Book Description
The leaders of the free world descend on Scotland for an international conference, and every cop in the country is needed for front-line duty...except one. John Rebus's reputation precedes him, and his bosses don't want him anywhere near Presidents Bush and Putin, which explains why he's manning an abandoned police station when a call comes in. During a preconference dinner at Edinburgh Castle, a delegate has fallen to his death. Accident, suicide, or something altogether more sinister? And is it linked to a grisly find close to the site of the gathering? Are the world's most powerful men at risk from a killer? While the government and secret services attempt to hush the whole thing up, Rebus knows he has only seventy-two hours to find the answers.
Customer Reviews:
Inspector Rebus Goes It Alone Again.......2007-09-19
Ian Rankin's Scottish Detective Inspector John Rebus drinks too much, smokes too much, is a loner, defies his higher-ups and the Special Branch London spooks, but has a moral compass that can't be tampered with. The G8 world leaders are meeting near Edinburgh, and Rebus is, as usual, a loose cannon, going his own way, defying orders, investigating four murders. The scenes of protest in the streets are vividly drawn and form a backdrop for the story. In this book Rebus's sidekick Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke comes into her own as a character and shares center stage. She'll be up for her own series soon.
The book at 452 pages is too long, is replete with scores of red herrings, implausible events, coincidences, and an overcomplicated plot, but Rankin is still sharp, original, almost brilliant in his storytelling--better than most crime writers out there. Rebus is "obsessed and sidelined, cranky and mistrusted." The book has wry and sardonic humor; Rebus even causes President Bush to fall off his bike during an exercise ride.
The ending is unsatisfactory. You may feel as if you've been taken for a circuitous ride to nowhere and forced to fall off your bike. We've met a lot of rogue maverick homicide cops in crime fiction like Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, but who would want to always read about a "go by the book" copper like Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford? Rankin keeps turning out clever, absorbing books about his misfit, drowning detective who's gnawing away at the bad guys on both sides of the law.
Nine Lives Too Many
The Daemon in Our Dreams
The Rice Queen Spy
there are a lot better mysteries around!.......2007-09-04
I was disappointed in the book, the plot rambles on and on and doesn;t really tie into the story plot and the two main characters are not very bright.. the only thing good about the book was the ending.. 20 pages...
A late bloomer to the series, I still found a thrilling Mystery .......2007-08-06
Just as I leaving to take a long airline trip, my neighbor gave this book to read. Unfortunately, she forgot to tell me that this book was part of a series and that it was best that I read the earlier novels by Ian Rankin. Still, I struggled through "The Naming of the Dead" and finished it three days later. If you are a fan of this author and have read the series you probably are thrilled with the character Detective Inspector John Rebus, but coming in cold with this character I found myself trying to comprehend exactly who he was. One thing, I never found him to be boring and the plot kept my interest. I was hoping for an exciting mystery to unfold and by mid point in the story it did. The author's writing is style flows easily and he has a knack for describing in detail the scenes, police procedures, crime scenes and the traits of the characters. Overall, in my opinion this is a wonderful mystery novel, even though it is clouded by coming in late to the series. I'll definitely try another novel by Mr. Rankin that revolves around the Rebus character.
Another fantastic Mystery novel that I believe you would enjoy is The Monopoly Factor by Robert L. Saunders. This author has never disappointed me, and this story about corporate deceit, murder, creed and a bit of romance is a solid story that will keep you up till you finish reading the last page. It's a swift, no-nonsense story written in a highly effective, uncluttered fashion. Also, check out his dramatic Women's Fiction novel Gathering of Cans. Zoie Baker is the heroine and a dreamer that believes she can build a swimming pool by gathering aluminum cans along the dusty roads. It's a unique, warm and wonderful story. Don't miss this story, it's amazing. Have a super day.
A fine crime novel, even in translation.......2007-08-02
This covers a set of interlocking events, including several murders, around the 2005 G8 Summit in Scotland. It is a fine read as a murder mystery, but much of the fun comes from Rankin's study of the darkly cynical Detective Inspector Rebus's interactions with a wide range of G8 visitors and with the local troublemakers they bring out.
I was a student at Edinburgh and I enjoy the way Rankin captures the feel of the city, not just in the physical locations but in the mood and style of the locals. Unfortunately this flow is sometimes undermined by changes made for the American edition. In several places everyday British words are replaced with jarringly out-of-place American equivalents.
If you aren't familiar with British English then these relatively minor translation changes will probably be invisible and you should happily enjoy the American edition. But if you are accustomed to British English and prefer a more authentic style, you might want to consider buying via amazon.co.uk. (I plan to do that for other Rankin novels.)
In either version, it is well worth a careful reading!
Still in form.......2007-06-12
Ian Rankin has brought us another taut and compelling thriller about Edinburgh and the now aging Inspector Rebus. Arriving at the end of his career, Rebus still is driven to find politically inconvenient truths. He even revels in it. And Siobhan, his partner, may be heading in the same career derailing direction as she tries to manage the unfortunate nexus of her personal and professional lives. Well written, evocative of the time and place, and involving. Well worth the 5 stars.
Book Description
Welcome to 44 Scotland Street, home to some of Edinburgh's most colorful characters. There's Pat, a twenty-year-old who has recently moved into a flat with Bruce, an athletic young man with a keen awareness of his own appearance. Their neighbor, Domenica, is an eccentric and insightful widow. In the flat below are Irene and her appealing son Bertie, who is the victim of his mother’s desire for him to learn the saxophone and italian–all at the tender age of five.
Love triangles, a lost painting, intriguing new friends, and an encounter with a famous Scottish crime writer are just a few of the ingredients that add to this delightful and witty portrait of Edinburgh society, which was first published as a serial in The Scotsman newspaper.
Customer Reviews:
Delicious slice of Edinburgh life!.......2007-09-24
This book was written for The Scotsman newspaper in serial form, as many of Charles Dickens's novels were. It's not Dickensian, but Smith's view of the purpose of fiction is certainly compatible with Dickens's - "to remind us of the virtues - of love and forgiveness, for example - and these can be portrayed just as well in an ongoing story of everyday life as they can on a more ambitious and more leisurely canvas." That is not to say that this book is dull or moralizing - far from it! Smith's sly wit enlivens each character and scene and makes me think more of Austen than of Dickens. It is no easy feat to write article-length chapters interesting in themselves, that are connected in theme and tone, with a central plot thread which is tied up satisfactorily in the end (at least for me...some reviewers have disagreed). Smith has done it.
The cast of characters here is presumably the one that we will meet in the next two novels of the series, Espresso Tales and Love Over Scotland. Smith has left loose ends for future exploration. These characters may not equal the popularity of his Botswana folks (Mma Ramotswe of the Ladies Detective Agency) but it's a very close call. It's satisfying to watch Pat (the twenty-year old in search of work and love and social life) grow in realizing and acting on her own very good judgment of people and situations. Pat's older sidekicks, Domenica and Angus, are witty sophisticates with a taste for the down-to-earth - Pat probably won't turn out to be like them, but they are an amusing counterbalance for her innocence and honesty.
Bruce - aaaahhhhh, Bruce! Bruce deserves his own paragraph, as he would certainly tell us. No more about Bruce, you gotta read it. Irene, our other over-the-top manipulator, is equally amazing, in a much more intellectual way. I still can't get over the idea of a Stockhausen ringtone...anyway, that's the snobby nouveau-riche side of Edinburgh for you. And Bertie, Irene's son, is right up there with Pat as the most interesting character. We are going to see much more of Bertie, I hope. Matthew, Pat's "boss" (if it is possible to think of Matthew as a boss), will continue to surprise us.
Edinburgh itself is a character in the book. Some of Scotland's poets and politicians appear in this book (the introduction fills us in on who is real and who is not), and as we get to know them and hear some of their poems (courtesy of Domenica and Angus), we feel that we are beginning to know this place, its past and present. Big Lou, the coffee-shop owner who reads Proust, is fictional, but I bet there is someone close to being Big Lou in Edinburgh somewhere. One day I'm going to meet her!
If you like the Botswana series, give this one a try! I'm betting you will be hooked.
Wonderfully Enjoyable Book.......2007-09-22
I picked this (and the sequel) up on my way back from a business trip in the U.K. I've read all of Mccall Smith's "#1 Lady Detective Agency Books" so I thought I'd give this a go.
The book is excellent and an incredible joy to read. I started and finished the book on the 7 hour flight back, and many times laughed out loud at some of the humor and the fascinating characters.
I'll say this - every book I read by Mccall Smith makes me want to go visit the country in which it's set. This is no different. Edinburgh in Scotland is high on the agenda for the next trip.
If you're traveling overseas, buy this first book for the trip over, then wait to get the sequel for the return flight.
makes you want to visit Scotland.......2007-07-29
Good characters, an alluring setting and a good tale make this series an enjoyable read. You will be eager to read the next one.
hilarious.......2007-05-21
This book is absolutely hilarious. The characters, while apparently quintessentially Scottish, are easily relatable to anyone of any nationality in that you sit there and think, "I know someone exactly like that!" You do not have to be from Edinburgh to find this book laugh-out-loud funny. True, there is not much of a resolution at the end, but this book is one of the few instances where the writing is the point, not the plot (which is enjoyable on its own anyway). I can't wait to read the sequel.
A very enjoyable read.......2007-02-22
I really liked this book. It was a joy to read. The characters are interesting and unpredictable. Also, it's been a while since I've laughed out loud while reading a book, but I did so with this one.
Book Description
The delectable new installment in the best-selling and beloved adventures of Isabel Dalhousie.
When Mimi, Isabel’s cousin from Dallas, arrives in Edinburgh with her husband, Joe, several confounding situations unfurl. First, Mimi and Joe introduce Isabel to Tom Bruce–a bigwig back home in Texas. The roving eye of Tom’s young fiancée leads Isabel to believe that money may be at the root of her love for Tom. But what, Isabel wonders, is at the root of Tom’s interest in Isabel herself? Then there are the feelings that Isabel has for Jamie, which are certainly hard to ignore. And she mustn’t forget about her niece, Cat, who’s busy falling for a man whom Isabel suspects of being an incorrigible mama’s boy.
Of course, Jamie counsels Isabel to stay out of it all, but there are irresistible philosophical issues at stake–when to tell the truth and when to keep one’s mouth shut, to be precise–and philosophical issues are meat and drink to Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics. In any case, Isabel is certain of the ethical basis for a little sleuthing now and again–especially when the problems involve matters of the heart.
Customer Reviews:
Needs More Substsance...........2007-10-03
I've read McCall's entire #1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the first of The Sunday Philosophy Club series and now this. His books are repetitive, with constant allusions to what was written about in previous books. Please, in the future, write a prologue for those who haven't read prior books in a series, so those who have, don't have to be reminded of what they know.
The protagonist in this series is Isabel Dalhousie, who edits a journal of applied ethics. She fancies herself to be a philosopher, and constantly rambles on and on ad nauseum about defining her duties to other people.
She, like Mms Ramotswe, in the detective series, longs for a more gentile time, where people were connected to others, and polite to everyone; is a woman who was left money; starts out being single; unwinds with tea; and has an assistant whose first name is Grace. Although this series is more substantive than the first, there isn't enough meat in it for me.
Should Isabel have an affair with Jamie, or shouldn't she? Will it affect her friendship with him or not? Will her niece be upset (since her niece had an affair with him in the past)? Does her niece have a right to be upset? Is their age difference a problem? What will her housekeeper think? Does it matter if others approve. Get the picture.
I believe authors should "show not tell" and this author tells from every angle possible. Repeatedly.
Why the book is considered a mystery, is the only mystery one will encounter.
A little more introspective.......2007-08-27
Not as jolly fun as some of Mccall Smith, this book deals with fall summer romances and other topics on love and life after forty. Certainly not a mystery. No corpses in this book
Isabel Dalhousie takes a new direction.......2007-08-22
This is a wonderful, meandering story that gives the Isabel Dalhousie series a totally new focus. Isabel comes to the fore as a central character instead of her accustomed role as an observer of others. To be sure, the reader still gets the benefit of her ongoing philosophical mulling of virtually everyone and everything that happens in her life, but in this book, she actually HAS a life. And it's a life that has real emotion and serious romance. Throughout this book (and the rest in the series), the author, Alexander Mccall Smith, uses his characters so well to demonstrate the unceasing zig-zagging that marks everyone's interior lives and ultimately serves up a continuing story full of human foibles, generosity, uncertainty, warmth and love of all kinds. Like virtually all of Mccall Smith's books, "The Right Attitude to Rain" leaves the reader feeling better about human kind and reflective on how to better deal with life's fellow travelers.
I finally love Isabel Dalhousie.......2007-08-18
I was not sold on Isabel when I read the beginning portion of this series (I preferred 44 Scotland Street), but I loved this book. Isabel in particular came alive for me in this book. Smith is so amazing -- even a classic fiction ploy comes as a surprise at the end of this novel.
Interesting and fun characters.......2007-08-17
In another installment in the Isabel Dalhousie mystery series set in Edinburgh, Scotland, we see the wealthy philosopher in a different light. In previous books she was described as a middle-aged spinster, but in this novel Isabel has a suitor. Who cares that he is her niece's castoff? Or that he is fourteen years her junior? Isabel ponders these sticky details as she continues to fall in love with Jamie.
Isabel isn't an innocent; she has been married before and has seen much in her life. She is aware of how fortunate she is to have inherited a house and enough money to keep her in good stead for life. She enjoys a good relationship with her niece, Cat, and is hosting her cousin and spouse, Mimi and Joe, on vacation from America.
It is through Mimi and Joe that she is introduced to another couple from America. Tom and Angela were observed by Isabel in an Edinburgh museum before she met them. She noticed things out of kilter with their relationship on first view, and those things are only reinforced when introduced. Why is Angela with the older man whose face is partially paralyzed? Is it love? Of him or his money? Should Isabel tell Tom of her suspicions about his fiance? Always a philosopher, Isabel feels the need to think and talk these questions out with Jamie. Here lies my biggest, maybe only, problem with the book. Jamie seems to agree with her every spoken thought and seems to have no opinions of his own. He comes across as too malleable. It's hard to feel sexual tension in the story when he has so little personality.
But this series is about philosophical judgments and how they apply to everyday life, and this book is no different. Isabel Dalhousie is an intriguing, fun character. The other characters in the book are interesting and the dialogue is entertaining. The lack of strong mystery doesn't detract from the diversionary amusement value.
Alexander McCall Smith always makes the reader aware of the gentle nature of humans, and a genteel way of life. This book becomes more difficult to put down after the halfway point.
Armchair Interviews says: You can count on this author making you think about human nature.
Book Description
Mrs. Gillespie is famous for being the best maid in the northwest of Sutherland. But to Hamish Macbeth, she is a malicious gossip who bangs around the furniture and clanks pots. When Hamish wins Mrs. Gillespie's services in a church raffle, he spends most of the day trying to avoid her. He doesn't understand how she managed to gain such a fine reputation. Then she is found dead, struck down violently by a metal bucket of water. Knowing Mrs. Gillespie's penchant for gossip, Hamish is sure she delighted in finding out her clients' secrets--which means that everyone whose home she cleaned is a suspect.
Customer Reviews:
Murder Most Foul.......2007-08-31
22 Hamish Macbeth novels and it would be difficult to pick a favorite. I enjoy them all and wait expectantly for the next to arrive on my doorstep. It is like opening the door to friends whom you've missed and having a good visit with them.
Hamish has lots of suspects when he finds the local charwoman who left water covering his kitchen floor bashed in the head with her own bucket. Inspector Blair manages to destroy what little evidence there might have been at the scene of the crime. Hamish had learned from his own experience the woman was not a good maid, so why was she so highly rated and employed by so many?
Before this one reaches it conclusion Hamish is on the point of handing in his resignation when he is stopped by a phone call from Elspeh, his reporter friend with the "sight." A rather drawn out ending brings tugs out of hiding to exact revenge on the talented Highland detective.
A fast and gentle read which never lets you down.
Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Sins of the Fathers."
Not up to my standard of "gentle" mysteries.......2007-07-23
I like MC Beaton because usually the peole murdered in her books are either despicable characters or someone I never "knew." In this book, one of the murder victims is an innocent. Though the question is actually raised, "how come someone innocent was murdered?", I like my lkysteries when the victim is a villain and the innocent live happily ever after. After all, mysteries for me are an escape from the realities of the violence reported in newspapers and t.v. But still these mysteries are charming and the cast of characyers have become my friends. the romance angle is getting a bit tiresome and unrewarding. Any reader who enjoys these stories should make sure to avoid the dvd video adaptations of the sstories. They are dreadful. I hope Ms. Beaton made a lot of money out of them because they totally changed the character of Hamish Macbeath, at least in my opinion.
CONFESSION OF A NEW READER!.......2007-07-02
Okay, I will admit it. I am a newcomer to this particular genre of novel, being relatively newly introduced to them by my wife. This is certainly the first work by M.C. Beaton I've read, therefore the first of the Hamish Macbeth Mysteries. I also have to admit that I have been missing a lot over the years! This work is simply fun to read! The story is simple but very well told. A maid, or charwoman, is hit over the head with her own mop bucket and murdered! So the tale begins. This author is an absolute master at the development of a character in a very short time with very few words. You get to feeling you know each and ever one of them quite well before the end of a page. This takes skill! I liked the simple plot line of this work. It was not hard to figure out that quite a number of the people living in Macbeth's village were extremely pleased that the woman was dead, including her poor husband. This left the story open for many, many very interesting suspects, all of whom could conceivably committed the crime. These suspects were all quite colorful and were a story within themselves. The author can be absolutely hilarious at times and the interaction between the author and his pets is great. I found my self enjoying this one and actually relaxing, which is the primary reason I read these novels. I have not much to compare it with, so I am giving it five stars simply because I liked it. I will certainly be reading more of this author's work!
DEATH OF A MAID makes murder fun.......2007-05-30
A win at the church raffle leaves Police Constable Hamish Macbeth with the services of Mavis Gillespie, a vicious local gossip working as a maid --- although her snooping skills far outshine her cleaning abilities. When Macbeth discovers that Mrs. Gillespie has made off with a letter addressed to him from his ex-girlfriend, Elspeth, he decides enough is enough and vows to confront her with this little bit of thievery. Unfortunately, by the time he catches up to her, she lies dead in a pool of her own blood, the apparent victim of a fatal bucket bash to the head.
Macbeth now has the job of figuring out who murdered her, all the while knowing that his superior from nearby Strathbane, Detective Chief Inspector Blair, will undoubtedly take the credit --- as he always does. That doesn't really bother him, but a television crew intent on producing a documentary film on Hamish Macbeth certainly does. Comfortable in his role as village policeman, he curses his luck, for a well-run investigation with extensive media exposure could easily earn him a promotion --- the very thing he assiduously strives to avoid.
Soon, Elspeth, old flame and veteran journalist, shows up --- and with a new beau in tow. Macbeth pines for a return to the days of stoking the fire and tending his sheep, while his cat and dog make all the demands on him he would happily handle. But there's a murder case to solve.
Extraordinarily competent, while pretending to be a plodding policeman, Macbeth conducts a fine and thorough investigation, all the while trying to avoid Elspeth, Blair and the documentarians. He does so thorough a job, in fact, that he touches a raw nerve, sending the panicked killer into a downward spiral that leaves one reporter dead too. He wishes he knew what fatal piece of information the reporter had discovered.
As Macbeth works his way through the many witness interviews, he realizes, with mild surprise, the number of secrets that the Lochdubhians are harboring. And it begins to appear that Mrs. Gillespie had been unearthing those secrets rather than dusting furniture and mopping floors, for her bankbook reveals a sum that cannot be explained by a maid's modest earnings. It looks as though she had entered dangerous ground and become a blackmailer.
Macbeth finds there is no shortage of suspects. The victim's husband appears relieved by his wife's death. Her daughter sees a way to repair her ruined marriage now that her meddling mother is dead. Even the lady who runs the church bingo is not sorry that Mrs. Gillespie is gone. And there are myriad more. Good riddance, they all seem to say. Macbeth has a lot of sorting out to do.
Meanwhile, Elspeth keeps creeping into his thoughts. Try as he might, he cannot banish her from his mind. But what does his heart say? Is he simply jealous because there is another man in her life, or does he really want her back? He remembers how good they were together. But he also remembers they drove each other crazy. For now, he must forget about her and concentrate on finding this killer.
M.C. Beaton gives us delightful, refreshing, light reading. Sure, there's a dead body, but the victim deserved it. Plus, the killer is a despicable rogue. DEATH OF A MAID makes murder fun.
--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
M.C. Beaton does it again.......2007-05-15
Loved the latest Hamish book, can't wait for the next Agatha.
Book Description
An art historian and practicing fiber artist, author Ann Feitelson has visited the Shetland Islands often to bring this distinctive knitting style to life. The background sections are lavishly illustrated with color photographs of historic Fair Isle garments; Fair Isle color theory is demonstrated with actual knitted samples; and the more than 20 original Fair Isle garments by Feitelson are illustrated with both color photos and color charts.
Customer Reviews:
Fair Isle Knitting.......2007-09-10
I really enjoyed looking at the different patterns and getting ideas for the different projects that one can put together. Ann has put a well detailed and informative book together that even a beginner can follow.
An excellent resource for any serious knitter!.......2007-01-14
This book gives you all of the information necessary to begin knitting Fair Isle patterns on your own. A wealth of information and a good read besides. Easy to follow instructions and suggestions.
Great information .......2007-01-02
The information on the use of color and pattern in fair isle is very useful; there are lots of color examples showing how the colors work in various ways. Good job on the history too with great illustrations. Only thing missing for me is charted designs to help design your own. Overall it's a great book and I'm using it already for a project.
An invaluable book on Fair Isle and Shetland knitting.......2006-05-07
This book is a classic. Ms. Feitelson starts off by laying out the history of Fair Isle knitting and progresses to technique and color theory. The patterns that she provided are beautiful in terms of fit and silhouette, not to mention color choices and pattern designs. I have knitted a few Fair Isle articles and I wish I had bought this book first before knitting my caps and socks. This book is a must-have for anybody wishing to embark on the wonderful journey of Fair Isle and Shetland knitting.
Fad or classic resurgent.......2006-01-20
At this time it looks as though the art of Fair Isle is making a huge comeback. Books that are out of print are selling for ten times the original price. Old magazines are being sought in every nook and cranny. Newer yarns are now colored to automatically create Fair Isle color patterns.
This particular book was written by Ann Feitelson who spent considerable time on the Shetland Islands and short of being a native is the closes you will get to the History, Technique, and Color & Patterns in the art of Fair Isle Knitting.
This book is more than just patterns; yet there are some classics of socks, gloves, mittens, scarves, and mostly swatters. The real worth that makes this book stand out from the others is the history with pictures in monochrome and color.
You may have to learn a few new terms:
Needles = Wires
Cast On = Lay on
Stitch = Loop
A few of the garments also have different names. But their purpose is unmistakable.
This book besides being practical is a great addition to any library.
Average customer rating:
- Folger is a good series
- Yale's may be the best edition of Macbeth
- Macbeth does murder sleep - finish it tonight
- a wonderful tragedy ...
- A Masterpiece "To the last syllable of recorded time."
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Macbeth (Folger Shakespeare Library)
William Shakespeare
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
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ASIN: 0743477103 |
Customer Reviews:
Folger is a good series.......2007-01-01
It would be ridiculous for someone to come on here and give Bill a bad review. When a person writes a review on a Shakespeare play, Shakespeare is not on trial, the reviewer is. So, I have no comments on the play, just the series. This is the second Shakespeare work I have read out of the Folger Library series. The running commentary and essay at the end of the play are well done and beneficial. If you enjoy reading Shakespeare, but find the archaic language hard to grasp at times, this is a good series for you.
Yale's may be the best edition of Macbeth.......2005-12-31
Virtually all editions of Macbeth will have at least some annotations. Rummaging through five different editions, I preferred the Yale University Press version, edited by Burton Raffel, as having the most comprehensive and comprehensible notes, as well as an excellent introduction to Shakespeare's play. Raffel not only explains the meanings of obscure words, but also gives brief notes pertaining to relevant history, geography, stage directions, etc, that are rarely addressed as fully by other editors. In addition, Raffel frequently gives the proper way to stress the syllables in a line when reading it aloud, which can be extremely helpful. (However, in most places these stresses need to be very subtle, so that you don't sound like "taDUM taDUM taDUM".) And Yale's page layout is among the clearest that I've seen.
(To find this edition: at Avanced Search, enter ISBN 0300106548; or, enter Macbeth as title, and either Raffel as author or Yale as publisher.)
As a bonus, this edition includes at the back a long essay on the play by Harold Bloom. This is not an uninteresting commentary, but Bloom desperately needs a good editor. His essay is not only at least three times longer than it should be, but is startlingly repetitious. Yale would have been wise to have asked Bloom for a rewrite.
Macbeth does murder sleep - finish it tonight.......2005-08-07
One of the great Shakespearian tragedies. It deals with political avarice in the royal family and the consequences thereof on the personal lives of those involved.
What else can I say that has not already been said. The play has survived so long with such esteem for a reason. It's brilliant.
a wonderful tragedy ..........2005-06-06
Today, many people desire to see what lies ahead in life but fail to realize the ceaseless consequences that can transpire if premonitions about the future come about prior to its arrival. Macbeth is the victim in this situation, when he receives a foretelling from three supernatural witches that he would become the king of Scotland. From then on, fueled by his greed, Macbeth does anything to reign, and goes far enough as to killing his best friend. As the previous noble knight becomes a malicious evildoer, many people in Scotland yearn for his abdication or someone to put an end to his life. Soon, their wish comes through.
Though it is difficult to understand Shakespeare's style of writing and some of the language he used, this did not keep me from enjoying the book. The story itself was action-packed and had many metaphors that related to human nature.
My suggestion on reading Macbeth is to receive an overview of the story before actually reading the text, as it is extremely convoluted (but meaningful). I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading classic literature.
A Masterpiece "To the last syllable of recorded time.".......2005-04-11
"Macbeth" comes out as one of William Shakespeare's darkest and murkiest plays, most likely as a result of being written during one of Shakespeare's darkest times in his own life. This play strays away from the more common Shakespearean formula that contains a hero and his demise resulting from a specific tragic flaw. In "MacBeth", the title character is not a hero, but rather a villian. MacBeth murders the king of Scotland to bring truth to a prophecy given to him by three witches (the famous "toil and trouble" sisters). After assuming the throne, MacBeth returns to the witches and requests to hear the circumstances of his own death. The witches tell MacBeth he cannot be killed by any "man of woman born." Under a false assumption of near immortality, MacBeth relaxes his gaurd and perhaps displays his own tragic flaw of over confidence.
Focusing on the power corrupt and merciless villain MacBeth and his dastardly and influential wife Lady MacBeth, this play works as a twisted look into a mind poisioned with greed and hate. Though pessimistic and disturbing, this play must not be dismissed. It contains some of the most poetic language and beautiful lines ever to be written. It is no mystery that MacBeth stands as one of the most quoted works in literature. It is however a mystery that Shakespeare could create something so magnificient in a period when he saw life as "...a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Book Description
From the commanding heights of Edinburgh Castle and Ben Nevis to the rolling Lowlands of Dumfries, and from the Art Nouveau splendor of Mackintosh's Glasgow to the enchanting stillness of a Highland croft, you will find an amazing amount to see and do.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful Photos and Drawings.......2007-04-11
I now buy only DK tour books. The photos and drawings are gorgeous; the text is concise, interesting and informative, without being boring. The size is convenient ... the book fits easily into a pocket, purse or daypack.
Scotland in a Nutshell.......2007-03-09
This little book has been very helpful in familiarizing us with Scotland in preparatation for a trip there this summer. The information is very succinct but adequate to whet your appetite. After reading the book I am looking forward to seeing all of the sites in person.
Great start to planing a trip to Scotland.......2006-12-18
Scotland is a very diverse place and this travel guide does an excellent job of capturing all of the regions. It lays things out clearly and lets you plan a visit that encompasses all of Scotland or lets you really get down and focus on one region over another. It is very hard to find a good Scotland guide (that is not tied to a guide about Great Britain) and Eyewitness does the job. Highly recommend.
Scotland ~~ Eyewitness Travel Guides.......2006-03-02
As always, this Eyewitness guide provides lots of beautiful pictures and basic information. If you just want to preview the country before visiting it's great. If you are going on your own, I'd suggest a guide with more detailed information.
The best one book for planning a vacation to Scotland.......2006-01-08
The DK Eyewitness Guide to Scotland is a superb one book resource for planning a vacation in Scotland. DK's combination of pictures, maps, facts, and commentary allow the visitor to find not only the major tourist attractions but also the places and events off the beaten path that are often even more worthwhile. The Eyewitness guide includes a nice history of Scotland as well as practical information on travel, custons, money, safety, and climate, as well as tips on food and uniquely Scottish souvenirs. The cut-away sketches and diagrams of castles and historical sites increase the visitor's appreciation of the place. The guide provides some useful tips on places to hike. This reviewer and his wife found this guide, supplemented by local roadmaps, entirely adequate to plan and enjoy two weeks in the Scottish Highlands. This guide is highly recommended to the traveler planning a vacation in Scotland.
Book Description
Every golfer who’s worth his favorite putter knows where golf is great: Scotland, birthplace of the game and still its most important shrine, from the splendor of St. Andrews to the regal resort at Gleneagles; and Ireland, where the links like Ballybunion and Royal County Down are of unsurpassed beauty and challenge. Whether golfers actually make the pilgrimage or arm-chair it, Where Golf Is Great is indispensable: the most luxurious, entertaining, informative, and exhaustive book on these most important destinations. Written by the bard of Scottish and Irish golf, it combines the most authoritative information with the most beautiful prose and the most stunning color photographs—an unsurpassed celebration of the places where golf is, indeed, great.
Not only is the golf great, but so are the sights, the dining, the lodging—and it’s all here: the pub lunches and three-star dinners; the country-house hotels and full-service resorts. Jim Finegan’s singularly insightful advice includes the very best play-and-stay combinations for once-in-a-lifetime perfect golf days, in this once-in-a-lifetime perfect golf book.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful Greens.......2007-04-12
If you're planning a golf trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland, check out the courses in this book. Full-color photographs will whet your appetite before you go.
Outstanding Work.......2007-02-19
The photographs alone make this book a bargain. All the right courses are featured along with considerable coverage of those lesser known. For anyone considering a golf excursion to Ireland or Scotland this book will show you which courses to play and help with your planning. My thanks to Mr. Finegan.
Great Pictures.......2007-02-19
Mr. Finegan has produced another in his very successful series of books about the pleasures offered by the golf courses in Great Britain and Ireland. The text is of the same high quality as the photographs by Messrs. Lambrecht and Thompson. The result is an elegant book which stimulates happy memories for those that have played the courses and which should whet the appetites of those who have not.
Where Golf is Great.......2007-02-07
Very good coffee table book with numerous large photographs of the great golf courses of Scotland and Ireland, many of which are unique. Instead of using existing very recognizable stock photos, the author has composed photos of well known holes from some very interesting perspectives - that give new insights. The narative is equally strong and worthy. Where Golf is Great is well worth having as part of any golf library.
Golf is great.......2007-01-19
Golf is truly great and this book show you how beautiful golfcources can be by the most georgeous pictures I have ever seen. The book is huge and heavy, but the best cources in Scotland/Irland are mentioned. The reason for not getting 5 stars is that such a huge book should really have covered much more. There are just too few courses discribed. The one in it though are probably the best and if you have enough cash when travelling here you are ok.
Amazon.com
No, we're not talking Bonnie Prince Charlie here. The title character of Giles Foden's debut novel, The Last King of Scotland, is none other than Idi Amin, the former dictator of Uganda. Told from the viewpoint of Nicholas Garrigan, Amin's personal physician, the novel chronicles the hell that was Uganda in the 1970s. Garrigan, the only son of a Scots Presbyterian minister, finds himself far away from Fossiemuir when he accepts a post with the Ministry of Health in Uganda. His arrival in Kampala coincides with the coup that leads to President Obote's overthrow and Idi Amin Dada's ascendancy to power. Garrigan spends only a few days in the capital city, however, before heading out to his assignment in the bush. But a freak traffic accident involving Amin's sports car and a cow eventually brings the good doctor into the dictator's orbit; a few months later, Garrigan is recalled from his rural hospital and named personal physician to the president. Soon enough, Garrigan finds himself caught between his duty to his patient and growing pressure from his own government to help them control Amin.
From Nicholas Garrigan's catbird seat, Foden guides us through the horrors of Amin's Uganda. It would be simple enough to make the dictator merely monstrous, but Foden defies expectation, rendering him appealing even as he terrifies. The doctor "couldn't help feeling awed by the sheer size of him and the way, even in those unelevated circumstances, he radiated a barely restrained energy.... I felt--far from being the healer--that some kind of elemental force was seeping into me." And Garrigan makes a fine stand-in for Conrad's Marlow as he travels up a river of blood from naiveté to horrified recognition of his own complicity. As if this weren't enough, Foden also treats us to a finely drawn portrait of Africa in all its natural, political, and social complexity. The Last King of Scotland makes for dark but compelling reading. --Alix Wilber
Book Description
Shortly after his arrival in Uganda, Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan is called to the scene of a bizarre accident: Idi Amin, careening down a dirt road in his red Maserati, has run over a cow. When Garrigan tends to Amin, the dictator, in his obsession for all things Scottish, appoints him as his personal physician. And so begins a fateful dalliance with the central African leader whose Emperor Jones-style autocracy would transform into a reign of terror.
In
The Last King of Scotland Foden's Amin is as ridiculous as he is abhorrent: a grown man who must be burped like an infant, a self-proclaimed cannibalist who, at the end of his 8 years in power, would be responsible for 300,000 deaths. And as Garrigan awakens to his patient's baroque barbarism--and his own complicity in it--we enter a venturesome meditation on conscience, charisma, and the slow corruption of the human heart. Brilliantly written, comic and profound,
The Last King of Scotland announces a major new talent.
Customer Reviews:
Mistah Kurtz--he alive again..........2007-09-29
In Giles Foden's fictionalized account of a Scottish doctor's experiences as the personal physician to Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Dada, evil isn't banal, after all--it's pompous, unpredictable, oafish, ostentatious, alternately unspeakably cruel and imbued with childlike exuberance, and, perhaps most startling of all, it's often more acutely wise to the ways of human nature than we care to admit. It throbs with the amorality of the life-force itself. Whatever else it might be, evil in the considerable form of Idi Amin is anything but boring.
*The Last King of Scotland* is a novel set firmly in the classic tradition of Joseph Conrad's *Heart of Darkness.* In this version of the Conradian theme, a young white doctor, highly-educated, civilized, British, heads to an under-developed Uganda driven by a mix of boredom, aimlessness, and the dim intention of doing some good. He's not there long when control of the country is forcibly seized by a Ugandan general named Idi Amin. Dr. Nicholas Garrigan and General Amin meet by accident--literally--when Garrigan is called to the scene of a roadside collision between a cow and a red Maserati drive by the new Ugandan president for life. Amin takes a liking to Nick--whose Scottish ancestry appeals to the general's obsession with Scotland--and offers the young doctor the position as his personal physician. It's an offer Nick can't refuse, not that he tries too hard to do so. After all, it's a rather prestigious post, better than working in the bush, and Amin is a dynamic and charismatic figure. There've been some rumors, but there are always rumors. Amin doesn't seem so bad, no worse than dozens of others in his position...not yet.
And so begins Nick's journey towards the heart of darkness and the beast who dwells there, propelled on his way by a quickening series of rationalizations, compromises, and choices that slowly erode his conscience and leave him a victim of circumstances. In the end, it's all too clear and all too late. Idi Amin is a monster and Garrigan is his doctor, his confidant, and his apologist--if only because by explaining Amin, Garrigan explains himself.
Fiction in which major historical personages like Amin play a major role always runs the risk of straining credulity, ringing false, or offering a pale imitation of the original. What with truth being stranger than fiction and all. Especially such recent, bizarre, and well-documented history. How do you top the real-life stories of cannibalism, the heads in the freezer, etc.? But Foden does a remarkable job in breathing life into Amin's larger-than-life persona and his many notorious exploits. Foden is equally remarkable in his portrayal of Nicholas Garrigan. Written in the first person, supposedly as a journal, Foden so convincingly and engagingly describes everything from the presenting symptoms of rare (and disgusting) tropical diseases to field dressing gunshot wounds, you'd think Garrigan must be a doctor himself, or at the very least, had some sort of extensive medical training, although his author bio doesn't mention either. His Uganda is so vividly realized you don't doubt his narrator for an instant. In any event, the cumulative result is a novel that often doesn't read like fiction at all, but the memoir it's fictionally supposed to be. Only towards the end of *Last King* does this verisimilitude quaver a bit with the doctor's final confrontations with Amin and the consequences of Garrigan's Ugandan adventure with the British government and media. But this is a novel, after all, and while *Last King* makes an intelligent "thriller" Foden also does a perfectly credible job of speaking for Amin, who is himself a very effective mouthpiece for the heart of darkness--by turns seductive and horrific, satanic and angelic, the source of a running stream-of-conscious monologue that expresses the ongoing dialectic between good and evil in our own hearts; a debate we begin uneasily to suspect--not the least of which in our own fascination with figures such as Amin--is not strictly a matter of either/or.
An old-school novel of adventure and ideas, politics and moral dilemma made new again for our ambivalent and morally bankrupt age, *The Last King of Scotland* might very well be a genuine classic itself one of these days and it's depiction of an "innocent" man's journey to the Kurtz of the late 20th century take on even more mythic proportions. Until then, it's a timely, exciting, and excellently written story you'll find hard to put down until you run out of pages--and even harder to forget when you do.
Idi Amin rules (this book).......2007-07-29
So of course, my title refers to the character of Idi Amin rather than the man himself. In his first novel, Giles Foden tells the story of Nicholas Garrigan, a Scottish doctor who becomes Idi Amin's personal physician after the madman's rise to power in Uganda. Garrigan is personally torn between the facts of Amin's cruel military dictatorship, which he gets first- and second-hand, and the charms of the man in the flesh. This novel is told from the point of view of Garrigan writing his memoir of sorts, so that he is able to reflect on his time in Uganda and his connections (or lack thereof) with the atrocities committed there.
I wanted to read this book before seeing the movie, so now I have reason to get myself to the rental store. Tales of Forrest Whittaker's performance echo among the treetops, but in reading this book, it becomes clear that Whittaker had great material to work with. Foden's portrayal of Amin is masterful--Amin is a character larger than life in both his horror and energy and maybe even charisma, yet somehow identifiable, which is what makes him all the more scary. From his sermon from the platform of a device that lets him emerge almost god-like from a pool, a sermon he gives while chowing down on chicken and soda, to his moments of dementia when in his torture dungeon, Amin is a superb character, well worth the hatred and planning done by other characters in this book, plans to overthrow him and even kill him, plans that of course sometimes cross Doctor Garrigan's path. There is a moment later in the book, during the time of the anticipated downfall, that gets almost too unreal, too horror-movie, and Foden doesn't really convince during that chapter, which is unfortunate, because he succeeds quite well with Amin through most of the rest of the book.
But also, Doctor Garrigan's introduction of sorts, the situating of his life and viewpoints in the days before meeting Amin, was much less than interesting. I found myself glancing through many of these paragraphs rather than avidly reading them. Only when Amin came full force into the story did I finally know what drive I was missing, but unfortunately Doctor Garrigan and the historical background takes up the first 120 pages of the book or so.
It seems to be a kind of unwinnable trap that Foden fell into and couldn't quite figure a way out. Clearly, Amin himself would not have served well as the primary focus of this book. His psychology was too wavering, and I had no interest in finding out the source of his being. Garrigan was a much more human character, with a moral, ethical and philosophical dilemma that is clearly the stuff of good fiction, but ultimately he does not pan out as an engaging figure to center the book on. As alluded to before, Foden's work with Amin is strong enough to pull this book through in the end, but the overall framework left a little to be desired. A good read, once you get past the obligatory set-up and character spotlights to get the real narrative going.
Great read........2007-07-24
The Last King of Scotland is a first book by Giles Foden. It takes place in Uganda, from the viewpoint of a young English physician. It is an intriguing read and complex enough to almost be a mystery novel but is based on the true story. I saw the movie before reading the book and that sequence just enhanced the reading. The book outdoes the movie, except for Forest Witaker,the "Last King of Scotland." Read it and find out what happens!
good..not great though.......2007-04-17
This book was ok. I liked the characters, however I felt like I got lost sometimes in the dialogue and it moved a little slow at times and didn't make sense to me.
You definitely believe the plight of Dr Garrigan and feel sorry for him as when he finally wants to escape it is too late.
I guess the ending kinda surprised me as there was no redemption for Dr Garrigan, he didn't get to have any revenge on Idi.
This was a page-turner for me albeit a slow one though. I didn't really get sucked in like I do with a great book. So I call this book good, not great.
Boring........2007-04-10
I was expecting a memoir about Idi Amin to be a little more eventful than this book. It was too detail oriented and got going way too slowly. The last hundred pages were great, but you have to wade through a lot before you get there.
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- Waterproof Costa Rica Map
- Wedding Photography, 2nd Edition: Art, Business & Style (A Lark Photography Book)
- Wildflowers: Designs for Applique & Quilting
- Women Who Run with the Wolves
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Thomas Jefferson : Writings : Autobiography / Notes on the State of Virginia / Public and Private Pa
- The Argonautika: The Story of Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece
- Kingston by Starlight: A Novel
- Little Quack's New Friend
- Ronin
- Speciation
- Precious Records: Women in China's Long Eighteenth Century
- The History and Geography of Human Genes
- Masters of Enterprise: Giants of American Business from John Jacob Astor and J.P. Morgan to Bill Gat
- Women All on Fire: The Women of the English Civil War
The Overlook (Harry Bosch)
Death Comes for the Fat Man (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries)
Stalin's Ghost: An Arkady Renko Novel
Christine Falls: A Novel
The Watchman: A Joe Pike Novel (Joe Pike Novels)
