The Killer Angels

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This novel reveals more about the Battle of Gettysburg than any piece of learned nonfiction on the same subject. Michael Shaara's account of the three most important days of the Civil War features deft characterizations of all of the main actors, including Lee, Longstreet, Pickett, Buford, and Hancock. The most inspiring figure in the book, however, is Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, whose 20th Maine regiment of volunteers held the Union's left flank on the second day of the battle. This unit's bravery at Little Round Top helped turned the tide of the war against the rebels. There are also plenty of maps, which convey a complete sense of what happened July 1-3, 1863. Reading about the past is rarely so much fun as on these pages.

Book Description

"My favorite historical novel...A superb re-creation of the Battle of Gettysburg, but its real importance is its insight into what the war was about, and what it meant."
JAMES M. McPHERSON
Author of BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM
Winner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for fiction
In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation's history, two armies fought for two dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life. Far more than rifles and bullets were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises. There was love. And far more than men fell on those Pennsylvania fields. Shattered futures, forgotten innocence, and crippled beauty were also the casualties of war. Unique, sweeping, an unforgettable, THE KILLER ANGELS is a dramatic re-creation of the battleground for America's destiny.

Customer Reviews:

If you have the slightest interest in the Civil War, don't fail to read the late Michael Shaara's book "The Killer Angels".......2007-10-04

If you have the slightest interest in the Civil War, don't fail to read the late Michael Shaara's book "The Killer Angels". It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1974.

For some reason this book had never crossed my path. It wasn't until Father's Day this year that I was even aware of its existence. My 27 year old son gave me a DVD that had both Gods and Generals and Gettysburg on it. In reading the jacket of the DVD I saw the movie was based on this book. After watching the movie, I headed off to the library. I was not disappointed.

This volume shows both the courage and determination of the Union and Confederate soldiers. It examines the story from both viewpoints. You are told the story through the key leadership of the battle. You will read about Robert E. Lee. You will learn what his decisions were based on. You will see why he was so beloved by his army. The book allows you to be present as Lee struggles with decision after decision from his headquarters. You can feel the frustration of Longstreet as he tries to convince Lee that defense is a better choice. You will get a picture of the flamboyant Pickett. You will feel Lee's and Longstreet's frustration with J.E.B. Stuart. I met a new hero in the book - Joshua Lawrence Chamberlin as I read about the 20th Maine Regiment and Chamberlain who with a bayonet charge on Little Big Top held the end of the Union line. Another new hero I encountered was General John Buford. You will experience his anguish as he decides to engage Rebel forces. He knows that he was seriously outnumbered. He is determined to save the only high ground in the area.

I was emotionally involved in the book from the beginning to the end. This is the book that blurs the line between historical fiction and creative non-fiction. It is simply great reading. While the movie was good, the book is great. Michael Shaara had the vision, did the research, and wrote one of the best books ever. Thank you!

Glorifies Battle, but Does So Compellingly. . . .......2007-10-01

I am not a civil war buff, but I enjoy historical fiction, and I decided to read this book for its Pulitzer Prize and what it might teach me about the Battle of Gettysburg. On these fronts it delivered as advertised. Although the book is about 90% brooding and waiting for battle and only 10% battle, the writing is compelling enough to hold one's interest through the brooding and to teach me more than I ever knew about the strategies, generals, turning points, blunders and significance of Gettysburg --- or at least the author's views on these points.

Nonetheless, I found myself consistently detatched from the characters and the action. The story is told exclusively from the perspective of the officers in the battle and, for the most part, from that of the southern officers. This is not to say it has a southern bias; indeed blame is placed on Southern hero Lee and the book elevates Southern "scoundrel" Longstreet. It is just that, ultimately, I was not capable of sympathy or admiration for their bravery, honor and nobility, in which the book invests heavily. My own views about slavery and the south are just too strong. Its like reading about the qualms and struggles of German aristocrats in the Nazi army. Interesting, but they are so fundamentally on the wrong side that neither admirable traits nor understanding of their perspective can produce empathy, redemption or even forgiveness. And, as to the horrors of war and soldiering, the gritty, more soldier oriented view of, say, a Cold Mountain, remained foremost in my mind.

excellent book, even if you are not a buff.......2007-08-12

I remember seeing the movie "Gettysburg" when it first opened
in the early nineties. It magnificently brought to life the "glory"
and tragedy of thousands of men in a napoleonic charge. The
book matches the movie in that respect, but it also provides
insights into the motives of several of the main participants in
a way that a movie cannot (mostly generals Lee and Longstreet
on one side and Colonel Chamberlain on the other). My understanding
is that the book is as true to history as a novelization can be.
However, it is also extremely readable - I wish somebody pointed
me to it when I was reading about the civil war in highschool.
I am looking forward to reading Jeff Shaara's two books that
complete the trilogy.

Historical Fiction at it's Best.......2007-07-28

Ever wonder what it was really like those 3 days in July at the Battle of Gettysburg? Was it hot, what did the men wear, what did they eat, how did they pass the time, who were the leaders of the regiments? Good historical fiction brings characters to life. Great historical fiction like that of Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Shaara makes you believe you are there.
You've learned about the battle in school, now read Killer Angels and feel what is was like to be part of the battle. Read about Robert E. Lee, what his decisions were based on and why he was so beloved by his army. Be present as he struggles with decision after decision from his headquarters. Feel the frustration of Longstreet as he tries to convince Lee of another course. Learn about the flamboyant Pickett and the egocentric J.E.B. Stuart. Go to the Union camp and read about the 20th Maine Regiment and Chamberlain who with sheer determination hold the precious ground on Little Big Top with a bayonet charge. Imagine and feel Buford's decision to engage Rebel forces, knowing that he was seriously outnumbered but determined to save the only high ground in the area.
I was mesmerized and emotionally involved in the book from the beginning to the end. It isn't just a story of a battle, it's the story of our nation and the men who fought and died for what they believed in. A great novel!

Great book!.......2007-07-03

THe Killer Angels makes the battle of Gettysburg come alive for the reader. Shaara takes historical facts and injects the human dimension which makes the novel both educational and a page turner. Highly recommend that people of all ages read this masterpiece and immerse themselves in the most turbulent period of our nation's history.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

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What you get outta this depends on where you are in your life and spirituality.
Not so much
Deeply moving and intrinsically rewarding
A GREAT read!
Inspirational

The Valkyries
Paulo Coelho
Manufacturer: HarperOne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0062513346

Book Description

A Magical Tale About Forgiving Our Past and Believing in Our Future

The enchanting, true story of The Valkyries begins in Rio de Janeiro when author Paulo Coelho gives his mysterious master J., the only manuscript for his book The Alchemist. Haunted by a devastating curse, Coelho confesses to J., "I've seen my dreams fall apart just when I seemed about to achieve them." In response, J. gives Coelho a daunting task: He must find and speak with his guardian angel. "The curse can be broken," he replies, "if you complete the task."

Rising to the challenge, Paulo and his wife, Cristina, drop everything, pack their bags, and take off on a forty day adventure into the starkly beautiful and sometimes dangerous Mojave Desert 執here they encounter more than they bargained for. A masterful blend of the exotic locales, dramatic adventure, and magical storytelling, for which Coelho's fictional works are renowned, this true–life account is at once a modern–day adventure and a metaphysical odyssey.

Customer Reviews:

What you get outta this depends on where you are in your life and spirituality........2007-07-28

There's a lot of wisdom and truth presented here in this book. The question is, will you or can you understand it? I admit that several places in the book, I would go back and have to reread something, and still not totally get it. But a little further and BAM! -This beautiful piece of writing would pop out and be clear as can be. I am thinking that what you get out of this book most likely depends on several things, like how open minded you are, where you are in your life and where you are spiritually. It's a metaphor people! (to those reviewers who didn't get it so they wrote negative things about it, which makes me think of how a lot of times we [some/most?] are quick to condemn that which we do not understand?) The things that you don't conciously understand, you most likely (hopefully anyway) sub-conciously get. Get it? - Course that may not be the case for all.

Book club choice? This book would make for interesting group discussion between the right people, -an open minded group who's not so quick to judge by skimming the surface. I think open discussions about this could bring a lot of hidden meanings out in the open because for example, one part that I didn't get could be clear as a bell to somebody else.

I loved this and am planning to read it again. And I feel sure that I'll probably read it several times throughout my life. That's the kind of book this is.

So, if you read it and don't understand, maybe it's not the right time for you? So many times, I have been drawn to exactly the books I needed for what I was going thru at that time. This proved that to me, once again.

Not so much.......2007-07-25

Who knew Valkyries were such bores? I was expecting another great story with a great message such as "The Alchemist" but I think that book may have been Coelho's one hit wonder. This one was rambling, whiney, self-absorbed and way too full of itself.

Deeply moving and intrinsically rewarding.......2007-05-17

Very few books I read were as deeply moving and as insightful as this one. It really changed me; it was intrinsically rewarding. The story may not be for everyone, but for me, I was transformed. I've read it years ago, and looking back it's one of the books of most personal impact I've read. The story is beautiful, the message is beautiful, affecting, moving. It will give you a wonderfully new and exhilirating perspective on the meaningfulness of living. I highly recommend it.

A GREAT read!.......2007-03-21

This just may be my favorite book ever, and I read A LOT. I have read this book several times, and have given away at least 5 copies. I sold it from the shelves of my 'Angel Store' and my customers loved it too. Coelho writes with such a presence. He weaves the spritual story as the reader rides on the back of the words of the story. After writing this review, I think I will go and read it again. I think I just may be a Valkyrie. How about you?

Inspirational.......2007-03-18

Coelho did it again, the book kept my interest from begining to end. He is a Master.

Average customer rating:

Importance for me...
well told story
Good theme inside bad story
Discovering soul
Brilliant and original

Miss Garnet's Angel
Salley Vickers
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0452282977
Release Date: 2002-04-02

Book Description

After the death of her longtime friend and flatmate, retired British history teacher Julia Garnet does something completely out of character: She takes a six-month rental on a modest appartamento in Venice. An atheist, a Communist, and a virgin, Julia finds herself falling beneath the seductive spell of the city's intoxicating beauty and sensual religiosity. She befriends a young Italian boy and English twins who are restoring a fourteenth-century chapel. And she falls in love for the first time in her life with an art dealer named Carlo.

Juxtaposing Julia's journey of self-discovery with the apocryphal tale of Tobias and the Archangel Raphael, Miss Garnet's Angel tells a lyrical, incandescent story of love, loss, miracles, and redemption . . . and of one woman's transformation and epiphany. Already a bestseller in England, it is "novel-writing at its finest and most eloquent . . . splendid . . . the sort of book that effortlessly, like angels, or sunlight on Venice's rippling waterways, casts brightness and beauty into those private and most shadowed recesses of the human heart" ( The Christian Science Monitor).

"Vickers has taken myth, religion, and secular humanism, and turned them into substantial life-affirming fiction." ( The Philadelphia Inquirer)

"A refreshing, gentle story." (Anita Brookner)

Customer Reviews:

Importance for me..........2007-05-13

The book is excellently written, and a gently intriguing story. Its impact for me lay first in the unexpected and quiet touches about Miss Garnet that were so exquisitely British, full of subtle, nuanced detail. The second importance was the story of Tobit and its lead to the Apocrypha. I love the notion that our human cultures layer interpretation on interpretation thru the centuries. The author's sympathetic, because local and detailed, description of Venice and its treasures was a further treat, for me. And associated with that, the clear message that we must all contribute if this Treasure that is Venice is to continue to exist in our world.

well told story.......2007-01-06

Really good story well told. Set in Venice and I felt like I was there.

Good theme inside bad story.......2005-12-31

I wanted to like this book. Badly. Maybe that's why I kept turning pages, seeking for some redeeming feature or moment. Alas, I found none. The theme of the novel is obvious from the beginning: Miss Garnett, the main character, finds herself living a meaningless, loveless life, with (probably many) barren years stretching in front of her. This, the theme of a mid-life crises that sometimes prompts people to make the most daring, sublime...or idiotic...things, is a fruitful one in literature, and many a great writer has chosen to subtlely convey this message inside wonderful stories.

However, subtlety is not to be found here. We are repeatedly hit on the head with this theme from the beginning, and know from page one what is the matter with the character because the annoying authorial voice keeps telling us every two lines in case we forget. We also know from the beginning what is the element that will save Miss Garnett from her loveless life: from the moment she first steps on Venice she keeps having the oddest feelings whenever she enters a church or looks at religious imagery.

Now, don't get me wrong, I feel the greatest respect for religion, and know jungian analysts state that our interest in religious issues increases (or should increase) with this mid-life crisis . Also, I love Jungian theories, and the use they make of religion,literature and art in general -and, surprise surprise, the author has been a Jungian analyst for some time.In fact, there is no problem at all with the theme, only with the way it is conveyed. And with the main character. Because she's so passive that the only thing she does in most of the story is feel oooooodd feelings whenever she steps into a church, and of course to ask herself "what would Marx or Lenin say of all this?" (hint: she has been a leftist all her life). And, while she goes about feeling oooodd and doing nothing, you ask yourself how can other characters (such as Carlo)feel interested in her. But then, it's not long before you learn they are all just cardboard people, characters with no flesh and bone. Utterly boring characters that are used by the author to repeat again and again (without making us feel for one single moment the pain, fear, awe they are supposed to feel) the OBVIOUS message of her novel.

And when the voice shifts and we get a narrator from Biblical times....oh, boy!! What this narrator says sounds so modern and didactical (as if the author wanted to make the story of Tobit understood by VERY STUPID modern-day children, presenting all kind of plausible explanations, like, how could this biblical character have really lived for 180 years?!....logical explanation for stupid children:maybe they didn't count the years in those times as we do now!!!) as to be actually insulting !!!

So, OK, I got the message. But, having been given it by page 5, and having been offered no interesting characters, whose conflicts I can learn something from, or story to delve deeper in the theme and explore it, I wonder why I wasted more time in this book.

Discovering soul.......2005-04-22

This is an enchanting novel. Slow paced, it reveals more than describes the spiritual peregrination of an aging woman, retired, and alone, who seeks comfort and meaning for life while travelling to assuage the loss of a life-long friend. Schoolmarmish and void of an interesting personality, Julia Garnet's paced awareness of her being both physical and spiritual is the making of the novel. What touches her at first is art. Then, it is story of Tobias and the angel, of which she learns in passing and which she pursues doggedly to the end of her days. The weight of centuries, so evident in Venice, and the seduction of paintings and architecture help in her path to self knowledge, for they add a sense of continuity to ways of thinking and believing which Julia had not been aware of. Her stay in Venice changes her, and her spritual growth touches the reader. This is a must read novel not only for those who like good writing, but principally for those who believe in the power of art as a means of redeeming one's soul. Five stars, without a question.

Brilliant and original.......2005-03-23

Salley Vickers is one of two writers whose discovery in the last year has once again made me glad I can still find wonderful writing. It is always a delight to discover an author to add to the "must read all they do" list. A few years ago it was Michael Chabon, and I await his next with baited breath, but in the last year there have been Charles Portis ("Masters of Atlantis" and more), and Salley Vickers. I saw this book in the library and read reviews online before reading it. It is NOT a quick and easy read, as someone suggested in these reviews. It is a parallel rendering of the story of Julia Garnet and the biblical book of Tobit, and the point is the realization that our lives aren't as cut and dried as modernity would have us believe. Raphael the Archangel is the central protagonist really, and his presence seems to seep into the story at every turn. How Julie grows and blooms is the surface story, but underneath there is a stream of the ethereal which also runs through Salley Vickers other two books, "Instances of the Number 3" and "Mr. Golightly." I read these two right after this one. I highly recommend them all.

Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Modern Library)

Average customer rating:

A Classic Account of a Classic Period
This is my 3rd copy...
Hell's Angels
On the road with the Angels
DOCTOR THOMPSON LEARNS HIS TRADE

Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Modern Library)
Hunter S. Thompson
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 067960331X
Release Date: 1999-12-07

Book Description

"California, Labor Day weekend . . . early, with ocean fog still in the streets, outlaw motorcyclists wearing chains, shades and greasy Levis roll out from damp garages, all-night diners and cast-off one-night pads in Frisco, Hollywood, Berdoo and East Oakland, heading for the Monterey peninsula, north of Big Sur. . . The Menace is loose again." Thus begins Hunter S. Thompson's vivid account of his experiences with California's most no-torious motorcycle gang, the Hell's Angels. In the mid-1960s, Thompson spent almost two years living with the controversial An-gels, cycling up and down the coast, reveling in the anarchic spirit of their clan, and, as befits their name, raising hell. His book successfully captures a singular moment in American history, when the biker lifestyle was first defined, and when such countercultural movements were electrifying and horrifying America. Thompson, the creator of Gonzo journalism, writes with his usual bravado, energy, and brutal honesty, and with a nuanced and incisive eye; as The New Yorker pointed out, "For all its uninhibited and sardonic humor, Thompson's book is a thoughtful piece of work." As illuminating now as when originally published in 1967, Hell's Angels is a gripping portrait, and the best account we have of the truth behind an American legend.

Customer Reviews:

A Classic Account of a Classic Period.......2007-07-16

As a ripe young 16 year old, discovering the post beatnik era that was blossoming into the hippie era, this account of life with the Angels was hypnotic, gripping, and even influencial on my impressionable mind. As boorish, surly, dangerous and unpredictable as they were the Angels Thompson portrays were perversely attractive to many 60's youth who wondered what kind of life they might want to persue if they, in fact, failed in straight society.

This is a classic account of the Angel's during their classic period when they came of age in the mind of the world. Thompson's chapter "The Making of the Menace" could more aptly be called today 'The Making of the Legend"

An absolute must read.

This is my 3rd copy..........2007-05-12

I just purchased my 3rd copy of this book...I've given two copies away.

Very intersting reading!!!

Hell's Angels.......2007-03-31

started out good, then turned in to a whiny account of author complaing about not being treated right by the Angels.

On the road with the Angels.......2007-03-17

I'm a great Hunter S Thompson fan, and have read all of his books. Although "Hell's Angels" was his first book, it would be the last one, that I got around to reading. I was used to his later, gonzo style, of writing so I was actually expecting this to be more of the same. But it was not. He seems more objective and a bit more conventional in this volume, than in his later work. He is still biased, but not to the same degree as he would become later. Also he keeps his long rantings about everything and nothing with no connection whatsoever to his main subjects to a minimum.

He is still very eloquent and writes in an interesting way, just more sober. A bit like Tom Wolfe or such.

I'm not particularly interested in the subject of Hell's Angels or bikers, but I enjoyed this look into a culture that seldom lets in outsiders. Also it gives some contrast to the image the Hell's Angels have these days. Very interesting and highly recommendable.

DOCTOR THOMPSON LEARNS HIS TRADE.......2007-02-08

As Thompson aficionados are probably aware Hell's Angels is Hunter's first real foray into the sustained writing that would make us smile or be provoked to call for his head on a platter for the next forty years. Although the text clearly demonstrates that this is not a piece of `gonzo' journalism, as it later came to be known, one can see the outline of where he could be heading in this book on probably the most famous outlaw motorcycle gang in American history. The line between Thompson the reporter and Thompson the participant is still fairly clear but one can see just enough sympathy with the subject matter of his book to see where he might be heading. His major `gonzo' work and most famous book Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas thus did not just come out of the blue.

And what of the subject matter of his book, the infamous Hell's Angels that in my youth my mother warned me against incessantly? As noted above Hunter gained a grudging sympathy for them during his yearlong experience in and around their hangouts and their nefarious various doings in Northern California. Some of the antics that they were involved in like their `robust' partying in natural settings and scaring the `squares' seem a little dated, and juvenile. Their gratuitous violence, however, seems rather too familiar.

The more sociological aspects of their marginal social existence is far more interesting and Thompson does a good job of identifying the post-World War II American times that gave rise to such self-defining outcasts. This phenomenon enters the books as one of the outcomes that occur when the Turner thesis on the effects of the end of the frontier and land's end get fleshed out in sunny California. While these men, and they were almost exclusively white Anglo-Saxon men (the women involved with them are a separate and in some ways more interesting question although in the book a marginal one), came from mainly working class backgrounds the details provided by Thompson portrays a classic lumpenproletarian milieu. Thus, politics, protest or allegiance to other organizations meant nothing to them. Forget all that intellectual gibberish, it was about the bikes, man. Dr. Freud can read what he wants into that. Dr. Thompson gives it to us straight.

Average customer rating:

Historical fiction that educates as well as entertains
Insight into history
"Absolutely loved this book!!!!"
yawn....
o.k.

Falling Angels
Tracy Chevalier
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0452283205
Release Date: 2002-09-24

Amazon.com

Set among the sweeping skirts and social upheavals of Edwardian London, Tracy Chevalier's Falling Angels is a meditation on change, loss, and recovery. Her central characters are two young girls of the same age, whose family plots are situated side-by-side in a cemetery modeled on Highgate. Lavinia Waterhouse is respectably middle-class, devoted, like her conventional, doting mother, to the right way to do things, although suspiciously well- schooled in subjects like funerary sculpture and the English practices of mourning. Her friend Maude Coleman comes from a slightly more privileged and free-thinking background. In contrast with Lavinia's mother, Maude's mother Kitty Coleman is well-educated by the standards of the day, and it has made her restless and irritable. But neither her reading, nor her gardening, nor her affair with the somber, high-thinking governor of the cemetery is enough for Kitty. She comes alive only when she discovers the women's suffrage movement, and her devotion to the cause takes her away from Maude in every sense.

Although the point of view shifts between many characters (with even the Coleman's maid and cook getting their say, sometimes unnecessarily), Falling Angels is essentially the children's story, since it is their lives that are most open to change. The narrative spans exactly the years of Edward VII's reign, from the morning after his mother Queen Victoria's death in January 1901 to his own death in May 1910. Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring) deftly uses the nation's dramatically different mourning for these two monarchs to signal the social transformations of the period. Readers at ease with English history will find Falling Angels an unusually subtle novel, with an emotional range that recalls the best of the Edwardian novelists, E.M. Forster, and his quintessential novel of Edwardian manners, Howard's End. --Regina Marler

Book Description

Time magazine crowned Girl With a Pearl Earring "a portrait of radiance...a jewel." In her New York Times bestselling follow-up, Tracy Chevalier once again paints a distant age with a rich and provocative palette of characters. Told through a variety of shifting perspectives- wives and husbands, friends and lovers, masters and their servants, and a gravedigger's son-Falling Angels follows the fortunes of two families in the emerging years of the twentieth century. Graced with the luminous imagery that distinguished Girl With a Pearl Earring, Falling Angels is another dazzling tour de force from this "master of voices" (The New York Times Book Review).

Customer Reviews:

Historical fiction that educates as well as entertains.......2007-04-25

The story of Maude Coleman, Lavinia Waterhouse and their families is told in the first person by each character involved so it reads very much like a diary. I like how the reader gets to see everyone's perspectives on a situation instead of hearing a story from just one angle. We hear the traditional and modern views of the time...in a changing world where the women's suffrage movement is getting more and more forceful leading (in this story) to the Hyde Park demonstration.

As someone who enjoys walking around old Victorian cemeteries it was lovely to have this one brought to life with the people who visited and worked there. I found the details of mourning etiquette during the Victorian period and the early 1900's fascinating: How long is acceptable to mourn, what to wear and what to do with it after the mourning period is over, and the views of the time on cremation and who should be buried where in the cemetery.

A sensitive and fascinating book.

Insight into history.......2007-01-03

Boy, a cemetary as the lead character! This was the way our book club handled the discussion of this book. We were able to tag each character with how the cemetary affected their lives. I liked the short bursts of narative in the small chapters. There was much to discuss regarding the customs of the time and the role of women. How the marriages worked out - or not - was quite surprising.
We left the book wanting to know what happened next.

"Absolutely loved this book!!!!".......2006-11-07

I could not wait till bedtime to pick this book up and read on. It was written so well and kept me wanting to know more. This book was fantastic and I would recommend it to everyone.

yawn...........2006-10-31

I typically loved historical novels but this one was a snoozer. Totally uneventful until the end--and then bad things happen to the only characters you can actually like! The constant change of voice was too choppy.

o.k........2006-08-06

i didn't find is quite as good as her other books, but it''s still a very good book.

Average customer rating:

A tour de force of pure emotion
Look Homeward, Angel - Review
Wolfe throws away the map, then complains of being lost
You Can Read Wolfe Again
Still, After All These Years, a Classic

Look Homeward, Angel
Thomas Wolfe
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743297318

Book Description

The stunning, classic coming-of-age novel written by one of America's foremost Southern writers

A legendary author on par with William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor, Thomas Wolfe published Look Homeward, Angel, his first novel, about a young man's burning desire to leave his small town and tumultuous family in search of a better life, in 1929. It gave the world proof of his genius and launched a powerful legacy.

The novel follows the trajectory of Eugene Gant, a brilliant and restless young man whose

wanderlust and passion shape his adolescent years in rural North Carolina. Wolfe said that

Look Homeward, Angel is "a book made out of my life," and his largely autobiographical story about the quest for a greater intellectual life has resonated with and influenced generations of readers, including some of today's most important novelists. Rich with lyrical prose and vivid characterizations, this twentieth-century American classic will capture the hearts and imaginations of every reader.

Customer Reviews:

A tour de force of pure emotion.......2007-10-07

Thomas Wolfe reminds me of the eager kid who was smarter than the rest, surging ahead for pure love of learning and life itself. This transcendental outlook pervades this meandering story which in lesser hands would become saccharine, but veers away from that precipice with carefully constructed characters who are not cut-outs used in the puppet show of stories with a "moral," but these vivid, living, breathing pieces of life that resemble others we have all known.

While the subject matter is romantic to its core in that it combines a knowledge of mortality with a sweet delight in life, between the lines there is a fine-tuned observation of America as a culture of personalities. Wolfe understands the struggles of people both average and exceptional and winds these together to show the common path they are threading as they attempt to understand themselves, so they can appreciate life.

Thomas Wolfe described himself as a "putter-inner" and in this book that might be initially viewed as a problem, since it spills from its pages even after extensive editing with gloriously rich language and a wealth of detail. After the first 100 pages however I stopped caring about this attribute, because my bias against it came from lesser authors who blurt out everything but the kitchen sink in an attempt to appear smarter than they are. Wolfe just delights in the details of life and the subplots that associate a character's journey through it.

I recommend this book most heartily for parents of confused teens. It does not fail to show the shortcomings of our world, our species, and our nation, but it awakens our inner emotional strength that forms the want to overcome those. It does not preach morality, but it shows us the value of our time and from that a moral outlook, since when we care about our time we become more discerning. It took my breath away in its audacity to do the unthinkable, and sing a song of life the imperfect beautiful, and never to back down from that vision of poignant, transient glory.

Look Homeward, Angel - Review .......2007-02-07

Wolfe was gifted in prose, modeled his writing after great authors of his time, the prose apparently a priority over literary genius, which we think of as a gift of words exercised in the service of something huge, like compassion, truth, beauty or human potential--something that uplifts or encourages, something larger than one's self. Except for the racism, which the author was ignorant of--and we must keep in mind this was written about three quarters of a century ago--this is an accomplished novel for its time. Many authors use the novel format to lament the cruel injustices that happened to them. His father, Oliver had just met his future wife's family. "And as they sat there in the hot little room with its warm odor of mellowing apples, the vast winds howled down from the hills, there was a roaring in the pines, remote and demented, the bare boughs clashed. And as they peeled, or pared, or whittled, their talk slid from its rude jocularity to death and burial: they drawled monotonously, with evil hunger, their gossip of destiny, and of men but newly lain in the earth." This is American realism as it came to prominence between the World Wars, a movement that attempted to shake loose from the tradition. Look Homeward, Angel concerns the history of Eugene Gant, actually Wolfe himself, from a few years before his birth in North Carolina to his departure for graduate school at Harvard University. Learning to deal with an alcoholic father and warped mother, and older siblings, he explores the town from its wealthiest mansions to it most degraded poverty and racism, shows promise in school, reads incessantly and plots himself the drama king that is his life. He falls in love, attends college, and after struggling finds a place of prominence for himself there. Eugene's melodramatic account of his love for a boarder in his mother's hotel takes on Shakespearian quality. He comes home, loses a favorite brother to tuberculosis and discovers the comforts of alcohol himself. He confronts his family's collective idiosyncrasies and leaves heading North, harboring the conviction that no one has ever suffered like this before. Maybe he realized that his experiences are universal, but he has the rare ability to dramatize the story. ..."But , amid the fumbling march of races to extinction, the giant rhythms of the earth remained. The seasons passed in their majestic processionals, and germinal Spring returned forever on the land--new crops, new men, new harvests, and new gods." His descriptions are vivid and his sensuality overwhelming. This is the effect of his prose.
Trish New, author of The Thrill of Hope and South State Street Journal.

Wolfe throws away the map, then complains of being lost.......2006-09-19

This book is a self-indulgent wallow in the mire of despair. Wolfe starts with the supposition that "our earliest ancestors. . . crawled out of the primeval slime," that God is "an unwitting spirit" in "remote eternity," and consequently that prayer is useless and the earth is forgotten, and then whines when he is left with the natural conclusions of a godless world view: that life is accidental, without meaning and without hope. The characters fumble around, looking for salvation in "a stone, a leaf, an unfound door," (tragically rejecting the Way, the Truth, and the Life) only to find at last that there is no point in looking for salvation at all, since "There is no happy land. There is no end to hunger," "YOU are your world." This book is unorthodox, unwholesome, and unhealthy. Avoid it for your own good.

You Can Read Wolfe Again.......2006-04-18

I was much taken with LOOK HOMEWARD, ANGEL when I read it as a young man, particularly the chapter on the death of Ben Gant. It was one of the most moving things I had read at the time and I never forgot it. With more years behind me than in front of me, I was curious to see what effect this novel would have on me on a rereading. I found this tome this time to be long, wordy, at times bombastic, with far too many "O Lost's." Mr. Wolfe never misses an opportunity to do long lists, often sounding like Walt Whitman on a bad day. And why on earth would he name Chapel Hill, North Carolina "Pulpit Hill" in the novel?

On the other hand, sometimes Wolfe writes pure poetry; and the novel pulses with life. He has captured a town (Asheville, North Carolina early in the 20th Century) with all its prejudices, idiosyncrasies but hopes as well and has created a family we will never forgot, the Gants. Anyone who knows anything about Thomas Wolfe understands that they are a thinly veiled version of his own family: the bigger-than-life patriarch of the family Gant who has bouts with the bottle; his wife Eliza, obsessed with making a dime at whatever cost; and their children-- Daisy, Helen, the sailor Luke, the twins Grover and Ben and Eugene, based on Wolfe, himself. These characters are as much of the literary history of the United States as Willie Loman, Rabbit Angstrom, the Compson family et al.

Yes, Wolfe's account of the death of Ben Gant at the age of 26 of double pneumonia will tear your heart out. After the Gant family members have spent excruciating days at his deathbed, Eugene has this beautiful words: "We can believe in the nothingness of life, we can believe in the nothingness of death and of life after death--but who can believe in the nothingness of Ben? Like Apollo, who did his penance to the high god in the sad house of King Admetus, he came, a god with broken feet, into the gray hovel of this world. And he lived here a stranger, trying to recapture the music of the lost world, trying to recall the great forgotten language, the lost faces, the stone, the leaf, the door."

LOOK HOMEWARD, ANGEL, for all its shortcomings, remains an American classic.

Still, After All These Years, a Classic.......2006-01-18

Few writers can coin a phrase or capture a mood or feeling like Thomas Wolfe could. This is never more evident than in "Look Homeward, Angel." After all these years, still a classic, well worth reading for the first time or for another time. His ability to capture mood, colors, feelings and emotions in the depths of the human heart and soul, in and out of family relationships, is remarkable, as is the agelessness of the story. A timeless story of personal growth, coming of age and family dynamics. Well worth the read.

Average customer rating:

Makes a great Christmas present
Smart, hip, fun to read!
Flesh, sex, drugs...and some swimming.
Dire Playfulness
100 Percent Palahniuk approved

Angel Dust Apocalypse
Jeremy Robert Johnson
Manufacturer: Eraserhead Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0976249839

Book Description

Meth-heads, man-made monsters, and murderous Neo-Nazis. Blissed out club kids dying at the speed of sound. The un-dead and the very soon-to-be-dead. They're all here, trying to claw their way free.

From the radioactive streets of a war-scarred America, where the nuclear bombs have become self-aware, to the fallow fields of Nebraska where the kids are mainlining lightning bugs, this is a world both alien and intensely human. This is a place where self-discovery involves scalpels and horse tranquilizers; where the doctors are more doped-up than the patients; where obsessive-compulsive acid-freaks have unlocked the gateway to God and can't close the door.

This is not a safe place. You can turn back now, or you can head straight into the heart of . . .

The Angel Dust Apocalypse

Customer Reviews:

Makes a great Christmas present.......2007-10-08

My brother gave me a copy of this book last Christmas. I had never heard of Johnson, but gave it the once over. I quickly discovered that Johnson is one sick puppy, but he's also an excellent writer. I've read plenty of work by people who are purely pushing stuff out for shock value, and Johnson definitely rises far above them. Mainly this is because, while most of his stories have some sick and twisted ideas at their core, he doesn't depend soley on them. His skills as a writer and as a storyteller turn those dark seeds, into great stories that are quite enjoyable, in a queasy sort of way. He never seems to forget that the people in his stories, however perverse, insane, or just screwed up they are, are still people, even if they do go around bitting other people's noses off.

Smart, hip, fun to read!.......2007-10-04

This is a great short story collection. I enjoyed all of the stories for different reasons. The writing style is crisp and vivid, the story ideas are original and fresh and the book was thematically dark and beautiful. I will definitely look for more work by this author.

Flesh, sex, drugs...and some swimming........2007-09-01

A nice collection of (mostly)weird stories. Here's a quick rundown of each one.

"The League of Zeroes" Interesting take on the future of body modifications and the implications of the extreme desire to be a trendsetter.

"Dissociative Skills" Graphic tale of teenager body exploration.. reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk's work.

"Amniotic Shock in the Last Sacred Place" Interesting take on adult infantilism. The gruesome process of malformed birth..and birth and birth.

"Precedents" The author (in his afterword) makes mention of the similarities between this story and movies like Memento and Irreversible. He also compares it to the classic locked door murder mysteries. Yes, this short tale is like that (told backwards..) but compared to the preceding stories, it's not that impressive.

"Stanley's Lips" Very short piece about a person's obsession with something they detest. Definitely relatable.. at least for me.

"Snowfall" Picturesque post-nuclear apocalypse story through the eyes of a deaf child. Very nice.

"Ex-Hale" Funny story about a professional "corpse" actor. Excellent.

"Working at Home" Parasite-ridden bio-horror tale in the style of David Cronenberg. Good imagery and suspense.

"Priapism" Weird story of a father talking about masturbation and punishing him for it. Will probably shock the casual reader. Kind of reminded me of a Chuck Palahniuk story.

"Luminary" Sort of like an Amazing Stories or Twilight Zone tale. Nice but I'd rate this lower compared to the other stories.

"Saturn's Game" Pretty crazy tale of mental illness and the ramifications of child abuse.

"Branded" Very short story about brand names and oral sex.

"The Sharp Dressed Man at the End of the Line" This is the story that leads up to his novella Extinction Journals. Basically concerning WWIII, nuclear war, and a suit made of cockroaches. Oh, and a suit made of twinkies. Guess who survives?

"Two Cages, One Moon" A kidnapping tale with an ironic twist. Still, not that unique especially compared to the rest of the stories (many which are in the bizarre genre). If I read this one in a magazine, I'd probably be more impressed but I've read similar stories before.

"Sparklers Burning" A bizarre burn on Martha Stewart and the arts/crafts thing. Interesting imagery but lacks a certain OOMPH!

"Last Thoughts Drifting Down" A short piece of WWIII through the eyes of (I think) death or nuclear death or something.

"Swimming in the House of the Sea" A pretty straightforward tale of a young guy and his mentally challenged brother. Though it is not weird at all, this is a solid story. Again, I'd say this would appeal to Palahniuk fans. The description is excellent and I'd like to see JRJ tackle more stories taking place in motels in the desert. He handles detail wonderfully. And I like motels. And deserts.

"Wall of Sound" A three part story in the style of Hubert Selby. Drug-addled narrative of raves (and all sorts of electronic music), neo-Nazi sabotage, and mental & physical deterioration. The first part is especially frightening. I was never a big drug user but I always found the idea of buying drugs scary considering you don't exactly know what you're getting. Just imagine this situation at its worst and that's what the first part contains. Excellent stuff. It closes the collection beautifully.

In conclusion, I liked the more bizarre material in this collection the best. There were a few stories that I felt were out of place but perhaps for purposes of pacing, the author felt the need to include them. Still, this is a satisfactory book of short stories that'll impress anyone who enjoys cutting edge takes on drugs, body modification, medical horrors, and the end of the world.

Dire Playfulness.......2007-07-12

Flicking between beautiful, unsettling, funny, and downright weird (sometimes all of those plus a whole lot more), this is a great collection of memorable (as in "I ate something odd and it was tasty but now it's sticking to my insides and sort of hurting but in a nice way") short stories.

Whilst some are not for the squeamish ("Dissociative Skills" immediately springs to mind, as does "League of Zeroes"), I myself don't have an aversion to the sort of Cronenbergian fascination of playing with flesh. "The League of Zeroes" has that dire playfulness about it, the sick concept of outer beauty is twisted back upon itself, and there's a ridiculous sympathy that goes along with that.

Maybe it's just me, but I really enjoyed that there was a childlike quality to the stories, which is NOT to say they are childish. There's a big difference between those two words. There's an innocent, curious, innovative, uncensoring quality in each story, which I always appreciate in adult fiction.

My favourite stories: Hard to pick, I didn't dislike any of them (a pleasant surprise, for I am picky), but I'll go with "Snowfall" and "The Sharp Dressed Man At the End of the Line". Superb. The latter had me in stitches for a very long time, and even still giggle when I recall it.

100 Percent Palahniuk approved.......2007-07-04

Like skim milk draped about your hysterectomy, Mr. Johnson hugs the womb with piercings big enough to kill a horse. The brain metal jewelry transposes sharp enough to have your lobotomy on, and you will enjoy each sliding inch of the stiletto. Put your ten into the g-string of a Bizarro god. Throw the book at a school bus and its occupants will croak. Shoot the fine art of its cover and send the bullet back into the gun barrel. Hide it in a corner and your tears always leak in that direction.

Average customer rating:

A great read from Luanne Rice
Beautiful read!
disappointing
Wonderful read!
Luanne Rice's First Book!

Angels All Over Town
Luanne Rice
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553568264
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Book Description

New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice made her triumphant debut with this delicately drawn but emotionally powerful portrait of a woman’s extraordinary journey of the heart and soul–a timeless story of love, sisterhood, and the hope that emerges even out of heartbreak....

Una Cavan doesn’t believe in ghosts. But ghosts seem to believe in her. At least, her father’s ghost does, walking into and out of her life as casually as if he were entering and exiting a room. Una has always believed the Cavan women had the power of witches, and from the beaches of Connecticut to the bustle of New York City they’ve shared the special unbreakable bond of sisters. No man has been able to come between them…until Lily marries the “perfect” man and begins to drift away and Margo gets engaged. With another failed relationship behind her, and a thriving career as an actress ahead of her, Una wonders if she’s destined to be alone–or if there isn’t something more, something magical that life has in store for her. Then an unexpected encounter gives her the answer she’s been seeking….

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Download Description

LUANNE RICE is the author of twenty novels, most recently Summer of Roses, Summer's Child, Silver Bells, Beach Girls, Dance With Me, The Perfect Summer, The Secret Hour, True Blue, Safe Harbor, and Summer Light. She lives in New York City and Old Lyme, Connecticut.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews:

A great read from Luanne Rice.......2007-02-06

Luanne rice's first novel; this one begins a bit slowly, but by the time you are a third through the book, you don't want to put it down. this is the story of three sisters who grew up on the northeast coast. Each chose a different path to follow, and yet they maintained a very close relationship. If you don't have a sister, it makes you mourn the fact.
Ms. Rice's books make me want to travel to the scene of so many of her stories. She paints a picture of beaches and lighthouses, summer sun and fresh breezes, a feeling of ghosts and sea captain wives looking out to sea. You invest in her characters and want to know what will happen to them.

Beautiful read!.......2006-07-17

A very enjoyable story presented in a touching and sweet way.
The story grabs you and takes you on a gentle ride.

disappointing.......2006-06-17

As an avid reader from Luanne Rice books, I found this book to be rather disappointing. The story is soft and pointless. If this would have been my first Rice book I most likely would not have read another book from this author. Iam so very glad that she has improved on her books. She is one of my favorite authors for relaxing books.

Wonderful read!.......2006-02-27

The emotions of the characters in this book will resonate with anyone going through major life changes within themselves or in loved ones around them. Without a doubt,you will be drawn into the pages of this,Luanne Rice's very first novel.

Luanne Rice's First Book!.......2004-11-10

Angels All Over Town is the first book Luanne Rice wrote in the 80's. Since I have read all of her previous books I was curious about this book for sometime. It wasn't an entirely bad book but considering how much I've loved most of her other titles, I'm almost sorry I went hunting for, found this book and then read it.

This book does feature one of Rice's signature themes - three sisters and their realsionships within their family and other people. In this case the three sisters are all reachign the age when marraige is possible and when the youngest marries a stuffy doctor, it is as if the otehr two are eager to also find their mates.

While I genrally rip through a Rice title - I read Firefly Beach and Safe Harbor in a couple of hours, I foudn thsi book tedious boring and it took me several days to finally finish it. I had a hard time believing this was a first book by an author whose books I truly I truly love but I guess it happens. And luckily for me, I read this book last and not first otherwise I might not have continued reading this prolific author. But this is the third Luanne Rice book in a row I read which I didn't rate that highly, the other books being Beach Girls and Dream Country but I am planning on reading Silver Bells and hopefully this holiday title will be the charm.

Average customer rating:

A Meditation on Motherhood
Reader from Illinois
a deeply satisfying novel of family relationships
Reviewing Support!
Mary Gordon at her very best

Men and Angels
Mary Gordon
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0345329252
Release Date: 1986-03-12

Book Description

Anne Foster's husband is in France. She has stayed behind in their small college town with her two young children -- whom she loves with an intensity that awes her -- to finish writing the catalogue for a major exhibition of the work of American Impressionist painter Caroline Watson. As she delves into Caroline's life, Anne sees a side of "mother love" she'd never fathomed. Meanwhile, Anne's live-in babysitter, Laura Post, is obsessed with a different kind of love. She sees herself as one of God's chosen and believes she has been sent to "save" Anne and her children, whether they want it or not . . .

Customer Reviews:

A Meditation on Motherhood.......2006-07-09

Anne Foster, a faculty wife who has put her own career on hold, has recently returned to work and is compiling the catalog for an upcoming exhibition of painter Caroline Watson. Her job entails several days of travel each week so she must find someone to watch her two young children. With some misgivings, she hires Laura Post, a disturbed young woman with a troubled past.

This is a complex book that explores the balance of meaningful work and motherhood in women's lives. As Anne researches the life of Caroline Watson, she discovers striking parallels with her own life. Most of the major characters in the book work from choice rather than necessity. Some, such as Watson, driven by genius, easily put the work first. Others, like Anne's neighbor, devote themselves to their children. Anne uneasily tries to balance the two.

Mary Gordon has a great eye for character. She has sympathy for those on the margin of society, such as Laura and Helene, one of the professors at the University. Her characters are not at all simplistic but a mix of good, bad, and sometimes downright irritating qualities.

If you want a challenging, thought-provoking novel, which is beautifully written, I recommend this book.

Reader from Illinois.......2004-03-12

The novel is about a couple who hired a babysitter without an interview first.The lady keeps complaining to her husband about being busy, and not having the time to take care of other things.
The couple keeps moving from one place of location to another, and they will move with the babysitter too.
The couple have arguments with the babysitter on how to raise their children. The babysitter thinks she has been sent by God so she has to raise the children in a religious way, which leads the novel to be interesting and intriguing to the reader.

a deeply satisfying novel of family relationships.......2000-04-17

I'm in the midst of this book, and am savoring it. Mary Gordon's use of the language makes me able to read Men and Angels at a more measured pace than what I usually have == her phrasing is so precise and her scenes and characters are jarringly familiar.

She describes the intensity of mother love so well, how all consuming it is when your children are small, how there's no question that you treasure them above life itself -- of course they're more important than anything.

I love also the way she looks at the mystery of how someone can be a good parent to one child but not another. How bereft a child in such a situation feels, and how angry the parent -- for not living up to such a basic requirement and instinct -- loving one's own child well enough. I also love the way she paints Laura, the young babysitter whose mother hated her, who believes herself to be beloved by God, who despises every adult except Anne, the book's central figure, and who is clearly going to do something awful. Laura is so despicable and so pitious at the same time that you don't know what to do with her.

It's interesting that psychology has in recent years verified Gordon's view, with the experts saying that yes, the personalities of parents and children sometimes don't mesh, and can get in the way of a good enough relationship. It's something that people took for granted in earlier centuries, but in the past 100 years or so, of course it's unforgivable to not love your children equally.

This is a wonderful book about love and the human condition, and I'd be still reading it now except that I read for the past hours on a Sunday afternoon, read until I'm seeing everything double, and squinting to see the print.

Reviewing Support!.......1999-12-15

I can't understand why no one has reviewed this book either so I thought that I'd lend you some support by posting a couple of words.

I think this is Mary Gordon's best book but what makes if good is also what makes it different from her other novels - the babysitter narrative gives this book a darker thriller aspect which balances Gordon's usual narrative. The result is a book you can't put down and a must read if you have't picked it up yet.

Mary Gordon at her very best.......1999-09-01

I can hardly believe I'm the only person to review this book. I often check this page simply because I am so curious to hear other people's views on a novel that has stayed with me for over nine years. It is an intense and thoughtful study of women, art, religon, and motherhood...unsettling and disturbing at times, but richly wriiten and full of intriguing characters. I would urge anyone who has found Ms. Gordon's later work somewhat unsatsifying to look into this provocative novel.

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