Customer Reviews:
A little disappointing........2007-02-08
Paul Watzlawick has written some really exceptional material, but I found this book to be less so. I did finally get a very useful insight near the end, but I felt like I was going through a lot of repetitive material. Kind of like a long run for a short slide. For a more enjoyable read by the same author, try "Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution." For me his best was "How Real is Real? (An Anecdotal Introduction to Communication Theory)" , now out of print and a classic.
A really amusing and tale-telling reading.......2005-07-11
The author extracts from his extensive practice and writing in the field of communication theory an amusing list of "technics" people use to make their own lives miserable. They span from the avoidance of things that could solve one's own problems to the dual tendency to insist focusing on what cannot be reached; to projecting one's prejudices on others like when one wants to ask something fearing it will not be given and thus putting in act behaviours that forster just that reaction.
All in all the feeling that one gets from the book is that we do not need terrorism, wars, discriminations, torture, presidents of the United States or Osamas... all that is needed to make ourselves unhappy is already inside ourselves - thus, and here comes the positive message, it is there that it may, and must, be cured.
Funny and insightful!.......2003-02-08
This book is such a joy to read! It is one of the funniest books I have read and yet we learn so much about ourselves with it! It shows us how we create much of the unhappiness that we experience and in an indirect way, how we can step out of it. If you want to learn more about consciousness and how it relates to our happiness, read "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It is not as funny but it tells us more about how consciousness works in a simple way. I think you will like it.
LAUGHING YOURSELF OUT OF UNHAPPINESS.......2002-11-02
A review by the marqueeofburano: A wonderful, witty, exposé of our endeavors to live a more miserable life by Watzlawick, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stanford University. The treatment of the subject will surely make you laugh at yourself and thus, perhaps, contribute to make you a better person.
W. deals with the fundamental, painful, necessity of the human being to be unhappy (in order to be quiet). And in fact, he contends that the best chapters of universal literature dwell with disaster, tragedy, guilt, madness, etc.
Dante's Inferno-W. writes- is very superior to his Paradise; same case as Milton's Paradise Lost compared with his Paradise Regained; Faust I's greatness is proportionally inverse to the tediousness of Faust II. So the author embarks hilariously in a methodic introduction to the best and more verifiable mechanisms to achieve unhappiness. Samples:
Always be truthful to yourself. A principle, from Polonius in Hamlet,of the outmost necessity for us ( its application is what gets the guy killed by Hamlet like a rat). So then, we must resist any temptation to yield to any other criteria or opinion, apart from ours. Never compromise or accept someone else's advice. The author then addresses the issue of the old saying: "time cures all wounds"..... According to W. four sound mechanisms exist if you want to avoid time's healing effects and transform the past into a present source of suffering. In the exaltation of the past we find those that only remember the good things about their youth and not the years of insecurity and anxiety. In so doing, they have a consistent reserve of sadness about their miserable present...... Also, this fidelity to the past, impairs our ability to enjoy the present and fully dedicate our efforts to the endeavors of the moment. Another mechanism is to consistently dwell with the guilt complex that past errors create, finding excuses or scapegoats (our parents, God, chromosomes, teachers etc.) while doing nothing to avoid committing the same mistakes again.
The author drives his point with practical examples. For instance the story of the hammer. A man wants to hang a painting. He has the nail, but not the hammer. Therefore it occurs to him to go over to the neighbor and ask him to lend him his hammer. But at this point, doubt sets in. What if he doesn't want to lend me the hammer? Yesterday he barely spoke to me. Maybe he was in a hurry. Or, perhaps, he holds something against me. But why? I didn't do anything to him. If he would ask me to lend him something, I would, at once. How can he refuse to lend me his hammer? People like him make other people's life miserable. Worst, he thinks that I need him because he has a hammer. This is got to stop ! And suddenly the guy runs to the neighbor's door, rings, and before letting him say anything, he screams: "You can keep your hammer, you b......"
Watzlawick not only discussess techniques to create false problems, but also the ones that make it actually possible to avoid solving problems and conver them into eternal torments. Here we get the example of the man that claps his hands every ten seconds. Asked why he does that, he answers: "to drive away the elephants..." -"But why, there are no elephants here"- The guy says: "Precisely".
This is a very funny book. It deals, with a fresh and delightful approach, with many of our karmas and mind bothering mosquitoes.......
Hilarious.......2001-10-28
Brilliant. When I wasn't laughing out loud, I was pierced by his trenchant obervations. Shows us how we choose unhappiness without even thinking about it. He is no Pangloss, the world is a tough place, but Watzlawick shows us how we make it worse than it has to be for ourselves. Highly, highly recommended for anyone with a sense of humor who wants to know more about him/herself.
Average customer rating:
- Double Identity
- What would you do if you found out you were a clone?
- A Science-Fiction Mystery
- Bethany's Double Identity
- One of Haddix's Best Books
|
Double Identity
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Fiction | Multigenerational | Family Life | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
New Experiences | Family Life | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
New Experiences | Social Issues | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Haddix, Margaret Peterson | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Teens | Subjects | Books
Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Fiction | Multigenerational | Family Life | People & Places | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
New Experiences | Family Life | People & Places | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
New Experiences | Social Issues | People & Places | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Teens | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:
-
Among the Free (Shadow Children)
-
Chicken Boy
-
Escape from Memory
-
Firegirl
-
Among the Enemy (Shadow Children)
ASIN: 0689873794 |
Book Description
So my only protection is a kindergarten teacher and a ninety-eight-pound female minister....And they don't even believe I'm in danger.
As Bethany approaches her thirteenth birthday, her parents act more oddly than usual. Her mother cries constantly, and her father barely lets Bethany out of his sight. Then one morning he hustles the entire family into the car, drives across several state lines -- and leaves Bethany with an aunt she never knew existed. Bethany has no idea what's going on. She's worried her mom and dad are running from some kind of trouble, but she can't find out because they won't tell her where they are going.
Bethany's only clue is a few words she overheard her father tell her aunt: "She doesn't know anything about Elizabeth." But Aunt Myrlie won't tell Bethany who Elizabeth is, and she won't explain why people in her small town react to Bethany as if they've seen a ghost. The mystery intensifies when Bethany gets a package from her father containing four different birth certificates from four different states, with four different last names -- and thousands of dollars in cash. And when a strange man shows up asking questions, Bethany realizes the's not the only one who's desperate to unravel the secrets of her past.
Customer Reviews:
Double Identity.......2007-08-23
I think Double Identity is a great story, it is a great book that needs much interest but that is not very hard to persue because of the wonderful and unique writing style Margaret Peterson Haddix has performed. Margaret also did a fantastic job on describing certain parts of the book that might be confusing if another author other than Margaret were to write it. Margaret is a very good author and i am looking forward to reading other books that she has written.
In this book Bethany is out to find information about her family, why is her mother is crying more than ever as she approaches her 13th birthday? Why are her parents dropping her off at her aunt's - a complete stranger to her- house for a while? And why had she never even known she had other family members other than her parents? Bethany's search is hard and confusing as she tries to get some information out of her aunt but however her aunt is not aloud to answer these questions.
The phone rings. All three of us jump for it, but Myrlie gets there first.
"Hello?"Myrlie says
I hear my mother's voice coming through the reciever, "Why hello Myrlie, I didn't expect you to be there. Could i speak to Elizabeth please?"
"No Hillary Elizabeth isn't available may i speak to Walter please?"
"Sorry Myrlie, I can't do that Walter doesn't know i'm calling, I just wanted to speak to Elizabeth."
I grab the phone out of Myrlie's hands.
"Hi Mom" i say...
"Your Father says we can get you back, it'll be like you never died."...
What would you do if you found out you were a clone?.......2007-07-17
Bethany had always been sheltered by her overprotective parents. She never spent one night away from them until one day they drive across many states and leave her with a woman she's never met before. - Myrlie. It seems like all the puzzle pieces of her world are falling apart.
As Bethany works to put the pieces back together, she finds that it isn't quite the same puzzle she thought it was. Bethany's parents had sheltered her from many things in an effort to protect her from the reality of her birth. But Bethany begins to learn about her family from Myrlie and Myrlie's daughter, Joss. It turns out that Myrlie is her aunt and Joss is her cousin. And Bethany learns that she is a clone of Elizabeth, her parents' first daughter (a sister she hadn't known existed) . Elizabeth had been killed 20 years earlier in a car accident. It's going to take Bethany quite a while to figure out how she fits back into this new puzzle.
I really enjoyed this story. The subject matter of cloning is a very touchy subject. Even though it is at the fringe of our current reality, the author presented it in a very realistic and reasonable manner. I especially appreciated Bethany's reaction to the realization that she was a clone. It seemed very honest and real. As for the writing - Haddix is a master of suspense. She peels away the layers of the story giving hints all along without giving the big mysteries away. The story grabbed me and pulled me right through to the end. I finished it in one night.
This book would be good for a classroom setting or book group. There is certainly a lot to talk about.
A Science-Fiction Mystery.......2007-06-29
Bethany Cole grew up to be a normal kid, had a normal childhood and went to a normal school. Until she found out that she used to have a sister who died in a car crash and that she was her clone. Double Identity is a gripping, science-fiction/ mystery novel. It is scary but pleasant at the same time. It is basically about a girl who is forced to go and live with her by her parents. Her parents tell her not to call them and that they will be back to pick her up in a few days. But Bethany just kept waiting and waiting and never got a phonecall from her mom or her dad. She also kept waiting by the door and frequently looking out the window to see if they were outside. Eventually Bethany learned to like Myrlie and felt more comfortable around her, even though she was still shy. She also met her daughter Joss who was a Minister.
One time when they were all playing cards Joss slipped out something about Elizabeth, but everyone forgot about it because the phone rang, Bethany went and picked it up, it was her mom. "Mom!", Bethany shouted as she picked up the phone. "Hi Elizabeth", her mom said. Than she said "I have to hurry your father doesn't know i'm calling," "I am so sorry I didn't see that truck coming it is all my fault everything that happened." "I am so sorry Elizabeth will you ever forgive me?" Than Bethany heard her mother say "No Walter I have to talk to Elizabeth." Bethany heard her dad but all he said was "Give the phone to Myrlie." When Myrlie got off the phone she said that her dad had said it would be alright if she told Bethany about Elizabeth. So Myrlie and Joss explained to Bethany who Elizabeth was and all about the car crash. Than it all made sense to Bethany, why her mom cried so much, and why her parents were so protective all the time. They were afraid something would happen to her, just like something happened to Elizabeth.
"This is one of the best books I have ever read and i encourage more people to read it."
Bethany's Double Identity.......2007-06-28
Double Identity is a science fiction/mystery novel. It is scary but pleasant at the same time. It is about a girl named Bethany Cole, who finds out she used to have a sister who's name was Elizabeth, and that she had died in a car crash. Bethany also finds out that her parents had gotten paid from a man named Dalton Van Dyne. They were getting paid to make a clone of Dalton but instead made a clone of Elizabeth, and the result was Bethany. Her parents hadn't told her about any of this, they were just always careful around her and very protective with her. Then one night her dad rushed her into the car in the middle of the night along with her mom, she has no idea what is going on. Her dad just kept driving until what seemed like hours and hours, he just dropped her off with her aunt who's name was Myrlie, who Bethany had just found out she had. Her parents just told her not to call her and that they would be back soon.
Well Bethany learned to like Myrlie, and also met her daughter Joss. Than one day when Myrlie had taken Bethany to the Y, someone was looking funny at her, and when they got back to Myrlie's house, she asked her why, and Bethany finally found out about Elizabeth. Than that's why Bethany found out why her mother was always crying and why her parents were so careful with her, they were always afraid something was going to happen to her. Than when her mom called, she said i'm not supposed to be calling you your dad doesn't know. It was all my fault i didn't see that truck coming I am so sorry Elizabeth. Than Myrlie and Joss explained everything and how Tom had died (Myrlie's husband) and how Joss was in the hospital for so long. They said they had never really talked to Walter and Hillary since then, they barely ever saw them since the accident.
This book is one of the best I have ever read and I encourage more people to read it.
One of Haddix's Best Books.......2007-06-11
I love all Margaret Peterson Haddix's books because of their suspense and mystery. This book not only had those 2 qualities, but it was also gripping and interesting. The beginning keeps you reading until the amazing ending. Definately one of my favorite books.
Book Description
The separateness and connection of individuals is perhaps the central question of human life: What, exactly, is my individuality? To what degree is it unique? To what degree can it be shared, and how? To the many philosophical and literary speculations about these topics over time, modern science has added the curious twist of quantum theory, which requires that the elementary particles of which everything consists have no individuality at all. All aspects of chemistry depend on this lack of individuality, as do many branches of physics. From where, then, does our individuality come?
In Seeing Double, Peter Pesic invites readers to explore this intriguing set of questions. He draws on literary and historical examples that open the mind (from Homer to Martin Guerre to Kafka), philosophical analyses that have helped to make our thinking and speech more precise, and scientific work that has enabled us to characterize the phenomena of nature. Though he does not try to be all-inclusive, Pesic presents a broad range of ideas, building toward a specific point of view: that the crux of modern quantum theory is its clash with our ordinary concept of individuality. This represents a departure from the usual understanding of quantum theory. Pesic argues that what is bizarre about quantum theory becomes more intelligible as we reconsider what we mean by individuality and identity in ordinary experience. In turn, quantum identity opens a new perspective on us.
Customer Reviews:
A wedding of two regretfully estranged worlds.......2002-07-12
For those new to science, or for those who have little experience with quantum physics, "Seeing Double," by Dr. Pesic, will serve as a wonderful introduction to quantum physics, a field that was the most spectacular and influential to the 20th century. The book provides a historical overview that is elucidated by references and parallels to examples from the classics and humanities.
For the seasoned physicist, "Seeing Double" will be a refreshing departure from rigorous scientific reading, which aims at being specialized, focused, and forensically convincing. Instead of choosing one very specialized point and thoroughly pursuing its depth, Pesic's writing courses broadly, like lightening across water, discovering a multitude of connections to the classics and humanities. Like Goethe's biological poetry and Schrödinger's "What is Life?" Pesic does a wonderful job of wedding his work to broader academic disciplines. One of the great misfortunes of the rise of science in the 20th century has been its separation from other academic disciplines, such as the humanities. This separation runs contrary to the nature of human thought. This work is an encouraging victory in the reunification between the sciences and humanities.
Pesic's writing is conversational. The reader feels as if he is in an arm-chair, an arm's length away, in a tea-infused discussion. One feels in reading Pesic that he has put the responsibility of being understood on the writer, and not the reader.
Although less broad than "Labyrinth," which explained modern scientific method by tracing its ancestors in law and code-breaking, nonetheless "Seeing Double" makes a wide variety of far-reaching yet just connections to other fields that are usually regretfully kept apart from science. The overall effect is quite exciting. Like Aladdin's carpet, or swift-footed Hermes, Pesic will take you on an exhilarating journey across the vista of the history of human achievement.
Average customer rating:
- Courtesy of Teens Read Too
|
Double Identity
Manufacturer: Scholastic, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0439827876 |
Product Description
As Bethany approaches her thirteenth birthday, her parents begin acting more oddly than usual: her mother cries constantly, and her father barely lets Bethany out of his sight. Then one morning he hustles the entire family into the car, drives across serveral state lines-and leaves Bethany with an aunt she never knew existed. Bethany has no idea what's going on. She's worried that her mom and dad are running from some kind of trouble, but she can't find out because they won't tell her where they are going. Bethany's only clue is a few words she overheard her father tell her aunt Myrlie, "She doesn't know anything about Elizabeth." But Aunt Myrlie won't tell Bethany who Elizabeth is, and won't explain why people in her small town react to Bethany as if they've seen a ghost. The mystery intensifies when Bethany gets a package from her father containing four different birth certificates from four states with four different last name-and thousands of dollars in cash. And when a strange man shows up asking questions, Bethany realizes she is not the only one who's desperate to unravel the secrets of her past.
Customer Reviews:
Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-01-17
For almost thirteen-year-old Bethany, life has suddenly and unexplicably taken a strange turn. For a girl who has never spent a night away from her parents, she's suddenly hustled into the car by her sad-looking father, subjected to listening to her sobbing mother, and unceremoniously dropped off in the middle of the night in a town she's never heard of, at the home of a woman claiming to be her Aunt Myrlie. Her parents are a lot older than her friend's parents, and Bethany is sure that her parent's siblings are all dead. So who is this woman claiming to be her Aunt, and why has she never heard of her before? Why won't her mother stop crying? Why does her dad seem so eager to get away from the house in Sanderfield? And who the heck is Elizabeth, the name she overheard her father and Myrlie discussing?
All these questions and more are only the tip of the iceberg in Margaret Peterson Haddix's newest novel, a wonderful young adult thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed. The twists and turns are unpredictable and unexpected--the conclusion one I never saw coming.
Overall, a great suspensful read for teens and adults alike!
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
Average customer rating:
|
Double Identity
Manufacturer: Award Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HU6NXG |
Average customer rating:
|
Lesbian Plays: Any Woman Can, Double Vision, Chiaroscuro, the Rug of Identity (Methuen's New Theatrescripts)
Manufacturer: Methuen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century | Classics | Contemporary | General | Historical | Humor | Letters & Correspondence | Middle | Old | Poetry | Renaissance | Shakespeare | Short Stories
Sexuality in Literature | Criticism & Theory | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | British & Irish | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 041315310X |
Average customer rating:
|
Double identity: A novel
Mayer Bendet
Manufacturer: bp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0932351220 |
Customer Reviews:
Intricately written.......2004-06-16
Mayer Bendet's Double Identity is an impassioned thriller that had me turning pages, suspenseful until the very end.
Holocaust survivor Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro, our protagonist, is a pulpit rabbi and Torah scholar haunted by his experiences in the camps and obsessively dedicated to bringing Nazis to justice. One Friday evening, guest from Israel Avraham Schulman attends Rabbi Shapiro's synagogue for Shabbos services. He looks eerily familiar, those eyes, that voice, although the rabbi cannot immediately place him. Shapiro soon becomes convinced that this elderly bearded scholarly guest visiting from Israel is no rabbi, but Hans Schmidt, a former Nazi and commander of the children's division of the Malberg concentration camp.
Determined to expose Shulman for the Nazi he is, Shapiro is painfully aware that his son 12-year-old son Shimshon has taken a serious liking to the purported Torah scholar from Israel that Shapiro believes is truly Hans Schmidt.
Shimshon, in the midst of his own questioning, struggles, and detective work, finds himself thrust into the workings of an underground network of Neo-Nazi activities in New York and in great danger.
In the latter fourth of the book, the reader is finally introduced to Naftali Hertz, a character who will soon clarify everything.
Without giving the ending away, allow me to quote from the book's jacket, "The boy discovers the terrifying secret about Avraham Schulman, and the key that this man holds-- not only to the past, but to the future of the Jewish people." There is a sequel to this book, True Identity, that addresses many of the essential questions left unanswered in Double Identity.
This is an entertaining and yet weighty read, one I strongly recommend.
Customer Reviews:
Double Identity.......2007-02-08
Jude Crenshaw works for the National Security Agency. He has been sent to Texas to investigate the murder of a DEA agent. He is supposed to work his way into the Patterson family's lives by dating their daughter Carina. The Pattersons are supposedly involved in illegal activities that got the agent killed.
Jude meets Carina and quickly they begin casually dating. The more he gets to know her, the more he likes her which is why he wants this assignment over with quickly. He is starting to really like Carina and he doesn't like lying to her. Jude is fairly certain than Carina's brothers are up to no good and that Carina and her parents are innocent of any wrong doings, but nothing is certain yet.
Carina is starting to fall for Jude so when the truth comes out she is devastated. Jude feels awful, but he does what he has to do for his job. Months go by and both Carina and Jude are miserable, so Jude decides to reach out to her to see if she'll take him back. Carina is hesitant but she agrees to try. Between distance and Carina's family not accepting Jude, they have many obstacles in their way but Jude refuses to give up on the one woman that tempts him to settle down.
Double Identity is a great story. The first half is about the case and the beginning of Jude and Carina's relationship. The second half is about how Jude and Carina attempt to rebuild their relationship. Jude is sure about his feelings for Carina, but he is unsure if she reciprocates them and his vulnerability is endearing. Carina's feelings were realistic, any woman would have felt as she did. Double Identity is a pleasure to read. It has a good storyline and plenty of tender and romantic moments.
Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
I liked this book - shows how love overcomes big obstacles........2005-06-29
Book Summary from eHarlequin.com:
"Love 'em and leave 'em" was his specialty...and that made Jude Crenshaw the perfect man for this assignment. His blond, craggy good looks would make it easy for him to woo innocent, sweet Carina Patterson. The skilled secret agent knew he could secure the information he needed before anyone got hurt.
Somehow lovely Carina had shaken him right down to his boots. Now, doing his job meant betraying her trust, risking her heart, maybe destroying her family. But the one thing he couldn't do was walk away....
An Excerpt From...
Double Identity
by Annette Broadrick
Jude Crenshaw's phone rang at seven o'clock, waking him from a deep, exhausted sleep at his condo in Fort Meade, Maryland. He fumbled for the phone without opening his eyes.
"Crenshaw," he mumbled.
"This is Ms. Kincaid's office calling. One moment, please." He was put on hold. Kincaid was his supervisor at the National Security Agency.
Jude had worked for the agency for the past four years. He'd been hired as a civilian after leaving the army, where he'd been in Special Ops. He had been in the field until six months ago when he'd been promoted to a supervisory position.
He couldn't imagine why Jackie Kincaid would be calling him at home at this time of morning. He sat up, rubbed his hand over his face and swung his legs to the floor.
"Jude? Jackie. Sorry to bother you so early. I tried to reach you yesterday, but you must have been incommunicado. I couldn't get my calls to go through on your cell phone so I could leave a message."
"I've been on the west coast for the past two weeks. Got home in the wee hours this morning."
"I know you're on vacation this week but something's come up here that needs your presence."
"Staff problems?"
"Nothing like that. We need you at an interdepartmental meeting at nine."
He frowned. "What department?"
"DEA."
"You're kidding me."
"Nope. Do you think you can get here by that time?"
Jude yawned and said, "Sure. No problem."
"Great. See you then."
Jude stood and stretched. His body was still on Pacific Standard Time, which meant he was having to function at four in the morning.
He went into his kitchen and made a pot of coffee that would be ready by the time he finished his shower. In the bathroom, his bleary-eyed gaze looked back at him from the mirror.
He needed a haircut.
He'd been out in the sun quite a bit while in southern California, so that his skin was deeply tanned and his blond hair lighter than usual.
Jude showered and shaved, dressed and returned to the kitchen for his caffeine fix. After his first cup, he filled a thermos cup with the rest of the coffee to drink on the way to work and went into the garage where he kept his baby.
His two-seater late-model Porsche spent more time in the garage than out on the road. He'd been looking forward to a few days off so he could take her out, wind her up and put her through her paces. The car was the love of his life, and why not? She was always waiting at home when he got there, never complained about the hours he kept, didn't demand attention and didn't eat him out of house and home while he was away.
He hit the garage-door button as he stepped through the door and slid behind the wheel. When he turned on the engine, he smiled at the whisper of sound. She was purring for him.
Jude drove to the NSA office complex sipping on his coffee, determined not to let the rush-hour traffic disturb him. Once there, he went to his office, checked his mail and headed down the hall to Kincaid's office.
He stopped at the desk of Kincaid's assistant, who looked up from opening the morning mail and saw him.
"Welcome back, Blue Eyes," Justine said, her expression mischievous. "I like the tan. Wish I had nothing better to do than lie around on a beach all day soaking up some rays."
He lifted one eyebrow and said, "Yeah, me, too. I have an appointment with Jackie."
"Go right in. Mm-mm. I swear, that tan shows you off quite nicely. You probably have to fight off all the women you meet."
He shook his head and grinned. "Not so's you'd notice."
Justine was in her midthirties, happily married with three young daughters. She'd teased him ever since she'd met him that he'd be her pick for a son-in-law if he'd only wait to find a bride until her daughters were grown.
He tapped on Jackie's door and walked inside.
Three men and a woman sat in front of Jackie's desk. They turned to look at him, their faces grim.
One of the men stood and turned to face Jude.
He looked to be in his late forties, possibly early fifties, with thick dark hair liberally sprinkled with gray. The man looked trim, probably worked out several times each week. His eyes missed nothing about Jude and Jude caught himself before he polished his shoe on the back of his pants leg.
"Jude, this is Sam Watson from the Drug Enforcement Agency. With him are three of his agents: John Greene, Hal Pennington and Ruth Littlefield." The agents stood and Jude shook hands with each of them.
"Now that we're all here, let's go into the conference room where we'll have a little more room," Jackie said, and led the way out of her office.
Once they were seated around the conference table, Jackie said, "Sam, I'll let you explain to Jude why you wanted to see him."
Watson smiled, transforming his craggy face, and Jude decided that the man was younger than he appeared at first glance.
"Thanks, Jackie," Watson replied. He turned to Jude. "I have a major problem with my San Antonio office at the moment. One of my men was killed last week and we have reason to believe that another agent was responsible."
Jude straightened. "Damn. That's really tough." He glanced at the other agents. "You've got to trust the man who's got your back."
If possible, they looked even grimmer as each one nodded.
"I need to get someone down there who I can trust and who can go undercover for us. In my search, I came across your file. You've worked covert operations for several years."
"That's true."
"And you're from Texas."
Jude grinned. "Can't deny that, either."
"I also found out that your family is well-known in Texas."
"Well, there's a lot of us there, I'll admit."
"You would be ideal for what I want to do."
Jude nodded and waited.
Started out great and went way down hill.......2005-04-19
I thought that this book was great at the beginning, but went downhill after about page 100. Jude Crenshaw took on a task for the DEA. His mission was to get close to a woman named Carina Patterson. Her and her family were being investigated for the drug smuggling. At first, Jude only thinks of this as a job to do. Carina meanwhile, says she only wants a quick affair with him, but is really falling in love with him. Though, it's not really him. Then, by page 100 the drug smugglers are arrested (IF YOU ARE EXPECTING A BIG BLOWOUT FOR AN ARREST AS I WAS THEN YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED, THE WHOLE DRUG BUST TOOK PLACE ON ONE PAGE WITH LITTLE EXCITEMENT OR ACTION) Then, Jude spent the rest of the book trying to convince carina to trust him again after she finds out the truth. He does this from long distances. They are not even together except one weekend out of the month for 4 or 5 five months. I was reading about how they were spending a wonderful thanksgiving together and then in the VERY next paragraph it is Christmas, then next paragraph it is April. In one chapter, we skimmed over 6 months worth of making up and even that wasn't getting done because they were apart for so long. You don't get to read about them being a happy loving couple at all until the last 5 pages of the book. Would not reccommend it.
Average customer rating:
|
Dark Twins: Imposture and Identity in Mark Twain's America
Susan Gillman
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | History & Criticism | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
19th Century | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Classics | Comic | Contemporary | Literary
General | Criticism & Theory | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Literature & Fiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0226293874 |
Book Description
"Many persons have such a horror of being taken in," wrote P. T. Barnum, "that they believe themselves to be a sham and are continually humbugging themselves." Mark Twain enjoyed trading on that horror, as the many confidence men, assumed identities, and disguised characters in his fiction attest. In Dark Twins, Susan Gillman challenges the widely held assumption that Twain's concern with identity is purely biographical and argues that what has been regarded as a problem of individual psychology must be located instead within American society around the turn of the century. Drawing on Twain's whole writing career, but focusing on the controversial late period of social "pessimism" and literary "incoherence," Gillman situates Twain and his work in historical context, demonstrating the complex interplay between his most intimate personal and authorial identity and the public attitudes toward race, gender, and science.
Gillman shows that laws regulating race classification, paternity, and rape cases underwrite Twain's critical exploration of racial and sexual difference in the writings of the 1890s and after, most strikingly in the little-known manuscripts that Gillman calls the "tales of transvestism." The "pseudoscience" of spiritualism and the "science" of psychology provide the cultural vocabularies essential to Twain's fantasy and science fiction writings of his last two decades. Twain stands forth finally as a representative man, not only a child of his culture, but also as one implicated in a continuing American anxiety about freedom, race, and identity.
Books:
- The Spy Wore Red: My Adventures as as Undercover Agent in World War II
- The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
- Three Plays: Desire Under The Elms, Strange Interlude, Mourning Becomes Electra
- Treks Not Taken: What If Stephen King, Anne Rice, Kurt Vonnegut, and Other Literary Greats Had Written Episodes of Star Trek : The Next Generation?
- Undressed: The Naked Truth about Love, Sex, and Dating
- Up Close and Dangerous: A Novel
- What A Lady Wants
- White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception
- 25 Ways to Win with People: How to Make Others Feel Like a Million Bucks
- A Hunger Like No Other (The Immortals After Dark Series, Book 1)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm
- Ike's Final Battle: The Road to Little Rock and the Challenge of Equality
- Buddha: The Intelligent Heart
- Everville
- History: Fiction or Science
- James Agee: Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, A Death in the Family, Shorter Fiction
- If My Kid's So Nice... Why's He Driving Me Crazy
- Communicate: Independent British Graphic Design Since the Sixties
- Design It Yourself Logos Letterheads and Business Cards: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Echoes from the Past: Revisiting My World War II Journals Fifty Years Later
Change; Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution
The Language of Change: Elements of Therapeutic Communication
Pragmatics of Human Communication: A Study of Interactional Patterns, Pathologies, and Paradoxes
Ultra-Solutions: How to Fail Most Successfully
How Real Is Real?
