Robert Ellis's "Access to Power" is the best mystery thriller I've read this year. I think I liked it so much because it stands out. Something new and different.

Frank Miles is a political consultant with a problem - his partner's been murdered and DC's finist can't figure it out. Frank investigates on his own. Then there's another murder and another. While all this is happening, Ellis unloads on Washington in a way that blew my mind.

The characters jump off the page. Frank Miles is cool and kept me going. George Raymond may be the most vicious bad guy I've ever met in a book. But Ellis's depiction of women really got to me as well. He obviously knows women and likes them.

"Access to Power" packs a heavy punch. The twists and turns are ingenious and thrilling. I can't wait for his next one.

As a political professional, I can tell you, it is hard to find a newscast or an article, much less a novel, that accurately portrays what it is like to be inside of a high-pressure campaign.

Robert Ellis' book does that and more.

It is page turning thriller that seems to be ripped from the most recent tawdry scandals of the Beltway.

Scummy candidates, immoral media types, souless aides...it's all here.

Almost as much fun as discovering the resolve is seeing if you can guess which real life politicians his characters are based on.

Mr. Ellis is an insider. And it shows.

Access to Power is the best plane, beach, weekend read you'll have this year.

The drama and horror of the Civil War become even more vivid and personal as you read Rhodes' simple, yet expressive prose. But even more than a story of this war, "All for the Union" is a story of a young man's coming of age. Elisha joined the Union Army in 1861 with utterly no military experience whatsoever. Yet, he fought in every major campaign of the Army of the Potomac, rose to command his regiment--and somehow survived. Almost incredibly, Elisha was always around to report on the historic events of this tragic conflict as the Union Army of the Potomac engaged in its four-year death struggle with Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. There is humor, hardship, politics, adventure, and great courage detailed in these pages, which makes this a compulsive page-turner even for non-Civil War buffs.

The book includes some fine photographs, although some detailed maps of the Army of the Potomac's theater of operations would have been nice.

Highly recommended.

This is an account of one man's participation in the American Civil War (1861-1865). Elisha Hunt Rhodes joined the Rhode Island Volunteers in 1861 as a private and left as a colonel in 1865; having earned the respect of not only his peers but his superiors as well. The book is a diary (plus a few letters) he kept during his army life: it includes daily to weekly accounts of the people and places he got to know and see, plus the battles with which he was involved.

The diary is well written (better than you'd expect from a 19-year-old in 1861). There are accounts of the marches that covered seemly unbelievable distances: wearing the men in to a state of complete exhaustion. (And often, after reaching their destination, would have to march back to where they started) There are tales of deprivation, hunger, prolonged stress, boredom and even some humorous moments as well. The descriptions of some of the carnage is told in a rather detached, matter of fact manner, (probably understandable, given the circumstances) even though he was in the midst of several of these bloody scenes and lost countless friends and colleagues.

The diary was recorded chronologically and with dates: also included, is an excellent map of the area. The map even outlines the marches that the 2nd R. I. Volunteers participated in during their 4 years at war. This is a wonderful addition to this book that not only makes following the events easy but also makes you appreciate the distance that these armies traveled, mostly on foot.

All in all, an interesting, personal account of the American Civil War: one that gives new insights into an era of history that has significantly shaped the United States into the country that we know today. Highly recommended!

It really introduced me to the subject so that I got interested. Now I can judge the subject, see what others have been doing and judge which of the deep technical books are good.

In a nutshell, it was an easy way to demystify the whole subject. I have been very happy with the book and can recommend it to everyone interested in ASP.

"The Bug Wars" are superb! I initially picked the book up at the local bookstore, as the title "The Bug Wars" indeed intrigued me. So I said, what the heck, I'm buying the book.

The story is divided into three books, all contained in the paperback (so think about it, you are actually getting three books for one?). Each book tells part of the military life of the narrator, a Tzen (reptile) known as Rahm. Rahm starts off as a commander of a flight squad, and then in the next book he is another position, and in the final book he is yet another.

Aside from that, we see Rahm go through changes in ways he thinks. He is an older Tzen, seeing new changes in his Empire as the days go on and we see how he treats them. The book is also loaded with action and some thrills. It keeps you interested.

Final analysis: Buy the freakin' book. It took me three days to read the 217 page story while reading another book at the same time.

When Bob adopts Amy, who has been yanked from her African home at a pitifully young age, neither can imagine the closeness they will soon feel toward one another; Amy becomes a member of the family, plain and simple, bringing a joy to Bob's life that is overwhelming. But the most compelling aspect, perhaps, of this book is its honesty: life with Amy is joyous but not always easy. She is, after all, essentially a wild animal, even if she does ride the range with Bob and adopt other farm animals as her own. Bob comes to realize that Amy has needs even his great love cannot provide for her. Bob finds the courage, and loves Amy enough, to give her the life she needs, the life she deserves. But it is not the end of their story, and it is only the beginning of Amy's incredible journey.

Bob Norris and his family were given a rare chance to experience something most people will never have: a true melding of man and nature. Their story is a great gift, one that readers will keep always in their heart.

Well, this is a Nora Roberts romance, so we know she'll eventually succeed, but the book was very entertaining and enjoyable in getting to that point. The theater was vividly described, and the primary characters were very sympathetic. Also I especially liked the character of Edwin, Reed's father. This is a quick read but a good one!

In the second book of the saga about the O'Hurley family, Ms. Roberts tells the story of the dancing O'Hurley daughter, Maddy. Preparing for a new show, Take It Off, this spirited young woman knows she cannot rest on accolades from her ;ast performances. She fully realizes that it will take both physical and mental strength to make a hit of this show and falling in love at this time is what she least expects to do. But fall in love she does as she meets and then pursues a principal investor of the show, Reed Valentine.

I thought this book was a wonderful read. So adeptly does Ms. Roberts present the life of a Broadway dancer and star that I often wondered if she patterned this character after a real dancer she knows. I actually could see the dance numbers and feel the energy, to say nothing about how enjoyable was the romantic aspect. And as an extra benefit of this book the reader is introduced to Reed's charming father and spends more time with the other members of the O'Hurley family. I always think Nora Roberts's series books are her best and Dance to the Piper is another one of these which I highly recommend.

And I'm glad that I did. At the back end of the classical Western literary tradition of silliness, which includes such hallowed humorists as Chaucer, Bocaccio, Rabelais, Cervantes, and, in its divine form, Shakespeare, we find the one tale that may have excited them all--Lucius Apuleius's Golden Ass.

The Golden Ass is filled with adventure, suspense, humor, and nonsense. I had a grin on my face most of the way through, and I got the feeling that the author did too. Tip o' the hat to Robert Graves for delivering an authentic translation that brings us Apuleius in his bawdy best.

The only thing I found occasionally irritating was that, like Cervantes, Apuleius has a tendency to digress. Big time. He inserts the entire myth of Cupid and Psyche right into the middle of the narrative, for example. Does this add to the mythological message of the whole? Probably, but it subtracts from the fantastic flow of the story. My urgent plea to Apuleius, were he alive today, would be, "Stick to the ass!"

There are a number of reasons that traditionally bring people to this book: to study Classical Rome, classic literature, mythology, psychology... maybe you're curious about the intimate lives of donkeys. Whatever has brought you to this novel, now that you're going to read it, perhaps the best thing to do is to take the advice of the author himself, who says, "Read on and enjoy yourself!"