"Drugs, Guns, almost Anything,Anytime ,Anywhere...To Anybody ? "

The Iran/contra scandal of the mid-1980's , was really like the tip of a huge, 30 year old iceberg.

Information about earlier, similar covert projects, carried out in the 1960's , still exists , but below the surface.

If brought to light,that'privileged'information could threaten to severely damage the citizens' trust in the national government , their security and the direction of the 'ship of state'.

After a dozen years involving additional broad research, the revised second edition of disabled Vietnam War veteran Tom W. Ryan's book ,"The Cat Z" has been published and is available.

The new , 72 page book includes documentary evidence , unique photographs , original art work and much new material. Like the Vietnam War , this non-fictional book is controversial.

It is a revealing personal narrative , written and shared by a former U.S. Air Force sergeant.

During 1967-68 he was a mechanic and Assistant Crewchief assigned to work on one of four special , Top Secret cargo aircraft which flew out of Okinawa, Japan .

Between voluntary missions in-country in the combat zone , he learned to his shock and disgust , the mismarked or unmarked silver plane , which was his regular responsibility to maintain , was routinely used to cross international borders to carry out illegal smuggling operations in Southeast Asia.

How far would the USAF and the United States Government go to hide this ugly scheme , discredit the truth and disgrace the messenger ?

This is a most startlingly TRUE , expose' about some of the personnel of the Fifth Air Force of the Pacific Air Forces and our government's involvement in U.S. taxpayer funded weapons trafficking and other crimes , during war time.

It has been more than 30 years after my part in the war ended. I'm still angry about what I had learned and had witnessed of the Special Projects section known as the Category "Z",the Cat Z. Sincerely, Thomas ( Tom ) W. Ryan former Sgt.USAF Ser.AF11462984

Even without SQUADRON SUPREME, his excellent runs on CAPTAIN AMERICA and QUASAR speak for themselves. But this is one of his finest hours.

This limited series is not the first appearance of the Squadron Supreme; they had shown up in several issues of THE AVENGERS, parodying DC's trademark heroes and "proving" that the Avengers would beat them.

But it was the late, great Mr. Gruenwald who took them and placed them in a superb mini-series that combined comedy, drama, and action with moral arguments.

Even to this day, the questions remain. Who was right--Hyperion or Nighthawk? Where EITHER of them right? And so forth.

Rest in peace, Mr. Gruenwald. After writing this, you've earned it.

Other reviews have mostly summed it up. This story is superb. Mr. Gruenwald is underappreciated genuis. It's unfortunate he, and the Squadron, haven't been appreciated sooner. And, that Mr. Gruenwald didn't get to see his most cherished creation enjoy the recognition and popularity it deserves. The exciting and innovative concepts and ground-breaking devices aside, I enjoyed the heck out of the Hyperion character. With Superman being one of the premier characters of the superhero genre, and practically a pop-culture institution today, it seems odd that unlike other hit characters, he has never seriously been emulated. But it is that very popularity that prevented it. He is so recognizable, writers were just too afraid of being "copycats". Leave it to Gruenwald to have the courage to create his own version of a classic(as well as the rest of JLA), and instill it with it's own identity, and his own unique vision. Not unlike an "ElseWorlds" story, there is much familiar, and much strikingly different. Powers and origin parallel. But Hyperion, like the other Squadron characters, has his own unique quirks, hang-ups, dreams, and ambitions. The story takes the "What-If?" concept to extremes, as Hyperion and the Squadron say and do the things their "original" counterparts wouldn't even think. Fans of Superman and/or JLA should love this, as will any fans of good comic story telling. Don't pass on this one, if you miss it the second time, you may regret it.

I recently bought and read the collection after having read the original limited series back in the 1980s. The late Mr. Gruenwald's storytelling skills and love for the old JLA series continue to shine. I loved some of MG's takes on the classic heroes. How would Superman change his outlook if he abandoned his Clark Kent persona? How would the Golden Age Wonder Woman act if she outlived Steve Trevor and lost her Amazon homeland? Would Batman be more effective on the streets or the White House? We see all kinds of fantastic technology in comics, but what would happen if it was unleashed on the real world? Before Kingdom Come, he had the courage to present the ramifications of great power taking on greater responsibility at the expense of free will. Unlike KC, SS does not get bogged down in dark tones and endless fights, while it still allows the reader to empathize, as well as root for, the Squadron even though they have gone beyond their lawful duty. One wonders what comics would have looked like today if Squadron Supreme had been the big influence instead of Watchmen.

This book is definetly for an avid fan! Christopher Golden is a great author with fantastic ideas. The graphics of this novel were outstanding, and the plot terrific. A must have for any Buffy collector

Set in the third and fourth seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this is a medley of eight stories buy a variety of authors and illustrators. The keynote tale is the two part 'Food Chain,' which traces the fate of a young juvenile delinquent who first runs afoul of a high school student/very bad demoness, and then, when that doesn't work out, invokes a demon who likes murdering all his friends. Buffy, of course, to the rescue.

Other tales include 'The Latest Craze,' the story of what happens when owning miniature demons becomes a fad for the rich and snooty, and 'Double Cross' about a demon who resembles the Alien on steroids and has a knack for being in two places at once. Then there is 'One Small Promise,' a Buffy/Riley tidbit and 'City of Despair,' an interesting story that pits Buffy and Angel against each other in a final confrontation in yet another dimension. The remaining two tales are 'Bad Dog,' in which Oz is freed to so that a geek with low self-esteem can drain Willow's power, and 'Punish Me with Kisses,' a ghost story that is a bit too cute.

On top of offering a set of interesting, well conceived stories, 'Food Chain' has a stellar cast of illustrators. Both the stories and the full page artwork offer a far greater variety than the regular Dark Horse productions, which gives the reader a chance to appreciate different styles and better understand the arcane art of comic book production. If you aren't normally drawn to the graphic novel format, but want something that offers a representative sample of its potential this is the one to own.

The Hunt for Red October

Although it was the first of the series to be published, Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October is actually the third novel in the Jack Ryan series. It propelled Clancy, who had been an insurance salesman with only a few letters to the editor under his writing belt, to best-selling superstar. His success with military and espionage-related fiction earned him a title he does not readily accept: father of the techno-thriller.

This novel, if I remember correctly, was the first work of fiction published by the Naval Institute Press, the publishing arm of the United States Naval Institute, a civilian entity which promotes all things naval, including the study of naval history, strategy, technology, and tactics. Some of the Naval Institute Press' other books include A.D. Baker's Fleets of the World, Clay Blair, Jr.'s Silent Victory, and Norman Friedman's Desert Victory: The War for Kuwait. But considering that although Clancy's novel deals with the workings of other federal agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency, the FBI, the National Security Agency, and both the Executive and Legislative branches, the heart of the story is a sea chase.

Based loosely on a 1975 incident in which a Soviet frigate attempted to defect to the West, The Hunt for Red October tells the by-now familiar tale of how Captain First Rank Marko Ramius and a group of selected officers aboard the Soviet Navy's newest Typhoon-class SSBN (the Navy designator for a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, or "boomer") band together to defect to the United States and hand over the Red Navy's most advanced "stealth" submarine.

Ramius, you see, is motivated by one of the strongest emotions of all: the desire for revenge against the callous Soviet state. Not only for the death of his wife as a result of negligence by a well-connected surgeon, but for all the injustices he has witnessed from even his early childhood. His father, a Lithuanian communist and devoted Party apparatchik, was responsible for many deaths and unjust acts, and Marko, raised by a decent grandmother, sees both his father and the State as monsters who care for nothing but power and expansion.

In this novel, set sometime in the mid-1980s, Clancy introduces us to Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst being groomed by his mentor, Admiral James Greer, for better and more crucial postings within the Agency. Now currently assigned as CIA liaison in London (which puts this novel's setting to be after the current Clancy novel Red Rabbit), it is Ryan who first hands the U.S. its first intelligence data on Red October, courtesy of the British Secret Service.

The novel's focus is on Ramius' defection attempt aboard the Red October, which has been modified to use a "caterpillar" drive (described in the movie version as a "jet engine for the water") which enables a sub to glide through the ocean almost undetectably. It also deals with the Red Navy's desperate attempts to seek and destroy the defectors' submarine, and the almost equally desperate moves of an Anglo-American fleet to acquire Red October.
The novel, as if often the case, is far better than its film adaptation. Not that John McTiernan did a bad job with Paramount's 1990 feature film, but in slimming down the characters and situations to fit within a 2-hour movie, far too many exciting scenes were ignored and the scope of the sea chase is narrowed down from "seeing" almost the whole spectrum of the Soviet Navy in the novel to actually seeing one Bear-Foxtrot anti-submarine bomber and one Alfa-class attack sub. I am not saying the movie is not worth watching, but the book, with its various characters and storylines (some of them which would be woven back and forth in all the other Ryan novels), is far better.

This book is a great book, and I recommend it to everyone. It has great detail, character developement and a good amount of military intelligence. Jack Ryan, a CIA agent, is called in by the government to track down an invisible nuclear sub. The pilot of the Red October, Marko Ramius, is secretly trying to get revenge on his motherland. When he goes missing during a wargame, the entire Russian fleet searches. This excites the US government who dispatches 3 carrier groups to keep the angry Russians at bay. The USS Dallas, a top-of-the-line submarine equipped with the best sonarman in the US tracks the Red October for miles. Then, the Russians find out. This suspenseful thriller will keep you reading for hours on end. I was so into it that I read 100 pages a night. It was amazing. Other books I recommend: the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, the Jack Ryan Series by Tom Clancy, Rainbow 6 by Tom Clancy.
Bye

After a very disappointing experience with Tom Clancy's latest effort, "The Bear and the Dragon," I went back to "The Hunt for Red October" and "Red Storm Rising" to remember why it was that I started reading Tom Clancy's books in the first place...

"Red October" is Clancy's shortest book, but it's probably one of his best. The character development, layered story-telling, and attention to detail make it an extremely interesting read. I've read this book at least three times now, and I have enjoyed each reading as much as I did the first time through, nearly 15 years ago now.

Come along and join in the action as an unlikely hero, Jack Ryan get swept up by international politics and situations.

Definitely 5 stars.

If you enjoy this book, there's a good chance that you'll also enjoy "Red Storm Rising," "Debt of Honor," and "Executive Decision." Those all take on action of global proportions!

Good luck out there!

Alan Holyoak

I am a Tom Clancy fan. I have read most of his material, and I have always found his books entertaining. "Cardinal of the Kremlin" is no exception. Probably the most true spy novel in the Jack Ryan series, "Cardinal" has all of the elements that make an exciting story; mystery, intrigue, honor and vengeance. Clancy takes the time to develop his characters, explaining why each of them has chosen the path they are on, instead of just throwing an exciting scenario at you and letting you figure it out. I also like the way Clancy incorporates characters from previous books, like Captain Ramius from "The Hunt for Red October". Also if you plan to read more of Tom Clancy's work in the future, take note of the brief appearance of "Mr. Clark" because you see much more of him in the books to come. Many believe that this is Clancy's best work, but I disagree. It is a very good book and I would recommend you read it, but I think Clancy's best book is "Without Remorse."

This book, I found while readding it, is by far the best that Clancy has ever written. The story holds you in tight and refuses to let you go.
This book showed the height of the space race between the USSR and the USA during the cold war, and with Clancy's story-telling and attention to detail, the reader sees why we were so worried at that trivial time.
As with most of his fiction, this is a Jack Ryan/John Clark book (being the first for the latter).
The book takes place a year after the Hunt for Red OCtober as Ryan and Ramius watch the Russian submarine set to sea one last time. It continues with the top-secret developements of the Star Wars programs, spies with high level friends, old lies coming to light, and the ultimate task of rescuing the greatest spy the CIA has had placeds in the Soviet Government -- and that's just revealed in the first half, along with a great deal more.
I enjoyed two things with this book. First, it greatly tied in with previous novel in the series. Throuhgout the rest of the series, you get references to the past books, but The Cardnial of the Kremlin truly stays within the set universe of Ryan/Clark. I dealing with that, it was nice to see how Marko Ramius was doing in American since his defection in Red October.
The next thing I enjoyed was the humanity involved with this nvoel. You get to see what Russians thought about the US, as well as what they thought about Afganistan and the war there. It is truly astounding to see a war between Russians and Afgans (with American support to the latter) from three points of view, and still hold a common heart to all.
This was also the pivitol novel in which Clancy introduced us to John Clark and his brief time abourd the USS Dallas (yes people, Jonesy and Mancusco were in this book as well).
It was just nice to see how these epoeple all became connected or stayed connected, and for that reason with the others I have stated, it made this Clancy's best. A must read, especially if you wish to understand the majority of references and characters in the latter books. It is not as long as other Clancy novels (thankfully). It seemed to be the last book that Clancy wrote for fun, rather to make money, as this book is fun in the aspect you get all of Red October and more. A classic book, and the last one during the cold war (unless you count his prequels). Though it;s not as famous as his others, it is a great and I recommend it highly to anyone who enjoyed Red October.

The book The Cardinal of Kremlin is one of the most fast action book I've read since The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger. This book has parts that makes me feel compassion to the character Colonel Misha Filitov and hatrad toward Colonel Ventin who tortured Misha and another CIA agent. This book has the action I need, because I always have pictures in my mind about the things that they act and how they tried to accomplish their missions. During the parts where Project Bright Star was been attacked, I found out that Colonel has some power but he had a GREAT reponsibily towards the engineers. He was right about that the project Bright Star can be repair, but the engineers life could not be repaired. So because of his bravery and GREAT responsibly, he saved Bright Star and its engineers from the Afgan Freedom Fighters. I have recommended this books to most my 8th grade classmates and teachers. I think that Mr.Clancy is a great man with great ideas and imagination.

I have traveled to England a dozen times and I own current editions of 12 different guidebooks. This is far and away the best. It has the most useful information in the easiest to use format. For one thing it has all the travel planning facts you need. In addition, the destinations are described with writing that is evocative, imaginative and accurate. The recommendations are reliable and I was never steered wrong in selecting lodgings and restaurants. Before I found this book, I had to combine three different books to get all the information that's included in this one. From a veteran traveler, I highly recommend the Lonely Planet guide.

I have traveled to England a dozen times and I own current editions of 12 different guidebooks. This is far and away the best. It has the most useful information in the easiest-to-use format. For one thing it has all the travel planning facts you need. In addition, the destinations are described with writing that is evocative, imaginative and accurate. The recommendations are reliable and I was never steered wrong in selecting lodgings and restaurants. Before I found this book, I had to combine four different guidebooks to get all the information that's included in this one. From a veteran traveler, I highly recommend the Lonely Planet guide.

This summer I took an awesome two week tour of Great Britain with Contiki Tours. The tour was great because of how it mixed a rigid tour with free time. My free time was excellent thanks to the information in this guide. I had used Lonely Planet before when I visited China. They did a great job on that book and they did a great job on this one. The information, history, culture and advice are priceless. This is a great guidebook to have. Lonely Planet might not have zillions of colour pictures, but it has priceless information and commentary.

Hey I read all three of these books. I loved 'em. I only gave it one star cuz I wanted to see what would happen.

For sentimental reasons only, I view 'Hunt For Red October' as Clancy's best book, but these 3 cannot be far behind, especially 'Clear & Present Danger' and 'The Sum Of All Fears'. Absolutely riviting novels that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Clancy truly has his finger squarely on the pulse of what is going on in the world -- or what COULD go on.

'Patriot Games' is a phenomenal story of revenge from an IRA Terrorist who's plot to assassinate Charles & Di is thwarted by Jack Ryan, who is completely unaware of the horrific consequences of his actions. GREAT read.

'Clear & Present Danger' is a VERY complicated story of the war on drugs and a few people in high places making some pretty rash decisions that creates a completely incredible situation and Clancy ties it all together in one of his all-time best stories. Highly recommended.

'The Sum Of All Fears' is another Clancy rocket-of-a-novel with many plots and sub-plots, all of which are tied neatly together in the end revolving around a few middle-eastern bad guys who get their dirty fingers on an actual Israeli atomic bomb, converting it into a thermo-nuclear device, and their plans of actually using it on American soil. A true Clancy masterpiece.

All three of these books are worth buying, but if you can manage to grab this particular book with ALL of them, do NOT hesitate, just DO IT! Any Clancy fan worth his/her salt cannot call their collection complete without this. Just hours and hours of absolute thrilling reading.

This product contains three of the most action packed novels by Tom Clancy: Patriot Games, a book about Irish terrorists bent on killing Jack Ryan, which is far superior to the movie; Clear and Present Danger, which is deeper than the movie, but slower moving, and The Sum of All Fears, which is destined to the theater, has a plot of peace in the Middle East and an excellent ending. Well worth the price.

Patriot Games by Tom Clancy

If you're a fan of long, realistic, action filled novels, you'll love Patriot Games, but if you enjoy reading short books filled with pure action and suspense, don't even bother trying to read it, unless you are feeling adventurous. Patriot Games dives into the world of terrorism matched only by Rainbow Six.

It starts with amazing action- a terrorist attack upon the Prince and Princess of England. John Ryan, the hero of Hunt for the Red October and Clear and Present Danger, is caught in the middle. He stops the attack and kills one of the attackers; but unknowingly, he has brought himself into the world of terrorism and the cubicles of the CIA. Clancy describes beautifully, as he always does.

But then comes the part that can cause one to abandon the book: the huge number of pages that separates the action. However, if you have enough stamina and survive the dull parts, you soon get pulled back in as terrorist activity spreads for the first time into the United States. It is one of Clancy's finest, and is a thrill to read.

If you're a fan of action packed books, Ive got your ticket! The thrill ride of Patriot Games is another fine piece of work by Tom Clancy. This book involved a major part of today's world, terrorism, which is one of the reasons that I decided to read this book.
Jack Ryan a College Professor is on an assignment in England when all hell breaks loose, Jack is interrupted when talking to his wife Cathy, and their daughter Sally Ryan on a street corner, Terrorists are attempting an assassination on the King and Queen of England. Jack immediately covers his wife and daughter, instincts kick in and he decides he just can't wait for these people to be murdered. So, he hides behind a car and tackles one of the terrorists, knocking him down to the ground. Jack then grabs the gun from the unconscious terrorist and fires at the second terrorist but in the act gets shot in the arm himself.
Jack comes out a hero, but unbeknownst to him he would become the next target. Jack is the risk taker but almost pays for it in the end and his wife is a surgeon at the local hospital. Jack Ryan's motivation was to save some innocent bystanders who happened to be a target and also the royal family of England.
Overall it was a strong and fun book to read with chunks of action with a lot of boring text leading up to action, but Tom Clancy made up for that in his writing style. Clancy has a unique way of rising action that can be measured up in two words, outstanding and original, no wonder his books have been made into major motion pictures many times before.

On vacation in London, Jack Ryan stops a terrorist attack by the Ulster Liberation Army on the Prince and Princess of Wales and their infant son. When the leader of the attack escapes from custody, Ryan and his family become targets. To defend them, Ryan goes to see his old friends at the C.I.A. and tells them he wants back in. The climax of the book is another attack on the terrorists at Ryan's own home where the Prince and Princess are dinner guests. "Patriot Games" is an atypical Tom Clancy novel in that is the Jack Ryan book least reliant on cutting edge technology, dealing more with the consequences of Jack's choices for his family and his career.

In is interesting to read this 1987 book knowing that filming it turned Tom Clancy against selling the movie rights of his books to Hollywood (although apparently the powers that be can have their own way with the Jack Ryan character). The problem, of course, was the final scene. In the film, Harrison Ford's character kills Sean Miller at the end of an exciting fistfight on a speeding boat. In the book, Jack Ryan does not shoot his gun at the fatal moment so that he can tell his newborn son, "Your father isn't a murderer." Clancy's conservative inclinations are well known, but forcing him into a fascist stereotype really misses the point, especially when it tries to make his hero some sort of a reactionary.

"Patriot Games" takes back several years before the events described in "The Hunt for Red October," where the Sir John Ryan backstory is certainly alluded to at a couple of points. I wondered if maybe Clancy had simply written this novel first but could not get it published, yet one of the strengths of his work over the years has been the detailed backgrounds on the various characters (the best examples are probably Red Wegener and Ding Chavez in "Clear and Present Danger," where the complete backgrounds are given although one is a minor character in the novel and the other goes on to be a main supporting character). One of the reason I always liked this book is because of the pure audacity of making members of the Royal Family main supporting characters, especially Prince Charles, who has continued to pop up from time to time.

This is the book where Clancy dropped the annoying subtitles used in his first two novels. In retrospect "Patriot Games" is a much more intimate novel than what is follows. Certainly the threat is much more personal, targeting Ryan and his family. With Clancy's tendency to tell stories where nuclear war is a distinct possibility, this becomes an atypical effort, similar to "Without Remorse," which supplies the complete backstory on John Clark. Another reason for the feeling of intimacy is that Clancy's novels have tended to get longer and longer. Final note: people who have read these book in the "correct chronological order" find "Red October" to be something of a step backwards, so the best advice remains to read them in the order they were written.

Nolan Ryan and Tom House put together a wonderful how-to book of conditioning and pitching. Everyone needs to condition to keep muscled tightened, Ryan and House emphasize that wonderfully in "Nolan Ryan's Pitcher's Bible"

Nolan breaks down his book into mechanics and training in a very readable format. The critics who said that the book focuses too much on conditioning and not enough on pitching secrets are missing the boat: CONDITIONING IS HIS PITCHING SECRET. How else did he last 27 years?

My perspective outlines this book like this. Without a proper work-out ethic, you are not going to succeed in pitching or anything else. I dont understand why people are knocking this book. It helped me to EARN a spot on the H.S. team here in Texas. Yes, pitching mechanics is part of the game but it is what you do before that game is what counts. Quote from the book,"You can blow a game without proper conditioning" It clearly defines in the book about mechanics and conditioning. Yes there where too much repetitive stuff about where Ryan works out at before and during the season but I rank it as very helpful tool to be better at the game. For all of you "Disapointed" you are not seeing the real reason for success for you or your son or daughter or players. CONDITIONING is the only reason you stay on top of your game. That is what Nolan and Tom discuss. I found that no other book will dicuss the both conditioning and mechanics in one book. I like to see anyone try to work on mech. and not work on conditioning and see how successful they are. It is the best. Could be better but still the best!

Clear and Present Danger happens to be one of my favorite Clancy novels (second only to Without Remorse). Clear and Present Danger is very fast paced. It seems to scramble your brain with the seemingly endless story lines but that makes it all the more gripping. I am a huge fan of John Clark and especially love this story because it is where he meets Chavez for the first time.

Jack Ryan has been promoted to deputy director of the CIA only to be left out of the loop and left with a huge coverup that has stranded American soldiers in a hostile land. Jack makes it his mission to get those men back and doesn't care who he crosses to facilitate their return.

Unfortunately, Jack's mentor, Admiral Greer passes away midway through this story, so for the most part Jack is on his own, but he makes the right choices and ultimately saves the day. He didn't get the nickname of Boyscout for nothing!

I think you'll really enjoy this book, especially if your a Tom Clancy fan. I don't suggest seeing the movie first, you might be turned off. It doesn't exactly follow the storyline of the book and the movie character of John Clark really is appauling.

I also suggest reading Cardinal of the Kremlin and Without Remorse. You won't be sorry!!

Tom Clancy delivers in this poweful book, expertyly portraying America's war on drugs. After personal friends of the president are killed by drug runners, the president decides that the threat of drugs is a very clear and present danger. In order to deal with this problem, he decides to send over covert special operation teams fluent in Spanish, into Columbia to neautroulize the threat to the American people. Even though I thought the beginning was a little slow, the book picks up very fast. With interesting characters like Ding Chavez, Jonh Clark, and Jack Ryan the book is a very enjoyable read. This by far is one of my favorite books and I recomened this novel to any Clancy fan or anyone who enjoys a good suspensful book. Enjoy!

"Clear and Present Danger" is a surprisingly awesome novel. I borrowed it from my teacher, from whom I also borrowed "Patriot Games." At first, when I started this book, I thought that it was a little slow-moving. It was the first big one I read by Clancy, so I didn't no what to expect. About halfway through (almost 350 pages), I thought that it was getting to be a pretty good book. The stage was set for all the action to start really kicking in a lot, and the characters were really interesting (especially Mr. Clark). When I was done with, I was blown away. The last last 100 pages were incredible, and I thought, "This was one hell of a good book!" The plot was intelligently planned out, and certain aspects of the book were almost shocking. The action is very suspenseful (once it starts to get speedy) and it is also a very interesting book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who hasn't read it but reads Clancy novels, but not to anyone who has never read his stuff. Now I'm hooked. I just got a few more of his books, and look forward to reading them. Also, if you've seen the movie, don't let it change your mind about reading it. The book is very different and much much better. If you planned on seeing the movie first, don't. This book is guaranted to keep you reading.