Amazon.com
Mark Sway, age 11 but years wiser thanks to a drunken dad who abused his mom, is out in the woods behind his Memphis trailer park teaching his kid brother, Ricky, how to smoke Virginia Slims heisted from Mom's purse. He's a pretty upright kid--he's determined to protect his brother from drugs, and he once defended his mom with a baseball bat.
The dangers of smoking rapidly escalate when Mark glimpses a guy trying to commit suicide by carbon monoxide in his car nearby and tries to stop him. The guy is Jerome, a lawyer who tells Mark that his Mafia client has murdered Senator Boyd Boyette and buried him in the concrete under his garage in New Orleans. Then Jerome puts a bullet in his own head. Little Ricky flips out, and so does Barry the Blade Muldanno, who doesn't want blustery U.S. attorney Reverend Roy Foltrigg to find the corpse and bust him. Caught in a ruthless game between the Mob and the amoral authorities, Mark's family has no defense in the world except Reggie Love, a 50ish divorcée who has just turned her life around by becoming a lawyer. Does she have what it takes to help Mark beat the system? The life-or-death chase is on!
Mark has seen a lot of movies, and he sees life in cinematic terms. So does Grisham. Even if this novel had never been filmed, it would still be a really good, fast-paced movie. Its literary limitation is also its filmlike virtue: The Client is a rush.
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
With her sparkling voice and superb acting ability, Blair Brown gives an impressive reading of this John Grisham blockbuster. The story hinges on a young boy who gets an unwanted earful of murder, politics--and dangerous secrets about both--from a conscience-stricken mob lawyer bent on suicide. "I can tell you where the body is... the most notorious undiscovered corpse of our time." Just the kind of information most children don't need, especially when the snakeskin-wearing hit man finds out what he knows. Aside from musical cues scattered as superfluously as laugh tracks on a sitcom, the production quality is stellar, preserving the crispness of Blair's voice and the nuances of her excellent interpretation. (Running time: 6 hours, 4 cassettes) --George Laney
Book Description
In a weedy lot on the outskirts of memphis, two boys watch a shiny Lincoln pull upt ot the curb...Eleven-year-old Mark Sway and his younger brother were sharing a forbidden cigarrette when a chance encounter with a suicidal laywer left Mark knowing a bloody and explosive secret: the whereabouts of the most sought-after dead body in America.
Now Mark is caught between a legal system gone mad and a mob killer desperate to cover up his crime. And his only ally is a woman named Reggie Love, who has been a lawyer for all of four years.
Prosecutors are willing to break all the rules to make Mark talk. The mob will stop at nothing to keep him quiet. And Reggie will do anything to protect her client -- even take a last, desperate gamble that could win Mark his freedom... or cost them both their lives.
Customer Reviews:
A 11yr. old, a lawyer and the Mafia.......2007-09-23
If one was to go merely by the reviews online this book would have been overlooked. This book has everything a 'good book' should have. The book opens up with Mark, a 11 year old boy who is in the woods smoking with his younger brother, Rick. They see a black car pull up and watch in suspense as a man attempts to committ suicide. You have to get this book to find out the whole story. I loved it from the beginning to the end! I most definitely will be reading more books by him.
Highly recommend!
Dragged out and Predictable.......2007-02-10
Eleven year old Mark Sway only wanted to go out for a smoke and relax when he encountered a suicidal man. As he tried to stop the suicide, Mark learned a dark secret, the location of a dead senator's body. Now the FBI is after him for that vary secret, and the Mafia is after him, in hopes of silencing him. Who will get to him first?
The novel held a promising plot that went down hill when things were dragged out and utterly predictable. Throughout the whole 500 plus page novel, Mark debated the pros and cons of telling the FBI the location of the senator's body, which was obvious that at the end, he was going to spill it anyways. Then, throughout the whole book, The Blade (the senator's killer) was satisfied with where the body was buried, but when Mark decided to dig it up, The Blade decided on the same thing at the same time, just to add some predictable suspense. In general, there wasn't enough conflict or intrigue, while the same things kept happening over and over again. The only reason I gave this book three stars was because Mark was an enjoyable character and I enjoyed the mob aspect of the plot.
so so .......2006-12-16
I actually enjoyed the book so much at the beginning, and thought it would get even more interesting and was so excited that I was unfolding the events one by one. But, unfortunately, when I read almost two third of the book, I was gradually losing my interest and desire to carefully read it and finally, I found myself just skimming the book real quickly.. This story grabbed my attention at the beginning but as it continued to develop the plot, it became quite boring because this story was totally unrealistic. yes, it is fiction but there are too many coincidences and too much luck for the kid. the lawyer, judge, and all other minor characters surrounding the kid, they're are quite nonsense and that's why i am giving only 3 stars.
The Client.......2006-12-02
I hated this book. I'm not one to write a review, but I felt a desperate need to write one for this book. By the end I hated the kid, I hated the lawyer, and I hated the Juvenile judge. Why didn't the kid just tell what he knew at the beginning of the book? Because then you have no story and you can't fill up over 400 pages. The bad guys turned out to be law enforcement people who were only trying to solve a mafia murder. It didn't make sense. The only redeeming feature was I got the book for free. Anything above that would have been too much to pay.
Who believes this?.......2006-08-06
This novel is absolute dreck, at the best. I don't think I could ever pick up another Grisham novel without vomiting. Pelican Brief was Okay. But, I honestly cannot read him again, because of this.
The reason for this one star rating is this.
First, the protaganist is a stupid punk kid, who by the end of the novel you are actually hoping gets shot or SOMETHING!
Second, 496 pages filled with "blah blah blah" There wasn't enough content to constitute a five hundred page novel. Maybe one hundred, and then it would have been decent.
Third, When reading about a murder mystery with the mob involved, you would at least expect more blood-shed, or more death. Especially since this is targeted at a group that enjoys those kinds of things.
Fourth, although written at a fourth grade level no fourth grader should be allowed within three hundred feet for all the swearing that takes place. Speech and the written word, are signs of intelligence, Vulgarity is something people use when they don't know how to convey something accurately. Honestly every page has at least some.
Now you know,that unless you want your socks bored off, you shouldn't even look in the section that has Grisham in it. If you want to read something light, that's believable, not Fantasy and not Romance, read Crichton.
Book Description
In 1956, a twenty-one-year-old Elvis Presley was at the beginning of his remarkable and unparalleled career and photographer Alfred Wertheimer was asked by Presley’s new label, RCA Victor, to photograph the rising star. With unimpeded access to the young performer, Wertheimer was able to capture the unguarded and everyday moments in Elvis' life during that crucial year, a year that took him from Tupelo, Mississippi to the silver screen, and to the verge of international stardom and his crowning as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll.” As Alfred Wertheimer photographed Elvis during 1956, and again in 1958, he created classic images that are spontaneous, unrehearsed and completely without artifice.
Wertheimer’s photographs of Elvis are extraordinary and he appears almost ethereal, whether reading a newspaper while waiting for a cab, or washing his hands during one of his many train trips. After 1958 and Elvis’ induction into the army, the world seemingly forgot about Wertheimer’s magical photographs- for nineteen years- until Aug 16, 1977, the day Elvis died and Time Magazine called. “The phone hasn’t really stopped ringing in the last thirty years,” observes Wertheimer.
Many of the photographs in this visual treasury are previously unpublished and some have become almost as famous as the man himself.
Customer Reviews:
Elvis at 21 Book.......2007-06-30
i Love this Book it has very good quality photos of the king in his prime!
THE Best Elvis Book.......2007-04-11
If you only have one Elvis book in your library, or one photography book, let it be "Elvis at 21"...you will never buy a more sumptuous volume. The printing of the images is phenomenal, with wonderful use of gatefolds. It is one of the very few art books I've bought that I didn't balk at the retail price.
Wertheimer's photographs are collectively an artifact of our cultural history. It's amazing to see so many of them gathered together and in sequence. A much smaller selection of this body of work was published about 20 years ago as "Elvis '56"--this was my one-book-in-the-library, even back when I only had a photocopied edition. With this expansion, a whole new king is crowned.
2007 is of course the 30th anniversary of the King's passing. The world should expect a vast onslaught of new and revised offerings on the man. "Elvis at 21" throws down an early gauntlet so firmly, the other publishers might just as well crawl back into their niches.
Buy it, and wear a bib so you don't ruin the pages with your drool.
spectacular.......2007-02-14
the photographs are spectacular, but where is the non-limited edition that i've seen retail in the bookstore for $65?
Elvis at 21 book.......2007-01-20
This book is beautiful. The pictures are excellent and it is nice to have as a collectors item for any Elvis fan or give as a gift to any Elvis fan.
Elvis at 21.......2007-01-17
Alfred Wertheimer's photos is this book are FANTASTIC! It is a rare treat to be able to see Elvis at this stage in his life... when he was doing what he loved while still able to go in to restaurants, walk the streets, etc. and be recognized and appreciated by people around him, without being mobbed. What a wonderful time to cherish in these photographs.
Book Description
The American Plague delves into America's not-so-distant past to recount one of the greatest epidemics of our time. It tells the story of the yellow fever epidemic in Memphis, Tennessee-one that would cost more lives than the Chicago fire, San Francisco earthquake and Johnstown flood combined-and, it is a narrative journey into Cuba and West Africa, where a handful of doctors would change medical history.
Yellow fever, a virus born of the slave trade, struck 500,000 Americans over two centuries touching every state from Texas to Massachusetts. It paralyzed governments, halted commerce, quarantined cities and altered the outcome of wars. It was not only the gruesome symptoms of the disease-much like those of Ebola today-but the long-term, crippling effect on a place and its people that made it such a dreaded disease and one that the federal government could not ignore.
In 1900, the United States sent three doctors led by Walter Reed to Cuba to discover how this disease was spread. Camped on sprawling farmland just outside of Havana, they launched one of history's most controversial human studies. Two of the doctors would be infected; one would die. Two-dozen men-veterans of the Spanish-American War-would volunteer to be test subjects.
Tragic and terrifying, The American Plague beautifully depicts the story of yellow fever, and its reign in this country. A story that, in the end, is as much about the nature of human beings as it is the nature of disease.
Customer Reviews:
Walter Reed: American Hero.......2007-06-10
Yellow fever, the West African slave trade's gift to the New World, rips through vulnerable populations like a hot knife through butter. In 1801, Napoleon brought 25,000 troops to put down a Haitian slave revolt; 23,000 died from the fever. (That's why he was in such a rush to ditch the Louisiana Territory, and Jefferson knew a bargain when he saw one.) In 1878, the mosquito-borne virus arrived in Memphis TN, and people started dropping like flies. Molly Caldwell Crosby does a great job describing the city's atmosphere before the fever and its descent into hell as Yellow Jack claims more and more victims.
There were heroic efforts by caregivers who didn't understand the disease but who nonetheless tended to the dead and dying. Crosby describes doctors, and nuns, who knew they'd eventually catch the fever but who worked as hard as they could, for as long as they could, to comfort the sick. Inspiring and scary! Yellow fever isn't the kind of fever that lets you lapse into delirium after a day of discomfort. It's a hemorrhagic fever, which means you bleed from body parts you didn't even know you had. The Brits called it "Black Vomit" because internal bleeding causes the sufferer to vomit blood.
Crosby then focuses on the ultimately successful efforts of Walter Reed and company, military doctors who set up camp in Cuba and doggedly pursued the cause of the disease. Some of these men deliberately infected themselves with the virus in order to prove that mosquito exposure was to blame, and that mosquito control would rein in the disease. Because of Reed and his team, and at least in the Western Hemisphere, we have managed to subdue the Fever.
Reed's campaign goes to show that the many of the greatest military victories occur not on the battlefield but in hospitals.
This is a well-written and interesting book, although I wish some of the chapters went into a bit more detail. Yellow fever isn't quite gone; in some parts of the world, it's still doing its dirty work. To understand this battle-hardened public enemy, read this book.
Could have been an interesting book.......2007-05-12
unfortunately she can't write very well. And unfortunately, I can't get past the first fifty pages because of that. I keep seeing what I warn my undergraduates about, using words they don't know the precise meaning of in an effort to impress with use of a large vocabulary. This woman supposedly has a graduate degree in nonfiction writing.
Guinea Pig #1.......2007-04-14
The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever
Þ By Molly Caldwell Crosby
This book starts as the history of a disease, but ends up being a book about people. Yellow Fever, carried by mosquitoes which entered the Western Hemisphere from ships carrying slaves, struck the city of Memphis with a vengeance in the late 19th century. The 1878 yellow fever epidemic cost 20,000 lives and $200 million in economic damages. The toll on human life in Memphis alone surpassed the Chicago fire, San Francisco earthquake, and Johnstown Flood combined.."
Ironically, the disease claimed more white victims than blacks, and more children than adults. Perhaps blacks developed some immunity to yellow fever. At any rate, the Federal government's response to the Memphis epidemic, much like FEMA's lame response to Katrina, was riddled with racism and politics.
President Rutherford B. Hayes will likely not be remembered for much¡K he was an ineffectual leader at best. But his administration did accomplish the creation of a National Board of Health, later to become the US Public Health Service. But it would take years¡Kand the efforts of courageous doctors like Walter Reed and Dr. Jesse Lazear, who infected himself with the virus and died a martyr to science, to isolate the cause and propose controls for the contagion. Along the way, the Spanish American War and the Caribbean, particularly Cuba, would be central to the story.
Molly Caldwell Crosby has done an excellent job with original sources including previously untapped journals and letters to tell this remarkable tale. Like other accounts of Influenza by John Barry (The Great Influenza) and the Black Death by John Kelly (The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death), her book belongs in any library of medical history.
****
yellow fever book review.......2007-03-09
Thhis is an excellent book on the Historyof Yellow Fever. I recommendit to anyone interested in the History of Medicine and Diseases.
Memphis & Mosquitoes .......2007-03-08
In 'The American Plague' Crosby illuminates a yellow fever epidemic in compelling fashion. The characters, including the mosquitoes, are given time to breathe and come to life. For a non-academic historical analysis this is a pretty good effort, particularly with regard to the research on Memphis. If you want to fill in the historical gaps, in particular the jump from Memphis to Cuba, supplement this fine bit of descriptive writing with Margaret Humphreys "Yellow Fever and the South." In the meantime, sit back and allow Crosby to transport you to a time and place of unimaginable circumstance.
Book Description
Can a Christian escape from a lion? How quickly can a rumor spread? Can you fool an airline into accepting oversize baggage? Recreational mathematics is full of frivolous questions where the mathematician's art can be brought to bear. But play often has a purpose. In mathematics, it can sharpen skills, provide amusement, or simply surprise, and books of problems have been the stock-in-trade of mathematicians for centuries. This collection is designed to be sipped from, rather than consumed in one sitting. The questions range in difficulty: the most challenging offer a glimpse of deep results that engage mathematicians today; even the easiest prompt readers to think about mathematics. All come with solutions, many with hints, and most with illustrations. Whether you are an expert, or a beginner or an amateur mathematician, this book will delight for a lifetime.
Average customer rating:
|
Beale Street: Crossroads of America's Music
William S. Worley
Manufacturer: Addax Pub Group Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Ethnomusicology
| Ethnic & International
| Musical Genres
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Tennessee
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1886110182 |
Book Description
Take the Mississippi River flowing through the heart of America, to Memphis. Go east and find the birthplace of the Blues and the heart of our American music heritage. Find a melting pot of delta blues, jazz, rock-n-roll, R&B, and gospel. Find cold brew and hot music. Find Beale Street. The stories and photos in Beale Street, Crossroads of America's Music capture a legacy passed on by the masters - a living, pulsating howling rhythm that smacks you at the turn of every page.
Three million people a year visit the authentic blues clubs, unique shops, art galleries, cafes, and other great attractions. They come for the celebrations. They come for great food. Some come just to experience the legendary Beale Street beat, the granddaddy of today's popular music.
This book is filled with never before published photos of a young Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Martin Luther King and more as they contribute to the heritage of Beale Street. Reach down and grab American music by its roots. Experience the legend of Beale Street.
Book Description
"Free the West Memphis Three."
Maybe you've heard the phrase.
But do you know why their story is so alarming?
Do you know the facts?
The guilty verdicts handed out to three Arkansas teens in a horrific capital murder case were popular in their home state -- even upheld on appeal. But after two HBO documentaries called attention to the witch-hunt atmosphere at the trials, artists and other supporters raised concerns about the accompanying lack of evidence. Now, award-winning journalist Mara Leveritt provides the most comprehensive look yet into this endlessly shocking case.
For weeks in 1993, after the murders of three eight-year-old boys, police in West Memphis, Arkansas, seemed stymied. Then suddenly, detectives charged three teenagers -- alleged members of a satanic cult -- with the killings. Despite stunning investigative blunders, a confession riddled with errors, and an absence of physical evidence linking any of the accused to the crime, the teenagers were tried and convicted. Jurors sentenced Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley to life in prison. They sentenced Damien Echols, the accused ringleader, to death. Ten years later, all three remain in prison. Here, Leveritt unravels this seemingly medieval case and offers close-up views of its key participants, including one with an uncanny knack for evading the law....
Download Description
"On the evening of May 5, 1993, in the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas, three eight-year-old boys disappeared. The next afternoon, the naked bodies of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore were found submerged in a nearby stream. The boys had been bound from ankle to wrist with their own shoelaces and severely beaten. Christopher had been castrated. The crime scene had yielded few clues, and despite Christopher's castration, there was a remarkable absence of blood. The police were stymied, and citizens' alarm mounted as weeks passed without an arrest. Finally, a month after the murders, detectives announced three arrests -- and a startling theory of the crime: that the children had been killed by members of a satanic cult. Detectives attributed their break in the case to a former special education student, seventeen-year-old Jessie Misskelley Jr. Although Jessie insisted he knew nothing of the crime, after eight hours of questioning, police announced that he had implicated himself and accused two other teenagers, eighteen-year-old Damien Echols and sixteen-year-old Jason Baldwin. Damien and Jason both denied Jessie's account, and Jessie himself recanted it within hours, but by then all three had been charged with the murders. With no physical evidence connecting anyone to the crime, prosecutors contended that the murders bore signs of ""the occult"" and that the three accused teenagers possessed a ""state of mind"" that pointed to them as the killers. As proof of the defendants' mental states, they introduced items taken from their rooms -- such as books by Anne Rice and album posters for the rock group Metallica. Jurors found all three teenagers guilty. Jessie and Jason were sentenced to life in prison. Damien was sentenced to death.
Customer Reviews:
Biased but Necessary.......2007-09-24
Although the chief complaint is the fact that the book contained biases, it still needed to be published and it still proves a point. There is nothing biased about the fact that there was not enough evidence to prove that these three men were guilty. How does a prosecution come off so strong when the police completely ruined the evidence and coerced a mentally challenged boy into a false confession? It is because the town has biases of its own. Also these people were quick to pin the crime on somebody due to its intensity. Now, fourteen years later, the people who committed this homicide still have not been caught. Perhaps they could have if the focus had been taken off the wrong suspects.
Well written........2007-06-14
Very detailed book that goes into much more depth than the documentaries. Gives the reader an insite on all aspects of the case. Again it seems so straight forward that the WM3 are not guilty. What will it take for the people with power in West Memphis to realise this. If you are interested in the case then this is a MUST read.
Great Read.......2007-03-09
If you saw the documentaries you'll love this book. Hard to read, knowing that the WM3 are still sitting in jail. But intriguing nonetheless. How John Mark Byers was never charged astonishes me.
Highly recommended.
Disturbing.......2007-02-14
I heard about the West Memphis Three case some time ago, but it wasn't until I moved to Walls, MS, a few miles south of Memphis, that I decided to read more about it. I stumbled across this book in a Memphis bookstore, scooped it up, and began reading it that night. I finished it in a couple days, constantly pouring over the text and the reference notes.
At times Leveritt could be somewhat emotional and unabashedly on the side of the defendents. After a thorough examination of the evidence she presents it is not hard to see why she writes with such conviction. [...]
As the results from more extensive DNA testing are starting to come back from the labs now, in February of 2007, this is the perfect time to begin reading about this case. Hopefully there will be an end to the story soon. I can only hope that it ends not only in the release of the West Memphis Three, but also in the discovery of the TRUE murderer. The three young boys, Branch, Byers, and Moore, deserve that much.
Since reading this book I have bought Damien Echol's own "Almost Home: The Story of My Life, Part I", and ordered both documentaries. I think about Damien, Jason, and Jessie every single day and they haunt my dreams at night. I almost wish I had never read Mara Leveritt's book so I could remain in blissful ignorance about the American justice system. Reading this book marked a pivotal moment in my existence and I fear from now on I will be able to consider events in two distinct categories: before I discovered the West Memphis Three, and After I Knew The Truth.
I am convinced these boys are innocent. That makes this required reading for every American.
a shameful witch-hunt.......2007-01-04
On one boring afternoon I was browsing my local movie rental store when I picked up a copy of "Paradise lost". I was shocked and deeply moved by what I watched. I wanted to learn more so I found "Devil's knot" to continure my studies. "Devil's Knot" was everything I was looking for and more. The book does a superb job on expanding on the film and covered many things that the film left out like the haphazard investigating prosess, Jesse MissKelly's forced confession and John Mark Byers bizarre and suspicious behavior during and after the trail. "Devils Knot" continues to haunt me to this day.(I read it a year or so ago) The gross injustice that these three boys suffered is so disgusing that I have trouble believing that it's real but it sadly is. I think what makes me keep reading about the three is that I was them once. In high school I was one of the weird kids that wore black and listened to Rammstien, watched horror movies and read comic books. It could have happened to me and my friends just as easily but what this book shows us is that under the right(or wrong)circumstances it could very well happen again, and that is truly fightening.
Book Description
The definitive history of the epic struggle for economic justice that became Martin Luther King Jr.'s last crusade.
Memphis in 1968 was ruled by a paternalistic "plantation mentality" embodied in its good-old-boy mayor, Henry Loeb. Wretched conditions, abusive white supervisors, poor education, and low wages locked most black workers into poverty. Then two sanitation workers were chewed up like garbage in the back of a faulty truck, igniting a public employee strike that brought to a boil long-simmering issues of racial injustice.
With novelistic drama and rich scholarly detail, Michael Honey brings to life the magnetic characters who clashed on the Memphis battlefield: stalwart black workers; fiery black ministers; volatile, young, black-power advocates; idealistic organizers and tough-talking unionists; the first black members of the Memphis city council; the white upper crust who sought to prevent change or conflagration; and, finally, the magisterial Martin Luther King Jr., undertaking a Poor People's Campaign at the crossroads of his life, vilified as a subversive, hounded by the FBI, and seeing in the working poor of Memphis his hopes for a better America. 16 pages of illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Recalling memories.......2007-07-13
As one who lived through the history recalled in this book,I found it excellent.It is great to read a book in which you personally knew all the people written about and recall all the events.Michael Honey has done an excelllent job.I highly recommend this book to all students of the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King jr. Especially I recommend it to all residents of Memphis and Tennessee.May we never allow this history to repeat itself
A Measure of the Men.......2007-01-06
This might be the finest book written on Martin Luther King: it certainly is the best one that I have read about him. Honey is a splendid writer, with a style that I find more accessible than Taylor Branch's. No doubt that Branch has written the seminal history of King and his times, but his writing can become tedious due to too much detail and meandering sentences.
Honey is an award-winning historian who has written two previous excellent books that demonstrate his skill as an oral historian. The outstanding feature of this book is the numerous interviews he conducted with important figures, which keep the book always absorbing.
King receives much attention, but Honey shows that the Memphis strike was led by local workers and union officials who were fighting to escape the living hell of dangerous working conditions (the strike grew out of the deaths of two sanitation workers who were mangled in a malfunctioning garbage truck when they sought shelter from a rainstorm).
In addition to the stories about the local workers and organizers, King is portrayed as an important influence who was struggling with internal fighting among black civil rights groups, includng the NAACP, the Urban League, SCLC, and SNCC, the FBI, Lyndon Johnson, who was angered by King's anti-war proclamations, and most whites who thought King was moving too fast. Any reader who questions King's leadership and selflessness, needs to read this book to have those views dispelled.
Ultimately, the Memphis strike paved the way for labor improvements throughout the South.
This superb book should be considered for all major book prizes. For King scholars, it is essential and for all other informed readers, it is an excellent narrative of King and his times.
Customer Reviews:
Not too exited about it.......2007-06-10
I have no idea where do those 5 stars from the numerous reviews come from. This book is closer to a soap opera then to a serious mystery novel. It reminds me little of M.C. Beaton novels, only that in my opinion those are significantly more enjoyable to read. Perhaps it has been a mistake to start with a 5th book in the series, if the 1st book in the series comes my way I will give it a try, if only to verify that the rest is not much better then the 5th. I guess these books are targeted towards female audience.
On the other thought, I might give this author miss in a future it took a considerable effort to get to the end of this book. Not my cup of tea.
Love the author.......2007-01-09
I love this author. Her writing is whitty, and intelligent. I am also a great fan of her other mystery series.
Where, Oh Where.......2005-01-04
Where, oh where, is another Vicky Bliss novel? Although I'm a major fan of the Amelia Peabody series, beginning with Crocodile On A Sandbank, I'm also a fan of Vicky Bliss (is it just me, or do others find her last name amusing, given her determination to be taken seriously?). Vicky and her fellow characters are an incredible bunch, and I've always enjoyed her adventures. This time it's off to Egypt, where she begins to doubt her own sanity, and as always, the sincerity of her some time lover, John Smythe. But fear not, gentle reader, all will be explained. Usually with the wit and humor this series is famous for. Elizabeth Peters writes wonderfully amusing dialogue, and the scenes crackle. My only complaint is that we haven't seen Vicky in a long time, and I, for one, miss this series. This one is a roller coaster in the manner of Indiana Jones. Don't miss this one, it's a real treat for fans!
A must read!.......2004-10-30
Elizabeth Peters is one of the best authors I have read any books from, ever. In Night Train to Memphis, which was the first one I read in the Vicky Bliss series, I became absolutley hooked. Imagine my joy then, when I found that she had four more in the series, beginning with Borrower of the Night, proceeding to Street of Five Moons, which is succeeded by Silhouette in Scarlet, to Trojan Gold, and then back to Night Train to Memphis. It is much better to read them in order, I have learned, but it's ok if you've already started. I have read them all maybe 100 times and still love them. I have my fingers crossed and hands entwined in prayer that she will write another Vicky Bliss. To tide you over, I highly reccomend her Amelia Peabody Series, which starts with Crocodile on the Sandbank and has many things in them that are so fun to read in the Vicky Bliss books, such as the wit and strong female character.
Vicky and John (and Schmidt) go to Egypt.......2004-06-10
and have many interesting adventures there.
In this 1994 adventure, the 5th, and unfortunately latest, in the Vicky Bliss series Dr. Vicky Bliss is approached to foil a planned robbery of Egyptian artifacts from the Cario museum. She is asked to pose as an expert on a Nile cruise, a cruise geared for amateur Egyptolists. Vicky protested her unsuitablity for this assignment until she realized that the suspected thief was none other than her sometime lover, the mysterious "Sir John Smythe".
Naturally Vicky does join the group, and does find her lover there - along with his mother and new bride. The adventure then takes off at a typical Peters breakneck pace, filled with bodies, false identities, lies, wild chases through the desert night, fantastic escapes and....well if you've read any of Peter's work you get the picture and if you haven't you should, just don't start with this one.
For fans of Peter's work there are many wonderful little treats in this one, John claims a name from his past as his own, hints at a long family connection to Egypt (could his real last name be Emerson?), Schmidt is developed as more than a cardboard comic character, a husband and wife Egyptologist team of the past century is mentioned and a 'writer of popular Egyptian mystery adventures' makes a cameo apprearance.
This is a particularly fun read, only marred by the fact that it is the last Vicky Bliss - so far - I refuse to give up hope!
Customer Reviews:
(RAW Rating: 4.5) - What is happening to black men?.......2007-08-04
Demico Boothe has explored the reasons so many black men are indeed in prison in, WHY ARE SO MANY BLACK MEN IN PRISON? He begins with his own story of a shaky upbringing and his subsequent dabbling in drug dealing. He was caught with a few grams of crack cocaine but because it was the dreaded crack, he was given 10 years in prison. When he left prison after serving his time, he was actually railroaded back into prison by a crooked justice system. He delves deeply into our justice system and the motives behind all the new prisons that are being built. He gives succinct and reasonable views of exactly what is happening now in the United States and how the past has played a role in the present. He uses persuasive statistics regarding the number of black men in prison as compared to the number of white men who are incarcerated.
Demico Boothe has done an excellent job of researching his subject and it is a plus, if unfortunate for him, that he has actually experienced first hand what he's talking about. I knew I was hearing the real story rather than just statistics from an intellectual who had no real idea of what the prison system is really like. I would have liked for Boothe to search a little deeper into the Haiti, Aristide and USA question, maybe even reading Randall Robinson's take on the situation, and then he might see it a bit differently. Otherwise, it is a good book and one every one in America should read. We indeed, have a crisis going on.
Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Why Are So Many Black Men In Prison? A Comprehensive Account Of How And Why The Prison Industry Has Become A Predatory Entity In.......2007-06-09
The book was very interesting. I learned soooo much about the government and the prison industry. I did some searching independantly to check on the things reported in the book and they are very true. Great Read!! Buy the book.
A Must Read.......2007-05-25
Mr. Demico's book is a must-read for anyone concerned about young African American men. Although I did not agree with every conclusion he reached, Demico's main premises are convincing. As a white woman who teaches mainly students of color, I am always impressed, and often in awe, of those young men who reach college with so much going against them. Demico's books lays bare not only the horrible inequalities of our society, but also the racist attitudes of our political system - - Democrats, Republicans, and most everyone in between.
Why are so many Black Men in Prison?.......2007-05-13
I is a well put together book. He really goes into a lot of detail of how our society is really set up.
Why are so many blacks in prison?.......2007-05-12
I found this book very interesting. As a white devil myself, I had no idea that I was responsible for forcing blacks into committing crimes and then subsequently clogging up the whole "Prison Industrial Complex"(tm). I will try to stop causing this, as I am sure it is creating a LOT of trouble for everyone! Sorry!
It is probably also my fault that young black men dressed in XXXXL clothes overtly threaten me and my family members routinely. Can anyone tell me what I should do to make this not happen?
I imagine it's also my fault that black on white violent crime is WAY higher than white on black violent crime, even though blacks constitute about 12.5% of the population, and whites are about 70%. But since it is impossible for a black to commit a hate crime according to our criminal justice system (since blacks are not under any circumstances racist), statistically, there are more white on black hate crimes. Boothe notes a statistic regarding hate crimes, but he skips the one about interracial violence in general.
In sum, Boothe notes that just about everything blacks do is actually MY fault, because my skin is white. Boothe, I've got a word for you.
Introspection.
Average customer rating:
- Interesting and easy read on Harrah's and the industry!
- Motivate yourself
- best marketing book I ever read
- This book is a "winner!"
- "very FUNNY book"
|
Jackpot! Harrah's Winning Secrets for Customer Loyalty
Robert L. Shook
Manufacturer: Wiley
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0471263230 |
Book Description
The inside story of the gaming company that hit the jackpot playing by its own rules
Robert L. Shook, a New York Times bestselling author, delves into the business behind one of the world's foremost gaming and entertainment companies, Harrah's. Since Bill Harrah took over a small card game business in 1937, Harrah's has become a top casino, dominating Nevada and beyond. The first gaming company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Harrah's is a $4 billion-dollar business driven by smart marketing and smarter leadership. This book is the first to examine Harrah's and its leader, a man who dominated an industry and amassed a staggering fortune while refusing to deal with mobsters and corrupt politicians. Though Bill Harrah died in 1978 and the company has since been sold, Harrah's has retained its sense of history and remained an industry leader. Following the company's growth, Shook uncovers rich business lessons about marketing and customer loyalty, increasing market share in fiercely competitive industries, and maintaining a sense of integrity in a cutthroat business world. This is a compelling and intriguing story of a company that gambled and won, and it offers business readers an opportunity to benefit from the hard-won lessons of a paragon of the entertainment industry.
Robert L. Shook (Columbus, OH) is a seasoned business journalist and the ghostwriter behind several New York Times bestsellers. He is the founder and former CEO of Shook Associates and the American Executive Life Insurance Company. He is the author or coauthor of thirty-five books, including The IBM Way, Mary Kay on People Management, and Mary Kay's You Can Have It All.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting and easy read on Harrah's and the industry!.......2006-11-29
This book tells in an easy, readable fashion the story of Harrah's from the humble beginnings of a small parlor in Reno to the multibillion dollar behemoth it is today. Although the primary focus is on Harrah's, of course, the book covers the growth of the industry in the US overall from the early days, through the mob years in Vegas and the entertainment explosion that happened, to the proliferation of boats, reservation gambling and other gambling alternatives such as the lotteries through many US states.
This is a great book to read for reminders on the basics of "getting it right" when it comes to customer service, treating employees right, thinking strategically and executing on a vision. It is amazing what Harrah's has done in the area of parlaying customer information into long term, profitable relationships!
I have read many business books, this is my most favorite in recent months, for sure.
Read on, and watch out for that river card :)
Motivate yourself.......2003-02-08
Great book -- the lessons taught are for all service based organizations. Learn how to create customer loyalty and enjoy your business more. Must read!!
best marketing book I ever read.......2003-01-16
I have read other books by Robert L. Shook, and he is an accomplished writer of business books. He's at his best with Jackpot. This book is both informative and entertaining. Shook takes his reader behind the scenes at Harrah's, a gaming company with 26 casinos and reveals how the company is able to compete so successfully against billion-dollar properties in the Las Vegas market. Harrah's secret, as the subtitle states is how it wins customer loyalty and does it better than its competition. This is an excellent book for any business reader engaged in a highly competitive industry, and, in particular, goes head to head with the big boys. Shook's writing style is superb--he interwines anecdotal material that makes for a fascnating read. True, this is a business book, but at times, it's such a page-turner, you feel you're reading a novel.
This book is a "winner!".......2003-01-14
This book is about an outstanding culture that is culminated from the founder's passion, integrity and leadership.
Jackpot provides cutting-edge lessons and ideas that are being exposed for the first time in topics such as: marketing and customer loyalty, building market share, and preserving high integrity.
Harrah's placed its chips on integrity and serving the customer. It's no wonder they are so successful.
"very FUNNY book".......2003-01-08
This book is a riot! I could not put it down. One of the funniest books on gambling I have ever read.(and I've read 100 books on Vegas/Gambling.Go straight to page 43 first- "there is no underworld presence today in Las Vegas"- this author really knows how to write satire.The book is just filled with one funny story after another about how everything now in gambling is on the up & up.Robert Shook is more humerous than that Connecticut Senator whose trying to protect children from the entertainment industry.Another fun thing to do with his book- circle the word "lawyer" and then underline all the Federal & State laws that his book exposes.God Bless America! We should all feel blessed to have a comedy writer like Robert.
D.Matthew Hayden
author
Vegas Stories
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