Book Description
A frantic race to save a long-lost Traveler.
An epic battle for freedom.
Two brothers whose power puts them on a collision course . . .with each other.
In The Traveler, John Twelve Hawks introduced readers to a dangerous world inspired by the modern technology that monitors our lives. Under constant surveillance of the ‘Vast Machine,’ a sophisticated computer network run by a ruthless group, society is mostly unaware of its own imprisonment. Gabriel and Michael Corrigan, brothers who were raised “off the grid,” have recently learned they are Travelers like their long-lost father— part of a centuries-old line of prophets able to journey to different realms of consciousness and enlighten the world to resist being controlled. But power affects the brothers differently. As The Traveler ends, Gabriel hesitates under the weight of responsibility. Michael seizes the opportunity—and joins the enemy.
THE DARK RIVER opens in New York City with a stunning piece of news. Gabriel’s father, who has been missing for nearly twenty years, may still be alive and trapped somewhere in Europe. Gabriel and his Harlequin protector, Maya, immediately mobilize to escape New York and find the long-lost Traveler. Simultaneously, Michael orders the Brethren—the ruthless group that has been hunting Gabriel—into a full-scale search. Gabriel yearns to find his father to protect him; Michael aims to destroy the man whose existence threatens his newfound power. The race moves from the underground tunnels of New York and London to ruins hidden beneath Rome and Berlin, to a remote region of Africa that is rumored to harbor one of history’s greatest treasures. And as the story moves toward its chilling conclusion, Maya must decide if she will trade everything to rescue Gabriel.
A mesmerizing return to the places and people so richly portrayed in The Traveler, THE DARK RIVER is propelled by edge-of-the-seat suspense and haunted by a vision of a world where both hope and freedom are about to disappear.
Customer Reviews:
continues the Traveler yarn well.......2007-10-07
This is an enjoyable continuation of The Traveler. It has a lot of action like the first, the relationship of Gabriel and Maya turns a corner, and some characters mentioned in the first novel surface. The locations are exotic and the danger is ever-present.
By itself, I wouldn't recommend the 2nd part as a stand-alone work, but if you enjoyed the first novel in the series, then this will not disappoint. I'm anxious to see how things resolve in the last novel of trilogy.
An Amazing Follow-up to The Traveler.......2007-10-05
The Dark River picks up where The Traveler left off and it's amazing! While Maya the Harlequin recovers from her injury from The Traveler, she hides out with Hollis Wilson and Vicki Fraser where she finds herself developing distinctly non-Harlequin feelings towards her Traveler Gabriel. In one of the opening scenes, in which The Bretheren brutally attack the New Harmony community, it becomes really clear that the Bretheren are not to be messed with. I think that sets up the rest of the novel, since from then on, I was terrified of what the Bretheren might do if they caught up with Maya, Gabriel, Holis or Vicki. The stakes only get higher when information comes from off-the-grid that Gabriel's father, long thought dead, has been confirmed as alive and possibly in London. I won't give away any more, since I am not much for spoilers but the book is awesome. It's so action packed and totally ties up all the loose ends from The Traveler. I cannot wait until the next Fourth Realm book comes out!!
Edge of your seat!.......2007-10-04
Wish it were another 100 pages longer but I suppose we will have to wait for book 3.
This was very entertaining and I award 5 stars because the story flows well and does introduce some great new characters with enough twists to keep you wondering. The demise of one of the characters in particular provides a much clearer picture of the type of organization the Tabula represents. Wait and see and you really begin to see big brother.
Enjoy!
Let down.......2007-09-28
After reading The Traveller, I anxiously awaited the next book in the Fourth Realm trilogy. When I finally read Dark River, I had mixed feelings about the book. I suppose the best way to capsulize it is to say, it's the middle book. Dark River did not live up to my expectations. A whole story line was dropped from this sequel, and the atmosphere was not as captivating as Book One. Many loose ends were left at the end of this book, and as I await the final volume, I hope that when the trilogy is finished, I am a satisfied as I was at the end of Book One.
Enjoyable, But Some Fundamental Inconsistencies Which Distract.......2007-09-23
I have to say, I REALLY enjoyed The Traveler (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 1) and couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequel. Although I wasn't disappointed in the sequel, it did not meet my expectations.
Since I don't write spoilers, all I will say is that I fear the author {insert your best guess here} has painted himself into a corner where the third book may fall totally into implausibility and silliness. The first novel was interesting because the spirituality aspects of the novel were a mechanism to contrast the possible spiritual (and physical) prison we may be constructing for ourselves in our technological society. In my opinion, the author {insert best guess here} goes too far into the fantasy realm using inconsistent logic which distracts the reader from the larger sociological/technological implications. Once you construct an internal logic into an alternative universe, you should stick with it. Internal consistency is very important in science fiction and fantasy. Twelve Hawks re-writes some of the fundamental tenets of his universe and I think jeopardizes the novel.
That said, the novel is well-written and every bit the page-turner as the first book. The characters continue to be developed and the reader will develop real attachments to them. You won't feel like you've wasted your time reading it, even if you may roll your eyes in a few places. I hope the final novel in the series recaptures a little more of the balance between technology and fantasy which made the first book so intriguing.
Amazon.com
Journalist Mark Bowden delivers a strikingly detailed account of the 1993 nightmare operation in Mogadishu that left 18 American soldiers dead and many more wounded. This early foreign-policy disaster for the Clinton administration led to the resignation of Secretary of Defense Les Aspin and a total troop withdrawal from Somalia. Bowden does not spend much time considering the context; instead he provides a moment-by-moment chronicle of what happened in the air and on the ground. His gritty narrative tells of how Rangers and elite Delta Force troops embarked on a mission to capture a pair of high-ranking deputies to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid only to find themselves surrounded in a hostile African city. Their high-tech MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters had been shot down and a number of other miscues left them trapped through the night. Bowden describes Mogadishu as a place of Mad Max-like anarchy--implying strongly that there was never any peace for the supposed peacekeepers to keep. He makes full use of the defense bureaucracy's extensive paper trail--which includes official reports, investigations, and even radio transcripts--to describe the combat with great accuracy, right down to the actual dialogue. He supplements this with hundreds of his own interviews, turning Black Hawk Down into a completely authentic nonfiction novel, a lively page-turner that will make readers feel like they're standing beside the embattled troops. This will quickly be realized as a modern military classic. --John J. Miller
Book Description
The acclaimed New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down is "a shocking account of modern warfare . . . gripping and horrifying" (San Francisco Chronicle)
Destined to become a classic of war reporting, Black Hawk Down is Mark Bowden's brilliant account of the longest sustained firefight involving American troops since the Vietnam War. On October 3rd, 1993, about a hundred elite U.S. soldiers were dropped by helicopter into the teeming market in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia. Their mission was to abduct two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord and return to base. It was supposed to take an hour. Instead they found themselves pinned down through a long and terrible night fighting against thousands of heavily armed Somalis. The following morning, eighteen Americans were dead and more than seventy had been badly injured.
Drawing on interviews from both sides, army records, audiotapes, and videos (some of the material is still classified), Bowden's minute-by-minute narrative is one of the most exciting accounts of modern combat ever written--a riveting story that captures the heroism, courage, and brutality of battle.
"Black Hawk Down ranks among the best books ever written about infantry combat. . . . A descendent of books like The Killer Angels and We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young."-- Bob Shacochis, The New York Observer
"If Black Hawk Down were fiction we'd rank it up there with the best war novels: The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer, or The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien."-- Tom Walker, The Denver Post
"Stands in a league with Shelby Foote's stirring Civil War Diary, Shiloh."-- Jim Haner, The Baltimore Sun
"One of the most gripping and authoritative accounts of combat ever written."-- Kirk Spitzer, USA Today
"Amazing . . . One of the most intense, visceral reading experiences imaginable."-- The Philadelphia Inquirer
A New York Times bestseller for 14 weeks
Bowden's Black Hawk Down series, which appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer was awarded the Overseas Press Club's Hal Boyle Award for best foreign reporting
Customer Reviews:
Excellent and revealing.......2007-08-29
The beginning of this book kinda made me want to be a soldier but as it got into the actual horrors of war it seriously scared a strong sense of reality into me. Anyone who is thinking of joining the military should read this book first. Not that I'm trying to discourage people but just that they should take it seriously and not just think of it as an easy way to pay off school loans or something.
Anyway, the book is fantastic. Get it and read it.
One of the greatest combat books I have ever read.......2007-08-16
This book is great. It tells about the Battle of the Black Sea extremly well with several different perspectives. From stories of some of the Delta opperators to the Habr Gidr clan members fighting them, this book tells it very, very well. Only Flags of Our Fathers rivals Black Hawk Down. If you like combat books, I highly recommend this book.
Great Story Highly Recommended .......2007-07-13
Let me incorporate, by reference the many well earned accolades of the other reviews. This is an exceptional book and deserves the praise. However, there are some limitations.
The first is that two men watching the same person do nothing more than walk down the street may have perceptions of the event that would make it appear that they observed two different events, the second is that some of the intimate observations of those who fought there may have been reserved during interviews and the third is that Bowden may have received some politically correct guidance from above. Finally there is something enlightening in the unedited words of some of the experienced participants.
MSG Howe, a legend in the Special Forces community wrote an excellent book , Leadership and Training For the Fight. Deliberately misses the well edited polish as he uses presents personal combat experience to illustrate the key subjects he is discussing. Much of the action is on the ground as a participant in what became knows as Blackhawk Down. Howe discusses the critical differences in between the Rangers and Special Forces as they fought together. The second additional reference are the two books by Durant, In The Company of Heroes and Night Stalkers.
One of the messages of the other books on the subject which directly conflicts with the conclusions of Blackhawk Down is the impact of the removal of the AC-130's from the area had on the operation. The theater commander was denied the AC-130 gunships and American armor. Bowden repeats the Washington spin that the gunships would have been ineffective in the urban environment. However, Durant notes the huge psych impact when the gunships were returned to the fight a fee days later, while he was still held prisoner. It is further reported that the Secy of Defense came down to the SF camp once they were home to apologize for the removal of the gunships and soften the blow that there would be no formal after action report.
The performance of the gunships in several firefights in Afghanistan clearly demonstrated that they could work very closely with troops on the ground who were vastly outnumbered and fighting for survival within stone throwing distance. There also no doubt that the Little Birds and gunships could have been used together.
Durant and Howe provide the framework to understand the tactics and mission of those on the ground and in the air on those fateful days.
All three books leave the reader stunned at the quality, dedication and effectiveness of those who serve our country.
First Rate Military History -- move over Cornelius Ryan.......2007-07-12
This rates as one of the best military histories I have ever read.
Mark Bowden is scrupulously careful, balanced, and thorough. He presents a very complex incident with color, passion, and detail, cataloging the sounds, smells, and visuals of this frightful engagement.
He allows the participants among American and Somali soldiers and noncombatants to tell their own stories in their own words. Occasionally he steps back and presents historical/political background to let the reader see this "Battle of the Black Sea" in context.
The movie version (Ridley Scott directing) was exceptionally well done, fast-paced, fierce, gritty, and like the battle itself, ultimately very sad and leaving a sense of futility, given that the U.S. scampered out of Somalia shortly after the battle. Yet the movie was light and almost careless of many details compared with this book.
Move over, Cornelius Ryan.
Unbelievable.......2007-04-30
I'm so upset that I watched the movie first. In my opinion the book is 100x's better and I'm surprised to see how many story lines that they have changed. The details just make you shake your head in shock. In the movie they didn't really mention (I can't recall) Air Force Combat Controller's. Honestly if it wasn't for them there would have more casualties. It's an amazing modern war story that won't put you to sleep. I enjoyed the pictures at the end of the book. I like to put names and faces together.
A great read from beginning to end.
Book Description
Identifying hawks in flight is a tricky business. Across North America, tens of thousands of people gather every spring and fall at more than one thousand known hawk migration sites--from New Jersey's Cape May to California's Golden Gate. Yet, as many discover, a standard field guide, with its emphasis on plumage, is often of little help in identifying those raptors soaring, gliding, or flapping far, far away.
Hawks from Every Angle takes hawk identification to new heights. It offers a fresh approach that literally looks at the birds from every angle, compares and contrasts deceptively similar species, and provides the pictures (and words) needed for identification in the field. Jerry Liguori pinpoints innovative, field-tested identification traits for each species from the various angles that they are seen.
Featuring 339 striking color photos on 68 color plates and 32 black & white photos, Hawks from Every Angle is unique in presenting a host of meticulously crafted pictures for each of the 19 species it covers in detail--the species most common to migration sites throughout the United States and Canada. All aspects of raptor identification are discussed, including plumage, shape, and flight style traits.
For all birders who follow hawk migration and have found themselves wondering if the raptor in the sky matches the one in the guide, Hawks from Every Angle--distilling an expert's years of experience for the first time into a comprehensive array of truly useful photos and other pointers for each species--is quite simply a must.
Key Features:
- The essential new approach to identifying hawks in flight
- Innovative, accurate, and field-tested identification traits for each species
- 339 color photos on 68 color plates, 32 black & white photos
- Compares and contrasts species easily confused with one another, and provides the pictures (and words) needed for identification in the field
- Covers in detail 19 species common to migration sites throughout the North America
- Discusses light conditions, how molt can alter the shape of a bird, aberrant plumages, and migration seasons and sites
- User-friendly format
Customer Reviews:
Hawks.......2007-03-14
The illustations make it much easier to identify hawks in the sky and on the ground. It will be a valuable companion on my bird walks in the Audubon and to ID the hawks soaring overhead and through the woods by my home.
Libbie
Extremely informative, with excellent photography.......2006-10-03
I though this was an excellent resource for identifying hawks in flight. The photos are very informative, and attractive as well. The guide is, in my opinion, very comprehensive and extremely well written.
Hawks from Every Angle.......2006-04-18
A super-useful reference guide that goes well with HAWKS IN FLIGHT -- and actually I would probably look at this one first. Photographs and text both contain a lot of helpful information to assist in raptor identification -- though the "pitfalls" shots make it clear that not every bird will be identifiable.
Mileage obviously varies, but as a Californian I don't feel shortchanged by this book and have used it particularly for Sharpie/Cooper's differentiation.
another mistitled hawk book.......2006-01-13
If you're looking for a book that covers all the raptors that regularly occur in North America, forget it. A more honest title would've been 'Raptors of Northeastern Hawkwatch Sites.' Even then, northeastern hawkwatchers won't find Harris' Hawk in the book. The raptors Liguori does cover are done well, by and large, and I was particularly impressed with the treatments of both Harlan's Hawk and the Northern Harrier. But if you live in the West, as I do, you'll find the book less useful than the title suggests. Get yourself a Clark and Wheeler--it'll serve you much better. I'm looking forward to that frabjous day when hawkwatchers will escape their eastern bias, and discover that we have hawks in the West too.
A useful guide........2005-12-26
Having read other books on the same subject, I hastily read through this book. Had I not read other books on this subject the text might have been more useful that it was. I did enjoy reading another author's ideas on hawk watching. This text references other books that I have read that are also very informative about hawk watching.
Book Description
On April 14, 1994, two U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters accidentally shot down two U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopters over Northern Iraq, killing all twenty-six peacekeepers onboard. In response to this disaster the complete array of military and civilian investigative and judicial procedures ran their course. After almost two years of investigation with virtually unlimited resources, no culprit emerged, no bad guy showed himself, no smoking gun was found. This book attempts to make sense of this tragedy--a tragedy that on its surface makes no sense at all.
With almost twenty years in uniform and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior, Lieutenant Colonel Snook writes from a unique perspective. A victim of friendly fire himself, he develops individual, group, organizational, and cross-level accounts of the accident and applies a rigorous analysis based on behavioral science theory to account for critical links in the causal chain of events. By explaining separate pieces of the puzzle, and analyzing each at a different level, the author removes much of the mystery surrounding the shootdown. Based on a grounded theory analysis, Snook offers a dynamic, cross-level mechanism he calls "practical drift"--the slow, steady uncoupling of practice from written procedure--to complete his explanation.
His conclusion is disturbing. This accident happened because, or perhaps in spite of everyone behaving just the way we would expect them to behave, just the way theory would predict. The shootdown was a normal accident in a highly reliable organization.
Customer Reviews:
Utterly fascinating.......2002-11-29
I went into this book thinking "how in the world could this happen" and finished it asking "how is it that this didn't occur before."
A fascinating book that has significance for all types of emergency responders, who need to understand how such "mistakes" might occur and thus how to potentially prevent such mistakes from occuring in the future.
An Organizational Analysis.......2000-12-14
Friendly Fire is a insightful, intriguing analysis of the 1994 incident that resulted in the needless deaths of 26 peacekeepers in the Iraqi Norther No Fly Zone. Snook presents a compelling tale of a complex system gone awry, an organization operating on the edge of chaos, and the ultimate result of a deterministic system spinning out of control. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of systems theory and organizational behavior, LTC Snook presents his thesis with exceptional clarity and depth of understanding; his conclusions are as disturbing as they are fascinating: a series of rational decisions made by equally rational human beings still failed to prevent the very incident the organization was designed to forestall. A concise, well-written account of and incident with lessons that we should all take to heart.
An Exceptional Account and Evaluation.......2000-09-30
Friendly Fire is a marvelous analysis of one of the most horrific accidents in recent military history. Snook is unfaltering in his tenacity to get to the root causes of this tragedy. The reader is given a broad perspective of how events, even those occuring years previous, led to the fateful day when 26 peacekeepers lost their lives. His ability to put the reader into the mind of each participant is riveting. More than just a recitation of facts or an outpouring of emotion, this book blends all the elements into a comprehensive understanding of a most complicated event. Friendly Fire should be required reading for all military personnel and anyone whose actions hold the lives of others in their hands.
When bad things happen to good organizations.......2000-04-13
In this book, Scott A. Snook, Ph.D. provides a thoughtful and readable account of how things can go tragically wrong in normal, healthy organizations. The author creatively applies several key theories in organizational structure and change to develop an understanding of (1) the tragic shootdown of two Army helicopters by U.S. Air Force jet fighters, which occurred in northern Iraq in 1994, and (2) "friendly-fire" events in general and broadly-defined --- or how it is that bad things can happen to good organizations, and there really is no one to blame. The book begins with an impressive, detailed examination of the data surrounding the 1994 Blackhawk shootdown. This includes thousands of hours of transcribed testimony gathered in hearings and court martial proceedings. In addition to official reports, Snook personally interviewed many of the key players in the Blackhawk friendly-fire incident. Using a "grounded-theory" approach, the author allows the data to shape and guide his reconstruction of the event itself, and his subsequent theoretical formulations to explain what happened. His resultant theory of "practical drift" spans multiple levels-of-analysis, from the individual to the cultural, providing dramatic insight into how such seemingly impossible events can be expected to occur in complex organizations. This book sheds the kind of light which both clarifies and disturbs. It should prove of real value not only to military leaders interested in reducing friendly-fire incidents, but also to leaders in non-military organizations who wish to understand, and perhaps avoid, normal disasters.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent resource.......2007-06-25
My grandma originally owned a copy of this book and regularly noted sightings of interesting/rare species. I bought my own copy several years ago and it has proved quite useful. The most interesting example was a Java Sparrow sighted in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I couldn't find out what it was from searching around online, but looking in the back of this field guide, under foreign/introduced species, there it was.
Quality Through and Through.......2005-10-11
I received this book as a gift and have used it constantly. I keep it on my window sill during the feeding season to identify the visiters to my feeder. The book's size and physical construction are excellent. As someone who is a novice it seems to be very comprehensive on the subject matter.
The birder's bible.......2005-07-19
Even when I lived in the city, I liked to feed and watch the birds (mainly sparrows and pigeons). Now that we live up in the woods, we're in bird paradise. Using this Peterson Field Guide for "Eastern Birds" plus a good pair of binoculars for visual identifications, and the "Birding by Ear Eastern/Central" CDs (Richard K. Walton and Robert W. Lawson) I've identified 42 species of birds in just over a month, as a casual observer for the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas II project.
I have other bird books, but it is Peterson's Field Guide that I use most frequently. Roger Tory Peterson's 'system' "is based on patternistic drawings with arrows that pinpoint the key field marks." You don't have to have the bird in hand in order to make an identification. In addition to 136 full-color plates of Eastern birds (male, female, and immature, or summer and winter plumage if they differ markedly), there are also 390 three-color maps (first introduced in the 1980 edition).
The maps are absolutely essential for an amateur like me. If I've narrowed down a blurry little gray bird to X and Y, and Y never makes it north of the Mason-Dixon Line, I can be pretty certain that the bird is X. Here's an actual example on the utility of the maps: I was trying to distinguish a trilling song that could either belong to the Swamp Sparrow, the Pine Warbler, or the Northern Junco. We do see Juncos at our feeders in the winter, but this is July and according to Peterson's map, the Juncos spend the summer north of here, mostly in Canada. So I've narrowed the trill down to the Swamp Sparrow or the Pine Warbler (actually I'm positive we've got both as I've made tentative visual identifications. It makes sense since we live in the Pine Barrens which is dotted with numerous swamps).
This book begins with a generalized introduction to identifying birds by shape, distinctive features and behavior. Physically, it is tightly bound and just the right size to slip into a backpack. The pages are glossy and 'relatively' waterproof if you wipe them quickly dry. There is even a 'life list' up front where you can check off the birds you have seen.
Don't go birding without it.
Excellent beginner book for myself and my sister........1999-04-26
The Peterson field Guide to Eastern American Birds turned out to be the best birding book I've ever read. The book was well thought out and had the format that we needed in our suburban environment. The illustrations were concise and made identifying the birds extremely easy. We have a large population of Red-Winged Blackbirds and Mourning Doves, and its great to actually know what in the world we were looking at. It was great!
Excellent guide to identification of birds........1998-05-13
This is the best of the field guides for the amature birder in my opinion. I purchased a guide that had actual photos of birds in their habitats, thinking it would be the best, but it definately was not as good or as easy to use as the Peterson field guide. If you are looking for a good all around field guide to keep near your binoculars, this one is my pick.
Book Description
Some of the motorcycle byways of the southern Appalachians are world-famous: Georgia's Highway 60, the ³Dragon² at Deals Gap high in the Smokies, the Cherohala Skyway. Others are remote back roads leading to out of the way mountain towns, stunning waterfalls, fascinating civil war battlefields, and motorcycle-only resorts. In this new guide, former metro Atlanta motorcycle policeman Hawk Hagebak covers the best of them, with easy to read maps, complete directions, road conditions and more, all liberally sprinkled with his own special brand of humor and practical advice. Includes over100 maps and photographs.
Customer Reviews:
Great book for planning trips on a motorcycle or car.......2005-09-26
This is a great book for planning trips on a motorcycle or a car. The descriptions are detailed and there are bonuses listing restaurants and gas stations. The author goes into a lot of detail about each route. My only complaint is the book is a little thin for $15.00. There is a second book for the rest of North Carolina. It would have been better to combine the two books for $20 - $25. Don't let this comment keep you from getting the books though. The author does a great job.
Excellent guide.......2002-06-18
Great book, well written, easy to read, good humor.
Smart layout enables you to xerox the two facing pages to have a complete map and guide for each ride.
The reference section at the end of the book gives you phone number and other info for hotels, restaurants, dealerships, chamber of commerce, etc.; very convenient.
Highly recommended.
Motorcycle Adventures in the Southern Appalachains.......2001-07-10
I first read about this book in an article in the Atlanta Journal/Constitution and had to buy a copy. It was a little hard to find. After reading and taking in many of the adventures listed in the book by Hawk Hagebak, I must say that it is the most insightful and intelligent Motorcycle Guidebook I've ever read. The author uses his experience as a former motorcycle cop to give practical (and humorous!) advice for everything between avoiding a ticket to handling a breakdown. He's really funny! The book is broken into 20+ chapters, each chapter is a ride. The rides include restaurant recommmendations, road descriptions, a map and often some interesting information about the area. My favorite quote from the book is on page 9 where the author is telling the reader how to embellish a "road lie". "I was riding Mile High and the abominable snowman came out of one of the scenic overlooks and chased me all the way into Robbinsville!" The author continues, "Lesson learned? Other than the obvious hazard of a slick road, there's an abominable snowman to contend with, and who wants that?" Another funny quote is in Ridge and Valley Chapter. That ride cuts through a town named, "Sublinga". The author pokes fun at the name by saying, "No, not the medical word- Doctor, my Sublinga is swollen!" The maps are great and they're next to written directions to the right of the maps. I found the rides easy to find and easy to follow. He even includes the mileage from point to point (you can reset your odometer at the start of the ride to keep up with the map mileage). If you are new to the area or have been living in the region for several years (myself for 7 years). I thought I knew all the mountain roads, I do know a lot of them, but not with the detail provided in the book. Very handy, if only the area for the book were larger..... Maybe he will put out another motorcycle guide book? A great buy, even if you are not a biker like me. Just stick your head out the window to act like you're on a bike.... Enjoy...I sure did.
Amazon.com
On his only prior visit to Ireland, English songwriter-comic Tony Hawks had seen a man hitchhiking with a refrigerator. For years, he was wont to tell the tale during late-night drinking matches, and after one particularly heavy-duty night of partying, he awoke to find a bet scrawled pillowside: a friend wagered 100 pounds that Hawks wouldn't travel Ireland for a month with a refrigerator at his side.
Out of this stupid premise, a ridiculously amusing book was born. Quickly discovered by the Irish media, the thumbing Englishman finds that he and his box fridge are elevated to celebrity status, and there's no dearth of rides, places to stay, or goofy people to meet, from kings to spoons players to locals who take his fridge surfing. As insightful about the strange inner workings of Hawk's mind as it is about charming peculiarities of Irishmen--it's doubtful that Hawks would have been similarly embraced by Germans, Italians, or the French--Round Ireland with a Fridge is an entirely silly, heartwarming tale told in a rollicking funny and refreshing style. --Melissa Rossi
Book Description
I hereby bet Tony Hawks the sum of One Hundred Pounds that he cannot hitchhike round the circumference of Ireland, with a fridge, within one calendar month.Have you ever made a drunken bet? Worse still, have you ever tried to win one?In attempting to hitchhike round Ireland with a fridge, Tony Hawks did both, and his foolhardiness led him to one of the best experiences of his life.Joined by his trusty travelling companion-cum-domestic appliance, he made his way from Dublin to Donegal, from Sligo through Mayo, Galway, Clare, Kerry, Cork, Wexford, Wicklow - and back again to Dublin.In their month of madness, Tony and his fridge met a real prince, a bogus king, and the fridge got christened.They surfed together, entered a bachelor festival, and one of them had sex without the other knowing.And unexpectedly, the fridge itself became a momentary focus for the people of Ireland. An international bestseller, Round Ireland with a Fridge is a classic travel adventure in the tradition of Bill Bryson with a dash of Dave Barry. AUTHORBIO: TONY HAWKS lives in London and divides his time equally between writing, performing, and playing tennis.He makes regular appearances on British radio and is currently the host of The Best Show in the World.
Customer Reviews:
Good, but "Playing the Moldovans" is Tony's masterpiece.......2007-10-11
'Round Ireland With a Fridge' is the first of Tony Hawks' two books inspired by a loony bet with a friend. I liked this book well enough, but I think it falls a bit short in comparison with his 2004 follow-up, Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, which I think is pure genius - an inspiring work never to be dislodged from my Top 10. It's brilliant.
In 'Round Ireland,' I give Tony credit for recognizing the role that morning DJ Gerry Ryan had in his success. Ryan literally put the whole country on alert for Tony. He set the tone for Hawks' circumnavigation of the Isle when he called it "a totally purposeless idea, but a d-mn fine one." That Ireland rallied to that call is a testament to a wonderful country and its good-natured people.
Just for the Craic!.......2007-08-08
Tony Hawks is a legend. Absolutly brilliant.... one of the few books which have actually made me laugh out loud. Be wary of reading in public places because the constant smile/giggling to yourself can prove to be a little socially akward.
King of the laughing road.......2007-05-28
Round Ireland With A Fridge by Tony Hawks
Written by a standup comic, Tony Hawks, and what ensued after his 100 pound bet made after a bit of tippling in a pub, that he could hitchhike around the coast of Ireland in 30 days, with a refrigerator. You could expect this book would be funny, and yup, it is.
Oh the pressure to win the bet, Tony gaining the cheerleading backing of the Irish radio host Gerry Ryan, and the assurance that yes, this is "a totally purposeless idea". Tony quickly got me cheering for him.
Lots of meeting with random and rural Irish folks in pubs and on the road, giving him rides, the whole ridiculous idea of traveling with a fridge that gains a name by fans in a pub, and a blessing of the fridge by a genuine Mother Superior.
Yes, he slept in a doghouse one night, and traveled with his fridge squished inside a trailer with a mare and her colt.
The map in the book serves as an essential road guide as you read and journey with Tony, as he progresses from places like Benbeg to Killybegs. The journey includes an attempt to meet the King of Tory Island, and a handshake with Prince Charles.
Pick up this book and prepare to laugh, if you like the absurd, as I do.
Tony Hawks travels Ireland.......2007-05-26
I had a trip to Ireland planned and a friend of mine recommended this book. It's hilarious! What a fun read and it really gives you insight as to how wonderful the people of Ireland are, and how willing they are to help out someone - even if it is an English guy with a fridge. Enjoy!
Great fun!.......2007-02-09
This book was a hoot! I love anything that takes me around Ireland, my favorite place to visit, and this book provided a very funny, unusual tour.
Book Description
Here is the incredible true story of a Red-tailed Hawk that makes himself at home in the most unlikely of places--atop a high-rise apartment building in New York City. Named Pale Male by his many fans, this majestic bird not only endures in this urban environment, he thrives. But when the residents have Pale Male's nest removed from their building, a historic battle--and triumph--ensues, uniting bird lovers everywhere.
With Jeanette Winter's beloved folk art-inspired illustrations and soulful insight into the spirit of this beautiful hawk, this is a book that will delight nature enthusiasts of all ages.
Includes an author's note.
Customer Reviews:
High-flying fun.......2007-04-24
"The Tale of Pale Male" is a gussied-up true story for the Picture Book set. Remember Pale Male--a Red-tailed hawk--and his Fifth Avenue perch? (Mary Tyler Moore lives in his building.) Remember how Pale Male brought his gal pal Lola to his favorite spot and they built a nest? Remember the birdwatchers down below and the momentous birth of two "hungry chicks"?
Pale Male and Lola set off a media storm when they build their huge nest and begin circling the skies of Manhattan. People lined the street to watch the birds fly and the chicks hatch. Winter chronicles their story and their abrupt eviction from 927 Fifth Avenue when downstairs neighbors complain of the "evidence of Lola's meals" falling on "to the balcony below." (Note: Winter includes only bones, leaves, and twigs in this "evidence.") Media and public outrage follow culminating in the restoration of Pale Male's home.
Winter successfully combines two stories in "The Tale of Pale Male." On the one hand it's the story of people standing up for nature even in the heart of Manhattan. On the other hand, it's a nature story--we learn how Red-tail hawks build nests, what they eat, and how they live.
Winter's pallette of grays, purples, and teals beautifully suits Pale Male's city life, especially when contrasted with the opening pages illustrated in the greens, blues and browns of a Red-tailed hawk's life in nature. An "author's note" at the end of the book gives us the straight story.
"The Tale of Pale Male" is best suited for readers ages four to eight. School-aged children in kindergarten through second grade will especially like "The Tale of Pale Male" at story time. Its dual story line will appeal to city slickers and nature lovers alike.
Book Description
Tony Hawk is a skateboarding sensation.At he 1999 ESPN X Games, he astonished viewers by performing a 900, a trick thought impossible to do.But astonishing people was nothing new for Hawk.Since taking up skateboarding at age nine, he's almost single-handedly revolutionize the sport.Whether dominating vert competitions, inventing new tricks, or providing a positive role model for young skaters, Hawk's sheer athleticism and dedication have helped change the way skateboarding is viewed by the general public.
Customer Reviews:
Skating book with Tony Hawk.......2006-01-06
Matt Christopher is on the Halfpipe WIIIIITH......no idea what a half pipe is. Matt's a writer, not a skater and it shows. You'd be more satisfied with documentaries or interviews on Tony Hawk if that's what you're interested in. Save your money!
-Caleb
Visit our skate shop online!
www.myboardshop.com
Not worth it.......2002-01-04
Why would you want to read this book when Tony Hawk wrote his own? That has all the information on him you need to know--plus more that wasn't covered in this book. Tony Hawk rocks and I would rather read what he writes.
Good for Young Kids.......2001-12-31
Like all Matt Christopher books, this is a good basic introduction to skating and skateboarder Tony Hawk, with an emphasis on Hawk as a role model. Young skaters will learn a lot about the sport without the baggage that comes from other sources
a great book.......2001-12-28
this is a great book.buy it
Lots of glaring mistakes.......2001-12-16
This book was obviously written by somebody who doesn't skate and appears to have never met Tony Hawk. The book is filled with glaring mistakes. It's written that Tony and his wife "started their own family when their daughter, Spencer, was born." Spencer is their son!
There are some falsehoods concerning skateboarding as well. The author says that taller skaters have a more difficult time performing tricks in the air. Most of the best ramp skaters in the world are tall! He also states that Tony learned kickflips on vertical a decade before they were invented!
Save your money and buy a skateboarding magazine with an interview with Tony. You'll get better information, it will be more personal and have better pictures.
Average customer rating:
- Hundred-Dollar Baby
- Spenser Fans Will Enjoy, But...
- Hundred Dollar Baby Spencer Book
- Sometimes love just ain't enough . . .
- A Red Silk Garter. A Steel-Standard Gun. The Valentine Lifeline.
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Hundred-Dollar Baby (A Spenser Novel)
Robert B. Parker
Manufacturer: Random House Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
 Contemporary
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| Parker, Robert B.
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| Mystery & Thrillers
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Parker, Robert B.
| ( P )
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Mystery & Thrillers
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Similar Items:
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High Profile
-
Blue Screen (Sunny Randall)
-
Spare Change
-
Sea Change (Jesse Stone)
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Short Straw
ASIN: 0739318659
Release Date: 2006-10-24 |
Book Description
Once upon a time, though not so long ago, there was a girl named April Kyle–a beautiful teenage runaway who turned to prostitution to escape her terrible family life. Now, April Kyle’s return in Hundred-Dollar Baby is nothing short of shocking.
When a mature, beautiful, and composed woman strides into Spenser’s office, the Boston PI barely hesitates before recognizing his once and future client. Now a well-established madam herself, April is still looking for Spenser’s approval, and it takes her a moment before she can ask him for his assistance.
April claims to be in the dark about who is trying to shake her and her business down, but Spenser and Hawk find ties to organized crime and local kingpin Tony Marcus, as well as a scheme to franchise her operation across the country. As Spenser again plays the gallant knight, it becomes clear that April’s not as innocent as she seems. In fact, she may be her own worst enemy.
Customer Reviews:
Hundred-Dollar Baby.......2007-10-12
This lacked the suspense that most of his stories has. Good B grade mystery story.
Spenser Fans Will Enjoy, But..........2007-10-04
Years ago, Boston PI Spenser made a difficult decision in helping troubled teen April Kyle get off the streets. Now the adult April is back in Boston running an upscale call-girl operation. April says she has been pretty successful in running the all-women business, but recently some thugs have been threatening to take it all away from her. They've come by the business a few times to squeeze some money from her and now they've starting beating up some of her workers and she wants Spenser to stop them. Spenser, who still wonders if he made the right decision years ago in sending April to work for Madame Patricia Utley, agrees to help April. But the more involved Spenser gets, the more he realizes that several people are lying to him, including April. The deeper Spenser digs into the case, the more he realizes that it's not going to have a happy ending.
Robert Parker fans will enjoy "Hundred-Dollar Baby" but other readers may find it lacking. It's a sequel of sorts to Ceremony, an earlier, gritty and thought-provoking Spenser book. "Hundred-Dollar Baby" is not as good as "Ceremony", but it's still a good, quick read. At this point, Parker can probably write the Spenser books in his sleep. The book is dialogue driven and much of the dialogue feels like it could be lifted from this book and inserted into any other Spenser book especially Spenser's conversations with long-time girlfriend Susan Silverman (as can his observations about her eating habits). I love the repartee between Hawk and Spenser, but all too often other characters exchange the same witty dialogue, so they all blur together as characters. The plot line with April is interesting, with some twists and turns and a surprising, if somewhat unbelievable ending. Long-time fans will enjoy seeing characters from other Spenser books turn up in this one including April, Patricia Utley, Eugene Corsetti, and Tedy Sapp. Parker's greatest strength is his ability to capture the streets of Boston in his writing and he again does it well in this book - I could picture the various streets and locations in my mind while reading the book.
"Hundred-Dollar Baby" doesn't break any new ground, but Spenser fans will still enjoy it.
Hundred Dollar Baby Spencer Book.......2007-09-30
good read, classic Parker/Spencer book. not his best but not bad at all and I certainly wouldn't turn it away. overall, I enjoyed it.
Sometimes love just ain't enough . . ........2007-08-23
In this novel, Spenser is again trying to save April Kyle (first seen in Ceremony then again in Taming a Seahorse) from herself. April has approached him for help - Patricia Utley has set April up with her own house of ill repute in Boston, but someone is trying to shake her down and April would like Spenser to protect her and find out who is trying to take over her business. When Spenser begins to investigate, he finds that maybe April isn't telling the whole truth.
Sweet and sad, Spenser has to come to the realization that maybe he can't always be the knight in shining armor. He can't help someone who doesn't want helping.
On a slightly tangential note, since this will be my last Spenser book for awhile (until I get High Profile); according to the time-line laid down in these books, Spenser should be about the same age as my dad - that is, somewhere in his 70s. Now, admittedly my dad is a tough cookie - a real-life cowboy who is still out there riding broncs. However, Spenser is still behaving like a man in the prime of his life. Interesting. . . :-)
A Red Silk Garter. A Steel-Standard Gun. The Valentine Lifeline........2007-07-24
Reading this novel was quietly satisfying, a gentle goodbye, a perfectly seasoned acknowledgment of external reality and time, with Spenser's subjective warmth settled and safely sealed, allowing space for the conclusion.
The story opened with Parker's confidence long established, showing, and flowing, in a touching scene holding April's return to Spenser's Private Eye world of righteous rescue.
Though I hope I'm wrong, HUNDRED DOLLAR BABY, # 34 in the series, felt like a gift wrapped, final Spenser. Thankfully, I had already purchased and received from Amazon the first novels of Parker's other two series, NIGHT PASSAGE, and FAMILY HONOR. I'm half-way into NIGHT PASSAGE with Jesse Stone seeming like a young Spenser being maneuvered through some less bright choices than Spenser made, showing how those choices dimmed the path. Yet, thankfully, Stone isn't totally stoned, hasn't abandoned his heart. He seems to be living on a precipice of dynamically balanced shadow and light. I like his quiet, stately strength and self-acceptance.
The copyright of NIGHT PASSAGE was filed in 1997. The copyright of HUNDRED DOLLAR BABY was filed in 2006. The literary contrast between these novels seemed to be much greater than 9 years, yet both are excellent works of classic literature. To be different doesn't have to mean more or less than.
With my lifeline set in Spenser's other 2 series, I'm stepping away from my study of Spenser with this review, though not as gracefully nor as eloquently as Parker wrapped his insightful study of Spenser's belief in Romantic Love Vs Sex For Hire, exposing through pages turning brightly, the high and low ends of both.
From Page 272 of the hardcover, at the end of Chapter 60 (of 64 Chapters):
>>
"Why you after April Kyle?"
"I'm trying to save her," I said.
"From What?"
"I Don't know," I said.
<<
Insights to share filled my mind as I read this novel. Now I can't remember them. I remember only that the read was every bit as satisfying as each of the preceding 34, in a more peaceful, yet no less captivating way.
It seemed appropriate that Spenser and Susan's Valentine's Day dinner-with-poetry-exchange be celebrated in this novel about "Looking for love in all the wrong (and right) places/ways." You'll want to read Parker's descriptions of the simple, earthy sensitivity of that sharing which takes place a little over half-way into the book. Here's a small sample of that scene, to prime your need to read more (Page 164, Chapter 37):
>> We began with cocktails. Cosmopolitan for Susan. Martini for me, on the rocks, with a twist. We were alone and it was safe, we exchanged poems written expressly for the occasion, as we always did. [Here a simple, touching description of the poems was included].... After we're gone," I said, What do you suppose people will think?"
<<
I think, "Thank You."
Linda Shelnutt
Books:
- The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks
- The Fast Food Craze: Wreaking Havoc on Our Bodies and Our Animals
- The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels
- The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
- The Great Fuzz Frenzy
- The Great Fuzz Frenzy
- The Missing Link in Cognition: Origins of Self-Reflective Consciousness
- The Mixed-Up Chameleon
- The Rat Nervous System, Third Edition
- The Refuge: A Maxine and Stretch Mystery (Maxine and Stretch Mysteries)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- China Shakes the World: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future -- and the Challenge for America
- The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys
- History: Fiction or Science
- Land and Natural Development
- Real Time UML: Advances in the UML for Real-Time Systems
- The Monkey Wrench Gang
- Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble
- Introduction to Estate Planning in a Nutshell, Fifth Edition
- It Takes Money, Honey : A Get-Smart Guide to Total Financial Freedom
- Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales
The Traveler (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 1)
How We Live Now
Spook Country
Thirteen
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day 1)
