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Like Nevada Barr, Dana Stabenow writes mysteries so firmly rooted in the natural world that their sense of place becomes a vital part of the plot. In this book about Native Alaskan crime solver Kate Shugak, the ocean and the men who fish it for salmon are described in such vivid detail that you'll never look at a salmon steak the same way again. When a particularly nasty fisherman is murdered, there's no end of suspects--including members of Kate's own family. The story also sports a richly ironic undertone of political incorrectness, as Kate muses about the forest rangers, "who wanted to annex every square foot of land they saw and keep it pristine and inviolate, unsullied by human hand. They failed to recall that the indigenous peoples who came across the Bering land bridge during the last Ice Age had their hands all over anything that had the remotest possibility of nutritional value, and were every bit as much of the landscape and the wheel of life as the fish and the birds and the mammals." Previous Shugak sorties in paperback include Breakup, Blood Will Tell, Play with Fire, and A Cold-Blooded Business.
Customer Reviews:
A winner!.......2007-01-05
Top-notch author and another winning story. Alaska is featured and described with accuracy and affection. Just one of the many stories in this land of mystery and challenges.
Refrigerated molasses.......2004-09-22
Reading this novel was like trying to wade waist deep through refrigerated molasses--not that I've ever tried that. I thought I was never going to get to the other side or this morass, and when I did, the killer confessed in detail when he could have escaped without a scratch. And then he died. Poof. No trial, no cross examination. All he had to do was say, "I didn't do it," and no one would have been the wiser. There was no evidence against him.
The drama feels contrived from start to finish. It never approaches reality. Every time the plot drags (which is often), the author drops the heroine, Kate, into the cold Alaska waters. Or bops her on the head. It got just a wee bit wearying after the third or fourth time.
The characters are many and confusing. Many have nothing at all to do with what plot there is. Others just walk around. The atmosphere of Alaska merits this one extra star, but I'd rather get a travel book on the state than to put up with the cold molasses. Sorry. This just isn't for me.
Spawning Murder.......2004-06-27
In the eighth in the Alaskan Kate Shugak series, author Dana Stabenow lets us enjoy the Alaskan fishing scene during the wild and woooly salmon spawning season. And here I thought I knew all about it--salmon swim upstream, right?
Yes, but in the hundreds and thousands, and Kate is serving on an ancient fishing boat right in the thick of things. As we find out from this fascinating look at the salmon season, the work is backbreaking, intense, smelly and unending--and that's just the fights among the fishermen jockeying for a place to put their nets.
In the middle of this frantic fishing, which is governed by environmental and other laws, comes a nasty rogue aptly named Calvin Meany. He disregards the unwritten law of the waters, impinging on others' nets, catching their salmon, resorting to thuggery when he has to (and even when he doesn't), and beating on his crew--his own teenaged son.
Kate hates him on sight, as does everybody else, so when Meany turns up brutally murdered, it's hard to feel sorry. Still, Kate has to do her job. And her investigation into the nasty circumstances of the murder place her own life in jeopardy.
Another fast-paced, fascinating read from Stabenow!
Stabenow Can't Write 'Em Fast Enough For Me.......1999-03-10
I just can't get enough of Dana Stabenow's humorous and clever style of writing. I loved Break Up and this one is even better. It's the kind of story you want to read out loud to someone else so they can laugh too.
Stabenow's Alaska is the real thing........1999-03-10
Having lived in Alaska for over thirty years now, I usually find books set in Alaska a disappointment. Stabenow's Alaska is the real thing, in all it's complex and contradictory detail. Her characters are people I know, and her settings are right-on. This book is no exception to her tradition of excellence. The plot is intriguing and keeps the reader guessing, and Stabenow's humor will make you laugh out loud.
Book Description
On May 12, 1945, the 6th Marine Division was nearing Naha, capital of Okinawa. To the division's front lay a low, loaf-shaped hill. It looked no different from other hills seized with relative ease over the past few days. But this hill, soon to be dubbed, "Sugar Loaf," was very different indeed. Part of a complex of three hills, Sugar Loaf formed the western anchor of General Mitsuru Ushijima's Shuri Line, which stretched from coast to coast across the island. Sugar Loaf was critical to the defense of that line, preventing U.S. forces from turning the Japanese flank. Over the next week, the Marines made repeated attacks on the hill losing thousands of men to death, wounds, and combat fatigue. Not until May 18 was Sugar Loaf finally seized. Two days later, the Japanese mounted a battalion-sized counterattack in an effort to regain their lost position, but the Marines held. Ironically, these losses may not have been necessary. General Lemuel Shepherd, Jr., had argued for an amphibious assault to the rear of the Japanese defense line, but his proposal was rejected by U.S. Tenth Army Commander General Simon Bolivar Buckner. That refusal led to a controversy that has continued to this day.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Combat Narrative.......2003-02-15
James H. Hallas's book `Killing Ground on Okinawa' is one of those books that should be in any decent military history library. Having previously read his account of the fighting on Peleliu, `The Devil's Anvil' I couldn't wait to read this account of the battle for Sugar Loaf Hill. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed in this book.
The author allows the Marines who took part in the fighting tell the story and its incredible to read what these blokes went through for what looks like a very small piece of Pacific Island real estate. The accounts of the fighting men are detailed and to the point and you are forced to sit back and think of how these men endured this hell, it is almost beyond the comprehension of today's generation.
The narrative is full of details but the real guts of the book is the first-hand accounts by the men involved in the assaults against the well constructed Japanese defensive positions. Not only were the Japanese well dug in and protected but they used their firepower and weapons to great advantage. They wrought destruction upon the advancing marines. Men and machines were continually being knocked out with no gain being made against the determined Japanese defence.
Finally after a heroic night attack the marines secured a toehold on Sugar Loaf but then had to hold against Japanese counter attacks and massive counter fire from artillery, mortars, machine guns and snipers. The casualty list for the marine units were massively high causing some questioning of the strategy and tactics used by the Army High Command. In over seven days of fighting the 6th Marine Division suffered over 2,000 casualties fighting for this pimple of a hill which secured the Japanese Shuri Line.
The only fault that I could find with this book was the standard of the maps and photographs. I am sure that they could have been of a higher calibre. Overall this is a great story of combat, dedication, bravery and Espirt de Corp. I think it is one of the better combat accounts of the Pacific Theatre that I have read in some years and I am certain that anyone interested in the Pacific War would be fascinated by this account.
Wow.......2003-01-12
This is a great telling of what is often an untold battle. These Marines went through hell and back and this is an excellent telling of their hardships.
A ferocious Fight to the finish!.......2001-01-21
This book is another amazing account of a ferocious battle engaged by the US Marines at the close of WWII at terrible personal sacrifice. It ranks among the best narratives I have read. If you want to take a trip into the trenches of Okinawa with the men who bled their, this book is a must read. The story is fast paced, action packed, gripping and heart rending. I cannot imagine what the outcome of the Pacific war against the Japanese would have been without the sacrifice these brave young men made on behalf of freedom.
A great, eye-opening Read.......1999-02-18
As a proud member of the U.S. Marines, I can't help to be a fan of the colorfull and violent history that is the legacy of my Marine Corps. This book is a fine example of the amazing feats that American Marines (with a few Army guys) have made the trademark of the Marine Way. I whole-heartedly recomend this book as is is very fast-paced and leaves you with a constant feeling of amazement and respect for all the men that were at that fatefull battle.Having traveled to Okinawa this summer, I had a chance to take an amazing tour of the historic battle sites on Okinawa island. After reading this, I'm begging to go back.
Excellent battle history........1996-10-25
Amid the VE-Day euphoria of 1945, Okinawa was captured at a
cost (including civilians) of over 200,000 lives. Mr.
Hallas persuasive argues (with others) that had Marine General
Lemuel Shepherd's end-run plan been adopted, many of those lives
might have been spared. The narrative particularly focuses on the key to
Japanese defenses, Sugar Loaf Hill, where the 6th Marine
Division lost over 6,000 men in a brutal slugging match
unsurpassed in the annals of American courage. Meticulously
researched and based on interviews with nearly 100 susvivors,
this is a fitting tribute to the struggle, largely unknown
to most Americans.
Average customer rating:
- Long overdue study of America killing grounds.....
- This Hallowed Ground?
- Haunting and strange
- A provocative photo-essay
- A disservice to the memory of the Civil War
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Killing Ground: The Civil War and the Changing American Landscape (Creating the North American Landscape)
John Huddleston
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Landscape
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ASIN: 0801867738 |
Book Description
" Killing Ground is a significant contribution, a new way of looking at highly familiar images." -- Shelby Foote
"These haunting photographs of then and now offer a new and powerful perspective on the tragedies and triumphs -- above all, the human cost -- of the Civil War. John Huddleston's photographs of selected spots on dozens of battlefields of that war, juxtaposed with photographs of soldiers killed or wounded there and other contemporary illustrations, make telling points in a unique manner. This book does more than prove the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words; it tells the poignant story of the Civil War in a way that goes beyond words." -- James McPherson
" Killing Ground situates us uncomfortably in a terrain where living memory has only recently completed its transformation into history. John Huddleston has photographed the scenes of this vast communal hurt, from the mightiest battles to obscure actions involving a few combatants; in every instance he asks the land itself to yield up what traces it may hold of the mortal issues contested there. Suburban intersection, brushy tangle, murky pool, well-tended battle park -- all are joined by a commonality that Huddleston insists we not forget: Americans died here, killed by other Americans." -- Frank Gohlke
In Killing Ground, John Huddleston embarks on a photographic odyssey through the modern-day landscape of the Civil War. He pairs historical images of the conflict from sixty-two battle sites across the nation -- battlefield scenes, soldiers living and dead, prisoners of war, civilians, and slaves -- with his own color photographs of the same locations a century and a half later, always taken at the same time of year, often at the same hour of the day. Sometimes Huddleston's lens reveals a department store or fast-food restaurant carelessly built on hallowed ground; other images depict overgrown fields or well-manicured parks. When contrasted with their mid-nineteenth-century counterparts, these indelible images challenge the meaning of place in American culture and the evolving legacy of the Civil War in our national memory.
Customer Reviews:
Long overdue study of America killing grounds............2007-02-07
Huddleston is a brilliant visionary with an extraordinary eye for the subtexts of the cultural landscape. This book is essential to an understanding of the implications of history on contemporary life and to exploring the critical pathways to evaluating our own beliefs.
Hooray for Huddleston!!
This Hallowed Ground?.......2005-10-28
Office buildings, grocery stores and fast food franchises have sprouted where Union Major General George H. Thomas and Confederate General John Bell Hood slugged it out for December days in Nashville 141 years ago. Near the site of some of the heaviest fighting between blue and gray, a KFC sign now advertises discounts on the colonel's secret recipe.
That one of the nation's signature fry shacks is hallowed ground is just one of the many extra-crispy nuggets of irony to be plumbed from John Huddleston's book.
"Killing Ground, Photographs of the Civil War and the Changing American Landscapes." features period images of Civil War sites juxtaposed with contemporary photographs of (roughly) the same location. Huddleston says his photographs were taken "at the time of year when the Civil War fighting took place," and that most "were made in the area where the heaviest killing in a battle happened."
The archival images include iconic scenes of Gettysburg, Chancellorsville and other charnel houses, as well as views of some of the now forgotten corners of the War Between the States. Huddleston's contemporary Civil War geography is one of hangdog towns, suburban ticky-tacky, marquee battlefields and areas that appear little changed in the intervening years. Together these images of the past and present document changes in America's physical and cultural terrain since the Civil War.
Many remind us that steroidal growth is strip-mining places where blue and gray gave their last full measure of devotion. And even marquee battlefields are not immune. A muddy photograph of Civil War Fredericksburg shares space with Huddleston's image of a sign heralding a luxury home project christened "Artillery Ridge II." More jarring is a photograph of Confederates killed in Chancellorsville that is juxtaposed with the embryonic beginnings of a tract of suburban housing.
The book is also sprinkled with images of places that have escaped the backhoe. One of my favorite Huddleston photographs is a crisp, clean composition of tall weeds, trees and overcast sky. It is the site of what was the Union left at Cold Harbor, and it is paired with a photograph of an African American burial party gathering the bones of soldiers who fell there. Huddleston's tranquil field seems a more fitting resting place for these ghosts of the past than the soul-deadening sprawl noted above.
The images dealing with race were for me the most emotionally gripping in the collection. For example, there is Huddleston's photograph of a Jackson, MS hotel with a black lawn jockey in front of one of its windows. He has partnered this photograph with an underexposed image of a wedding on Jefferson Davis' plantation: The adult slaves have gathered in all their threadbare Sunday best, and in front of the party sit the children. One young boy is in comparatively sharp focus and his expression suggests mixed feelings over being part of the proceedings. This scene brims over with humanity and by comparison the hotel's antique-shop relic appears all the more offensive and inane. And in what one hopes is a metaphor for bigotry is Huddleston's photograph of a literal road to nowhere (offshoot of an unfinished highway?) with racial epithets scribbled on the asphalt. It is shown with a period image of a slave market in Atlanta, "Auction and Negro Sales" trumpeted from the storefront placard.
One quibble: Some of the period battlefield carnage (especially the close-ups of amputated limbs) seemed gratuitous, and distracted from the more restrained - and poignant - illustrations of war's cost.
But that it just mere nitpicking.
Overall this book would make a compelling addition to your stack of Civil War photography books. Huddleston offers an at times disquieting reminder of a past that is literally underfoot, and a poke at the collective conscience that more should be done to be done to protect our historic sites. And in a nation where the Civil War still resonates, that future generations will little note nor long remember a past that has been paved over is a proposition that not only armchair historians should find alarming.
Haunting and strange.......2004-04-26
I couldn't put this book down.I found it compelling-the battleground that has now become a parking lot. Period photos of battle scenes are contrasted with the same sites as they appear today.One reviewer is apparently disgusted because "they could be your backyard" Exactly. These pictures of old battle grounds ARE someone's backyard and thats what makes this photo-essay so amazing.
A provocative photo-essay.......2003-06-27
This book combines historical images with stark contemporary photography in a challenging, thought provoking way. Many of the old images are shocking, even gory, and provide a very striking contrast to Huddleston's photos. I assume this book would appeal more to fans of contemporary photography trends, and the content owes much to previous works in this vein. (Joel Sternfeld's "On This Site: Landscape In Memoriam" and Mark Klett's "Second View: The Rephotographic Survey Project," to name two.)
A disservice to the memory of the Civil War.......2003-05-29
I was stunned when I examined this book. There is
generally no relation between the period photographs and
the modern photographs, which could have been taken in
someone's backyard (yours or mine!). The text is negligible
in volume and quality. Save your money for something you
will treasure for years - this book isn't it.
Average customer rating:
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The Killing Ground (Jubal Cade, No 10)
Charles R. Pike
Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Westerns
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| Louis L'Amour
| Pioneer
ASIN: 0877542392 |
Average customer rating:
- Incredible, riveting play
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Slow Dance on the Killing Ground
William Hanley
Manufacturer: Dramatist's Play Service
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
United States
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All 4-for-3 Deals
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ASIN: 0822210436 |
Customer Reviews:
Incredible, riveting play.......1999-11-30
This three-act drama, which weaves together the stories of a pregnant girl, a victim of the German concentration camps, and a juvenile delinquint, is one of the best plays I have ever read. Each character has a unique voice, each story is absolutely enthralling, and when the three come together for one night to share their secrets, the reader (or viewer) can hardly help being drawn in. If your looking to produce a play with a small cast, or just looking for a wonderful story full of realistic characters and psychological insight, look no further.
Average customer rating:
- For once an angry and violent Doctor
- Cyberfarming is not fun
- Want know what it's like to become a Cyberman?
- Perhaps the only realistic Cyberportrayal
- The Cybermen return, and they are NOT happy
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Killing Ground (Doctor Who)
Steve Lyons
Manufacturer: London Bridge (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Doctor Who
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General
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ASIN: 0426204743 |
Customer Reviews:
For once an angry and violent Doctor.......2006-03-06
The settlement on the planet Agora is teorrorised by the continual visits of the Cybermen who are in desperate need for biological material to propogate their 'race'. Of course, where there are Cybermen there is the DOctor (in his sixth incarnation) and a new companion, Grant Markham.
Together, they take on the Cyberman threat and, in their own way, are responsible for the construction of a new secret weapon.
This original adventure was more grittier than any of the novelised adventures, based on the TV episodes, and, although the characters were more 'human' than characters from TV, Steve Lyons' portrayal of the Doctor seemed to be slightly soap operaish. There seemed to be slightly more anger to the Doctor than in anything I had read before.
The one thing that was glaringly missing, however, was the arrival of the TARDIS. A Doctor Who adventure should not start in the middle of the adventure.
Cyberfarming is not fun.......2001-02-23
Following on from 'Time of Your Life', the Doctor tales Grant back to his home planet Agora. But what Grant doesn't remember (he was very young when he was sent away) is that the Cybermen are using Agora as a farm - they call back every few year to capture and convert humans to Cybermen. And here they come now...
This book spotlights Grant quite considerably, given that the Doctor is imprisoned for a good portion of it. As the new companion, we get to find out a lot of Grant's background, as does he. But the circumstances under which he learns things are not the best. While Grant goes through the emotional wringer, the Doctor gets the physical version as the Overseers and the Cybermen masters try some things out on him...
Fairly relentless in its grimness, the book certainly isn't the easiest to read. However, I recommend you persevere as it is worth your while - the eventual success of both the Doctor and Grant in the face of considerable adversity shows true triumph.
Want know what it's like to become a Cyberman?.......1998-12-05
This book was hard to put down. Definately not boring. There was plenty of action and insight into Grant Markham's origin. The Cyberman return in this novel to wreak havoc in a very beleivable storyline. You won't be disapointed.
Perhaps the only realistic Cyberportrayal.......1997-01-28
Killing Ground captures the character of the Sixth Doctor perfectly: all those emotional outbursts to which he was so prone, the reader never really knowing what he's really thinking. In a way, this reads like exceptionally well-written fan-fiction: the exact ways in which the Cybermen go about their conquests are only hinted at in the televised stories. Their ruthlessness comes across exceptionally well here, and the scenes where the Doctor ridicules the Cyber way of 'life' are compelling. This is perhaps the most realistic DW novel in terms of what it would be like to have one's world taken over by an alien power
The Cybermen return, and they are NOT happy.......1996-09-21
In "Killing Ground", the Sixth Doctor returns Grant Markham to Agora, where he originaaly came from.There, they find out that the Cybermen have been using the Earth colony as a source of raw materials to make more of their race.The Doctor is captured upon arrival, and with Grant unable to help him escape, the colonists seek other means of survival. During all this, two more time travellers arrive into the fray. Complete with a handy review of Cyber-History, as well as decently written with believable characters, this book is a good read.
Book Description
This book explains why the British Army fought the way it did in the First World War. It integrates social and military history and the impact of ideas to tell the story of how the army, especially the senior officers, adapted to the new technological warfare and asks: was the style of warfare on the Western Front inevitable?
Using an extensive range of unpublished diaries, letters, memoirs and Cabinet and War Office files, Professor Travers explains how and why the ideas, tactics and strategies emerged. He emphasizes the influence of pre-war social and military attitudes, and examines the early life and career of Sir Douglas Haig. The author's analysis of the preparations for the Battles of the Somme and Passchendaele provide new interpretations of the role of Haig and his GHQ, and he explains the reasons for the unexpected British Withdrawal in March 1918. An appendix supplies short biographies of senior British officers. In general, historians of the First World war are in two hostile camps: those who see the futility of lions led by donkeys on the one hand and on the other the apologists for Haig and the conduct of the war. Professor Traver's immensely readable book provides a bridge between the two.
Customer Reviews:
fun amateur sleuth .......2006-08-24
At St. Catherine's in Providence, Rhode Island, Reverend Mother Mary Frances has doubts that Sister Mary Agnes has the deportment to make it as a nun. Sister Mary lives in trouble though her intentions are good and she promises God she will make up for all her sins. This morning she has cooking duty in spite of the fact she cannot boil water, but childhood friend Richard DelVecchio, driver to an alleged crime king, arrives with the food. Not long afterward, Sister Mary enters the cellar only to find the corpse of a girl wearing an old St. Catherine's blouse; one of Richard's knives is protruding from her chest.
The police especially Sister Mary's cousin Josiah assume Richard killed the girl and so they arrest him. Richard's boss Vincent Gaetano Ricci tells her they are innocent. Encouraged by the crime boss and by Monsignor Robert Grace Sister Mary and her best friend Sister Winnie make inquires not realizing the danger they place themselves in from a killer willing to murder again.
Mindful of the Rosalind Russell's "Angel" movies, but in an amateur sleuth setting, A KILLING ON CHURCH GROUNDS is a solid mystery that fans of Father Dowling will enjoy. Sister Mary lives in trouble even before she works a murder investigation that she knows upsets her Mother Superior, her cousin the cop, and her jailed friend. Readers will appreciate her efforts in this fun but light murder mystery.
Harriet Klausner
Books:
- Kingdom Come: The Final Victory: The Final Victory (Left Behind #13)
- Knuffle Bunny (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards))
- Magic Tree House Boxed Set 1, Books 1-4: Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon
- Malicious Intent : A Writer's Guide to How Murderers, Robbers, Rapists and Other Criminals Think (The Howdunit)
- Management: Challenges for Tomorrow's Leaders (with InfoTrac® 1-Semester)
- Mapping the World of the Sorcerer's Apprentice (Harry Potter) (Smart Pop series)
- Marching to the Drums: Eyewitness Accounts of War from the Charge of the Light Brigade to the Siege of Ladysmith
- Mechanics of Flight
- Militant Islam in Southeast Asia: Crucible of Terror
- Number the Stars
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Breakup (Kate Shugak Mysteries)
Blood Will Tell (Kate Shugak Mystery)
Play with Fire (Kate Shugak Mystery)
A Cold-Blooded Business (Kate Shugak Mystery)
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