My favorite Grill Maestro, Chris Schlesinger, is but one of the authors of this book but any recipe from Chris is enough for me. His humor and style with the grill and with words make this a must for all grill chefs and want to be's! I ordered this for a friend moments after I read it myself. The recipes are ones you'll look forward to grilling. The book is one you'll enjoy reading. Bravo Maestros!

These gourmet collections are becomingly increasingly popular. And this one is very good.

It's a compilation that went with the PBS series of the same name, which featured three pro chefs get down on the grill with some knockout recipes for entrees to fruits to side dishes with all the accompanying dishes and salsas, etc.

Marcel Desaulniers, Fritz Sonnenschmidt and Chris Schlesinger cook up some kicked up stuff here that has creative recipes which are not that hard to prepare or find the ingredients, what with all the web resources and gourmet stores popping up all over the place.

Try the Grilled Asparagus with Two Sauces (a garlic mayo and a basic lemon vinagerette) or the Cinnamon-Grilled Salmon with Citrus and Port-Soaked Dried Fruit. Outstanding example of the creative input is the Mixed Grill of Seafood with Fresh Herb Sauce and Ricotta Souffles.

This is outstanding resource for those who want out of ordinary gourmet grilling recipes.

I saw about 15 of the recipes from this book demonstrated on a KQED begathon recently. The recipes are simple, elegant and fantastic. Some of the special ingredients are beyond imagination--like flavoring meats with coffee grinds before grilling and combining fruits with hot peppers. In addition the variety of food grilled will amaze you--grilled pineapples, plums, peaches. The instructions are great and so is the presentation.

When I first heard of this game I was not very interested, since I was busy with Vampire and the like. But a friend of mine sat me down and made me read it and now two years later, I don't know how I could have been so silly. This is a dark, suspenseful game that sucks you in. Set in the 2120's, it is a new world. Aberrants have destroyed life as we knew it and now, we set forth as Psions, humanity's last hope. This game will really take you on a wild ride. In the time I have played it I have been angry, experienced frustration unlike any before, felt despair and been moved to the point of tears.

The game system is the same as most White Wolf Games and is easy to use and understand. There is plenty of background material and if it is not enough, there are several supplements available. It is extremely well written and the illustrations are exceptional not only for the artistic merit, but for the relevence to the background material. This a game every gamer must try, if not own!

Trinity is the best science-fiction role-playing game I've ever played. Built on White Wolf's familiar Storyteller system, Trinity takes the best that system has to offer and incorporates a number of elements that distinguish it not just from other White Wolf games, but from more "generic" sci-fi rpgs such as Alternity, Star Trek, Spacemaster, or Traveller. With topics ranging from psionic powers, hard tech, biotechnology, and weapons of the 22nd century, the game comes with the building blocks necessary for good sci-fi.

What really sets the game above the rest however, is the incredibly rich universe that White Wolf has created. It's possible to play just about any type of sci-fi game you want from Blade Runner film-noir, Aliens-style horror, Star Trek-quests into the unknown, to Star Wars-style space opera. The supplemental books and adventures are also top notch. If you're looking for adaptable sci-fi, Trinity is it.

This game is one of the best RPG's ever written hands down. It is almost sad that this game is made by White Wolf, because the other World of Darkness games, tend to over shadow their other titles. Set in the year 2120, Trinity takes a look at a dark future. Where the United States of America, have been taken over by our own military. Where the Earth has nearly been destroyed by a horrible war, against what can only be called "superheros." But within this frame work, come the heros. Members of Elite Psionic Orders, who try and change the world for the better. Alright I know the concept sounds really bad, and maybe I am not explaining it right. But I like the game because they dive into the culture of 2120. Talking about fashion, what the ordinery guy does for a living, and how technology has changed the world. The aliens in the game are ALIEN. The 3 major alien races are a species of psionic 1ft long slugs, who make advanced biotechnology. A race of strangely advanced lizards who can manipulate light. And lastly a race of hive like creatures, who graft genetic material from races they find, to their own gene code. For the price of the book, you really cannot go wrong just to give it a try. So if you are in the mood for a unique science fiction setting, give Trinity a try. Or try it's prequel games "Aberrant" (Dealing with the golden age of the "superheros") and "Adventure" (Coming later in 2001, dealing with pulp heros in 1925).

Radencich has produced a work of art in this book. The photographs are outstanding, and there are not enough superlatives to do them justice. The steps are so well done as to present a short course in photos alone. Very well done.

As other reviewers have noted, this book is not strong on its historical content or presentation of utilitarian (read: flies for fish...) patterns. It also goes into excruciating detail on wall mounts which while interesting, might have been better spent on other patterns. I found the section on hook making to be very interesting and unique in the literature of salmon flies. This book is hard to put down and sets a new standard of graphics for this genre. Well done, Michael.

Radencich's book is nicely written and proved very helpful in thje areas of tying instruction and techniques. Color photography is used extensively throughout and is finely detailed. The chapters on custom hook making and fly mounting are nice additions to the book as it really concentrates on presentation type flies. If I have any complaint at all is that the book does devote a lot of its content to complicated modern patterns and not what I considered true "classic" flies. Though many of these flies are beautiful and, without exception beautifully dressed, I was hoping for a more traditional selection. Also included is a great method for substituting Indian Crow, which I'll be attempting soon. I wished for an expanded section on the substitution of the all but impossible to obtain feathers. This is a major issue for the modern tyer of these patterns and would have been a welcome addition. If the feather in some of the fly patterns that is referred to as "speckled bustard substitute" isn't natural bustard I'd be surprised. It sure isn't turkey! Overall I'd highly recommend this book as a guide to the mechanics of fully dressed salmon flies. My flies have been better proportioned and more neatly tied since I began utilizing some of his tips and I've been tying these patterns for over 15 years. Thanks Mr Radencich

Distinguished by sharp colour photography and clean layout, this book is highly recommended as a reference work for anyone interested in tying and presenting the Classic Salmon fly. I enjoyed the chapter on hook making, (flashbacks to college metal work days), and having previously undertaken some picture framing, found the tips in the fly mounting chapter very useful.The colour photography of the Traherne collection and other patterns presented is excellent. The books contents will be of considerable use to beginner and expert alike.

The focal point of this amazing first novel is Travis "Red" Warner, the larger-than-life artist who hailed from Tupelo, Mississippi, a town that spawned the other larger-than-life artist, Elvis Presley. Alec Clayton's narrator is Travis' childhood friend Johnny Lewis. He takes us back in time to Mississippi 1919 to introduce us to Travis' grandparents, then his parents and finally tells the story of Travis growing up in Tupelo. Clayton does a masterful job evoking the cadences of speech and the overweening racial and social status bigotry of the place and time. "Red" Warner's nickname could have just as easily come from his burning passion for his art as from his flaming hair color. In 1970s New York art scene, Red became the darling of the critics, and when that fickle adulation ceased, he flamed out big time and disappeared. Johnny Lewis sets out to find him, and what he finds is...well, read it for yourself! There are times when Clayton's prose becomes pure poetry. This is an author with great potential. I look forward to his next!

Normally I don't get emotional about books that are strange to me. This read was different. Clayton is an excellent writer and has a way of pulling at your heat-strings. Touching, moving, and a must read in today's society. Robert M. Appleton, Jr. (author of Running Out Of Road)

Alec Clayton is a master writer. He takes us into places that we would not have experienced without his prose. I read this one fast, and now I realize that I MUST read it again! IT'S just that kind of book: you can't eat all this good food at the table in one seating.

If the poor were to benefit from neoliberal policies, Dying for Growth argues, Mexico should provide an exemplary case. With constant encouragement from the United States, Mexico has aggressively implemented neoliberal policies for more than 20 years. The maquiladora sector of the economy, industrial plants owned by transnational corporations (TNCs) manufacturing products to export primarily to the United States, has grown quickly since the implementation of NAFTA, but this has been at the expense of other sectors of the economy. Competition with TNCs has undermined 30 000 small businesses and millions of subsistence farmers. Millions of permanently displaced peasants have made their way to urban shantytowns or tried to immigrate to the United States.
Read what does it mean to privatize health care system and industry in many countries around the world.
Learn how rich get richer and poor get poorer virtually everywhere, including USA and other developed nations.
How realy "free" is trade, market and for whom ?
Who controls "New World Order" - politicians elected by citizens or corporations ?
If you are not sure what is the answer - get this very interesting and disturbing research/analysis coming from Institute for Health and Social Justice.

This book provides a very thorough examination of how unequal patterns of growth and social inequality on a global scale have resulted in dire consequences for those many unfortunate who cannot afford health care. Many individuals, especially those residing in the United States, are already aware of the growing costs of health care. But imagine what it is like to live in a developing country where medical care is rudimentary at best and you're at the mercy of industrial pollution from the nearby TNC factory?

Using health as an indicator of social inequality, the authors examine the connections between poverty and illness. Aggregate statistics depicting the health status on a global scale are improving is debunked. Rather, there is an uneven distribution of health improvements: the wealthy have access to comprehensive medical care while the poor are dying from preventable diseases. Access to resources is restricted, even in the midst of technological advancements in medicine. The goal of this book is to examine how international organizations such as the World Bank, IMF, and WTO along with TNCs influence political and economic structures of nations which in turn affect the accessibility , cost, and quality of health care provided (if any). The central question raised concerns what pattern of growth will benefit those in need the most? How can we redistribute global resources from the powerful few to the many of the world's poor?

There is no doubt that the subject matter of this book is very extensive and the book itself is pretty thick, but reading this book will enable one to gain a better understanding of how recent trends in globalization have had devasting effects on the world's population. The authors provide good case studies that illustrate their main arguments. This book continues to serve as a vital reference source for my studies.

Unless you are not committed with the international situation and have a blind vision of how the world and the globalization are changind our living world, this book will improve your knowledge in many aspects.

It is very sad that people like the reader from New Yourk could express the opinion in his(her)review. The fact the he(she)didn't even signed his(her) opinion put his(her) criticism out of any kind of consideration.

I am very happy that there are another people that I even don't know personally, like Stephen Yhu that have a broader vision. I am also glad that other readers from USA, have expressed intelligent points of view.

As an international consultant in the field of International Health I just can say that the more you read, analize, avaliate and discuss the problems of our world, the bigger will be the possibility that it will be better. I am sure that this book is not the owner of the TRUE but nobody is. I am also sure that this GREAT BOOK will help people see the world from alternative perspectives.

. . . to really achieve its full potential, this play needs to be acted out on stage. Still, highly excellent, involving twins, cross-dressing, love tangles, sword-fighting, secret marriages, music, disguises, mistaken identities, high speech, and lowbrow humour.

The entire play takes place in Illyria. In the main plot, Orsino is in love with Olivia, who unfortunately does not return his feelings. Viola is shipwrecked on the Illyrian coast, and dressed as a boy, comes to serve in Orsino's court, where she of course falls in love with Orsino. Meanwhile, in Olivia's court, some of her courtiers plan a cruel--but funny--practical joke against her pompous steward Malvolio. There is also a third plot later on involving Viola's twin brother Sebastian, who has been shipwrecked likewise. Naturally things get quite confusing, but, true to Shakespeare's comedic style, everything gets worked out in the end.

This is an enjoyable book to read, and the notes are very helpful. However, it is still better as a performance.

"Twelfth Night" is one of the famous romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare. Many critics said, "Twelfth Night" is the masterpiece among his comedy because his fully developed style and insight are in the "Twelfth Night", so it has special value and attractiveness.
There are four main characters in "Twelfth Night" ; Duke Orsino, Olivia, Viola, and
Sebastian. Duke Orsino who lives in Illyria loves Olivia, so every day he send one of
his servant to Olivia's house for proposal of marriage. However, every time Olivia
refuses his proposal for the reason that she lost her brother before long, so she is now
in big sorrow and can not love anyone. One day, Viola comes into Illyria. She and her
twin brother Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck and they are rescued by two
different people in two different place, so they think the other one is dead each other.
Viola disguise as a man and become a servant of Duke Orsino, and then she fall in
love with Duke Orsino. But, Duke Orsino loves Olivia and he send Viola whose new
name as a man is "Cesario" to Olivia for proposal. Unexpectedly, Olivia fall in love with
Cesario!! Therefore, love triangle is formed. In the latter scene, Sebastian also come into
Illyria, so the confusion getting worse. However, in the end, all misunderstandings are
solved and Cesario become Viola, so the four main characters find their love.
There are also four supporting characters in "Twelfth Night" ; Clown, Sir Toby Belch,
Malvolio, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. They make the readers laugh through their funny
behaviors and comments in subplot.
"Twelfth Night" is very funny story and enjoyable book, so I recommend you.

I didn't read this particular version of Twelfth Night, so I'm rating the plot, not the editing. This book was the first play by Shakespeare that I read, and I loved it! It starts when Viola and her brother, Sebastian, are seperated in a shipwreck. Viola decides to disguise herself as a boy and work for Orsino, the duke. Orsino sends Viola to tell Olivia that he loves her. Viola does what he says, but she wishes she didn't have to, because she has fallen in love with Orsino! Then Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking that she is a boy. While all this is going on, Andrew Aguecheek is wooing Olivia, who scorns him. Also, Maria, the maid, Sir Toby Belch, Olivia's uncle, and another servant write a letter and put it where Malvolio, a servant, will see it. The letter says that Olivia is in love with Malvolio. Malvolio immediately starts trying to woo Olivia. Maria and Sir Toby pretend to think that he's mad, and lock him up. Meanwhile, Sebastian comes to town with Antonio, the man who saved him from the shipwreck. Antonio gives him his purse and says that he must stay away from the city because he fought against the duke in a war. A few minutes later, Antonio realizes that he needs money for lodgings and goes to find Sebastian. In the city, Viola is being forced to fight Andrew Aguecheek for the right to marry Olivia. Antonio sees the fight and hurries to intervene. Orsino recognizes him and has him arrested. Antonio asks Viola for his purse so that he can pay bail, thinking that she is Sebastian. Viola denies having had a purse. Then Sebastian comes up. Olivia had found him and married him on the spot, and he, deliriously happy, had gone away to give Antonio his purse. On the way, he met Sir Toby and Andrew Aguecheek. When they try to force him to fight, he punches them and goes on. They come up too, bitterly accusing Viola. (No one has seen Sebastian yet.) Then Olivia comes up and speaks to Viola, who denies being her wife. Orsino becomes angry with her, thinking that she has married Olivia, and accuses her of treachery. Just as things are looking bad for Viola, Sebastian reveals himself. Then everyone is happy (since Orsino falls in love with Viola on the spot) except Andrew Aguecheek and Malvolio, who is later set free. The plot of this book is a little hard to understand, but it is halariously funny and makes for happy reading.

Lord knows there is a place for criticism in music. The problem is that too often the most ill-qualified, wrongest people practice it, and are rewarded with the bully pulpit of widely read publication and nice paychecks to boot. Alec Wilder is a "right" person, if ever there was one. He's no outsider or "wannabe". His insights on the procedures and content on the songwriting of his brethren come from his own long, hard struggle with the form. And he did it VERY well, giving his observations yet more credence. He has the courage of his convictions, putting a hard critical ear to the work of his peers, betters, "worsers"---whoever, while owning up to his prejudices and acknowledging that it is, after all, only his opinion. I'm glad he covered the people he did, and only disappointed and perplexed that he passed on Strayhorn (I suppose because his work was outside the theater/movie/pop song orbit of the others). I would have appreciated his insights. Such skill, courage, and honesty in criticism is at the very least a breath of fresh air.

Neither music lovers, nor especially fellow composers should take Wilder's words as the gospel, though, as I feel he'd be the first to implore. It's hard enough to compose and ignore the criticism in one's one head, let alone hear the muse over the strains of a duet. Another thing to consider in placing importance on even as eloquent and well-formed criticisms as these is Wilder's harrowing self-doubt about his OWN composing, and general worth (which comes through loud and clear in his autobiographical "Letters I Never Sent") And listeners should follow their own ears and hearts. Take Wilder's survey for what it is, very high quality opinion.

As for MY opinion, the only thing that leaves a bad taste in this and similar books (Copland's survey 20th century composers, for a much more egregious example) is a certain elitism cutting through that, at its worst, is downright snotty. According to the preface (by Gene Lees, a talented man and friend of good music, but himself no stranger to the banshee wail of the conservatively cranky)Wilder stated that "after 1955, the amateurs took over". I can understand the horror Wilder and other gifted musicians, weaned on European and even jazz traditions, felt when rock's arrival landed a knockout blow to their careers and values. But it wasn't and isn't all garbage---the best of it is as valid as anything. Perhaps its greatest virtue is that it doesn't take itself that seriously as "art". If nothing else, it loosened us all up a bit. Wilder's cynicism, however justified in his mind, peeks through these pages a bit, although not so much as to be harmful. It's just frustrating and a bit of a bore. I so want to believe that so rare a musical wit felt affection, not disdain toward the the race he wrote about and for. So with these things in mind, enjoy and learn as I have from a very valuable piece of writing.

Yes, the man is opinionated, and one may argue with some of his more controversial and unsparing critiques. His analyses are grounded in a thorough understanding of music, and he does not retreat from criticizing the most popular. I think that the whole topic is perhaps more subjective than Wilder lets on, but at least he's forthright about his opinions, and provides hundreds of musical annotations to illustrate his views. I'll also agree with the reviewer who criticizes Wilder's view that post-50's popular music was written by "amateurs." Still, this is widely regarded as a must-have for the student of popular music, and it's an excellent, albeit somewhat technical critique of popular music's "golden age." Recommended!

ALEC WILDER himself a composer has written what is generally considered the bible of AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC.More than thirty years have gone by since the first édition of this book and it remains fresh.Like many i am proud to say that this book was really for me what i needed to start digging into the history of many songs before the rock era.From BERLIN and KERN to the often forgotten greats like DONALDSON and McHUGH they are all there and mister WILDER knows what he is talking about;he had talked to many writers and composers who were at the time of the first édition still with us.Personal opinions are of course a matter of taste;we are for example not obliged to believe everything he says.Most of the time mister WILDER is right:EXAMPLE:he believes that RICHARD RODGERS was perhaps the most gifted composer of his time.Few can really disagree with that.In fact,there is only one major problem with this book,if you don't read music it won't be too enjoyable for you,because there are many examples with sheet music to proves the points he wants to make.Everyone who has an interest in the history of AMERICAN popular music should buy that book.

The elements that make this novel a cyberpunk classic are all here: the sharp story concept, the sleaze-noire environs, the eccentric yet honorable anti-hero, and the morally hazardous technology. I read this book upon hearing about Effinger's recent death, so I came to this novel well past its original release, and my perspective is affected by the 14 intervening years of evolution in cyberpunk.

In an unnamed Middle Eastern city's criminal enclave, the Budayeen, Marid Audran artfully plies his trade as a freelance underworld "fixer." Need someone found; need to make a break with your pimp; need to negotiate with the local godfather? Audran's your man. His essential feature is his independence, even from the cerebral implants that are universally popular: plug-in modules that alter your personality to any fictional or real person, and add-ins for instantly acquiring expertise on any subject. Audran even eschews the expedient of firearms. He relies only on his functional drug habit, and his occasionally useful crew of acquaintances comprising the barkeeps, bent policemen, prostitutes, and ne'er-do-wells of the Budayeen. Effinger renders the future of 400 years from now quite softly (nearly as an afterthought, except for the implants), but the intricate beauty of the Arab backdrop is vivid, with its ancient mores and formalisms coexisting with criminal enterprise.

Discordant as Audran's techno-phobia is for a sci-fi novel, Effinger plays this intriguingly as the basis for the dominant theme of the book: the contest between humanity and inhumanity, bridged as it is by consciousness, which can be altered by a technology that remakes who you are and what you know as easily as swapping a plug. I also think it was a deft distinction that Effinger made between modules and add-ins, because he clearly wants to keep the issues separate, with personality encompassing morality. Audran, who would be nearly amoral but for his own code of honor, becomes the agent for justice in the Budayeen and eventually embraces the means he fears in order to resolve the dark mystery of exceptionally brutal serial murders that threaten to unbalance the criminal order of the Budayeen.

An inspired story, one that is worth the read, but it does suffer from unnecessarily raw transitions in the narrative and an uncompelling international contest that motivates the murders. These shortcomings sap energy from the story and leaves the reader feeling a bit flat at the conclusion. And because of this, Effinger's work falls short of William Gibson's of the same period, but then again it's better than any of Gibson's later work (e.g., "All Tomorrow's Parties").

Effinger has created what might at first seem an impossibility -- a cyberpunk, film noir murder mystery set in the Middle East. Where is the Budayeen? That's not important (although from references it seems to be near Egypt); what is important is the characters. The people, from Audran to Papa to Half-Hajj all fit in this world. You know what they look like, feel like, smell like, and if ever they act out of character you know something is wrong. This is a world of shadows and sand, one where there is trickery and deceit around every corner. The mullahs call you to prayer and people wire their brains to alter their personalities. Life is cheap, sex is cheaper, and everyone has to look out for himself. There is nothing heavy-handed in the way Effinger puts this together. He is stylish without being self-conscious. You will be drawn in and only want to read more about this world he has created. This is a fantastic book.

This novel is, in my opinion, one of the best SF efforts of the 80s. The writing is modern, dynamic and more refined than in the average cyberpunk novel. The narrative progression is vigorous but the reader never gets out of his depth, because Effinger's aim, beyond the solving of the "mystery", is to show how a man can be framed by his own capacities: Marid Audran, indeed, is chosen by Friedlander Bey because he's the only man in the Boudayin to have the sufficient amount of shrewdness / charism / guts to find the killer. Against his will, he accepts to have his brain wired, succeeds but will get no reward in the end (to say the least). A tragic destiny, quite unusual in SF. Nevertheless, as another reviewer wrote, Effinger was smart enough not to insert too many digressions or metaphysical considerations (like many other authors would have done): on the contrary, he punctuated the plot with wellcomed strokes of black humour.

All the characters are colourful and unforgettable. In the end, I felt like I was one of them, like I belonged to their community. It's really hard not to get involved personnally in this book (... the sign of a good book). The description of the Boudayin is amazing: it avoids most of the usual exotic cliches about North Africa (where I've never been to), but in the same time, the reader catches very quickly who does what and why, even if he's not familiar with arab civilization. In other words, Effinger plays intelligently with the western unconscious perception of this culture.

I think this novel may appeal to many sci-fi readers: the unexperienced readers will certainly appreciate the fast pace and the unusual setting; the more experienced readers will appreciate the numerous references and, in a way, the fidelity to the spirit of the golden age of SF.

The only problem I see with WGF is: what's next? Is this the end of a cycle or the beginning of another? Effinger seems to have reached his top with this book: the two sequels, written in 1989 and 1991, are in my opinion very inferior. I wish someone took up the gauntlet soon.

This sequel to When Gravity Fails finds former lowlife gumshoe Marid Audran suddenly becoming the right-hand man of futuristic Cairo's godfather, Friedlander Bey. Marid's transition from near-destitute scum to wealthy and powerful is more than a little awkward for him, since he had always prided himself on his independence. It's also somewhat awkward for the reader, since after a while, it gets old watching him get treated like a marionette. Friedlander Bey reorders Marid's world to separate him from his former friends and life by placing him on the police force, giving him his friend's bar, and giving him a Christian slave. Of course, you can't really refuse gifts from Friedlander Bey, so Marid toils at his job investigating various intrigues against his master. Thus, even more so than in the first book, he's the reluctant hero with a conscience of sorts.

The story starts with Marid in Algiers, searching for his mother and his roots. It doesn't quite work out as well as expected, and soon he's back in Cairo under the thumb of Friedlander Bey, working for the police, running around trying to figure out who's murdering little children and prostitutes. The killings may or may not be linked to Abu Adil, a rival to Friedlander Bey, but Marid doesn't really get going until an obviously corrupt officer keeps thwarting him and his reluctant partner gets killed. This element gets a little hokey, as his relationship with the partner goes through all the phases familiar to us from buddy-cop movies. The action gets a little convoluted as Marid bounces around, and the setting's novelty isn't as compelling as in the first book. Still, it's an interesting mix of Chandler and Dick, and if you like it, you should definitely check out Jonathan Lethem's Gun, With Occasional Music. Followed by The Exile Kiss.

This book is very uneven, with many strengths and many weaknesses. Though I haven't read the first book in the series, which seems to be out of print, the plot here is more or less self-contained. Marid Audran has had "corymbic implants" (which allow chips to interface to his brain) installed and payed for by Friedlander Bey, who also employs him. Friedlander Bey is a sort of Muslim mob boss with a vast network of influence across the middle east. He has Audran working as a liason to the local police station, though it's not clear what he actually does for Bey before he is unexpectedly assigned street duty with another cop. The book opens with unanswered questions about Audran's past and leads to a variety of intrigues involving Bey, Audran's mother, his cop partner, and Bey's rival, Reda Abu Adil.

The sci-fi and fantasy aspects of the book, mainly involving the devices characters can plug into their brains to alter their behavior or sensory input, are imaginative and very good. Many of the character depictions are also quite good, for instance, Kmuzu, Audran's Christian slave, and the twisted Abu Adil, who uses something called Proxy Hell chips that you'll have to read about yourself. However, the plot and the world the book is set in are not 100% convincing. For instance, it remains very unclear why religion is such a big part of Effinger's world, with characters uttering Muslim expressions right and left but religion not integrated into their lives in any meaningful way. Another problem is that the first-person narrative contains many annoying banalities that don't fit with the main character's personality at all. He is supposedly a street-wise hitman and advisor to a powerful mob boss, but makes annoyingly obvious remarks and expresses absurdly simple-minded views on Islam and religion in general. Overall, however, I still recommend the book if you're looking for a good sci-fi read and don't have anything else on your list.

As mentioned, this is the second book in a (currently) three book series. Sadly, there won't be a fourth, as George Alec Effinger died last year. It looks like we'll get a taste of it, with "Budayeen Nights" being due in September 2003. From what I've read, this is a collection of short stories and is not the 4th novel we've been waiting for.

In this book, Marid works as a policeman in the Budayeen (a walled portion in an anonymous Islamic city, where pretty much anything goes) and making sure that his patron's interests within the police are taken care of. At it's heart, like the first book, it's a mystery...but one with a colorful (to say the least) cast of characters. There is a focus on cybernetics, landing the book squarely in the cyberpunk sci-fi genre, but the electronic gizmos are not the focus of the story. The levels of sex and drug use, and to a slightly lesser extent the violence, in these books is astounding but I don't feel it took anything away from the story.

I bought this book on my last day in Hong Kong after finishing a stay in China. Alec Le Sueur writes about experiences that were identical to mine. I sat in the lobby of the hotel waiting for the bus to the airport laughing until I almost fell out of my chair, much to the consternation of the hotel staff. If you have been to China or are thinking about going READ THIS BOOK! Mr. Le Sueur provides excellent insight into an amazing part of the world.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly for the author's sense of humour. What a sigh of relief reading a book about Tibet discussing issues which aren't related with the human rights issues. This is a travelling book, a book of observation which continues on the tradition of Bill Bryson & Jan Wong (of China Blues' fame). Still, we learnt a lot about the country by reading between the lines. I have read countless of books about Tibet & China & most of them were about how the authors survived their ordeal. Cliche`. Here, we also read about the author's ordeal but of a different kind. We were brought behind the scene of an international hotel & I'm adamant that most hotel operators haven't removed 200+ dead rats from their hotels before, rode in their hotel vehicle which were devoid of suspensions & driven in break neck speed by their driver who hardly spoke any English, etc. There's so much to be written but it's better to let the prospective readers discover for themselves what a wee gem this book is. I finished this book in 2 days as I couldn't afford to put it down. Damn hilarious, compatible with the Fawlty Tower as claimed, & truly a memesrising experience. Keep up the good work!

If you were to cross National Geographic, Bill Bryson and Fawlty Towers, then I'm sure that this book is what would pop out at the other end.

Covering the author's 7 years working in the most unlikely Holiday Inn in the world - in Lhasa Tibet - this is a real treat. From the rains of dead flies at a banquet to the bizarre Miss Tibet contest in the hotel swimming pool, back to the dead guest who nobody seems to be able to get rid of, and encountering various smells, accidents and infestations on the way, Le Sueur emerges as a Basil Fawlty for the 1990's, tackling each catastrophe with crossed fingers and invention in equal measures. It's genuinely hilarious, and more so because it isn't the product of a comedy writer's brain, but an account of real, if at times surreal, events.

Le Sueur is a very likeable protagonist who not only brings us the humour found in trying to run a top class hotel in a communist coutry cut off from the rest of the world, but also explores the effects of China's rule on Tibet and its people. What prevents the politics of the book becoming staid and stuffy is Le Sueur's naive angle - he sees the Tibetan situation in the same way that any other ordinary person might, with a mixture of fascination and outrage. It's clear he has a great deal of love and respect for Tibetans, and writes in a highly acerbic tone about their relationship with the Chinese. But at the same time, he is not afraid to show his downright frustration with both the Tibetan and Chinese staff in the hotel who it seems, will never understand the basic principles of customer service, or even hygiene.

It's a nice balance, and the book works on both the levels Le Sueur is obviously trying to explore. The humour is so abundant it's ticklish, the anecdotes are so interesting, you won't want to put the book down; in short, "Running A Hotel" is a very entertaining read.