This is an excellent, highly readable book for anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of British politics. Each constituency is profiled in-depth, and I reach for this book every time a by-election is caused. This new edition is highly welcome, as the old edition was made hopelessly out of date by the 1997 Labour landslide. Buy this book, and you'll know which seats Peter Snow means the next time he says "Now let's have a look at our Swingometer!"

Excellent resource for British Politics. Glad to see it has been updated to reflect the sweeping 1997 Labour Victory and Boundary Commission changes. A must for anyone interested in British Politics.

Excellent review of british politics. Gets even better with time. If you are interested in what is going on in a major player in europe this is the book to get. Provides excellent portraits of all the major players in this parliament and of Tony Blairs government.

Reads a tremendous lot like Robert Fulghum, but beyond that...

Through essays, the presumably all true story of a man who lived as if he was born with a detailed, incredibly accurate set of instructions and near-Godlike wisdom. Learns pool and billiards as an eleven-year-old kid and beats the town champ. Takes up basketball, making his high school team as a freshman and becoming a good major-school college player. Starts a loving marriage in college that remains super-strong over 25 years later. Plays guitar, and with his small combo is chosen for national TV appearances with Charles Kuralt and Robert Kennedy. Despite all his independent thought, establishes a solid - actually distinguished - career in academia. And, in the decade after this book, writes a novel that may have sold more copies - and tickets to its subsequent movie - than ANY in the 1990's!

And guess what? NONE of this - not even a SCRAP of it, according to the essays - ever misled him or cost him anything! He didn't drop out of school to hustle pool, ignore academics to over-concentrate on basketball, discover his wife who he chose at age 22 didn't fit his ever-evolving life at age 50, go for a low-paying full-time music career, QUIT music altogether and lose the fun of playing recreationally, or constrict his thinking by getting it in line with the PC work setting of a university.

Not only did he seem to be always doing the exact right thing at the right time, he avoided every trap there was.

Amazing! Have never seen a life so comprehensively superb since Jennifer Beals' in Flashdance, and she was FICTIONAL!

So, Robert James, we have two ways to interpret you. You can be one of the most premier renaissance men of our time, or an archly annoying "perfect" person akin to Martha Stewart. So, my challenge to you is - write an essay, telling us in detail, how in at least one instance YOU, not circumstances, luck or the people around you - have FAILED. Have you done it? Can you do it?

I was 15 years old when I was first introduced to this book and author. The essay "Slow Waltz for Georgia Ann" was the most touching story iv ever hurd. It was love, and reckless, and compation, and solitude all wrapped up into one. Every time I need something to make me smile I read this story. I have incouraged every one I have met, who also loves to read, to read this book. The cat, his daughter, the birds and the romance tie it all together to make this book, in my opinion, the greatest ever writen. If you were to pass this up without at least reading once you are a fool. I am 20 now and the original paperback that was givin to me 5 years ago is still laying on my nightstand next my bed.

I have read this book several times, love to take it on vacation. These stories are wonderful, heartfelt. A nice reminder of my own childhood growing up in Indiana. We have dusty roads, and favorite pets, and enjoy the quite life here too. It's beautifully written by a wonderful Author. Sure wish he would write more!

I like many others was impressed by this movie. Some 12 months or so ago I came across the book for a bargain price and snapped it up.The book focuses on the making of the movie but also contains superb photography of a very pretty part of the US. A book for fans and lovers of nature.

My first Waller book was Bridges of Madison County which I read in one sitting. I was hoping Border Music would bring the same depth of character and flowing story line. Instead I found a book running on various time lines and various characters. Instead of these other story lines helping to enlighten the main character Jack Carmine, I just found it all confusing. Out of a 280 page book, I didn't find Waller's theme of "this love isn't going to work out" until about page 200. Sorry, too arduous a journey of reading for me to put my recommendation on it. Go back and read Bridges again.

I found this book in a bargain bin a few years back and finally got around to reading it only recently. Fortunately, I was glad I did, as it was diversely interesting, different from what I expected, too. No big surprises or stunning twists, but a nice flow all the same. Waller has a style of writing that fits the characters in his story; he writes from the angle of a Texas cowboy or other southern rugged, feral type, raw and unrefined.

'Border Music' is the story of untamed love, of romance initiated on a whim. It is the story of Jack Carmine and Linda Lobo, a drifter in a pickup truck and a sexy barroom dancer, who meet by chance, and decide to take a chance with each other. Sometimes a man will simply be a man, a drifter always a drifter as well; love dwindles and fades, and events become uncontrollable; fate takes control. Life gets on in years and the past appears as a dream. We know, ourselves, how much we'd love to try and grasp it and hold onto it just one more time, but always find it gone forever, leaving only faded memories. Country singer, Bobby McGregor, Jack's close friend, eventually realizes that his memories make him smile and reminisce, as he longs for the good ol' days to re-emerge. Uncle Vaughn Rhomer leaves in search of a dream, too, yearning for the experience himself, in search of his nephew also.

Maybe it's Jack who has the right idea, God's freeborn soul, for even though he longs for Linda, his true love, his heart calls on him to constantly wander ... keeping life fresh, free, and unpredictable.

Don't look back, Jack Carmine.

Though a novel for women also, this is a love story for men, which is somewhat rare.
Waller pulled it off nicely.

This is the first book that I have read by Waller. It is a beautiful story that explains perfectly how the human mind always yearns for somthing that it doesn have. It is also a story of growing old and romance. It follows characters through their depressing pasts living in the midwest. Being only 16 years old perhaps this story would be even more impressive if I were 50 years old because I would then be able to relate more to the novel and how it portrays the lonelyness of getting old. This book gives an insight into the actuall thought process of the hopeless romantic, somthing I have not ever experienced in any other novels.

This book is by Robert James Waller, the author of Border Music and "Bridges of Madison County". I happened to buy this book on the way to Mexico, which was neat because the book takes place in Mexico. The only problem with this book is that it is too hard to find! I loved the plot: Danny is an American author who is down in Mexico, supposedly coming up with story ideas, but actually just lying around in the sun with all the other gringos. His girlfriend is Luz Maria, a Mexican peasant girl who has made her way up from a tiny village called Ceylaya, where she was the youngest of many siblings, all boys, which put her at the very bottom of the rung. Danny more or less takes Luz for granted and doesn't really go out of his way to make her happy. One day they are in a cafe and they witness a murder. The murderer asks Danny for a ride to the U.S. border, and Danny, thinking he could get a good story out of it, says yes. On the way, many unexpected things happen: the twisted life of Clayton Price, an expert shooter, Vietnam sniper, and a current "Shadowman" (aka hired killer) for the U.S. government, the complicated details of Danny and Luz's relationship, and many other side plots.

Robert James Waller always writes realistic stories, never with a happy-ever-after ending that readers complain about but secretly hope for, and this book made me cry more than any other book ever has. It also gives a perceptive and seemingly accurate glimpse into the lives of Mexicans, especially the hardships of Mexican girls, which are humbling, frightening, and sad at the same time. Robert James Waller is an author of sad, romantic traveling tales, and if you are in the mood for a heart-breaking book, pick up "Puerto Vallarta Squeeze."

I found this little book a pleasant surprise. Robert James Waller is difinitely a romantic kinda guy in more ways than one. His characters are so carefully crafted that one is sure they know someone just like them.

The journalist, Danny is an American taking it easy for a while in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Living off his residuals enjoying the good live, he becomes involved with a beautiful young senorita, Luz, when one day a stranger comes into town and changes everything.

Danny finds his world turned upside down but wonders if this situation, albeit a dangerous one, could be the start to a new project that might just bring him the fame and money he had long been dreaming of?

If you are a fan of the author, check this one out it's a quick little run for the border.

Reading this book is like listening to beautiful music, watching a summer sunset or browsing through a favourite photo album. RJW moves me through so many emotions that are perfectly real and believable. I loved the references to some of the characters from his other novels (Jack from Border Music & Michael Tillman). As for the movie - no, I don't believe that a movie could ever do this book sufficient justice. I can't wait for the next novel.

If you, like myself, absolutely loved reading Bridges of Madison County and were content with the ending, don't waste your time on this epilogue. Yes, it would have been wonderful if Francesca and Robert could have met again later in life but we know from reading Bridges, they did not. They both lived a good life having their ashes sprinkled over Roseman Bridge upon their deaths. In A Thousand Country Roads, it's like you get your hopes up that there's a possibility they will see each other again all the while knowing it's just not going to happen. This book tells a little bit of what happened in their lives after meeting each other and confirms that what they had was indeed unique and very special. Neither could be with anyone else for a lifetime afterwards. I read the book simply because the first story touched me so deeply. This one left me feeling blue.

A Thousand Country Roads makes delightful summer reading. At 175 pages or less it is an easy read in a weekend or even a long rainy day. Fun and enjoyable, it takes us back to the Bridges of Madison County and a trip through California and other states. But most of all it takes us forward as an epilogue to the famous book that became a wonderful movie. Robert Kincaid goes back in search of his Francesca Johnson with his truck named Harry. The characters he meets make the story seem real and warm. The language ranges from downright romantic to possibly pedantic in some areas. Pass quickly through the passages that don't please you to find some that will sing with your beliefs. Summer is always a good time to look back and to begin again in some way no matter what our ages. On the road-- he discovers more about life, himself and of course love. And the author gives us another 'bridge' to a future we could not even imagine Kincaid the solo photographer having. It may inspire you to take a second look at your surroundings as you vacation into your future.

I loved this book, I could not put it down. Yes, I would have loved for them to have gotten back together but life doesn't always end that way. It was a gut wrenching ending. I am so glad that I read it!

While this book does not bring forth the strong, charismatic emotion as "The Bridges of Madison County," it does contain the same gentle flowing writing style and vivid drama. From Iowa to spectatular India, the author weaves a tale of love and loss with a blend of strong down-to-Earth characters and a sense of mystic wonder. "Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend" is not a deep, intense read, but it is still enjoyable and can easily be read in an evening. I have been hoping it would eventually become a movie, but to date, I do not believe that has happened. The setting would make for some breath-taking photography, particularly those scenes shot on location in India. Waller's writing style is somewhat similar to that of Nicholas Sparks; however, Waller writes with more passion, realism and conviction.

I saw Robert Walker interviewed on a Sunday news program immediately following the publication of the now famous THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. His narrative describing the emergence of the novel fascinated me. He spoke as if the characters were somehow inside him crying for their story to be told. I had to read this book. Next thing I knew, BRIDGES made the best sellers list. This was in the early 90's. The book became a common topic of conversation among my friends. In fact, one friend and I spoke of the book a great deal. It is a book to make one think and discuss.

A year or so later, I came across SLOW WALTZ IN CEDAR BEND - quite by accident. When I made the connection with THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, I immediately purchased the book, read it, then shared it with my friend with whom I had long discussions about Walker's first novel. Frankly, I liked SLOW WALTZ IN CEDAR BEND much better than THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. I remember seeing myself in the main character. This character, Michael Tillman, mesmerized me.

Twelve years later, I was looking for a book on tape to keep me company on a long lonely drive, I bought SLOW WALTZ IN CEDAR BEND forgetting that I read the novel 12 years earlier. During the second reading (or listening), I found that I enjoyed the author's writing and his imagery, but didn't find any connection between the main character and me. In fact, I didn't realize that I had read this novel before until I got to the part where Michael Tillman finds Jellie Braden on an Island in India. Reading this book for a second time was a fascinating experience. I continued to enjoy Walker's writing style, but the novel had a much different emotional impact on me. I suspect that my two experiences were the result of the author's crafty skill with the written word.

For those, who read SLOW WALTZ IN CEDAR BEND when it first some out, I recommend to read it again. In fact, I think I'll listen to it on my next trip.

I liked the book from the very beginning, reading it in one "shot". It is an excellent love story, very sensitive, with beautiful descriptions of the characters and events. The campus-life descriptions bring many memories, and the love scenarios are touching. The two parallel lives of Jellie Braden are beautifuly described, and Mikel is a real "character" (maybe like the author...?, definitely like his "budy"/"prototype" Robert Kincaid). I liked the flow of events, the jump between present and past, the description of life in a small campus-town, the life in India, and especially the love-related events. I liked the description of the "ever increasing" relationships between the two main souls - Jellie and Mikel, especially the "swans in the pool" scenario and the follow-up....where the "slow waltz" is becoming a real love.

But, I felt that the author went "one bridge too far", with the end of the book. It could have as well been finished one chapter "earlier", after Jellie and Mikel were re-united in India.

I enjoyed reading the book, and definitely rate it as one of the good ones I ever read.

I had read Bridges before I'd ever seen the movie, but after doing a Tearjerker marathon DVD night with the girlfriends, I was struck by how much better the movie was than the book. I think Waller really did make an effort to reflect how these two people feel and what they meant to each other, even years later, but failed miserably to do so. Maybe it was the challenge of trying to put it all in words versus watching the romance being play out on screen. I have not read his other books, but I certainly am looking for them now (that's why I was on amazon.com today). I'm not giving up on him, but I would recommend the movie over the book any time!

I re-read this book this weekend and was surprised at the reviews here. Some really hated the book and others loved it.
I read the book a couple of years ago and liked it. I don't understand the hateful reviews.

You know, of course, that an arsonist destroyed the Cedar Bridge on Tuesday, 3 September, 2002. That's why I decided to read the book again. I was in Iowa at the time of the movie premiere in 1995, but did not attend any events connected with it.

A comment on page 78 reflects the view of the average Iowan.
"And why in the world would anybody wanna take pictures of 'em?
(The covered bridges.) They're just all fallin' down in bad shape." I grew up a few miles north of Madison County, Iowa, and never went to see the wooden bridges.

One thing that I noticed the author missed was I am sure that neighbors noticed Kincaid's pickup at the Johnson farm. In a rural community there are no secrets. There was no mention of him parking the truck out of sight. Someone must have seen it.

I think city slickers may have had trouble with this story, but we real people did not.

Okay, so maybe this Romance Novel slips over the edge of mushy sentimentalism. I read this years ago when it came out and promptly dismissed the writer. DON'T DO THIS. You will miss reading the thought-provoking insights and well-crafted writing of an author who possesses the story-telling skills and lyricism of Wallace Stegner. I urge you to read One Good Road is Enough (essays). One essay in this book is the best summary I've read on how to write well. Some of the later fiction is better than "Bridges". This is a gifted writer.