Prisoner's Base
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Fun Mysteries
  • Another great visit with Nero Wolfe
  • Solid, but not spectacular Nero Wolfe novel
  • Classic Wolfe
  • I'm Biased - This Was One Of His Best
Prisoner's Base
Rex Stout
Manufacturer: Crimeline
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553242695
Release Date: 1992-10-01

Book Description

Three women have been strangled - and Archie feels responsible. One of the women was expecting a big birthday present, an $8 million inheritance; she just had to live until June 30 to receive it. Unfortunately, she didn't make the date. First published in 1952, Prisoner's Base sees Archie's boss, detective Nero Wolfe, bring together all the pieces to solve the puzzle.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Fun Mysteries.......2007-08-29

Classic American with the two awesome characters of Nero and Archie. Sure to sparkle a drab day.

5 out of 5 stars Another great visit with Nero Wolfe.......2007-08-22

Nero Wolfe fans will not be disappointed in this book. Archie Goodwin delivers his usual smart-alecky narration, Wolfe himself is as gruff and brilliant as usual, and the rest of the cast of favorites make their appearances as well (Fritz is particularly amusing this time around).

Wolfe is approached by a young woman who wishes to simply live in his house for a week. While she is out of sight in an upstairs bedroom, a man, also offering to pay Wolfe for his services, comes to the door looking for her. The girl refuses Wolfe's terms, leaves, and winds up dead before morning.

After a few more corpses turn up, Archie begins to feel responsible, and takes off on his own to assist the police investigation. In a surprise twist, Wolfe agrees to represent a new client's interests in the matter, and the plot thickens.

If you're looking for a highbrow mystery, don't stop here, but if you're looking for a quick whodunit, you'll enjoy this book. At 150 or so pages, it's a nice afternoon's distraction that will keep you entertained, but don't expect Rendell or James here. Stout wrote them fast and furious, and they need to be read the same way. All in all, a very enjoyable episode in the Nero Wolfe collection.

4 out of 5 stars Solid, but not spectacular Nero Wolfe novel.......2007-06-24

Prisoner's Base begins with a woman coming to Nero Wolfe and asking to remain in his home for one week. She wants complete secrecy and seclusion but won't say why. While Archie is attracted to her, Wolfe simply doesn't want the bother and turns her out. Later that same night she and her maid are killed and the mystery begins.

This book is somewhat different from a typical Nero Wolfe novel in a few ways. First, it is on the short side as it is a good 50 pages or so less than a typical full-length Wolfe story but still considerably longer than the novellas. Also, it shows Archie more personally motivated to solve the murders than is the norm. Rather than simply working for a client, Archie is motivated by guilt. Things get even worse for him later as another murder is committed that he blames himself for. We rarely see the wisecracking Archie Goodwin so worked up about finding a murderer. There are also some nice moments between Wolfe and Archie, as Nero knows his right hand man is hurting and ultimately does what he can to help him.

One effect of Archie's guilt is that the humor gets toned down somewhat. There are still some funny moments but far less than in other books. I also found some elements of the mystery a little unsatisfying. The most glaring example was the setup for the story. It is never really made clear why the woman comes to Wolfe seeking sanctuary in the first place. She was rich and powerful and could have hired a bodyguard, traveled anywhere in the world, refused to accept phone calls or visitors, etc. The idea of a single woman going to the private home of a male investigator (in 1952) for the sole purpose of sleeping in a spare bedroom is frankly ridiculous. There should have been a truly compelling motive for why she went to Wolfe specifically but there isn't.

Overall, Prisoner's Base is a good book. I didn't enjoy it as much as some other Wolfe novels but the story moves along reasonably well, there is at least a little humor, and some of the interplay between Wolfe and Archie is excellent. This certainly shouldn't be the first Nero Wolfe novel you read, but don't be afraid to give it a try if you're a fan.

5 out of 5 stars Classic Wolfe .......2007-03-01

PRISONER'S BASE is classic Wolfe. Archie takes on a different role in this one; a man possessed by anger and self-doubt. These feelings are brought on by the death of a young woman who is denied the safety of the Wolfe residence and then exacerbated by a ploy that Archie uses that leads to another murder. Archie's rage, checked by his ever-present control, threatens to consume him and even brings him into an alliance with Cramer and Stebbins in his efforts to solve the case. But it is still up to Wolfe to bring this one to a close, which he proceeds to do by a bit of a cheat on Stout's part, but it still proves to be an excellent addition to the Wolfe series.

5 out of 5 stars I'm Biased - This Was One Of His Best.......2004-10-08

For some reason, Prisoner's Base hit me as one of Stout's best efforts. I know not many people agree.

I also see this as one of the least successful A&E screen transitions. When I first read this book, I was really captivated by the female lead, as seen through Archie's eyes. And we learn a lot more about Archie-as-Galahad in this one, too.

The TV show, though, through its characterizations and musical theming of the female protagonist, insist on portraying her as a sterotypicaly dizzy blonde.

If you saw the TV show before reading the book, you could not have gotten the impression Rex Stout intended, I'm afraid.

Read this one - it is my personal favorite, next to Fer de Lance, and you will perhaps love it, too.
Inside the Wire: A Military Intelligence Soldier's Eyewitness Account of Life at Guantanamo
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Disappointing & un-gripping
  • Defending the author
  • Read this book
  • Fascinating
  • Mostly Observations from a Low Level
Inside the Wire: A Military Intelligence Soldier's Eyewitness Account of Life at Guantanamo
Erik Saar , and Viveca Novak
Manufacturer: Penguin Press HC, The
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1594200661

Book Description

Inside the Wire is a gripping portrait of one soldier's six months at the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - a powerful, searing journey into a surreal world completely unique in the American experience.

In an explosive newsbreak that generated headlines all around the world, a document submitted by army Sergeant Erik Saar to the Pentagon for clearance was leaked to the Associated Press in January, 2005. His account of appalling sexual interrogation tactics used on detainees at Guantanamo Bay was shocking, but that was only one small part of the story of what he saw at Guantanamo -- and the leak was only one more strange twist in his profoundly disturbing and life-changing trip behind the scenes of America's war on terror.

Saar couldn't have been more eager to get to Gitmo. After two years in the army learning Arabic, becoming a military intelligence linguist, he pounced on the chance to apply his new skills to extracting crucial intel from the terrorists. But when he walked through the heavily guarded, double-locked and double-gated fence line surrounding Camp Delta -- the special facility built for the "worst of the worst" al Qaeda and Taliban suspects - he entered a bizarre world that defied everything he'd expected, belied a great deal of what the Pentagon has claimed, and defiled the most cherished values of American life.

In this powerful account, he takes us inside the cell blocks and interrogation rooms, face-to-face with the captives. Suicide attempts abound. Storm-trooper-like IRF (initial reaction forces) teams ramp up for beatings of the captives, and even injure one American soldier so badly in a mock drill -- a training exercise - that he ends up with brain seizures. Fake interrogations are staged when General Geoffrey Miller - whose later role in the Abu Ghraib fiasco would raise so many questions - hosts visiting VIPs. Barely trained interrogators begin applying their "creativity" when new, less restrictive rules are issued by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

When Saar takes over as a cosupervisor of the linguists translating for interrogations and gains access to the detainees' intelligence files, he must contend with the extent of the deceptions and the harsh reality of just how illconceived and counterproductive an operation in the war on terror, and in the history of American military engagement, the Guantanamo detention center is.

Inside the Wire is one of those rare and unforgettable eyewitness accounts of a momentous and deeply sobering chapter in American history, and a powerful cautionary tale about the risks of defaming the very values we are fighting for as we wage the war on terror.

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Disappointing & un-gripping.......2006-12-24

I expected a more shocking account of the detention camp, this book is not so much an insight into guantanamo but just an account of somebody working in a medium/high stress environment.

I was quite disappointed with the book & only continued to read it in the hope that it got better, which it didn't.

4 out of 5 stars Defending the author.......2006-05-01

I actually knew Saar, and want to let the reviewer named 'Mick' realize that he should not assume that Saar missed E-6 and was a bad soldier . . . or had an agenda. Saar was in a trainee status for HALF of his six years, and made E-5 soon after. He could have made E-6, but decided to ETS. He could have pushed to pin on E-6, but he knew he was leaving that year. He had the points.

Saar and I actually used to debate politics, and I was the rare Army Democrat, to his pro-Bush stance. I was shocked when he wrote the book, but it made it that much more credible. He did not have a liberal agenda/bone in him.

I gave the book 4 stars, because it was a rather short read. It is not a masterpiece, but I suggest it be read by those interested in an impartial opinion from a good American.

SSG J

5 out of 5 stars Read this book.......2006-02-06

If you are even remotely interested in the subject, you should read this book. I found it easy to read and informative. Erik Saar tells a story starting as an American soldier who volunteers to serve his country on the war of terror, with little information on what it was going to be like to be in Guantanamo, to someone who moves through various stages of involvement at the actual prison camp. No matter what your views of Guantanamo are, you will find this an interesting and quick read.

5 out of 5 stars Fascinating.......2006-01-26

A good read, period.
If you liked "A Few Good Men", you'll enjoy this.

3 out of 5 stars Mostly Observations from a Low Level.......2005-12-29

Sgt. Saar saw first-hand what was happening at "Gitmo" - unfortunately, his vantage point afforded limited/no ability to go beyond an anecdotal, low-importance description of events that has little generalizability.

Two events recounted by Saar have received significant coverage:

1)"Live" interrogation demonstrations for VIPs were actually re-runs of prior events. Saar, however, did not document that it had been claimed that these were "real-time" discoveries; regardless, even if Saar's claim is true, I have difficult getting upset about it.

2)An instance of a female interrogator using her sexuality to "open up" a prisoner. What Saar also mentioned, however, and the media omitted, was that the suggestion to follow this avenue came from an low-level person with an Arab background.

Saar also briefly referenced the questionable value of intelligence gained from detainees separated for years from any possible "terrorist" contacts, and probably never having any contact with any matters involving the Iraq conflict.

Regardless, the book should have also contained summary material about Red Cross, etc. (eg. government lawyers) concerns regarding Gitmo, and the evidence supporting or contradicting such.
Prisoner's Base : A Nero Wolfe Novel
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Prisoner's Base : A Nero Wolfe Novel
    Rex Stout
    Manufacturer: THE VIKING PRESS
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover
    ASIN: B000O9GSK8
    Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak
    Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
    • FOR JUDGES AND PEOPLE OF CONSCIENCE
    • The Good poemes of Me and Gutiamo!
    • This book packs a punch
    Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak

    Manufacturer: University Of Iowa Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 1587296063

    Book Description

    Since 2002, at least 775 men have been held in the U.S. detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. According to Department of Defense data, fewer than half of them are accused of committing any hostile act against the United States or its allies. In hundreds of cases, even the circumstances of their initial detainment are questionable.

    This collection gives voice to the men held at Guantánamo. Available only because of the tireless efforts of pro bono attorneys who submitted each line to Pentagon scrutiny, Poems from Guantánamo brings together twenty-two poems by seventeen detainees, most still at Guantánamo, in legal limbo.

    If, in the words of Audre Lorde, poetry “forms the quality of light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change,” these verses—some originally written in toothpaste, others scratched onto foam drinking cups with pebbles and furtively handed to attorneys—are the most basic form of the art.

    Death Poem by Jumah al Dossari
    Take my blood.
    Take my death shroud and
    The remnants of my body.
    Take photographs of my corpse at the grave, lonely.

    Send them to the world,
    To the judges and
    To the people of conscience,
    Send them to the principled men and the fair-minded.

    And let them bear the guilty burden before the world,
    Of this innocent soul.
    Let them bear the burden before their children and before history,
    Of this wasted, sinless soul,
    Of this soul which has suffered at the hands of the "protectors or peace."

    Jumah al Dossari is a thirty-three-year old Bahraini who has been held at Guantanamo Bay for more than five years. He has been in solitary confinement since the end of 2003 and, according to the U.S. military, has tried to kill himself twelve times while in custody.

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars FOR JUDGES AND PEOPLE OF CONSCIENCE.......2007-09-19

    It must be said at the outset that there are no great poems in this collection. Some are not even good, as poetry goes. But who would judge the poetic attempts of children in a hospital? The same sort of sympathy must apply to poems composed in solitary confinement. The publisher could have printed the bars of a cage over each one, for each bears the imprint of prolonged and tormenting isolation. None can be read as a purely artistic composition, without an awareness of the author's biography and suffering. Linguist Flagg Miller, in an analytical preface, relates these works to traditions in Arabic poetry, which is enlightening, but concludes that aside from rhyming couplets they have little in common with formal conventions. Likewise, they do not fall into the category of political or jihadist verse. Rather, they strike a popular and universal chord as cries from the heart, arranged in separate lines. They might simply be called poetical statements.

    The analogy with children is not too far wrong, for all of these poets by necessity have been reduced to the most basic wants and desires. Some were poets before their arrest, others not. The translations in English tend to even them out, so that, with one or two exceptions, it appears that all of the poems were written by the same man, a generic man, maybe an Everyman of the Muslim world. This man wants to see his loved ones, to see God's--or Allah's--justice restored, to see--as poet Ariel Dorfman notes in his Afterword--the ocean, which he can smell in his tiger cage and hear roaring out of sight every day. (Think of it: it would drive you mad.) Above all, the "detainee" in "Gitmo," like every other long-term prisoner, wants to step out and breathe the free air, to stop being shackled and confined, to stop being tormented.

    One of the poems, "First Poem of My Life," by Mohammed El Gharani, arrested at age 14, tortured by both Pakastani and American soldiers, and confined at Guantanamo since 2002, was obtained and translated by pro-bono lawyer and editor Marc Falkoff, who supplies three notes on the original. These notes are sufficient to indicate untold richness in the Arabic, especially word associations which cannot be converted into English. Possibly the other poems as well were written on a higher level than would appear at first sight. As Falkoff explains in his Preface, the Pentagon feared that releasing original texts would endanger national security, presumably because the Arabic could contain hidden messages. This ruling pertained to couplets written in toothpaste or etched with a pebble on a styrofoam cup. Only government linguists with high-level security clearance were permitted to see and translate the hundreds of poems composed at Guantanamo, and of these only a tiny fraction were declassified and released to the prisoners' insistent lawyers. Other poems were reconstructed from memory by the lucky few who were released.

    The result is a book consisting of 22 poems written by 17 prisoners. For the most part, one author is represented by one poem. The "First Poem," mentioned above, tells a story: "They surrounded the mosque, weapons drawn,/ As if they were in a field of war./ They said to us, 'Come out peacefully,/ And don't utter a single word.'/ Into a transport truck they lifted us,/ And in shackles of injustice they bound us." Adnan Latif's "Hunger Strike Poem," featured in the Fall 2007 issue of Amnesty International, protests: "They are artists of torture,/ They are artists of pain and fatigue,/ They are artists of insults and humiliation." Jumah Al Dossari's "Death Poem" advises his tormentors to "Take my blood./ Take my death shroud and/ The remanants of my body./ Take photographs of my corpse at the grave, lonely." He wants these sent to "the judges and people of conscience," who must "bear the burden, before their children and before history,/ Of this wasted, sinless soul."

    We, the readers, are the judges and people of conscience, who must wonder how the US military authorities, holding a man in absolute confinement and isolation for five years, have been unable to determine whether he is innocent or guilty of anything and should or should not be brought to trial. What they have determined, as Falkoff reports in his preface, is that they are able to accuse fewer than half of the total 775 detainees of committing any hostile act against the United States, a mere eight percent of being members of Al Qaida and a mere five percent of being on the battlefield in Afghanistan. That means that probably eighty percent or more were wrongly arrested or sold out by others for a bounty. The whole thing is a violation of international law, American democracy and human decency. This book is only one of those that will reveal the US national disgrace in the years to come.

    The University of Iowa Press is to be highly commended for making this collection available to the world, but I have a small quibble. In a volume of 75 pages there is no reason to print texts in 9 and 10-point type. Miniscule may look chic, but these poems are not dainty and should be printed in standard 11-point or even 12-point type. Let the words released from prison be seen!

    1 out of 5 stars The Good poemes of Me and Gutiamo!.......2007-09-02

    Here is my poem that I wrote about how bad Bush is. Here it is.

    =====

    Oh Bush, you are so bad
    And U look like a chimp..
    And you stoled the election
    and you are like a pimp.
    With you're blood for oil
    and Hallibardton too
    and Chaney is evil
    and so are you too.

    ====

    That is the poem that I wrote that is about Bush and how bad he is.

    And I read about the detanees in Guantanimo. Where they are torchered. And the innosent Muslem victim's of American there write poems too. And here is one too.

    ===

    America sucks, America chills,
    While d'blood of d'Muslims is forever getting spilled ...
    American justice, American pigs,
    American soldiers, American wigs.
    Yes I'm feeling angry, yes I'm feeling pissed,
    An' it's about time that the JIF got dissed.

    ===

    Its not as good as my good poem, but it is a good poem too. And here is another good poem from the torture victims of American at "Guitmo."

    ===

    I have observed the youths of Mohammed
    What splendid, righteous young men they are!

    Bush, beware.
    The world recognizes an arrogant liar!

    ===

    That is so good. I like the exclamation piont.! So here is another poem of mine.

    ===

    I did watch the kids of Islam!
    They are such grandeloquant, sanctimonious guys!

    Look out? Tough guy!
    The Cosmoes observes a hauty disembler!

    ===

    I will send it to the new York review of Books!

    J

    5 out of 5 stars This book packs a punch.......2007-07-31

    THis book is incredibly powerful. Having listened to Robert Pinsky's hesitant, almost apologetic interview about it on NPR's "The World," I was unprepared for the power of the real thing. It is really great, but hard to read. The poem by the 14 year old, the first poem he ever wrote, is heartbreaking. Falkoff, Miller and Dorfman, as well as the U of Iowa Press, are to be congratulated for this amazing, eye-opening service to both the prisoners and the mostly-numbed-out American public.
    Guantanamo: The War on Human Rights
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • US Governments abondonment of human rights
    • An important book that everyone should read
    • Captivating
    • National shame
    Guantanamo: The War on Human Rights
    David Rose
    Manufacturer: New Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 1565849574

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars US Governments abondonment of human rights.......2007-06-05

    This book is based primarily on interviews with British detainees who were captured in Afghanistan and handed over to American soldiers by the Northern Alliance as well as interviews with United States government officials that carried out the treatment of the detainees and there ways of obtaining classified information from these so-called "terrorists".

    Throughout his book, Rose argues that the unclear detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has harmed the United States so-called "war on terror" by abandoning the principles of human rights that the United States claims to honor. On February 7, 2002 President Bush declared that prisoners held at Camp X-Ray had no legal status under the Geneva Conventions and that they were not prisoners of war but were "enemy combatants." Only a few of the detainees were involved with either al-Qaeda or the Taliban even though these detainees were rounded up in masses and those who were sold to the United States in exchange for $5,000 bounties paid by the United States for "terrorists" in Afghanistan.

    Rose uncovers that the intelligence coming out of Guantanamo has been of little use to the United States government in its "war on terror." The United States has obtained this information through stepping up interrogations and conducting them using beatings, sleep depravation, denial of food, and other harsh techniques in order to force detainees into confessing. Rose's interviews with detainees expose many abuses used during the interrogation process while interviews with US officials try to deny any of it even happened.

    5 out of 5 stars An important book that everyone should read.......2006-06-16

    This is an excellent book. It's well-written, and well researched. It's a slim book but packed with information; slim enough to make you feel you can press it onto ,friends and family and insist they read it. I seriously considered buying several copies of it to give away such is the importance of its message. Highly recommended.

    4 out of 5 stars Captivating.......2006-06-08

    David Rose's depiction of what it was like as a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay is truly captivating. He precisely describes every detail of the harsh and brutal living conditions the prisoners (most of whom were not even involved with the 9/11 attacks) had to endure. It is remarkable that prisoners even made it out of Gitmo alive since these prisons were transformed more into concentration camps reminiscent of the Nazis. After reading this book, it is hard to imagine that a country that stands for freedom and the American way could subject innocent people to cruel forms of torture simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is disgusting how prisoners were treated and even more disgusting in the way our own president allowed it to happen. It makes one wonder at how truly fair and democratic this country is if places like the prisons at Guantanamo Bay exist.

    5 out of 5 stars National shame.......2005-04-13

    David Rose's book is an excellent overview of what is wrong with Bush's "War on Terror" and the methodology used to extract information from those being held at GitMo, Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and other prisons around the world. Through the tortured legal reasoning of the Bybee memo and subsequent twisting by John Yoo and Alberto Gonzales at the behest of Bush, we as a nation have come to the "legal black hole" of GitMo.

    Mr. Rose's book shows with painful clarity the results of that kind of reasoning which is illegal and immoral on both the strategic and tactical levels. On the international level the moral and legal high ground that the United States has claimed for the previous two centuries has been wiped away due to the non-legal aborgation of treaties, conventions, and accords that the United States has signed on to and ratified by the sole decisions by one man, Bush. On the national level the legal reasoning for torture is in contravention of U.S. statutory law and ratified treaties that have the force of U.S. law. This is one of the main reasons why Bush and his officials have been twisting the both the seperation of powers doctrine in the Constitution and "war powers" acts by Congress to mean that the office of President has virtually "unlimited power" during war.

    The result of this decision to use torture in contravention of both national and international law is made abundantly clear by the horrific cases in Mr. Rose's book and by the experts cited to conclude that torture methodology leads to faulty intelligence, which was the raison d'etat by Bush.

    The previous reviewer has obviously not even read Mr. Rose's book because Mr. Rose lives in Great Britain.
    Prisoner's Base a Nero Wolf Novel
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Prisoner's Base a Nero Wolf Novel

      Manufacturer: Bantam Books
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Mass Market Paperback
      ASIN: B000I8DD5S
      Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo
        Murat Kurnaz
        Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Hardcover

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        ASIN: 0230603742
        Release Date: 2008-02-06

        Book Description

        In October 2001, nineteen-year-old Murat Kurnaz traveled to Pakistan to visit a madrassa. During a security check a few weeks after his arrival, he was arrested without explanation and for a bounty of $3,000, the Pakistani police sold him to U.S. forces. He was first taken to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was severely mistreated, and then two months later he was flown to Guantanamo as Prisoner #61. For more than 1,600 days, he was tortured and lived through hell.He was kept in a cage and endured daily interrogations, solitary confinement, and sleep deprivation. Finally, in August 2006, Kurnaz was released, withacknowledgment of his innocence. Told with lucidity, accuracy, and wisdom, Kurnaz's story is both sobering and poignant--an important testimony about our turbulent times when innocent people get caught in the crossfire of the war on terrorism.
        The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of the 759 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of the 759 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison
          Andy Worthington
          Manufacturer: Pluto Press
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover

          CubaCuba | Caribbean & West Indies | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
          GeneralGeneral | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
          21st Century21st Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
          PenologyPenology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
          TerrorismTerrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
          GeneralGeneral | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
          Similar Items:
          1. The Eight O'Clock Ferry to the Windward Side: Fighting the Lawless World of Guantanamo Bay The Eight O'Clock Ferry to the Windward Side: Fighting the Lawless World of Guantanamo Bay
          2. Monstering: Inside America's Policy of Secret Interrogations and Torture in the Terror War Monstering: Inside America's Policy of Secret Interrogations and Torture in the Terror War
          3. Guantanamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power Guantanamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power
          4. Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak
          5. Fear Up Harsh: An Army Interrogator's Dark Journey Through Iraq Fear Up Harsh: An Army Interrogator's Dark Journey Through Iraq

          ASIN: 074532665X
          NERO WOLFE - PRISONER'S BASE
          Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
          • Strangled in triplicate
          NERO WOLFE - PRISONER'S BASE

          Manufacturer: Bantam Books
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback
          ASIN: B000GQKDIW

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars Strangled in triplicate.......2006-08-14

          I never would have guessed I'd be reading mysteries starring two male chauvinist detectives, one pompous, the other cocky. However, I love the Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout and have read all of them at least twice. Every Saturday night, my husband and I curl up in front of one of the excellent A&E Nero Wolfe DVDs starring Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin.

          The earliest mysteries are the best in my opinion. All are good, but when one of Archie's 1960s girlfriends conjugates the German verb 'ficken' in public, it made me long for the good old days back in the '30s and '40s when ladies wore hats and gloves, even on a quick trip down to the neighborhood drugstore to buy a bottle of cyanide.

          Maybe I'm a chauvinist, too.

          "Prisoner's Base" (1952) features multiple strangulations of heiresses who own stock in the Softdown Towel Company. One of the pretty young heiresses shows up at Nero Wolfe's brownstone and demands that Archie let her rent a bedroom for a few days until she reaches her majority and can vote her own stock. Archie stores her away temporarily in the spare bedroom above Wolfe's until he can consult with his boss.

          Naturally his boss throws a fit when he discovers there's a woman in his house. After some undignified haggling, Archie escorts the heiress out the door and loads her luggage into a taxi.

          The next morning, Inspector Cramer shows up at the brownstone and demands to know why Archie's fingerprints are plastered all over the luggage of a strangled woman--a pretty young murder victim who was about to inherit eight million dollars in Softdown stock.

          During the ensuing commotion, Archie exhibits his usual daring, Wolfe his usual dour genius. "Prisoner's Base" is standard fare: Wolfe is hauled down to Police Headquarters by a clueless Lieutenant Rowcliffe; the suspects assemble in Wolfe's office for the standard interrogation; Archie exhibits his usual charm with the ladies, cocks his usual snoot at the police; Wolfe picks out the murderer from a room full of suspects.

          In other words, Wolfe fans will love "Prisoner's Base." Be sure to check out the A&E version too, as it follows the novel very closely.
          Prisioneros Del Odio/ Prisoners of Hate: Las Bases De La Ira, La Hostilidad Y La Violencia / The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility and Violence (Saberes Cotidianos / Daily Knowledge)
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            Prisioneros Del Odio/ Prisoners of Hate: Las Bases De La Ira, La Hostilidad Y La Violencia / The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility and Violence (Saberes Cotidianos / Daily Knowledge)
            Aaron T. Beck
            Manufacturer: Ediciones Paidos Iberica
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback

            Interpersonal RelationsInterpersonal Relations | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
            EmotionsEmotions | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
            EmotionsEmotions | By Topic | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
            Cognitive PsychologyCognitive Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
            Cognitive ScienceCognitive Science | Behavioral Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
            Cognitive PsychologyCognitive Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
            GeneralGeneral | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
            Violence in SocietyViolence in Society | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
            SpanishSpanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
            Psicología CognitivaPsicología Cognitiva | Ciencias de la Conducta Humana | Ciencia | Libros en español | Formats | Books
            GeneralGeneral | Ciencias de la Conducta Humana | Ciencia | Libros en español | Formats | Books
            Violencia en la SociedadViolencia en la Sociedad | Ciencias Sociales | No-Ficción | Libros en español | Formats | Books
            Psicología CognitivaPsicología Cognitiva | Ciencias de la Conducta Humana | Ciencia Profesional | Profesional y Técnico | Libros en español | Formats | Books
            Ciencia CognitivaCiencia Cognitiva | Ciencias de la Conducta Humana | Ciencia Profesional | Profesional y Técnico | Libros en español | Formats | Books
            EmocionesEmociones | Salud Mental | Salud, mente y cuerpo | Libros en español | Formats | Books
            EmocionesEmociones | Por Tema | Psicología y Consejería | Salud, mente y cuerpo | Libros en español | Formats | Books
            Relaciones InterpersonalesRelaciones Interpersonales | Relaciones | Salud, mente y cuerpo | Libros en español | Formats | Books
            ASIN: 8449313600

            Books:

            1. Psychotherapy & Spirituality: Crossing the Line between Therapy and Religion (Perspectives on Psychotherapy series)
            2. Rise and Walk
            3. Roadwork
            4. Serpent Mage (The Death Gate Cycle, Vol 4)
            5. Sex, Lies and Vampires (The Dark Ones, Book 3)
            6. Shadows on the Koyukuk: An Alaskan Native's Life Along the River
            7. Silent Witness (Signet Novel)
            8. Sins of the Fathers: An Inspector Wexford Mystery (Formerly Titled : a New Lease of Death)
            9. Sleeping with Strangers
            10. Stop Being Mean to Yourself: A Story About Finding The True Meaning of Self-Love

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