This book will make you laugh outloud. If you haven't already done some of these crazy things, you thought about doing them. I am ordering more for friends. I love my copy. Money well spent.

This is a great book and contains many funny "tips" like

Stand between Oprah and a buffet table. Send your son alone on a camping trip with a priest Plant kudzu in your graden Name a previous boss who fired you as a reference Give a kitchen appliance to your wife for Valentine's day Bend over in a Prison shower Play "Truth or Dare" with Evel Kneviel Go Rollerblading blindfolded in San Francisco Offer to hold a nervous Arab's suitcase on an airplane

There are many others in this great book

Every single one of these "350 foolproof ways to totally screw up your life" are hilarious and will make you laugh out loud. Most times you expect to wade through a bunch of lame quotes and jokes before you reach a couple of good ones, but not here! Every single page will make you literally laugh out loud. You won't put the book down! This book definately ranks among the best of the joke books.

It is a shame that this book has not received the critical attention that it justly deserves. I discovered Andrew Roth's volume in Chicago's "Savvy Traveler" book store, and I took it with me during a four day getaway to Manhattan last year. It is much more than a guidebook to the notorious, though he provides us with a "roadmap" to tourist sites that are well off the beaten path. Mr. Roth is a compelling storyteller who dusts off the famous and forgotten news stories and brings them back to life. Mob assassinations, famous holdups, disasters, it's all here and it is clear to me that the author has an appreciation for the finer details of his stories, and is caught up in the subject matter. Mr. Roth must have devoted a lot of time to gathering the research from newspapers and secondary sources, and then tracking down the crime scenes to see which buildings remain, and what part of our history that has been lost. Without question this was a real labor of love for the author, and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

In the 1970 London suburb of Roth, David Byfield, a widowed minister with a daughter (Rosemary), has just married Vanessa. The occupants (including his godson) of the Byfield home, which happens to be the village vicarage, struggle to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of one another. However, the townsfolk are frightened over a series of mutilation murders, including the killing of a cat, Lord Peter.

The Byfields try to pretend that life goes on in spite of the recent events. David works on an upcoming church event. Vanessa researches the dead poet Father Francis Youlgreave, who once stirred up local society. Rosemary seems attracted to a newcomer. However, another resident Audrey Oliphant begins to investigate who had killed her feline.

The second novel in the Roth trilogy is a clever tale that actually is the prequel to events of the first book (see THE FOUR LAST THINGS) as it provides background information to the previous novel. In the hands of a lesser writer, this approach would be a disastrous failure. However, the dexterous Andrew Taylor not only makes it work, he effortlessly provides his readers with loads of suspense and fabulous characters that leave the audience shocked by the sheer brilliance. One does not need to have read the first story to fully gain pleasure from THE JUDGEMENT OF STRANGERS, but this reviewer recommends fans of English cozies to peruse both novels for double the enjoyment.

Harriet Klausner

The marriage between Sally and Michael Appleyard is going through difficult times. Sally, a reverend, in the Church of England and Michael, a police officer, seem to be drifting apart with their only connection being their beloved four year old daughter Lucy. However, their world spins further out of control when a pair of kidnappers (Eddie Grace and Angel Wharton -- ironic names for kidnappers of a child of a deacon) abduct Lucy.

Sally turns to her Church for salvation, but her godfather, a priest, loathes women in the clergy. Michael turns inward in a hope of finding answers through the police. Both fail to gain salvation as their institutions fail them. Meanwhile, the police are finding body parts at voarious hurches. They feel that these occurencesare somehow linked to the Lucy kidnapping, but this deduction leaves them no closer to finding the child. If Lucy is not freed soon, Eddie a pediophile and Angel a violent person will probably rape and kill the child.

THE FOUR LAST THINGS, the first novel in Andrew Taylor's serial killer trilogy, is an interesting thriller that successfully shifts perspective from one person to another so that the kidnapping shares the central theme with religious beliefs. The four major characters are all interesting players with the two relationships on the surface seemingly different, but inside very similar. However, with all this going for it and it being a thriller worth reading, the book seems a bit flat when compared to Mr. Taylor's classy AN AIR THAT KILLS.

Harriet Klausner

Almost a horror story, this novel is highlighted by interesting characters and a plot that gradually tightens the pressure on the characters and the reader. Along with Breakheart Hill and Void Moon this is the finest mystery/suspense novel of the last decade. A must read.

This book is not for the faint of heart, especially if you read the text closely. The villain in this work could easily be the Marques de Sade's sister. The characterizations in this work are unusually rich and complex for a suspense novel. Also, the writing easily surpasses almost everything I've read in the mystery/suspense genre. This book takes risks and succeeds magnificently. Highly recommended.

The Rough Guide to Berlin sure is a convenient size, it fits in my jacket pocket. It also has one or two useful maps. That postive comment out of the way...

My wife and I bought this before we moved to Berlin in Sept. 2001. I think this was only a couple of months after the 2001 edition had been published. We've been let down numerous times by it since: four restaurants reccommended are out of business, prices for museums and other places are about 20% too low, and other small facts are frequently just inaccurate enough to make planning hard.

Sure, budget priced places in Berlin come and go daily, but we've figured out that much of this edition wasn't updated since 2000, including the info about standard tourist attractions and well-known restaurants. Visitors budgeting activities based on prices in this book might be dissapointed.

Finally, an information design complaint. Restaurant maps are numbered with the restaurants in alphabetical order, not according to location. So, if you're standing in Kathe Kollwitz Platz, and you really want Chinese, you have to look at a map, find the numbers on the map in the neigborhood, then look through the whole alphabetical list at each one to see if you want to eat there. Believe me, that's frustrating in the dark on the street.

Better would be to forgo alphabetical listing at all, and list places by proximity. Who says, well, Akbar Pizza is closed, but lets try Amrit for indian since it's next on the list? No, you say, Akbar Pizza is closed, so what else is in the area? You can't easily answer that with the Rough Guide.

Berlin is a huge city which can, at many times, be very intimidating. The Rough Guide Series takes some of that alienation and fear away as it gives you a very thorough and concise view of the city of berlin.

Aside from giving almost 100% accurate advice on where to eat, sleep, and party, this guide also keys readers in on some of Berlin's very vivid history. Taking Berlin, district to district, it is very detailed in letting the reader know where's what and how to get there.

Without my Rough Guide, I would have been lost in Berlin. I wouldn't even have known where to mail my postcards from. The detailed maps and subway layout are excellent as well. All in all, this guide is great for a first time visitor (like me) or someone who is already familiar with all the Berlin has to offer.

In 1958, Wendy Appleyard feels like life is over for her at the ripe old age of twenty-six. She is broke with no job yet is thinking of divorcing Henry, her husband of five years after seeing him humping a wealthy widow. Desperate, Wendy turns to her long-time friend, Janet Byfield for solace and a bit of security as she tries to turn her life around.

From Wendy's perspective, Janet lives the perfect life in Rosington with her happy marriage to devastatingly handsome clergyman David and their precious daughter Rosie. However, perfection is in the eyes of the beholder. Instead, former transgressions surface that lead to new misdeeds. Death has arrived in this small cathedral city and only Wendy, not being part of the community, begins to see the links to the late 1890s and a fifteenth century witch burning. However, will she fully understand what is happening in time to stop a future calamity?

THE OFFICE OF THE DEAD, the third tale in Andrew Taylor's chilling Roth Trilogy (see the exciting THE FOUR LAST THINGS and THE JUDGEMENT OF STRANGERS) is an enjoyable village mystery. The story line centers on how the past, even the distant centuries, retain a grip on the present and future. The characters seem real and the mysteries are exhilarating. However, it is Mr. Taylor's ability to use beautiful prose to invoke imagery that entices the audience into thinking about their own links to the past that makes him so good and this trilogy worth reading.

Harriet Klausner