King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa

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the heart of man is desperately wicked

Ashes from the White Sepulcher

The True Story Behind Heart of Darkness

Detailed Readable History

THE ANATOMY OF TRAGEDIES
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
Adam Hochschild
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Democratic Republic of Congo | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0618001905

Amazon.com

King Leopold of Belgium, writes historian Adam Hochschild in this grim history, did not much care for his native land or his subjects, all of which he dismissed as "small country, small people." Even so, he searched the globe to find a colony for Belgium, frantic that the scramble of other European powers for overseas dominions in Africa and Asia would leave nothing for himself or his people. When he eventually found a suitable location in what would become the Belgian Congo, later known as Zaire and now simply as Congo, Leopold set about establishing a rule of terror that would culminate in the deaths of 4 to 8 million indigenous people, "a death toll," Hochschild writes, "of Holocaust dimensions." Those who survived went to work mining ore or harvesting rubber, yielding a fortune for the Belgian king, who salted away billions of dollars in hidden bank accounts throughout the world. Hochschild's fine book of historical inquiry, which draws heavily on eyewitness accounts of the colonialists' savagery, brings this little-studied episode in European and African history into new light. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

In the 1880s, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. Carrying out a genocidal plundering of the Congo, he looted its rubber, brutalized its people, and ultimately slashed its population by ten million--all the while shrewdly cultivating his reputation as a great humanitarian. Heroic efforts to expose these crimes eventually led to the first great human rights movement of the twentieth century, in which everyone from Mark Twain to the Archbishop of Canterbury participated. King Leopold's Ghost is the haunting account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions, a man as cunning, charming, and cruel as any of the great Shakespearean villains. It is also the deeply moving portrait of those who fought Leopold: a brave handful of missionaries, travelers, and young idealists who went to Africa for work or adventure and unexpectedly found themselves witnesses to a holocaust. Adam Hochschild brings this largely untold story alive with the wit and skill of a Barbara Tuchman. Like her, he knows that history often provides a far richer cast of characters than any novelist could invent. Chief among them is Edmund Morel, a young British shipping agent who went on to lead the international crusade against Leopold. Another hero of this tale, the Irish patriot Roger Casement, ended his life on a London gallows. Two courageous black Americans, George Washington Williams and William Sheppard, risked much to bring evidence of the Congo atrocities to the outside world. Sailing into the middle of the story was a young Congo River steamboat officer named Joseph Conrad. And looming above them all, the duplicitous billionaire King Leopold II. With great power and compassion, King Leopold's Ghost will brand the tragedy of the Congo--too long forgotten--onto the conscience of the West.

Customer Reviews:

the heart of man is desperately wicked.......2007-09-25

If you have somehow achieved sufficient literacy to read user reviews on Amazon, and still believe that people are basically good, now's your chance to read a book that will relieve you of this misconception. King Leopold's Ghost gives historical proof that there is no problem in recruiting enough people to torture, humiliate, and kill perfectly innocent Africans by the millions.

All I can say is thank God for the press and for Christian missionaries. If it hadn't been for those two institutions, the horror in Africa perpetrated by the Belgian king would have continued unabated until all of the land drained by the Congo river was stripped of all human inhabitants.

Ashes from the White Sepulcher .......2007-08-16

A masterful work. Hochschild outlines an entire world duped by charms and charming sentiments. Millions perished while Leopold gains wealth untold. Maiming, murder, mayhem and the crooked world of Presidents, Kings and Congresses. Leopold mastery of the world stage lasted decades. Long term lessons on how governments manage what is perceived to be the gospel truth. Hochschild deserves high recognition for this introduction into the world of tycoons and titans plundering a nation in the name of Christianity. Hochschild's assessment of current Zaire affairs are disturbing. Cobalt, uranium and a host of lesser necessities available to the of best armed encampments from the native riches of this African country. The plunder continues

The True Story Behind Heart of Darkness.......2007-07-14

In the annals of atrocities committed by human beings against ourselves, the historic and ongoing mistreatment of Africa by the Industrialized World takes the (highly dubious) prize. While an extremely generous revision of history might forgive the arrogance and naivety of the colonial powers for believing that clothing, Christianity, modern weapons and free markets would be enough to make Africa like Europe, King Leopold II of Belgium seems to stand out ahead of the pack. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild, in one respect, is a depressing narrative about how MILLIONS of Africans were "civilized" by trading their lives and liberty to grow Leopold's personal fortune. But it is also an inspiring story about how a few people, through their passion for the inalienable rights endowed to all people, shook Europe and America awake and their efforts to bring about real change in the Congo.

Hochschild, as he explains in his preface, first became aware of the crimes against humanity instigated by King Leopold by accident. A quote from Mark Twain (active in the Congo Movement during the decades around the turn of the 20th century) about the 8-10 million people that were helped to their graves by Leopold's regime in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Such a tragically huge tally is striking, and it inspired Hochschild to find out as much as he could. King Leopold's Ghost begins with a whirlwind synopsis of the first 400 years of European imposition upon Central Africa -- the Portuguese, Afoso, Prester John, the Colonial Era. The pace slows once Henry M. Stanley and Leopold enter the picture.

The lives of Stanley and Leopold, the two major do-ers in the tale of the subjugation of the Congo, are discussed in detail. Stanley, the explorer, ended up on Leopold's payroll because he really didn't have much else to do. His explorations down the Congo, though courageous and admired, did not raise the kind of interest he though it should in the Foreign Office of his native Britain. Stanley became available for employment just as Leopold's machinations and Machiavellian dealings were justifying (among his fellow monarchs) his desire to take over control of the Congo. Of course, according to Leopold, this was all just so that he could lift up the poor Africans and encourage free trade. Leopold, who never actually visited his kingdom in Africa, needed a surrogate in-country to clear the bush and establish trading stations. Stanley was his man.

Once trading stations were established in the Congo, Europeans came to trade. At first, the primary object of plunder was ivory, but then, with the advent of bicycles (and later automobiles) with inflatable tires, wild rubber became the main export. And so began the "Rubber Terror," where the people of the Congo were forced upon pain and death to harvest the latex. The result, as described by Hochschild, was unbelievable savagery on the part of the civilized world.

Fortunately for the world, the tale of the subjugation of the congo has some undo-ers as well, foremost among them E.D. Morel. The Congo Reform Movement had a worldwide following that made Leopold miserable. Unfortunately for the cause of justice, Leopold died and the Congo Free State (as it was then known) was merely transferred to Belgium -- Leopold was never punished for his crimes against humanity. In 1960, with the rising tide of anti-colonialism beginning to wax all over Africa, Belgium handed power over to the Congolese to rule themselves and try to pull a reasonable government of the people from the humid air. That has not faired particularly well either.

Adam Hochschild's book is well written and engaging. He made a valiant effort to find the words of actual Africans describing their plight during their struggle -- rather than just the victors, or, at best, some sympathetic compatriots of the victors. The paperback edition comes with an extended afterward where the author describes some of the consequences of bringing this too long forgotten take to the forefront again.

Detailed Readable History.......2007-07-05

Positives:
Detailed, readable history about Belgium's Scramble for Africa in the Congo. Hochschild does an excellent job of introducing key figures who aid King Leopold in getting 'his colony' in Africa as well as those who fought against the Belgian King's enslavement of the Congolese people. In addition, Hochschild intersperses the general experience of the colonizers and the Congolese with personal stories from sadistic colonizers, missionaries, the King's lobbyists, and most critically, some of the 10 million people devastated by King Leopold II's obsession.

Negatives:
Hochschild often distracts from the history he is so effectively telling through tangential introductions of more contemporary history and through personal analysis of historical events being presented. His personal analysis interrupts the pace of the history being told, and causes suspiscion about how the author chose to use the facts he researched.

THE ANATOMY OF TRAGEDIES.......2007-05-13

BEYOND THE FINE PRINTS OF COLONIAL EXPANSION IN AFRICA LIES THE TERMINAL SCARS OF CONQUEST TO WHICH AFRICA NOW PAYS HANSOMELY.

The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Silver on the Tree; The Grey King; Greenwitch; The Dark Is Rising; and Over Sea, Under Stone

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One of the best series ever written...
new movie
Light Is Rising
Wonderful, wonderful series
DiRS: Box Set

The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Silver on the Tree; The Grey King; Greenwitch; The Dark Is Rising; and Over Sea, Under Stone
Susan Cooper
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0020425651

Amazon.com

Joined by destiny, the lives of the Drew children, Will Stanton, and a boy named Bran weave together in an exquisite, sometimes terrifying tapestry of mystery and quests. In the five-title series of novels known as The Dark Is Rising Sequence, these children pit the power of good against the evil forces of Dark in a timeless and dangerous battle that includes crystal swords, golden grails, and a silver-eyed dog that can see the wind. Susan Cooper's highly acclaimed fantasy novels, steeped in Celtic and Welsh legends, have won numerous awards, including the Newbery Medal and the Newbery Honor. Now all five paperback volumes have been collected in one smart boxed set. These classic fantasies, complex and multifaceted, should not be missed, by child or adult. The set includes Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark Is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Customer Reviews:

One of the best series ever written..........2007-08-10

I can't even begin to describe this series and I won't try to. I'm afraid I'd only do it a disservice! Susan Cooper says SO much in so few eloquent words that her books are rather like listening to fine music. I rank this easily with the Narnia series as well as Lord of the Rings. And while I adore the Harry Potter books and think JK is a fabulous writer, I truly feel that even they cannot live up to the quiet serious intensity of these books.

Every year I read this series again. I love it more and more with each read.

Recently many illiterate folks have called these books 'boring' and 'flat'. Those same modern day readers often have to be babied through text & dazzled with fancy action scenes. It has also become a fad to bash things that have won awards or recommendations.

This is a story told with very deep and quiet emotions and if you give it a chance then I can promise you, you won't be disappointed. :)

new movie.......2007-05-18

I remember reading this series years ago and since then I have always thought that it would make a great movie and guess what someone else thought so as well. IMDB is reporting that this movie is in production and will be released in October 2007. I am very excited about this and I am really wishing and hoping that they translate it well to the big screen. I have since lost my books but I have just purchased this set to read all the books again and relive my youth again.

Light Is Rising.......2007-05-12

The series as a whole is great. if you have never read them before but enjoy other great fantasy such as Harry Potter, the Forgotten Realms, or even the Lord Of The Rings these are a must read. they have been great books for the last 35 years or so and will continue to be great books 50 years from now.

Wonderful, wonderful series.......2007-05-06

This series is my son's absolute FAVORITE. He's 8 and I recently decided to introduce him to the books, and he ate them up. He said he likes how the bad people aren't always perfect, and he likes the way the Drew siblings work together in OVER SEA, UNDER STONE and again in GREENWICH and SILVER ON THE TREE. I'm pretty sure that he didn't understand all the symbolism in THE DARK IS RISING, though he liked it and made up his own belt of rings as a result.

This series is really wonderful, and I agree with other reviewers - it should be better known. It's mythical elements mix well with the action scenes. Plus, it's very well written and edited - creating really unique and interesting characters.

I'm sort of judicious with my 5 star ratings, but this one definitely deserved it. Pick them up - you won't be disappointed.

DiRS: Box Set.......2007-03-04

I love these books, and I was glad to see that they were now available in a box set!

Average customer rating:

Creepy made real
Buy it for "The Mist"
Some Classics!
Love Stories from King.
This collection of short stories was.......just......'eh........

Skeleton Crew (Signet)
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0451168615

Amazon.com

In the introduction to Skeleton Crew (1985), his second collection of stories, King pokes fun at his penchant for "literary elephantiasis," makes scatological jokes about his muse, confesses how much money he makes (gross and net), and tells a story about getting arrested one time when he was "suffused with the sort of towering, righteous rage that only drunk undergraduates can feel." He winds up with an invitation to a scary voyage: "Grab onto my arm now. Hold tight. We are going into a number of dark places, but I think I know the way."

And he sure does. Skeleton Crew contains a superb short novel ("The Mist") that alone is worth the price of admission, plus two forgettable poems and 20 short stories on such themes as an evil toy monkey, a human-eating water slick, a machine that avenges murder, and unnatural creatures that inhabit the thick woods near Castle Rock, Maine. The short tales range from simply enjoyable to surprisingly good.

In addition to "The Mist," the real standout is "The Reach," a beautifully subtle story about a great-grandmother who was born on a small island off the coast of Maine and has lived there her whole life. She has never been across "the Reach," the body of water between island and mainland. This is the story that King fans give to their friends who don't read horror in order to show them how literate, how charming a storyteller he can be. Don't miss it. --Fiona Webster

Book Description

Twenty-two stories from the "wildly imaginative" #1 Bestselling Author

In this brilliant collection of stories, Stephen King takes readers down paths that only he could imagine....A supermarket becomes the place where humanity takes its last stand against unholy destruction...a trip to the attic turns into a journey to hell...a woman driver finds a scary shortcut to paradise...an idyllic lake harbors a bottomless evil...and a desert island is the scene of the most terrifying struggle for survival ever waged.

Customer Reviews:

Creepy made real.......2007-08-22

King's at the top of his game with many of the stories in this collection. The Monkey is probably my all time favorite of his works, but many stories are excellent.

Buy it for "The Mist".......2007-07-23

I recommend this book because it includes my favorite King short story, "The Mist". A film based on this story is coming out this year. The other stories are pretty good too but "The Mist" totally rocks.

Some Classics!.......2007-07-22

If your not sure you want to read Stephen King, read these short stories and I'm sure you'll love his books. It has everything. It starts out with the Mist, which is a very freaky story about people locked in a supermarket because a strange Mist is outside that kills anyone who goes out. The Monkey is a scary story about, you guessed it, a monkey. My favorite story in this is The Jaunt. It is the only Stephen King story that I have ever been scared of. It's about a device(The Jaunt) that teleports you from one place to another.

Cain Rose Up is scary because you draw connections between it and the Virgina Tech Tragedy. The Raft is about 4 friends getting on a raft in the middle of a lake, only to be attacked by a dark monster in the water.

Word Processor of the Gods is about the only story to have a happy ending. The Man who would not shake hands is a strange tale about its namesake. The Reaper's Image is an excellent story about a painting. I also Highly Reccomend: Uncle Otto's Truck, The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet, and Gramma.

Love Stories from King........2007-07-12

The Monkey is a great love story about a father and son. It is. Stop laughing. Yeah, there's some stuf about death and guilt, too. And The Mist is a love story too. Why are you laughing?
Here's hoping Darabont does what he did with Red and Andy in Shawshank Redemption and makes The Mist about two people. Drayton and his son.In other words, a love story. Focus on a dad trying to make sure his kid survives interdimensional goopiness instead of an action flick about a cross section of Americans under surreal attack in a grocery store. Otherise, the audience won't know what to concentrate on.

This collection of short stories was.......just......'eh...............2007-02-23

Okay, first of all I love Stephen King. The man can do no wrong in my eyes and dispite my rather (how should I put this) "one sided" title of my review, that still holds true even for SKELETON CREW. This book is yet another collection of his short stories, put together over a period of time. SKELETON CREW starts out on a strong note with a horrifying little tale called "The Mist." Basically, the story is about a small town being taken over by a fog that blankets everything after a thunderstorm the night before. People don't think too much about it until terrifying creatures come out of the fog and start dragging people away and killing them. What makes this story so great is the brooding atmosphere that Stephen King unfolds for the readers with every page turn. He creates such stunning visuals in the story that by the time it's over, your wanting more! "The Mist" is truely one hard story to top in terms of classic Stephen King Horror. Which is part of the problem with the over all book SKELETON CREW. Starting things out with such a "wham bam" Horror rocker like "The Mist" makes almost everything else seem weak in it's shadow. Don't get me wrong, thats not to say SKELETON CREW doesn't have it's fair share of interesting stories. Key word, "interesting." Most of the other ones don't seem like Horror stories but rather bad and unpleasent situations. Other note worthy stories from this collection are "Survivor Type", which is about a man lost at sea and nothing to eat......but himself. "The Raft" is yet another classic Stephen King story that is almost on the same level as "The Mist." Anyone who has seen the Horror movie "Creepshow 2" knows all about it. "Nona" is a dark little tale about a man and a woman in the middle of a horrifying, killing spree. Truely dark subject matter but it never reaches the level of "The Mist." Another interesting story is one called "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" which is about a woman with an undying desire to find the fastest way through the back roads of Maine and eventually discovers areas never seen before by man. Other good stories are "The Jaunt" and "Gramma", although nothing seems to match the power and grace of "The Mist." The rest of the book just didn't grab me like some of his past collections of short stories. So far I think his best work (in terms of short stories) are FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT, EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL and NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES. In my opinion, SKELETON CREW is a mixed bag, much like the other collection of short stories called "Night Shift." Over all, I still think Stephen King is an amazing author with a natural gift for story telling. Something about the way he details his stories and add's small bits of off the wall humor, makes it a hard match for other authors in the same business. I've read alot of Horror books in my day and I think Stephen King is miles above the rest, even with a book like SKELETON CREW which I feel is a mixed bag of stories. Anyways, this is still a great book and is perfect for anyone's ever growing Stephen King collection. New comers to the world of King might want to start with something like EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL or his classic novels CARRIE, THE STAND and CUJO. On an end note, I'll say this much about Stephen King over all. Once he's got his "hooks" in you, it's hard to "let go." He is truely an amazing author.

Average customer rating:

I wish I'd never started.
dont go beyond the warning!...spoilers!!!
The Crimson King Revealed
A little disappointing.
I liked it ...

The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, Book 7)
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Donald M. Grant/Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1880418622
Release Date: 2004-09-21

Amazon.com

At one point in this final book of the Dark Tower series, the character Stephen King (added to the plot in Song of Susannah) looks back at the preceding pages and says "when this last book is published, the readers are going to be just wild." And he's not kidding.

After a journey through seven books and over 20 years, King's Constant Readers finally have the conclusion they've been both eagerly awaiting and silently dreading. The tension in the Dark Tower series has built steadily from the beginning and, like in the best of King's novels, explodes into a violent, heart-tugging climax as Roland and his ka-tet finally near their goal. The body count in The Dark Tower is high. The gunslingers come out shooting and face a host of enemies, including low men, mutants, vampires, Roland's hideous quasi-offspring Mordred, and the fearsome Crimson King himself. King pushes the gross-out factor at times--Roland's lesson on tanning (no, not sun tanning) is brutal--but the magic of the series remains strong and readers will feel the pull of the Tower as strongly as ever as the story draws to a close. During this sentimental journey, King ties up loose ends left hanging from the 15 non-series novels and stories that are deeply entwined in the fabric of Mid-World through characters like Randall Flagg (The Stand and others) or Father Callahan (Salem's Lot). When it finally arrives, the long awaited conclusion will leave King's myriad fans satisfied but wishing there were still more to come.

In King's memoir On Writing, he tells of an old woman who wrote him after reading the early books in the Dark Tower series. She was dying, she said, and didn't expect to see the end of Roland's quest. Could King tell her? Does he reach the Tower? Does he save it? Sadly, King said he did not know himself, that the story was creating itself as it went along. Wherever that woman is now (the clearing at the end of the path, perhaps?), let's hope she has a copy of The Dark Tower. Surely she would agree it's been worth the wait. --Benjamin Reese

Visit the Dark Tower store
Over 30 years in the making, spanning seven volumes, Stephen King's epic quest for the Dark Tower has encompassed almost his entire body of fiction. Find every volume of this fantastic adventure, an interview with the master himself, and much more in our Dark Tower Store.

Authors on Stephen King
Mystery writer Michael Connelly thinks Stephen King's "one of the most generous writers I know of." Thriller author Ridley Pearson says "King possesses an incredible sense of story..." Read our Stephen King testimonials to find out what else they and other authors had to say about the undisputed King of Horror.

The Path to the Dark Tower
There are only seven volumes in Stephen King's Dark Tower series but more than a dozen of his novels and short stories are deeply entwined with the Mid-World universe. Take a look at the non-series titles, from Salem's Lot to Everything's Eventual. Can you find the connections?

History of an Alternate Universe
Robin Furth, an expert on Stephen King's Dark Tower universe if ever there was one, has created a timeline of Mid-World, the slowly crumbling world of gunslinger Roland Deschain. Read it and get up to speed on a world of adventure.

Hail to the King
Fans applauded and critics howled when Stephen King was awarded the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Service to American Letters. In typical fashion, King accepted the honor with humility and urged recognition for other "popular" authors. Listen to a clip of his acceptance speech, then order the entire speech on audio CD.

Book Description

All good things must come to an end, Constant Reader, and not even Stephen King can make a story that goes on forever. The tale of Roland Deschain's relentless quest for the Dark Tower has, the author fears, sorely tried the patience of those who have followed it from its earliest chapters. But attend to it a while longer, if it pleases you, for this volume is the last, and often the last things are best.

Roland's ka-tet remains intact, though scattered over wheres and whens. Susannah-Mia has been carried from the Dixie Pig (in the summer of 1999) to a birthing room -- really a chamber of horrors -- in Thunderclap's Fedic; Jake and Father Callahan, with Oy between them, have entered the restaurant on Lex and Sixty-first with weapons drawn, little knowing how numerous and noxious are their foes. Roland and Eddie are with John Cullum in Maine, in 1977, looking for the site on Turtleback Lane where "walk-ins" have been often seen. They want desperately to get back to the others, to Susannah especially, and yet they have come to realize that the world they need to escape is the only one that matters.

Thus the book opens, like a door to the uttermost reaches of Stephen King's imagination. You've come this far. Come a little farther. Come all the way. The sound you hear may be the slamming of the door behind you. Welcome to The Dark Tower.

Download Description

"All good things must come to an end, Constant Reader, and not even Stephen King can make a story that goes on forever. The tale of Roland Deschain's relentless quest for the Dark Tower has, the author fears, sorely tried the patience of those who have followed it from its earliest chapters. But attend to it a while longer, if it pleases you, for this volume is the last, and often the last things are best. Roland's ka-tet remains intact, though scattered over wheres and whens. Susannah-Mia has been carried from the Dixie Pig (in the summer of 1999) to a birthing room -- really a chamber of horrors -- in Thunderclap's Fedic; Jake and Father Callahan, with Oy between them, have entered the restaurant on Lex and Sixty-first with weapons drawn, little knowing how numerous and noxious are their foes. Roland and Eddie are with John Cullum in Maine, in 1977, looking for the site on Turtleback Lane where ""walk-ins"" have been often seen. They want desperately to get back to the others, to Susannah especially, and yet they have come to realize that the world they need to escape is the only one that matters. Thus the book opens, like a door to the uttermost reaches of Stephen King's imagination. You've come this far. Come a little farther. Come all the way. The sound you hear may be the slamming of the door behind you. Welcome to The Dark Tower. "

Customer Reviews:

I wish I'd never started........2007-10-03

Other (negative) reviews seem to sum up my opinion pretty well. Please don't start this series. If you start, please don't read the last book. It's really just bad. And it could have been so good.

dont go beyond the warning!...spoilers!!!.......2007-09-13

when i finally put down book six of this epic adventure i found myself relishing every page of the 7th and last book. before i could start the last book i had to get myself in the right mind set, it was that important to me. for all those who say the whole series was ruined by this books, i feel sorry they feel so strongly. this book is really a great book. the only problem is the ending of it all. after Roland leaves patick to go to his finally won dark tower i should have stopped reading. even stephen king tells the reader to stop if you enjoy the first ending. and i was close to putting the book down then,so close.
but i kept reading.
i remember telling a good friend who had finished the series already that i though the worst ending to the series would be if all the main characters had forgotten what they had achieved. i told him i would hate such a cop-out ending. well i cant say jake and eddie really forgot, since they died and Susanah, i could have over looked her memory loss since i was glad to see she found her way back to new york.
but when i finished the book, the one thing i had feared had come true. Stephen king ended the series with such a cop-out ending, the one i had told my friend i would hate. Roland standing in the desert he began in. "the man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." and he remembers nothing of his preiviouse adventure. really. i wanted Roland to die in that tower. i wanted him to have his final resting place in the top room of his finally won tower. in my mind that is where Roland died. in the worst way possible. THANKs KING. THANKS FOR COPIN-OUT!!!!!!

The Crimson King Revealed.......2007-09-13

this is the one we've been waiting for! Those stalwart souls who have journeyed with Roland,the gunslinger, and his cohorts finally arrive.
It's ben rough going,to put it mildly;my designated source of disgust were the "lobstrocities"Although the Wolves in the Calla were "no picnic".
Book 7, "The Dark Tower" introduces us to a revolting little half baby half spider but when The Crimson King is encountered this entity disintigrates into ashes to ashes dust to dust.
Stephen King"s "Crimson King is a shock but not really for "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came" by Niina Lockwood
fermbois@yahoo.com

A little disappointing........2007-09-07

I started the Dark Tower series with anticipation of a really good epic tale and for the most part it was...at least until Steve decided to interject himself into the story. Sigh..how self-serving and unimaginative can you get. I actually stopped reading and said out loud, "You have got to be kidding! Oh, Steve, no". I only continued on with the series because, in spite of this egotism, he had written some truly memorable characters and I just had to see what happened next. I particularily loved that he wasn't afraid to kill them off. Most writers are too insecure to trust their readers enough to do away with a really good character. I think this just enhances the experience of a good story. All in all, I would recommend this series as a whole just for the plain good storytelling of King at his most imaginative and to just overlook the author's intrusion.

I liked it ..........2007-09-06

Especially the part when Roland sings the names of all the people who helped (and died) so he could reach the Tower. If this series could be made into a movie or movies (which I doubt) that would be one of the best moments in cinema ever, it gave me goosebumps and haunted me (that night I dreamed of the Tower and what could be inside - I hadn't read the Coda yet). The ending is cruel, but I think it worked as a metaphor for the cleansing of one's karma (ka - karma?). I also hoped that Roland could get his much deserved rest when he reached the Tower, but maybe his whole quest perfected him somehow, and now he will make the right choices through his journey, so he can be worthy of entering the White and be at ease at last... Just my opinion.

Average customer rating:

King In Top Form
Great Novellas
Stand by Me
A very good collection.
His best work!

Different Seasons (Signet)
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0451167538
Release Date: 2004-03-02

Amazon.com

Different Seasons (1982) is a collection of four novellas, markedly different in tone and subject, each on the theme of a journey. The first is a rich, satisfying, nonhorrific tale about an innocent man who carefully nurtures hope and devises a wily scheme to escape from prison. The second concerns a boy who discards his innocence by enticing an old man to travel with him into a reawakening of long-buried evil. In the third story, a writer looks back on the trek he took with three friends on the brink of adolescence to find another boy's corpse. The trip becomes a character-rich rite of passage from youth to maturity.

These first three novellas have been made into well-received movies: "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" into Frank Darabont's 1994 The Shawshank Redemption (available as a screenplay, a DVD film, and an audiocassette), "Apt Pupil" into Bryan Singer's 1998 film Apt Pupil (also released in 1998 on audiocassette), and "The Body" into Rob Reiner's Stand by Me (1986).

The final novella, "Breathing Lessons," is a horror yarn told by a doctor, about a patient whose indomitable spirit keeps her baby alive under extraordinary circumstances. It's the tightest, most polished tale in the collection. --Fiona Webster

Book Description

Four mesmerizing novellas, including the ones that inspired the movies The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, and Stand by Me.

Customer Reviews:

King In Top Form.......2007-08-25

This book stands tall among the masses of King's tales. Here a quartet of truly excellent stories leads a reader from the heights of the human experience, to its lowest depths. From the prison saga of "The Shawshank Redemption" to the poisonous symbiosis of the aged Nazi and the twisted teenage boy in "Apt Pupil" to sentimental coming-of-age magic in "The Body" and finally to the concluding story of an independent-minded young woman from many decades ago, determined to give birth no matter what, this anthology will remain a classic long after this age has worn itself to sand.

Great Novellas.......2007-08-06

If you are in any doubt about the quality of these stories, consider the fact that 3 out of the 4 have been made into films.
Stephen King is known as a horror writer, but these three show that the man is one of the worlds best story tellers. They are not horror stories.
Shawshank as most people will know is a prison story. Some of this is harrowing and upsetting (such that they couldn't show it in the film), but it is essential for the development of the main character and I never thought it was gratutious.
The Body is a story about growing up and Apt Pupil is about a man with black past and his relationship with a young lad. Both are excellent and compelling reading.
The 4th story, which is as good as the other 3, is gripping and original, and a real page turner. This is more of a traditional King horror story, so if you buy Different Seasons you don't miss out completely on the horror front.
Of course what this book amply demonstrates is Kings marvellous story telling abilities, whether he is writing horror or not.

Stand by Me.......2007-03-11

and different seasons of course ho ho. This looks like a gr-reat book I look forward to reading it stephen king is the best author ever made. rolll with the punches cuz the KLINGON rockz.

A very good collection........2006-12-19

This is a very good Stephen King book. I liked reading it. Here are my places of the stories. The Body is the best of them, Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption is second best, Apt Pupil was the third best, and The Breathing Method was the weakest. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone. It is well written and very original. I have seen the movies of the first three novellas (The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, & Stand By Me) I have mentioned and they are excellent movies that do the novellas perfect justice. I recommend that you see the three films right after you have read the novellas.

His best work!.......2006-11-28

Different Seasons is an astoundingly good book because in it Stephen King allows himself free reign to do what he is best at: just telling a story where he doesn't need to worry about the whys.

In each of his four novelettes, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption," "Apt Pupil," "The Body," and "The Breathing Method," King eschews explanations and just focuses his and the reader's attention on the simple human drama of the story as it unfolds.

And dramatic they are...

In "Shawshank Redemption" a wrongful imprisonment is the backdrop to the power of human survival. Andy Dufresne is not noteworthy because he does spectacular things but because he has the patience to let his ordinary actions become spectacular over time.

In "Apt Pupil" a Dennis the menace relationship unfolds between a young boy and his neighbor and in the end we discover that the boy's neighbor is a fugitive Nazi. By taking a familiar story and turning it on its head King allows both the natural humourous and natural tragedy of the situation to unfold at their own, unforced pace.

Likewise, both "The Body" and "The Breathing Method" are human driven slices of life that really could happen and therefore, like the other stories are all the more frightening.

In other words, this book is so good because King stumbles on that truth that the scariest stories are based on reality.

Average customer rating:

Face-paced and taught
Not Free SF Reader
There is no misery in reading Misery
"I'm Your Number One Fan"
This Book Ain't No Cockadoody

Misery
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0451169522
Release Date: 2004-10-05

Amazon.com

In Misery (1987), as in The Shining (1977), a writer is trapped in an evil house during a Colorado winter. Each novel bristles with claustrophobia, stinging insects, and the threat of a lethal explosion. Each is about a writer faced with the dominating monster of his unpredictable muse.

Paul Sheldon, the hero of Misery, sees himself as a caged parrot who must return to Africa in order to be free. Thus, in the novel within a novel, the romance novel that his mad captor-nurse, Annie Wilkes, forces him to write, he goes to Africa--a mysterious continent that evokes for him the frightening, implacable solidity of a woman's (Annie's) body. The manuscript fragments he produces tell of a great Bee Goddess, an African queen reminiscent of H. Rider Haggard's She.

He hates her, he fears her, he wants to kill her; but all the same he needs her power. Annie Wilkes literally breathes life into him.

Misery touches on several large themes: the state of possession by an evil being, the idea that art is an act in which the artist willingly becomes captive, the tortured condition of being a writer, and the fears attendant to becoming a "brand-name" bestselling author with legions of zealous fans. And yet it's a tight, highly resonant echo chamber of a book--one of King's shortest, and best novels ever. --Fiona Webster

Amazon.com Audio Review

If Misery loves company, it's found a friend in Academy Award nominee Lindsay Crouse (The Verdict, Places in the Heart). King's ghoulish tale of psychotic "number one fan" Annie Wilkes holding her favorite author, Paul Sheldon, prisoner, unfolds in perfect pitch. Crouse switches from Sheldon to Wilkes (think Kathy Bates) to narrator with smooth, flawless transitions, making the unabridged, 12-hour reading of a writer's hell a listener's paradise. (Running time: 12 hours, eight cassettes)

Book Description

After an automobile accident, novelist Paul Sheldon meets his biggest fan. Annie Wilkes is his nurse-and captor. Now, she wants Paul to write his greatest work-just for her. She has a lot of ways to spur him on. One is a needle. Another is an ax. And if they don't work, she can get really nasty...

Customer Reviews:

Face-paced and taught.......2007-10-05

Unlike many other famous Stephen King books (like The Stand), this book is tight. Since it's from the first-person POV, King doesn't do things like spend 3 pages describing one object like he is wont to do in many of his other books.

The book speeds by remarkably fast, and I doubt many people take more than 2-3 days to read the entire thing (as opposed to say reading Tommyknockers which I know people who have taken months or more to plow through.)

This is a great book to start for new King fans too, but isn't everyone already a King fan?

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

The monster in this book is human, not supernatural. A crazed fan, obsessed with her favorite creator type, decides to keep him all to herself.

This involves imprisonment, physical and psychological abuse, shackles, weapons, and even a little bit more. Not a nice lady. A look at what can happen to famous people when they get an obsessed stalker.

There is no misery in reading Misery.......2007-08-29

This is an incredible book. One of King's best. It was nearly immposible for me to set down this book.
If you've watched the movie than you HAVE to read the book. The movie does it NO justice. Don't get me wrong the movie was good but the book was... read it. You'll understand then.

"I'm Your Number One Fan".......2007-08-22

This is one of my favorite books i've ever read. I've been a King fan since i was a kid and this is my second favorite of his (the first being The Shining). I had seen the movie prior to reading the book and i was still on edge with the book and constantly surprised. Theres so much in the book that is not in the movie. Also you really get to see the deconstruction of a human being. Paul Sheldon starts out as a normal guy and by the end of it he is reduced to his animal nature. Its a great read from start to finish and trust me you will not be disappointed. The character development is amazing and the suspense is worthy of sitting on the edge of your seat.

This Book Ain't No Cockadoody.......2007-08-14

MISERY is painful. Agonizing. Excruciating. Miserable. I liked it a lot.

Here's a study in pain. An author (Stephen King's favorite protagonist archetype) wrecks his car off the side of a secluded road and is rescued from the wreckage by his biggest fan--who just happens to be a homicidal, psychotic ex-nurse with an obsession. That obsession is the "Misery" series by Paul, our author hero.

Complications emerge when it becomes clear that the "Misery" character dies in Paul's latest and last (?) novel in that series. This does not bode well ... for now, in order to keep the psycho nurse happy, Paul--who lies in bed with shattered legs, stoned on painkillers--must somehow write this character back to life, or he will clearly die himself.

Now, if that won't ruin your weekend, you're a true optimist.

Intended as the next in the Bachman run of Stephen King books, Misery had to come out under King's true name when the pseudonym got leaked. King has theorized that this book may have catapulted Bachman to the center stage of writer's respect had it been given that chance. It probably would have. The book is that miserable--and good.

(This review has been posted by Marcus Damanda, author of the vampire book "Teeth: A Horror Fantasy.")

Average customer rating:

Enjoyable, but Overlong
An eerie ghost story with love at the heart of it all
Great achievement
Stephen King is BACK!!!
A Ghostly Love Story

Bag of Bones
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 067102423X

Amazon.com

Bag of Bones is partly inspired by Daphne du Maurier's classic Rebecca, but there's more than homage in this novel of horror and romance. Like du Maurier's Manderley, King's scary old place (on the shore of Maine's remote Dark Score Lake) is haunted by the late lady of the manor. There are many gory ghosts afoot, though: men, women, and wailing kids. The hero, a thriller novelist, stirs up hell's plenty of angry shades while investigating his wife's death. It turns out she either had a dark secret herself or was onto some dread scandal lurking in Dark Score Lake. As in King's previous book, Wizard and Glass, the fabric of reality is thin, and nosy narrators are in peril of plunging right out of this world and into a rather hostile otherworld.

Bag of Bones is a writer-haunted book, too. The spirits of Herman Melville and Ray Bradbury are deeply felt, and so are the tale's two romances (the hero muses on his marriage and falls for a young single mom with a marvelous, psychic daughter). There is also good-humored satire of the real bestseller book world--the hero complains that "the publicity process is like going to a sushi bar where you're the sushi." In its deep concerns with love, sprawling families, the writer's life, endangered children, and good old-fashioned storytelling, the book resembles a John Irving novel. It is also absolutely classic Stephen King, packed with nifty turns of phrase, irreverent wit, and lurid ghouls who grab you from beneath the bed while you cower under the covers. --Tim Appelo

Amazon.com Audio Review

No longer content to be the prolific provider of text, King grabs the audio reigns to recount this haunted tale of grief, young love, and otherworldly visits. When 40-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan returns to his lakeside cabin to process his wife's death, he finds the place a beacon for nightmares and ghoulish visits. But there's hope in Kingsville, as this struggling writer falls in love with a young widow named Mattie and her 3-year-old psychic daughter, Kyra. If you've never heard King speak, be warned: 19-plus hours of his western Maine, nasal-drenched tones may be more than some listeners can bear. But there's a certain warmth and believability to King's voice--after all, it's his book and he is a middle-aged bestselling novelist--that jive well with Noonan's character. And since King rarely reads his own work, perhaps his doing so indicates that he's especially pleased with Bag of Bones; most listeners should be as well. (Running time: 19.5 hours, 14 cassettes) --Rob McDonald

Book Description

Here is Stephen King's most gripping and unforgettable novel -- a tale of grief and lost love's enduring bonds, of haunting secrets of the past, and of an innocent child caught in a terrible crossfire.

Four years after the sudden death of his wife, forty-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan is still grieving. Unable to write, and plagued by vivid nightmares set at the western Maine summerhouse he calls Sara Laughs, Mike reluctantly returns to the lakeside getaway. There, he finds his beloved Yankee town held in the grip of a powerful millionaire, Max Devore, whose vindictive purpose is to take his three-year-old granddaughter, Kyra, away from her widowed young mother, Mattie. As Mike is drawn into Mattie and Kyra's struggle, as he falls in love with both of them, he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations and escalating terrors. What are the forces that have been unleashed here -- and what do they want of Mike Noonan?

It is no secret that King is one of our most mesmerizing storytellers. In Bag of Bones, he proves to be one of our most moving as well.

Download Description

Stephen King's most gripping and unforgettable novel, "Bag of Bones, " is a story of grief and a lost love's enduring bonds, of a new love haunted by the secrets of the past, of an innocent child caught in a terrible crossfire. Set in the Maine territory King has made mythic, "Bag of Bones" recounts the plight of 40-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan, who is unable to stop grieving even four years after the sudden death of his wife, Jo, and who can no longer bear to face the blank screen of his word processor. Now his nights are plagued by vivid nightmares of the house by the lake. Despite these dreams, or perhaps because of them, Mike finally returns to Sara Laughs, the Noonans' isolated summer home. He finds his beloved Yankee town familiar on its surface, but much changed underneath -- held in the grip of a powerful millionaire, Max Devore, who twists the very fabric of the community to his purpose: to take his three-year-old granddaughter away from her widowed young mother. As Mike is drawn into their struggle, as he falls in love with both of them, he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations, ever-escalating nightmares, and the sudden recovery of his writing ability. What are the forces that have been unleashed here -- and what do they want of Mike Noonan?

Customer Reviews:

Enjoyable, but Overlong.......2007-09-27

I love most of Stephen King's work, but I think his later novels spend too much time on irrelevant details that don't really further the plot. BAG OF BONES is a nice example of that.

It's a good story, but it's not a tightly written one. King produces hundreds of pages where the main character does nothing except mope around his house, passively watching one supernatural event after another. This gets tiresome after a while, and I wished the action in this novel started sooner. I know King takes his time in setting up his stories, and I normally don't mind that in his books. But in BAG OF BONES, I just felt there was too much set up and not very much payoff in the end.

Also, the only character in BAG OF BONES that seemed real to me was the narrator. All the other characters seemed a bit on the silly side, such as the incredibly adorable 3-year old daughter and the incredibly villainous computer magnate. Given the large size of this book, I was hoping the characterization would be more complex than it turned out to be.

Overall, this is a good novel, but it lacks the compelling nature of King's best work, such as THE DEAD ZONE, MISERY, SALEMS LOT, and THE STAND. If you're new to King, my advice is to go with those earlier novels first, before moving on to this slower-paced effort.

An eerie ghost story with love at the heart of it all.......2007-09-03

This book was a definite page turner. A ghost story entwined with a love story and a mystery to be solved. This book really hooked me, and parts of it where so eerie it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I have a whole new respect for Stephen King.

The story is about an author Mike Noonan who has suffered from writers block for four years after the tragic death of his wife. He moves to their summer house which turns out to be haunted by several spirits while he tries to get to the bottom of a secret his wife was keeping from him before she died, a secret that the whole town seems to know about but has been hiding for generations.

Great achievement.......2007-08-26

Stephen King's place as a successful mass-market thriller writer is, shall we say, pretty secure, but his skill at varied and deeper storytelling has often been unfairly denigrated. Sure, he's had his clunkers - out of 50 books that should surprise nobody - but Bag of Bones is a story any of the more highly acclaimed novelists currently writing would be proud to call their own.

Bag of Bones is a ghost story, yes, but it is much more than that. It is first of all a love story, a story about family and family history and connections, somewhat of an homage to various writers in the past, an amusing look into the career and thought processes of mass-market writers like King himself, and often just very funny. King writes some of his very best stuff here - inventive turns of phrase, great similes, subtle jibes, not-so-subtle jibes, self-effacing and self-referential humor, the works, all with a built-in soundtrack.

And yes, parts of the book can still thrill. This is by no means his 'scariest' book - not by a long shot - but the tension builds steadily and the story develops seemingly effortlessly. King is simply a master of prose English and reading his fluid, natural paragraphs, one after another until one realizes one has just popped off another 700 page book, makes one realize just how mediocre so much recent fiction by other authors really is.

I very much enjoyed reading Bag of Bones.

Stephen King is BACK!!!.......2007-08-22

I was quite pleased with this book. All of Stephen King's gripping narrative and spine-tingling spooks were out in force. The characters were fantastic and very believable (matter of fact, I think he used my grandma for one... hehe) and he's just got such a unique descriptive style!

It followed the perfect King formula. Find some schmoe, give him a few hard knocks and see what rattles loose. Add a few spooks and/or monsters, and see what our hero makes of them. Of course, he has to make himself a few stalwart friends along the way to help him at crunch time, but mainly, he'll just bumble along making enemies until the pieces fall into place.

Mike's grief when his wife Jo dies is so palpable, you begin to feel sorry for King on the loss of his own wife (until you realize that Tabitha King is very much alive). Bag of Bones was most definitely a page-turner, and I could barely stand to put it down when I'd arrived at work in the morning!

Sara Laughs was one hell of a lady, and she won't disappoint here either. Stephen King is definitely back on top with this effort!

A Ghostly Love Story.......2007-06-27

Great character, great story, great read. Additional proof that King is a literary genius.

Average customer rating:

Not what I was expecting
I am the King
Great Story
One of his best novels
Me Likey

The Eyes of the Dragon
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0451166582
Release Date: 2001-04-10

Amazon.com

A kingdom is in turmoil as the old king dies and his successor must do battle for the throne. Pitted against an evil wizard and a would-be rival, Prince Peter makes a daring escape and rallies the forces of Good to fight for what is rightfully his. This is a masterpiece of classic dragons-and-magic fantasy that only Stephen King could have written!

Book Description

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER-THE PRELUDE TO THE CLASSIC DARK TOWER SERIES.

A tale of archetypal heroes and sweeping adventures, of dragons and princes and evil wizards, here is epic fantasy as only Stephen King could envision it.

Customer Reviews:

Not what I was expecting.......2007-09-03

This book was not at all what I was expecting from Stephen King. It is written like a fairy tale story. It took me a while to get into it, but once I got used to the writing style it was not bad. The characters where well written, and the story moves at a good pace. I found I did not get hooked on the story completely until about half way through, and then I could not put it down.
It helped me to put things in perspective when a friend told me that Stephen King wrote this book for his kid. A fairy tale of Princes, and dragons, and dark wizards, death and friendship. A story written by King that his child could actually be allowed to read :0)

I am the King.......2007-08-28

once again an amazing book from mr. stephen king. not at all like his other books but still very very good. Also unlike his other books there are no major plot twists or anything like that. Majority of the story is revealed to you in the first 100 pages. But it still keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting to see whats gonna happen next. Overall a great read.

Great Story.......2007-07-01

I'm not a huge fan of fantasy books but I couldn't put this one down. It's only the second fantasy book I've ever read (and loved). The first being, 'The Hobbit'.

One of his best novels.......2007-06-14

I read this as a teenager some time ago and had fond memories of it being one of my favorite books of all time. I recently decided to read it again prior to re-reading the first three Gunslinger novels. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. I strongly recommend this book to Dark Tower fans.

Me Likey.......2007-06-04

Not being a huge King fan--don't get me wrong, I don't dislike him, I just don't care for horror novels, I'm a sissy--I love this book. It's a departure from the aforementioned genre and the content delves into a more fantastic realm. I heard it was intended for his daughter at the time. I love all the details and descriptions--this is a great book for children/preteens, though I still love it (and I'm quite a bit older than a preteen...)Give it a read, it's a nice change from killer dogs and creepy sewer clowns.

Average customer rating:

Horrible Book
This one still haunts me........thanks a lot, Mr. King
An incredible post-apocalyptic journey
Great condition and great service
This could really happen...

The Stand
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0385199570
Release Date: 1990-05-01

Amazon.com

In 1978, science fiction writer Spider Robinson wrote a scathing review of The Stand in which he exhorted his readers to grab strangers in bookstores and beg them not to buy it.

The Stand is like that. You either love it or hate it, but you can't ignore it. Stephen King's most popular book, according to polls of his fans, is an end-of-the-world scenario: a rapidly mutating flu virus is accidentally released from a U.S. military facility and wipes out 99 and 44/100 percent of the world's population, thus setting the stage for an apocalyptic confrontation between Good and Evil.

"I love to burn things up," King says. "It's the werewolf in me, I guess.... The Stand was particularly fulfilling, because there I got a chance to scrub the whole human race, and man, it was fun! ... Much of the compulsive, driven feeling I had while I worked on The Stand came from the vicarious thrill of imagining an entire entrenched social order destroyed in one stroke."

There is much to admire in The Stand: the vivid thumbnail sketches with which King populates a whole landscape with dozens of believable characters; the deep sense of nostalgia for things left behind; the way it subverts our sense of reality by showing us a world we find familiar, then flipping it over to reveal the darkness underneath. Anyone who wants to know, or claims to know, the heart of the American experience needs to read this book. --Fiona Webster

Book Description

This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death.

And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides -- or are chosen. A world in which good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abigail -- and the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the dark man.

In 1978 Stephen King published The Stand, the novel that is now considered to be one of his finest works. But as it was first published, The Stand was incomplete, since more than 150,000 words had been cut from the original manuscript.

Now Stephen King's apocalyptic vision of a world blasted by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil has been restored to its entirety. The Stand : The Complete And Uncut Edition includes more than five hundred pages of material previously deleted, along with new material that King added as he reworked the manuscript for a new generation. It gives us new characters and endows familiar ones with new depths. It has a new beginning and a new ending. What emerges is a gripping work with the scope and moral comlexity of a true epic.

For hundreds of thousands of fans who read The Stand in its original version and wanted more, this new edition is Stephen King's gift. And those who are reading The Stand for the first time will discover a triumphant and eerily plausible work of the imagination that takes on the issues that will determine our survival.

Customer Reviews:

Horrible Book.......2007-09-29