mr. Ripley, probably better known due to the recent film with Matt Damon. This tale isn't as noir as I would have liked, but it still has enough twists and turns to keep anybody in suspense. Ripley is a low class conniver who ingratiates himself into a wealthy family who wants him to go to Italy and bring back their son. Ripley sees the potential for bucks and meets up with the kid and his lady friend. Of course, things take a turn for the worse and the bodies start stacking up. This story was probably my least favorite out of the entire collection.

The next story, Pick-Up, by Charles Willeford, is a depressing tale about two alcoholics who go bump in the night. The story follows the adventures of this alcoholic couple as they attempt suicide, check themselves into a mental hospital, and drink themselves into a stupor. After the female half of the couple dies in another suicide pact, the story switches to a prison tale. The end is somewhat of a twist, but really doesn't impact the story that much, in my opinion. Again, not really noir as noir can be, but still a fine story that can stand by itself.

Down There, by David Goodis, is a wild ride of a tale. Full of suspense and death, this is a great story that deserves to be included here. A family of ne'er-do-wells drags their talented piano-playing brother into their personal problems. The background information on Eddie, the piano player, is phenomenal. The tragedy that has struck him once is bound to repeat itself again. This story has great bit characters that really liven up the background.

The final story, by Chester Himes, is The Real Cool Killers. This is noir on acid: pornographic violence, massive doses of grim reality, and characters you're glad to see get killed. The story is set in Harlem and involves two tough cops named Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. Someone kills a white guy in Harlem and the cops try and track them down. This story contains one of the funniest descriptions of a person falling off a balcony that I've ever read (and I've read a few, disturbingly enough). The writing has enough similes and metaphors to give Raymond Chandler an apoplectic fit. A cool story that certainly deserves a place in this book.

If you like noir, read these two LOA novels. They are long (together they're almost 2000 pages) but it is definitely worth the effort. These kinds of stories are just a great way to while away some free time and relieve stress.

I gave it 5 stars based on the collection as a whole, rather than each story individually. I enjoyed all of the stories, in that they were a good representation of the genre as a whole, yet they were all stylistically different.

Individually, I would rate the stories in pretty much the order they appear in the book. "The Killer Inside Me" is the most powerful, in my opinion, and is a great indroduction to Jim Thompson if you haven't read his work previously. "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is also excellent, and is a must read for any fan of crime fiction. What I found more interesting was the contrast between the protagonists in the first two novels. Both are cold-hearted killers, but you couldn't find two more different voices. Its a tribute to both Mr. Thompson and Ms. Highsmith that you actually root for these people to get away with their crimes.

The other three novels are good, but they pale in comparison to the first two. "Pick-up" is a good study in a relationship between two alcoholics who know they are alcoholics and are okay with it. It takes awhile for the crime to be committed, but its an interesting journey. I didn't care for the twist ending, but that's just me. "Down There" was interesting to read, if only because it was the basis for a great movie. "The Real Cool Killers" was the only story of the five that I had trouble getting through. I think that was because I didn't really care (or even really believe) that A) a group of street punks would dress in the manner they were described in, or that B) a pair of street detectives would be as violent, feared, and given such free reign as the ones in this novel.

All in all, a good book to add to your collection, if only for the one-two punch of Thompson and Highsmith (by the way, that would be a great name for a law firm).

I usually don't like genre fiction, but this book is a great collection of "Noir" novels. Film buffs will be particularly interested in reading the novel on which "Shoot the Piano Player" was based, as well as the first "Mr. Ripley" novel (much nastier and darker than the recent film). Most highly recommended.

In one word - Marvelous. Right when I got It it was a breeze using it. From the ime that you open it, to the time that it's covered in car grease and not ledgable anymore, its a truck owners bible. There is an easy-read index that guides you throughtout the book and tons of photos. As an amature mechanic, I can have trouble reading complicated scematics and maps to engines. But this book made it simple. I would definitly reccomend it to anyone. (Be sure to see the parts list in the back-great help on ordering hard to find parts)

i really enjoyed reading this fascinating account of how to pick my own lottery numbers. an incredibly ambitious undertaking, hieronimus tackles the big question; how interconnected is physical reality?

by CVM Dallas Texas age 8.
The book takes place around a lake cottage and on an island. The main characters are a brother and sister. Megan and Sandy are trying to solve a family mystery. There is alot of adventure as they find clues that fit the puzzle. They try to find the biggest clue of all, what is there mother doing. They try to find the clue with special friends Ben and Wolf. The book was exciting and I just wanted to read more and more of it. It is a book for boys and girls or reading it as a family.

Megan's Island was a great book with lots of suspense.
There was one week of school left until summer vacation and Megan was really excited. Then one night Mom told them they had to pack up because they were moving. Megan was used to moving but this was strange. To make it even more stranger, her mom was acting kind of wierd lately and now she almost seemed scared of something.
At there grandfather's house where they were living everything was going okay until she wrote a letter to her best friend, Annie which her mom told her NOT to do. Then strange people started to come to their house.
This story had a GREAT, shocking ending.
I LOVED THIS BOOK!

This book is one of my all time favorites. I gave it five stars because it was well written and kept you turning. It is about these two kids who always move, and one night her mom was acting very weird. She said they had to leave now in the middle of the night to go to granpa's cottage up at the island. On from then all kinds of weird stuff happens. There are so many unexpected turns. GO READ THIS!

ALSO RECOMEND: Searching For David's Heart By Cherie Bennett

The writings themselves are excellent. The print is often hard to read and the typeface varies from section to section. The introductions and footnotes show the editors biases and are best skipped -- let the writings speak for themselves.

This 10-volume set is a treasure trove of the writings of the early church translated into English, from the Apostolic Fathers to the Nicene Council. The problem with it is that it is only a reprint of a collection originally published in 1885. Because of this it carries over many of the pruderies Alexandria's Miscellanies (in volume 2 of this set) is printed only in enters upon the refutation of the false-Gnostics and their licentious tenets. Professing a stricter rule to begin with, and despising the ordinances of the Creator, their result was the grossest immorality in practice. The melancholy consequences of an enforced celibacy are, here, all forseen and foreshown; and this Book, though necessarily offensive to our Christian tastes, is most useful as a commentary upon the history of monasticism, and the celibacy of priests, in the Western churches. The resolution of the Edinburgh editors to give this Book to scholars _only_, in the Latin, is probably wise." In other words, because it may corrupt our Christian morals, we won't print it in the venacular, but instead keep it only in the hands of professors. This editorial decision was disgustingly illiberal; a scholar should make all information accessible. Besides, Clement of Alexandria isn't considered a heretic; he's one of the official Church Fathers. Now a decision like that may have been acceptable in 1885, but it can scarcely be defended today. I do not see what could have kept this set's reprinters from providing a translation of Book III, if only as an appendix. I have not noticed any other example of suppression in these volumes, although the fact that there is even one instance is disturbing. This only serves to convince me that a new, fresh edition of these writers is needed. Many new writings have been discovered in the century since, including complete books by Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Melito of Sardis - this alone makes a new collection desirable. In the late nineteenth century all kinds of collections of these early writers were being published - why not now?

This is the (basically) complete set of the Early church writings up until 325 A.D. These 10 volumes contain quite a lot of material. Volume 10 is actually an index of all of the earlier books. The complete works of Justin, Clement, Athenagoras, Ignatius, etc are found within. I agree with the other poster that there are some problems. The issue of new texts discovered is a big one. Since the time this series was published many new texts have been found, such as the Gospel of Thomas and 2 works by Origen. So that is an issue. Also the way they put Clement of Alexandria's third book in Latin is silly today. Luckily I managed to find another translation that had it. The third problem is the English is pretty stagnant at times. Its very stiff and complex at times, but I actually have come to like it (don't ask me why!). But I am still giving this 5 stars because the set is fairly affordable, and there is a lot of great stuff in here for the price. Virtually every pre-Nicene writing, from the Didache to Alexander of Alexandria's letters to Arius, is in here. I would never be without this set.

I am now speaking to you as an anatomist and as a professor of human gross anatomy -- Student Beware. This is not the book that you think it is.

Look carefully. Gray's Anatomy currently comes in two english editions. The British Version (now in its 39th edition) retails for about... The American Version (now in its 30th edition) retails for about ... If the edition you are looking at costs considerably less than those prices ASK YOURSELF WHY!. You are probably considering the "classic collectors edition" which is a reprint of the 1901 American Edition. There is nothing wrong with that edition, if you are interested in the history of science. However, much of the terminology has changed and in 100 years we have developed a much deeper understanding of human anatomy.

Know what you are buying. If you are a serious student of anatomy, you probably do not want this to be your first (or only) edition of Gray's Anatomy.

This book is a seminal, comprehensive body of work on the human anatomy. It contains seven hundred and eighty illustrations, of which one hundred and seventy two are in color. While this is, no doubt, a book that every physician should have, lawyers with a personal injury practice or prosecutors who try assault or homicide cases should have more than a passing acquaintance with this book. It is a wonderful resource, explaining the human anatomy clearly, and is, with good reason, the premier text on this subject.

Gray's Anatomy is a "classic" book on Anatomy. Unusual for a classic, it is everything you have heard. The drawings are beautiful, accurate, and interesting. At the same time, this book was a standard text for Anatomy since 1901. As such, the drawing are only part of this book. The book's main effort is to explanation human anatomy. It does so wonderfully and clearly, with words. The drawings are only there to help with the text's explanations.

A quick warning. Since this book has been around since before 1901, there are many, many different versions. Make sure you check the printing date of the one you buy. The human body has not changed since this first editions, but our access to it has. As such, while some of the earlier books are beautiful to look at, the later editions are more valuable as a reference tool.

The book lacks detail and is not user-friendly. The information for torque specifications is located in the beginning of the chapter rather than in the location of the repair being made. Having the information set up this way is very frustrating because you have to back track to get the information which is a waste of time. I also found a mistake in a wiring diagram for the ECU.

The book is laid out in a confusing manner in many ways, and it is difficult to be certain that the section you're looking at actually pertains to your vehicle year/engine. It has good information, but it will take you time to find it. Part of the problem is that it tries to cover too many years and vairations.

i need to find something about fixing transmichians on a dodge 1987 d-50 pick up truck

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I'm kind of an idiot, so something like tightning the alternator belt needs to be explained pretty clearly for me. This book shrugs that type of basic adjustment off. It spends a lot of time on things (like rebuilding the transmission) which I am never likely to do. .

Hint for publishers: Maybe what we need is better description of the basic things people might actually do: change belts, tighten belts, change and gap plugs, change rotors, charge batteries and so forth. Think of the Reader's Digest car guide, but focus on specific details of a given model.