Book Description
The very name of Judas raises among Christians an instinctive reaction of criticism and condemnationThe betrayal of Judas remainsa mystery. Pope Benedict XVI, October 2006 The Gospel According to Judas, by Benjamin Iscariot sheds new light on the the mystery of Judasincluding his motives for the betrayal and what happened to him after the crucifixionby retelling the story of Jesus through the eyes of Judas, using the canonical texts as its basic point of reference. Ostensibly written by Judass son, Benjamin, and following the narrative style of the Gospels, this re-creation is provocative, compelling, and controversial. The Gospel According to Judas, by Benjamin Iscariot is the result of an intense collaboration between a storyteller and a scholar: Jeffrey Archer and Francis J. Moloney. Their brilliant workbold and simpleis a compelling story for twenty-first-century readers, while maintaining an authenticity that would be credible to a first-century Christian or Jew.
Customer Reviews:
nice effort, unfortunately dull.......2007-09-25
I was waiting for something interesting to happen, some insight... I didn't really come across anything new.
Overall, a bit disappointing, luckily not a big book.
For much more illuminating Biblical historical fiction, I highly recommend the Kingdom & the Crown Series by Gerald Lund (3 books) and the Women of Genesis books by Orson Scott Card.
It actually has nothing to do with 'mysteries' of Judas.......2007-07-06
Oh come on people:
"The unlikely partnership of Jeffrey Archer and Francis J. Moloney was formed after Archer had sought advice from Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini on who should guide him through this demanding project. Among his many past students of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Cardinal Martini singled
out Professor Moloney, a graduate of that institute in 1972, who had completed his doctoral studies at Oxford University in 1975.
The project was as bold as it was simple: Archer would write a story for twenty-first-century readers, while Moloney would ensure that the result would be credible to a first-century Christian or Jew."
And that's EXACTLY the case. An interesting read.
Judas the Ensnared.......2007-06-28
I've been reading Archer since Kane and Abel and when I saw that he was writing a fictionalized account of the life of Judas as told by his son, I thought, wow, this could really be a great read and a little controversial. Neither came true. Basically, it's formatted like the gospels (nothing wrong with that), but just not an exciting read this time around. I was actually kind of bored reading it and the only reason I kept going was because it came in at around ninety pages so I persevered with it. The last chapter or two is when the basis of the story comes out and nothing earth shattering here. Judas was the victim of the religious zealots at the time to get rid of Christ. Maybe, maybe not. Does it change my point of view or my beliefs, probably not. Just something more to ponder about; the Bible, its writers (Did they embellish the truth from generation to generation before writing it down, whether on purpose or by accident. Kind of difficult to keep the same exact story going for tens or even hundreds of years orally without some of it being changed on the next telling), and the facts that surround it that science today continues to try to prove happened. I expected Archer to put this into more story form like all his other works and I think then he could have gone into more depth with this alternate theory and really provoked the reader's imagination. But he chose not to, giving us instead this lackluster rendition of what could have been a great story about Judas Iscariot.
The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot.......2007-06-21
The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot
Where Do I begin. Lets start with the title, The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot by Jeffrey Archer, come on!! It should be the fictional story of The Gospel According to Judas by Jeffrey Archer as Benjamin Iscariot.
A Relevant Story:
A friend of mine recently told me of a Pastor who liked to make hot fudge, apparently he used all organic ingredients. One day the Pastor's daughter wanted to see PG parental guidance rated movie, that only had 5%, swearing/drug use or sex scenes. After much insistence the daughter when to see the movie, the next day the Pastor decided to make some hot chocolate fudge the aroma filled the house the Pastor stated that he'd used 5% of a special organic source and kept the matter a secret until all the fudge had been consumed. Then he asked did you notice any difference in the quality/flavour? No.. they replied, well the 5% special ingredient was organic it wont do any REAL harm, it was only dog p##h. lol
If you take a solid truth as the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus and you contaminant 5% to 10% of it with a special 'organic substance' what do you have in the end - dog p##h. I felt the tone and reason for the book was a Jewish backlash hardliner trying to have some justification why Jesus wasn't who he said he was the Son of God. The book was written from the sour grapes attitude, "[Jesus wasn't] ...the long-awaited Messiah."p1, on the betrayal of Christ, Archer says, "...Judas knew that he was innocent of such an accusation, as his only purpose was to save Jesus from an unnecessary death." After Jesus' Death, the sorrowful Judas goes a lives amongst the Essenes then a Masada as a "marked man". And the book concludes with "Judas died as Jesus did. He was crucified by the Romans." It's all a bit desperate!
The whole story Gospel of Judas is unbalanced what about Isaiah 53 The Sin-bearing, Suffering Servant? The Gospel of Judas omits the 30 pieces of silver, and suicide of Judas. The Gospel of Judas is nothing more that fragments of quotation out of context in Holy Bible blended together (very poorly) it just doesn't stick!
Let us set aside a few things, just say by chance that this gospel of Judas was right, and the whole of the New Testament wrong. Ok we've been deceived by the BIGGEST hoaxes since man made fire. We could be waiting for the Messiah to still come as the Gospel of Judas indicated, unhappily Israel still waits, they missed the boat. Not one Holy Prophet has been around for over two thousand years.
Israel is one of the most violent, sad and godless places on earth. There is no peace, the temple has gone, the glory has gone, as a nation they forsook the Lord time and time again and were taken off to captivity. Jesus said in Matt 23:37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city the kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See your house is left to you, desolate..."
Now let's just say that the Gospel of Judas is false piece of fiction. Look at the people in New Testament who believe and were change by it and gave their lives for it (Peter & Paul), they did not write empty words by words of someone who knew and walked and talked with Jesus. The story of people in Bible give us hope, in a world where we are saturated with Hollywood, sexism, drugs and alcohol, domestic violence (rape/guns) the list keeps on going on. I want freedom from all that this world offers because it like hot sweet chocolate fudge one isn't enough and one piece is too much.
In closing a quote from James 3:13, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.
What was Archer really trying to achieve by the release of this book?
Lacks Impact.......2007-05-28
In spite of the clever packaging---this small 100+ page novel appears to be an ancient leather-bound journal complete with built in ribbon bookmark--- Jeffrey Archer's "The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot" fails to deliver the punch needed to smack it into the significance realm of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
I expected some grand revelation---perhaps Judas and Jesus had concocted the whole betrayal bit; Judas gladly takes the hit and for two millennia is thought to be the ultimate 30 pieces of silver traitor. As I read this little gospel formatted tome, I am thinking, Judas's legendary despicable actions were all part of his Master's ultimate plan, right?
Wrong.
Supposedly, in "The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot" Archer and Moloney collaborate to formulate a tale believable to both Biblical scholars and modern laymen readers. The format definitely bespeaks of their desire to create something that resembles a gospel rendering complete with chapter and verse and the Jesus quotations (most of which are familiar from evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) highlighted in a red italicized font. Nevertheless, the story itself disappoints as it is far too similar to the actual gospels from which it is based to excite any degree of controversy. The supposed mystery of the real Judas simply neglects to properly mystify.
Bottom line? Years ago, I had read Frank Yerby's novel, "Judas, My Brother." Believe me as scandalous as the plotline of this older book seemed to me then, it could far more captivate its audience now than this Archer-Moloney collaboration. Sadly, "The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot" attempts to retell the story of Christ's ministry utilizing a fifth evangelist format that simply doesn't work. Why read this when the original four authors of the New Testament gospels have already told the tale and have told it the best way possible? Not recommended.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"
Book Description
ABRAM's DAUGHTERS introduces readers to an Old Order family, a close-knit community and a devout people whose way of life and faith in God is as timeless as their signature horse and buggy. Set against the backdrop of post-World War II, this compelling saga spans three generations of a Lancaster County Amish family. Abram Ebersol and his devoted wife are raising four courting-age daughters on a firm foundation of Plain tradition, and they expect their girls to carry on that heritage by joining the church and making a covenant with God. But the ''running-around'' years known as rumschpringe are often a time of sowing wild oats. Each of Abram's daughters, choosing her own path, must come to terms with the Old Ways of thinking and living. And sometimes that path has detours and forks in the road with unknown destinations...
Customer Reviews:
couldn't get enough of these characters.......2007-09-04
I hate fiction but picked this book (the covenant) up because I am interested in the Amish and enjoy visiting Lancaster, PA which is only 1 hour away from where I live. Well, I was totally hooked...bought all 5 in the series...passed them on to all my family and friends that like to read...each and everyone of us LOVED these books and are finding it hard to find anything that compares in holding our interest as much.
Do yourself a favor and buy all 5!! Beware: you will stay up late reading these!!
The Covenant/The Betrayal/The Sacrifice/The Prodigal/The Revelation (Abram's Daughters 1-5).......2007-08-26
I really enjoyed these books. I bought them during my school vacation. I read one a day until I was finished. I really hated to finish reading these books. They were so good I hated to see them end.
Abram's Daughter.......2007-08-25
I got so drawn into these characters and couldn't put down these books because I needed to find out if Leah would get her happy ending and live happily ever after. This is a very well written series that you need to finish once you start it. I breezed through these 5 books in 2 weeks. A friend started reading book 1 when I was into book 3 and feels the same way and lucky me! I get to relive the series each day when she comes into work and tells me what she read the previous evening.
If you read only one of Ms. Lewis' series, this is the series to pick. It's some story full of scandal, heartbreak and lots of love. Excellent!
Amish Ways.......2007-08-19
I tried to read a few of these books, but being from a family of formerly Amish folks, it just doesn't quite ring true. It's obvious to me at least, that Beverly does not have first hand experience in capturing the Amish ways.
Abram's Daughters.......2007-07-31
I have not been able to stop reading from book to book anxious to find out what happens in the next step of Leah's life.
Book Description
Jenn Corbin, a lovely, slim, brown-eyed blonde, appeared to have it all: two dear little boys, a posh home in one of the upscale suburbs of Atlanta, expensive cars, a plush houseboat, and a husband -- Dr. Bart Corbin, a successful dentist -- who was tall, handsome, and brilliant.
But gradually their seemingly idyllic life together began to crumble. There was talk of seeing a marriage counselor. Bart was distraught; Jenn seemed disenchanted. She needed to reach out to someone she could confide in -- beyond her mother and her sisters. Then, just a few weeks before Christmas 2004, Jenn was found dead with a bullet in her head, a revolver beside her. From the position of the body her death appeared to be a suicide. But Gwinnett County detective Marcus Head was not totally convinced, nor was Jenn's family, who could not believe she would take her own life.
And how was this death related to another apparent suicide fourteen years earlier -- that of Dorothy "Dolly" Hearn, a spectacularly beautiful dental student? A star athlete and homecoming queen in high school, Dolly later dated Bart Corbin in dental school. Was there a connection, or was the answer to be found in a secret -- even dangerous -- relationship Jenn Corbin was having outside her marriage? For Too Late to Say Goodbye, Ann Rule has interviewed virtually everyone in any way related to the story -- the victims' families, police investigators, prosecutors, and sources from Georgia to Australia -- to uncover the truth behind the headlines of these two sensational deaths. What emerges is an incredible tale of jealous rage; of stunning circumstantial and physical evidence that runs from the steamy to the macabre to almost-unheard-of forensic techniques; and of a tragic irony -- a fateful discovery that motivated the killing. The definitive unraveling of one of the strangest murder investigations of our time, Too Late to Say Goodbye is perhaps the finest achievement of a truly great writer's career.
Customer Reviews:
Too Late to Say Goodbye.......2007-10-01
Ann Rule has authored over 28 books and has been called the Queen of True Crime stories. I've read several of her books, and, while this is not her best, it is very well-written and tells an interesting story. Bart Corbin, a dentist, was charged with murdering two women fourteen years apart. One was his girlfriend and the other his wife, and both women were attempting to extricate themselves from their relationships with him. He was extremely possessive and had a bad temper, though he claimed that both women had committed suicide and had staged the death scenes to appear that way. He probably would have gotten away with the first murder if he hadn't committed the second. Anyone who likes true crime stories will like this book.
Best Author-Best Books.......2007-09-17
I have read every Ann Rule Book there is. She never dissapoints you. She writes a true and real sense of what happen without being gory or disrespectful to the victims. This book was I think one of her best books and I feel deeply for the familys of the victim. You will come away feeling as if you know the family.
Riveting and compelling.......2007-09-17
Ann Rule is simply the best true-crime writer around, not only because of her writing style but also because of her meticulous research into the lives of the psychopaths and narcissists who commit the crimes and their victims. She makes us understand not only how and why the crimes occurred but also why the victims became involved with the murderers and why they stayed for them until it was too late (very few of her books deal with stranger-to-stranger murders; most involve intimate partners).
Here, the young wife of an Atlanta-area dentist is found shot dead in her bed, an apparent suicide...until it's discovered that one of the dentist's girlfriends had also died in almost exactly the same way. That death had been ruled a suicide - but the unbelievable coincidence ( a man loses two of the women in his life to self-inflicted gunshot wounds?) led to the first case being reopened.
A compelling page-turner.
Not as good as some of her books.......2007-09-17
I have read almost all of Ann Rule's books and I am a huge fan. I have to say I was disappointed in this one tho. I was very surprised to see many grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors and discrepancies in dates and places. I wonder if she didn't have a proof reader??? Still, I did enjoy it, but wish I had waited for the paperback.
WOW!!.......2007-09-13
WOW!! this author really does her homework! the details she is able to dig up are amazing! i loved how she organized the story itself. i also loved how she drew me in and kept me interested until the very end. i couldn't wait to get home every night to read more!! i have only read a couple of her books, but now i plan to read every one i can get my hands on!! CAUTION: don't look at the photos in the middle of the book until you finish the story. don't get me wrong...i am GLAD she puts them in, but i have found that gives some of the story away for me that i don't want to know until the end!! this time i waited and from now on i will wait until i'm done reading it to look at the photos. its just my personal preference. i truly respect how she does her writings. even though she has been a cop herself, she always waits until the information is no longer top secret police information before she writes or talks about anything. she doesn't use her past to try and outdo any author or the media by using priviledged information. she never divulges police confidentiality to any civilian populations before it is public knowledge. She doesn't need to...her writing is THE best in true crime authoring...HANDS DOWN!! That tells alot about her personality!
Book Description
This is the era of Luke Skywalker’s legacy: the Jedi Master has unified the order into a cohesive group of powerful Jedi Knights. But as the new era begins, planetary interests threaten to disrupt this time of relative peace, and Luke is plagued with visions of an approaching darkness. Evil is rising again–out of the best intentions–and it looks as if the legacy of the Skywalkers may come full circle. Honor and duty will collide with friendship and blood ties as the Skywalker and Solo clans find themselves on opposing sides of an explosive conflict with potentially devastating repercussions for both families, for the Jedi order, and for the entire galaxy.
When a mission to uncover an illegal missile factory on the planet Adumar ends in a violent ambush–from which Jedi Knight Jacen Solo and his protégé and cousin, Ben Skywalker, narrowly escape with their lives–it’s the most alarming evidence yet that sparks of political unrest are threatening to ignite into total rebellion. The governments of numerous worlds are chafing under the strict regulations of the Galactic Alliance, and diplomatic efforts to enforce compliance are failing. Fearing the worst, the Alliance readies a preemptive display of military might in a bid to bring the rogue worlds in line before an uprising erupts. The designated target of this exercise: planet Corellia–renowned for the brash independence and renegade spirit that have made its favorite son, Han Solo, a legend.
Something of a rogue himself, Jacen is nevertheless duty bound as a Jedi to stand with his uncle, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, on the side of the Galactic Alliance. But when the wary Corellians launch a counterstrike, the Alliance’s show of force–and a secret mission to disable Corellia’s crucial Centerpoint Station–give way to an armed skirmish. Once the smoke clears, the battle lines are drawn. Now the specter of full-scale war looms between a growing cadre of defiant planets and the Galactic Alliance that some fear is becoming a new Empire. And even as both sides struggle to find a diplomatic solution, mysterious acts of treachery and sabotage threaten peace efforts at every turn.
Determined to root out those behind the mayhem, Jacen follows a trail of cryptic clues to a dark rendezvous with the most shocking of revelations . . . while Luke grapples with something even more troubling: dream visions of a shadowy figure whose Force power and ruthlessness remind him of Darth Vader–a lethal enemy who strikes like a dark spirit on a mission of doom. An agent of evil who, if Luke’s visions come to pass, will bring untold pain to the Jedi Master . . . and to the entire galaxy.
Customer Reviews:
It was better then I thought.......2007-09-12
So I did something I swore I never would do I brought another Star Wars book. It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It is in fact a lot more interesting then the vast majority of what passes for Timothy Zhan these days.
So basically the plot is as follows Corellia is on the verge of rebellion due in large part to one of my favorite bit characters Thraken Sal-Solo it is up to the Solos and the Skywalker's to make things right. Only this time a rift will develop between the two.
After a rough first third of the book a strong story develops with cameo appearances from Admiral Pellion, Wedge Zeek and a few others. The real standouts are Jacen Solo and how he starts to develop as a character and Ben Skywalker who is an interesting mix of the character triats of Anakin and Jacen at that age. There are even some interesting revelations that there were a few siths who were really not all that bad. This in turn begs the question; is this really truth or misinformation to set a particular character on a dark path?
Overall-An interesting beginning I hope the quality remains consistent.
Great Read.......2007-09-04
I have neverread any of the Star Wars series before and this is great. I can't wait until the next book cones out. Star Wars fan or not there is drama and intrique in this series I would recommend to anyone who loves to read.
A Betrayal of the Force.......2007-08-20
I enjoyed the writing style in this book. The imagery and descriptions are wonderful, and I did not have the least bit of trouble understanding the action sequences (Though this may be due to the fact that I have read almost every Star Wars book in existence). Within the enclosed world of this book, and possibly the rest of the series, the actions of the characters make perfect sense, and Aaron Allston has done a tremendous job of keeping the characters true to themselves. The flaw in this book is that it is not an enclosed world. The author owes it to previous authors to read their works and write with the intention of staying true to the previously developed stories. The simplifications introduced to our understanding of the Force are the most disappointing facet of the book. For most of the book, the author seems to be enriching our understanding of the Force. When it really counts, though, his understanding of the Force seems to be one of childlike simplicity, a distinct division between dark and light. I was very disheartened. The book is good as a stand-alone novel, but I felt that it flopped as part of the overall saga.
Polished Beginning to a Promising Series.......2007-07-29
I loved this book. I thought the quality of the prose was outstanding, especially compared to other SW books I have read (I am currently reading Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy Trilogy, and it doesn't even come close). I read SW almost exclusively for the Force and the Jedi, and that's the main focus here. The exploration of Jacen's character and motivations is excellent. I especially like the way Allston makes Jacen's fall seem believable. He truly wants to help the galaxy, and Lumiya's temptations are incredibly strong; I even felt myself leaning to the Sith side while reading it! Since Jacen probably knows more than anyone about the Force after his 5-year exploration of various Force traditions, it is completely understandable why he would come to view Luke's light-side purity as simplistic and limiting. The final confrontation between Nelani, Jacen, and Lumiya is without question the best part of the book, as it has a lot to say about competing philosophies of the Force (it's also a good indication of where the series is headed). There's also some truly witty dialogue throughout the book, including one hilarious exchange between Luke and Han regarding "the man who doesn't exist."
Overall, highly recommended.
Good launching of the series.......2007-07-28
Is not easy to think of another great epic series from Star Wars after the huge Yuuzhan Vong war. I always though that nothing worst than that war could happen to our heroes. Still, a new series began and I jumped to read it and even though is a bit tiring to read so many new battles again ( I don't know why the galactic battles are hard to imagine and make me tired) I enjoyed this book and I am hooked to now book 2.
I recommend to read this one if you are a Star Wars fan!!!
Average customer rating:
- Betrayal in Death on new type of disc
- Summer beach reading
- Betrayal In Death
- A great installment
- Betrayal in Death (In Death)
|
Betrayal in Death (In Death)
J.D. Robb , and
Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Berkley
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ASIN: 0425178579
Release Date: 2001-03-06 |
Amazon.com
J.D. Robb fans are fanatical about New York City supercop Eve Dallas and her mysterious billionaire husband Roarke. Robb's futuristic (circa 2059) ...In Death series wages a two-front narrative war (the battle of good and evil and the battle of the sexes) and both author and readers come out winners.
When Darlene French, a maid at the Roarke Palace Hotel, is brutally beaten, raped, and strangled with a silver wire, Eve is at a loss to explain the apparently professional nature of the murder. Who would hire a hit man to kill such an ordinary woman? As she and her team of detectives (with a little grudgingly accepted help from Roarke, whose money, name, and talents can dig up a wealth of information) investigate the evidence, they find themselves in pursuit of Sylvester Yost, a vicious hired gun who's made millions in his bloody pursuit of career excellence. But it isn't until more victims appear that Eve realizes Yost's real target is Roarke himself. To discover the driving force behind the murderous campaign, Eve and Roarke will have to delve into their own pasts, which holds secrets and terrors for them both.
Robb is the nom de plume of romance writer Nora Roberts, and this series certainly delivers the same sexually charged tension and improbably gorgeous characters as Roberts's extremely popular romances. But even those readers, who generally try to steer clear of heaving bosoms and ripped bodices, will have little to fear and much to appreciate in Betrayal in Death. Eve and Roarke are impressive physical specimens, but they're also witty, gritty, and often antagonistic, irritably staking out their territories and reluctantly collaborating in the crimes that come their way (think Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd in Moonlighting, or Nick and Nora Charles on steroids and in a mood). Add in Robb's surprisingly light touch with humor, and the 13th installment in the series is a lucky find indeed. --Kelly Flynn
Book Description
New York Lieutenant Eve Dallas is up against a hit-man for the elite, whose next target may be her own husband, Roarke.
Download Description
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts, writing as J.D. Robb, comes a new novel in the futuristic series…Detective Eve Dallas investigates a homicide on familiar grounds: her husband’s hotelâ€"and finds herself up against a murderer with a passion for the finer things in lifeâ€"and death… At the luxurious Roarke Palace Hotel, a maid walks into suite 4602 for the nightly turndownâ€" and steps into her worst nightmare. A killer leaves her dead, strangled by a thin silver wire. He’s Sly Yost, a virtuoso of music and murder. A hit man for the elite. Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows him well. But in this twisted case, knowing the killer doesn’t help solve the crime. Because there’s someone else involved. Someone with a more personal motive. And Eve must face a terrifying possibilityâ€"that the real target may, in fact, be her husband Roarke… "
Customer Reviews:
Betrayal in Death on new type of disc.......2007-10-02
I dearly love the In Death series by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) and hearing them performed by Susan Erikson makes them even better as she has developed such distinctive voices for the characters. When she first began performing these books she hadn't developed most of the voices, especially Peabody's. This CD is a totally redone performance of the book with all the familiar accents and tones. In the original you can't tell Peabody's voice from Eve's. Now you can! I loved it.
Also, normally an unabridged CD version of a book comes on a bunch of discs and costs a bundle. This is a new format, though. The complete book comes on just one disc and, with shipping, cost me only about $20. Hardback books cost more than that and you don't get to hear Roarke's sexy Irish voice in your ear or Peabody's saucy comebacks.
You do have to have a stereo that will play the MP3CD format, so that can be a problem for some but I suspect all new players will do it. It will play in the computer so there's always that method of listening to it. I haven't tried copying it to my MP3 player but I imagine one can do that as well.
My only complaint about the format is that I can't seem to rewind or fast forward in small amounts like I can with a regular CD. I can jump by chapters, but that's the smallest increment I can make it do. However, for the price and convenience of having it all on just one disc, I'm willing to accept the limitations. Hopefully they will fix them soon.
Summer beach reading.......2007-07-19
Nora Roberts Rocks! Lt. Eve Dallas makes the best protagonist and it's like a ongoing series so there is always a new story!
Betrayal In Death.......2007-07-05
Great book! J.D. Robb did a terrific job on this book. It really holds your interest. If you her previous In Death books, this one will not disappoint you.
A great installment.......2007-04-05
The 12th installment of the IN DEATH series delivers!
Eve Dallas tackles her greatest challenge to date when it is discovered that the murderer she's chasing has targeted none other than her husband, Roarke. She must balance heart and head, managing to keep both in check, if this murderous rampage is to be stopped before her husband falls victim.
The suspense is perfectly-written. It feels very natural. It feels very real and lifelike. Occasionally, writers grow stale and their stories lose something. In this installment, Nora Roberts (writing as J.D. Robb) has not lost a step! I loved this book.
Betrayal in Death (In Death).......2007-03-26
A great book that follows along the lines of the other "In Death" series written.
Book Description
Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine.
Though these women have been known to complain more than contribute, they now must either survive on their own or die trying. In simple but vivid detail, Velma Wallis depicts a landscape and way of life that are at once merciless and starkly beautiful. In her old women, she has created two heroines of steely determination whose story of betrayal, friendship, community and forgiveness "speaks straight to the heart with clarity, sweetness and wisdom" (Ursula K. Le Guin).
Customer Reviews:
Don't Underestimate an Older Person.......2007-06-24
In this well-told tale of two tribewomen who are in their old age we see what determination can do. Having earned the respect of their tribe these two women have been content to let others do for them over the years. But their age hinders the tribespeople's movements and they are facing a brutal winter. The chief makes the decision to turn these two out into the harshness of the bleak Alaskan Yukon to live or die.
Together these two women forge a bond of friendship and recall the skills of their younger days, conquering the pain of unused muscles and fear of the unknown to survive even the harshest of conditions. The story comes full circle when they again meet up with their tribe and the chief who once turned them out now finds he and his people have need of their wisdom.
A wonderful book for just about everyone. Full of hope and determination.
A classic story takes a new form.......2007-05-27
A very classic story takes a new form here- two old women are the victims of betrayal from their tribe when it's too cold to continue to support them. The two women must venture out of their own and make a life for themselves. The book comes full circle when the old women themselves are in the position to save the tribe themselves.
The story of the courage to overcome the odds, and the stregth and struggle of the two women is a wonderful tale. Classic in that you learn you should not over estimate anyone, and you never know who in life you'll need. It's a touching tale, and well-told. It's a quick read.
Got a mom? Send this book to her!.......2007-05-26
This book is the best. I read the reviews and thought it would make a nice gift for my 76 year old mom for Mom's Day. Well, when I got in the mail I decided to take a peak. There was no putting it down. It's the most beautiful story of courage, friendship, determination and reflection. The story is very well written. The author brings you into the journey of these two women. Not just a geographical journey but a journey of reflection. I'm telling you, you'll love it. I sent it to my mom but I really want another copy just to keep under my pillow. Corny - read it.
Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival.......2007-05-20
I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone. Young readers would enjoy it too. It's about two old women and survival in an area that seems to have very little to survive with. They were very innovative. As happens so often they were able to help their families in the end even though the young thought the elders had lost their usefulness.
Simple really is profound.......2007-02-14
As a teacher, I appreciate a book that can be read by any student at any age level. The life lessons taught in this tribal legend are timeless. The story unfolds begging the question of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few or the one(Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn).
The chief of the tribe must make choices - difficult ones at that. The conditions are harsh, the two old women have been using their age as a tool to get the younger tribe members to serve their whims - they even fake some physical maladies to play upon the Peoples' compassion. This, it turns out, backfires on them. The chief makes the decision to banish them from the tribe to serve the needs of the trible. He is concerned that the women will bring the tribe down.
There are times when people in charge have to make decisions that are unpleasant - this is a reality.
The women are left to fend for themselves and the tribe moves on. The issues of family, societal expectations, and betrayal loom heavily in the reader's mind.
It brings about the discussion of modern society's obsession with youth and our disdain for those who are aged. Our nation's homes for the elderly are brimming - this book speaks to that issue. Getting old does not mean useless!
The women call upon lessons learned in youth to survive. They also discover that they need each other in more ways than one.
While the book is an easy read-don't let that mislead you into thinking it is not sophisticated fare. The life-lessons taught are important for everyone to learn and take to heart. I am astounded by this book! It gets my highest recommendation. Buy it-read it-learn from it.
Amazon.com
In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try.
The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.")
Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon. --Gisele Toueg
Book Description
An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the atrocities of the present.
The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption, and it is also about the power of fathers over sons-their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvases of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject-the devastating history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut.
Download Description
"Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable, beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan nonetheless grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan , the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara, member of a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When the Soviets invade and Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him. The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship, betrayal, and the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of their lies. Written against a history that has not been told in fiction before, The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed. But with the devastation, Khaled Hosseini also gives us hope: through the novel's faith in the power of reading and storytelling, and in the possibilities he shows for redemption."
Customer Reviews:
Kite Runner.......2007-10-11
Wow! So many opinions.....coming from a horrific back ground myself, I totally immersed myself in the book. It was more about the rape, but the deceit, the loyalty, the culture, friendship and family. We all have pain somewhere in our lives, needless, to say in a country such as the author's, there seems to be such emotional, physical and mental pain. Thank you so much for sharing this incredible journey. I did not assume what would happen next as I don't do that with real life either. I can't wait until the movie!!!
Review of The Kite Runner.......2007-10-10
The plot line of this novel is AMAZING however the author chooses at times to bludgeon us with language at the moments when he should pull back and let the horror of what he's describing speak for itself. Especially at the conclusion whichis the coincidence of all coincidences - I almost ended the book early as the writing fell apart and was so melodramatic. Howver the descriptions of daily life are vivid and sensitive and I recommend the book for this alone.
good book.......2007-10-09
i had to read this book back when i was in high school and i was really surprised to find this book to be good. I personally really like this book and finished reading it in no time. I don't know what it is, but this is one book you will always get mixed reviews. It all depends on what kind of books you like,There were some parts of the story that were overrated or unnecessary.
Plot device after plot device after plot device.. .......2007-10-08
The Kite Runner isn't "brilliant" nor it is a "work of genius" Rather, quite simply, The Kite Runner is good story about a boy named Amir and his "friend" Hassan. Oh, and Amir's father, Baba, too. Oh, and Afghanistan.
After hearing rave reviews about this book for years, I decided to pick up a copy to read while between classes. What I found was nothing more than a story that perhaps would have been better if it were told around a campfire or when your Afghani uncle comes over for a visit. The writing style I could let slide - hey we're all not Hemingway. What I could not let slide, however, were the ridiculous plot devices that the author employed (and the 5-star reviewers call "brilliant") to "move" the story along..
Soon after I began reading, it became painfully obvious to me that the author is well aware, I mean WELL AWARE of the plot device known as "Chekhov's Shotgun" (which basically states that if there is a shotgun hanging on the wall in one scene, it had better be used in a later scene).. It is an amateur move and the more I read, the more and more frustrated I became by this and the other unbelievable predictable "twists" that kept popping up. Eventually, I had to put the book down and walk away for a while because I knew what was going to happen - we all knew what was going to happen.
All in all, plot twist, prediit is a good story. But I don't believe it to be worthy of the critical acclaim that it received when first released. Perhaps there is a feeling of guilt because it is about a country we are not occupying that led to so many jumping on board the "brilliant" bandwagon.. The narrator is an unlikable wimp and it was completely ridiculous to think for a second that he would suddenly "man up" and face Assef (or even go to Kabul for that matter). I say this only because we as readers "knew" him from birth and all throughout his life nothing gave any indication that he would have it in him to do what he did. Ugh. I feel as though I need something to cleanse my reading palate.
It Involves Afghanistan .......2007-10-08
I read many books and write many Amazon reviews, but there's not much I can add that the previous 2,042 other reviewers have not already said. I picked up `The Kite Runner' a year ago at a used book sale for the local library, but put it on my stack of TBR's (to-be-read). Frankly, the gushing acclaim and high-powered publicity put me off the book (e.g. the back jacket has plugs from Diane Sawyer and People magazine, not sources I rely on for book suggestions). A debut novel getting that much praise put me on guard.
News of the movie adaptation's imminent release finally got me to give it a go. I finished less than 24 hours later. Few books grab this reader by the collar and demand absorption. `The Kite Runner' did and I simply can't recommend it highly enough.
I will skimp on a summary of the book - to paraphrase Woody Allen after speed-reading War and Peace, it involves Afghanistan. While Hosseini does wonderfully create a sense of place (or rather two Afghanistans separated by 25 years and a millennial view), this tale involves much more. `The Kite Runner' is a powerful roller-coaster of human drama: love, joy, hate, cruelty, fear, betrayal, abandonment, commitment, loyalty, pride, shame, happiness, pain. Hosseini delivers several powerful gut punches (perhaps not all of them entirely fair or necessary) along the way.
Tom Wolfe has commented that many good young writers only ever write one really good book because that first effort is largely autobiographical and they can only tell that's story once. Reviews of Hosseini's second book A Thousand Splendid Suns suggest he is the real deal.
Average customer rating:
- excellent historical account--unecesary dragging
- Interesting look at Caravaggio fever
- Loved it
- Learning art
- Great Artist, Good Story, Fair Writing
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The Lost Painting
Jonathan Harr
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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ASIN: 0375759867
Release Date: 2006-11-07 |
Book Description
An Italian village on a hilltop near the Adriatic coast, a decaying palazzo facing the sea, and in the basement, cobwebbed and dusty, lit by a single bulb, an archive unknown to scholars. Here, a young graduate student from Rome, Francesca Cappelletti, makes a discovery that inspires a search for a work of art of incalculable value, a painting lost for almost two centuries.
The artist was Caravaggio, a master of the Italian Baroque. He was a genius, a revolutionary painter, and a man beset by personal demons. Four hundred years ago, he drank and brawled in the taverns and streets of Rome, moving from one rooming house to another, constantly in and out of jail, all the while painting works of transcendent emotional and visual power. He rose from obscurity to fame and wealth, but success didn’t alter his violent temperament. His rage finally led him to commit murder, forcing him to flee Rome a hunted man. He died young, alone, and under strange circumstances.
Caravaggio scholars estimate that between sixty and eighty of his works are in existence today. Many others–no one knows the precise number–have been lost to time. Somewhere, surely, a masterpiece lies forgotten in a storeroom, or in a small parish church, or hanging above a fireplace, mistaken for a mere copy.
Prizewinning author Jonathan Harr embarks on an spellbinding journey to discover the long-lost painting known as The Taking of Christ–its mysterious fate and the circumstances of its disappearance have captivated Caravaggio devotees for years. After Francesca Cappelletti stumbles across a clue in that dusty archive, she tracks the painting across a continent and hundreds of years of history. But it is not until she meets Sergio Benedetti, an art restorer working in Ireland, that she finally manages to assemble all the pieces of the puzzle.
Told with consummate skill by the writer of the bestselling, award-winning A Civil Action,
The Lost Painting is a remarkable synthesis of history and detective story. The fascinating details of Caravaggio’s strange, turbulent career and the astonishing beauty of his work come to life in these pages. Harr’s account is not unlike a Caravaggio painting: vivid, deftly wrought, and enthralling.
". . . Jonathan Harr has gone to the trouble of writing what will probably be a bestseller . . . rich and wonderful. . .in truth, the book reads better than a thriller because, unlike a lot of best-selling nonfiction authors who write in a more or less novelistic vein (Harr's previous book, A Civil Action, was made into a John Travolta movie), Harr doesn't plump up hi tale. He almost never foreshadows, doesn't implausibly reconstruct entire conversations and rarely throws in litanies of clearly conjectured or imagined details just for color's sake. . .if you're a sucker for Rome, and for dusk. . .[you'll] enjoy Harr's more clearly reported details about life in the city, as when--one of my favorite moments in the whole book--Francesca and another young colleague try to calm their nerves before a crucial meeting with a forbidding professor by eating gelato. And who wouldn't in Italy? The pleasures of travelogue here are incidental but not inconsiderable." --The New York Times Book Review
"Jonathan Harr has taken the story of the lost painting, and woven from it a deeply moving narrative about history, art and taste--and about the greed, envy, covetousness and professional jealousy of people who fall prey to obsession. It is as perfect a work of narrative nonfiction as you could ever hope to read." --The Economist
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
excellent historical account--unecesary dragging .......2007-09-25
I love Art History. I did not love this book. While the story is historically accurate, I felt I was being dragged through a load of gravel to get to the end. I wanted to quit reading after the first 25 pages--I put the book down at least 6 times over three months, and picked up more riveting books--real page turners. I was waiting for Haar to disclose some juicy secrets about the painting's discovery: didn't happen. But, I had to finish the book--it's my nature and I was afraid I might miss something. (I do admit at the end the restoration process was interesting.) I think I would have preferred to just read the original Art History Journals regarding this stunning story--The Missing Masterpiece:discovery, restoration, and salvation from bad restoration.
Interesting look at Caravaggio fever .......2007-07-28
I read this book after seeing the Caravaggio painting that is its subject at the Dublin Museum of Fine Art. I'm glad things happened in that order as the exhaustive detail in this narrative-style work can be a little off-putting in the first third or so of the book. There is so much time spent on a related lead-in research project on Caravaggio, that the reader is often left wondering where the story is leading.
The spectacular painting, "The Taking of Christ," speaks for itself in the viewing, but also explains why the art world is so obsessive about Caravaggio's work and ultimately justifies the circuitous route author Harr takes in telling the story of the painting's rediscovery after hundreds of years.. The artist was such a genius and produced such remarkable paintings that anyone who enjoys beautiful things can become an ardent admirer without much effort. The great tragedy of Caravaggio's life was its frequent derailing by violent relationships with friends, rivals, and authorities (the result of bipolar illness?), with its interruption of production as well as the subsequent destruction of many of his works.
Harr has produced a competent and well-told story of the pursuit and discovery of one of Caravaggio's great masterpieces that should be intriguing to art afficionados, but which is also accessible and interesting to the layman.
Loved it.......2007-03-08
I loved this book, although I must admit up front that I have a master's degree in art history, and lived in Italy in grad school (and therefore very much drawn to books such as this one). My friends in my book group that are not art historians did not find it as irresistable as I did, but they all liked it very much.
Learning art.......2007-03-07
This book is a fast read that teaches a lot! I knew very little of art history and never even heard of Caravaggio. The characters bring to life a story that we would otherwise be bored with on the History Channel. I love the way that you learn so much but get a good story out of it.
Great Artist, Good Story, Fair Writing.......2007-03-03
Finding a lost work by a master artist is always riveting: a Michaelangelo drawing found stuffed in the archives of the Cooper-Hewitt in New York, a Cimabue is noticed casually hanging on the wall of a house. So also the discovery of a much looked for but long lost painting by the 16th-century Italian, Caravaggio. This is the focus of `The Lost Painting.' Yet despite the subject, the author almost manages to make it boring. Almost.
Harr recounts the stories of the scholars, most of them Italian, involved in the discovery of Carravagio's 'The Taking of Christ,' which, as is often the case with lost masterpieces, was hidden in plain sight. It's a tale that, for a few years in the 1990s, has its principal characters criss-crossing Europe, slowly piecing together clues, hiding some of those clues from each other, being generous and being selfish, and ultimately coming together when they realize the magnitude of their discovery. And at its center is the brief and violent life of Caravaggio. In short, it is a very human story.
Unfortunately the author's prose often lacks passion, an ability to convey the extreme emotions that his characters no doubt felt. It is almost as if, the outcome known in advance, his actors are simply going through the motions. Despite this, however, Harr's attention to detail and methodic unveiling of each new development enables the reader to fill in the emotional gaps. In short, it's a good story, solidly written, but you'll need to add a splash of your own imagination. Given that this book takes you across a continent and across centuries, and into the world of the dangerous, beautiful, and brilliant Caravaggio, that shouldn't be too hard.
Book Description
David Pryce-Jones believes that France has done more damage to the Middle East than any other country. France encouraged the mass immigration of Arabs and that huge and growing minority in the country now believes that it has rights and claims which have not been met. This minority also believes that Israel should not exist. Middle East geo-politics are spreading from French soil to an increasingly Islamized Europe.
Customer Reviews:
Boring but important.......2007-06-25
A weekly magazine I read has a category of news that it calls "boring but important." This book could be categorized in the same way. This is a history of French foreign policy in the Near East. The author does seem to be unnecessarily hostile to the French, but he also shows how French intrigues and chauvinism have contributed to the turmoil in the area. But both those words have French derivations, don't they?
I do recommend this book to help understand the situation in which we have become embroiled. The more we know, the more likely we are to find a way out.
The Quai d'Orsay's Anti-Semitism.......2007-06-19
David Pryce-Jones has written an insightful and incisive history of the anti-Semitic abd pro-Arab mindset of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the past two centuries. Based on original archival research, Pryce-Jones shows how the Ministry's career officials came from similar conservative, Catholic, anti-Republican backgrounds with similar prejudices and predilections. They steered a consistent foreign policy despite the changes of political regimes in France which to this day tries to position France as the Islamic and Arab world's European friend and the opponent of putative Anglo-Saxon and Zionist designs in North Africa and the Middle East. The book is engaging and well written.
Mind Numbingly Boring.......2007-06-14
In Betrayal: France, the Arabs, and the Jews, David Pryce-Jones chronicles the convoluted machinations of French foreign policy in the Middle East. Unfortunately, this important material is presented in a manner that renders it almost unreadable.
On page 20, for instance, we make the acquaintance of Jonathon Frankel, Adolphe Thiers, Ulysse de Ratti-Menton, Paul Frederic-Jean Grunebaum, Louis Herbette, Edouard Drumont, and The Marquis de Mores. On page 21 they are joined by Monsieur Kahn, Paul Blanc, M. Hanotaux, Mr. Almond, Madame de Schwartz and J.-B. Barbier.
Keeping track of this growing and obscure cast of characters represents a challenging chore, and after fighting through page after page of this I found myself befuddled and exhausted.
And then there is the writing itself.
Try to get your mind around this whopper of a sentence: "It was not possible for him to guarantee the authenticity of the enclosed document, he explained in a sentence revealing his belief in conspiracy, but it could be linked to information the department had received a few years earlier `on the subject of the preparation in the United States of the bolshevik movement whose trace it might be possible to recover' (M.A.E.-C.P.C/E-Levant/Palestine/1918-1929/Vol.15)".
It's like quicksand - you just get bogged down, you sink in, and eventually you give up.
This is unfortunate.
The author's argument that France's cynical exercise of power in the region has borne and will continue to bear bitter fruit is inherently sound. This message contributes to an understanding of the growing alienation and unrest of the very constituency that the French have sought to court.
Too bad that only the most determined of readers will be able to cut through Pryce-Jones' ponderous prose so as to be able to absorb what he is trying to say.
An interesting introduction but lacks depth.......2007-05-03
The subject of France's relationship and attitude towards Jews and Israel is surely one worthy of study, and David Pryce-Jones does a fair job in detailing the historical origins and patterns of bias within this history. To his credit, he here quotes documents never before made public detailing the depth of the anti-Semitism to be found in France's governing elite. He further does a good job detailing the degree to which France's desire to retain a fig leaf of its vanished glory as a great power and therefore insinuates itself into the conflict in the Middle East in order to confront the United State.
That said, Pryce-Jones does come up short in a number of ways in this thin work. On the subject of anti-Semitism among French elites in the 19th and pre-war 20th century he fails to contextualize how pervasive these attitudes were through out the Western World. Bendersky's "The Jewish Threat" does an excellent and exhaustive job of demonstrating these same attitudes in the US Army just as David Orren does regarding the diplomatic core. In Britain, such prejudices were likewise widespread. Granted, in France they mixed with militant Catholicism to form a particularly noxious brew, but still a discussion of this context would certainly have added to this book.
On the subject of the political ramifications of the presence of a large Muslim population in France, Pryce-Jones again does not delve sufficiently deeply. For example, that the center right candidate David Sarkozy derives support from attacking this portion of the population and arguing for a closer relationship with Israel. Again, a more thorough work would have provided interesting insights on the history and ongoing evolution of this social phenomenon.
Lastly, Pryce-Jones does not give sufficient attention to France's role in the EU and how it has managed to make the Union adopt is strategic vision regarding the Middle East despite other nations which tend to have differing outlooks.
That French policy is arrogant, perfidious, and self serving comes as a surprise to no one with any familiarity of the subject. Pryce-Jones does a good job indicting France's leaders with their own words and details their often serpentine and a moral strategy. For all of that, a subject of such importance deserved a more thorough examination. While this provides a good instruction, another longer work on the subject is surely required.
ignorant political fanaticism.......2007-04-06
David Pryce-Jones is a British neo-con who suffers from the well-known disease of "Franophobia". He has produced a book that is totally at odds with history and is little more the propaganda.
Reading this book, you would have no idea the role France had in the 1950s and 1960s in providing Israel with weapons. The Mirage jets that Israel fought the 1967 war with came from a collaborative relationship with France. France also collaborated with Israel in the 1950s and beyond in the area of nuclear technology and yes even nuclear weapons. In 1956, the French fought with the British and Israelis in a coordinated plan during the suez war. But out of hate, David Pryce-Jones erases the long relationship between Israel and France from history.
He also doesn't quite catch on the fact that France fought a bloody, devistating war in Algeria for many years or how the Crémieux Decree in 1870 gave all Algerian Jews full french citizenship even if they had been in Algeria for generations and had no tie to France. Or explain given his claims about how pro-arab/anti-jewish French diplomats and governments have always been, why such a decree was granted.
The author bashes france for having too many muslims living the country. Of course he has nothing to say about why the UK for decades allowed itself to openly serve as the worldwide base for the worst and most dangerous muslim political groups. Much easier to bash france than it is to accept the grim reality of what goes on at home. Everything he says about muslims in france can be said about almost every country in europe. Immigration is a reality. And the grim reality is that while David Pryce-Jones and his conservative friends whine over the issue, they are unwilling to give up the advantages that a cheap migrant labor underclass provides them.
France plays the "game" in the middle east in exactly the same way that the US, the UK and every other country does. Anyone concerned about the morality of French conduct would best not look at the American role in Saudi Arabia or Egypt or Jordan or any number of other states that the US props up. It would also be best not to look at American-Iraqi relations in the 1980s or Iran-Contra or any number of other sensiative subjects.
The author doeesn't understand France or the French view of the world at all. He is an outsider looking into something that doesn't have the ability to even begin to understand. After the Americans took over the role of being Israel's financial and military backers in the early 1970s, for all their contributions to the security of Israel they were pushed out of the way. If that situation changed, France would change. Like every other country, the relationships of France with the rest of the world are driven by its own interests.
David Pryce-Jones misinterpretes French political culture. He doesn't understand the long tradition in France of asslimilation of all groups into a broader French Culture and the importance of that within the society. That religion and ethnic identity should not play a part in the public sphere. He sees views expressed along these lines as evidence of hatred.
He draws up sinister conspiracies in the French diplomatic corps. But provides little evidence to support his ideas.
He is also upset that Ayatollah Khomeini was in France for four months before he returned to Iran. He doesn't seem to remember that Khomeini spent most of his time in exile in Iraq and Turkey...not France. He also sees the French as somehow putting Khomeini in power but offers nothing beyond conspiracy theory.
He blames France for Mohammad Amin al-Husayni not being put on trial as a war criminal after the second world war. What he leaves out is British role in that decision and British concerns about opinion in the muslim parts of their empire.
There is nothing useful in the book. David Pryce-Jones displays nothing but his own ignorance and fanaticism while being blind to what goes on in his own British back yard.
Book Description
Have you ever been lied to by a lover? In this straightforward and supportive book, therapist Susan Forward profiles the wide variety of liars, shows you how to deal with the lies -- from the benign to the lethal -- that these men spin, and gives practical strategies to stop them before they ruin your relationship and, ultimately, your life.
Once you find out the truth about your lover and his lies, what do you do? Forward offers practical, proven, step-by-step methods for healing the wounds caused by his deception and betrayal. She provides all the communication and behavioral techniques you need to deal with a lover's lies, telling you exactly what to say, when and how to respond to his reactions, and how to present your requirements for staying in the relationship. With understanding and compassion, she helps you decide whether your relationship can be saved and shows you how to move beyond doubt and regret if you feel that it can't. But whether you stay or go, you can learn to love and trust again.
Customer Reviews:
Bought This.......2007-09-05
I bought this book for someone I don't even know. On a whim. I never gave it to her. I read it, just because I had it and I read everything.
If you have someone in your life who has deceived you, it's a good, healing, understand-yourself book.
When Your Book Title Is a Lie..........2007-04-16
When Your "Lover..." Is a Liar should be titled "When Your MAN Is a Liar..." The author is a women's advocate who only mentions men as liars and women as victims. She should have known better than to use a deceptive title given the nature of the book but probably didn't want to limit sales. Shame on her for lying and deceiving her readers.
Besides the obvious hypocrisy the issue is that when men escape from abusive, sociopathic women and then buy this book they're traumatized by feminist "men can do no right; women can do no wrong" dogma. The author, given her background, knows this; she just isn't willing to lose sales to prevent it. Maybe she'll insert herself as a case study into the next edition.
The reason I didn't give this book one star is a lot of the information is really good. Had it presented in a gender-neutral way -- as the title strongly implies it is -- this would have been a solid five-star book.
Very helpful.......2007-03-11
Who ever knew there were so many different types of liars? Anyone who has faced betrayal by someone they love will find this book helpful in explaining why they do what they do.
Love ONLY grows in the fertile soil of trust!.......2007-02-19
This is a relatively short, but extremely useful and informative read. It is written primarily for women, but it certainly can apply to men as well. It's too bad it didn't cover both sides because men are often on the receiving end of betrayal as well. This is part of my rationale for a 4 star rating. However, it is an excellent book overall and certainly still a worthwhile read for a man who is being lied to.
The book covers a lot of ground and does it well. It looks at the dynamics that motivate a person to lie, the various defense mechanisms that come up and it includes enough case histories to make the book interesting, but not cumbersome.
Most importantly, the book provides positive self talk, techniques for reframing events, getting grounded and using confrontation effectively. It also has some simple techniques borrowed from cognitive therapy that can be very empowering and help you regain balance and control.
Loving a liar is bad news.......2007-01-12
Whether the liar you love is just "mixed up", or true pathological liar, narcissist, relentlessly passive aggressive... this book is a must read and at the top of my list. Do realize that many of these people cannot be fixed and the prognosis might not be good even if they do get help- many people can be ONLY if they want- and you can love and live with them BUT pay attention to the differences and do NOT, I repeat, do NOT get mixed up with those whose signs are in big neon letters- BAD NEWS, much easier not to get involved than to try to untangle later. How much of YOU are you willing to give up to allow these people their all too often - sick games?Good luck, there is just SO much underlying this chronic behavior, imo, and life is short.
Books:
- The Harsh Cry of the Heron: The Last Tale of the Otori (Tales of the Otori, Book 4)
- The Innate Immune Response to Infection
- The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 4)
- The New Essential Guide to Characters (Star Wars)
- The Nymph King (Atlantis, Book 3)
- The Pack: Touch Of The Wolf (Book 5) (Silhouette Nocturne)
- The Poison Master
- The Precipice (The Grand Tour; also Asteroid Wars)
- The Silent Cinema Reader
- The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess: 20th Anniversary Edition
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Killer Angels
- Rise and Shine: A Novel
- Dorian Greyhound: A Novel
- Creative Embellishments: For Paper, Jewelry, Fabric and More
- He's The One
- History: Fiction or Science
- Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age Second Edition
- Estuarine Ecology of the Southeastern United States and Gulf of Mexico
- Copywriter: A Life of Making Ads and Other Mistakes
- Game Plan: The Insider's Guide to Breaking In and Succeeding in the Computer and Video Game Business
Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity
The Missing Gospels: Unearthing the Truth Behind Alternative Christianities
Cat O'Nine Tales: And Other Stories
Heaven: A Prison Diary Volume 3 (A Prison Diary)
A Twist in the Tale
