Chilling portrayal of Yorkshire winter weather. I shivered throughout, from the meteorological descriptions, not the plot. This is an OK British dullsville police procedural of the Greeneland lite school, with a who-cares plot and at least 100 pages of padding. The one who dun it stood out like a sore thumb at first introduction. I give it three instead of two stars because it is literate and the dialogue works. Some interesting asides on twentieth century classical music. I find it difficult to believe that British police can get away with so much drinking on the job. But maybe they can. Maybe that's why it takes them those extra 100 pages to see what's in front of their nose.

"Past Reason Hated," by Peter Robinson, differs from the run-of-the-mill murder mystery. Inspector Banks, who is the sleuth in this series, is always fascinating. He is a chain smoker who enjoys drinking. He loves classical music, although he is not overly intellectual. Banks truly shines in his ability to communicate with suspects in a murder investigation. Banks is the best interviewer in the business. He has unerring intuition when it comes to spotting lies and evasions, and he has a way of getting people to reveal a great deal of themselves. Most of all, he cares about seeing justice done, no matter how long it takes and no matter whom it may hurt. In this novel, a young amateur actress named Caroline Hartley is found brutally murdered. She has had a tumultuous life, and any number of people might have had reason to kill her. Banks interviews those who knew Caroline years ago, as well as those who were closely involved with her shortly before her death. "Past Reason Hated" deals with such themes as struggling to come to terms with one's sexuality, the fears that cause people to commit irrational acts and the complicated and inexplicable nature of human relationships. "Past Reason Hated" is an engrossing and satisfying psychological mystery.

I'm happy that I discovered, serendipitously, P. Robinson. He's my favorite mystery writer right now; since I discovered him about 3 months ago, I've read all of his novels. If you like Brit Police procedurals, he's the best--by far. Highly recommended.

Author has good credentials but a silly irritating style. Finds it necessary to shove a smarmy apology for about a paragraph for throwing in some history (Anti-Federalists, Whigs, etc.) which is essential to understanding Republican roots and the daytime TV level apology ends up running almost longer than the very brief historical background. Part personal memoire, part daily journalism on a USA Today level, part sophmore poli-sci term paper...and none of these parts fit or work together. Buy Republican Party Reptile by PJ instead.

"It's My Party" is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read in my life. In this book the author takes us on a tour of the Republican Party (circa 2000) and highlights the highs and lows of the party as well as pointing out things like the regional distribution of the party, why people tend to be either Republican or Democrat, and his own personal journey in life as a Republican.

You will meet various personalities in the party such as George W. Bush, Brett Schundler, Rudy Gulliani, Henry Hyde, Haley Barbour, and many others. The chapter called "A Tale of Two Cities" shows that the voters of New Jersey made a huge mistake in not electing Brett Schundler as their governor while also showing that the country as a whole made a huge mistake in not supporting the House Republicans on the matter of Clinton's Impeachment. Robinson shows this not by criticizing groups, but by revealing what a great man Schundler is and also while telling the story of the House Republicans and Impeachment honestly (which the news media did not).

Another great strength in the book is the discussion on how the Republicans can reach out to non-traditional Republican groups such as African-Americans, Roman Catholics, and others.

In short, "It's My Party" is highly recommended.

You don't have to be a Republican to enjoy Peter Robinson's "It's My Party." At the start, Robinson tells us that we're about to follow him on a tour of the GOP, circa 2000. We do, but somehow along the way we learn almost as much about the Democrats and about political America generally, how it got this way and where it is going. Robinson writes like a humorist, and so he's an easy read -- lots of fun. But don't let his wit fool you. Even as you're chuckling, he's sketching for you an extraordinarily sophisticated and penetrating portrait of our nation and the great institutions, issues and trends that are shaping it as it enters the new millenium. I enjoyed every chapter and, when I finished, felt tremendously glad that I'd read it.

I especially like this book because it gives the IT shop and the security professionals lots of ammunition for getting funding and support from the "business" side of the business. Too often, the business executives don't understand the technology in question, and therefore do not comprehend the extent of the threat to the enterprise. Because this book is written for a "high level" business audience, among others, it presents issues like risk assessment and extent of the threat in ways the average businessman can understand. It even has sections like "Gaining Support" meant to help IT get management and funding on its side, without which the most carefully thought out plan isn't going anywhere, given that it's the executives who have the clout to make things happen in an organization!

Any manager who lets his technical people build a security program without the rational kind of road map this book offers is asking to be "owned", that is, to be hacked, his Web site defaced, his firm's data trashed. Never, never wade into the muddy waters of cybersecurity without a good plan.

This book is that plan: risk formulas, the nature of the threats, key tenets of a security program, key steps in constructing one, important policies to have, key steps in formulating a policy, key goals in information security, kinds of architecture to consider, kinds of infrastructure that underlie the program, steps in the life cycle for developing a secure system.

Talk about comprehensive. A great way to introduce yourself to security from a high level view or to start building security for your organization.

Just what the doctor ordered. Finally a clear road map for setting up computer security at a corporation.

Lots of organizations are clueless about what is needed to set up an effective defense against hackers. This book provides the clues, in a clear, jargon-free, and easy-to-understand manner. It lays it all out step by step.

It sketches the nature of the threat hackers pose. Then it tells you, phase by phase, how to put together a security program. It lays out a so-called Policy Framework on which to hang you secure password policy, incident response policy, asset management, vulnerability assessment policy, you name it, along with the technical procedures - tightening up UNIX, getting software patches for Windows XP, etc. - that flesh out the policies. A formula for figuring out risk is offered. There's lots of useful stuff on how computer architecture fits in with security, and how life cycle development should incorporate security into it.

There actually can be a rhyme and a reason to formulating security policies, and this book lays it out.

For all those interested in growing a beautiful water garden, or scientifically studying water flowers and other plants, this is the book for you. You don't need to look any further. A series of lovely pictures are also included, but the cover has the most beauteous photograph.

A very good book for those interested in water gardening. Has an excellent supply of pictures, names, and information of hundreds of water gardening plants. The Book has 2 sections of color photos and all are very nice. The book did a great job informing me about plants I never new existed. The book also includes information on filters, ponds (design and placement), diseases (pond, plants, and fish), and numerous other issues. A very good book and I would recommend it to any water gardener, novice, pro, advanced, or expert.

Reference this small but very useful book as a primer on container gardening from the very simple to the more elaborate. What fun I have had in experimenting with many of the ideas mentioned in the book in my own container gardens. For those with little time but interest in getting started in this gardening approach, check out this book!

This book hits the basic points you will need to know about post-Renaissance classical music. Don't expect to be able to carry your weight in dialoge with professors of music, but you should be able to get by amateurs. It's also a good source for pieces to build up your own CD repertoire. For those who are already knowledgable, it's a good "cliff note."

It will be good studing from this boo

There are tons of blather, mostly from the bleats of the so-called intellectual class, that will forever bury the truth of Soviet subversion in the United States. They scream "witch-hunt," and the learned nod and scratch their chins, and imagine Lillian Hellman as a heroic figure. But, as Dwight MacDonald (no conservative) said, there ARE little witches. The Venona de-crypts, the testimony of the actual Soviet case-officers, the later confessions---all these things mean nothing to liberal myths. In this volume, brothers-in-law Buckley and Bozell (with an uncharacteristic lack of humor, but with a surgeon's scalpel) look at McCarthy's charges. From Moss to Lattimore, the dramatis personae and the evidence and the words of McCarthy's critics are laid before us. The conclusions are left to the reader; but the authors make a central point: nothing, EVER, said by McCarthy was as outrageous as those yawped by his critics. This book will inform those who have the Schrecker view of communism ("non-traditional patriotism"), the Appleton loyalists, as well as those who seek the facts. Recommended.

There's not many classic books that are more well known than "The Swiss Family Robinson." A Swiss family is stranded on an uninhabited island and there doesn't seem to be any rescues that are lingering around the corner for many years. Soon the family is taming tons of new pets, fighting off animals such as anacondas and lions, and learning how to basically survive off the land the best they can. The Robinson family must keep an eye out for danger while also starting a whole new way of life for themselves.

I thought "The Swiss Family Robinson" was a spectacular adventure/survival book. You can say that the book is pretty much a long diary that is kept by the father of the family of everything that happens to them on the island. The book I read did have many references to God unlike some of the abridged editions. The only thing I didn't like about "The Swiss Family Robinson" is that when the family starts collecting and taming many animals that they find on the island, it gets a little tough to keep up with all the animals' names, but that wasn't bad enough to take anything away from the book for me.

I recommend anybody who likes survival or adventure books, especially if you like reading the classics, to get "The Swiss Family Robinson." I would recommend getting an unabridged version of the book if you can so you won't miss a word.

But let's be clear right up front. My 5-star rating of this book applies only to the original unabridged version in Johann Wyss' own words. The modernized versions are watered down, time-wasters for word wusses.

When I was nine years old I spent months struggling through this book for the first time. The old style language made for rough going, but I persevered. In the end I was rewarded with more than a classic tale marvelously told; I discovered a love of books and earned self-respect for tackling a tough read.

If I was a teacher whose task it was to introduce students to classic literature, I would skip Dickens and use this book. Kids love adventure, animals, and action. Swiss Family Robinson has it all. It's really a thriller disguised as a literary classic. All book lovers should read this one at least once.

And please don't watch the Disney movie and claim you've "been there, did that" on this story. The movie is totally different and in no way compares.

Never mind the film versions; the original unabridged Swiss Family Robinson is an exciting epic with a lot in it for the whole family.

Our third grade teacher read to us from this book every day and I could hardly wait for the next installment. Finally I got my own copy for a birthday gift, sat on the couch and read it cover to cover in one go. I still have this book, decades later.

From the opening, thrilling tempest scene to the very end and the "rescue", this book has plenty of action as well as creative solutions to problems. There is a lot of material for discussion, how the family solved problems, how they handled disagreements, adversity, disappointment, building of character.

This book definitely teaches values along with the adventure and the values are linked in such a way as to be an integral part of the story.

And Swiss Family Robinson is never boring. There is always an exciting new beast to be discovered, a new plant to use for food or clothing, a new machine or tool to be built, a new part of the island to explore. This is a wonderful book to read out loud to kids until they are old enough to enjoy reading it themselves. If you are bored with re-runs on TV, turn off the box and spend a half-hour or hour every evening reading this aloud. Everyone will have a great time, and kids who are read to, become readers themselves.