This is the best book ever written, the editor must be some kind of genius....amazing!!EVERYONE should buy it!!

How can anyone rate any book by Max Weber with less than 5 stars? This Cambridge edition of some texts he wrote about politics is extremely well done. The edition includes some of his great texts about the subject as "The Vocation of Politics", "Socialism" (where he comments that socialism would crumble when faced with burocracy) and the masterpiece "Parliement and Government in Germany". This book belongs in the library of anyone who wants to seriously understand politics in our time.

I had a jealous reader lurking around while I was reading this one. When I mentioned the subject of this fishy cozy, a head went up and an added interest came looking over my shoulder. Living with someone who helps out at the local lake has made me familiar with the Catch and Release project for lakes, but I won't go into my opinion or anyone else's. I will say using the subject in a mystery is inspiring, and there's nothing wrong with having a little fun with it.

Fitzgerald is a political reporter who at the moment is living a life I'm sure many men would like to live. After winning the lottery, he took an extended leave from his job. He has rented an A frame with the view of the Borchard River and fishes when he is not writing. The only problem is that his collogues at the paper know where to find him. Phillips calls to ask a favor of Fitzgerald. A fellow writer hasn't checked in and Phillips wants Fitzgerald to check on her. When Allison Thorne started out writing about catch and release ethics, she met the Catch and Keep Alliance, a group that may or may not have connections to the Michigan Militia. When Fitzgerald finds her the mystery and mayhem begins.

Great premise. Great mystery. Interesting small town characters. The ending was not what I was expecting at all. Great curves Mr. Weber.

Freelance reporter Allison Thorne is working on a story about the Catch and Keep Alliance. The organization of homeowners along Illinois' Borchard River wants the repeal of some fishing laws. The journalist hopes to spice up the seemingly boring story by finding a tie between the association and a local militia group.

On the day that Allison is to submit the story, she fails to show up prompting her concerned editor to ask Fitzgerald for help. Fitzgerald is a former police reporter for the Detroit Free Press who retired after winning two million dollars in the lottery. He is currently writing a book while residing in a snug little cabin on the banks of the Borchard River. Fitzgerald gladly agrees to help his former co-worker. He drives to Allison's home in Ossining only to notice the door to her trailer is open. He enters to find Allison slumped over her computer with a bullet in her head. Unbeknownst to Fitzgerald as he goes after a killer is that someone will murder again to keep secrets from being exposed.

Fishing enthusiasts will love CATCH AND KEEP, a mystery novel that explores the fascination people have with this sport. Fitzgerald is an unusual character who hides much of his inner self from the audience yet his air of intrigue keeps the reader turning pages in the hope of gaining insight into his personality. The mystery is entertaining as Ronald Weber works his creative juices to gleefully describe a populated back wooded area.

Harriet Klausner

This book initiates some new thought provoking ideas and should be read by all students/faculty of the American political system. Strongly suggests actions to be taken by individuals interested in becoming involved in State and local politics.

Ron Weber's "Catch and Keep" is a good mystery. It has a good cast of characters, well drawn and true to life in Northern Michigan. The plot lines are twisted and interwoven: the environmental feuds, the Michigan militia, the challenges of human diversity--all of these are true to Northern Michigan as well.

And the description of the Borchard/Boardman, and of the town politics, and even the Big Boy turned brew pub and the tourist-clogged streets of Traverse City--all are realistic and well-described.

I should know: I live there! I have to say that not only has Weber selected an intriguing and beautiful area in which to set his mysteries, he has created real and believable characters and a fascinating plot line which has its foundation in Northern Michigan sociology and culture.

To my mind the fatal weakness in the novel is the understanding and portrayal of the women. Lucille, Sarah, and Allison are central to the action. It is the allure and secret of Lucille which brings the death of Allison and the passion of Sarah, not to mention the obsession of Mysterious Max. But Weber brings the reader no understanding of this motivation, no real empathy for the human tragedies displayed here. It's a strangely academic and dispassionate view which leaves the reader puzzled and confused.

Professor Weber has smartly crafted a piece of fiction that proffers possible answers to the questions of anyone who has read ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN. Weber draws on the settings and personae surrounding the Watergate scandal to create vividly human characters who inspire care in the reader. The momentum and intrigue of the real-life scandal is not lost in this fictionalized account of how Bob Woodward and Deep Throat might have lived life post-Watergate. A fine read, a short read, and of interest to any Watergate conspiracy theorist.

Professor Weber, Notre Dame University, has filled in a gap in the history of American letters which is a must for two segments of the reading public: (1) aficiandos of American literature and the history thereof, and,(2)those who aspire to write (who according to the book make up all but about 10 million of the American population). For the former, the book will serve to not only inform, but entertain. Several giants of American literature made their spurs as hired pens, from Poe, to Crane, to Upton Sinclair, and even Papa Hemingway, supporting their writing habits with articles and hack work, albeit "irridescent" and "inspired" hack work. For category (2), those who would hit the lottery by publishing that first big best seller, "Hired Pens" may be their "...liberation from a grand delusion."-- namely, that they can write -- and they can then go about their lives in a useful profession. The reality of the writing life is anything but a mandarin-style life of leisure in a Tuscan villa. Even for the most successful authors, writing is depicted as an unrelenting grind, overshadowed by anxieties about one's hard work being rejected, and the next pay check. One sets aside this book wondering what literature is. Where does hack work cross over into literature? Some of the professional writers depicted in Weber's book were astoundingly productive, writing hundred of stories and novels with eloquence and verve, and able to tailor their style and subject matter to suit the editor and, hence, the reading audience. If anything, Weber's book takes the mystery out of writing. We leave you, dear reader, with the following advice (quoted by Weber)from author Frank Norris: 12. Don't write a colonial novel. 13. Don't write a Down East Novel. ...15. Don't write a novel. 16. Try to keep your friends from writing novels.