Book reviews for "Stephen,_George" sorted by average review score:
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1B: The Sixteenth Century/The Early Seventeenth Century, Seventh Edition
Published in Paperback by W.W. Norton & Company (1999)
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Panders to the Zietgeist
SolidI bought the Norton Anthology of English Literature, seventh edition, volume 1, for one of my core classes in my English lit major, and I've found it to be a very worthy addition to my literature collection. Heaney's verse translation of Beowulf(as compared to the prose translation of the 6th edition) is engaging and fun to read(not to mention wonderful poetry). Chaucer's Canterbury Tales appear in their original Middle English, while Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is translated into modern English. This edition contains samples of numerous authors up until the 18th century, and it's an excellent buy for a survey of English literature.
Cornerstone of the CanonI am writing this not neccesarily as a review, but as a reply to some of the other reviews on the Norton Anthology of English Literature. The NAEL consists of mainly poetry is because for the most part that IS English Literature (Literature does not mean just BOOKS you know). In fact, the novel didn't exist until the 18th century. As for why it's assigned in classes (even if you don't read the entire thing)? Well, maybe your professor figured that it would be a valuable referrence book, as well as a life-long companion-- which it is.
Dark Reunion
Published in Paperback by Kensington Pub Corp (Mass Market) (1990)
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this book is not magicthis doen't start that bad. a family moves to a town of pagan heritage. something hidden "wants to come out". the son get attracted to the heritage, and the mother gets worried. but in the end, the whole book ends up in tedious naive descriptions of magic done in a boring way. i really don't mind magic in horror, but this is done here in such an uninteresting and naive way. mediocre.
Great fun and a great read for horror fans.This is another favorite of mine from Stephen R. George. After an accidental shooting, a cop tries to piece his life back together by moving his family out of the city and back to his hometown. Things are not as they seem, however, and the towns people have a bizarre secret about their heritage and some dark force in the woods. Mr. George's love for the genre and his storytelling ability really shines in this one. I've picked it up several times since the first time I read it and the prologue is so captivating and neat, I find myself pulled into it all over again. Great fun and a great read.
The Legacy: A Novel
Published in Audio Cassette by Penguin Audiobooks (1998)
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Great premise and not much more....What a terrific first two chapters!! How did the rest of the book go downhill -- or was it nowhere?-- so quickly? I'm a fan of all Frey's other books but I was majorly disappointed with "The Legacy." For the first time, I didn't find too much sympathetic about the flawed hero; the female characters are still cardboard; and DAMN IT! The entire chase around the tape was built around vague, neverly fully defined or explained motives. If you read this book thinking you're really going to get an interesting "what if" tale about the JFK assassination, forget it. Go read all twenty-some volumes of the Warren Report, they'll be just as gripping. On the other hand, if you thought John Grisham's "Pelican Brief" was a terrific book you'll be sure to like "The Legacy." Please try again, Mr. Frey, I really enjoyed your other work.
Someone on the Grassy Knoll....Cole Egan, a bond trader in New York, obtains a videotape of John F. Kennedy's assassination. This tape proves the second gunman theory is true. The real story is about the various forces that want to keep this information from the pubic. Many of the reviewers wish it would delve into the assassination plot, but that is not the author's plot. In Cole, we have a vulnerable character that has had an unusual past and uncertain future. He is added and deterred by many well-constructed character throughout the story. The story is fast paced and would make a great movie. The only drawback is the sappy ending.
a pure non-stop experienceA lot of books are called themselves non-stop page-turner. Trust me, I read many fictions during my lifetime and this book is definitely a non-stop one. I finish it also in one shot during my trip. I just can put it down on train, on my bed. Also, don't worry that this is a financial thriller, the only thing relating to finance is that our hero is a trader, all other stories are totally about the JFK tape. I would say this is like a David Baldacci novel, only the action is much quicker.
The Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan: Selected Correspondence, 1860-1865
Published in Paperback by DaCapo Press (1992)
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revisionist historian collects GBMcC papers to suit his purpI feel that Mr. Sears book is just another example of what historians can do with selected facts.
In brief, to write, in his comments between chapters, such rubish, shows whatkind of a historian he is.
The bottom line is that either McClellan was right,(the only General R.E. Lee's daughter said he ever feared, and R.E. Lee when asked who was the greatest Union General, he said McClellan by a longshot,) and he could have ended the Civil War in its first year (with some well deserved help from Lincoln) or else Lincoln the subject of so many myths was right.
But then, how many remember that he did the same to the General who won at Gettysburgh, fired him. Yet Gettysburgh is part of our heritage.
I am hoping to write a book to set the record straight, not depending on todays' revisionist historiaans but original texts, books articles written by those who survived to tell it as it was.
Exceptional Writing of then and nowThis may be one of the most exceptional pieces of writing of his time as well as of today. You can't find this anywhere I know except here, so snatch it up as quickly as you came
Night of the Vampire Kitty (Creepy Creatures Club, No 9)
Published in Paperback by Young Yearling (1991)
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WHAT THE HECKI SEARCHED FOR CLUB VAMPIRE AND ENDED UP WITH THIS CRAP. WHY WOULD I WANT TO READ A BOOK BY THIS BUM? THIS BOOK AND ALL IT'S SEQUELS SHOULD BE BURNT ALONG WITH ITS AUTHOR.
THANX FOR YOUR TIME
little kidThis book is speciel to me. It was scary but it was also really nice. I read all stefen mosers books and their all really nice. I love stefen moser and n'sync. Why are people mean to stefen moser. Why do they say things that are mean to stefen moser. I read this book at night and it was scarier because it was dark and the book was scary. Stefen moser is smart to put vampires in his books because they are sooo scary. thank you so much.
Social Psychology
Published in Hardcover by Wadsworth Publishing (20 September, 1999)
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Understanding Social PsychologyThis book for help in my job
Excellent book!This book was great for my psych class, but I believe it would also be great as a refernce tool for either psych or sociology students. Clearly written, made my class a lot easier!!
The Ithaqua Cycle: The Wind-Walker of the Icy Wastes (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)
Published in Paperback by Chaosium (1999)
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i have seen the wind, and it's cold enough for methis book opens with blackwood's great story: the wendigo. B is the master of the setting, noone can create the background and atmosphere like him. a very well written story from Brennan here. and Meloff's story is also an interesting read. derleth is at his best here. i don''t care that much for the guy, have never considered him to be HPL's great successor or anything, but he knows how to write, and i have always considered his story about Ithaqua to be his best contribution. the rest of the stories are well written. i don't think any of chaosium's anthologies contains of so much good writing than this. but good is not great. and the rest of the stories never turns out to be really good. the suspence killed by irrelevant writing going on for too long, mostly. sad. but the book is still wort reading
The Nether World (Oxford World's Classics)
Published in Paperback by Oxford University Press (1999)
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Typical Depressing timesI read this book for a class. I found it interesting, but it is certainly not one I would pick for a little weekend reading. It is very heavy, and depressing -- which is very typical of the British Victorian Era (when discussing the working class). It traces the lives of a number of working class people and their trials. Being that life for them was not a very optomistic place it is easy to understand why this book is rather dark. It took a while to get into, but once into it I did enjoy it. (as much as possible).
Night Visions 5
Published in Hardcover by Dark Harvest Books (1988)
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GOOD SHORT STORIES3 stories by Stephen King: "The Reploids", "Sneakers" and "Dedication".
3 stories by Dan Simmons: "Metastasis", "Vanni Fucci is Alive and Well and Living in Hell" and "Iverson's Pits".
1 story by George R. R. Martin: "The Skin Trade".
While the stories by King and Simmons are more or less short, the story by Martin is long, taking up almost half of the volume.
The only (almost) original story is "Metastasis" by Simmons, where a medical experiment lets a man see strange violet creatures (usually invisible) feeding on human beings like vampire slugs, causing cancer.
"Sneakers" is a ghost story, while "Dedication" is about urban witchcraft and "The Skin Trade" is a story about werewolves and investigation.
The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany (Unabridged)
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George McGovern and the Airwar over Nazi GermanyStephen Ambrose educated me about something I hadn't known. Former 1972 democratic presidential candidate, George McGovern, was the pilot of B-24 Liberator bombers in the second world war. The book is largely about McGovern and his experiences learning to fly, joining the Army Airforce, and his subsequent bombing missions over the Third Reich from 1944-45. Most people who remember McGovern think of him as a pacifist who opposed the Vietnam War. This is the other side of McGovern that probably few people suspect exists. Ambrose's book reminds me a bit of some of Studs Terkel's books. He largely obtains a narrative from McGovern and a few other people interviewed for the book and tells the story through their eyes. If narrative history is not for you, I would recommend you skip this book. This is not a book that deals with the "why's" or other complicated questions of history. Its history seen through the eyes of a flyer in his early twenties who was called upon by his nation to drop bombs on enemy targets in hopes of halting the German war machine. Its not particularly essential reading (many families have their own war stories) but it is interesting. Few people in generations since really understand the responsibility that World War II dumped on so many young Americans in their late teens and early twenties. For example, I found the stories about the difficulties involved in flying a B-24 to be amazing. Only in the last few pages of the book, does Ambrose deal generally with the affects of the bombing campaign on Germany. His conclusion was that to the extent the campaign concentrated on the petroleum industry and railroads that it was a success that helped tremendously in shortening the war. Other aspects of the campaign such as attacking ball bearing plants and German industry generally were surprisingly unsuccessful and the Germans found ways to keep up production. This is a good book for those preferring a personalized narrative account of experiences in the war. Mark
Thumbs Up with a small "but"Loved it because it brought me that much closer to understanding what my late father went through: he piloted (and survived) a B-24 (Fairy Belle II)in the 577th BS, 392nd BG out of Wendling, England (June - November '44). The book is rich with details on the selection process, training, preparation, and actual battles. Intense and educational. But in many ways, this is an anthology of the war experiences of George S. McGovern, straying from that theme only with anecdotal references to other squadron members and GSM's friends, so the focus is a bit narrow in that regard. GSM flew in the 15th AF out of Italy and the book is almost entirely focused on the 15th AF and very little mention is made of the more ubiquitous 8th. But that's a rather small complaint. Overall, this is an easy read, without flowery prose or metaphor. In some parts, it reads like Ambrose simply decided to do a narrative version of the abbreviated flight logs. That content though, is sufficiently stimulating to give an intimate overview of what a horrific and difficult job it was to fly these sometimes desperate missions over Germany. Thanks, Dad. Thanks, guys.
More memoir than historyWILD BLUE vividly recreates the life of B-24 bomber crews in World War II. Historian Stephen Ambrose (1936-2002) focuses on pilot and future Presidential candidate George McGovern and his comrades from the 15th Army Air Force stationed in Italy from 1944-45. These men trained, worked, and sometimes died while performing hazardous duty under incredible stress. We sense the utter fear they felt from anti-aircraft fire (flak), German fighters, and accidents. We read of their reaction to homesickness, lost comrades, bombs that fell lethally off target, and tent life in the Italian countryside. McGovern's crewmembers salute him as highly skilled, courageous, and steadfast under fire - ironic given later attacks on his patriotism for his anti-Vietnam political views. My father was a B-24 navigator in the marginally less dangerous Pacific theatre, and his tales mirror many that appear in this book. Readers may note that this book is more memoir than general history, and it barely mentions the larger 8th Army Air Force stationed in England.
Some say this volume lacks the polish found in Ambrose' best efforts. Also, the author was accused of plagiarizing certain sections of this book - a charge some believe, but others attribute to jealous colleagues tired of seeing the readable Ambrose on the best-seller list while their academic treatises collect dust. Whichever is the case, WILD BLUE makes pretty good reading.
Some say this volume lacks the polish found in Ambrose' best efforts. Also, the author was accused of plagiarizing certain sections of this book - a charge some believe, but others attribute to jealous colleagues tired of seeing the readable Ambrose on the best-seller list while their academic treatises collect dust. Whichever is the case, WILD BLUE makes pretty good reading.
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The two volumes offer 15 pages on Sir Walter Scott, that is, 1/400th of the whole anthology, or 1/200th of the second volume. Yet Scott is, arguably, the most influential writer in English for the 19th century. No Scott - - no historical novel - - no War and Peace. The volume's ill-treatment of Scott extends to the selection of Scott's prose, namely the first chapter of The Heart of Midlothian. The story proper does not begin till chapter 2. I would advise a reader new to Scott to skip Chapter 1. What about printing one of Scott's short stories instead, "The Highland Widow" or "The Two Drovers"? If an excerpt must be used, what about the climax of Redgauntlet, with the dismissal of Bonnie Prince Charlie?
The editors and/or publishers have prepared a book they think will _sell lots of copies_. Be warned that this has dictated some distortions. Giving three times the space to Mary Wollstonecraft as to Scott is an example. No doubt Wollstonecraft is important for understanding the currents of sensibility of the age and the voice that feminists did have; but then, where are the hymns of Charles Wesley, taken up by innumerable British people? You need to know something about them if you are to understand the period. Leaving them out really does the reader a disservice.
Users of this book get an anthology that subtly distorts one's picture of the eras through which the selections move. Good luck to its users.