The story is about an evil man returning from the dead, and the battle to banish him again, before he accomplishes what he came back to do!
An interesting mix of people from his past, journalists, police men, indians and vodoo priests populate the novel, and charles de lint-readers will recognize classic newford-novel areas like The Tombs and Crowsea.

I think Charles de Lint fails to use several obvious possibilities for suspense in this novel. Much to early he makes it very clear what and who 'the slasher' is, and the reader then waits arround for the different characters in the novel to catch on as well... The story in itself has got lots of potential for being dark and sinister, and it succeeds from time to time. But often things and emotions are "over-explained", and the reader is kept too well-informed about what is going on. This doesn't leave enough space to doubt and wonder and be spooked.
The main character of 'Chealsea' is one of the best drawn, and because you don't get to go inside her head from the start, she remains interesting and surprising throughout the story.
It's a good story, and charles de lint is a great urban fantasy writer, but he needs a bit of practise in being "dark".

The action happens at night, in places called the Tombs and the Combat Zone. Amongst deserted streets and crumbling, abandoned buildings, we meet folks whose lives are lived out in the nighttime hours - a newspaper photographer, a mafia henchman, a homicide detective, a runaway. Charles de Lint paints a dark picture in  "From A Whisper To A Scream."

The depths and mysteries of voodoo, and our own childhood play the nastiest tricks in a story that tells of runaway Chelsea's impending and violent encounter with her father and her past -thought to have died years before. Brought into the tale is Jim McGann, photographer for a city newspaper. His camera lens, and his need to make aesthetic, if not logical, sense of what's there lead him through life. In this violent and dark story, "what's there" is the appearance of graffiti near several brutal murder scenes that states simply "Niki."

One of the city police detectives working to find the murderer is Thomas Morningstar, a Native American who seemingly has grown out of the milieu of his heritage. He's left the reservation for the city, and left the ancestral spirits for cool, informal logic and formal police procedure. In the course of the investigation, Thomas Morningstar meets with a voodoo priest, and is invited back to the reservation to speak with the tribal shaman, both of whom intimate that spiritual forces are involved in the goings-on in the Zone.

Pulling all of these people together is the increasingly alarming, strange series of murders in the Zone. All four victims were blonde, teenage women, three of them hookers. A witness to the fourth murder gives a consistent, but very puzzling description of the attack. Jim McGann identifies the same woman in several photographs he's taken of the crime scenes and crowd shots of several of the murder scenes. By chance Jim comes across Chelsea. We quickly learn that Chelsea knows, like the voodoo priest, that spiritual forces are involved; in fact, she's convinced that she knows the identity of those forces, and she's terrified.

Charles de Lint draws a circle of new characters into the story in each of the first four chapters, and the growing list, twists of plot and sorting out of voices kept me busy. Then through the next half or more of the story, the unfolding of the central murder mystery kept me hooked. De Lint achieves a consistency and logically satisfying development of most of the characters. This, and not the plot development, is the most deeply satisfying aspect of the story. In spite of some weak narrative and rhetorical devices (in one place, he introduces a character's flashback with "He could remember a day..." - ellipsis included), his characters do come through looking and behaving in ways consistent with the tone and logic of the story. The fate of Ryan, mafia henchman, I thought was especially well developed in this regard.

I am rather surprised that the most frightening, aspects of the story are more psychological than spiritual or magical in nature. The reality of the vulnerability of children and women in our world is grim and saddening, beyond tales of the supernatural. De Lint feels this, and pens his most graphic and disturbing passages and dialogue in this vein. For the sake of the story, the supernatural elements are entertaining, but most so when in the service of the deeper emotional and psychological mysteries and tragedies of modern life. "From A Whisper To A Scream" is a gritty, dark, but satisfying story of the violence not so much of the city, but of human relationships, and the potential for affection and compassion.

This is a really fascinating, can't-put-it-down thriller with the touches of magic you would expect from Charles De Lint. However, I must say there are several glaring errors in continuity that the editor seems to have missed- I won't go into it here but it should be fairly obvious to an attentive reader. I could see this happening in a first edition, but this is a reprint. This aside, I thoughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone trying to understand the struggle survivors of childhood abuse undergo as they try to let go of the past. Though grim, it is also empowering and hopeful, and a very well told story.

In some ways, I wished that while I was reading this old paperback, I had been playing a medley of Ethel Waters' music in the background. Maybe then the reason for the words I was reading would be told in the song and vice versa.

Ethel's is not an uncommon story. She grew up poorer than dirt in unsavory conditions. A very few of these individuals figure out that they must latch on to any opportunity possible in order to get out of the situation. Ethel was no exception. She was fortunate to have been born with enough brains, looks and talent to find her way out of that bad part of town and the experience gave her words for song.

I enjoyed reading about her triumph and am given yet another example for which to ignore cries of helplessness from those not willing to try to help themselves. Ethel's story proves that we do, indeed lie in the beds that we make for ourselves. According to her story, she always made sure that the sheets were clean...

Enthralled by the new science of natural history, a famous American painter establishes a museum in his home and organizes a scientific expedition to find and dig up a complete mammoth skeleton. "MR. PEAL, EVER DESIROUS TO PLEASE AND ENTERTAIN THE PUBLIC, WILL MAKE A PART OF HIS HOUSE A REPOSITORY FOR NATURAL CURIOSITIES." With this intriguing announcement, artist Charles Peale meant to lure Philadelphians to his new museum. There were snakes in rocky grottoes, water birds in watery scenes, and for those visitors with a special curiosity, a live cow with two heads, five legs, and six feet. The museum attracted visitors from miles around. But sometimes Mr. Peale thought wistfully of the one exhibit that would make his museum world-famous; if only he could obtain the skeleton of an American mammoth. How Mr. Peale's Museum grew and how he launched America's first scientific expedition makes a fascinating tale. This book has illustrations by Martim Avillez, who became enthralled by the new science of natural history, and whose illustrations have appeared in the New York Times, as well as in Harper's Magazine and New York Magazine.

This 1963 book provides an invaluable glimpse into the mid-nineteenth century origins, beginning with Phineas P. Quimby, of the New Thought movement in the United States. It describes the careers of the most influential teachers and writers in the various schools and movements, with the exception of the well-known Christian Science church.

It is most successful in uncritically informing the reader of the roots of modern New-Age ideas, most of which were expressed more than a hundred years earlier. It is endlessly surprising to discover how little credit most spiritual leaders give to their ideological forbears and how, because of the lack of any coherent organization, a widespread unawareness of earlier discoveries persists.

Although the author supplies an apparently comprehensive bibliography to the grateful student, the reader wishes that the text delineated more precisely the specific differences in philosophy among the several teachings, for it is those differences that produced the individual schools and distinct spiritual communities.

The Old Curiosity Shop certainly displays the hallmarks of the unstructured, free-flowing make-it-up-as-you-go-along type of story characteristic of Dickens's early novels. Indeed, it is rather generous to call it a story, and it's difficult now to understand the sensation it caused when it was first published. However, if a page-turning plot was all there was to it, very few of Dickens's novels would be readable at all. As ever with Dickens, the pleasure in reading this book comes from the comedy, diversity and richness of the characters, as well as the sheer mastery of the English language which came so naturally to him.

The central characters are old Trent, his granddaughter Nell, the moneylender Daniel Quilp, young Kit and the wonderful Richard Swiveller. Of these, the spotlessly pure Nell and the irredeemably evil Quilp are the moral opposites around which the book revolves, old Trent is rather a pathetic figure, while Kit's sturdy progress from poverty to respectability makes for happier reading. However, it is the moral journey of Swiveller, which perhaps reflects the geographic journey undertaken by Nell and her grandfather, which is the real joy of this book. He enters the book in the guise of a rogue, involved in dubious intrigues with Nell's no-good brother and also with the repulsive Quilp. However, from the time that Quilp gets him a job as a clerk in the office of Samson Brass and his sister, the awful Miss Brass, Swiveller's basic decency and natural good humour begin to reveal themselves, and his soliloquies and dialogue provide many hilarious moments from that point on. The Dick Swiveller who subsequently meets up with the hapless young girl kept prisoner by Miss Brass is funny, considerate, charming and kind, and a long way from the doubtful type of character that he at first appears to be.

The book proceeds along two different narrative lines; one which charts the progress of Nell and her grandfather on their long journey, and the other revolving around Swiveller, Quilp and Kit, and to a lesser extent the families of these latter two, as well as "the single gentleman" and the little girl memorably christened "The Marchioness" by Swiveller. One of the big faults I found with this dual structure is that the characters of one plot line have no contact with those in the other plot line for most of the novel, and it is left to the Quilp, Swiveller and Kit to act out most of the drama. Nell and her grandfather spend most of their time journeying through various scenes of early nineteenth century life in England. Nonetheless these all make for enjoyable reading. One particular scene where Nell and her grandfather sleep beside a furnace in the company of a wretched man who watches the flames is particularly memorable.

All in all, it's not exactly a page-turner, and the ending is not a happy one. I would not recommend this book as an introduction to Dickens, and is best read by people, like myself, who have already decided that anything by Dickens is worth reading. Also it focuses less on London than many Dickens novels, and gives an interesting view of rural, village and town life outside London in those times.

The only pleasure greater than discovering a new book
is rediscovering an old friend you haven't read for a while.
Many years ago I read all of Charles Dickens novels, but I
recently had occasion to re-read The Old Curiosity Shop, and
it is just as good as I remembered it the first time.

The story, like most of his plots, depends a great deal
on coincidences, so you have to suspend your scepticism to
enjoy it. Dickens begins by introducing us to one of the
most innocent little girls in literature, Little Nell, and
to her most unhappy grand-father. Quickly we discover that
instead of the old man taking care of the child, she is the
one responsible. We then meet one of Dickens' great villains
- the evil, corrupt, mean, and nasty Quilp - a man, if that
term can be used, who has absolutely no redeeming qualities,
one who finds pleasure in inflicting pain on all he meets.

Thinking that the old man has secret riches, Quilp
advances him money to support his gambling habit.
Unfortunately Nell's grandfather never wins, and the debt
grows ever larger. Finally Quilp forecloses on the curiosity
shop that the old man owns (thus the name of the book) and
tries to keep the two captive in order to discover the money
that he still believes is hidden somewhere. While the
household is asleep, however, Nell and her grandfather
escape and begin wandering across England in a search for
sanctuary.

On that journey, Dickens introduces us to a series of
minor characters who either befriend or try to take
advantage of our heroine. He's in no hurry to continue the
main story, so just sit back and enjoy the vivid
characterizations that are typical of any good Dickens
novel.

In the meantime, we follow the adventures of young Kit,
a boy who was one of Nell's best friends until Quilp turned
her grandfather against him. Here we find one of Dickens'
favorite sub-plots, the poor but honest boy who supports his
widowed mother and younger brother. Thanks to his honesty,
Kit finds a good position, but then evil Quilp enters the
picture and has him arrested as a thief!

Of course, we have the kind and mysterious elderly
gentlemen who take an interest in Kit and Nell for reasons
that we don't fully understand until the end of the book. We
are certain, however, that they will help ensure that
justice prevails in the end.

This is not a book for those in a hurry. Dickens tells
his stories in a meandering fashion, and the stops along the
way are just as important for your enjoyment as the journey itself. That can be frustrating at time, especially as you enter the second half and are anxious to see how things turn out. I try never to cheat by reading the end of a book before I finish, but it is tempting with Dickens. At times I wanted to tell him, "I don't want to meet anyone else; tell me what happens to Nell and Kit!" But I know the side journeys will prove rewarding, so I just have to be patient. Anyway, I am in better shape than his first readers; he wrote in weekly installments, so
they had to wait!

If you have and enjoyed other Dickens' novels, you will enjoy this one as well. If this is your first time (or perhaps the first time since you were in high school), you are in for a treat.

This edition of the Old Curiosity Shop is outstanding. It contains all the original illustrations drawn for the book, very helpful footnotes, a chronology of Dickens's life, etc. The book takes the reader on a wild journey through the English countryside with Little Nell, an angelic girl, and her troublesome grandfather, and features a host of amusing characters as only Dickens can draw them. While it was being written in serial form, it was so popular that sailors returning to port in England were known to shout to people on shore to ask what was going on with Little Nell. Today, however, you can miss some of Dickens's nuance and humor if you don't have good footnotes to turn to. The notes in this book explain obscure terms, references to contemporary popular culture, places where the action occurs, etc. If you are going to read this book, this is the edition to buy.

I was dissapointed. Buster does not get into the kind of detail I was expecting. Some of the dates don't make sense. For example Buster states that in 1940 he returned to MGM as a gag writer. At The Circus (The Marx Brothers) was released in 1939. So how could that be? That's just one example. The question really is- how much was ghost written? Get this book if you are a Buster fan, but don't expect to be thrilled.

Written in 1959 and it shows. If the book were written 20 years later, the publisher would have demanded a more in-depth study of his life, and if Keaton refused, they probably would not have released it. There's something about autobiographies written before the '70s that kept the reader from learning the squalid parts of the biographer's life and his surroundings. Keaton gives us a feeling about what it was like for him to be obsessed with liquor at the downfall of his career in the early 1930s, and there's much to be said about it but he didn't elaborate on it as much as he could have, and I would have liked to have learned more. We hear nothing about the probable horror of his serving in France during World War 1, only the silly situations he got himself into. Was this what the publisher wanted? He said a lot about the huge mansion he lived in at the height of his career but I wanted to know more about the bit part times in the 1940s when he was reduced to living in a modest bungalow. He scims over the more personal items in his life that we would like to hear, namely, his troubled marriages - numbers 1 and 2. In number 1 to Natalie Talmadge, he told us about her excessive spending habits and why he let her get away with it, but I would have liked to have known more about her than what he gave us. On marriage to number 2 he didn't give us the woman's name and why the marriage didn't work out.

Keaton talks a lot about the construction of gags and why some work and some don't, but after reading the book, I didn't feel I knew much about the making of those classic movies from the 1920s, and he didn't say anything about his stock company of actors that repeatedly showed up in the movies and shorts. I wish he had introduced them to us. However, he was very good about describing the difference between the teamwork required of his staff in the making of his independent films and the lack thereof after he became an employee of a movie studio.

I found errors that may have been his writing collaborator's fault or could very well have been due to a lack of memory. He called his first film "The Butcher Shop". The film was called "The Butcher Boy" and was set in a general store. In "The Butcher Boy" he mentioned that Roscoe Arbuckle and Al St. John help him deal with a scene involving molasses. Al St. John got nowhere near the sticky goo. He said that the song "Singin' in the Rain" from one of his early MGM films is such an MGM classic that Gene Kelly used it in his film "Les Girls". Gene Kelly used it in his film "Singin' in the Rain". Called his last silent film "Spite Wife", although its actual name is "Spite Marriage". He worked on Esther Williams' film "Bathing Beauty" but called it "Swimming Beauty". Especially on the case of "The Butcher Boy", how could Keaton forget the title of his first film and what he did in it (the molasses being the purpose of his first screen appearance) when the general store was so much a part of the plot. Why would molasses be sold in a butcher shop? The man was not an idiot! I've heard him talk about his first screen appearance, and there's no indication that he remembered it as being a butcher shop. That's why I think something was screwy in the writing of this book with his collaborator.

However, I recommend this book if you are a Keaton fan and would like to know more about him. You won't get everything you want to hear but that's because of the censored publishing rules at the time. Still, you are getting it from his own mouth, and that's something to value over a biography written by someone who didn't live his life.

Reading the words of Buster Keaton gives great insight into how he was able to create his unique form of comedy.

His first hand telling of his fascinating life story may be a bit romanticized and a bit simplified, but then so were his films.

I came away with a clearer picture of what the world of silent film making was like, and how even a genius like Keaton could be dragged down by things beyond his grasp, including his own insecurities.

Keaton reveals himself to be a rather humble man. He makes clear that he never saw his work as anything more than the job of making people laugh. But he was a skilled acrobat and a great mime.

What is really missing from this book can only be found in the films themselves.

This book suffers from a lack of chronological treatment, and tells nothing about the personal life of its subject. But it is still enjoyable reading, tho I wished I had had at hand as I read it a set of the U.S. Reports of U.S. Supreme Court cases. It is amazing that Justice Miller thought nothing of sitting on cases argued before the Court by his brother-in-law! Some things have improved over the yeaars, and I am confident nothing like that happens any more.

They removed my last review, maybe this one will make it. Don't buy this book. Its written by a pack of convoluted thinking leftist bedwetters. if you want a factual book about the U.S. Constitution buy one published by the Cato Institute.

This book is a wonderful resource for someone interested in learning about the constition. This book walks you through the constitution line by line explaining and giving examples from actual court cases along the way. It's a little bit old, but I think it's definitly worth reading as a first look at the constitution.

This was the swan song of Samuel Driver, the greatest Bible scholar of his generation. His commentaries on Samuel and Deuteronomy are still well worth reading; indeed, they are still unsurpassed in some aspects. Why is this book different? Firstly, Driver died before finishing it; most of the general commentary, and much of the "philological notes" (which occupy half the book), were by G B Gray. While he was a fine scholar, he was not quite in Driver's league. Secondly, Job is probably by far the most difficult book in the Bible to deal with. It is written in complex, allusive poetry which even Driver could not understand. In the last 80 years, a flood of new light has been cast on the Old Testament by archaeology, comparative linguistics and other disciplines. This has improved the understanding of every book, but Job has benefited far more than Deuteronomy and Samuel. Thus, while this book is by no means worthless, it has been superseded by more recent commentaries (notably "The Book of Job" and "The Book of God and Man" by Robert Gordis).

There are no footnotes, no index, no bibliography, no photos. Details and comments have been added that do no seem justified, and there's no way to check them. In fact, the book appears to have been cobbled together rather quickly from the transcripts of the trials, with unwarranted asides throughout.

Any serious reader of the first great murder trial in the 20th Century would be better served by far in reading the books by Michael Macdonald Mooney and Gerald Langford, especially the latter's "The Murder of Stanford White."