exciting, fun, interesting, and holds your attention all the way through the book

I was surprised by the quality of this book. The prose is smooth and flowing and the plot, ver simple, yet keeps you interested. It's all here, class hatred, the criminal mind, depraviation at one end, then love, compassion and religioud belief. Brilliant, one of my favourite books.

Outstanding! Poker, sex, social snobbery, cynicism, revenge, redemption!! All you need for a great read and more. Lots more. I could read a book life this every day for the rest of my life

Simply put, this is one of the best novels I have ever read. The story is a tremendously engaging and well-crafted portrait of a crucial period -- 1914 to 1950 -- in France's history. Read does a magnificent job of showing the complexity and grayness of the various character types, world views, politics, etc. of this period of history. The story is so compellingly told that the pages turn like you are reading a great spy novel.

Clearly there is much of the author in this clever work. The Catholic Church, Westminster, the Media and the British class system are surefire fodder for Read's heavy irony.

The humble human condition is the victor as our hero eventually settles for his lot. 'Be happy with what you have...'

The novel lends itself to the 'taped version' and the narrator, Ric Jerome, does an excellent job.

A disillusioned barrister attempts to recapture the idealism and passion of his youth -via entry into politics and the commencement of an extra marital affair. The novel charts his ruthless re-aninmation with a sensitive eye for the ironies of life. It is a novel that despises what it describes -but is canny enough to invite the reader to draw their own conclusions. The familiarity of marriage and its killing effect on passion are unflinchingly exposed. However, no easy answers are offered. All that is certain is that we are responsible for our own actions -that these actions have consequences is the hardest lesson of all. A book of bleak, profound truth.

This story is an unforgettable saga of human endurance. While traveling with his rugby team, Nando was in a plane crash. For 74 days, on a high peak of the cold snowy Andes Mountains, Nando Parrado led a group of young men in their fight to survive the cruelties of nature. Nando's story leaves anyone with a heightened sense of one's own life and its value. There is a strong message of will, decision, teamwork and family. This story is timeless. The events took place 26 years ago. The book was written 24 years ago. The movie was made 6 six years ago. Today it remains a moving and powerful story.

A rugby team and their family and friends.. travelling together for a big match.. flying over the Andes mountains. Seems pretty regular I suppose, except that the plane crashes, and it can't be pinpointed. There is instant death and feelings of hopelessness, but there is also the spirit of life, and the desire to survive. I have read this book several times and each time I get the same emotions. It is a great book, but be warned, it is not for the weak of stomach! Still, Piers Paul Read does a wonderful job of telling the story of the Andes survivors. If you have not read it I highly recommend it. Yes, it's a little gross, but by the time you get to that part you are well immersed in the story.

Alive was a novel based on the true story of the Andes Survivors. There were thirty-two people who survived the plane crash and spent seventy gruesome days in the Andes. Their only source of food was wine and a small amount of candy. The only shelter that the thirty-two survivors had was the fuselage from the plane, which obviously didn't live up to the standards of the cold, harsh weather they had to endure. Being lost and cold, the number of survivors dropped slowly but drastically. They started off with thirty-two survivors and by the end of the book there was only sixteen survivors. As the number of survivors decreased slowly, the bond between the remaining was truly evident. For the matter of survival, the people who were struggling to survive had to resort to cannibalism and eat the "meat" of the people who died. In the book the reader can also see the never-ending struggle to find the men by their families and friends. The reader gets a sense of what it is like to try and survive in the Andes, but they also see what it is like for the families. Even though what these men went through may sicken you, it was the courage of these men that shone through. This book is absolutely a must-read for anyone.

I truly think this book is very inspirational and exciting.
I had to read this book for my World Lit. and Comp. English class, and I am very glad i got the chance to read such a great novel. I had an awesome time doing the presentation, because I got the chance to see the rest of the class get interested in the book that I read.
The first chapter started out slowly, but was very informational. Going through the first chapter was well worth it, because the rest of the book brought me into the amazing adventures the survivors went through. It kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what would happen next.
I would recommend this book for a more older audience: teenage on. The reason being, the book goes into fine detail. It brings you into some of the gruesome and overwhelming events that the survivors went through, before and after the rescue.
If reading a true, exciting story about a group of people giving their all to survive and having your emotional flow never stop, Alive is the book for you.
The book made me realize that anything is possible if you never give up!

While the movie adaptation of Alive depicts the major events of the ordeal fairly comprehensively, only the book contains the complete account. Piers Paul Read's book is very complete and detailed, more fully describing the daily sufferings and routines of the survivors. In particular, emotional stresses, individual personalities, and the grisly task of obtaining flesh are related in depth.

It is frightening to consider how easily we can be thrust into a situation as horrifying as that the Uruguayan travellers in this book had to endure, but their story should not be avoided because it is upsetting. There is much to be learned from this account: the value of resourcefulness, of ability to do the agonizingly difficult, and of courage in frightening circumstances. Furthermore, to recognize how nearly hopeless a situation can be, and what extraordinary effort is needed to escape it helps us recalibrate our perceptions of difficulty, misery and pain to more accurate levels.

Though the survivors requested and evaluated this book, it is completely frank. Read gives an honest description of each survivor, including personality failings which made some survivors a further hardship to the rest. The growing despondency and physical withering of the survivors is told with harsh vividness. Describing how dead bodies were utilized was surely the most difficult task, but Read writes of this area with as much detail as any other. Corpses were not only stripped of muscle, but also internal organs, then bone marrow, then the skulls cracked for the brain within, as corpses available for food became scarce, ocasionally requiring that the grisly, partially eaten bodies be exhumed. In addition to the ordeal on the mountain, also included are: a brief description of the emotional outcomes of the experience; the media bombardment; the personal search conducted by parents for the crash site. Maps are included to place the story, but these are not scaled.

This account does leave one disturbed. The truth of our defenselessness but for the blanket of civilization is a valuable lesson that can only be shocked into our conditioned minds, however. There is a place in everyone's reading for such material, and furthermore, this incredible story takes only two or three days to read.

Excellent book!!! Paul Piers Read writes Alive based on a true story. A Uruguayan Rugby team crash lands in the Andes mountain. This book is wrtiten in complete and vivid details, form the crash to the taist of human flesh. This book is exciting and will keep you on the edge of your seat. This book will make you realize that anything can happen to anytbody at anytime. So what would you do to stay "Alive"

Whether you are a believer or not, this is certainly a page-turner written with style. Careful plotting and mostly credible characters kept my interest throughout.

It is a deeply Catholic novel, which did't put me off but, as an atheist, didn't convert me either. The major implausiblility in the book, for me, was the conversion of a militant athiest by what I imagine Catholics would call "the divine spirit" or similar. Sorry, I found this bit laughable. The only other blemish in the book is a faint whiff of anti-semitism. But still well worth a read.

This book would make an excellent film ,except that it would disturb far too many catholics. It's a fascinating novel that test the depths of one's faith in christianity. I highly recommend this book for the faithfull and faithless alike.

Whilst excavating a tunnel under the Mosque in Jerusalem a sensational discovery is made. The remains of a crucified man are found. The group of Israeli archaeologist decides it is time to call in the Vatican. The Vatican is not certain it wants part in it, but decides it will be best to have two of their own attest to the discovery. A book that will be difficult to put down. Faith and religious believes are tested all the way through the book. The author's knowledge of Christian and particularly Catholic Theology is vastly demonstrated. Present day events intertwine through the book. Whether a religious person or an atheist, this book is certainly a most for all

This book covers the Chernobyl nuclear reactor melt down that took place back in the early 80's in the USSR. The first third of the book covers what happened to cause the accident - an amazingly small human error for such a major problem. The next third of the book covers the fighting of the fires, evacuation of the town and the closure of that part of the facility. The last third of the book covers the political fallout for the incident.

Overall he details are very interesting and the author has done a very good job in pulling all the facts together. You really can tell that this is a very well researched book. The writing is not bad and the book follows a well-constructed path. My only complaint would be that the last third of the book tends to drag a little due to the in depth coverage of the political aspects, due to it being USSR it is not always the most interesting for an American. All in all, this is a good book that does a great job in describing the accident and the clean up. The one thing you will take away from the book is that it is a wonder that this type of incident has not happened again.

If you enjoy true documentary type history and politics, well written, and especially if you are one of the thousands who enjoyed this author's "Alive" - about the survivors of an airplane crash - then you will devour "Ablaze". Mind you, among the page-turning excitement there is also a lot of breathtaking incompetence and cover-up. You'll remember: the Chernobyl reactor blew up, the Soviets covered up, Europe was contaminated, thousands of Soviet citizens were (and still are) made tragically ill. This book gives a journalistic factual account of the emergency and all its aftermath. The physics is well explained for the non-scientist. Worth ordering!

The Devil himself was manifested in the hellish heat and fire of the exposed core of reactor number four at the V.I. Lenin PowerStation in Pripyat, outside of Chernobyl, in the USSR. Soundsgrotesque, but intriguing, right? Piers Paul Read's novel, Ablaze, presents the horror "story of the heroes and victims of [the] Chernobyl [nuclear accident]." in a daunting, yet scientifically credible way. In the introduction of the book, Piers Paul Read, presents the information regarding the disaster in Pripyat. Read writes in a straight forward manner that promotes a trust between the reader and author. During his introduction, Read clearly outlines his thesis and how he is going to present information. He tells you from that beginning that he does not know extensively about nuclear physics, reactor construction, or about the operation of a nuclear power plant. His lack of experience paired with the average reader's same lack, makes a perfect match. For the information that the average reader doesn't know, the author provides what could be called a mini-lesson on the basics of nuclear power as well as a bit of nuclear physics. I think that the author does this to promote a feeling of trust between the author and the reader. When reading the introduction where the author spoke of not knowing extensively about the world of nuclear power, I got the impression that the author was learning along with me during the mini-lessons. This instilled a feeling of companionship and trust in me toward the author. I believe that trust is a vital part of the relationship between an author and his/her audience. While the mini-lessons alleviated much of the lacking of background information, the reader still needed to know some of the general history of Russia and the USSR to completely comprehend the work. The knowledge required amassed mostly to the structure of the Soviet government and the structure and the power of "the party" otherwise known as the Communist Party of the country. Although this information is not obscure or arduous to find, it still required some research on the part of this reader. After a brief mini-lesson on nuclear physics, Read went on to explain events leading up to the disaster. He provided a total explanation of the history behind atomic weaponry development and how it led to the development of nuclear reactors in the USSR. Read focused mainly on the RBMK reactor development and the Soviet drive to harness the vast amounts of energy that can be created by a nuclear reactor. While the explanation of this "nuclear race" was quite education, it seemed too name and oriented for me to follow with full cognition. In fact, to this reader, the whole book appeared to be overflowing with names. While it can be understood that names and specific facts are imperative to a non-fiction historical book, they can be overused, as they appear to have been in Ablaze. To this reader, the overuse of names and other facts avert the reader from fully enjoying and understanding the book. After the explanation of the events leading to the disaster, the author moves into a stage where the pace picks up. Events start happening with short intervals, and the words start forming vivid images in the reader's mind. This reader could see the eerie blue and red glow of the reactor as it emitted the deadly radionuclides that killed or harmed so many. The writing explaining the actual explosion and the 20 or so minutes that followed were realistic and action-packed. The pages of these actions, made the daunting journey through the pages of explanations worth it. The writing on the actual accident was like something one could read out of a best-selling novel, or more accurately, could see in the newest blockbuster action movie. Piers Paul Read's writing in this middle phase of the book were superb, but, to this reader, the readability and excitement soon faded. The writing of the immediate aftermath was still interesting, and I wanted to continue to read. But, as the book further progressed, the quality of the writing diminished. While totally untrue and unrealistic, it could be said that this book appears to be written in one day: It starts slowly, like one is writing after just awaking, then, as the writer wakens and becomes more alert, the writing quality and excitement increase. The writing quality and excitement seem to reach their pinnacle at the center of the book. Then, the quality diminishes, getting worst as the day goes on -- as the writer grows weary. The book closes with a triteness that is so indicative of the common history book. It closes like one has slowly drifted off to sleep. It does not close with the BANG that a topic of this proportion and magnitude demands. The book, while not in chaos, could use a better organization system. The Table of Contents was quiet insufficient for a book with as many divisions and sections as Ablaze. Also, the different sections and chapters would be better suited with a textual title as well as the numerical title that each section has. And these titles should be included in the table of contents. For a book that appears to be researched extensively, the author should have paid more attention to the structure and organization of the book. Published in 1993, Ablaze by Piers Paul Read addresses a concern that many American and International citizens share-- nuclear safety. Most Americans live within a comparatively close proximity of a nuclear reactor, weather for electricity creation, or for governmental and military use. The possibility is always there, for an explosion like at Pripyat, or for something worse, a full meltdown or even nuclear war. Piers Paul Read illustrates this point effectively. Although lengthy, the message is clear. Read tells us crystal-clearly, like Jacobo Timerman said, "Everything that happened once can happen again.

Alice in Exile is by no means a bad book, nor an excellent one. Well-written and thoroughly researched, the author attempts to delve into the life of 20-something Alice Fry as she battles with concepts of love, attachment, and eventually World War One.

The author attempts to play with the social and moral beliefs of London immediately prior to WW1. Alice is well-educated, and her beliefs tend to be slightly bohemian. Edward, her first love, falls deeply for her, sleeps with her, and proposes. His upper-class parents are dismayed at his choice, and are relieved when Edward breaks off the engagement when Alice's father, a publisher, is involved in a sexual scandal over a book he published. Heart broken and pregnant, Alice accepts a job as a governess in Russia for the lecherous Barron Rettenberg. This sets up the trials of Alice, her son, and the Ruttenberg family as they are involved in both WWI and the Russian civil war (1918-1921) that erupted during this period of time.

Some of the biggest leaps of faith in the novel include believing that Alice could fall for her employer. As the reader we see a side that Alice does not see--such as when he considers raping her as she sleeps--and his transformation into believing Alice to be the love of his life does not ring true. The ending is too-pat and unbelievable; and the relationships between most of the characters is not very well developed. The author perhaps spends too much time telling the reader about the characters that he doesn't take enough to develop the characters on the page so that they seem like breathing, tangible people.

The best parts of this book include the struggles of Alice during the Russian Civil War, especially considering her attachment to a landed family in Russia.

On the eve of World War I at a party in Chelsea, young aristocrat Edward Cobb meets and falls in love with free-thinking liberal-minded suffragette Alice Fry. Educated at Eton and Oxford, this son of a baronet, who has just left the army to pursue a career in politics, has never met anyone like Alice. She speaks her mind, smells of cigars and doesn't mind making the first move. Despite their differences, Alice and Edward are smitten with each other and pursue a passionate affair much to the dismay of their friends and families.

When the couple becomes engaged, Edward's family draws the line and encourages him to consider his burgeoning political career and instead marry Elspeth, the far more suitable and proper young woman they have selected for him. Edward finally relents after Alice's father, a radical publisher, is taken to court for public obscenity after publishing an erotic sex manual. Heartbroken and pregnant, Alice accepts an offer to become a governess for a wealthy Russian baron and leaves the country.

When Alice's new employer, the charming and dashing Baron Rettenberg, discovers her pregnancy, he helps change her identity to conceal her shame and Alice becomes a French widow named Mademoiselle Chabon. Time passes and Alice and the baron tentatively begin to fall in love. But when the Russian Revolution forces Rettenberg to flee his manor, Alice is left alone to fend for herself and her young son. Not long after the baron's departure, Alice and her son find the danger too great and also escape.

Meanwhile, Edward's marriage to Elspeth falls apart and he sets forth in war torn Europe in search of Alice, whom he now believes to be the love of his life. In an exhilarating climax, Alice is forced to choose between the two men --- one is her first love and the father of her son, while the other is a man who loves her unconditionally but obsessively.

ALICE IN EXILE is a beautifully moving love story played out in a world ravaged by war. Meticulously researched and loaded with moral and emotional conflict, this story of lovers forced apart by differing social backgrounds and dire circumstances should appeal to fans of both the historical and the romantic.

--- Reviewed by Melissa Morgan

I bought this book many years ago, but I didn't for some reason read it until now.
I loved the story and I really recommend you to read it. Even if the book was written in 1968 the story is still valid today year 2001.
The plot is starting in a devided Berlin 1963, but is looking back to the characters lives between the two wars and during World War II.