Amazon.com
Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don't really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner's 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there's a good economic reason for that too, and we're just not getting it yet. --John Moe
Book Description
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?
These may not sound like typical questions for an econo-mist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life—from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing—and whose conclusions turn conventional wisdom on its head.
Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They usually begin with a mountain of data and a simple question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.
Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives—how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they explore the hidden side of . . . well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Klu Klux Klan.
What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a great deal of complexity and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and—if the right questions are asked—is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking.
Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.
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Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?
These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But
Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.
Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and co-author
Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives -- how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In
Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of ... well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.
What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter.
Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But
Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.
"
Customer Reviews:
My two cents.......2007-10-08
This collection is the perfect introduction to "thinking outside the box" that Young Adults so desperately need. Filled with challenging situations that demand to know, "why things are the way they are?" Sprinkled with just enough statistics to give credibility, (but not to overwhelm), and just enough history to shed light on the bigger picture; it asks the meaningful, fresh questions that will intrigue and interest the most lethargic student. Recommended for thoughtful, mature audiences, this book may appeal to the Young Adult reader, and their parents. Drugs, crime, getting a job - this book covers many of the contemporary issues facing Young Adults today.
Mind blowing .......2007-10-02
This book changed the way I think about economics, while being entertaining and fun. Highly recommended!
Dumbed Down Levitt.......2007-09-27
I saw Steven Levitt (the economist) on CSPAN Book-TV. He was intelligent, incisive & insightfull and presented his information clearly with a wry sense of humor. I very much anticipated reading this book. What a disappointment! Clearly the book was written by Dubner, not Levitt, and it's origins as a Sunday magazine profile are too apparent. The sharp intelligence and clear ideas are made fuzzy by Dubner's generic, puffy non-fiction writing techniques. This is not to say this book is without merit. Levitt's ideas manage to shine throught the murk of Dubner's writing. But if you want to get a clearer picutre of Levitt and his thinking, go to the C-SPAN Book-TV archives and watch the show with Steven Levitt discussing the book.
I hope that next time Levitt and/or his publisher will have the confidence to have him write a popular, non-academic book on his own and won't feel the need to hire a "professional" to translate his ideas to a popular audience. His ideas need simple clarity, not fancy dressing up.
Spray-Painted Fruit.......2007-09-25
"Freakonomics" has all the elements of great nonfiction. It approaches old subjects in new ways. It combines a "rogue" economist's out-of-the-box thinking with the concise work of a disciplined writer. A quick read, it also challenges Americans to think for themselves--now there's a real accomplishment!
Levitt and Dubner make some interesting points about our education system, medical and parental fears, and racial divides. They never claim to tie all these insights into a cohesive treatise, although they do meander back and forth over unifying themes of what motivates us as human beings and what causes us to buy into collective myths. For years, I've observed the lemming effect in our society, usually driven by the media, and by the average person's seeming inability to override knee-jerk fears with a small dollop of logic. Raising my own children, I heard the flip-flopping of the experts: "Babies should sleep on their backs...their bellies...their sides...in your bed...in their own bed..." ad nauseum.
"Freakonomics" has worthy goals. It reaches them on many levels. On the other hand, it is marketed toward those who already see through these societal deceits. It's not high-minded enough to satisfy those seeking true "rogue" economics, and it's not accessible enough for those nominative readers who might benefit from it the most. Also, on a number of occasions, it draws from a hodgepodge of statistics and extrapolates theories that, while very reasonable, are not proven here with any certainty. And yet we are expected to believe them, even while the same authors are telling us to stop believing such extrapolations from other "experts."
For a book that'll cause you to reconsider certain "established" norms" and to carry on lively discussions, "Freakonomics" is a wonderful coffee table addition. I was disappointed, though, in its overall lack of depth. Most of the subjects addressed are ones I, as a regular individual, have questioned on basic principles of logic in the first place. I didn't need a "rogue" economist for this, or a catchy title. I could've extracted the same tidbits from a decent magazine article by the same pair.
An apple is an apple is an orange. Yes, there are some nutrients in this tasty book, but the authors, like many grocers, have spray-painted the fruit to appear a bit more delectable than it actually is.
This book makes economics entertaining.......2007-09-23
Think you won't be entertained by a book about economics? Think again. Reduced to its essence, economics is about people's response to incentives. This book abounds with examples that you probably aren't accustomed to thinking of as economics. The author excels at analyzing mounds of data and extracting nuggets of wisdom from it. He even steps you through a couple of them, though once he's sure you've got the idea he sticks to giving you the pertinent information. After reading this book I became aware of how economics permeates human interactions.
Book Description
From the perspective of 2007, the unintentional irony of Chance's boast is manifest—these days, the question is when will the Cubs ever win a game they have to have. In October 1908, though, no one would have laughed: The Cubs were, without doubt, baseball's greatest team—the first dynasty of the 20th century.
Crazy '08 recounts the 1908 season—the year when Peerless Leader Frank Chance's men went toe to toe to toe with John McGraw and Christy Mathewson's New York Giants and Honus Wagner's Pittsburgh Pirates in the greatest pennant race the National League has ever seen. The American League has its own three-cornered pennant fight, and players like Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and the egregiously crooked Hal Chase ensured that the junior circuit had its moments. But it was the National League's—and the Cubs'—year.
Crazy '08, however, is not just the exciting story of a great season. It is also about the forces that created modern baseball, and the America that produced it. In 1908, crooked pols run Chicago's First Ward, and gambling magnates control the Yankees. Fans regularly invade the field to do handstands or argue with the umps; others shoot guns from rickety grandstands prone to burning. There are anarchists on the loose and racial killings in the town that made Lincoln. On the flimsiest of pretexts, General Abner Doubleday becomes a symbol of Americanism, and baseball's own anthem, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," is a hit.
Picaresque and dramatic, 1908 is a season in which so many weird and wonderful things happen that it is somehow unsurprising that a hairpiece, a swarm of gnats, a sudden bout of lumbago, and a disaster down in the mines all play a role in its outcome. And sometimes the events are not so wonderful at all. There are several deaths by baseball, and the shadow of corruption creeps closer to the heart of baseball—the honesty of the game itself. Simply put, 1908 is the year that baseball grew up.
Oh, and it was the last time the Cubs won the World Series.
Destined to be as memorable as the season it documents, Crazy '08 sets a new standard for what a book about baseball can be.
Customer Reviews:
A detailed look at one baseball season.......2007-10-05
Cait Murphy observes that 1908 is an important season in the history of baseball in America. She closes the book with the statement (page 288): "In the sweep of baseball's history, 1908 is not the end of an era, nor the beginning of one. It is, however, the end of the beginning." She starts the work by answering why she explores 1908 (page xiii): "The best season in baseball history id 1908. Besides two agonizing pennant races, it features history's finest pitching duel, hurled in the white heat of an October stretch drive, and the most controversial game ever played." I'm not sure that I buy 1908 as the apogee of baseball; however, Murphy does make a nice case.
The book begins with some context, looking at the earlier years of the National League and American League just after the turn of the century. She also looks at the evolution of gloves and bats and the other artifacts of the game. There are glimpses of stadia of the time.
Also nicely done are the character sketches of some key figures from 1908--from Manager John McGraw of the Giants to John Evers and Frank ("Husk" or "The Peerless Leader") Chance of the Cubs to Honus Wagner and so on. The book takes a chronological look at the season thereafter, from opening day through the great replay of the tie game (when Fred Merkle didn't touch second base, leading to a tie score) to a brief afterword on the World Series (not much time spent on it, since it was a blowout, with the Cubs winning their last World Series over the Detroit Tigers).
Some interesting tidbits are scattered throughout: the seemingly large number of players who committed suicide (pages 66-67), the amazing variety of interests of Cubs' players on one train trip (if accurately portrayed by a reporter)--"Doc" Marshall reading a book on dentistry, Johnny Evers reading a biography of Savonarola, two players discussed how to raise alfalfa, Ed Reulbach reading a chemistry book, five playing poker, and so on.
There is the portrayal of some of the great moments of the season, for instance, Young Fred Merkle not touching second base after an apparent game-winning hit against the detested Cubs (pages 189-191).
There are also several "time-out" inserts that provide interesting side-bar discussions. One of these looks at Chicago and its bawdy politics of the early 1900s; another examines the howler that Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball. An Epilogue briefly describes what happened to key players after the 1908 season, including Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown (there is a picture of his misshapen hand in the volume, suggesting how he might have created interesting movement on his pitches), Frank Chance, Hal Chase, Fred Merkle, "Cy" Young, and so on.
All in all, a nice detailed view of a fascinating season in baseball history.
An extra-base hit, but short of a home run.......2007-09-30
The 1908 baseball season provided plenty of excitement, suspense and story lines as one game separated the top three teams in the National League and 1.5 games separated the top three teams in the American League. Astute baseball fans have long recognized it as one of the greatest years in baseball history, if not the greatest. Author Cait Murphy writes an entertaining and informative account of Crazy '08, but it is also uneven.
Murphy thoroughly researched the 1908 season as evidenced by her extensive bibliography and footnotes, which I greatly appreciated as a reader and fan of the Deadball Era.
Murphy, however, decides to focus on the National League race among the Giants, Cubs and Pirates. She seems infatuated with John McGraw and the New York Giants and their rivalry with the Chicago Cubs. Although these two teams are colorful, readers interested in the equally exciting American League race among the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians will be vastly disappointed. Murphy considerably shortchanges the American League race.
While it's interesting to read about the characters of `08, Murphy gives scant details about the pivotal games they played. The games merit more attention. And, after battling to the last days of the season, how could Murphy dismiss the 1908 World Series between the Cubs and the Tigers in less than a page? It couldn't have been that boring. It seems as if she had run out of steam at that point or else she was just trying to finish the book before deadline. My guess is that if the Giants had won the National League pennant, Murphy would have considered the '08 World Series worthy of more coverage.
On the positive side, Murphy does an excellent job describing the infamous Merkle play and how and why it became pivotal. She also presents interesting portraits of the umpires and executives. And, she digs up some interesting informational nuggets.
Her six "Time Out" chapters, intended to put the 1908 season in context, were an unnecessary diversion for me.
OK- Average look at an unforgettable year.......2007-08-24
I expected more out of this book- I just found the writing to be pretty boring- It's a quick read but never really captures the emotion of the season- Wait until it arrives in paperback
Yankee.......2007-08-17
Loads of fun to read. My son who is 12 read it cover to cover too. It came right on time.
Interesting but Jumpy.......2007-08-15
I agree with some of the other reviewers. The book was interesting in it's depiction of players and the general cast of this era of baseball. But I was not overly impressed with the writing, or more specifically the editing. I noticed that many sentences jumped between past tense and present tense, for instance. And some of the chapters could have used more exposition. I also was annoyed by the number of footnote notations throughout the book. Just felt distracting. But for a fun read about old time baseball, it wasn't bad.
Book Description
Whatever happened to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction? In this thriller ripped from tomorrow's headlines, a divided America has overcommitted its armed forces to foreign lands-and has a ruthless enemy bent on crushing its soul.
Matt Garrett, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative, is recovering from the death of his brother and his own wounds received during combat in the global war on terror. The Vice President sends him to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to meet with special operations forces to discuss missing Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, only to have his air force jet commandeered by an enemy combatant.
Held captive by a terrorist mastermind and former Iraqi general with a startling link to his brother, Garrett struggles for survival. His successful escape leads him to the unnerving discovery that the terrorists have kidnapped the world's expert on nanotechnology-and to new questions about his brother's death. The enemy unleashes a series of powerful attacks across the country, cutting at the very fabric of the nation, while Garrett uncovers a conspiracy dating back to the first Gulf War.
Has the rogue threat targeting the United States marshaled the capability to deal a devastating blow to the country using weapons of mass destruction?
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Whatever happened to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction? In this thriller ripped from tomorrow's headlines, a divided America has overcommitted its armed forces to foreign lands-and has a ruthless enemy bent on crushing its soul.
Matt Garrett, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative, is recovering from the death of his brother and his own wounds received during combat in the global war on terror. The Vice President sends him to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to meet with special operations forces to discuss missing Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, only to have his air force jet commandeered by an enemy combatant.
Held captive by a terrorist mastermind and former Iraqi general with a startling link to his brother, Garrett struggles for survival. His successful escape leads him to the unnerving discovery that the terrorists have kidnapped the world's expert on nanotechnology-and to new questions about his brother's death. The enemy unleashes a series of powerful attacks across the country, cutting at the very fabric of the nation, while Garrett uncovers a conspiracy dating back to the first Gulf War.
Has the rogue threat targeting the United States marshaled the capability to deal a devastating blow to the country using weapons of mass destruction?
Customer Reviews:
Rogue Threat: a real page turner. .......2007-06-26
Title says it all. Contemporary topic, some obviously bad guys and good guys, but some uncertain until the last chapter. Had to remember it was FICTION, but an interesting hypothesis of what happened to those missing WMDs.
Second to None !.......2007-06-17
I am an avid reader of novels written by Forsythe, Vince Flynn, Clancy and others in the business, however, I have never personally enjoyed reading ANY other similar novel as much as Rogue Threat! I am retired military and this novel was the BEST yet! The writer has my attention and I look forward to purchasing every novel he writes in the future, as a matter of fact, I am getting impatient for the sequel that I understand is on the way. You don't know what you are missing until you read this well written novel. I started reading it and did not, could not and would not for any purpose but it down until I finished reading the entire book! I do not exagerate one bit, the story is THAT GOOD!
Amazing.......2007-05-24
I have never been so captured by a book before reading this one. Aiden Rocke truly gives us things to think about. The scenarios he puts forth are chilling to think about.
This book will take the reader on a spine chilling journey and keep the reader on the edge of the seat.
I cannot say enough about this book other than Mr. Rocke has truly written a book that will leave the reader gasping.
Good.......2007-05-08
Found the book interesting and have forwarded it to a friend. Wish their was more about the author included.
Don't be fooled.......2007-05-03
This is the only book I have stopped reading halfway through and thrown in the trash. I love military thrillers, but this reads like a parody of the genre. I began to make a list of the repeated cliches, factual errors related to military aviation, and common errors in phrasing, but lost interest. Seriously, it reads like a parody, as if an accomplished author tried to write as bad a book as possible. Any editor or even a proof-reader would have had a field day with this. Certainly self-published.
(Oddly, the first chapter is excellent, and the second acceptable.)
Book Description
Charlie Wilson's War was a publishing sensation and a New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times bestseller. In the early 1980s, a Houston socialite turned the attention of maverick Texas congressman Charlie Wilson to the ragged band of Afghan "freedom fighters" who continued, despite overwhelming odds, to fight the Soviet invaders. Wilson, who sat on the all-powerful House Appropriations Committee, managed to procure hundreds of millions of dollars to support the mujahideen. The arms were secretly procured and distributed with the help of an out-of-favor CIA operative, Gust Avrokotos, whose working-class Greek-American background made him an anomaly among the Ivy League world of American spies. Avrakotos handpicked a staff of CIA outcasts to run his operation and, with their help, continually stretched the Agency's rules to the breaking point. Moving from the back rooms of the Capitol, to secret chambers at Langley, to arms-dealers' conventions, to the Khyber Pass, this book presents an astonishing chapter of our recent past, and the key to understanding what helped trigger the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and ultimately led to the emergence of a brand-new foe in the form of radical Islam.
Customer Reviews:
Hopefully, the movie doesn't screw up this story.......2007-10-05
There will be three main kinds of people who won't read this book. The first are those who see no reason for military intervention anywhere, ever. The second are those who are hypersensitive to any speaking of ethnicity, race, gender, etc., within a kilometer of earshot. The third are those who don't like long books, and "Charlie Wilson's War" is certainly longer than most. All this would be too bad, because the book is a wealth of little known and critical current history, as well as a real rip-snorting adventure. The most intriguing icing on the cake is that Charlie Wilson, one of the boldest and effective national-interest congressmen of the last century, was a Democrat. He was a Democrat who pushed Republicans forward for a decade, mostly to do the right things. How many right things, of course, remains to be seen in coming decades.
Much of the book is written in colloquial style, as the author reproduces many discussions among a very wide variety of people. This sometimes comes out sounding a little coarse, but the reader should see this quickly as a writer trying to be accurate. Charlie Wilson, the man himself, also might turn many readers off. He abused his body with food and drink, mostly drink; he was a maverick to the point of almost being a loose canon; wild, he certainly was. No one, though, can deny that he was one of those rarest of politicians. Here was a man who did not stop with saying what he wanted to do, he found ways to do what needed to be done. Then he kept at it, and at it. Here was a man of his word.
This interesting story suffers only a small weakness as a narrative, and only if the reader minds. The action chapter by chapter, even section by section, does not always tell us what was happening at the same time with other people, and at other places. Rather, the author likes to keep a thread of a theme or thought and follow it to the end. This can be irritating and a little confusing if you are trying to keep things straight for any particular group of years at a time. If this does not make a problem for reader, then so much the better. A last suggestion: this book goes down especially well by audio CD, and the voice narrator does well with dialogs and accents.
A great true story.......2007-10-04
This is a truly amazing tale. Never told until now and soon a movie. Buy this book and read the true story about how a "wild" congressman and a rogue CIA agent changed history. Better by far than all those fictional adventures!
four and 1/2 stars........2007-10-01
steve coll's excellent book "ghost wars" whet my reading appetite for more on the soviet war in afghanistan. since that military action, with the unanticipated consequences it spawned for the united states, was such a catalyst for the 9/11 attacks, it seems essential for an american to get a grip on what took place there. "charlie wilson's war" is a thrilling account of that international drama. though much of the book deals with funding america's covert involvement through congressional appropriation subcommittees, and with CIA office politics, the narrative is interesting page for page throughout this long work. not once did i find it a chore to continue, or feel an urge to skip past anything. george crile brings the colorful personalities of those involved to vivid life through his clear prose. he actually makes appropriation subcommitees, and their methods of work, interesting. and his portraits of afghanistan and pakistan, and their respective political environments and key political players, is brilliantly executed. the story is told completely from the american perspective, true. you will have to seek elsewhere for a more balanced view (by this i mean one that takes into account the soviet soldiers side of things). but this book being what it is, is a fascinating read, and one you can learn much from.
Great.......2007-09-08
One of the most intriguing stories of American foreign policy making. This book was recommended to me by a staffer for a military oriented Congressional committee. He was quite emphatic in stressing that this book, better than any other, offers a great perspective on the influence Congress can have on foreign and war policy. I don't know how representative it is of the day to day activities of members of Congress, but it certainly shows how a dedicated member of Congress CAN get seriously involved in an issue.
Charlie Wilson is one of the most interesting politicians to have walked on the stage in the past 50 years. Part JFK, Nixon, LBJ, and Clinton - both good and bad parts - Wilson was a smart and dedicated defender of CIA efforts to support the mujaheden in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union. More than any supposed hardline conservative, including President Reagan, Wilson, a socially liberal Democrat from Texas, was the most agressive elected official to back the CIA in its anti-Soviet effort in Afghanistan. Wilson was also wildly able to get in the worst kinds of trouble: womanizing, drunk driving, and questionable uses of public money. I guess it goes to show that people are incredibly complex and contain a much more dynamic mix of good and bad within them. Kind of like the Incredible Hulk, but with less green.
Hard to read.......2007-08-29
Content was OK, I'm sure acurate, but about 210 pages into this 500+ page book I had to give in - I just couldn't make myself want to read it. I am only 31, so I do not know of Charlie Wilson, or the political temperature in the 80s, but this book was recommended to me so I tried, but couldn't make myself do it.
Customer Reviews:
Great Continued Story.......2007-09-18
Dan Abnett is one of my favorite Warhammer 40k writers. He continues his great writing in this 3rd novel about Inquisitor Ravenor. His character development and story telling are great and this novel is a great addition to any collection.
A great ending to an awesome trilogy.......2007-06-12
The only thing I didn't like was that it ended. It keeps a high pace from start to finish and wraps up the Ravenor series nicely. Dan Abnett is a great writer and I can visualise the incredible scenes in his stories with ease.
A good, solid book!.......2007-06-01
Dan Abnett is one of my favorite authors, and is definitely one of the best of those who write for game franchises. You can always count on him to deliver a good, solid adventure story, and Ravenor Rogue is no exception. Although I preferred his Eisenhorn series, Ravenor and his team are good fun too. If you like 40k and you love a good read, you could do worse than to pick this one up!
Great Abnett story, comment follow.......2007-06-01
This is a very good addition to the Ravenor series. My comments contain spoilers.
SPOILER WARNING
Abnett resolves the multi-book plot of the search for Molotch, the Slyte daemon thread, and adds a few surprises to boot. My thoughts and comments are as follows -
Molotch - Abnett, more than any author I can name, creates challenging, competent villains who are usually the equals of the protagonist. This is unlike many authors (including BL authors, some of whom just offer comic-book antagonists), and is a strong point of this book and series in general.
Early introduction of the Door allowed it to be used in the climax without too much of a taste of Deus ex Machina, though I got some of that anyway. The Door, on the other hand, would certainly seem to defy much of what is established in W40k (instantaneous travel through space and time). The only thing I have heard of this type of thing involved the emperor's project on Terra before he was not-killed.
Visit to 404, M40 - when the party escapes, how did the sword-woman (forgot the name) get her sword back? That would be kept in an evidence room or an armoury, not in the medical area. For that matter, how did they even escape, Nurse, the Chair and all, and get off the base? It seems like he skipped over writing something that might have been very hard to write believably.
I had been annoyed since the first book about Thonius's issue and the apparent blindness of Ravenor to obvious circumstantial evidence in books 1 and 2 - in fact, I had wondered if Abnett was going to write book 3 with Ravenor having suspected all along, but nope.
This book was kept to what seems to be a BL-standard 300 pages. I wonder how much material Abnett had that didn't make it into this book. The ending reminds me some of the Eisenhorn trilogy ending despite us being given far more detail here about Ravenor's probable fate. Unlike his recent Armour of Contempt, I think he was able to get a good story in 300 pages here. I do with BL would consider raising this cap.
A Fantastic Story.......2007-05-14
As always Dan Abnett proves the streotype of trash scifi run and gun novels apart with innovative characters, vivid and imaginative locales and a worthwhile plot. When it comes time for the action you care about who wins and have a strong mental image of what is happening. My only complaint is that the end seems robbed, similar to Eisenhorn. I get the feeling that Dan was told he better get an ending tacked onto this series quick. It speaks the the content of the subject matter that a rushed ending from Abnett is still of so satisfying.
Amazon.com
Setting: Regency England
Sensuality: 8
Harold Henry Cynster--better known as Demon to family and friends--leaves London society for the all-male environment of his Newmarket stables in an attempt to escape matchmaking mamas and the spate of marriages that have decimated the ranks of his bachelor cousins. But Demon barely sets one foot on his property before he notices a too-shapely boy settling into the saddle of his favorite Irish Thoroughbred. Beautiful Felicity Parteger hasn't seen Demon Cynster since she was a young girl, when with clear-sighted practicality she'd reasoned that the handsome rake was a threat to every female's heart and had scrupulously disappeared every time he visited her guardian, General Sir Gordon Caxton. When Demon finds her masquerading as a stable lad and demands an explanation, she has no choice but to confess that she's trying to uncover information about a racing syndicate that bribes jockeys. The General's son, Dillon, has fallen in with them and is now in hiding to escape their threats on his life.
With cool efficiency Demon attempts to take over her campaign to save Dillon. Felicity, however, refuses to sit home and tend to her needlework while Demon has all the fun, and a partnership of sorts is formed. Much to Demon's delight, she also willingly cooperates in his plans for seduction; but pleasure turns to frustration when Felicity refuses his marriage proposal. Although she's head-over-heels in love with him, the independent young woman has no intention of saying "I do" to the infamous rake before he says "I love you" to her. While the two lovers risk their lives in tracking the dangerous syndicate, they engage in a courtship dance that risks both of their hearts as well.
In this, the fourth book in the Bar Cynster series, Laurens offers a hero and heroine full of honor, courage, wit, and humor; Demon Cynster--a man who has never wanted love and marriage--meets his match in Felicity, an intelligent and passionate woman who refuses to settle for anything less than his heart. The course of true love never did run smoothly, and it's no different for these two, but they're clearly two halves of a passionate whole--and passion and romance, solidly anchored in a well-crafted plot, is something Laurens does so very well. --Lois Faye Dyer
Book Description
Demon Cynster has seen love bring his brethren to their knees, and he's vowed that he will not share their fate ... until he spies Felicity Parteger sneaking about his racing stable. Demon remembers Felicity as a mere chit of a girl, but now she stands before him, all lush curves and sparkling eyes...
Felicity knows Demon was one of the town's most eligible bachelors and a rogue of the worst sort, but he was the only one capable of getting her friend out of trouble. She knows Demon will never yield her the love she desperately seeks, but could a marriage of passion alone be enough?
Download Description
Demon Cynster has seen love bring his brethren to their knees, and he's vowed that he will not share their fate -- until he spies Felicity Parteger sneaking around his country estate. Demon remembers Felicity as a mere chit of a girl, but now she stands before him -- begging for his help -- all lush curves, sparkling eyes -- and so temptingly worthy of the love he's vowed never to surrender to any woman. Felicity knew Demon was one of the ton's most eligible bachelors and a rogue of the worst sort, but he was the only one capable of getting her friend out of trouble. Her fascination with him had nothing to do with the power lurking just beneath his devil-may-care facade -- or with the desire that flares when he takes her in his arms. She knows he'll never yield her the love she desperately seeks, but could a marriage with passion alone -- even with a man like Demon -- be enough?
Customer Reviews:
One of the Best of the Cynster Novels.......2006-10-12
I enjoy Stephanie Laurens novels a great deal, and my favorites are the Cynster series. Unfortunately, not all of them really work, but this is one of the best. I adore the characters, the dialogue is highly entertaining and the love scenes are very effective. Definitely worth a read!
A ROGUE'S PROPOSAL IS HARD TO REFUSE!.......2006-09-20
1820 England
A ROGUE'S PROSPOSAL is another wonderful read in the Cynster series! The mystery, love and dynamics are great!
what happened to Demon's father??.......2006-07-12
The Cynster men are supposed to be faithful husbands, alpha males, handsome, strong, etc. Yet Demon's love interest stays in town with his parents and apparently has little interaction with her prospective father-in-law, who does not accompany his wife of 30+ years to social events, and only speaks once: at his son's wedding! There are no observations by Demon or Felicity on his parents' marriage, and Demon never seeks advice from his own father (despite the potential for danger in the horse-racing plot). As Felicity decides whether to marry Demon, she thinks of her parents' marriage and the General's marriage - but what of her in-laws' marriage, since she's staying in their home? Demon's father shows no interest in his son's life. This is what happens to a Cynster male after 30+ years of marriage??
Another great read.......2006-07-12
This book in the Cynster series was one of my favorites. I loved Felicity, who in all her innocense had been in love with Demon for a long time, but never let herself believe he could feel love for her. She had to almost be knocked over with head with it before she got it! Demon with all of his experience was completely blind sided with the fact that innocense could attract him. This book will be added to the keeper stack for sure!
A Great Addition to the Series.......2006-03-29
This is the fourth in the Cynster series (after Devil's, Vane's and Scandal's stories) and is Demon's story. So far, this is my favorite of the series. Demon retreats to his stud farm shortly after his brother Vane's wedding vowing he will never fall in love and marry. There he sees Flick (Felicity, The General's (his mentor and neighbor) ward posing as a jockey. Of course, he is the only one who recognizes her as a woman, a beautiful woman actually. She is posing as a jockey to expose a horse fixing scam that her step brother has gotten mixed up in. Demon agrees to help and things proceed from there. When a storm arrives and they have to wait it out in a small shelter, Demon, convinced she is compromised, grudgingly offers to marry Flick. When she fixes the situation so they don't have to marry, he finds to his surprise that he is disappointed. He spends the rest of the book trying to convince her to marry him. She has been in love with him since childhood but will not marry without love. The growth of the relationship and Demon's determination not to dishonor Flick is interesting enough to keep the book fresh throughout. Their chemistry is continuous and they never get boring. I really liked this story and hope the rest of the series will meet its standards.
Book Description
Miss Nothing. Learn Everything.
This comprehensive guide is packed full of extreme detail about every inch of the game. We went a little nuts.
• Complete maps of every planet
• Detailed walkthrough for all chapters
• Every weapon identified
• Lists of every enemy's stats
• Plans for creating the best items via the Factory
• How to master the Insectron mini-game
• Where to find all the blueprints
• Every secret revealed
• Exclusive interviews
• Too much to list here!
Customer Reviews:
Rogue galaxy.......2007-06-13
This guide is full of tips and hints on the gameplay. Most of the information is quite detailed and very useful. However, the Factory diagrams are a bit confusing and the Frog Log is a bit overwhelming. But overall, the guide does a good job of leading you through the game for a thorough gaming experience.
Solidly Helpful, But Occasionally Misleading.......2007-05-22
This being about the eight millionth Strategy Guide I've used, it suddenly occured to me that I should be a bit more methodical about reviewing them. After all, no one reads a Strategy Guide from cover to cover. Instead, they glance at it a bit and then start playing. It's not until you run into a tricky situation that you will grab for the guide. At that point organization and access to information are critical.
Take this guide. The walkthrough is actually only about a third of the book. It is terse, but sufficient. The maps are a bit crude but adequate for the most part. The weakness is in access to information. Don't get me wrong, the information is there, and mostly accurate. But it is arranged so that you may have to visit several different charts to piece together the answer to a question. This is irritating when what you are trying to do is accumulate enough kills to meet a particular monster quota or create a better weapon from those currently available.
Another key question is whether the guide actually enhances the game. This can be important, especially in this day and age where sidequests and special contests are squirrelled away so that the average player armed with the usual skinny game manual will miss them, even after several plays. This quide comes through here, providing information that will nearly double play time. Rogue Galaxy is a game with a wealth of extras in it and the guide will get you to them.
Oddly enough the big extra in this Strategy Guide is that it actually devotes some time to strategy. Rogue Galaxy can be played several ways, everything from hack and slash, run for the conclusion to my style that compulsively seeks to work through every nook of the game code. The guide takes the time to cover these options in a game where overall goals will effect game play.
So this guide could have been better, but is good enough to significantly improve the game experience. There are a couple of errors, as another reviewer has noted, but nothing fatal. In other words, if you follow the Guide you will win the game and enjoy doing so.
Sweet!.......2007-05-13
This guide had an incredible amount of detailed information on every page. It proved useful countless times. I would definitely recommend this guide to any one having trouble with the game, "Rogue Galaxy."
It's a great guide, very informitive.......2007-05-07
This guide is great, but it has a couple of errors in the information.
Another losing effort from Prima.......2007-03-18
Don't let the DoubleJump logo on the cover confuse you as it did me... this is another Prima guide, from the company famous for turning out some of the most incomplete and inaccurate strategy guides. T. Ma is, in my opinion, very wrong in referring to the botched weapon fusion guide as a "minor detail." Not only are many of these mistakes repeated in the other weapon sythesis chart, but they are so numerous that this mistake is unforgivable. In Jaster's section alone there are 40 errors. Just imagine you take all your time building up and combining weapons to finally get the 2 you want to fuse together, only to find out you have to start all over again because the guide was wrong.
Furthermore, with how often certain information is repeated in the guide, you'd think they would have found time to include important information like breaking down where you can buy each item. Sure you can look up each individual merchant and see what he / she / it sells, but if I want Chameleon Particulate, I should be able to open up to an item section, look up "Chameleon Particulate" and see a list of its potential uses and all the shops it can be purchased at.
As usual when Prima releases a guide, you're better off going to GameFAQS and using their strategy guide. In addition, there is a fully correct synthesis guide in the Rogue Galaxy section at GameFAQS.
Average customer rating:
- Yeah, coolest book ever.
- Books 1 & 2 are spectacular, but the rest are forgettable
- Awesome!!! If you're into that sort of thing
- I CANNOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!
- Richard Marcinko is my hero!
|
Rogue Warrior
Richard Marcinko
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0671795937 |
Book Description
A brilliant virtuoso of violence, Richard Marcinko rose through Navy ranks to create and command one of this country's most elite and classified counterterrorist units, SEAL TEAM SIX. Now this thirty-year veteran recounts the secret missions and Special Warfare madness of his worldwide military career -- and the riveting truth about the top-secret Navy SEALs.
Marcinko was almost inhumanly tough, and proved it on hair-raising missions across Vietnam and a war-torn world: blowing up supply junks, charging through minefields, jumping at 19,000 feet with a chute that wouldn't open, fighting hand-to-hand in a hellhole
jungle. For the Pentagon, he organized the Navy's first counterterrorist unit: the legendary SEAL TEAM SIX, which went on classified missions from Central America to the Middle East, the North Sea, Africa and beyond.
Then Marcinko was tapped to create Red Cell, a dirty-dozen team of the military's most accomplished and decorated counterterrorists. Their unbelievable job was to test the defenses of the Navy's most secure facilities and installations. The result was predictable: all hell broke loose.
Here is the hero who saw beyond the blood to ultimate justice -- and the decorated warrior who became such a maverick that the Navy brass wanted his head on a pole, and for a time, got it. Richard Marcinko -- ROGUE WARRIOR.
Customer Reviews:
Yeah, coolest book ever........2007-10-03
Rogue Warrior is by far one of the best auto-biographies I have ever read, Commander Richard Marcinko is a hero, and a patriot by any definition of either word. He is the reason our enemies fear us. Once you read this book you will be wondering why our government doesn't have him as the commander of the joint cheifs of staff.
Books 1 & 2 are spectacular, but the rest are forgettable.......2007-08-20
Series review: Rogue Warrior [Written Mar 2005]
Last I checked, there are 9 books in this series:
1. Rogue Warrior (Autobiography)
2. Rogue Warrior: Red Cell (Autobiography)
3. Rogue Warrior: Green Team (Fiction)
4. Rogue Warrior: Task Force Blue (Fiction)
5. Rogue Warrior: Designation Gold (Fiction)
6. Rogue Warrior: Seal Force Alpha (Fiction)
7. Rogue Warrior: The Real Team (Quasi-Fiction)
8. Rogue Warrior: Option Delta (Fiction)
9. Rogue Warrior: Echo Platoon (Fiction)
Books one and two are autobiographical (about Richard Marcinko's career as commander of a US Navy Seal Team). Book 1 details his transformation of Seal 6 into an elite counter-terrorist unit. Book 2 details his formation of "Red Cell", which was used (in real life) to test the security at various US Military installations. Red Cell was a smashing success, but it was a pyrrhic victory that ultimately resulted in total failure ... mostly because Marcinko was his own worst enemy. He did his job too well, and (unwisely) took unholy glee in flouting authority and humiliating upper brass in the process ... and he paid the price for it ... and we, as a nation, paid the price for ignoring the results of Operation Red Cell, when terrorists, using exactly the sort of unconventional tactics Marcinko used, destroyed the WTC on 9/11. In hind sight, it's one big, fat, ugly "I TOLD YO SO", written before the actual fact.
Ok, moving right along. In book 3, the co-authors (and co-author) suddenly switch gears to FICTION, and stay there for the rest of the series.
My impression: Books 1 and 2 are excellent, high-intensity reading ... offering an insider's look into how Marcinko transformed Seal 6 into one of the most elite counter terrorist units in the world, and how he later was tasked with forming Red Cell, to test US Military Security at installations around the world. His findings at the time, many of which were not acted on by the higher ups in the pentagon, later became prophetic on Sept 11, 2001, when terrorists using exactly the sort of unconventional tactics Marcinko wrote about, destroyed the WTC.
As for books 3-9 ... MEDIOCRE PAP. Marcinko's autobiographical books are spectacular, but his fiction offerings rapidly parachute into a trite, repetative and self-hyping free fire zone. If you read one, you've read them all.
My advice is to read the first 2 books, and then resist the overpowering urge to buy more ... you're not really missing anything, because the author (after leaving his autobiographical home turf) quickly transforms himself from a decorated, innovative and truly scary ex-commando who served his nation well into a hack writer, relying on past glories for creative fictional fodder.
Books 1 & 2 are highly recommended, but the rest of the series is entirely forgettable.
Awesome!!! If you're into that sort of thing.......2007-08-18
Rogue Warrior is an amazing account of the physical and mental toughness of Navy SEALs. I read the book in less than 2 days and was upset when I finished. If you are in the mood for a fast paced, action packed black ops story, this is the book for you.
However...
If you would like to read an excellent piece of literature, please look some place else. Rogue Warrior is the equivalent of a Danielle Steele novel for men. Dick Marcinko brags incessantly about his military and romantic conquests, which becomes tiresome (no matter how well deserved it is). This is a fun read, no more, no less.
WARNING!
Steer clear of the other novels in the Rogue Warrior series! Marcinko found success with this edition and simply repeated the formula time and time again. If you continue with the books, it will get old and sour you on Demo Dick.
I CANNOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!.......2007-07-22
This is one of the most captivating books I have ever read. From the very beginning to the very end I was hooked. I could not wait to come home from work just so that i can keep reading and find out what happens next. I highly recommend this book to anybody who is interested in Military, SpecOps. A "must have" for any military book collection.
As for those who comment on how macho and egotistical Marcinko is... They have never been in the Military. If they were they were probably had a desk job. As a former Marine myself, I can tell you that most infantry units are just like Marcinko. They have huge egos. They have to! Im just glad Marcinko is on our side!!
GET THIS BOOK!!!!!
Richard Marcinko is my hero!.......2007-05-21
If you like real combat reading then you'll love this book. This is the first book in a long line of the Rogue Warrior series. You must start with this book, then you'll read the rest as fast as you get them. I couldn't put the book down. I have read all his books in sequential order and they are by-far the best written of this genre. He writes from real experience and real situations. The names and places have been changed for obvious reasons, but its REAL. I HIGHLY recommend this book and the rest of the series!!!
Average customer rating:
- Wonderful Book: Hope There is a Movie
- Good Plot Idea But ...
- Texas, Oil, Women, WWII and Con games...what more do you need?
- Burton Stacks the Deck
- Going into the past in "The Rogues' Game"
|
The Rogues' Game
Milton Burton
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Poker | Card Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312336810
Release Date: 2005-06-16 |
Book Description
'Milton Burton writes with a ruthless charm rivaling the great Raymond Chandler. The Rogues' Game is as rich as a pan shot in Giant, as human as a closeup of a narrow mind. It deals with poker, crime, love, oil, and Texas-and finding what you like and letting it kill you. Hard to believe it's a first novel.'-Kinky Freidman 1947. An enigmatic man driving a fine Lincoln convertible and accompanied by a beautiful blonde, arrives in a small West Texas town. Ostensibly, his purpose is to get into a poker game that had been going on at the infamous Weilbach Hotel. But as the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that he has a darker motive, one that centers on a sinister local banker named Clifton Robillard. Aided by an old-time hood named Chicken Little, the protagonist maneuvers Robillard toward a shatter-ing climax in which we discover that nothing is what it seems to be.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful Book: Hope There is a Movie.......2007-10-06
I just read The Roque's Game in two sittings. It takes place in Texas, the oil booms and big poker games, right after World War Two. The foreshading and plotting are just fantastic. You suspect what might happen but you are turning those pages in a hurry to find out. All the behind the scenes descriptions of oil leasing and the oil booms are totally authentic. My Dad was a geologist/landman. I was the Director of Petroleum Land Management at Texas Tech for many years. The detail and obvious historical research make this one fine book. You will love this book!
Johnny Hughes, author of the upcoming novel Texas Poker Wisdom
Good Plot Idea But ..........2006-08-21
Backdrop for story in post WWII Texas is intriguing as is basic plot but story becomes too predictable & the characters are caricatures. The result is a below-average page turner.
Texas, Oil, Women, WWII and Con games...what more do you need?.......2006-07-10
This is a great first book. As a native Texan I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of old time Texas in the 40s, oil wells, greed and con men. Plus a little dose of WWII intrigue. Looking forward to Mr. Burton's next effort.
Burton Stacks the Deck.......2006-02-20
Kudo's to first time author Milton T. Burton for pulling it off - a slick and immensely satisfying read told with the flair and sophistication of an author you'd think had been doing this for a career.
"The Rogues' Game" refers to, at least on the level closest to the surface, a weekly poker game held in an aging hotel of a backwater post-World War II Texas hole of a town. In classic noir fashion, we learn neither the name of the town nor our narrator whose story rolls as easily across the pages as our hero rolls into town in a grand convertible with an even grander blonde babe on his arm. From there Burton artfully leads us down what appears to be an oft-traveled path of a pair of grifters on the con, but soon we find that the author and his narrator have a much more important score to settle than a simple heist in a local high-stakes poker game. Braced by a strong supporting cast of memorable thugs with names like "Chicken Little" and "Ice Pick Willie", the author weaves a tight mystery told in dusty Texas roadhouses and smoky (...) fight galleries, settings which he knows well and relates with authority. With oil boom in truly Texan scale and murky allusions to Reinhard Heydrich and other Nazi war criminals, the initially simple block thickens deliciously on the way to an unsuspected jackpot.
Well paced, gritty, and authentic, both Milton T. Burton and his debut novel are the real deal. I'm looking forward to his next hand - you'd be wise to place a bet on this one.
Going into the past in "The Rogues' Game".......2005-09-07
Like the small west Texas town that is never named, the man with no name is not what he appears to be on the surface. He drives a beautiful car and appears in town with a beautiful woman named Della. It isn't the first time he has been in town as he was here before in 1942. This time he is back to seek some revenge and no one remembers him or suspects that he is anything other than what he appears to be-a flamboyant gambler.
Revenge for what isn't clear nor is his plan. His plan does involve a weekly high stakes card game that has been going on for decades at the Weilbach Hotel. It also isn't really clear which of several players is his target. It also isn't clear on how Della's interest in a recent oil strike is going to help or for that matter hurt his plan. Like his cards, he keeps his plans close to the vest and adjusts for changes. He does have a plan, he is flexible and he just needs a little help from friends like Chicken Little and Icepick Willie.
What follows in this novel by Tyler, Texas resident Milton T. Burton is an intriguing and deeply twisted tale of a great con. The author opens a portal back into a different time and pulls the reader deeply into a Texas of the recent past. Told through first person point of view he spins a rich and complex weave that pulls the reader deep into his world where only slowly does the shape and scope of the plan come tantalizingly clear like the mirage on a West Texas highway during the heat of the summer before disappearing again. Heavily atmospheric both in place and in style of writing, this is the kind of novel that starts slowly, moves slowly and pulls the reader in so deep that when one looks up from the book there is that splendid moment of disorientation between the past that might have been and the present.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
Book Description
Rogues, published in France under the title Voyous, comprises two major lectures that Derrida delivered in 2002 investigating the foundations of the sovereignty of the nation-state. The term “État voyou” is the French equivalent of “rogue state,” and it is this outlaw designation of certain countries by the leading global powers that Derrida rigorously and exhaustively examines.
Derrida examines the history of the concept of sovereignty, engaging with the work of Bodin, Hobbes, Rousseau, Schmitt, and others. Against this background, he delineates his understanding of “democracy to come,” which he distinguishes clearly from any kind of regulating ideal or teleological horizon. The idea that democracy will always remain in the future is not a temporal notion. Rather, the phrase would name the coming of the unforeseeable other, the structure of an event beyond calculation and program. Derrida thus aligns this understanding of democracy with the logic he has worked out elsewhere. But it is not just political philosophy that is brought under deconstructive scrutiny here: Derrida provides unflinching and hard-hitting assessments of current political realities, and these essays are highly engaged with events of the post-9/11 world.
Customer Reviews:
Derrida Deconstructs the notion of "Rouge States".......2006-11-05
If you are in to Derrida, political science, contemporary political philosophy, understanding the contemporary political landscape, and notions of a new Democracy to come - this is a must read.
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